Industrial Conciliation and, Arbitration.

A.—s.

(a.) Formal matters which have been proved or admitted before the Board need not be again proved or admitted before the Court, but shall be deemed to be proved, (o.) On the application of any of the parties, and on payment of 5 the prescribed fee, the Clerk shall issue a summons to any person to appear and give evidence before the Court, (c.) The summons shall be in the prescribed form, and may require such person to produce before the Court any books, papers, or other documents in his possession or under his control 10 in any way relating to the proceedings. (d.) All books, papers, and other documents produced before the Court, whether produced voluntarily or pursuant to summons, may be inspected by the Court, and also by such of the parties as the Court allows ; but the information obtained 15 therefrom shall not be made public, and such parts of the documents as, in the opinion of the Court, do not relate to the matter at issue may be sealed up. (c.) Every person who is summoned and duly attends as a witness shall be entitled to an allowance for expenses according to 20 the scale for the time being in force with respect to witnesses in civil suits under " The Magistrates' Courts Act, 1893." (/.) If any person who has been duly served with such summons, and to whom at the same time payment or tender has been made of his reasonable travelling-expenses according to the 25 aforesaid scale, fails to duly attend or to duly produce any book, paper, or document as required by his summons he commits an offence, and is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or to imprisonment for any term not exceedingone month, unless he shows that there was good and sufficient 30 cause for such failure. (g.) For the purpose of obtaining the evidence of witnesses at a distance the Court, or,- whilst the Court is not sitting, the President, shall have all the powers and functions of a Stipendiary Magistrate under " The Magistrates' Courts Act, 1893," 35 and the provisions of that Act relative to the taking of evidence at a distance shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in like manner as if the Court were a Magistrate's Court. (h.) The Court may take evidence on oath, and for that purpose any member or the Clerk may administer an oath. 40 (i.) On any indictment for perjury it shall be sufficient to prove that the oath was administered as aforesaid. (j.) The Court may accept, admit, and call for such evidence as in equity and good conscience it thinks fit, whether strictly legal evidence or not. 45 (k.) Any party to the proceedings shall be competent and may be compelled to give evidence as a witness. (I.) The Court in its discretion may order that all or any part of its proceedings may be taken down in shorthand. 82. The presence of the President and at least one other member 50 shall be necessary to constitute a sitting of the Court. 83. The decision of a majority of the members present at the sitting of the Court, or, if the members present are equally divided in

Quorum. 1900, No. 51, sec. 78

Decision to be of majority of Court. Ibid, sec. 79

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