1198 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [part V 
and engaged in trading between Australia, Calcutta, and 
South Africa. The officers of the company’s ships resided in 
Australia and were engaged there, but the ships’ articles were 
filled in and signed in Calcutta. The officers, though not 
entitled to be discharged in Australian ports, were allowed 
to leave at such ports if they wished, with the consent of the 
master. The ships did no inter-state trade, but occasionally 
made short trips from Calcutta to other Indian ports. The 
organization of employees to which the officers belonged 
filed a claim in the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and 
Arbitration for the settlement of a dispute between the 
officers and their employers as to the wages, hours, and 
conditions of labour during the voyages of their ships. The 
matter came before the Commonwealth High Court on a 
special case stated by the President of the Commonwealth 
Court of Conciliation and Arbitration under s. 31 of the Com- 
monwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904. It was 
argued in favour of the Merchant Service Guild that s. 5 
of the Constitution Act must be interpreted in a wide sense, 
so as to go beyond the powers conferred on the Common- 
wealth Parliament by ss. 735 and 736 of the Imperial Merchant 
Shipping Act, 1894. 
It was also argued that the laws of the Commonwealth 
should be regarded as applying to disputes between the 
people of the Commonwealth, not only in Australia, but 
wherever the parties may be. 
The Court rejected the arguments and decided in favour of 
the company. They held that in the case of the ships in 
question, even supposing that the port of departure was an 
Australian port, which was doubtful, it was impossible, as 
a matter of fact, to hold that the port of destination was also 
within the Commonwealth. ‘The only interpretation,’ said 
0’Connor J., ‘ which will give any effective operation to 
the section is to take the port of destination as meaning the 
port of final destination or last port of the voyage. The 
words of s. 5 would then be taken to describe a round 
voyage beginning and ending within the Commonwealth. 
That is the class of voyage to which in my opinion the section