The political objects to which these enactments apply are the expenditure of money,

(1) In the payment of any expenses, either directly or indirectly, by a candidate or prospective candidate for election to Parliament or to any public office, before, during, or after the election in connexion with his candidature or election. Public office means the office of any county, county borough, district, or Parish Council, or Board of Guardians, or of any public body who have power to raise money, either directly or indirectly, by means of a rate; or

(2) On the holding of any meeting or the distribution of any literature or documents in support of any such candidate or prospective candidate; or

(3) On the maintenance of any person who is a member of Parliament or who holds a public office; or

(4) In connexion with the registration of electors or the selection of a candidate for Parliament or any public office; or

(5) On the holding of political meetings of any kind or on the distribution of political literature or political documents of any kind, unless the main purpose of the meetings or of the distribution of the literature or documents is the furtherance of statutory objects.

The administrative provisions for seeing that the Act is fairly complied with are as follows:

(i.) By Section 4 the ballot is to be taken in accordance with Rules to be approved by the Registrar of Friendly Societies, but he is not to approve any such Rules unless he is satisfied that every member has an equal right, and, if reasonably possible, a fair opportunity of voting, and that the secrecy of the ballot is properly secured.

(ii.) Under Section 5 a member of the Union may at any time give formal notice that he objects to contribute to the political fund, and a member is entitled, on the adoption of a resolution approving the furtherance of political objects to a notice acquainting him that he has a right to be exempt from contributing to the political fund, and that a form of exemption notice can be obtained from an office of the Union or the office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies. An exemption notice, so long as it is not withdrawn, gives

exemption from contributions to the political fund, either (a) from its date, if given within one month after the notice given to members or the adoption of a resolution approving the furtherance of political objects; or, (b) in other cases, from the first day of January next after the notice is given. Exemption is given effect to (Section 6) either by a separate levy of contributions to the political fund from the members of the Union who are not exempt, or by exemption from some periodical contribution towards expenses in as uniform a manner as possible.

(iii.) Under Section 3, if a member exempt from contributions to the political fund alleges that he is aggrieved by a breach of the Rules enacted by that section for his protection, he may complain to the Registrar of Friendly Societies, who, after giving the complainant and any representative of the Union an opportunity of being heard, may, if he considers that such a breach has been committed, make such Order for remedying the breach as he thinks just under the circumstances. There is to be no appeal from this Order, and on its being recorded in the County Court, it may be as enforced as if it had been an Order of the County Court.

Note. A definition of "trade dispute' will be found in the Addenda at the beginning of the book.

CHAPTER XXI

THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

DISPUTES fall into two classes, first, those which arise from the relationship of a master to his servants individually and have no wider bearing, and secondly, what are known as trade disputes; the latter, though they may arise from the grievances of but one man, yet raise some general principle which is applicable to a trade or a section of a trade.

If a workman thinks he has bargained for 38s. a week, and his master thinks he has bargained to pay 36s., then the dispute concerns them and them only. If, on the other hand, there is a district rate of 38s. a week, and the workman is withdrawn by his Union because the master will not pay him, or any other workman in his place, more than 36s. a week, then there is a trade dispute.

Breaches of Contract, etc.-Disputes arising from the relationship of a master to his servants individually are civil disputes, and either party can have recourse to a Civil Court of Law to obtain damages for breach of contract, or any other civil remedy that may be appropriate. If the damages claimed are not more than £100 the dispute is within the jurisdiction of the County Courts; otherwise the action must be commenced in the High Court of Justice. Except for the Statute, which will be immediately explained, proceedings on contracts of service do not differ from proceedings on other contracts, and as this is not a general text-book of law, it will not be necessary to add anything more in detail on this point.

Employers and Workmen Act, 1875.-The Employers

and Workmen Act, 1875, is an Act passed "to enlarge the powers of County Courts in respect of disputes between employers and workmen, and to give other Courts a limited civil jurisdiction in respect of such disputes." For the purposes of the Act the expression workman does not include a domestic or menial servant, but, save as aforesaid, means any person who, being a labourer, servant in husbandry, journeyman, artificer, handicraftsman, miner, or otherwise engaged in manual labour, whether under the age of 21 years or above that age, has entered into or works under a contract with an employer, whether the contract be express or implied, oral or in writing, and be a contract of service or a contract personally to execute any work or labour. For a detailed consideration of this definition, reference may be made to Chapter I.

Enlargement of the Powers of a County Court.—(1) In any dispute under the Act the Court may set off cross claims between the parties. The workman may be claiming wages, and the master may admit this claim, but may raise a counter claim for negligent damage done by the workman to the master's materials or other property, or in other ways there may be cross demands. The Court may set off the one against the other all such claims on the part either of the employer or the workman arising out of or incidental to the relation between them as the Court may find to be subsisting, whether such claims are for wages, damages, or otherwise.

(2) The Court may, in suitable circumstances, rescind or put an end to the contract on equitable terms.

(3) The Court, instead of awarding damages, may, with the consent of the plaintiff, take security from the defendant for the performance by him of so much of his contract as remains unperformed. The security is to be an undertaking by one or more sureties that the defendant will perform his contract, subject on non-performance to the payment of a sum to be specified in the undertaking. This is of course an attempt to secure the specific performance of a contract of service by the introduction of sureties on the lines which are very usual in apprenticeship deeds.

These provisions are practically a dead letter. This

seems to be due to two causes. First, the much greater popularity of the alternative procedure before magistrates which the Act offers. This procedure is far speedier, and is never much dearer and generally much cheaper than procedure in the County Court.1 The second cause is that contracts of service are determinable more and more by very short notice, so that powers to rescind and powers to enforce performance for unexpired periods of service are in practice rarely if ever wanted.

Jurisdiction given to Magistrates.-As an alternative to proceedings in the County Court, disputes may be heard and determined by a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, made up of a stipendiary magistrate or two or more Justices of the Peace, which for this purpose is to be deemed a Court of Civil Jurisdiction. The Court may order payment of any sum which it may find to be due as wages or damages or otherwise, and may exercise all or any of the special powers conferred by the Act on County Courts, but with this limitation that the amount claimed must not exceed £10, and that no security can be taken from a surety for an amount exceeding £10.

As has already been stated in Chapter IV., the magistrates are also given jurisdiction in disputes between masters and apprentices.

Special Protection of Factory Workers.-In the case of a claim by a child, young person, or woman (who is subject to the provisions of the Factory Acts) for wages or other sum due for work done, where the employers claim to set off a forfeiture on the ground of absence from work or leaving work, no deduction from the amount awarded shall be made on account of such forfeiture except to the amount of the damage (if any) which the employer may have sustained by reason of such absence or leaving work.

Claims for Compensation for Accidents.-If the claim arises at Common Law, it does not differ from any other

1 In a Court of Summary Jurisdiction a fixed fee is charged for a summons, which can generally be heard about five days after its issue. In the County Courts an ad valorem fee on the amount of the claim must be paid, and there is usually an interval of five or six weeks before an action is actually heard.