notice in writing of the accident has been given as soon as
practicable after the happening thereof, and before the
workman has voluntarily left the employment in which he
was injured, and unless the claim for compensation with
respect to such accident has been made within six months
from the occurrence of the accident causing the injury,or,
in case of death, within six months from the time of death:
Provided that-

(a) the want of or any defect or inaccuracy in such
notice shall not be a bar to the maintenance of
such proceedings if it is found in the proceedings
for settling the claim that the employer is not,
or would not, if a notice or an amended notice
were then given and the hearing postponed, be
prejudiced in his defence by such want, defect or
inaccuracy, or that such want, defect or inaccuracy
was occasioned by mistake, absence from the
Province, or other reasonable cause; and

(b) the failure to make a claim within the period above
specified shall not be a bar to the maintenance of
such proceedings if it is found that the failure was
occasioned by mistake, absence from the Province,
or other reasonable cause.

(2) Notice in respect of an injury under this Act shall give the name and address of the person injured, and shall state in ordinary language the cause of the injury and the date at which the accident happened, and shall be served on the employer, or, if there is more than one employer, upon one of such employers.

(3) The notice may be served by delivering the same at, or sending it by post in a registered letter addressed to, the residence or place of business of the person on whom it is to be served.

(4) Where the employer is a body of persons, corporate or incorporate, the notice may also be served by delivering the same to, or by sending it by post in a registered letter addressed to, the employer at the office, or, if there be more than one office, any one of the offices of such body. [1908, c. 12, s. 4.]

Contracting Out.

out

7.-(1) If the Attorney General, after taking steps to Contracting ascertain the views of the employer and workmen, certifies that any scheme of compensation, benefit, or insurance for the workmen of an employer in any employment, whether or not such scheme includes other employers and their workmen, provides scales of compensation not less favourable to the workmen and their dependants than the corresponding scales contained in this Act, and that, where the scheme provides for contributions by the workmen, the

Sub

contracting

scheme confers benefits at least equivalent to those contributions, in addition to the benefits to which the workmen would have been entitled under this Act, and that a majority (to be ascertained by ballot) of the workmen to whom the scheme is applicable are in favour of such scheme, the employer may, whilst the certificate is in force contract with any of his workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and thereupon the employer shall be liable only in accordance with the scheme, but, save as aforesaid, this Act shall apply notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made after the last day of December, one thousand nine hundred and eight.

(2) The Attorney General may give a certificate to expire at the end of a limited period of not less than five years, and may from time to time renew with or without modifications such a certificate to expire at the end of the period. for which it is renewed.

(3) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a condition of their hiring, or which does not contain provisions enabling a workman to withdraw from the scheme.

(4) If complaint is made to the Attorney General by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer that the benefits conferred by any scheme no longer conform to the conditions stated in subsection (1) of this section, or that the provisions of such scheme are being violated, or that the scheme is not being fairly administered, or that satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the certificate, the Attorney General shall examine into the complaint, and, if satisfied that good cause exists for such complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is removed, revoke the certificate.

(5) When a certificate is revoked or expires, any moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme shall, after due provision has been made to discharge the liabilities already accrued, be distributed as may be arranged between the employer and workmen, or as may be determined by the Attorney General in the event of a difference of opinion.

(6) Whenever a scheme has been certified as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all such inquiries and to furnish all such accounts in regard to the scheme as may be made or required by the Attorney General.

(7) The Attorney General may make regulations for the purpose of carrying this section into effect.

Sub-contracting.

[1908, c. 12, s. 5.]

8. (1) Where any person (in this section referred to as the "principal" in the course of or for the purposes of his

trade or business, contracts with any other person (in this section referred to as "the contractor" for the execution by or under the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal which is in the way of the principal's trade or business, the principal shall be liable to pay to any workman employed in the execution of the work any compensation under this Act which he would have been liable to pay if that workman had been immediately employed by him; and where compensation is claimed from or proceedings are taken against the principal, then, in the application of this Act, references to the principal shall be substituted for references to the employer, except that the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the earnings of the workman under the employer by whom he is immediately employed.

(2) Where the principal is liable to pay compensation under this section he shall be entitled to be indemnified by any person who would have been liable to pay compensation to the workman independently of this section, and all questions as to the right to and amount of any such indemnity shall in default of agreement be settled by arbitration under this Act.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a workman recovering compensation under this Act from the contractor instead of the principal.

(4) This section shall not apply in any case where the accident occurred elsewhere than on, or in, or about premises on which the principal has undertaken to execute the work or which are otherwise under his control or management. [1908, c. 12, s. 6.]

to insolvency

Provisions as to Cases of Insolvency of Employer. 9.-(1) Where any employer has entered into a contract Provisions as with any insurers in respect of any liability under this Act of employer to any workman, then, in the event of the employer making an assignment for the benefit of or a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or if the employer is a company in the event of the company having commenced to be wound up, the rights of the employer against the insurers as respects that liability shall be transferred to and vest in the workman, and upon any such transfer the insurers shall have the same rights and remedies and be subject to the same liabilities as if they were the employer, so however that the insurers shall not be under any greater liability to the workman than they should have been under to the employer.

(2) If the liability of the insurers to the workman is less than the liability of the employers to the workman the workman may prove for the balance in the assignment or liquidation proceedings.

Remedies

against both employer and stranger

(3) There shall be included among the debts which under The Companies Winding Up Act, are, in the distribution of the property in the case of an assignment, and in the distribution of the assets of a company being wound up, to be paid in priority to all other debts, the amount, not exceeding in any individual case five hundred dollars, due in respect of any compensation the liability wherefor accrued before the date of the assignment or the date of the commencement of the winding up, and the said Act shall have effect accordingly.

(4) Where the compensation is a weekly payment, the amount due in respect thereof, shall for the purposes of this provision, be taken to be the amount of the lump sum for which the weekly payment could, if redeemable, be redeemed if the employer made an application for that purpose under schedule 1 to this Act.

(5) The provisions of this section with respect to preferences and priorities shall not apply where the assignor or the company being wound up has entered into such a contract with insurers as aforesaid.

(6) This section shall not apply where a company is wound up voluntarily merely for the purposes of reconstruction or of amalgamation with another company.

[1908, c. 12, s. 7.]

Remedies Against Both Employer and Stranger.

10. Where the injury for which compensation is payable under this Act was caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person other than the employer to pay damages in respect thereof

(a) the workman may take proceedings both against
that person to recover damages and against any
person liable to pay compensation under this Act
for such compensation, but shall not be entitled
to recover both damages and compensation; and
(b) if the workman has recovered compensation under
this Act, the person by whom the compensation
was paid, and any person who has been called on
to pay an indemnity under the section of this
Act relating to subcontracting, shall be entitled
to be indemnified by the person so liable to pay
damages as aforesaid, and all questions as to the
right to and amount of any such indemnity shall,
in default of agreement, be settled by action, or,
by consent of the parties, by arbitration under
this Act.
[1908, c. 12, s. 8.]

Exemption of Agricultural Employments.

of certain

employments

11. Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained Exemption this Act shall not apply to the employment of agriculture, agricultural nor to any work performed or machinery used on or about a farm or homestead for farm purposes or for the purposes of improving such farm or homestead; and for greater certainty but so as not to restrict in any degree the generality of the foregoing words of this section this Act shall not apply to any of the following employments on a farm:

(a) Threshing, cleaning, crushing, grinding or other-
wise treating grain or sawing wood, posts, lumber
or other wooden material, or otherwise treating
the same, or the pressing of hay, by any kind of
machinery or motive power, and whether such
machinery or motive power be portable or station-
ary, and whether the same be owned and operated
by the farmer or farmers for whose purpose the
same is being used, or by any other farmer or
other person for gain, profit or reward;

(b) The construction, repair or demolition of any farm
building, windmill, derrick or other structure.
[1908, c. 12, s. 10.]

SCHEDULES.

In these schedules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Court" or "District Court" shall mean the
District Court of the district in which all the
parties concerned reside, or, if they reside in
different districts, then of the district in which
the accident out of which the matter arose occurred,
or any judge of such District Court;

(b) "Rules of Court" shall mean Rules of Court made
and promulgated as provided for in The District
Courts Act.