THE BARTON CASE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14095, 29 December 1909, Page 3

THE BARTON CASE.

SOME PECULIAR SIDELIGHTS.

(By Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 28. What has come to be known as the Barton case was again before Parliament to-day, when the Public Petitions Committee recommended that Barton should be paid £356 as a compassionate allowande. T Barton "was a jnotorman on a City electric car, «nd wAs seriously injured as a result of a collision between a car he was driving and the State Coal Depot's steam lorry. The recommendation of the committee was made on the understanding that an agreement between Barton and the South British Insurance Company was handed to the Minister of Finance. What this agreement really embodied transpired when the chairman- of the oommittee (Mr. T. H. DaveV) read the evidence, which had been taken. It appeared that Barton decided to proceed against the Crown (it will be remembered that he failed in* his action), and thereby ho lost his rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. He received '£150 subsequently, from the insurance company. bttjfc entered^nio a bond to refund the. " amount in the event of his plea f or ' ebninasston succeeding. • The committee's recommendation, was agreed to, but not before Sir Joseoh. Ward had mado it perfectly plain that the State would not allow the insurance Toompany concerned^ tb take a wnpjlo peniiy of the £850 provMed for Barton on the Supplementary Estimates. He also declared that, if Barton did not rwaiye the balance, of the £300, to whfah he was Originally entitled "under the W or^ erß ' Compensation Act. from the insurance company, lie wonlrl introduce special legislation to compel the company to pay.