disputes and their subject matter within the Court's jurisdiction are
to be as wide as the Constitution will allow ; (2) substantial effect
is always to prevail and not rigid formality ; (3) the Court is told by
the Legislature to observe various precautions in its proceedings,
and is trusted to do sc to the best of its ability ; (4) once, however,
the task is completed and an award made, the strife is ended and
both the parties and the community generally, whose interests are
the primary consideration, may rely on finality, subject only to any
alteration by the Arbitration Court itself, if justice requires it. It
is obvious that on any other basis Commonwealth Industrial
Arbitration is a snare and an exasperation to the parties, and, as an
instrument of national peace, both costly and inefiective. But if all
that were even less clear to me than it is, the Full Court decision
would, in my opinion, easily survive criticism. It is a clear, definite,
affirmative determination by the Full Court that the working week
for all the employees of that Union shall until further order be a
certain number of hours according to classification. The decision
came about in this way : - In 1920, 1921 and 1924, by an award
and a number of agreements certified as awards, the working week
for members of the Federated Gas Employees Union employed by
the Gas Companies, was fixed substantially at 48 hours, and for the
most part for six months. The Act (sec. 28 (2) ) prolonged the
arrangement. In July 1927 Judge Beeby made an award in a
dispute between the Gas Companies and the Amalgamated Engineers'
Union, and for all engineering employees of the Companies, whether
members of that Union or not, he awarded a 44-hour week. Whether
that extension to other employees is good or bad is, as I have said,
quite beside the question now, by reason of what followed. In
October 1927 the Full Court of three Judges heard an application te
vary the original 1920, 1921 and 1924 award and agreements as to
hours only, not merely to 44 hours, but in some instances to even
fewer hours per week. The Court considered the whole positicn, and
delivered judgments which exclude misapprehension. They took the
old award and agreements of 1920, 1921 and 1924 in hand, saw that a
flat 48-hour week, so to speak, was prescribed. They considered for
themselves what number of hours would in the then existing cireum-
stances be a fair working week for each and every unionist employee, and