JUDGMENT OF THE COURT.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 5 September 1908, Page 5

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT.

BAKERS' UNION FINED £100.

(Per Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, September 4. Ihe recent pronouncement of the At-torney-General that a striker's offence as an act that does not-continue trom day to day, but is complete when it occurs, is supported by the Arbitration Umrt in the judgment delivered to-day in the case of the Inspector of Awards versus Andrew Collins. During, the hearing of the Case it was proved" that Collins was' present at the meetings of the Bakers' Union when the strike was decided upon, but declared hiinselr against the strike. When, however, the strike had taken place, he threw in his lot with the strikers, and encouraged them ln their refusal to return to work <i. H l J*l,' 11 its judgment, stated that it had already pointed out that ro strike was an offence, but that to continue on strike was not an offence. To construe the word "strike" in its popular sense would mean, therefore, that while a worker who continued on strike was not punishable for doing so, any person who aided him to do so was guilty of an offence. The doctrine that a person might be guilty of an offence by aiding and abetting in the performance of the act which was itself not an offence was certainly a novelty in jurisprudence,- and the Court could not believe that the Legislature ever intended to bring about such a startling and fantastic result by the language which it had used. ■ On the other hand, to adopt the alternative construction and to hold that the word "strike" was used to denote a particular act which was made an offence by statute, and nothing more did not lead to any such absurdity as that which followed from the other construction. Full effect could be given to the language of the statute by reading the word "strike" in this restricted sense, and this is the construction which the Court thought should be adopted. it was impossible for the defendant to be guilty of the offence charged. The Court imposed a fine of £100 on the Bakers Union. If the fine is not paid the Court intimated it would inflict a substantial penalty against the men