"SURREPTITIOUS CHANGES."

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13394, 30 May 1914, Page 6

"SURREPTITIOUS CHANGES."

A JUDGE'S ACCUSATION

(Special to Herald.)

" ■- DUNEDIN, tfois day. Ai surreptitious change in the law in the guise of consolidation," was the language used by Mr Justice Sim yesterday m a deferred judgment regardipg an application for the appointment of an. umpire under the Arbitration Act. It had reference to tihe consolic?*6^ 81 **" I^' ** th * Chief Justice (Sir R. Stout) was head of the commission who carried out. that work, the members of the assembled bar became keenly ' , interested in Judge Sim's remarks. \ His Honor said : "It is rather startling to find that such a change in the law should have been effected in the guise of consolidation. It is not referred to in the final report of the consolidated commissioners, and. this fact suggests that this change was made , without their, knowledge. 'This suggestion is confirmed by, the fact that m section 6 of the Act 6i 1908, which reproduces < 6ection 7 of the Act of 1890, fc he provision for the appointment by the Court of a third arbitrator has been dropped out. This cannot have been accidental, because the expression 'third arbitrator' is used several times in section 7. The omission must have been made deliberately, and by some person who was so ignorant of the subject of arbitration as not to know the difference uetwen an^ ■umpire and $, tnird arbitrator. He thought apparently that a third arbitrator was only on umpire, and that the provision in the English Act and the New Zealand Act for the appointment of a third arbitrator was only so much verbiage, which might safely be discarded." The report made, by the commissioners on the 28th of July, 1908, throws an interesting light on the i question of the authorship of this change. The Arbitration. Act evidently must nave been included in that volume of consolidated statutes which was sought; to. be imposed on the com-: missioners ; at the outset of tlheir labors. This they say waa more in the nature of a code than a consolidation, and entnngled them in much needless .labor; They had ,to spend much time and trouble in jjuid restoring the text .of the Act. The present condi-" tion of the Arbitration Act shows plainly, that their efforts in. this'direction were not always successful. How many more similar improvements have been made surreptitiously in the statute ■law of the land time atone will disclose." '■''■■"-.'.