ARBITRATION COURT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT.

LABOUR CRITICISM OF THE JUDGE. (From Ova Own Cohkespondent.) WELLINGTON, April 10. The Trades Councils' Conference devoted some attention to-day to criticism of the judge of the Arbitration Court. The latter, howc r, was not without hia defenders. The matter came up upon a drastic motion moved by Mr Sullivan (Canterbury) condemning Mr Justice Sim's treatment of union representatives who conducted cases in the court. The motion also attributed a large number of the union registration cancellations to the method in which the judge administered the act. Mr Sullivan said the language of the remit might be strong, but he asserted that the discourteous treatment meted out by Mr Justice Sim was responsible for many of the cancellations of registration that had taken place. Mr W. T. Noot (Wellington) moved an amendment —" That a committee be set up to draft a new Conciliation and .Arbitration Bill, this to apply to all remits dealing with the act." He declared that he had been treated courteously by the court, and it was undeniable that certain union officials had tried to browbeat the court. Whilst tlhe Wellington Council was of opinion that somebody other than a judge should be the president of the court, it could not support the motion. Tlie President ruled that the amendment was not in order. Mr Muir (Wellington) also stated that he had been couiteously treated by the judge of the court, and in one case ho had received considerable help from him. Still, the judge sometimes asked union officials to make their case as short as possible owing to pressure of duty. He seemed to make the Arbitration Court subsidiary to the Supreme Court. The work of the Arbitration Court should be pre-eminent in point of importance. Mr Burgoyne (Canterbury) said that in a recent case at Christchurch the judg« had jumped on him almost before he opened his caseMr W. W. Naughton (Wellington) said he thought the discussion x was not likely to do any good. The same complaints had been made against Mr Justice Chapman and Mr Justice Cooper. It appeared that some people always expected to get concessions when they went before the court. He thought that most people who went before the court -received the greatest courtesy. Mr Burgoyne : I have not. Mr Naughton demanded that if the conference thought the judge of the Arbitration Court was the wrong man it should say so. He doubted whether they would do any better with a commercial man at the head of the court. If the motion was passed what good would it do? If they were going to suggest that a Supreme Court judge should not be at the head of the court—and he hoped they were nof—they should say so. There wes nothing to be gained by slanging judges. Mr R. Breen (Otago) said h-e would oppose the motion, because in the first place it was not a truthful motion. The motion was rejected on the casting vote of the chairman.