1208 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [part Vv 
effect of s. 5 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution 
Act, 1900.1 In that case the wages payable on board a ship 
were defined by an award of the Court of Conciliation and 
Arbitration of the Commonwealth of Australia established 
ander a Commonwealth Act, and if the laws of the Common- 
wealth are by an Imperial Statute to be in force on vessels 
whose first port of clearance and whose port of destination 
are in the Commonwealth, it would appear that under an 
[mperial Act they are in force even in New Zealand waters 
in the case of Huddart, Parker & Company's steamers. 
The question would arise then, whether the power given 
under s. 736 of the Imperial Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, is 
sufficiently extensive to enable the New Zealand Parliament 
to repeal a legislative provision, dealing indirectly with 
merchant shipping, which would otherwise apply to vessels 
which fall under s. 5 of the Commonwealth of Australia 
Constitution Act. 
It seems hard to believe that such a power exists, and the 
New Zealand law can therefore only be reconciled with s. 5 
of the Commonwealth Constitution Act on the reasoning 
adopted by Chapman J., viz. that the right given was quite 
a new one, and had nothing to do with the original right of 
the seaman to his wages. But this could be avoided in 
future by the Commonwealth providing that no addition 
to wages should be made while outside Australia on any 
ground. 
But on whatever grounds the decision can be based it is 
perfectly clear that much confusion will inevitably arise in 
shipping matters unless some agreement can be come to 
between the various parts of the Empire as to uniformity of 
legislation. 
The result of this judgement is that the owners of vessels 
which engage in the coasting trade of New Zealand, although 
they pay rates of wages fixed by the arbitration award in 
Australia, are nevertheless bound to pay extra wages in 
cases in which the coastal rates prevalent in New Zealand 
exceed the rates which are prevalent in the Australian trade ; 
1 63 & 64 Vict. ¢. 12.