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 CONCINA

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CONCINA

Act of 1892, during the first ten years of its existence, were disposed of by the method of conciliation. For I he last thirty-five years conciliation has practically eliminated strikes from the manufactured iron and steel trade in the north of England. Recourse wa.s had to conciliation in 506 of the 788 disputes that \\ere adjusted by boards of conciliation and arbitra- tion tliroughout England in the year 1903. In the I'liited States about half the States have boards of innciliation and arbitration, while the chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Commis- sioner of Labour are directed by the federal law of 1 SOS to endeavour to bring about conciliation or arbi- t ration whenever they are appealed to by one of the parties to any dispute which threatens seriously to interfere with interstate commerce. Only five of the Slate boards have accomplished anything worthy of notice, and these five have settled relatively few dis- I'tites — mostly by conciliation. The national board li:i,s recently given promise of a considerable meas- ure of usefulness. Boards of conciliation composed jointly of employers and employees have adjusted a large niunber of important differences in many indus- I ries — for example, in the shoe industry, the building I rades, and the coal mini s of the East and the Middle West. Conciliation has also had considerable success through the mediation of prominent citizens, and of bodies like the Civic Federation.

The importance of conciliation finds recognition in the recommendation of Pope .Leo XIII (Encyclical on the Condition of Laboiu", " Rerum Novarum", 15 May, 1891) that masters and workmen should uixite in joint associations, and select capable committees for the decision of disputes. This method is highly consonant with Christian peace and Christian charity. Its chief advantages over arbitration are that it brings the two parties together in friendly and informal discussion, teaches each to appreciate the position and rights of the other, and results in a decision that is more will- ingly accepted and more faithfully observed. There are, however, two important situations in which con- ciliation can have but slight success: first, where com- pulsory arbitration is in vogue; second, where the employees have not sufficient economic strength to inflict considerable damage upon their employer through the alternative of a strike. The experience of Western .\ustralia and New Zealand seems to prove the first contention (cf. Clark, The Labour Move- ment in Australasia, p. 161), while the second seems established by the fact that conciliation was practi- cally unknown before the era of labour unions, and that it has still very little application in unorganized trades. On the other hand, the first step towards con- ciliation, namely, discussion of differences on an equal plane, becomes quite feasible as soon as each side realizes the strength of the other. When they treat each other as equals and as reasonable men, they easily reach an agreement. Conciliation then becomes much more frequent than voluntary arbitration; in- deed, it renders the latter method almost superfluous. The labour unions are committed to it, and seem to prefer it to arbitration. John Mitchell sees in the trade agreement, which is essentially the method of conciliation, the greatest hope for industrial peace in America (Organized Labour, p. 35-1), and Pro- fessor T. S. Adams thinks that America will follow the same line of development as England, where conciliation has already produced conditions of in- dustrial peace which are almost entirely satisfactory (Labour Problems, pp. 312, 314, 319). Not the least of the influences making for the extension of conciliation in the L'nited States is public sentiment, which threatens to establish the alternative of com- pulsory arbitration.

Hatch, BulMin of the V. S. Bureau of Labor, No. 60: Adams AND Sdmner. Labor Problenui (New York. 1905), viii: Bolex. Getting a Lirinfj (New York. IOCS'). xx\-ii: Mitchell, Orpanircd Labor (Pliiladclphia. 1903), xx-xi.x; Webb, Industrial Democ-

racy (London, New York, and Bombay, 1897), pt. I, iii; Final Report of U. S. Industrial Commission, pp. 833-847: Oilman, Methods of Industrial Peace (New York. 1904): Antoine, Cours d'economie sociale (Paris, 1899), 467-470: Turman, Activites sociales (Paris, 1907).

John A. Ryan.

Concina, Danibllo, Dominican preacher, contro- versialist and theologian; b. at Clauzetto or San Daniele, smtxll places in the Italian province of Friuli, 2 October, 1687; d. at Venice, 21 February, 1756. On the completion of his early studies at the Jesuit college at Gbrz, Austria, he entered the Dominican Order, making his religious profession in March, 1708, in the convent of Sts. Martin and Rose. After studying philosophy three years, he was sent to study theology in the convent of the Holy Rosary at Venice, where he spent eight years under the direction of the fathers of his order, Andruisso and Zanchio. In 1717 he was appointed to the chair of philosophy, and later to that of theology, in the convent of Forli. About this time he began to attract attention as a preacher. He con- fined himself at first to the smaller places, but Ins success soon brought him to the pulpits of the chief cities of Italy; and he preached the Lenten sermons seven times in the principal churches of Rome.

Concina's literary activity was confined chiefly to moral topics. His career as a theologian and contro- versialist began with the publication of his first book, "Commentariushistorico-apologeticus", etc. (Venice, 1736, 1745), in which be refuted the opinion, then re- cently adopted by the Bollandists, that St. Dominic had borrowed his ideas and form of religious poverty from St. Francis. While engaged in the sharp con- troversy aroused by this work, he entered into another concerning the Lenten fast, which was not closed until Benedict XIV issued (.30 May, 1741) the Encyclical "Non ambigimus" which was favourable to Con- cina's contention. Shortly afterwards he published his "Storia del probabilismo e rigorismo" (Venice, 1743), a work composed of theological, moral, and critical dissertations. Being directed against the Jesuits, it naturally gave rise to a large controversial literature. The work was highly praised by some, notably by Benedict XIV, but among others it met with a very unfavourable reception. The Fathers of the Society of Jesus, the recognized champions of probable opinions in matters of conscience, were not slow in defending their position. The controversy reached a climax when Concina published under the auspices of Benedict XIV, his "Theologia Christiana dogmatico-raoralis" (12 vols, in 4to, Rome and Venice, 1749-51). The Jesuits appealed to the pope to have it condemned on the ground that it contained errors and was very injurious to the Society. A com- mission of theologians was then appointed to examine the work, with the result that Concina was requested to prefix to the subsequent edition a declaration dic- tated by the pope. This declaration, which was prac- tically a summary of the petition of condemnation made by his opponents, appeared in the edition of 1752, l)ut that work itself showed no changes of im- portance, except the ad<lition of one chapter to the preface in which the author protested that he had always entertained the sincerest reganl for the Society of Jesus, that as private theologian he refuted opin- ions which he considered lax, regardless of authorship, and that if he luid erred in any way or done any WTong, he w;is ready to make a full retractation (cf. Theol. Christ., ch. xiii, in prref. t. 1, p. cxxiv).

In his "Theologia Christiana" Concina found occa- sion to pay to the Society as a whole a glowing tribute. Many of its writers are spoken of by him in terras of high esteem. In Italy he promoted the publication of a moral theology' by the French Jesuit Gabriel An- toine. which Benedict XIV ordered to be taught in the College of the Propaganda. The truth is, he was an ardent probabiliorist, and from his point of view