I desire to put a point to the Minister which it is not necessary he should deal with here. It will be aufficient if he deals with it elsewhere. A similar matter was raised last week but, since then, communications have been received from the boatmen who have been employed in previous years by the Lax Weir Company. They are in a very great difficulty and their minds are perturbed by a communication received on 9th January. That communication stated: "I received your letter in connection with the coming fishing season and very much regret to state that I heard definitely yesterday the Lax Weir will not work this coming season. Should this decision be altered, which is unlikely, I shall convey the information to you." On the 4th February they were further informed that "the Lax Weir Company would not work the water." The boatmen asked if they would be allowed to fish the weir themselves and they were told that they would not but that it would be protected.
I think I understand the position from what the Minister said last week, but it is very important for the peace of mind of these men that they should know where they stand. It appears that the Lax Weir Company is not going to work the fishing this year. We do not know when the property of the Lax Weir Company will be taken over by the Electricity Supply Board. Even if it is taken over forthwith after the passage of this Act there will be at least two but more likely six or seven weeks' wages lost by these men, which may seem a very small matter to the Electricity Supply Board, but which is of very great importance to the men concerned. If the property is not taken over for six months, then the provisions of the Bill will be of no use whatever to these men, because the open fishing season immediately preceding the acquisition will have passed and these men will not have been employed. I assume that the intention is that the Lax weir will be acquired by the Electricity Supply Board almost at once, but every week's delay makes a difference in the earnings of these men. It is desirable that the Minister should make a public statement of what his will is in this matter and that the Electricity Supply Board should also make a statement of their intentions in regard to these men, who are at present being deprived of employment. They ought to have begun their fishing on the 1st February, but they are at present idle and there is no prospect of their being re-employed for some weeks, at all events. They are losing their earnings and they do not know what their fate will be in the next six months.
