THE VEND CASE

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 26

THE VEND CASE

PRIVY COUNCIL'S DECISION. LONDON, July 26. . Lord Justice Parker has delivered the reasons which guided the Privy Council in dismissing the appeal lodged by the Attorney-general of the Commonwealth against the judgment of the High Court of Australia in favour of the Adelaide Steamship Company in what is known as the Vend case. The reasons given set out that if there was any intention to raise prices it was not proved that there was any intention to injure the public. There was no trace in the Vend agreement of any intention to

raise the price of coal to an unreasonable extent, and there was still less justification for referring to the unlawful intention of the shipping agreement, seeing that the companies were still open to undersell each other. Their Lordships, amongst other points, stated that they were unable to accept the (frown's proposition that all contracts and combinations were in restraint of trade and commerce. If this was true the effect of the Act would be that no trades union would be free from the risk of being proceeded against. They could not believe that the legislation intended to make the existence of trades unions dependent on the economic views of the Government for the time being. Their Lordships considered that some of

the provisions in the agreement were really advantageous to consumers, tending to ensure a reasonably steady supply of coal. It was impossible to infer an illegal intention from what had actually been done under the agreements, though it must not be supposed that their Lordships approved of everything done in pursuance thereof. The Lord Chancellor and Lords Shaw and Moulton assented.