The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1909. THE CASE OF MOTORMAN BARTON.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 701, 29 December 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1909. THE CASE OF MOTORMAN BARTON.

1> The discission which took place in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon on the case of MoToaiiAN Baeton was an interesting one from several points' of view. 'The public are fairly familiar with the circumstances under which Babton, an employee of the Wellington City Corporation was injured while driving a'tramcar,<and of his failure to secure redress at law owing to the State Coal Department seeking shelter behind the provisions' of the Crown Suits Act. Baeton suffered serious injuries, which will affect him for life, owing to a steam wagon belonging to the State Goal Mines. Department crossing in front of the car ho was driving and causing a collision. The unfortunate man could have claimed recompense for his injuries under tho Workers' Compensation for Accidents- Act, but acting under legal advice preferred to sue at i common law. ■ The reason for taking this course was plain enough. Under tho Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act the amount which ho could claim was comparatively small, whereas at common law the question of damages is left to the jury. Tho merits of Barton's claim appear to bo undisputed. He was entirely blameless so far as tho accident was concerned. Ho did all that was possible to provent it,,and his'promptness in applying tho_ brakes and checking the speed of his car no doubt minimised the foroe of the collision as much as was possiblo. No one appears to question this. That he and his legal advisers considered that tho merits of the case wore entirely with him may bo judged from the fact that toey chose to Bubmit the issue to a jury and tako the risk of losing tho action rather than accept'tho certain, though restricted, sum that could be claimed under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act. But the unfortunate motorman did not got the chance of placing his case before a jury.' Tho State Coal Minos Department, as in another caso recently, sheltered behind a technical dofonoo. It refused to allow tho action to be brought against it. Undor tho Crown Suits Act, an old statuto passed when such undertakings as Stato trading concerns justice of this decision. The Crown is able to rofuso to' allow such claims to bo brought against it. It is prepared to outer into trading competition with private individuals and companies, and to secure all the benefits,' but refuses to face tho

obligations imposed on private traders Wo have discussed the gross impropriety, of this attitude on provious occasions, and Parliament recently ondorsed our viow of the position.

Babton, thus debarred from ap peal to the Courts, and having by his action sacrificed his right to claim under tho Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, was in a most unhappy position. He had in curred heavy medical and legal expenses, and was without funds Ab a last resort, he petitioned Parliament, and tho Committee which investigated tho matter yesterday re commended that he should be, granted a compassionate allowance of £350. No one will dispute the justice of this decision The Crown having refused the injured man the right to sue it for lodrcss for in juries sustained at the hands of its servants, it is only just that the Grown should afford some reconu pense. Tho Government, we beiieve, is quite willing to fall in with tho Comrmttco's recommendation i a this respect. Unfortunately, however, some members of the' Government, possibly those who were responsible for blocking Barton from appealing to the Courts of Justice, attempted to seize tho occasion to cover their own delinquencies by heaping oppro-1 brium on tho City Council. They i professed to see in the fact that tho Insurance Company, which covers Corporation employees against ac cidents, had mado an advance to B _ton, to bo repaid if he secured anything from the Government, a conspiracy between the Corporation and "tho Insurance Company to exploit tho Government This suggestion, in view of the facts, is a grossly improper ono. It was clearly shown during tho debate that BariTon acted on the advice of a rela- , tive, a solicitor, in tho courso he pursued j and Mr. Wilpord, whoso firm also acted for him, left no room for doubt that Barton knew exactly what he was doing. The City Corporation has taken the precaution, which all business firms tako nowadays, to insure its employees against accident, and its liability i has been thus transferred to the In surance Company. This applied to the case of Barton, and so far as the Corporation was concerned it had nothing to lose or gain in the mattor whatever courso was taken. The wild threat o'f the Prime Minister to introduce special legislation to force tho Wellington Corporation to pay compensation to Baeton is, in viow of the whole circumstances of the case, so outrageous that wo marvel at tho temerity of tho head of the Government m daring to oven suggest such a thing. Even tne known hostility of somo mem bers of tho Government to the City or Wellington hardly affords explanation for the glaringly unjust ! attack mado upon tho City Corporation. We can only attribute it to | the_ desire of Ministers to cover up their own injustice to Barton by endeavouring to make it appear that tho Wellington Corporation has, done something improper. The' facts show that the municipal authorities have behavod with the utmost fairness to Barton, who has , received every consideration at their hands.