The Short Title of this Act shall be “The Military Pensions Act 1866.”

In the interpretation of this Act the term “Colonial Forces” shall include all officers non-commissioned officers and privates whether of the European or Native race enrolled by and serving under the New Zealand Government The term “Officer” shall mean an European officer holding a commission under the seal of the Colony The term “Native Chief” shall mean an Aboriginal Native holding the rank of a commissioned officer in the Colonial Forces.

So much of every Act of the General Assembly heretofore passed as enables and concerns the granting of pensions to officers and men of the Colonial Forces whether as Militia or Volunteers or otherwise and to their widows and families and of any regulations made pursuant thereto as concerns such pensions are hereby repealed Provided always that nothing herein contained shall invalidate or in any way affect any pensions which have been granted under such Acts or regulations.

It shall be lawful for the Governor from time to time to constitute and appoint a Board or Boards of Medical Officers and to cancel or vary any appointment at pleasure for the purpose of examining every officer and man who is an applicant for a pension or gratuity under this Act and to report upon his case which report with a certificate of examination must be signed by each member of the Board in every instance before any pension or gratuity is granted such Board or Boards shall in each case consist of not less than three duly qualified medical practitioners.

Medical officers comprising a Board constituted under the last preceding section shall if they are not at the time being in the receipt of consecutive pay from the Colonial Government be entitled to a remuneration of one guinea for each day or part of day during which they shall respectively sit as members of such Board.

There shall be paid out of the general revenue of the Colony pensions and allowances to officers native chiefs non-commissioned officers and privates of the Colonial Forces as hereinafter specified.

Officers.

Native Chiefs Non-commissioned Officers and Privates.

Subject to the limitations and restrictions hereinafter provided pensions in accordance with the annexed scale may be given to the widows of officers native chiefs non-commissioned officers and privates of the Colonial Forces in the following cases—

Provided always that the pensions to widows herein authorized cannot be claimed as a right they are granted as rewards for good and faithful military service rendered by their deceased husbands they are only to be conferred on deserving persons they are not to be granted to widows left in wealthy circumstances and are liable to be discontinued altogether in case of any misconduct on the part of the individuals receiving them Provided further that in all cases on a widow re-marrying her pension is suspended from the date of her re-marriage but in the event of her again becoming a widow her pension may be restored upon proof being adduced that she is not in wealthy circumstances and is otherwise deserving but will be again liable to suspension during future re-marriage.

The widow’s pension will in general commence from the date of her husband’s death but the claim must be established by the production of satisfactory documents in support of it within one year after the death of her husband.

If the claim of a widow to her pension shall not be established before her death the amount of pension to which she would have been entitled if living shall not be allowed to her representatives.

Pensions to widows of staff of regimental and of medical officers shall not be given according to any brevet rank which their husbands may have held but according to the regimental or staff commission by which they received pay.

If an officer non-commissioned officer or private of the European race be killed in action or die of his wounds within six months after being wounded and leave a widow or children or both a gratuity of one year’s pay of the regimental commission held by him may be given to his widow in addition to her pension and one-third of the amount of such gratuity to each of his children under age and unmarried.

If such officer non-commissioned officer or private leave no widow or child an annual allowance equal to the ordinary rate of widow’s pension attached to the regimental rank of the deceased may be granted to his mother provided she be a widow and in distressed circumstances and was mainly dependent upon the deceased for support but if the mother shall be herself in receipt of a pension from the Government or shall have any other provision of any kind from the public no allowance under this regulation shall be made to her on account of her son unless she relinquish such pension or provision in the event of her re-marrying any allowance that may have been granted to her shall cease.

If such officer non-commissioned officer or private shall have left no widow child nor mother but shall have left a sister or sisters being orphans having no parent nor surviving brother and having been dependent for support upon the deceased officer noncommissioned officer or private an allowance equal to the ordinary rate of widow’s pension may be granted to such sister or to such sisters collectively under extraordinary and special circumstances to be judged of by the Governor but the allowance in such case shall cease when the person receiving it shall marry or shall be in any other manner sufficiently provided for.

Allowances to the children may be given in those cases in which the widow would be entitled to be placed on the pension list provided it be shown that the children have no other allowance pension or provision from the Government and that their pecuniary circumstances and those of their family are so limited that they actually require assistance.

The allowances granted to sons may be continued until they attain the age of eighteen or are otherwise previously provided for and those to the daughters may be continued until they marry or attain the age of twenty-one whichever shall first happen and no longer except in very special cases in which it shall be shown that such sons or daughters are afflicted with any mental or bodily infirmity rendering them incapable of making any exertion for their own support and that they are still in distressed circumstances.

The aggregate amount of the foregoing allowances granted to the family of any officer non-commissioned officer or private killed in action including the widow’s pension if he leave a widow shall in no case exceed the rates specified in the scale hereunto annexed.

All pensions or gratuities granted under the authority of’ this Act shall be exempt from seizure in execution and from distress and assessment.