Hepworth J:

This was an Originating Summons taken out by Federal Counsel on behalf of the Employees Provident Fund Board, plaintiffs, against one Goh Tiong Tan, defendant, applying for the determination of the following question :-

Whether or not the lighter workers (Taikongs and boatmen referred to in the Plaintiffs' Affidavit) are 'employees' as defined in s. 2 of the Employees Provident Fund Ordinance, 1951.

Before the Summons was fixed for hearing I indicated that in the first instance I wished to be satisfied that the procedure adopted in this case was correct and that the plaintiffs were entitled to ask for a declaration determining the question stated above. The hearing on 29 May 1957, therefore was only for the purpose of deciding whether the proceedings and what they purported to achieve were in order.

Mr Brash on behalf of the defendant argued that the proceedings were not in order because the only matters which could be brought before the Court by Originating Summons, apart from specific statutory provision, were those matters which were provided for in O. 52 and if a particular matter was not provided for in O. 52 then an Originating Summons was not thecorre