LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1552, 23 September 1912, Page 8

LAW REPORTS.

1 MASTER & MAN. (JJeforc Hi- llai-.nur Mr. .liwticc Sim.) THE TYPOGRAPHICAL DISPUTE. I'.MI'i.OYT.r.S- SIUE. A fresh of the Typo.m-apliical Dispute was reached on Saturday innrnin«, when i.hc piuployer.- plated I heir side of the case Iwlnro tlie C'jun of Arbitrai linn. The Court comprised .Mr. .lusiiee i Sim (I'lesiiieni), Mr. Win. Scoit (employ. ' i.i- - roprc-sMitalivel. and .Mr. J. A. JlX'ul- , loiish lenipij.wer. , representative). ! .U lias Iveu jH-eviously mentioned, the 1 Fedriv.ifd Unions ar; , .-eekiiif; a . Dominj ion aivanl, thu iidUnviiijj di-.'ritts Ijdns i i-iijitprm'd:—Ui'liinsliiii. Xorthern, 'l'ar;iI n.iki, ilisiionie, '.VcUnn, Jla'riboniiigh, I Wetland, Canterbury, Utapro/unil Houihland. JJr. .1. \\\ I". Jfl'loustsll (Wellington) !ippe«re.l Joi- tli.-. liisnil section of the j ivarktr-, and Jfr. J. .T-iavri- (Dniiediii) for i the machine wciion of tli'j v.-orl;trs. Mr. I W. J'ryiir, secretary of th: , Eniployers' As. I sociiition, appeared f-jr the employers, and I as-ocia'fd with liini were Messrs. Gco. ! Fenwick (J)unedin), J. Jl'lndoe (J)unediii), and X. M'Kobie (Wailii). Particular j of the demand., of the Federated Unions and ot' the cauiiter-nro-p.vi.ls of the employers were published in Friday's issue, liearing ol'cvideiice in support of the union's case, occupied ! Thursday" mornins, the whole'of l-'riday, ! and there were still >ome witnev-es to be J called yesterday morning. I When the evidence for the union had I been completed, Mr. Harris p\\l in a CO mI parative table showing the dilferonce between the rales which tile employers proposed to pay, the rates at present paid, and tlie award rates-. Mr. I'r.vor, in opening tlie ca-e for the employers, pointed oik that dip. unions were asking for increased wast"-, and reduction of hours. They also wished to place further restrictions on the trade, and they were actually asking payment for work not done. A Rain, the unions had stressed the point that 'he trade was an unhealthy one, but the fact that insurance companies did not "load" the printill!; 1 ratio was aii immediate and complete answer to this. Mr. Pryor declared thai, some time nj;o, the. Wellington Union hud ,-v medical officer pomp round the different printing offices in the city apparently gathering evidence a= to tlie alleged unhealthy nature, nf (he occupation. Why had that medical evidence not been produced? The employers could only assume that it wa? because it was not as ".satisfactory" as had been expocleil. Had it bje\j produced two medical men with, km j experience would have been called by the nMier side. Evidence would lie called al-o to show Hint the conditions of the trade had much improved during the last few years. Xof, only had the men to nut in no extra time at "dis.-inj," but the offices were now under the control of the Labour Department, and the Xrw Zealand labour laws were more strictly enforced than those fll any other country in Ihe world. Under tht" present condition? it, was taking the printers all th?ir ti-.ne to compete with the imported article, and the industry could not bear the increased expenditure that would be the inevitable result of granting the unions' demands. In I connection with .tlie country work, Mr. ! Pryor slated that if would be noticed that no witness had bren called except from the country daily newspapers. It would be quite impossible, he contended, for the Court to basx , any award on the evidence put forward by the unions. 1/iiiaily, Mr. Pryor inado a lengthy reference Io the unions' demands, and indicated the grounds on which the employers their counter-proposals. He I hen proceeded lo call evidence.

Geo. Fenwick, ipanacin.? director of the "Oia<ro IJ.'iily- , rimes" Co.. gave evidence at lomi'h, and dealt, anions other thin-rs, with Hie question .of pnyiiipnt for

"blocks.' , about v.-liirli lip . had closely crqss-exnniinccl fcvprnl witnp.-sfs on the previous dny. Tie rlvnied li'al, i( was_ a euslom of the Irad? that "blocks" wore to lip paid for, or that his firm paid for "blocks." The case in which Mr. Ti'ij!?s liad (ipcii'.rd Hint half charw was tn be allowed referred lo n particular "block ,- only, and had no gcnoral ljcariiiL' on Iha Irnils. II was an inrrrpretalion. He Ijad (his from Jfr. Trisjrs in writino;.

The evidence of Iliis witne-s did not conclude until 12.50 p.m., and his crossexamination was pristnoned until the Court should resume.at 10 a.m. to-day.

Kesarilin-,' Clause 30 (the "fast-up") 'in the unions' demands for machine workers it was iiieniioued I hat the parlies wnulil confer asiiin on Halurday aftFnionii in order to si-e if Ih-j point emild not. lie agreed upon before tlio Court rcsunu'd tiiis iiiorninx.