AUCKLAND CONCILIATION COMMISSIONER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, June 16.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 15

AUCKLAND CONCILIATION COMMISSIONER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, June 16.

At the time of the appointment of the Conciliation Commissioners great exception was token by the Trades and Labour Council and in various other quai'ters to the selection of ilv T. Barle Giles as the Auckland ComniiFfcioner, but the Commissioner has .succeeded, not only in disarming the criticism to which he was subjected, but in turning the tide of opinion on both sides in his favour. About a dozen disputes hav.e ' already been settled by conferences between employers and employees, over which Mr Giles has presided, and the representatives of both sides have expressed eulogistic opinions of the Comnii?sior.er's tact and discretion. One of the most notable instances was the dispute between the Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Union and the employers, in which the union refused to appear before the Commi°sioner. The matter went before the Arbitration Court, and the union was prompt ly referred back tko the Commissioner by the judge, and now the dispute is practically settled eicept for the preference clause. The object of the Commissioner is to bring about settlements by friendly conferences, and so far ho has succeeded remarkably well, and the expense -which has thereby been saved to the country must be considerable.