8.—9.

It is provided in the Mental Defectives Act, 1911, that the Public Trustee shall be statutory administrator of the estates of mentally defective persons where no private committee or administrator has been appointed. The occasions where private committees are appointed are not numerous, and even then the Public Trustee has a statutory duty to exercise supervision over the work of the committee. The estates of 420 mental patients, of a value of £417,697, were reported for administration during the year. There are also those persons who, through advancing years, mental or physical disability, or other causes, are unable to attend to their own affairs. Provision is made in the Aged and Infirm Persons' Protection Act, 1912, for the protection and administration of their estates. The Public Trustee may be appointed as manager, and his services are frequently used. Moreover, where the affairs of the person concerned are entrusted to private management, there is statutory provision for supervision by the Public Trustee. 19. Workers , Compensation. —The Public Trustee is, unless the Court of Arbitration otherwise orders, statutory custodian of compensation-moneys paid in respect of the death of a worker. In practice, the appointment of any other custodian is unusual so that it may be said that the Public Trustee handles almost all compensation-moneys. The work is considerable, and great care and thorough investigation are necessary in dealing with the various matters involved. 20. Charitable or Public Trusts and Benefit Funds. —There are several important trusts and funds of this nature under the control of the Public Trustee. Of these, the most important is that established by the will of the late Thomas George Macarthy, in terms of which one-half of the income from the residuary estate is at present applied for charitable and educational purposes and institutions in the provincial district of Wellington in such manner and in such proportions as the Board of Governors decides. On the termination of certain annuities and other interests, the whole of the income from the estate will be available for these purposes. The Trust has now been in operation for twenty-one years, and during this period £189,677 has been allocated in the manner specified by the testator. The T. G. Macarthy Trust is of a perpetual nature, as are some other large charitable trusts which are controlled by the Office. For this the Public Trustee, a corporation sole, with perpetual succession, meets the requirements of the trusts as no individual trustee could do. In modern times there has been a remarkable growth of public endowments which contemplate benefits extending over long periods of years, or even in perpetuity, and corporate trusteeship, as provided by the Public Trustee, enables permanence and continuity in the administration to be ensured. HAWKE'S BAY EARTHQUAKE EELIEF FUND. 21. Under the Workers' Compensation Act, 1922, it is provided that if in any employment to which the Act applies personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment is caused to a worker the employer shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of the Act. As a result of the earthquake, a number of workers were killed or injured whilst at work, and claims were made under the Workers' Compensation Act in respect of these deaths or injuries. The Court of Arbitration has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with cases under the Workers' Compensation Act, and there is no appeal from its decision. Where the parties agree on the facts, however, it is competent for the Supreme Court to give judgment in a given case pursuant to the provisions of the Declaratory Judgments Act, 1908, and thereafter there lies an appeal to theJCourt of Appeal of New Zealand, and thence to the Privy Council. In order to facilitate dealing with the large number of claims arising as a result of the earthquake, the parties agreed on such general and special facts as appeared to them to be relevant and, by arrangement, four cases were referred tofthe Court of Appeal as being typical of all those arising out of the earthquake disaster. Part of the arrangement made by the solicitors acting for the claimants was that if the claims were ultimately successful lapse of time was not to be pleaded against any other claimants for compensation,

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