ARBITRATION COURT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 18, 6 September 1911, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT.

MEX OX SMALL STEAMERS. (Per Press Association.) Wellington, September 5. In the Arbitration Court to-day further evidence was heard in the dispute between the Merchant Service Guild and the Shipmasters’ Federation. The section of the dispute heard concerned only the officers of small steamers of loss than 1000 tons gross register, all of them being in fact of les.: than 500 tons register. air Pryor, in (polling the case for the oinpVycrs. said the Merchant Servic? Guild had igno:od the class of stelino's ahW.-tcd by it and the class of trade in which they are engaged. Claims had boon based on Mr Justice Higgins’ Australian award, which dealt with large steamers, some of them of 5000 or 6000 tons, while those demands affected steamers none of which were of more than 500 tons register. The demands were even more extravagant than those given in Australia. The claims were absolutely impracticable on small steamers, and were not based on the conditions prevailing in any trade in any part of the world. If the demands were granted the result would assuredly bo to drive the small vessels out of their present trade. The taking of evidence was not concluded today.