212 THE LAW AFFECTING ENGINEEES 



was a condition precedent to the right of the contractors 

 to maintain their action. 



11. Arbitration clause strictly construed. An arbitration 

 clause will be strictly construed. It will not extend to matters 

 not included in it. So in Mansfield v. Doolin, 1868, 4 Ir. R. 

 C. L. 17, a building contract contained the usual clause 

 providing that in case of differences between the contractor 

 and his employer, the award in writing of the architect in all 

 matters connected with the works, or their execution, or the 

 meaning of the plans or specifications, should be final and 

 conclusive, so far as the law permitted, and such award should 

 be a condition precedent to any proceeding whatever at law or 

 in equity in respect of any matter or thing which could or 

 might be the subject of such award. It was held that 

 the architect's award was not a condition precedent to an 

 action by the employer against the contractor for not 

 completing the buildings and for leaving them unfinished. 

 Such matters did not come within the reference clause. As to 

 whether the arbitration clause in a contract for works applies 

 to extras or not, see Chap. XII., 11, ante. 



12. Effect of arbitration clause on sub-contractors. Questions 

 arising between contractor and sub-contractor may some- 

 times be determined by the arbitration clause. In Goodwins 

 v. Brand, 1906, 7 F. 995, a contractor for certain work em- 

 ployed a sub-contractor for part of it. The sub-contract 

 provided that the work was to be executed according to " plans 

 and specifications," which included a " general specification " 

 forming part of the original contract. This " general speci- 

 fication " contained an arbitration clause. Questions having 

 arisen between the contractor and the sub-contractor, it was 

 held that the arbitration clause did not apply to disputes which 

 only concerned them and not the building owners ; but that 

 it applied so as to make decisions in an arbitration between 

 such owners and the contractor binding on the sub-contractor. 



13. When the Court -will revoke a submission. A sub- 

 mission to arbitration may, in effect, be revoked by the Court 

 in refusing to stay proceedings commenced by one of the 

 parties to the reference. The exercise of the jurisdiction to 

 stay an action is a matter of discretion with the Court. The 



