A COMPENSATION CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13011, 31 October 1905, Page 5

A COMPENSATION CASE.

%?: 'AN IMPORTANT POINT. [by telegraph.—press association.] ' ' * Wellington, Monday. THB Arbitration Court President, delivered '.' '' the judgment of the Court in the case of the '• "" Public Trustee v. C. A. McDonald and Co. V; \; This was a claim under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, 1900. The f special case stated for the opinion of the e Court was whether dependents domiciled out of the colony of New Zealand are en- , \ titled to compensation in respect of the 'f, death of Arthur Fan-longer, a worker on whose earnings they were dependent. This is the first "jase in which iv has become .necessary to consider the question in the f : , colony, and, so far as the Court is aware it has ■ not been settled. With reference to the Work- .■.;-,' men's Compensation Act, 1897, in England, the Court had come to the conclusion that looking at the very various conditions prevailing there were reasons from which it might be properly inferred that the Legisla- / ture did not intend to restrict the benefit either to British subjects or to person's domiciled or resident within the colony. It was quite clear that if any workman*, no matter what his allegiance or domicile might be, suffered personal injury by accident arising out of, and in the course of, his employment in New Zealand, he .was personally etitled to compensation. On the whole, the Court was satisfied that the Legislature intended to treat alike all workers in New '. '-'.!' Zealand, and to extend the benefits of the i'i ' Act to the dependents coming within the •■;".'" description of "members of the• worker's- ' family in the first schedule, irrespective >f the worker's allegiance or domicile. The Court answered the special case accordingly, and allowed the Public Trustee £7 7s costs and disbursements as costs of arguing ;-:";'•' the case.