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which, in our opinion, it would now be difficult to justify. The Regulations, as drafted by us, leave it in the power of the Secretary of State to exclude all such non-pensionable service in cases where he decides it to be desirable. But experience shows that pensions earned by officers of Railway and Public Works Departments, which are those chiefly affected by this Regulation, are not, as a rule, too large, even in present circumstances.
26. Regulation 10. We have altered the wording of this Regulation to meet a criticism (Mr. A. J. Harding) of the words "or for the purpose of facilitating improve. ments in the organisation of the department to which he belongs by which greater efficiency and economy can be effected." These, words are now oinitted. Experience
shows that practically all cases deserving of treatment under this regulation are cases of abolition of office.
27. Regulation 11. We have considered the opinion (Mr. A. J. Harding) that the proposed rates of addition to pension, in cases of abolition, are too generous, but we see no reason to modify our recommendation.
We also adhere to our view that, in general, where an officer's service is less than that required to qualify him for all ill-health pensions, he should, nevertheless, be granted a pension and not a gratuity in the event of abolition of office,
We would point out, however that these matters are not matters in which uniformity among the Colonies is essential.
28. Regulation 12. We have carefully considered the suggestion (Mr. A. J. Harding and Mr. Flood), that this Regulation should be made to cover both pensionable and non-pensionable officers. On the whole, however, we are of opinion that Pension Ordinances and Regulations should confine themselves as far as possible to dealing with pensionable officers, and that non-pensionable officers should, therefore, be dealt with apart from the Pensiou Ordinance, even though it may be decided to deal with them ou the same lines.
29. Regulation 13. It appears that the general opinion of the Office is against the insertion of any provision for additions for professional qualifications, except in the case of judges. If, however, the Secretary of State should decide in favour of some general provision for such additions we recommend the Regulation as drafted by us. It was not our intention that all the categories of appointments named in the Regulation should be adopted in every Colony. The list of categories included all the appointments which seemed to call for consideration in any Colony. As stated in paragraph 47 of our Report the question of the categories suitable for adoption by each particular Colony must be settled according to the special circumstances of that Colony,
30. Regulation 13ă.* This is a new Regulation designed to provide for the case of a pensioner who is re-employed and subsequently again retires on pension,
31. Regulations 14 and 15. As we have already pointed out, these Regulations are not a necessary part of the pension scheme, and it may be desirable to vary them or to omit them altogether in certain Colonies.
32. We should have no objection to their omission from the model if this is thought advisable. This would be in accordance with the views we have expressed under Regulation 12 above.
33. Mr. A. J. Harding suggests that the principle embodied in Regulation 14 (2) is wrong, as if an officer is transferred from a pensionable office to a non-pensionable office he ought not to be allowed to count service in the latter towards pension. Such cases are not of frequent occurrence, but we have had before us particulars of a case where a temporary post had been created, and an officer appointed to it whose post on the permanent establishment cannot be allowed to remain vacant. It is intended that the officer shall revert to a pensionable post when the need for the temporary appointnient ceases to exist. In such a case, the service must be allowed to count for pension, but it would be anomalous to declare the temporary post to be pensionable and not possible to grant the officer leave from his permanent post.
34. Mr. Harding also suggests that, if the service in the non-pensionable appointment is allowed to count for pension, the pension should be computed on the salary which the officer received immediately prior to his transfer to the appointment. We think on the contrary that the officer should be allowed the benefit of any increments of salary which he would have received if he had not been transferred, and the Regulation is worded accordingly.
35.
Regulations, Part II.
+
We note that opinion appears to be unanimous in favour of the second of the We trust that it will be adopted by the Secretary of State,
two drafts prepared by us.
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in accordance with the recommendations made by us in paragraphs 68 to 71 of our Report.
36. A few verbal amendments have been made in the draft, but no point of principle is involved. And no criticisms of the draft have been made which it is necessary for the Committee to discuss.
37. Regulation 21a (23a in first draft) has been added to supplement in cases of mixed service the new Regulation 13a.
Other Suggestions.
We
38. Various provisions, not dealt with above, have been suggested for general enactment on subjects not at present dealt with in the draft Ordinance and Regulations.
39. Of these perhaps the most important is the suggestion (Mr. A. J. Harding) that pensioners should be made liable to accept further employment if physically fit. have carefully considered this suggestion, and we are aware that it is already embodied in a limited form in the West African Pension Regulations. The power which exists has rarely, if ever, been used, however, and we doubt whether it serves any useful purpose. We believe that, in an emergency, such as may arise if the present War is very prolonged, the Secretary of State could rely on almost as many pensioners volunteering for service as could successfully be recalled by compulsion. On the other hand, it is undesirable to make pensioners subject to an unnecessary liability.
40. Mr. Harding has also suggested that provision should be made for pensions and gratuities to widows or orphans of officers killed on duty. We are, on the whole, of opinion, however, that, if this question is to be dealt with generally by legislation, it should form the subject of a separate Ordinance.
41. Mr. Darnley has suggested that a provision should be inserted to cover cases where the pensioner becomes a lunatic, but we think that such cases can be adequately dealt with under other existing enactments.
42. Mr. Dixon has drawn attention to the fact that no special provision is included in the Ordinance with regard to nurses. In our view the special conditions applying to these officers should form, as in West Africa, the subject of special Ordinances. The same applies in certain Colonies to the Police.
Conclusion.
43. When the final form of the Model Ordinance and Regulations has been determined, we suggest that it should be forwarded to all Colonies with an explanatory memorandum, and that each Colonial Government should be informed that the Secretary of State desires the enactment of the essential parts of the Ordinance and Regulations without alteration; but that he will be glad to consider any observations as regards the unessential parts and as regards the perpetuation of any special provisions in force in the Colony.
44. Further, when the Ordinance has been passed in a Colony every officer in the Service should without delay be provided with a copy and with a memorandum explaining the essential differences between it and the previous legislation, and his attention should be drawn especially to the fact that the new Ordinance and Regulations will apply to him unless he notifies the Colonial Secretary before a certain date of a desire to remain under the law previously in force; and he should also be warned, if he has had other previous public service, to ascertain whether a similar option exists in new Pension Laws passed in other Colonies where he has served, as suggested in paragraph 27 of our Report.
D. L. H. B.
16th September, 1915.
Note.
C. A. H.
J. S. R.
G. W. J.
The corrections referred to in this Supplementary Minute are shown in the following drafts: words and passages struck out, in obliterated type; words and passages inserted, in roman type and square brackets.
*Note.
This should, of course, be renumbered eventually,
15337
C
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APPENDIX I.