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the constitutional implications arising from Lord Ammon's appointment while a member of the Government as Chairman of the National Dock Labour Corporation on 30th August, 1945, and similar comments may apply to his present position. However that may be, it is clear that he is neither subject to the orders of the Government in his capacity as Chairman of the Board nor to dismissal, since members of the Board are appointed for a fixed term. That the Board should in circum- stances such as those now existing act in close consultation with the Minister of Labour and the Emergency Committee is manifest as is the fact that, although by wholesale dismissals its continuance could no doubt be placed in jeopardy, the Dock Labour Scheme cannot be revoked or amended by the Board. Nor indeed can such action be taken by the Government save after public enquiry and the lapse of time. On the other hand, the ultimate responsibility for the administration of the Scheme does rest upon the Board and not the Government, and it is the Board which (in the absence of direction) would have to decide whether to operate the disciplinary code. I mention this because the Board, and the Government, may be open to some criticism for the fact that, as I understand on Government advice, the Board has refrained from operating the Scheme, and in particular the disciplinary code, since the trouble first arose on the 'Beaverbrae' in April, and the Board may seek to say that in the absence of a direction from the Emergency Committee whereby the Government accepted the responsibility it was for them to decide how to discharge their primary responsibilities and how long to regard the disciplinary code as a dead letter.
(5) I do not know whether the Emergency Committee has so far issued any directions. I suggested at Cabinet meetings on 7th and 11th July that it might be inexpedient to proclaim an Emergency unless and until a definite course of action requiring the use of Emergency Powers had been decided upon. The Emergency Committee is, of course, the instrument of the Government and under the control of the Minister of Transport and if in fact it has issued any directions in regard to matters which could not have been dealt with in the absence of Emergency Powers it might be useful to make the fact public.
w Courts, W. C. 2.
21ST JULY, 1949.
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