CO129-572-8 Leave and passage regulations 4-2-1938 - 30-12-1938 — Page 25

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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

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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