228 THE LAW AFFECTING ENGINEERS 



the umpire by any writing signed by him may from time to 

 time enlarge the time for making his award. If the arbitrator 

 or umpire fail to exercise the power for enlarging the time, 

 further time may be granted by consent of parties. It should 

 be mentioned that an arbitrator has no power to limit the 

 time for making an award unless the submission empowers 

 him to do so. So where arbitrators had agreed to make their 

 award within a certain time, it was held that they had no 

 power to so agree, and that an award made after that time 

 was valid (Re Morphett, 1845, 14 L. J. Q. B. 259). The Court 

 may from time to time enlarge the time for making an award, 

 whether the time has expired or not (Arbitration Act, 1889, 

 s. 9). The ordinary case in which the Court will exercise this 

 power is that in which the arbitrator has no power to enlarge, 

 or where, having a power to enlarge, he has unintentionally 

 allowed the time to pass without exercising it (Parbery v. 

 Newnkam, 1841, 7 M. & W. 378). But if the arbitrator has 

 intentionally let the time slip by the Court will not exercise 

 this discretion (Andrews v. Eaton, 1852, 7 Ex. 221). It is 

 important to notice that the power thus vested in the Court to 

 enlarge the time may be exercised although the submission 

 names a time beyond which no enlargement may be made 

 (Ward v. Secretary of State for War, 1862, 32 L. J. Q. B. 53). 



3lA. Costs of an arbitration. The costs of the reference 

 and award are in the discretion of the arbitrators or umpire, 

 who may direct to and by whom and in what manner those costs 

 or any part thereof shall be paid, and may tax or settle the 

 amount of costs so to be paid or any part thereof, and may 

 award costs to be paid as between solicitor and client 

 (Arbitration Act, 1889, Sched. I (i.)). 



The effect of this clause is to allow arbitrators and umpires 

 to fix (inter alia) the fees which are to be paid to them (In re 

 Prebble, 1892, 2 Q. B. 602). But they can also decide whether 

 the plaintiff or the defendant is to pay the costs of the 

 reference ; or they may hold it equitable to declare that there 

 shall be no costs on either side. All this is subject to there 

 being no special arrangement as to costs in the submission to 

 arbitration. 



A few observations as to the cost of arbitration proceedings 

 may not be out of place at this point. Some people are wont 

 to imagine that arbitration is less costly than a trial in court. 



