The Hard Case of Mrs. Pinsent: In OCTOBER LAST, BEFORE THE LATE MR. C. Pinsent—who, for nearly eighteen years had been the Secretary of the Madras Harbour Trust Board—went Home on leave, he applied for a bonus in consideration of his long services with the Board. The application, we understand, would have been granted, but that the Trustees found that under the Madras Harbour Trust Act no bonus or gratuity could be given to an officer of the Board unless he retired. Mr. Pinsent was accordingly given privilege leave, the question of the bonus being allowed to stand over until it was known whether he would be able, after treatment at Home, to return to work or not. Unfortunately, he died before retiring and the question of granting him a bonus lapsed. The Trustees, however, proposed, with the sanction Madras Government, to give Mrs. Pinsent and her children a gratuity of Rs. 15,00; but this the Government have refused to pass on the ground that the Act does not, authorize the Trust to make a grant, to the widow of one of its officers. Technically, no doubt, the Government is right; but it seems to us that the case is eminently one in which a generous view of the situation would meet with public approval, and that a compassionate allowance might be granted to the widow of a hard-working and deserving officer of the Trust. If he had only realized the dreadful nature of his disease and the risk he was taking in undergoing an operation, he would have formally resigned and secured that provision for his family which a strict adherence to the letter of the law precludes them from obtaining. We trust that some way out of the difficulty may be found, and that Mrs. Pinsent and her family may eventually secure the gift that the Trustees are generously prepared to allot.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.
Referenced
GRO0133 India: Charles Powell Tronson Pinsent: 1849 – 1904
GRO0398 India: Harriet Ann Soden: 1860 – 1949