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5. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 4 of this Ordinance, a claim to exemption under section 3A of the Widows' and Orphans' Pension Ordinance, 1908, as enacted by this Ordinance, by any officer who at the commencement of this Ordi- nance is liable to contribute under the Widows" and Orphans' Pension Ordinance, 1908, may be made within three months after the commencement of this Ordinance, or, if such officer is on leave at the com- mencement of this Ordinance, within three months after his return from leave.
Objects and Reasons.
1908.
1. Section 2 of this Ordinance will correct an Temporary obvious mistake in section 3 (1) (c) of the Widows' provisions. and Orphans' Pension Ordinance, 1908, Ordinance No. 15 of 1908. The Widows' and Orphans' Pension Ordinance Scheme applies, generally speaking only to permanent No. 15 of officers, but in 1921 it was extended to persons appointed on an agreement for periods exceeding two years. Section 3 (1) (e) of the principal Ordinance in its present obviously incorrect form would make the Scheme apply to officers on agreement for periods not exceeding two years, while excluding officers on agreement for periods exceeding two years. This mistake must have occurred in the printing of the pre- sent revised edition, because the section appears correctly in the Law Revision Ordinance, 1924, Ordi- nance No. 5 of 1924, s. 36.
2. Section 3 makes this amendment retrospective, so as to date back to the time when the present revised edition of the Ordinances became the statute book for all purposes, because everyone has all along acted as if the word "not" did not occur in the paragraph in question. The proclamation referred to is the procla- mation which brought the new revised edition into effect.
3. Section 4 inserts in the principal Ordinance a section dealing with the case of persons transferred to Hong Kong who are already contributing to a widows' and orphans' pension scheme in some other Colony. The new section provides that such an officer need not contribute to the Hong Kong scheme. It gives him three months to claim exemption, the three months dating from the time when he commences to draw salary from this Government. The section applies only where the scheme to which the officer is already contributing is approved by the Secretary of State. The new section also provides that if an officer obtains exemption, any contributions previously made by him under the principal Ordinance shall be returned to him without interest. Some contributions might have been deducted while the officer's claim was being dealt with. The reference in sub-section 6 of the new section is to the obtaining of exemption because a claim would fail if the scheme in the other Colony were not approved by the Secretary of State. The new section is made to apply in the case of schemes in colonies, protectorates, mandated territories, and British India.
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4. Section 5 of this Ordinance is a temporary pro- vision dealing with the case of officers who at present are liable to contribute under the principal Ordinance, but who will be entitled to claim exemption when this Ordinance becomes law. Such officers are given three months after the commencement of the Ordinance in which to claim exemption. Any such officers on leave at the commencement of this Ordinance will have three months after return from leave to claim exemption.
5th June, 1929.
J. II. KEMP,
Attorney General.