the main object of such a league is common action to prevent breaches of
the international peace by restraining wrong-doers, it should not be the
sole object. In the case of Industrial Councils the object is to promote
the general welfare of all engaged in the trade and to increase
productive efficiency, as well as to secure fair terms between the
parties and prevent disputes. If such a Council has been established for
any industry Government Departments will consult it, and not the Trade
Board, on any questions affecting that industry; but the constitution of
the Council should make provision by which Trade Boards can be
consulted. Roughly speaking, "the functions of the Trade Board will be
called into operation mainly in the case of the less organised trades,
and the highly organised trades will be the sphere of the Industrial
Councils." These, in their most developed form, will be national,
district, and local.

A memorandum which has official sanction states that the chief duty of
the Trade Boards, on the other hand, is to fix minimum rates of wages
which can be imposed by law. They are needed primarily to insure that in
trades where the workers have no official organisation to guard their
interest a living wage shall be secured for all. They are statutory
bodies set up under an Act of Parliament just passed, and will be
connected with the Ministry of Labour, by which their members are
largely nominated. The work of such Boards is being extended.

Detailed discussion of the character of the work which may be expected
to be done by the councils and of its probable effects would be beyond
the scope of this volume, and would require special knowledge of the
industries concerned. It will vary in different industries and in
different places. In some, success may be confidently expected, in
others there will probably be failures. The aim of the proposal is