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is a problem which could be discussed at considerable
length. From the clinical - pathological point of view,
of course, it was laid down a century ago, by Wilhelm, that
it is an abnormality of cells, but you can have abnormality
of cells, as you all know, in an area, or in an organ with
out having any disability whatsoever, and, therefore, dis
ease, in the sense of the person who has to decide that
something exists in an individual for which he has some
- for which he has to receive compensation.
We, I think, or those of us who have to consider.-
legislation from the point of view of compensation, must
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bear in mind two important and somewhat opposing points of
I view. One is that If you don't define a disease, an indus
trial disease, with great exactitude, or with as much exact
itude as you can manage, grave injustice would be done or !
jmight be done on -the one hand, to the man who suffers from
the disease, such as has been the case on a large scale in |
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South Walea, or you.might, in the case of certain industries!,
damage the prosperity, of that industry by excessive .compen
sation being paid out, and therefore, in our concept, in
South Africa, we consider pneumoconiosis, silicosis, an
Incapacity of some sort, a disability of some sort.
Now, the legiwlation of South Africa has started
with the Act of 1912, when it was first thought that diseasei
existed which was due to quartz, and at that time, two
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