Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/333

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A II B A 1! B 01 o application of any party thereto, unless such agreement or submission contain words purporting that the parties intend that it should not be made a rule of court ; or if any particular court is specified, the submission shall be made a rule of that court only. The court has no jurisdic tion until the submission has been actually made a rule of court, and that Is seldom done until it is necessary to enforce or set aside the award. The courts are very jealous of any attempt to "oust their jurisdiction," by agreements to refer differences not yet risen, or covenants not to sue in respect of such differences. The llth section of the Common Law Procedure Act, however, enables a defendant to take advantage of an agreement to refer by applying to the court to stay proceedings in the actions, and compel the plaintiff to resort to arbitration. In a pending action the matters in dispute may by consent of the parties be referred to arbitration, before or after the action is called on trial, by a rule of court, or by order of a judge at the trial. If it should be made to appear, at any time after the issuing of the writ, to the satisfaction of a court or the judge that the "matter in dispute consists wholly or in part of matters of mere account," the court or judge may order such matter to be referred to an arbitrator or an officer of the court (Common Law Procedure Act, 3). At the trial of any issue of fact, matter of account therein arising may by order of the judge be similarly referred (section G). In the latter case the power cannot be exercised after the jury is sworn. Among the statutes authorising reference to arbitration in cases of dispute the most important are the Land Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, the Railway Clauses Act, 1845, and the Companies Clauses Act, 1845 statutes which consolidate the "com mon clauses " usually inserted in Acts relating to the sub jects named in their respective titles. The powers of the arbitrator are very various. He may have the power of a jury or a judge at Xisi Prius, of a court in banco, of the Lord Chancellor, or of a master. The time for making the award is usually fixed by the submission ; in other cases the legal period Is three months. The time, however, may be enlarged by a rule of court, or by order of the arbitrators themselves. The award or decision of the arbitrators ought to decide finally all the questions in dispute, and ought to be certain and definite ; it ought to be "mutual," i.e., it should ascertain the rights and duties of both parties, and it must be possible and consistent with itself. It is a general rule that an award cannot be impeached for a mistake in law or in fact, although it is to be regretted that the practice of the courts on this point is by no means uniform. "Where a demurrer, i.e., an issue in point of law, was referred to arbitration, it was held that a mistake in law was no ground for setting aside the award. On the other hand, it has been held that a clear gross mistake affecting the whole award may be a good ground for having it set aside. ARBITRATION, in International Law, is one of the recog nised modes of terminating disputes between independent nations. Vattel calls it " a reasonable and natural mode of deciding such disputes as do not directly interest the safety of a nation." Heffter mentions six cases in which the judg ment of the arbitrators would not be binding on the contend ing parties, viz., when the agreement has been insufficient, when the arbitrators have been incapable, when they have acted on bad faith, when the parties have not been under stood, when the award is in excess of the reference, and when it is contrary to natural justice. Arbitration is sometimes spoken of as a universal substitute for war, but hitherto there has been no inclination, on the part of inde pendent states, to submit any but secondary questions to tho decision of neutral parties. The king of Prussia acted as arbitrator between England and France in 1843, in what were known as the Portendic claims. In the e A the " General Armstrong " privateer, between the United States and Portugal, the president of the French Republic (afterwards the Emperor Napoleon) acted as arbitrator. The most formal experiment in arbitration, however, was the Geneva Convention in 1872. The United States having for many years urged upon England the settlement of what were called the "Alabama" claims, a treaty was con cluded by which the case was referred to five arbitrators named by Engknd, the States, the Swiss Republic, the king of Italy, and the emperor of Brazil, respectively. Three new rules were at the same time drawn up for the arbitrators to follow in deciding on the liability of England. The award was in favour of America, and the English representative (Lord Chief-Justice Cockburn) was the only dissentient. Arbitration is frequently employed to settle differences not of a legal character, e.g., disputes between masters and workmen as to the rate of wages, hours of labour, <fcc. ARBOGA, an ancient town in Sweden, in the govern ment of Westeri^s, 30 miles S.W. of Westeras, on a river of the same name as itself, near its junction with the canal which joins the Malar and Hielmar Lakes. It was formerly a place of great trade, and contained five churches, three monasteries, and four chapels ; but, though there is stiil some traffic in woollen, iron, and wooden wares, its pros perity has greatly decreased. It is well known as the seat of several important assemblies ; particularly the parliaments of 1434, 1440, and 1471 ; and that of 1561, when the estates accepted the "Arboga articles," by which Eric XIV. restrained the power of his brothers. The town gives its name to the coinage of 1625 and 1627, which consisted of Hi^jjingar, or square copper pieces, and fyrkar, or farthings. In the neighbourhood there are mineral springs. Population, 3269. ARBOIS, a town in France, lat. 46 54 N., long. 5 47 E., in the department of Jura, and arrondissement of Poligny, situated in a deep valley, on the Cuisance, 940 feet above the level of the sea. It has long been famous for its wines, which as early as 1493 were exempted from taxation in Burgundy and the German empire by Maxi milian I. The rest of its trade consists in brandy, oil, fruits and flowers, grain, cattle, saltpetre, leather, cheese, earthenware, and paper. It was the seat of a commandery of the knights of Malta, had two monasteries and three nunneries, and still possesses a college and the ruins of a castle. The church of St Just is famous for its magnificent carvings in wood. Population, from 6000 to 7000. ARBOR VIT^E (Tree of Life), is a name applied to species of Thuja and Biota, The name was given by Clusius, and its origin is uncertain. The plants belong to the Coniferous order, and have been placed in the tribe Abietineae and the sub-tribe Cupressineae (Cypresses), in which the anthers are 3 to 5, rarely 2 ; scales of the cones 4 or more, usually placed opposite to each other in a decussate manner, persistent (not falling off), seeds having usually 2 to 3 wings; cotyledons 2. Thuja or Thui,a fjccidentalis (L.), is the Western or American Arbor Vitse. The name Thuja seems to be derived from the Greek word

  1. vos, signifying sacrifice, probably because the resin procured

from the plant was used as incense. The plant is tho Cupressus Arbor Vitce of old authors. It is a native of North America, and ranges from Canada to the mountains of Virginia and Carolina. It is a moderate sized tree, and was introduced into Britain in 1596. In its native country it attains a height of about 50 feet. The leaves are small and imbricate, and are borne on flattened branches, which are apt to be mistaken for the leaves. When bruised the leaves give out an aromatic odour. The resin obtained from the plant has been used as a remedy

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