i
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468
the salary or pension of every officer": in section 8
"The abatement aforesaid shall continue to be made until such officer has either attained the age of sixty-five or has been subject to the abatement for thirty-five successive years, whichever shall first happen, and shall thereupon cease and determine"; end in section 9(1) "An officer who from any cause whatever ceases to belong to the public service and retires on pension".
It seems to be beyond dispute that Annie Bertha
Wheal would, under the Ordinance, have been the 'widow' if she had survived Isaac Alfred heal, although at the date of his death he was not in the public service. The qualification "wife of a deceased officer" cannot be extended or amplified to mean a wife whohaving married
a man permanently employed in the service, &c., survives
him, for such meaning would conflict with other provisions
e.g. the case of a bachelor on retirement who does not
elect to discontinue: In the suppositional case of survival of Annie Bertha Wheal her right to pension
would have depended not on the fact that she married
during her husband's period of service but on the fact
that he had at death the status of a contributing
pensioner: It will be seen that the conclusion come as
to the meaning of 'officer' is that a person who meet s
the prescribed requirements remains an 'officer' so
long as the Urdinance contemplates him.
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The next point for consideration is the status
of Isaac Alfred "heal at his death Did the Ordinance
still contemplate him or had he, su to speak, dropped
out? Now the trend of the Ordinance is that contribution
or abatement is compulsory, and except in special cases, must continue for the full period prescribed. Even in