§ The following provisions shall apply for settling any matter which under this Act is to be settled by arbitration:—
- (1.) If any committee, representative of an employer and his workmen exists with power to settle matters under this Act in the case
1660 of the employer and workmen, the matter shall, unless either party objects, by notice in waiting sent to the other party before the committee meet to consider the matter, be settled by the arbitration of such committee, or be referred by them in their discretion to an arbitrator. - (2.) If either party so objects, or there is no such committee, the matter shall be settled by a single arbitrator or conciliation board agreed on by the parties, or in the absence of agreement, by the County Court Judge, or if in England the Lord Chancellor certifies that under the circumstances of the particular district it is not convenient that the County Court Judge should be called upon to act as arbitrator, by a single arbitrator appointed by such County Court Judge.
- (3.) In cases in which the County Court Judge or an arbitrator appointed by him is the arbitrator, the workman or his representative may deliver to the Registrar of the County Court of the district in which he resides a statement of the nature of his claim, with his name and address and that of the employer, and it shall be the duty of the Registrar to give notice of the said claim to the employer, and to make the necessary arrangements for the arbitration, and give notice thereof to both parties, and all such claims may be amended by the arbitrator on such terms as to adjournment or otherwise as he thinks just, in order that the questions in dispute may be disposed of.
- (4.) Any arbitrator other than the County Court Judge shall be paid out of moneys to be provided by Parliament in accordance with regulations to be made by the Treasury.
- (5.) The Arbitration Act 1889 shall not apply to any arbitration under this Act; but an arbitrator may, if he thinks fit, submit any question of law for the decision of the County Court Judge, and the decision of the Judge on any question of law, either on such submission, or in any case where he himself acts as arbitrator under this Act, shall, subject to a right of appeal in every such case by any party to Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, be final and the County Court Judge, or the arbitrator appointed by him, shall, when sitting as arbitrator, have the same powers of procuring the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents as if the claim for compensation had been made by plaint in the County Court.
- (6.) In any proceedings under this Act no party or other person shall appear or be attended by counsel or solicitor except by the leave of the court or arbitrator, or on any appeal to the Court of Appeal.
- (7.) The cost of the arbitration shall be in the discretion of the arbitrator.
- (8.) Where the amount of compensation under this Act shall have been ascertained, or any weekly payments varied, or any other matter decided, under this Act, either by a committee or by an arbitrator or by agreement, a memorandum thereof shall be sent by the said committee or arbitrator, or by any party interested, to the Registrar of the County Court for the district in which any person entitled to such compensation resides, who shall, on being satisfied as to its genuineness,
1661 record such memorandum in a special register without charge, and thereupon the said memorandum shall for all purposes be enforceable as a County Court judgment. Provided that the County Court Judge may at any time rectify such register. - (9.) The duty of a County Court Judge under this Act shall, subject to rules of court, be part of the duties of the County Court, and the officers of the court shall act accordingly.
- (10.) Any sum awarded as compensation shall be paid on the receipt of the person entitled, and his solicitor or agent shall not he entitled to recover from him, or to china a lien on the amount recovered for, any costs except such as have been awarded by the arbitrator.
- (11.) The Secretary of State, at the request of any committee, judge, or other arbitrator, shall appoint a legally qualified medical practitioner to report on any matter which seems material to any question arising in the arbitration; and the expense of any such medical practitioner shall, subject to Treasury regulations, be paid out of moneys to be provided by Parliament.
- (12.) In the application of this schedule to Scotland "sheriff" shall be substituted for "County Court Judge," "Sheriff Court" for "County Court," and "act of sederunt" for "rules of court." Any award or ageement as to compensation under this Act may be recorded in the books of council and session or sheriff court books, and shall be enforceable in like manner as a recorded decree arbitral. Any application to the Sheriff as arbitrator shall be heard, tried, and determined summarily in the manner provided by the fifty-second section of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1876, subject to the declaration that it shall be competent to either party to require the Sheriff to state a case on any question of law determined by him, and his decision thereon in such case may be submitted to either division of the Court of Session, who, if they consider that the point involved is of general importance, may hear and determine the Same finally, and remit to the Sheriff with instructions as to the judgment to be pronounced.
- (13.) In the application of this schedule to Ireland the expression "County Omit Judge" shall include the Recorder of any city or town.
§ MR. LAWSON WALTON (Leeds, S.)said he proposed to call attention to the legal dangers which awaited the unwary practitioners in the various processes prescribed by the second schedule. In the first place the heading "arbitration" was not merely superfluous but dangerous, and he moved to omit. Lawyers would recognise that some of the processes set forth in the schedule were not correctly described as "arbitration," some being more than arbitration and some being less. The danger was that in cases of disputes settled in an informal manner by a trade committee—no witnesses being examined and no 1662 oaths being administered—it might be argued before the Courts that as the settlement did not comply with the ordinary forms of arbitration, it was invalid, and should therefore be set aside. He therefore proposed that the heading "arbitration" should be struck out.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid the word "arbitration" was not operative, but was merely descriptive, and if it should turn out not to properly describe the schedule, it could be changed in another place.
§ Amendment by leave withdrawn.
§
MR. WALTON moved to omit the words "by arbitration" front the opening sentence of the schedule:—
The following provisions shall apply for settling any matter which, under this Act, is to be settled by arbitration.
on the ground that as some of the processes prescribed by the schedule were not accurately described as arbitration, the use of the word "arbitration" was dangerous to the stability of the settlement.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid the Government did not wish to strike out the words. It was, possible that simple procedure might be adopted, but it was necessary that the decision come to should be binding on the workman. If the workman decided to be dealt with by a member of the Committee, and did not demand more formal arbitration, the decision of the member of the Committee would be binding.
MR. GRANT LAWSON (York, N.R., Thirsk), on a point of order, said the Amendment was contrary to what had already been decided by the House that "the matter shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Schedule of the Act."
§ *MR. SPEAKERruled the Amendment out of order.
§ Amendments made: Sub-section (1) after "employer," insert "or employers," after "and Ids," insert "or theirs."—(Colonel Denny.)
1663§ *SIR C. DILKE moved, in Sub-section (1), after the word "party," to insert the words "within a fortnight from the occurrence of the accident, or at any later time."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he did not object at all to the spirit of the Amendment, but he suggested that it should read "Unless either party within a fortnight of the occurrence of the accident objects." "And later time" would complicate matters. The Amendment would be more appropriate in a subsequent line of the sub-section.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ *SIR C. DILKE moved to insert, after the word "party," the words "within a fortnight of the occurrence of the accident."
§ MR. MCKENNAsaid that the workman would be allowed a fortnight after the accident in which to object to the Committee.
MR. GRANT LAWSONpointed out that the Bill did not refer to accidents which did not injure a man for more than a fortnight.
§ MR. CRIPPSsuggested the words "within a fortnight or any later time."
§ *SIR C. DILKEsaid that was practically the Amendment on the Paper. He would ask leave to withdraw this Amendment in order to move the words on the Paper.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ *SIR C. DILKE moved, after the word "party," to insert the words "within a fortnight from the occurrence of the accident, or at any later time."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he had every desire to meet the right hon. Baronet, but he thought that the words "within a fortnight" were misleading. He thought the best way would be to require notice in writing to be sent to the other party with or on receipt of the claim.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
1664
§
*SIR C. DILKE moved, in Sub-section (2), after the word "Committee," to insert the words—
or the committee fail to settle the matter within three months from the occurrence of the accident, or, in case of death, from the time of death.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsuggested the substitution of the words "within three months of the date of the claim," for "within three months of the occurrence of the accident."
MR. PARKER SMITHthought this was a very summary way of taking things out of the hands of the Committee.
§ Amendment made: In Sub-section (2), to leave out "or Conciliation Board."
§
Leave out—
or if in England the Lord Chancellor certifies that, under the circumstances of the particular district, it is not convenient that the County Court Judge should be called upon to act as arbitrator, by a single arbitrator appointed by such County Court Judge,
and insert—
of the district in which the accident occurred according to the procedure prescribed by rules of court.
§ In Sub-section (3) leave out "his representative," and insert "some person on his behalf."—(Attorney General.)
§
MR. WALTON moved, at the end of Sub-section (3), to insert—
In any claim under this Act in which the claimant charges that the employer or the person for whom he is responsible has been guilty of personal negligence or of some wilful act causing the injury of which he complains, the County Court Judge may, in his discretion, and shall in all cases, at the request of either party, appoint two assessors to sit with him or with the arbitrator whom he may appoint to determine such claim, or he may, if he thinks proper, in accordance with rules of court to be framed for the purpose, transfer the said claim to be tried by a Judge and special jury of the High Court.
The object of the Amendment, he explained, was first of all to give to persons who were charged with offences under the common law as it now stood, by the procedure of this Act, the same rights which they at present possessed,
1665
and also to provide for greater flexibility and greater efficiency on the part of the tribunal which this legislation constituted. As the Bill stood the workman had his option in the case in which he charged personal negligence. He might proceed by action at common law or by claim under this Act. If he proceeded by action at common law the employer who was charged with personal negligence, or the manager of his undertaking who had a similar charge against him, had access to trial by jury or by a Judge of the High Court, or a trial before all the supreme tribunals of the country. But if the workman chose to proceed by means of a claim under this Act, although he was charging common law liability, he might force the defendant to trial before a County Court Judge or his nominee. The County Court might know nothing of the subject matter. The investigation might involve intricate inquiry into the system of management of the work, and this gentleman be called upon without any professional assistance to determine a question of very great nicety. To meet that emergency he proposed that it should be the duty of the County Court Judge, at the expense of either party, to appoint assessors, who should have the requisite technical knowledge, to assist him in that investigation. He submitted that no tribunal would be efficient where it consisted of a single individual unacquainted with the subject-matter which the investigation raised. There was another class of cases in which a wilful charge of misconduct or negligence was made against an employer of labour or his principal official, which might be cases of the utmost gravity. It was possible that in such an inquiry the whole professional career of the defendant might be at stake, and tire County Court Judge might properly shrink from undertaking an investigation with such responsibility without the assistance of a jury. He proposed in such a case that the County Court Judge might, if he thought it proper and entirely at his discretion, make arrangements to give the defendant an opportunity of appealing to the opinion of his fellows in accordance with the well recognised institutions of the country. In both these cases some provision should be made to relieve the defendant from
1666
the difficulty in which he was placed under the existing law, either in accordance with the terms of this Amendment or some similar machinery. He begged to move the Amendment.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALwas sorry to find himself opposed to his hon. and learned Friend, but the only effect of the Amendment would be to enormously and unnecessarily increase the expenses of these cases. If a workman desired to charge the master, it was quite true he could take two proceedings, but if he took proceedings under the Act, he must, of course, abandon the case of personal negligence and wilful misconduct. Therefore it was only in cases in which he wished to allege personal negligence or wilful misconduct that he would take proceedings at law. These proceedings at the present time could be brought either in the County Court or in the High Court subject to the ordinary rules. Why in this Bill, which was to provide for compensation, leaving the remedy at common law where it was, they should go out of their way to make the procedure more complicated and expensive, he could not understand. He could not assent to an Amendment which would have a direct invitation to increased expenses, and render more complicated the procedure in those cases which workmen had to bring against their masters.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§
Amendments made: In Sub-section (4) leave out "other Man," and insert "appointed by." In Sub-section (5) leave out the words,—
subject to a right of appeal in every such case by any party to Her Majesty's Court of Appeal,
and insert,—
unless within the time and in accordance with the conditions prescribed by rules of court either party appeals to the Court of Appeal."—(The Attorney General.)
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved to leave out Sub-section (6.) He said be had had a great many representations made on behalf of workmen and by County Court Judges of great experience against the insertion of this sub-section, and he was able to supplement what they said by his own personal experience. 1667 If a man were not allowed to go to a solicitor, but was driven to consult somebody else, then he would probably fall into the hands of the worst and most grasping set of men whom lie knew in connection with such matters. In his younger, or rather in his earlier days, he had a good deal of experience of such men; clerks who had been struck off the rolls, men who had been dismissed by their employers, and he could say there were no worse cases of robbery of the working classes than had arisen out of the after of such men to get up cases either on commission or for a lump sum, the Court having no control over such men, and no means of checking their costs. More than one County Court Judge had pointed out the better way would be to allow solicitors to appear but to control them in matters of costs by rules of court or other means to see that only moderate costs were charged. If this paragraph were allowed to stand, in the event of any great accident occurring, he feared that the workmen would get into the hands of the lowest class of so-called legal advisers that existed.
§ *SIR C. DILKEsaid the present proposal was practically the omission of the paragraph, which was put in after a Debate raised by the hon. Member for Northampton, who proposed very much the same as the words now included. The actual words were put in on the Motion of the Secretary for the Colonies with the general assent of the whole of the Committee. He thought that nothing that the Attorney General had said interfered at all with the judgment the Committee had very wisely exercised. He did not believe that the working classes would fall into the hands of such people as had been described except in rare and exceptional cases, and they would gain by the exclusion of the legal profession in proceedings before the arbitrator; it would he a very great gain indeed. The Amendment moved in Committee followed the lines of the procedure in the Registration Courts, and the exclusion of learned counsel from the Registration Courts worked very well indeed.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid there might be exceptional cases and what was wanted was proper advice from a solicitor.
§ *SIR C. DILKEasked were the Government willing to confine their proposal to taking out counsel?
§ *SIR C. DILKEsaid that the Government wished to go back entirely on the settlement which excluded both solicitors and counsel. The workman should be represented either personally or by his Trades Union secretary, just the representation the working classes had upon inquests out of the evidence at which proceedings in certain cases were decided at the present time. At an inquest a man represented himself, or in the case where he was a member of an organised trade he was admirably represented by the Trades Union secretary, while, on the other hand, the master in large trades was represented by the manager, or mining agent, or sonic person in a similar position. He believed it was the original intention of the Government that these proceedings should not be litigation, but really arbitration on the merits of the case, and he was sure that the working classes would gain more by the original Amendment than they would by the proposal supposed to be made in their interest by the hon. and learned Gentleman.
§ MR. HENRY BROADHURSTsaid it was the Secretary of State for the Colonies who added this paragraph, of winch the Committee very generally approved. The House should save the Attorney General from the extreme pressure to which he might have been subjected by the legal trades union in the interests of lucrative employment.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALNothing of the kind.
§ MR. BROADHURSTsaid it could easily be understood that they could bring pressure—he did not say they had.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALI think it is only right that I should say that no communication has been made to me on behalf of the Bar, and I think my word ought to fie taken when I say that County Court Judges who know the working of cases under the Employers' Liability Act have pointed out this to me. ["Hear, hear!]
§ MR. BROADHURSTassured the Attorney General that he was always ready to accept his word. He only said that one could easily understand that great pressure might have been brought to bear in connection with tins paragraph. 1669 This was a considerable concession to the laity in Committee, and it was distinctly understood that if a man wished for a legal representative in his case he could obtain this assistance by leave of the arbitrator. There were thousands of cases in which the representative of a trade union could serve his client as well as the legal profession; and, therefore, he hoped that the Colonial Secretary would stand by the clause.
§ MR. ABEL THOMAS (Carmarthen, E.)hoped that the Government would stand by the Amendment. He had a large experience in county courts, and he had seen many cases where the Judge had been helped by the advice given to him by solicitors and counsel. When a Trade Union secretary conducted a case in Court, he very often could not render this assistance, and again and again he had found that Trade Union secretaries were most anxious to employ either solicitor or counsel. In hundreds of cases which would come before the arbitrator or the County Court Judge, the question would simply be the measure of damages, and he was certain that neither employers or workmen would be foolish enough to employ barristers or solicitors for cases of that kind. They would employ solicitors and counsel when there was some real or fancied difficulty in the law. He hoped, therefore, that the Government would adhere to the Amendment.
§ MR. PHILIP STANHOPE (Burnley), on the other hand, hoped that the House would take a different view, and that it would discourage the intervention of the legal profession in these affairs and would leave them to be settled by the intervention of the Trade Union secretary. There was in the House of Commons an enormous legal element, an clement so large as to make it in some respects an unpopular Assembly. [Cries of "Oh, oh !" and ironical cheers.] It was one of the misfortunes of the House of Commons that it was held up to popular criticism as being largely composed of lawyers who entered it in order to advance their own professional prospects. [Cries of "Oh, oh!"] One thing the House ought to avoid, therefore, was the imputation that it yielded to the clamour of an interested class. He hoped that the Colonial Secretary would take a wider 1670 view of this question, and would stand firm by the position he assumed in Committee.
MR. CHAMBERLAINsaid he had not heard those charges against the House of Commons which the hon. Member appeared to have met with in his peregrinations throughout the country. [Laughter.] If, however, such a charge had been brought to his notice, he should say that whatever might be the case as to the House of Commons, in the other democratic Assemblies, such as the Legislatures of the United States, and our self-governing colonies, the number of lawyers was very much greater in proportion than it was here. Coming to the point before the House, he was not ashamed to say that he had changed his mind. He had not changed his mind as to the object, but as to the method. The object was to reduce costs, and he was one of those who, perhaps rather hastily, thought that might be accomplished by excluding the legal profession. He had, however come to the conclusion that his hon. and learned Friend the Attorney General was right, and that that might involve very great hardship on the working classes in many cases, and would prevent them from having the best possible assistance and throw them into the hands of the very people against whom it was most desirable to protect them. But in order to secure what, after all, was the object they had in view, he thought precautions had been taken which would be sufficient. He would point out in the first place that, in the schedule as it stood, it was impossible for any solicitor or agent to recover any costs from the person entitled to compensation except such as had been awarded by the arbitrator. But his right hon. Friend the Home Secretary had another Amendment down on the Paper, under which it was proposed that the costs, whether before an arbitrator or in the County Court, should not exceed the limit prescribed by the rules of the Court, and the intention was to take care that that limit was an extremely moderate one. Under these circumstances and having regard also to the fact that appeals are not likely to be very numerous, he thought they might rest assured that the object the House had in view would be sufficiently secured.
§ *MR. MCKENNA, on a point of order, asked, if this Amendment were carried, 1671 whether he should be in order in moving the Amendment standing in his name?
§ *MR. SPEAKERThe whole of the words will go.
§ *MR. MCKENNAShall I be able to move it as a separate Amendment?
§ *MR. SPEAKERI think the hon. Member will, but not in the precise words standing on the Paper.
MR. CARVELL WILLIAMS (Notts, Mansfield)said that when the Colonial Secretary stated that the workman might be deprived of the assistance of counsel or solicitor when he perhaps most sorely needed it, he had forgotten that in the latter portion of this paragraph such assistance could be had with the leave of the Court or arbitrator. He thought it might be assumed that if such assistance were of great importance to the workman the Court or arbitrator would be quite willing to grant it.
§ MR. J. WILSON (Falkirk Burghs), speaking as an employer, expressed great disappointment at the speech of the Colonial Secretary. He had always understood that the whole inducement for employers making such sacrifices as were entailed by this Bill was that there would be no more legal expenses. The right hon. Gentleman said that the old Employers' Liability Bill was a Lawyers' Employment Bill, and that he would take good care that this Bill would not be of that character. Personally, he thought this would be more of a Lawyers' Employment Bill than the old one.
§ MR. PICKARDasked whether, if this clause were taken out, it would compel a working man in every case to have a solicitor or counsel?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALCertainly not.
§ MR. PICKARDWould it, if it were not in the Bill, debar any workman from being represented by anyone he likes?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALI am quite willing that a workman should be represented by anyone he likes.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
*MR. MCKENNA moved, in Sub-section (6), to insert the words—
in any proceedings under this Act any party may appear by any person on his behalf.
1672
The reason he desired to move this Amendment was this. Under the present County Court rules no person might appear except by counsel or solicitor, except by leave of the Court, and as the leave of the Court in the last paragraph had not been considered satisfactory in the case of solicitor or counsel, he submitted it was equally not satisfactory in the case of an injured workman wishing to be represented by a miners' agent or Trades Union secretary. He desired that there should be the same unrestricted right for the workman to employ his own agent as there was now to employ a solicitor or counsel.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsuggested that the words of the hon. Gentleman's Amendment should be preceded by the words, "In any arbitration under this Act."
§ *MR. MCKENNAI accept that.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he had no objection at all to accept the Amendment. He thought it would probably be better to put in the words "duly appointed." There ought to be some safeguard against having people jumping up and saying they were entitled to appear. The Amendment would then read:—
In any arbitration under this Act any party may appear by any person duly appointed on his behalf.
§ *MR. MCKENNAI am quite ready to accept those words.
§ Amendment, as amended, agreed to.
§
Amendment made: At the end of Sub-section (7) insert:—
The costs, whether before an arbitrator or in the County Court, shall not exceed the limit prescribed by rules of court.
§
MR. WALTON moved after the words last added to insert:—
Rules shall be framed for the regulation of proceedings under this Act by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice of England, assisted by a committee of three County Court Judges to be appointed by them, subject to the sanction and approval of such rules by the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
He said that as far as he could gather from the Amendment on the Paper, he
1673
did not see anything as to the constitution of the Committee, or defining the scope within which the rules were to be framed. Unless the Attorney General indicated some mode in which the Committee was to be appointed and what would be the scope of its action, he begged to move the Amendment which stood in his name.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALhoped the hon. Member would not press his Amendment. As a matter of fact the rules would he either the rules of the High Court or those of the County Court, and there were constituted authorities for making such rules.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§
Amendment made: At end of Subsection (9) insert:—
No fee shall be payable by any party in respect of any proceeding under this Act in the County Court prior to the award.
§ In Sub-section (10) leave out "amount recovered," and insert "said sum awarded."
§ Leave out "by the arbitrator," and insert "in the arbitration."
§
In Sub-section (11) leave out the words,
at the request of any committee, judge, or other arbitrator, shall appoint a legally qualified medical practitioner,
and insert,
may appoint legally qualified medical practitioners for the purposes of this Act, and any committee, arbitrator, or judge may, subject to regulations made by the Secretary of State and the Treasury, appoint any such."—(Sir Matthew While Ridley.)
§ MR. SYDNEY GEDGE (Walsall) moved in Sub-section (11) to insert the words "no awards given under this Act shall be liable to stamp duty."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid there was no necessity for the Amendment, the award would not require a stamp.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
1674
§
MR. FENWICK (on behalf of Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON, Dundee) moved at the end of Sub-section (11) to insert:—
(12) The arbitrator shall state briefly in writing the probable cause of the accident, the nature of the employment in which it took place, and the defects, if any, in the premises, machinery, plant, precautions, or arrangements which, in his opinion, contributed to the accident, and a copy of such statement shall be sent by the arbitrator to the Home Secretary, and a summary of such statement shall be annually published.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid that when this Amendment was discussed in Committee it was pointed out that this duty would be quite foreign to the function of the arbitrator. If the Amendment were accepted, the arbitrator would have to conduct large investigations into matters he need not otherwise inquire into.
§ MR. TOMLINSONsaid that there was the additional drawback to the adoption of the Amendment that it would necessarily increase the cost of all these proceedings.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Amendments made: In Sub-section (12), after "this" ["this schedule"] insert ''Act and this."—(Mr. McKillop.)
§ After ''County Court," insert "'action for 'plaint,' 'sheriff court' for 'registrar of the County Court.'"—(Mr. Ure.)
§ Leave out "recorded," and insert "competently recorded for execution."—(Mr. J. Wilson, Falkirk Burghs.)
§
After "1876," insert,—
save only that parties may be represented by any person authorised in writing to appear for them, and."—(The Lord Advocate.)
§
After "party," insert the words,—
within the time and in accordance with the conditions prescribed by Act of Parliament."—(The Lord Advocate.)
§ MR. J. WILSON (Falkirk Burghs)said that his Amendment to insert after "party" "on special cause shown," was one of very considerable importance, and he did not mean to slur it over because they were fast approaching Twelve 1675 o'clock. [Laughter and cheers.] This part of the schedule was slipped into the Bill by the Lord Advocate upon the last day of the Committee stage, when most of the employers had left Westminster, not expecting that any Amendment of importance would be accepted. [Interruption.] He did not intend to sit down, and the longer he was interrupted the longer he would stand in his place. [Laughter and cries of "Hear, hear!"] His Amendment simply meant that on special cause being shown, the sheriff might state a case on any question of law determined by him, and his decision in such ease might be submitted to either division of the Court of Session. The greatest evil that employers in Scotland had had to submit to was that cases under the Employers' Liability Act of 1880 had been taken direct to the Court of Session. That involved a very large sum of money, and the object was that employers might compromise frivolous cases rather than defend them.
§ And, it being midnight, further proceeding on consideration, as amended, stood adjourned.
§ Bill, as amended, to be further considered To-morrow.