Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 32.djvu/227

A NEW PROVINCE FOR LAW AND ORDER 191 told me that he had found it best to put the leaders into a good humour by getting them to dine together with him and to have a friendly chat. A veteran leader of the shearers has written a book in which, with much naivete, he recommends in the first place that leaders of workers in conferences with employers should first adduce the solid arguments, and then in the last resort make a powerful appeal on behalf of the women and children — "give them' the women and children hot." Neither of these courses is permissible for the Court which has to deal, not with single isolated disputes, but with a series of disputes. The awards • must be consistent one with the other, or else comparisons breed unnecessary restlessness, discontent, industrial trouble. The advantages of system and consistency in the awards are increas- ingly apparent, as parties, knowing the lines on which the Court acts and understanding its practice, often now make agreements in settlement of a dispute in whole or in part without evidence or argument.^ The agreement if certified by the President and filed in the Court is deemed to be an award.^ In the previous article I have set forth a goodly number of propositions laid down by the Court, and on looking through them I cannot find that any of them have been overruled or set aside. They have been amplified and applied to varying circimi- stances, and new propositions have been added. The claims for the assistance of the Court have been so numerous that my col- leagues of the High Court have come to my assistance, and in particular Mr. Justice Powers, acting as Deputy President. Al- though Mr. Justice Powers has had an absolutely free hand in dealing with the disputes which he undertakes, I do not think that in any essential or substantial point he has seen fit to reject any of the propositions; but as I must take the sole responsibility for any statements made in this article I confine myself to a review of the position as it stands under my awards. Minimum Wage The Court adheres to its practice of dividing the minimum wage awarded into two parts — the "basic wage" — the minimum ^ c/- Engine-drivers, 8 Com. Arb. 206 (1914); Tramway employees, 9 Com. Arb. 208 (1915); Marine stewards, 10 Com. Arb. 539 (1916). » § 24.