SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1456, 3 June 1912, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

- HARBOUR BOARD PENSIONS. , POINT TO SETTLE. The Wellington Harbour Board is desirous of establishing a superannuation fund. The Local Bodies Superannuation Act however, provides that pensions shall only be calculated upon the length of the period that the employee has contributed to the fund, and not upon length of ,'ervice. The difliculty has, therefore, arisen that elderly servants of the board, who (according to the scheme) would pay a higher percentage of their salary than younger members, would be entitled only to a small pension when the time, came for them to retire. By Section 10 of the Act power is given to local authorities to make an additional allowance to employees in respect to their service .prior to the coming into force of the Superannuation Act, 1908. The quesHon has been raised as to whether, when a local body is establishing a superaunuation scheme, it can exercise its discretion in fixing such allowance, instead of leaving the matter to the discretion of the actual authorities in power when the time came for its exercise in the case of each distinct employee. .!• 'or to obtain an interpretation on th;.' natter, the Wellington Harbour Board has taken out an originating summons. and the question was argued in the Supreme Court on Saturday morning l>efore the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout). Jlr. T. S. Weston appeared for the board, and the Solicitor-General (Jlr. J. AV. Salmond) appeared in person. After hearing argument, his Honour intimatcd that he would give a written decision at 10 a.m. to-morrow.