Aug. 26.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3027

1st day of January in any year may be paid at any time not earlier than the 23rd day of December preceding the due date.

13. The Commissioner shall, in respect of every pension granted, if and so long as payment has not been stopped for any reason, transmit to the paying office in every month a form of advice authorizing payment of the instalment falling due on the 1st day of the following month, and having printed thereon a form of receipt for the said instalment.

14. When receiving payment of any instalment of a pension the payee shall give a receipt for the same, and when making payment the paying officer shall note on the back of the produced pension-certificate the date of such payment by affixing thereto his office stamp. If the paying officer is not satisfied as to the identity of the payee he shall withhold payment, and report to the Commissioner.

15. Whenever any instalment is payable to an agent under the authority of a warrant issued under these regulations, as hereinafter provided, the pension-certificate shall be produced by the payee at the time of payment, together with the warrant; and where the aforesaid warrant relates to a single instalment, or the last of a series of instalments, it shall be delivered up to and be retained by the paying officer on payment of such instalment, and forwarded with his accounts.

16. In the event of any instalment being paid on production of a lost pension-certificate after the issue of a duplicate of such certificate, or on a pension-certificate during the currency of a warrant directing payment to an agent of the pensioner, the holder of such duplicate or warrant shall have no claim against His Majesty in respect of the instalment so paid.

17. In the event of any instalment not being collected within one month after the date on which it falls due, the advice of payment shall be withdrawn, but the pensioner or other person authorized to collect the pension may thereafter make application in writing to receive such instalment. The application may be delivered to any Registrar or Postmaster, to whom the pension-certificate shall be produced, and such application shall be forwarded to the Commissioner for consideration by the Board.

18. If the pensioner or other person duly authorized to receive payment of any instalment of a pension desires that the office of payment shall be changed, he shall make application in that behalf to any Registrar or Postmaster, and in support thereof shall produce the pension-certificate. The officer receiving the application shall thereupon note the change of office of payment on the pension-certificate, and shall then return the same to the applicant. He shall also forward the application forthwith to the Commissioner, who shall arrange for the payment of the pension at the office referred to in the application.

19. If a pension-certificate is lost, destroyed, or mutilated, the pensioner or his duly authorized agent appointed under these regulations may make application, supported by declaration, to any Registrar or Postmaster, who shall forward the application to the Commissioner, with his recommendation.

AGENTS’ WARRANTS.

20. The Commissioner shall, whenever he is satisfied that it is expedient to do so, having regard to the age, infirmity, or improvidence of the pensioner, or any other special circumstances, issue a warrant authorizing payment of instalments to any reputable person named in the warrant for the benefit of the pensioner. With respect to the issue of such warrants the following provisions shall apply:—

(a.) The application for such warrant shall be made in writing to any Registrar or Postmaster, and shall be forwarded to the Commissioner, accompanied by the pension-certificate if the pensioner consents to the application. If the pensioner does not consent to the application and refuses to give up the pension-certificate, the application shall state these facts.

(b.) The proposed payee must be not less than twenty-one years of age.

(c.) The warrant, which shall be signed by the Commissioner, shall continue in force only during the currency of the pension-certificate to which it is expressed to relate: Provided that it may, in the discretion of the Board or the Commissioner, be renewed or cancelled at any time.

(d.) No such warrant shall be issued in respect of a pension where the pensioner is absent or about to be absent from the district in which the agent is residing, unless under special circumstances, which shall be set forth in the application.

(e.) The Commissioner shall issue the warrant, together with the pension-certificate if it has been forwarded with the application, direct to the person entitled thereto.

(f.) If the pensioner does not consent to the application, and refuses to give up the pension-certificate, then, if the Commissioner thinks fit to issue a warrant, the paying officer shall retain the pension-certificate when next it comes into his hands, and forward it to the Commissioner to be forwarded to the person entitled to the warrant.

REVIEW OF PENSIONS.

21. For the purpose of ascertaining whether a pensioner is entitled to a continuance of pension, or whether the amount of any pension should be altered, the Commissioner may require the pensioner at the close of any income year, or at any other time, to furnish a statement regarding his income and property and any other matter that may be deemed necessary. On receipt of this statement the Commissioner shall forthwith proceed to verify the contents thereof, and in due course submit it, with the result of his inquiries, to the Board for determination in the same manner as in the case of a pension-claim. Nothing in this regulation shall authorize the Board to take into consideration the income and property of a pensioner who has been a member of the Forces, except to the extent authorized by sections 6 and 15 of the said Act.

22. The Board shall minute its decision on the statement submitted to it as aforesaid, which shall be submitted to the Minister for his approval. On approval by the Minister the decision shall be recorded in the Pension Register. If the pension is cancelled, the pensioner shall be notified in writing; but if a continuance of the pension is authorized, either at the original or a reduced or increased amount, the Commissioner shall, if necessary, issue a fresh pension-certificate and take such other action as may be required.

DUTIES OF GOVERNMENT OFFICERS.

23. It shall be the duty of all Government officers, so far as possible, to assist applicants in the preparation of their pension-claims.

24. It shall be the duty of every Registrar of the Supreme Court and Clerk of a Magistrate’s Court, on the conviction in his Court of any person whom he believes to be a pensioner under the said Act, to notify the Commissioner in writing of the fact of such conviction, the nature of the offence, and the punishment imposed.

25. It shall be the duty of every Registrar of Deaths to notify the Commissioner in writing of the death of every person whom he believes to have been a pensioner under the said Act.

26. It shall be the duty of officers of the Police Force to render such services as may be required by the Board in connection with the investigation of any claim or any inquiry under the said Act. Authority to incur expenditure by any such officer on any occasion must be obtained beforehand from the Commissioner on behalf of the Board, either direct or through any Registrar.

GENERAL.

27. Every declaration required for the purposes of the said Act or these regulations may be made before any member of the Board, or before any Justice, solicitor, constable, Registrar, Clerk of Court, or Postmaster, or before the Commissioner.

28. (1.) Every application under the said Act by a member of the Forces on account of partial disablement shall, if the Board so requires, be supported by a certificate from a duly qualified medical practitioner, setting out whether the applicant is either permanently or temporarily incapacitated for work, and the nature and extent of his incapacity.

(2.) In considering any application by a member of the Forces in respect either of total or partial disablement, the Board shall take into consideration the records of the Defence Department; but where it is not satisfied as to the nature or extent of the applicant’s disablement it may direct that a further examination of the applicant be made by a registered medical practitioner to be nominated by the Board.

SCHEDULE.

War Pensions—1.

(This form is to be issued only to or on behalf of a bona fide applicant for pension.)

Local Claim No. . H.O. No. .

Under the War Pensions Act, 1915.

WAR PENSION-CLAIM.

(For disabled member of Forces only.)

To the Registrar of Pensions at .

I, the undersigned, a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary [Naval] Forces, do hereby apply for a pension under the above Act on account of total [partial] disablement resulting from my employment as a member of the said Forces.

My full name is .

My full address is .

If pension is granted, I desire payment made at the post-office at .

I was born in [Country only] . Present age: .