I move amendment No. 10:—
Before Section 21 to insert a new section as follows:—
Where a person has been duly elected to the office of Clerk and/or inspector to a board of conservators, such election shall be deemed to be permanent and shall terminate only by order of the Minister, after dueinquiry as provided for in Section 17 of this Act.
The principle contained in this amendment has already been raised on the Bill. The Minister then said he would consider including the matter in a consolidating Bill but I gathered that the consolidating Bill will be a most difficult measure and, with the best intentions, will probably take two or three years to produce. I have said that the principal failure in this Bill has been in connection with insufficient catering for protection. The whole success of our efforts will depend on whether we can really improve the present system of protection which is, in many cases, an absolute and complete farce. I do not know that the Committee are quite clear as to what happens at the present time. The clerk is elected by the votes of conservators who represent various interests—the anglers, the estuary men and others. If, during the triennial period, he, by the exercise of special energy, obtains a large number of convictions, there is tremendous canvassing and the result is that the clerk no longer holds office. I hold no brief for anybody but I think it is a great pity to wait for a consolidating Bill in order to give permanency to, at any rate, an inspector who has got to go out at night with the Guards and bailiffs to catch these people. The conservators are protected by the power of dismissal under Section 17. If they find that a man who has been made permanent is inefficient, they can apply for an inquiry, state their case and the Minister can summarily dismiss him from his post. I should like to see this matter dealt with in the Bill.