CO129-498-15 Death of Mr. I.A. Wheal- application of his widow for a pension under the Hong... 10-4-1926 - 22-12-1926 — Page 14

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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