8
25
widow's pension of a dollar officer was calculated upon his
marriage, it was registered in the widows' and orphans' pension
scheme books both in dollars and in sterling converted at the
rate of 3/-. But even if the "dollar" widows' pensions had never
been stated in sterling anywhere by the Government, we submit
that it is quite clear that the dollar officer's contributions
9
to the widows and orphans' pension scheme were, in effect, made
in sterling, in units of 3/-, and that it is equally clear that
the Government are under contract to pay in sterling, in units
of 3/-, the pensions in question though expressed in dollars.
They are now seeking to pay the pensions on a dollar basis, but
they deducted the contributions on a sterling basis and they are
bound to pay on a sterling basis the pensions calculated upon
those contributions.
14. In the preceding paragraph, we suggested the possibility
that the above argument may also apply to the period from 1902
to 1908. Our doubt as to whether it does apply is due to the
fact that we do not know for certain what the practice was in
those years with regard to the deduction of the widows and
orphans' pension fund contributions from the pay of dollar
officers. Our information on this point is conflicting, but the
view of the majority seems to be that in those years the deduc-
tion of the 4% was made from the total number of dollars after
the addition of the double exchange compensation allowance,
though the number of dollars deducted was only 4% of the nominal
salary. If this is so, then we did not in those years contribute
in dollars worth 3/- each, but only in current dollars, but we
still rely for those years on the financial resolution of 1902.
We may add that a dollar officer on leave in a sterling country
between 1902 and 1908 contributed during his leave his full 4%
of abatement from his sterling receipts.
15. There is one other qualification to be added. Before
1902 the exchange compensation allowance was on only half of the
nominal dollar salary. During that period we clearly did not
contribute in dollars worth 3/- each, but we still rely for those
years on the promise subsequently given in 1902 to pay the