or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of persons employed to continue to work for an employer in consequence of a dispute, done as a means of compelling their employer or any person or body of persons employed, or to aid other workmen in compelling their employer or any person or body of persons employed, to accept or not to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment.

20. (1) This Act may be cited as the Munitions of War Act, 1915.

(2) This Act shall have effect only so long as the office of Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of Munitions exist :

Provided that Part I. of this Act shall continue to apply for a period of twelve months after the conclusion of the present war to any difference arising in relation to the performance by the owner of any establishment of his undertaking to carry out the provisions set out in the Second Schedule to this Act notwithstanding that the office of Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of Munitions have ceased to exist.

SCHEDULES.

SCHEDULE I.

I. Any difference, matter or question to be referred for settlement in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule shall be referred to one of the three following arbitration tribunals :

(a) The Committee appointed by the First Lord of the Treasury known as the Committee on Production; or

(b) A single arbitrator to be agreed upon by the parties or in default of agree ment appointed by the Board of Trade; or

(c) A court of arbitration consisting of an equal number of persons representing employers and persons representing workmen, with a chairman appointed by the Board of Trade.

2. The tribunal to which the reference is made shall be determined by agreement between the parties to the difference or in default of such agreement by the Board or Trade. 3. The Arbitration Act, 1889, shall not apply to any reference under the provisions of this Schedule.

I.

SCHEDULE II.

Any departure during the war from the practice ruling in the workshops, shipyards, and other industries prior to the war shall only be for the period of the war. No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed to prejudice the position of the workmen in the owners' employment, or of their trade unions in regard to the resumption and maintenance after the war of any rules or customs existing prior to the

war.

2.

3. In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected after the war priority of employment will be given to workmen in the owners' employment at the beginning of the war who have been serving with the colours or who were in the owners' employment when the establishment became a controlled establishment.

4. Where the custom of a shop is changed during the war by the introduction of semi-skilled men to perform work hitherto performed by a class of workmen of higher skill, the time and piece rates paid shall be the usual rates of the district for that class

of work.

5. The relaxation of existing demarcation restrictions or admission of semi-skilled or female labour shall not affect adversely the rates customarily paid for the job. In cases where men who ordinarily do the work are adversely affected thereby, the necessary readjustments shall be made so that they can maintain their previous earnings.

6. A record of the nature of the departure from the conditions prevailing when the establishment became a controlled establishment shall be kept, and shall be open for inspection by the authorised representative of the Government.

7. Due notice shall be given to the workmen concerned wherever practicable of any changes of working conditions which it is desired to introduce as the result of the establishment becoming a controlled establishment, and opportunity for local consultation with workmen or their representatives shall be given if desired.

8. All differences with workmen engaged on Government work arising out of changes so introduced or with regard to wages or conditions of employment arising out of the war shall be settled in accordance with this Act without stoppage of work.

9. Nothing in this Schedule (except as provided by the fourth paragraph thereof) shall prejudice the position of employers or persons employed after the war.

IV. Italy

1. Decreto Luogotenenziale del 5 giugno 1915 N. 856, col quale viene prorogato al 31 dicembre 1915 il termine per l'inizio dei lavori da eseguirsi dalla provincie e dai Comuni col fondo di 100 millioni di cui al R. Decreto 22 settembre 1914 N. 1028. (Bollettino dell' Ufficio del Lavoro, Nuova Serie, 3. 160.)

Decree of the Lieutenant-General extending until the 31st December, 1915, the term for the initiation of works to be executed by the provinces and communes out of the fund of 100 Million, contemplated in the Royal Decree of 22nd September, 1914 (No. 1028). No. 856. Dated 5th June, 1915.

2. Decreto Luogotenenziale, N. 889, del 13 giugno 1915 per deroga alla legge sul lavoro delle donne e dei fanciulli a favore dei figli dei militari richiamati o trattenuti alle armi. (Bolletino dell' Ufficio del Lavoro, Nuova Serie, 3, 160).

Decree of the Lieutenant-General respecting derogations from the Act relating to the work of women and children, in favour of the sons of soldiers called to, or retained with, the colours. No. 889. Dated 13th June, 1915.

1. The necessity to have acquired a certain standard of instruction in order to be admitted to work, in pursuance of the said Act, relating to the work of women and children, shall be suspended for the duration of the war in the case of the sons of from 12 to 15 years of age of soldiers called to, or retained with, the colours, without prejudice to the prescribed supplementary instruction, according to the rules that may be issued from time to time.

The authority issuing the book admitting a person to work shall insert a note to the effect that the book has been issued in pursuance of the provisions of the present Decree.

2. The present Decree shall come into force from the day of its publication in the Official Gazette.

3. Decreto Luogotenenziale del 17 giugno 1915 N. 887, relativo alle esonerazioni temporanee dal servizio effetivo sotto le armi. (Bollettino dell'Ufficio del Lavoro, Nuova Serie, 3, 160.)

Decree of the Lieutenant-General respecting temporary exemptions from active service with the colours. No. 887. Dated 17th June, 1915.

I. Soldiers recalled from unlimited leave, enrolled in the Territorial Militia, may be temporarily exempted during the war from active service with the colours, if they have given their own services for at least one month in the capacity of director, technical expert, or skilled workman in :

(a) State works or private undertakings entrusted with public services of national importance, or which provide materials or perform work for the State;

(b) Provincial or communal works, or private undertakings entrusted with important public services of local interest, or which provide materials or perform work of considerable importance for the provinces or communes ; (c) Large establishments or enterprises the working of which is in the interests of national economy or public order.

2. The exemptions shall be limited to cases in which the total cessation of the working of the undertaking, establishment or enterprise, or a serious dislocation of its normal working, might result from the absence of the soldiers. The rules and penalties laid down in the Royal Decree of 29th April, 1915 (No. 561), shall apply to the exemptions contemplated in the present

Decree.

3. The treatment contemplated in §1 may be extended to the Cashiers of the Emission Institute (Istituti di emissione) of the Kingdom who have been in charge at least one month, for whom it is recognised that no substitutes can be found, and who are members of the Territorial Militia. 4. The present Decree shall apply from the day of its date.

4.

Decreto Luogotenenziale in data 8 luglio 1915, n. 1079, recante la proroga del termine der l'esecuzione della Convenzione di Berna circa l'interdizione dell'impiego del fosforo bianco nell'industria dei fiammiferi, pubblicato nella "Gazzetta Ufficiale" del 17 luglio 1915. n. 178.

Decree of the Lieutenant-General, dated 8th July, 1915* (No. 1079), postponing the conclusion of the time limit for bringing into force the Berne Convention respecting the prohibition of the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches, published in the Official Gazette of 17th July, 1915 (No. 178). Dated 8th July, 1915.

*The "Bolletino dell' Ufficio del Lavoro" (Nuova Serie III., 187) contains the following statement of the reasons for which this Decree was issued:

Italy joined the International Convention of Berne, respecting the use of white phosphorus in the match industry, on 6th July, 1910. The said prohibition and the other terms of the Convention were to come into force on 6th July of this year, in pursuance of Article 5 of the Convention.

It must be borne in mind, however, that in the prevailing abnormal conditions of industry and international trade, the enforcement of these provisions might result in the immediate closing down of all the small match factories, and also of a large proportion of those of medium size for which the difficulty of radically transforming the plant and technical processes (which would be difficult even in normal times) would be of the utmost seriousness in the present circumstances.

From the reports of the inspectors of industry and labour, it appears that the number of factories working at the time of their inquiries was 93, employing altogether 6,000 workers. The small and medium-sized establishments prevail in South Italy. Altogether, the number of workers who would be unemployed as a result of the closing of the small establishments and part of the medium-sized ones may be estimated at about 1,000.

In addition, even the more important factories which are prepared to face the transformation of their plant are unable actually to do so, in consequence of the difficulty of procuring the raw materials-that is to say, the red or amorphous phosphorus-to substitute for the white phosphorus, since these materials, not being produced in Italy,

BULLETIN

The time limit for issuing the provisions necessary for bringing into operation within the Kingdom the terms of the international convention of Berne, dated 26th September, 1906, concerning the prohibition of the use of white (yellow) phosphorus in the manufacture of matches, is postponed until the sixtieth day after the conclusion of peace.

2. The present Decree shall be presented to Parliament in order to be converted into an Act.

V. Netherlands

Wet van den 8sten Mei 1915, tot vastelling van bepalingen betreffende het waarborgen van uitkeeringen aan schepelingen en hunne nagelaten betrekkingen in verband met ongevallen aan schepelingen overkomen ten gevolge van of in verband met eene gebeurtenis, welke een onmiddellijk gevolg is van den huidigen oorlog. (Oorlogszeenongevallenwet 1915.) (Staatsblad Nr. 214.)

Act to lay down provisions respecting the securing of allowances to seamen and their surviving relatives in connection with accidents to seamen arising out of or in connection with an occurrence which is the direct result of the present war. (War Marine Accidents Act, 1915.) Dated 8th May, 1915.

I. (1) A "sea-going ship" within the meaning of this Act shall be any ship having its home port in the Netherlands not being in the service of the kingdom, and which is intended to be taken out into the open sea from a Dutch harbour.

(2) A ship shall be regarded as having its home port in the Netherlands in the two following cases:

I. If the undertaking for which it navigates is domiciled in the Netherlands;

II. If it was equipped in the Netherlands, and at least one half of its crew consists of persons inhabiting the Netherlands.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, the expression "to take out into the (buitengaats brengen) shall have the same meaning as that attached to it in §r of the Shipping Act.

open sea

(4) For the purposes of this Act the skipper shall be included among the crew.

(5) In this Act, "skipper " shall mean any person in command of a sea-going ship, or his representative.

(6) In this Act "sea-going fishing vessel" shall mean a sea-going ship engaged in fishing in the open sea.

(7) In this Act, "Our Minister" shall mean Our Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce.

have to be entirely imported from abroad, especially from France, whence, however, by a recent order, the exportation is prohibited.

Thus even the large factories, headed by the Amalgamated Match Factory of Milan, have declared that if the Convention is to be brought into force at once, they will be compelled to close. These factories employ altogether about 5,000 workers.

These exceptional conditions due to the present state of war form the justification for the following Decree, by which the issuing of the regulations necessary for applying the terms of Convention in the Kingdom is postponed until two months after the conclusion of peace.

(8) For the purposes of this Act, and as far as the penal provisions are concerned, the word owner shall mean the person who has control over the sea-going ship, whether he is the shipowner or charterer, or the agent of the owners (eigenaar, reeder of boekhouder van de reederij), or the manager of the legal corporation to which the ship belongs, or whether the ship is given over to him to use.

2. (1) Every member of the crew of a sea-going ship that goes out into the open sea from the Netherlands after this Act comes into force shall have the right to an allowance, if he meets with an accident arising out of, or in connection with, an occurrence which is the direct result of the present war, for so long as he is incapacitated for work. This allowance shall amount to :

I. Seventy per cent. of the daily wage of the injured person in the case of total incapacity for work, whether permanent or temporary;

II. Some part of 70 per cent. of his daily wage in proportion to the loss of earning capacity, in the case of partial incapacity for work whether permanent or temporary.

For the purposes of this Act, a seaman shall be held to be wholly or partially incapable of work if he is wholly or partially incapable of work which is suited to his powers before the accident and to his capabilities.

(2) Where the injured person dies as a result of the accident, his wife to whom he was married at the time of the accident, and the legitimate children or illegitimate children, who were legally recognised at the time of the accident, and the parents, or if there are no parents, the grandparents of the deceased, in so far as they were dependent upon him, and the father-in-law, and the motherin-law of the deceased, in so far as they were dependent upon him, shall have a right to the following amounts:

(a) The wife, until her re-marriage, an allowance amounting to 30 per cent. of the daily wages of the deceased;

(b) each child, until he is 16 years of age, an allowance amounting to 15 per cent. of the daily wages of the deceased, or if he has lost or loses both parents, 20 per cent. of the daily wages;

(c) the parents, or if there are no parents, the grand-parents, an allowance equivalent to the amount that the deceased usually contributed to their maintenance, but not more than 30 per cent. of his daily wages, until the death of the last survivor ;

(d) The father-in-law and mother-in-law, an allowance equivalent to the amount that the deceased usually contributed towards their maintenance, but not more than 30 per cent. of his daily wages, until the death of the last survivor; the right of the father-in-law and motherin-law to an allowance shall likewise cease in the cases contemplated under (1) and (2) of §377 of the Civil Code.

The surviving relatives shall not have the right to allowances amounting altogether to more than 60 per cent. of the daily wages of the deceased, provided that the father-in-law and the mother-in-law shall only have a right to an allowance, if the persons named under (a), (b) and (c) have received their full allowances, and that where the wife and children together would have the right to allowances amounting to more than 60 per cent. of the daily wages, the allowance to which each is entitled shall be reduced equally.

(3) Where a wife, contemplated under (a) of the preceding Sub-section, contracts a fresh marriage, she shall receive a sum down equivalent to twice her annual allowance.

(4) The allowance shall be payable in respect of every day, not including Sundays, and the generally recognised Christian holidays.