This is an appeal under section 30 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act against the order of the Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation, Madras, awarding Nagammal, the widow of a cooly, Venkataswami Naicker and his three minor children Rs. 810 as compensation. Venkataswami was employed along with some other coolies to unload a wagon of dehydrated potatoes at Avadi station. While carrying a box on his head it is said to have slipped on to his stomach and caused him an abdominal injury. This was on 4th September, 1946. He was removed to his village in the first instance and brought to hospital on 7th September, 1946, where he died on 14th September, 1946.

An appeal lies only if a substantial point of law is involved in the Commissioner’s order. The learned counsel for the appellant, who is a contractor by the name of Arumugham, fully realises this. He urges that the Commissioner on the evidence and on the facts wrongly found that Venkataswami was a workman within the scope of section 2(n) of the Act. This section defines a “workman” as:

“any person (other than a person whose employment is of a casual nature and who is employed otherwise than for the purposes of the employer’s t