• • PROCEEDINGS OF THE DURI I\JG THE • OF THE r we11ty-Thi1·d General 1\ssembly • • OF · NDI_jAND 9.7 }~ OBI~SON & Cc;l\II? AXV, l .. TD., PRESS !)L1cl<\vortl1 Street, St. J ol111's, N e\vf ou11dlanti 19r7 •. • ' •

. 4 • l I-lOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. and I am satisfieJ yo11 will join with me in rejoicing at the fact that New­ foundland, tl1e oldest Colony of the Cro\vn, was privileged to participate in this great council. The questi'ons , vvith which the Imperial 4Jonference dealt, will, from time to time, form the subject of legislatio11 by the Motherland and the Dominions con­ cerned.

The Great War, raging now for nearly three years, continues with un­ abated fury, and has gradually drawn in other countries, until now the Un­ ited States, hitherto the greatest neu­ tral po,ver, has felt compelled to clra w tl1e sword in defence of its lib­ erties, outraged by the German na­ tion. The advent of the American Republic into the struggle will stim­ t11ate the vaJour and l1eroic efforts of the allied nations for the bringing of the conflict to a successful C()nclusion, and will materially assist in haste11- ing that end.

It n1ust be a source of in.tense pride to every N e;vfoundlander that tl1e participation by this country in the struggle, through its gallant sail­ ors and soldiers, has earned for them undying glory a.nd the recognition by tl1eir Sovereign, their comma11ders and the Britisl1 public, of the posses­ sion by our valiant defenders of the quaJities of manliness, courage and devotion to duty that ~tre the birth­ right of the British people from "\vhom they have sprung.

The proud place, won by the men of both forces, 11as not been obtained -vvithout grievous sacrifices of life, and the inevitable accompaniment of heartbreak to hun­ dreds of 11omes in this country; but, it "rill be a proud consolation to those who have lost representatives, that they can cherish tl1e heritage of duty well done i11 the greatest crisis that has ever threatened the civilized \~lorld. 'The War has necessarily caused changes in every aspect of our Col- onial existence, a~nrl in none more than in tl1e steadily gro\ving cost of the necessaries of life.

My Ministers ha ·ve appointed a Commission to in­ c1ujre into the questions surrounding this problem in its particular appli­ cation to ot1r o"\vn Colony, with a view to recommendi11g such measures as . ma.y help in minimizing the burdens due to high prices.

ApaJrt from this, ho\ivever. it has been borne in upon the Government ·that the situation calls for relief to the Civil Servants by an increase in their salaries, and tne necessary measures to give effect ther~to will be laid before you in due course. 111 the same \Vay tl1e claims of Education for a substantial aug­ mentation in the grants provided for that service, have been · realized by my Ministers, and you will be invited to make an additional grant for that • purpose. Mr.

Speaker and Gentlemen of the Honot1rable House of Assembly: Tl1e Re\renue for the last financial year shovved a substantial increase over the expenditure, ancl tl1e result­ ant surplus \vas applied towards the Colo11y's war expenditure. Another large surplus is anticipated for the fiscal year sl1ortly to terminate, and it is proposed to apply this to the same purpose.

Th·e Estimates for the severia.l De­ Pftrtments will be laid before you sl1ortly, and vvill, I am sure, receive yo11r most favoural)le consideration, as, notwithstanding that they repre­ sent a large increase over those of tl1e current year, they have been framed "\Vith dl1e regard to econom.y a11d the exigencies of the unparalleled sitl1ation \Vhich now confronts us. Tl1e ineqt1ality of tl1e pay of the men of the Royal Naval Reserve, as com­ pared "\vith that of the men of the Newfoundland Regiment, has influ­ enced my Ministers to take measures to remove this anomaly, and your ac- 1 ' ,. r

• HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 5 ceptance ,~vill be invited of a measure d e~3igr1ed to place the men of both ser ... ·.Tices on the same footing. M~. President and Honoura'ble Gentle­ rr1en of the Legislative Council: Mr.

Speaker and Gentlemen of the Honourable House of Assembly: 'Il1e various industries of the co11n­ try 'lv'ere conducted with more than tl1e ordinary m·easure of success dur-. i11g the past 3rear, and thanks, in part, to ilie improved markets for the com- 111od.ities \Vhicl1 we export, the returns sect1red by our people for the pro­ ducts exportecl show tl1e greatest ad­ vance for any twelve months in tl1e Colon)~'s history.

This in turn enabl­ ed our imports to be substantially en­ largecl, \vitl1 the result tl1at the value <Jf Olli' total trade has increased from rrvventy-five Million Dollars to Thirty­ five Nlillio11 Dollars. 1.'lhe present year l1as <Jpened auspiciously vvith a suc­ cessful SeaJ J1~ ishery, for the fruits of \\··l1ich tl1ose engaged l1a,ve secured un- llsually high 11rices. rI'he outlook for the Cod Fisl1ery i;-:; an encourag ·ing 011e. It is earnestly to be t10ped that conditions \Vill prevail throughout the rest of tl1e sea.son Vlhich will enable this staple product to be exported at re111unerative prices.

At the same ti1ne whilst desiring prosperity, it is important to i1ote that tl1ose respon­ sible for the conduct of affairs in the Niother Country, tl1e Gre;at Dominions a11rl tl1e nations vvith vv,.hom we are proud to be allied, have emphasized the need of pru(lence and economy, lJoth by the State and individuals, and I feel sure that you in your delibera­ tions, and that the people i11 their personal pursuits, can make no mis­ tal{e in practising tl1ese same vir­ tues, and in that spirit I commend your efforts and theirs to Divine Pro­ vidence. RESOLUTIONS OF CONDOL!EN 'CE. RT. HON. PRIME MINISTER­ lVIr.

Speal\:er, before vve proceed to the regl1lar a11d forn1al work of the session, I tl1i11lr I shall be anticipa.ting the v»'isl1es of tl1is I-louse if I propose for J'Ollr co11sideratio11 a Resolution of s.v1111Jatl1y i11 tl1e very great loss tl1is 1 rouse !ia.s susta.ined, and I may add tho wl1ole col1ntry, i11 tl1e cleath of two of its i11<)St es.teemed and worthy mem­ liers. Since vve last met here, only a fe,v i11011tl1s ago, the senior member for St. J ol111's East, lVIr. Dwyer, and 011e of tl1e ine1nbers for St. Jol1n's II \!Vest, lVIr.

I{e11ne<ly, 11a ve both been called to their eternal rest, and we here in t11is Asse1nbly are poorer, very n1ucl1 JJOt)rer i11deed tJy their lossr 1 :o Ll1 i11en1bers reseml>led e::ieh other 111 n1a.11}r i11111ortar1t respects, bl1t par­ ticularl)r in those high idealB of citi · ze11s11ip aJ1rl the continued practice of tl1ose sterling quaJities for wl1ich they ;;'e~ e terna.rl\:alJle. Mr. DVtryer \.Vas a 1r1e1111Jer of tl1is Chan1ber for nearly t \\·er1ty 37 e{;trs. I tl1i11lr it was in '99 tl1at ll e first can1e iii. 1~ e 'vas 011e of the ·oldest members .of the House. Y\1r.

I(ennedy, althoug . h asso- ciatecl \\·itl1 tl1e pul)lic and n1unicipal i if e C)f tl1e city for i1early as long a period, has 011ly be211 in tl1is Chamller for aJJ011t nine years. But in those sl1ort periods of public life, short as 'Viewed fron1 S<)n1e sta11dpoi11tsi they ha.<l ea.~ily established for tl1emselves ~1 na111e f{)r ii1tegrity a.11d honesty in all tl1eir public (leali11gs, a.r1<l were laol\:ed 11p<)n by t11:eir fe,llow workers lor t11e value of tl1eir juclgrnent arid tl1e ii11p(>rta.n t service wl1icl1 they re11- <l0red .to tl1e State. Mr.

D'vyer l1acl attai11ed a ri1)e 91d age, bei11g witl1i11 a. )'e~tr nf ei1;f1ty :rea.rs. I-I e Ita(l ex­ C8PJe cl by te11 years the s1)a11 ()f life allottecl 1Jy the IJsaJ111ist. l\/Ir. J(en­ '1.edy l1ad 011ly atta,i11ecl 111idclle ag~. i1a.fl not reael1ed 11is sixtietl1 year, an{l 11a(l 1Jefc)re 11in1 a life full of i11terest <t.n(l "\vorlc. 13otl1 n1e11 11ad alreacly at- ni11e(l tc) tl1e heigl1t of tl1eir profes­ c:lio11. Mr. l)wy~r 11acl been i11 tl1e acl~ r11i11istra,tic)n ()f Sir Robert Boncl a i11e111ber of the Agriculture Boarcl, and • I , , '

• • r I 6 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. tl1 e rnE·m hers of this Ho11se have often 11a d the i)onefit of l\iir. Dvvye ·:''s }{11ow­ leclge \vhe11 tl1e subject of Agricul­ ture vla.s l)efore it. I-Iis farm, situat­ t~r1 a.ln1ost in the city, , .. v·a.s in itself a f;n·1nJI n1 c1d el farm from ¥1l1ich ra.diated t11e l::no\vledge t<) all wb.o wished to <)1)tai11 it 1)y observa .tion or by -vvillin,g­ ~~<1vice ai1d assistance from its owner. l\![r.

Kennedy, too, had achieved sue· cr;ss, a11d to seelt his mon11n1ent one • l: ~ s l)u t tc> loo 1{ arolln(J at the -vari<)US p11b1i c a11 cl private b11ilding·s in this city th.at reflect the highest credit on Jtif:~ r1ead and \VOr1{n1a.nship. But it is 11ot merely aJong these lines anr1 by tl1eir p:ofessio11al "'\Vork that they be ­ ca.me marked n1en. They had estab­ lished names for themselves in the f1ocia.1 life ot tl1e tovvn ancl the entire C<)llntry. 111 educational and social \Y<Jrk they 11a ve both do11e great ser~ vice. Mr.

Dwyer for nearly htllf a century had been associated with the i11(111strial, edt1cational and cha.ritabl~ \Vork of tl1e Benevolent Irish S{>ciety. \Vl1i!<:~ JVIr. l{ennedy had been for forty _i."cn rs .a :c. ac ti ... ve 1nember of tl1e Total /\. lJstinence a 11d Benefit Association, ~ 11r1 i11 these wH.11~s of life these men , .. t "f.' f i· h 112 u 111 a:n y <) 111) 01' 11111 cl es o accomp is · in.!~ great good in the com1n1'.l11ity.

The public 1011g ago reaJized tl1a.t these \ve1·e tl1e class of men to whom the J)t1blic affairs might be e11trusted, and th a.t is \¥l1y Virl1e11 tl1ey v.rere c~~~llecl a vva,y tl1ey \Vere performi11g t11e p11blic <lt1ties entrusted to them by the con­ stituents of the two districts of this city. We ha.ve suffered in tl1is Cham­ l)er a great loss in the deatl1 of these tvvo inemlJers.

They were not me·a co11s11icuo11sly to the front in all de­ l)a,tes c>f the I-louse and in fact rarelv -spoke, t)Ut Vlhen they did take ad·van- la.g·e of this privilege, th~y al -vvays hac1 fhe closest attention and consideration • <)f lJoth sides, and no-vv that tl1eir work ts done \Ve can all candidly say tbf.l. v C(>r1tributed faitl1ful service in the in­ terests c>f the Colony a,nd the town. And \vl1at m:1y be said of them in their public life and in tl1eir profes­ sional life, might also be sairl in rela­ tion to their private lfe.

It was my pri,rilege to ha\re known hol h. and J kno\v the members of this House will agree v1itl1 me \T1l1en I say that they "''ere ideal brothers, itlenJ sons, and in the case of Mr. Ke11nedy an ideal l1us· band. It is not much that we ca11 do to perpetuate tl1eir memory. They hi11re done that tl1emselves, but I feel I am e1~pres , sing the desire of this P ouse wb.en I st1bmit this resolution. to become part of t~1e Journal of this I-louse, anc1 express the sympathy of this Cha1nber to the :!'elatives of our dead friends.

For these reasons I beg to propose the follov1ing resolu­ tion:- " RE~JLVEJD-That this I-Io11~e de­ sires to place on record an expression f;i its heartfelt sorro'v at the decease of John Dwyer, Esqr., and M. J. Ken­ !ledy, Esq_r., for some time members of this branch of the Legislature. . Their sterling qualities rendered them a val11able acquisition to the Legisla­ tt1re. Whilst mourning their loss, members of this JI ouse desire to con­ vey to their relatives, deep sympathy ilJ tJ1eir bereavement." MR. LLOVD--Mr.

Speaker, it is a sacl d11ty, but still a duty for one re­ ptesenting tl1is si(le of the H()llSe to j0in with the Lead e:r of the G{)"'\rern- 11.t ent in e:x:pressin 3 ot1r conc1olence _ with the loss of t\vo of 011r friends. \'Te have had opportunities of lt11ov;­ i11g these men, but personally I may sa>T my in ore intin1ate acqu 'lints .nee has been with Mr. D\vyer. B11t often I had opportunities of 01:,serving tl1e at­ titude of Mr.

Kennedy from this side of the House, and I can sa. y that we a.II endorse \vhat the Leader of the Government has sair}, and P ·~ earned our complete respect for his honesty of p11r1)ose and sterling qu~ilities. Mr. Dwyer has l)een a long time a, mem- ,

I HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINQS. 7 ber of tl1is House, and there was something i11 hi1n which attracted the 11uman side of the House. There was the tr11e Irish wit and humor which radiated from him tl1rough this House "vhenever we were privileged to hear him. Both possessed in a large degree the sterling qualities to which Sir Ed­ ward Morris has referred. Equally n1ight it be said of Mr. Kennedy as it 11as often been said of J QP.n Dwyer,­ ''Honest" John Dwyer.

I do not neecl, Sir, to say more than that we on this sicle of the House join with those on the other side in taking this motion up as the first business of _the session, ancl ex1)ressing the deep regret this I-IousE~ feels towRrds the relatives in t11eir (Jistress. ThE~ llesolution on being put to the IIouse was confirmed by a unanimous fi ; anding vote. MO rr 1 I1QN FOR ADD1R; E:ss TN REPLY. MR.

DEVEREAUX--! rise for the v11r11ose ()f rr1oving tJ1at a committee be appointed to draft a reply to the g r a.cio11s speecl1 of IIis Excellency, with which he has bee· n pleased to open tl1e pre.sent session of the Leg­ tsilature; . and further, Sir, I would ask the permission of the House to make a fe'v observations in relation to the var·ious matters contained therein. The ope11ing paragraph :refers to ai1 i11vitatio11 from His Majesty's Govern­ ment to the I>rime Ministers of the selt-gov :er11ing colonie · s overseas, in­ cluding India.

It is also referred to in tl1e subsequent p·aragraphs that the ei1och-making assemblage of such a cl1ar.acte · r in the center of the Empire \Vas u11usual and could only be antici­ r>ated because of the fact that the Em­ I>ire is calling on he· r children to as­ sist her not on1ly by her p:hysical for­ ces but by her intellectual. Then you have had in the ca pi tail city of the Empire the Prime Ministers of the younger nations, in order to give by their e-xperience and lrn.owl 1 edge of colonial affairs that assistance expect­ ed of them.

I har·dly can find any par­ allel in relation to this great epoch unless you go 1back to Imperial Rome, \Vhich in the plentitud 1e of her pow­ er had h1er consuls and her pro-con­ suls all the world over, as the worild ~as known to them. 1She has been called and was at that particular peri~ od the mi·stres · s of the wor·ld, and occa­ sionally she ·did sen· d out to the e 1 nds of the earth, bringin 1 g in these magis­ trates or pro-consuls in order to con­ fer with them in the Imperial city of Rome.

Today you have-more than tv;enty c1enturies later-a greater em­ pire 7.mproving in a great measure up1-­ on the proced\1re of ancient Rome, for Britain permit~ her g·overnors to remain at their post of duty in her colo11ies, while she asks th·em to send their Prime Ministers to conf 1er with h 1 e1· in the highest council of. the lDmpire. Often times when th, e pro­ consul was brought back to Imperial Rome it was not as a fri.end; for oc­ casionally he d·rew tne :sword from its scab bard and crossed the Rubicon of citizenship to b·ecome her enemy.

How different with Britain when the Prime Ministers were crulled to con­ fer "Tith the leaders of the nation, to e 1-:: chang·e sentiments of loyalty, to their King and to tako th.eir ·seats as brother:s with the Prime Minister of the EmJJire a:nd his Cabinet in the Imperial city of London.

Amongst those, Si'r, I am sure we are proud to ackno"\vledge the fact that our own I)rime l\1inister was one of those for­ tun.ate ones, who gave, from his full knowledge and extensive expe ·rience in colonial and in parliamentary life, rnuch help to those who are the prin­ cipal advise .rs in relation to this war; a11d w· e are glad to-day to have him back again amongst us. He went through dangers which we here in • this country can hardly rerulize. He paissed through the danger zone,ma .ny times and he was on the plains of • • •

8 HOUSE OF AS S EMBLY PRO·CEEu11'JGS. Fra11ce and Flanders, and all becaus · e he desir·ed to have an intimate know­ ledge of the war and because he want­ ed to fi.nd that affairs in relation to our o·wn regiment were right, and in cone ·squenc · e was sometimes in dan­ ger of his own life. I am sure, Sir, we feel proud to be allowed to have a voice in the great questions that are to-day be-ing tal{en up in connection with tl1e Empire The Great War­ t1ow sl1all I speak of it?

How shall I give to you this day the feelings of a British citizen in relation to the war-the Armageddon-that which never ·has b·een before, all down through the history of the world. We speak of the · Napoleonic wars, and the early w.ars of th· e world, but there is no parallel, nothi11g · similar in any way to th, e battle of the nations. Tl1e second paragraph of the Speecl1 from the 'Throne ref.er s espec ially to our gr·eat democratic neighbor the United States of America having gon in.

It is only natural for us to say that it is an anticipa ,ti·on fulfilled , 1bec a us e \V e k11ow that the great Anglo Saxon spir­ it of the United States wa1s at one with the British Empire in these fun­ damentail facts; pertaining to the vvar and we also knew that it wa. s only necessary for he- r to formulate the best preparation when she would go in glad 1ly and with the same en­ tl1usiasm as he· r great neighbor both of whom spr·ung from the same an­ cestry.

England would never be in tl1is war to-day but for the fact that she went i11 to maintai11 justice and her own honor She went in especial­ ly to save the smaller nations, an<l one for whom she was trusted Belgi­ um; and up to this moment she has maintained cleanly and fearlessly aill the standards of morality and honor which have been hers undisputedly for ce·ntl1ries.

We are glad, Sir, I aJil: sure, that the United States, our great neigl1 bor, the greatest democr .atic na­ tion on earth, potentia 1 l ·in wealth, nu-- .merically strong, kin to us in blood, is i11 complete accord witl1 the Empire's a.s11iratio11s. It is not necessa ·ry for 1ne to say ti1at we feel that God-the God of battles- is still in control, and t!1e adv·ent of the United Stateis of Am­ erica into · the war was as our ally n1ust give certain hope that we are riot 011ly right, but that pr·ovidence is C)Il tl1e side of England and her allies. 'rl1e next • paragraph refers to our Boys.

It is tinged vvith sadness, just aiS it is tinged with glory. It implied , perl1aps more than an)T other para ­ gr a,pl1 in the speecl., what is meant by a British citizen. Here, almost i11 tl1e Arctic zone, cut off practically fron1 all the great centers of civiliza . ­ ti o11 for more t han a centl1ry and a h a..lf yet all our traditions are English , lris l1, or Scotch.

We gloried in our a11r;e3tr y, a n d we alYiays fel~ that if · l I~ 2 ti· n e ev er carne tl1at Eng'land n8e (l­ e(i our help our figl1 tir~ g race would rr1a,i11tain that sta.ndard for loya.lty a11<l truth which had l>een mai11tained si11ce the dawn of Ollr history. The descende11ts of these free peoples, , ),, ~ · -;,..., , l ('l't 1··zens ·penc.1'·1 e· rl {- 1l' 0 .... ., ·~ J L..£ 1 , i v v t \ ~ ti.. L J. v · cal l- tl1eir cou11try's call, and the result of tl1eir i1Iuck and courage can be read i11 the picture portrayed in Gallipoli.

Caribou Hill is but a name · , but it s11all co11vey for ce11turie , s to come vvl1at is po1ssible to b· e done by the l>lood-tl1e blood of tl1e Anglo and Cel­ t ic races. E.,or, as I ha,ve already sta.ted bei11g disassociated for so long ~1 11eriod from these centers from wl1icl1 is drawn patriotism and all the g·eeat feelings of tl1e heart and the int ellect, Newfoundland has prov ,ed tl1 at i10 matter wl1ere you place her so11s tl1ey shall produce the character­ is tic of the race fr'om which their fore­ fa.tl1ers sprung.

Yes,even in the first sad cl1ftI)ter of the history of this war, and ev·e11 tl1ough our people are small n_u­ rn eric ally in this Colony, we were t h er e, a11d not only were we there but we vvere conspicuot1s for our bravery •

' HOUSE OF ASSE1\t1BLY -1:>RQ·CEEDINGS. 9 ai1d our pluck and our detiermina.tien· a11d 9ur devotion to the Britis.h flag. 'rl1e11 let llS step over to France.

We . all ren1em ber as Englishm ·en and as llritisl1ers the retreat at Mon,s, we can c<)nce.ntrate our me.mory upon tl1at glorious little army-said by the l(aiser to be contemptible-the nu­ cleus upon which has be,en built the s1Jile11clid volunteer army of five mi1- lio11s -vvl1ich we have toi-day-Kitchen­ er's Arn1y-· tl1at little army called the British Expeditionary force which went over to France in the early days of the war proved thems ,elve, s to be 11ot only brave but they proved them­ sel,Tes to be the best soldiers that liv­ ed. rr11e retreat at Mons will be read of in years a11d centu ·rie· S to come,an(l although it was a retreat it proved more than a11ything else possi'bly could tl1at the1se men held in their veins the proud blood of Englishmen. rl l1 e n we co1ne to the lVlarne vvhere F o c l1 ~:;. the great French General, i1ni­ L~~ i :,r1 __ ; his n1aster, the Great Nap,ol­ C\., 11 o!.. n1ore than a century baclt i i ~e~' c ecl the Gerntar: centre 3.nd sav­ e c 1 the city . of f'-~ , ris, 3iild ?1ot on1~r 1:aris but France} all(l ga \'8 the first op po ,, t -Jnity to th8 r\llies O~ nverC<)l11- i T 1f;' t11e Kaiser and tl19 1J-ern1an <trn1 :\y. _\ t t ha·~ tirne we 'At-er~ i11 great dan~~er, a11d it is 011ly thrort.~11 the geni11s of }- oc11~-~ and the uravary of the ~'re11ch a :·:1 1y .. ~ nd the sper!Ul!l cotI'.:age of ·tl1e i .c .. 1 i 1 1 the Expe:J1't'.ic1rt(Lry :E'(\ff·e, ~hat \\·n B-. ·t not to-day mourning our L ·r:t' e dead in a G-erin~ln ·Colo11y. ..'.~ f ~ er tl1at \Ve had Y~rcs an(l the!\ . '\'" pre s a.gain; and then '" e cor11e to t11e fi r st sad story regar(lin~ ClUr own s ol1.1ie :~ s in France-B ·ea,umo:c.t Ham(~i. .. \ 11 ! \ 7 e aJl r,emem ber tha L; \'Ve re- 111 e~11 l er it in \rarious ways; but \Ve 3 ll re 111ember it with p:-ide beca,llS(~ of tl1e Supre1ne Self-sacrifice our sol­ rlier lads displayed and '\Vhich vve trern ·bled at because vve had feared. c \!

An in our most optimistic spirit~ tl1at 01Jr boys -Yvl10 were totally un- P SA'l to a11yLl1i11g lil\.e tl1e conditit1ns they n1 ust face; but \•/ 1 8 r.ray err ·ch '.lt tl1ey would still rr1aintain that :)restige whic , h is the glory of tl1e B1·itish people; and they did so, and v1e are proud of that spirit; proud · tJ10t we gave such valiant inen to tlte l~J rr1pire.

Even thiose wl10 did not h Et \'e the privilege of close relation­ sb.ip vv-ith those brave lads were prot1d or' then1 a11d gloried i11 their manly spirit and the land that gave them birth, yet the bitter tears would flow, b ecausf~ '\Ve lost heavily over there. · 1-J1ese are g·o11e, son1e are 1nai1ned for life, son1e of the brave boys of that <la ~1 are lying beneath tl1e soil of .

I~ ra11ce, so111e have rr1onuments over tl1e 1 11~-crosses and other en1blen1s­ L u t th. e i11en1ory of these boys \Vil I ii v e i11 the hearts of n1en, their 111en1- < Lr_,, sl1all i1ot die, for it is imprinted 1 r10 eli bly upon the heart sof those vv,110 believe tha.t Terra Nova on that cla)' had done its dutv. v rJ. l1en we 11a, ve the battle of the So1111ne,in -v-vl1ich our b()ys \Vere en­ g·aged, especially in the Canadian regirn e11ts, Then October 12tl1 \Vhe!e our boys so bravely · i11aintained the prestige ()f the :F'lag·, and whete the 1bra ve Donnelly, Clift, O'Brie11 and nlan} other were taken fro111 us, a\vay to the 11eart of G-od; because, Sir, I i11ainta'in tl1at a i11an \V,ho loves his country sufficie11tly to gi·ve up his life fior it, is so near Goel that a disti11c­ tion betweer1 the love lie has for his country and that of his God is im­ ipossible 'to be determined.

I, for one, envy parents and rel:itives of tl1ose \vho 11a ve nobly laid down their li -, e s. Of ~ourse they suffer acute­ ly , beca11se nature enforces that, but <:ts tirne shall pass and assuage their gr ief, ithe proud 1est people in the co11ntry will be the parents-the rn·others and tl1e fathers-who have g'i,ren their sons to their co11ntry and their God. ,..fherefore I do not mourn, •

• IO HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 1 1ut I envy the position of n1any in this country because of ihe sul)ren1e privilege that has been given tv them, tl1ough grief has been tl1e first effect, t! h· e second e1ffect 'vill be a.n a.ssuage- 111ent, a,nd the tl1ird -vvill be glory in 11a ving suc. h t0ys to give and to 1 11a.intair1 those standards of ;pluck and bra very that has been our herit­ age for centuries, tl1ey did not be­ con1 e cowards, did not break the tra­ clitions of th. e past, and as I said before in this third 'Period, thi.s proud mother will be able to look up to God and say: "In a few years hence I \\Till b· e with him. ~ ' N1ow, Sir, the next .para .graph is \Vitl1 regard to food sup.plies ,and I a1n glad to find that the Government has given some attention to that of late an, d that we have a Food Com­ n1ission already.

I trust that we sl1ortly shall have an opporL11r1ity of seeing, ev·en if the prices of f.ood are not at once lowered, 1whether it is possible to d1 0 so or not. I am glad also, Sir, to congrat11late this House, and especially the Gov­ ernrr1ent, upon the surplus, particu­ la,rly in s~h trying rtim1es; and the lVIir1ister of F'inance especially oug:ht to be congratulate · d for his manage- 1T1ent and financial ability durin . g the last year, surr1ou11de1d as we are by such circumstances.

I n1ust also congra 1tulate the Gov­ er n111ent upon paragraph six, with r elation to tl1e men in the Navy; u.p­ on ]Jutting them upon the sam~~ foot­ iI1g as the solcliers.

That wilJ be a great addition to their pay, and will g"i ve them a s·ense of fair play vvhicl1, I think, was not thei1 ~ be­ fore. 1:'hey th·ought they were un­ fairly treated by the Gov·ernment or son1ebody, and I am. glad to find th.at the Go·vernme11t has attended to the n1atter and has placed them on the same footing as the soldfers. v'l ith regard to paragraph s·even, ' vl1icl1 speaks of our industrie r s and our trade; it is very gratifying to find that our trade has incr1eased so co11.;)id·erably.

Ten millions in one year is extraordinary, and especial­ ly in times like thes ·e; and, as has bee11 \vell stated here, at present the pr1osp 1 ect in r1e1lation to our staple in·· dustry is good, " and I trust and be­ lieve that we will, with ordinary econo1ny in relation to our affairs. pass ·Over . the next :y·ear as safely and as co111forta·bly as we have the . present one. Economy is b·eing ·preacl1ed the world o·ver. There are mor1e than fourteen nations to-day on shiort ra.tions.

He.re we have not yet found any necessity for such a ste.p; but s·ome months :hence it may be nec.essary to . rplace rthe country on short rations. If that be s. o we will ha v1e to cheerfully suibmit to any­ thing that is done, and frollow the example of that great and ric. h Am­ erica, which has ap,pointed a ·Con­ troller and Corr1missioners all 0'1 er that country in order to economize in f1 o•od so t11at she vvill be .properly prepared, even if the war lasts for years, to n1aintain in a fair standarcl of comfort ' h1er pe10,ple.

Now, 1Sir, I move that a Commit-, tee be appointed to draft an Address in Re,ply t·o IIis Excelle11cy's graci·ous Speech. MR. HIGGINS.-Mr.

Speaker, I think it will be apparent to all ir1 this H·ouse that the task of one V\~h<) rises to s·econd the motion tl1at ~1 (Committe , e be appointed to draft a;1 Address in Reply t.0 His Excellency's Speecl1 is n1ade doubly easy this ~1f· ternot)ll in that, first, one has to f.01- low after an eloqu 1ent an· d pointed acl­ dress delivered with that ability tha i the senior ir1ember for the Districl of f1ilacentia and St. 1\1ary's has b~~ · corne so noted f.or in tl1is House; and deliv ,ered, I think, 011 this afternoo11 in a s: pirit on a '1ine with the A 1 ddre:ss that is under consideration; an<1, sec·ondly, the task bec·on1es easy i11

f , HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. I I that comments upon tt e sp~~ech which w, e ha ~1re I;.::stened to this af­ ternoon ml1st necessarily be con1- pressed into a vE~ry nar1~ow co111pass. The Speech to-da~y might l)e fairly summarized ~.,,- h(~Il called a War Speecl1, and tl1e I.>arliament ope11ed to-day, in the ir1idst of a great wa.r is very fitti11r~ly ope11ed by a. n Acl­ dress such as that to whicl1 we have just listened.

U E\ua1ly A<ldresses from the Throne, speeches of Gov· er11ors 0 1per1ing l?arliaments in those Do1ninions "\vhere self government ex­ ists under our forn1 of constitution, are presumed to indicate the policy of the Gover111ner1t of tl1e day; but to-day the people of N ewfoundlan ·d, and in iparticular the m·emllers of 1 l1is House, irrespective of P ~t:·ty. are filled, I f ee\l certain, with the spirit ·of old, that ti1r1e to which my learne(l friend, 1\1r.

Devereaux, ·has referred, w·hen ',None were for the Party and all were for the State." All ot1r thoughts and all our expec­ tations for the future concern the pol­ icy of those wl10 are r·esponsible for tl1e Government of the (Jo1ony ancl the con·duct of the affairs of th· e Col­ ony as best befits its· talring its prop­ er place in this terrible time of war. ,.fhe Speech sugg·ests that tl1is partic­ ular assemblage has 1l)een delayed by reason of v1l1at has been aptly terrr1- • etl i11 th· e Speech: "..t-\n epoch-making Assembly." And. surely, I think, Mr.

Speaker, w, e can feel as memb ,ers of tha.t great British Empire that the war has at least, tho11gh in a sad way and at a great price, given t'tvo splen(lid a11swers to what was con­ sidered by many as a sort of acad­ en1ic pr1 o·b[e1n for many years past. J\1Ta11y of us will reTUember, long be­ fore the murn1urings of war were heard, 1011g before ther , e \vas a.ny sign of this great conflict~ ho\V of­ ten \Ve heard the · theories of those \Vho wondered how .that far-flung British Empire would behave under str e ss.

IIo ofte h h d th · · w n \Ve a ve ea~· .e tl1eory advanced that this great Em- 1,.i.re of ours-a11 Empire greater than e·l/e..1.· has been---was becoming too lln­ wi·eldly, t·oo divided in regard to the situation and ideals ·of its peoples, to be regar ·ded as a concrete whole which wou~d be ready to rise to a .great occasion. H1ow ,often ha V · e we heard of the drean1s of the neighbor­ ing Dominion of ·Canada and of the other great sections· of the Err1pire overseas-of their national aspira.tions a11<l their desire to depart from the lVIother.land?

Now, Sir, if th, e war 11as taught lIS any lesson, if there iB an)rthing that is appare11 t to any tl1i11king man, it is that two incidents l1ave given the answer to those theor­ ies.

Tl1: e first was when, as my learn­ ed friend has said, that great Empire -·--au Empire not built for war, an I~ 1r1 pire whose constitution was 111ot.1lded for civilization, for pea,ce, for higher ideals than the savagery \V 11ich ha.s t1nfortunately be.en dornin­ ant for soTYJ.e time-which was only able to send across to the assistance of its Alli ,es what was termed, so in­ aptly as, t11ank G·od, it has turned 011t, 'Hfhe ·Contemptible Little Army" of 200,000, sent out the Call of Em­ pire from the Homela:r1d,-that little group of Islands in the Atlantic that represent the Hu. b of the great Wheel of Empire-there came an immediate res1)onse from the conquered land of Africa, from the recesses of the great I11dian Empire, from the ranches of Ne\v Zealand and the farms of Aus­ tralia, from the W ·oods and mountains of ·Canada, and from the fishing ham­ lets of the Oldest 1Colony, Newfo.und­ land-all rushing to the defence of the principles that were centralizecl in that Hub.

T.he ''Contemptibl~ T~it­ tle .A.rmy" has grown from a quarter of a million to some fiv8 · n1illion .B. The lines that vvere to be h8ld l111til the so11s came to the Motl1er :s aid. - . small at the time, have gro¥.r;1 accoru- f

12 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. ' ing·l3T . And to-day comes the second answer to these the-ories, when we are told that tl1is session of the Leg­ islature was deferre(l because of the" absence of tl1e Prin1e Mi11ister of the C~ olony-at what?

At a gathering, a.gain, of .all the representatives of t11e3e la,11ds; at a gatheri11g which has Leen tl1e drean1 of writers for years past. lVfuch 11ave we heard in years gor1e by as to the futt1re of the E1n­ pire as to its form of Government. ~\1 ucl1 has teen \Vritten and said as to vv ha,t place tl1e colonies were go­ ing to take under the changing con­ ciiLions of the world. And the war l1a,s ansvvered tl1at question. 'I~he con­ ference that has recently ,taken place is a living example and an illl1stra­ Lion of wl1at we rr1a,:yT hope for . in the l'ii111pire of tl1e f11ture. lVlr.

Speaker, I joi11 with tl1e mover of this Address ir1 sa,ying·, and I think 1nembers of this 1 -Iouse generally \Vill ag·ree with i11e, that we are all proud tl1at we 11ad represerrting this (jolony at the Conference one w1ho at least might be fairly said to be as go,od a r, e,presenta- . ti ·ve as could come from this Colony. \!\; ... e feel that in the Pri1ne Minister we ha(l one with an unusal exr)erience of the needs of t11e Colony, ?f the conditions or our pe<)ple, <>f our hopes for the fut11re, and of tl1e pos­ sibilities that are in tl1e country; and one who would see that tl1e Col- 011y toolr its rigl1tful place, first, in tegard to its duty in wl1atever :plans or obligations mig·ht be (lecided upon, and. secondly, in regard to the reward when t11e day of reckoning has come and our great E:ri1pire looks for com­ pensation for the sacrifices that she .. is maliing to-day.

And, Mr.

Speak er, follovving along the 1i11es of the mov­ er of tl1e Address, a11d i11 the same spirit as to \¥l1at the war has taught, might say that terrible though the cost whicl1 has been demanded may be upon the pe,op1e of a small country lil(e this, yet the proud place which l1as bee11 ta1\:e11 by the country through her illustrious dead, through 11er valiant sons \vho on sea anil land ha,ve laid down their live~ for tl1e pri11ciples w,hich un(lerlie tl1is strugg·le, is something that in tl1e yl'a,rs to C01L'3 will lJe l1il1)d_e'l do\Vll as tl1e ,g·reatest heritag·e tha.t could 012 i)a,ssecl do\vn by any :peopi·3 to . rL-ose who ca,1ne after tl1e111.

",..Ihere is a tear for all that die, ~L\. i11ourner o'er the humblest grave, But nations svvell the funeral cry, _4-nc1 triu111pl1 weeps above the Brave.'' J-\nd in the yea,rs of victory to corr1e, v v l1e11 this grea,t .BJn1pire will tallr. of tl1is terrible struggle, none will be n1ore lauded, no 11a1nes will be more ch·erished tl1an those \\Tho l1a ve laicl dow11 their lives, who have shown the greater -lo ~ve, w110 have proven that even in this small 1Colony, thank God, a, race has been produced that is able to con1e forward a11d do credit to the highest ideals that the khaki u11iforn1 stancls for to-day. 'I,l1ere are lion. gentlem ,en in this House, who ha;ve cause, fr,om a human star1dpoint, t<) feel a pa,ng of pain wl1en referencb is rr1ade to Beaumont Hamel and July 1st; other hon. n1en1bers have cause t() thinlc with sadness of Geaudecourt ancl October 12th; and some there ::tre vv ho wil ren1em ber l\Ionchy and. i1.pril 14th; but, Mr.

Speaker, in the • ~years that are to con1e those of us \Y ho Il<)W think of these places and cla, ~rs with sadness will remen1ber then1 vvith pride, because · on these day·s and at tl1~se places lives were lajd down that placed Newfoundland on the nlap of the world-the worlc of our boys in Fra11ce and elsewhere has do11e more, we can truly oelieve, to give N· e~wfoundland a : Place a111ong~;t the Dominions of the En1- pire than anytl1ing e1lse1 in ot1r his­ tc)ry; a11d whilst this time of stress is 011, le., us take care that in our deliberations here and in our con­ cluct elst~where we are not unmind-

14 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. t11at augmentation of the Educational grant is to be n1ade.

With respect to any n-:on.ey devoted to Eclucation· al Grants, I do not think that it can t e asserted at any time that we do not g:et or that any country does not get m1or·e act11al return on the dollar r:-· 1110i:·e "'::ite:reqt upon its . in ·vestment in vot8s for Education than in any otl1er form of grant that the Gov­ ernment may issue; for after all. the future of a country depends to a great extent upon how far its people are educated. and in this country it is a grP-at satisfaction f,or us to see tha.t thP-re has been an increased 1;'ote for Education.

I am st1re the l..1eade:r of the Op.p101sition, wh·en the tin1e a~rrives will as he has always done in the past. 1give that measure th:1t support which naturally comes frG-m one "rho i.s acquainted with the great r. Aed. for educa.tional work in a c-::1:r;.t--:- li!re 011-rs. I co11r;ratulate tihe J_.e::der of t11e GO'{ernment upon this ~rote.

If nothing else were in th· e SJ)Secb from the Throne, those two Jte!11 '3 2.Ione W·'.)U:ld naturally give us · r~eisur8 ancl con1n1and our attention : tut, of c<:urse, they- are l-0st anc ,-:_---1.·:fc 1 1.J~- ~11'3 r,reat issues whicl. . - fc--:'T·"! 1-~.1. e n1ain body of t'he address. 'fl:.e:·re is just one word I would li.l:e to say \7'-ith regard to the para­ ~c! ra ph deaJi11g with the· high cost of liYin& and the 3.ppointment of a C·om- 1nissio n.

N O"\V I recognize that on t.l1i:s point 011e mi1ght naturally be ex­ r•ectert to defend or attack the policy •f the Government in _making suc· h an ar:pointrnent. \Vell, it \V•OUld be im­ r;roper to mal{e any cor11ments as to ',vl;_o.t tl1e result of tl1is Com1nission \'l'ill te till tl1ere is a report fron1 tl1e111; but there is one principle that I \'Vould li1:ce to lajr do·v:,-n for consid- 0·:3.tion of l~onourable DJ.embers of this I--10use ancl t1hat is this: We ta1lk of tl1e ea.sy \Va3r i11 which such a 1 Com­ ~r1i::s·o:1 Ol'gh.t rl 2 certain tl1ings, and '"','3 t111clerta l<::e, as -vve all d10 in our private life, to blame Governments for an omission in dealing with problems of this kind, but we forget that pro b1ems of this kind are p:rie1sent­ ing t\he same diffict1lty and meeting the same awkwardness of handling else\vhere at the present time.

So long as busines , s is conducted \Vith profit as a basis you \VilJ find that :vou will have conditions such as ex­ ist now.

So long as the human mina carry-ing on business !has pr.ofit as a base of that business,as the founda­ tion of that businesis~ just so lon. g are people-and it is one of the weak­ ness of human nature-going to take advantage of all unusual c·on­ ditions-war, pe1stilence, famine, death of any kind, cruel as it may be, mod­ ern b11siness conditions, unfortunate­ lv, -...vill take advantage of all these. • Nov1, war profits as such, ought not b· e made by any per-son: the ideal conditions of things WQUld be tl1at no person ot1.ght to n1ake a pr0fit Ollt of war.

No man, whatever his l)usi11'3~s may be, ought distinctly anrj purely and. simply because of th.e 1v'.1r alone rr ake a profit, but the diffi~ult}1 , . Mr. Spea]{er, to-day in grapplin,~ ·vlith a r10 o16m like this in investi.e;D.t '.11 ~ t 11 e great field of modern business, is l; ~ ing down def111·,_:,e,1y just \vhe,Lt are ¥' ar profits, and 1-)J tl1is r1 ect~.1J . .:t '..'v1.1.

S 1 peaker,I wish to say and I avail of this opportunity to ~ay it do~.v11 c1S -n1y honest opinion .. th:i.t any Co1nmi$~ion. no matter ho-vv \Vell constit11tf..Hl-8.s this Co1nrnission is "rell CQllS r·j tuted in the sense of impartiality ~nd. lacl{ of bias-is alwa}rs going to l1ave g1·eat difficulty in se·parating 'vhat are "rar profits sin1ply fr,om what are so-call­ ed busin iess profits in the or lina.r)r senise; but whatever the profits m9..Y be, what1ever the prices may be, the principle remains on the other hand, as I .hav1e su.ggested, that so lon.g as wages rise to oorres pond with prices it does not matter.

A man d·oes not mind the price of a barrel of flour

j j I -. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 15 if he has enough in his pocket to pay for i.t. .... t\gain, n1r. Speaker, I am sure that it is a matter of satisfacti •on to all of 11s to notice t1hat action has be·en tak·en in the matter of the pay of tlhe R·oyal Naval Reserve. I feel cer· tain that not alone is this a matter of mere justice, but it is a matter that the country generally, whether interest ·ed dire~tly i11 the resu~ts or n·ot, will be gratified 1has been dealt with.

T.ht, work of t!he senior branch of the service-the ·first line of de­ f enoe of the Empire~has · b·een such as to deserve at ·our hands t1he same r·ecognition as we hav· e been able to , ' give th.ose w.hos · e work has b·een don· e on land. Finally, Mr. Speak er, I wish to a vai, l of this occasion ' to place on r·ecord, as I feel · it is my duty, a tribute in line with what has be·en said by the Prime l\1inister as regards the two 1gentleme · n who have passed a\vay since last we met-Mr. Kennedy fron1 St. John's West,and Mr.· Dwyer from St. J.ohn's East.

These two g.en­ tls1n_en, naturally, '\Vere more closely ass.ociated ~rith me in a political sens . e than members from districts outside, and I have but to say of them sincerely that all that has been spolr­ e11 from both sides of tl1e Hou1se with r· e.gard to tJh·em is re-echoed by thos 1 e of us wh. o hav. e had direct contact vvith t1hem in district work. In pay­ ing a tribute to the memory of my late colleague, Mr.

Dwyer, , J can say that in spite of his ye·ars h. e possess­ e: d a k·een inte .llect right up to tlhe mome ·nt of his death and that his en­ thusiasm in a political contest, if one had taken plac · e a couple of months before his demise, would ha·ve be·en just as great as fjhat of a man many years his junior. His loss to t 1 he district is known a.nd fe1t. (-fis plac : e in the district is not one \V1hich can be filled easily.

He that q11iet class of men who are quiet in the sens · e of giving expression to their opinions , but he was known throughout the length and breadth of his district as a tr1usty and wort 1hy representative. And so was Mr. Jus­ tice Kent.

I would avail myself of this op:portunity of saying that his district, "Nhilst regretting the loss from it, is proud to feel that one whose sterling c·haracter, e,sty of ·pur 1 po1se, whose abi·lity, and whose fine whose ihon­ undou :bted le!gal mind was suited to the p·ositio11 h. e now oc­ cupies, has gone to the iplace "\vhere these qualiti :es. will stand him, and this country, in g. o.od stead.

I beg to S · e·cond the motion that a committee b· e ap,pointed to draft an Address in Reply, and I trust that the se.ssi ·on upon which we are now entering, will be in keeping with the sugg . e.stions embodied in th1e closing of this Spee ch from the Throne, and especia.lly do I trt1st that whatever may occur in matters of ordinary rou-.. tine, · in matters of national welfare and the gre ater issues now at stake, vve sha.11 have the harmony that has so far characterized the ·conduct of aJI parties in this Chamber. The past 11as brought us severe les­ sons.

The w·ar is at present, if ever, i11 its most cr11cial stage; maybe the . darkest hour ~)efore the dawn, but at present, a. very black hour. We must feel that the b8st in us all must be given, irrespective of party affiliations and that if ever there was a time when thiR must be the one aim, it is now; and we may truly say in the words of the poet:- " Our fathers' God, from out \vl1ose hand The centuries fall .lil{e grains of sand \Ve meet to-day united, free, And loyal to our land and Thee, To tl1ank r-r11ee for the era done, And trust Thee for the opening one." MR. LLOYD-Mr.

Spea~er, in rising vvas, a;s has already ·been said, of I wish to congratulate the mover and

• I-IOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. ful of ~v\rhat they have done, of vvhat t11ey l1a \re stO()d for, and that we d{> not forg·et the obligations vvhi~h rest 11pon us \VJ th reference to those whorr1 they· h_a-\·e left behind.

I.Jet us take care tha; t whatever our differencees r11a)r "b; in ordinary affairs, in rr1atters dealing \'ritl1 our boys of the army rtnd navy tho same conduct "\vill be ])Ursued i11 the future as has bee11 j11 tl1e -J)ast, a11d that is, that ev·er}· i11atter pertaining to their require­ rnents \vill 0-e dealt vvith in a way \vhicl1 i:, ill sho"\v that \Ve recognize i-l1e eternal debt of gra titt1de which ,,re are under to them for aJl that tl1ey -.have d()ne.

And I feel th.at I a.m not exprer.;sing an idle 11ope vvhen I say tl1at \Ve shall, because tl1e con­ tlt1ct of tl1e Hon. -the Leader of the Opposition and of his associates \-V 11ilst the House was ot1t of session has been such that I have no doubt as to -vvhat the attitude of this As­ sembly \Vill be in reference to ai1y n1easures in the way of Pension Bil,ls or otherv.rise that may con1e before it for consideratio11 durin!~ this ses- Sug,gestio11 is mad.e in the Speech to-day t11at the i11creasing cost of daily li\ri11g has brought the Govern- 1nent to consider and to st1b1nit two nleasures which I am sure \vi11 re­ ceive the ear11est support of alt 1nE~ 1.n­ bers of th.is ~.\.ssembly. r_rhe great pro bl em to-day with reg·ard to tl1e cost ·of living, is a problem \vl1i.ch alwa-,.rs confronts students ()f eco11- ~ 1mics, namely, \\1 h-at is the relatioY-1 lJetween the wages earned l:y t11e pel1- 11le anc1 th_e prices that co111111odit­ ies are · sold at1 because it Is a1)par- 011t to tl1e F;implest tl1i11ker that it inatters n1ot wl1at the necessary com- 111odities of life may be providecl the people are able to earn according!y. rt matters not to the people OJ." to any of us whether c1oal or flour has do·t1bled or trebled provided wages can be doubled or trebled according- ly, anc1, tJ1erefore, Mr.

Speaker, I say 11ere as cl principle (and I congratu- 1nte tl1e Go\·ernn1ent upon the ex­ an1ple set) that it is t•he duty of those in charge of the affairs of State t 0 set the example of making the wages of the people correspond '-1'-itJ1 the price of com1nodities and it is tl1e clt1ty of the State as represent­ ed b~r tl1,e Government of Newfound­ la11d to do this as far as may be pos­ si t le \-i:.rith the resources at its com- 11Janr1.

It is the duty of the· State to set the exa111ple to all private em­ p1oyers of labour thr·oughout the country, tJ1at \vages may i:;e increas­ ed and I congratulate the L.eader of the Government and those associated vvith hin1 Ul)On tl1is step at this par­ ticular time. I tihink that the people to-cla~r, and I SJ)eak here, of course, particularl:v as one representing a dis­ trict of St. John's, who suffer most from the increased cost in commod­ ities belo11g to tv:· o classes. The first being those "-vho are worl{ing on a salary and the second a certain class of n1echani.cs.

I think it ma,y fairly l)e said that these are the two class­ es of pe:"sons tl1a t are hardest hit b}T the increased cost of food; and the ci -vil serv·ant througl1ol1t the country -particularl~r those li--Fing in the city vvl10 ha·ve got to bear the expense of rent and coal and t11e various l{ind of --vegeta.bles that ca11not be grown here by them-that these people par­ ticularly deserve from this Govern"' inent, or from any Government, the greatest possible . consideration; and for tb.at reason, lVfr.

Speaker, I am glad that even under tl1e unusl1.a1 conditio11s that at present prevail, it is founc1 possible to submit proposals such as I l1nderstand will be submit­ ted a11d \Vhich I a111 sure will have th_ e 11ea,:.tiest support of inembers of this Ho11se '-"Vhen they come down. L]kewise. I think it is a matter of satisfaction to 1nembers of tl1is House and the country generally to learn I

16 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. seconder of the motion that a SP.lect Committee be appointed to draft an A.d.rlress in ·Reply to the gracious Speecl1 of the Governor. The tenor of their remarks and the to11e of their se11timents have alike been pleasing a.n11 p2\,triotic. Mr. I-Iiggins, Memt)er for St. John's East, cl1aracter5zed His Exce.llency's Spee .ch as a War Sp·eech. It cot1ld l1ardly be other,vise in these sti~ring times. The Great War dom­ i11ates our feelings, inspires our tl1oughts, a.nd shapes our speeches. It has ever been so. The orators of Greece arose in strenuous times.

Per­ icles ·\"vas moved by the supren1e sac­ rifice of so1diers fighting for free in­ stitutio11s. Demostl1e11es tJ1unclered against tl1e me11ace of the Man of l\/Iacedo11. These struggles also anim­ ated the statesmen and thinl\:ers of Greece to \Vork out political problems and orgc:tnization for the expansion and betterment of Greece. The strug­ glq of the Sp!aniards to free th.eir land from tl1e. Moor wade men of mark vVho rt1led the Spanish Main and won a world beyond the sea.

Later the met­ tle of the Englishmen wl10 struggled 'vith the Spaniards for the sea braced u n tl1e minds of their fellow-country­ meP., inspi ,red a Spencer, a ~hake­ ~~ pea re and a I\1ilton, and produced par­ liamentarians 'vho made Parliament supren1e in tl1e State, and has set an c:xample to the freemen of to-day to <1 CJ for tl1e \vorld ?"'t large what these i11en did for tl1e England of that day. rI'he men.r:tce of Napoleon made men of ~ight, who begot cl1ildren wl10 t11r11ecl their e11~rgies to t11e steam engine, the locomotive, the po\ver loom, ind11s­ triaJ organization and a world com .. i11 erce and made a state that could bear witl1 ease the death which was sta.g·gering tl1ose vvl10 foug·ht Napol­ eo11.

These historic examples should inspire us with faith in the future. [..iil~:e our soldiers "\Ve should not be <-1ownhearted, but l1ave co11fidence in 011r ability to work out our 0¥111 sal­ vation, ai1d surmount all the diffic11l- • ties \Vhi.ch confront us at .the present tjme.

In our War Session in Se1)tember, 1914, I remember pointing to tl1e lJn­ ion Jaclc ,-vhich adorns the bench on ' '!{hjch yo11 preside, Sir, and remark- i111g tl1at it v,ras fit and appropriate thftt it should be there in times such as tl1ese, a11d tl1at it sl1ould a11imate a free assembly of Britons to face tb.e ft1t11·re u11dismayed. rrhe Cross of St. George calls on 11s to fight the good fight and put down the dragon of all- tocracy and oppression. of St. ~:\ndrew remi11ds brotherhood of freedom. The Cross us of the The Cross of St.

Pa, trick calls on t1s to be as one n1an i11 our love of liberty We 8.re all 11n.ited in the hope and inten­ tion that free natio11s shall people tl1e eart11, that free assemblies shall rule free !)eople, a11d that liberty and free­ d ()ill shall not pass from the fa.ce of t11e earth. I .ioin previous speakers in welcom­ ing back the Prime Minister from his ·visit to I .. ondon. Tb.e invitation to the Pri1ne lVIinister \Va.s not only an t1onor to Sir Edwa1 - d Morris, lJut it was a11 11onor to the Legislat11re, and to the cot1ntry. Such an honour should not 1Je lightl"Jr given up.

So long as Nevv­ foundland remains a separate Domin­ ion of tl1e Cro,;vn, the invitatio11 wilI l)e repeated. If, ho-vvever, N eivfounc1-. 13 ncl ceases to be a separate Domin- ioi1 of the Crovvn, and becomes mere- , ly a pro·vince of another Dominion, the in1ritations "\\!'ill cease, ancl we shall have lost the proud position we occupy o t present. In regard to some other matters dealt 'vith in the Governor's Speech, \\'e ca11not be expected to view them from the same a11gle as men1bers on the other side of the House.

I really ca1111ot join with i11y friend 011 the other side in accepti11g the- \vords of · t11e Speech in refere11ce to one sup­ l)Oserl result of the Premier's visit. I c21111ot join in tl1e words, "He11ce the clelay in calling t<)gether this House, a

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 17 delay which I am sure you will re­ gard as an1ply justified · by tl1e cir­ cumstaonces." Now, Sir, I may say that I don't rega.rd that delay as be­ ing justified by the circumstances. I don't regard it as being justified at all. This House could have equally met with Sir Edward Morris i11 Lon· don, and got through the business in· dicated in the Speech.

Sir Ed\vard · Morris might have been doing his dut3'" in London and at the same time we might have been doing ours here To my mind it indicates that all is not well, and that all the confidence that is supposed to exist in the party on the other side of the House is not real­ ly there; that street rumors are not far astray, and that there was another reason why the calling togetl1er of the House was delayed, and that that de­ lay, while being put down to the Con­ ference, might easily and reasonably be accounted for in another manner. Now, Sir, I 11ad the honor of a. con­ 'rersation vrith my friend, Rt. Hon.

Prime Minister, · some time last De­ cen1ber, just after he had received this invitation; and in the course of that conversation it "Yas understood that this House \Vould meet early in April. There has never been a,ny explanation or suP.;gestion offered to this side wl1y tb e House was not called together in April, as it we;;; agreed_ it should be. I will not go so far as to accuse any­ body on the other side of a breach of faith, but at all events the spirit of tl1e understanding was not kept.

In iny opinion there has been no ample justification given for calling members from avocations on which their whole season's earnings depend, to sit in this House at this time of the year, and I do not think that I should be just to my friends on this side if I did not ex­ press the feelings of this side of the House plainly.

I join heartily in the words of the Speech, and in the remarks that havfJ come from my friends opposite, \Vl1ich welcome to our aid the great Repub- lie to the southwest of us. 'I,h2.t Re­ Pllblic is a branch of our own great tree, and we welcome them heartily as a liberty-loving people who know what the . sacrifices enta.iled by war me,an. No nation has lo,st more by v""var tl1an the United States; no na­ tion has ever made greater ~acrifices than the United State · s fo· r what the~ consid 1 ered ne·cess .ary for th· e unity and libe ·rty of their nation.

I the1refore ,ioin, Sir, vvith the other in.embers ot this House in welcoming to the brotherhood of nations that grea.t Re­ p11blic, becaJuse it stands for resources, for strength, for ingenuity, for organ­ izing power which will be of moment- 0~1s force and telling effect in deter­ mining this struggle. The United States is a natio~ which has grown at a rema ,rkable rate, and overcome t11e natural difficulties with \~1hich it has had to contend with remarkable skill.

It is hard to realize that with­ in the past fifty years that nation has gro\.vn four-fold, and that its wealth and its power in developing the re­ sources which go to aid mankind in carrying on the work of life have in- . creased at a far greater rate. The ac­ cession of the United States to our side is of the first importance. Tl1ey have fought in the past that Liberty should not depart from the face of the earth, and the ,same s.entiments which we but recently read in Presi­ dent Wilson's address, were contained in the great address of Lincoln to those who had fallen on the field of Getty ,sburg.

Th1ey have ag.ain takoo up the sword to fight for liberty; and we may reasonably hope that their achievements in the art of war, whe11 they are properly organized, will be as great as those for which they have been remarkable in developing the civil side of human life. I most 11eartily join in the words ex­ pressed in the Speech in reference to the heroic part played in the war by the sons of Newfoundland, whether sailors or soldiers. Both the previ- - • \

18 I-IOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. ous speakers referred to the "Old Contemptibles." The word "Contempt­ ible" has now become a proud name for that heroic band of professional soldiers who saved France from ruin, who fought the modern Marathon, \vho did for · France what great poets have spoken and sung of as having been done for Greece in the old days. "The Old Conte -mptible 1s'' we are proud to call them. They it was "\Vho set the high standard of de,rotion to duty, of heroism and endurance, which have been the goal of those who have fol­ lowed them.

As already indicated 1 their work was mostly in the \Vay of retreat, the most difficult part for both generals -and soldiers to play, but they played it in a way that has never _ been excelled in the history _of the world. And, Mr.

Speaker, it is with pride that we note that our citizen sol­ diers, whether they have come from the Homeland or from the Dominions or the D 1 epende 1ncies of the Crown,ha -ve measured up to that high standard _ . a.nd it is with abundant satisfaction. that we are able in this House to con­ gratulate the soldiers who went from this land, that not only have they not fallen short of that standard, but they have been recognized as "The Best of the Best." I was glad to hear from the hon. member for St. John's East a reference to the Pension Bill.

What these soldiers have done should in­ spire us to do our duty to them and to their dependents, and therefore 1 am pleased to hear a reference to that Bill. Of course we have heard of the scheme before; it has been discussed elsewhere, and I think it is an extra· ordinary thing that reference to it should be omitted in the Speech. I rep·eat, Sir I aru glad th1e member for 8t. John's East made a reference to it, for the Speech is silent on the mat­ ter. There have been rumours that the Pension Bill is not to be brought in this session. I am glad to see the Leader of the House taking a note of this remark . • RT.

HON. PRIME MINISTER-I take a note of everything you say. MR. LLOYD-I regret that my hon. a11d learned friend did not take a note of the Pension Bill when he was drafting the Speech. RT. HON. PRIME MINISTER­ The matter is being attended to by the Patriotic Association, which is rP;~J.1y ou:r War Department. MR. LLOYD-Then, Sir, I say with all due respect that the Rt. Hon.

Premier is derelict in his duty "\vhen he leaves a matter of this sort solely to any association or persons outside this House, because no matter wno may compose that association, or who those persons may be, they are 1:ot responsible in the sense in 'vhlch tl~is House is responsible to the peo­ ple. I say, Sir, that it is a remark­ able thing that the most important duty of all-the greatest tribute that we could pay to these men-is ignor­ ed in this Speech. There is no refer, ence as to what is going to be done for their dependents.

Something is to be done for the l\Taval Reservists; and that is very right and pror .. er. There is a reference to a measure, but I heard a Crown Minister · say (and. I me11ti0n it i:P- order to fincl out wl1at th1e factis are') that it is the inte ,ntion of tl1e Gove:'I!ment to i.ncrearf~ the pa. } of tl1e Naval llt~ser,ri.3ts, but to n1al~e no payments until the end of tht~ ·'i~1at'. That is to say . tcJ tl1ro\v on the sl1oul­ d ?rs of tl10SE5 'N 110 rr1::1y s11cceed n1y hon. frie ,nd the p1e.rforma .nce ·Of a duty \vhicl1 ti.e is ::lLirl.;: ilJ!! himself. N <-,,,.

Sir, I will be glad to be inforIJi.ed thH,t that I 8,m in error, and that tbe refer­ enc E to which I have just ma'.l·~ \\T:1s also in error. The hon. member for Place11tia 1nadf: a short remark to which I \\i~1J11ld like to ref er. He said: "The Gove en. - n1ent l:..as given some attention of la~e to the high cost of living." I toc1K down 11is words. It was a very caus­ tic reference, but well deserved, though probably unintentional. "Some

• HOUSE OF ASSElVIBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 19 attention of late to the high cost of living." What a comment to come from tl1e other side. I say it is a shame, Sir, a disgrace to the Govern· ment that this que·stion of war profits v.ras voted do-vvn in · this House; and now, after 24 months of war, "re are told th.at the Government has begun to think about it. And they have set ~ome body else thinking, too. When the thinking is all done, something may be a,ttempted.

It is the old story of "Wait and See." We are told a Commission was ap­ pointed, but, Sir. we want somethi11g done, we don't want a mere disserta­ tion on economi~s. Two years and nine months ago this House empower­ crl the Government to act in this mat­ ter. and 11othing has been done all the t1n1e u .nt-il the last fevv weeks, when :::i Commission v.ras appointed. What is to be done? Goodness only kno·-;;vs. I feel 1.rery strongly on the matter, Sii-. and I tbinl{ that what I sav is ,, ''Tell merite1 by the dereliction of dutv ~ ."') ~n the part of the Gov1ernme 1nt.

A sop is thrown to Civil Service em· ployees-they are to receive some in­ crease in pay. \.Vill these increases C0" 1 responn 'vith the i11crease in tl1e pri~e of flour, the price of coal, the p,,.1ce of norlc and beef, or is it simply going to be a little increase? There may oe some difference, Sir, but wt...~ ,~rill not oppose the inr,reases . As thfl, Government member for the East Enrl b.as sa.id, it is right and proper for t11 A Go,rernment to set an example to employers, but what a reflection he made on the Government unintention­ ally.

He practically implied, Sir, that they have not been doing their duty for some two years or more. As re· g~rrls edu~ation, our attitude vvill be similar. Increasing these grants will be increasing the wage and salary ac­ count, ,and helping civil! servants and schoolmasters and mistresses to fill the bread box. We have bee11 treat­ ed, Sir, to references to fina11ce, and the Minister has been praised. I won­ der if he feels he deserves it? I see he smiles.

I am not going to say, Sir, that he does not de serve it, but should like to put it in another way, and con­ gr atulate tbe 1VIinister of Finance or1 his good luc1c and not on his good man· a g~n1ent. Folks outside of tht7 Colony l1ave put up prices, and these big prices mea.n big invoices and more revenue. It is not his good manage­ ment, but tb.e good luck that he has h,eAn havi11g which has increased the revenue. N eces si1ties coming into this coun­ try are very dear, and the bigger the prices paid for the goods the bigge . r the amount of the revenue for the Exchequer.

The bigger the cost of things coming in the big- ger the duty the people have to pay thi e Minist ·er of Finance, and he has been very fortunate in having been able tv ·get this ,,rithouJt any trouble on his part. I was rather amu·sed, Sir, at the con1gratulat ·ory reference to increased trade. Now, while we1 are all pleased 1to learn that our trade ' has increased some $10,000,000, I doubt if we have anything to con­ gratulate aursei.,res ahout. Take a. sup1p-0sition case. Suppose the price 0f our flour goes up to $10.00 on tlJ e outside ?"D -:-1 -vvTe h'l.d . 3EO.OOO har· re1s impol.'"ted.

T 1ha,t vvould. mean the im·port trade b.a s gone up $3.50 · 0,000. v"'Jould that be a matter for congratu­ lation? Until the hon. member can an­ al>r7e 'tb.e ma+tP,-r 2nd poin.t out what

part is due to hig· 1 pri~eS abroad hA is not going to con .. rince me, at any rate, that '\Ve have an~rthing to con­ gratulate oursel ve1 s about. because it means we are merely sending 011t a bigger amount of :roney for what we b·ought for a, smaller sum before. There may be no increa .se in com.­ modi:ties im1p1orted ) tn1t v1· e may be simply paying for tnem. 0ne g'C')c d cfeect of the \Tis it of tb e Prime Mini ister. to England (I do not • •

• ... 20 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS . say the only one for I hope he has benefitted in 11ealth and strengtl1) is his con version on the matter of economy. The speec]1 closes by re­ commendin.g State. and prlv·ate per­ so11s to practice economy. Ever ·yone ''rithin 'the sound of my v·oice will re­ men1be,r tl1at it is not l1ong ago since a di ff e•rent doctrine was preached. RT. H O·N p R: rv1 E rt. IN I STE R.-"I mci.intain still that vvl1en economy g·oes to 1the extent of turnin1g men out of e111ployn1e11t it is not desirable." MR. LLOYD-Now, Sir, I come to another inatter.

I have already men­ tioned, Sir, the curious absenc · e of rE;­ ferenoe to a pension bill. I would al­ so point 1out anoth·er remarkable omission. We have been treated to trade figures ancl bee11 told that the suriplus of the ·year vvill be devoted to war purpos·es. The Minis1ters are \~ery ·disingent1 1011s about this. They forget to tell us that we have been livi11g largely on l1oans, and they for­ get to tell us tha.t it is n·ecessary to g·et another 'big loan. Why s:hould th·ey be silent on these matters?

Coming to an•other matte,r a little neare , r home S·o far as I am concern­ ed, s 1 ome· ten da.,;rs ago I learn·ed from the p·u'blic press that I wrus to b.e cal­ led to a conferience on som'e' impor­ tant matters tha1t '11ad to "<io with the recruiti111g of the Regiment. The pub­ lic were inf·orm 1ed that this woul1d be done, 'but ·the i~e·markaible thing about it is that fr·on1 that day to this th·ere has been. n1ot)ling more about it. A comrrLon policy on filling rthe R·egi­ ment --;v-as to be come to~ and th,e r1e1sult waB to have be·en announc·ed at the 0 1pening 1of the I""egislaiture. RT. HON.

PRIME MINISTER.­ I mentioned the matter to you and I outlined how I thou1ght it might be improvTe·d. I dealt with this mat­ ter t,o you in tl1e prese·nce of the Co­ lonial 1 S·ecre:tary. f\'1 R. LLOYD.-Yo,u mentioned it casual'l:YT but tl1ere were n10 plans dis- • . cussed. The remarkable t1l1ing is that tl12re Ila S been llO I'eference to any rJu. :;.11 :rnatter in the Governor's S1peech . ' an c 1 I a1n g·lad that an opportunity has been afforded by t 1 his lit·tle int·erlude of g'i ;,·i11g l)Oint to my remarks. There is anotl1er rer1)arli'able a.bsence in the Speech.

It is 'vitl1in the kn·owledge <:)f all that so1n. 1 e Forestry Com:pan­ i.es l1a \Te been organized, and men se11t ac1·oss. vVhy is there no refer­ ence to it :111 the Speec!1? vVhy has it ]}ee11 ignored? A serious pl1ase of the n1atter is this, tl1at you ha·v-.e to deal \Vith it and get auth 1ority for it, and ~:-et tl1ere ~ras no refer·ence to it in the Go~1ernor's Speech.

I have a 1 lso to call th1e attention of the House to another very serious dereliction of duty on tl1e part of the Government that is utterly unpardonable, and that is tlte \Vay in ''r·hich the Gover11m·ent 11as acted in c1onn·ection with the i1on-apip"8intment to the 10.ffice of ·Cen­ tral District 1Court Judge.

That is a positive sca.ndal. · E·~.rerybod1y kno'V\rs that it j_s purely party expediency and nothing n1ore that has prevented the appojnt1nent from being made. ..:\.11 kin·d 1s 1of triclcs have b·een resorted to in order t.o ·postpone the appointment, and we b.ad the sca11dal of an ap.ipea1 to tb_e Supr 1e1ne 1 Court in connection \•-i'th one ·of the de'\rices when the Co111 't decirle '1 that a C·:Jm::-'1i.sRion '.71tl1icl1 11ar1 l::een issued 1by the Gover­ n ~)r in C·ot1r1cil -vvas illegal.

And yet in the f~1c8 of this w'"hen all kinds of s 1 l1irking is t eing practised by the Government, we are 11avini g di11ned into 011r ears from tin1e to time and very pro:perlJr so, of patriotic duty. As a matter of fact the G·o·vernm ·ent has . d or1e 11othin.g else 1)ut shirk in con­ nectio11 ,~vith every duty v1hich ha.s bee11 placed upon . them; t·hey have al­ ~v ays p1ut t11e burden of performance of it upon s1ome bod.y else. Is it a mat­ ter of f1orming Forestry Battalions? So111ebod1y else h.as got to do it. R 1 e­ cruiti11g? Son1ebody else must deal •

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 21 \vi.th it. l\!Ianaging the Regiment? ;~,;)-:G e 1)od :r~ else 11as got to do it. And ~a i11 eo1!112ction witl1 ev1ery matter tt 1 :'~ it is their ,obvious dutv to d·eal ~ ·,·_, ~-~ 1.1. 1 t1 ast tl1at if· the \Var Confer­ e11ce l:aJs 11ad r10 other r1esult, it will ;: t ·:ea:~t ha~1e the effect of making t:·, e C~overill11e11t realize their res ipOil­ si.l1i'litieJ i11 -c;o1111ecti·on -vvith this \-Var r. :"'cl ~a.l.·:; , e t·he1n to C33.Se placing t1pon otl1er s:1oulders ihe burde11 of doing • t: ·i:-:r:,s T1v_11·eh they ou1ght to do th·em- •;·el·.,e~ ),., ~ .. ).....:•.

U T'P'" ~7.•e 0n •. _, ~' \ y \. ' ' in regard to War meas­ tl1ls side 1hfope to be able to aJsu1ne a.11 attitude of aic1 and Sl1:V· rort to the Go·vern::.11ent, in all mAr"s· ll .. ~eq, tb)J..t a:re necessary f·'.)r th·e car· r:\',._r~g· 0!1 of the war, and ii1 other 1~1easures that may con1n1end them· seI·ves to us. But while we '\rill tr}1 to play the game wit.ii the1n (and Tl hen I say "·P1lay the gan1e" 1 am D]! e3-king figur . . ltively i11 cricl~eti i1g lang11agf"\, tecause that is a \\rell­ kn·ow11 sin1ile for doing your duty') \ve exp1ect the Go1,rernment to rlo its duty by llS.

We ha\7·8 avoided ar a long U'.1in:g the Wa:r fo-r party pur­ poses and party benefitis and party interests, and we cal.I upon the Gov­ e·" ~ ;.:no::l~~ tc flo exactly tl12 same in the f;1turo. We shall not remain si­ J.2"'1.tl~~~ if t~ e·:.T do :iot 11•,re lll) to th::1t sta:-:dard.

Th·e reaoon for tl1is re­ n1a:"lr is this: \Ve hone tl1a,t thi3 ses- ~ sior.: v~1:11 n0t 1Jie a, lengtl1~1 one . and t 11B.t ,-vhate"'rer rn·8a s11res ·ma.'1 ha -.;;e to re cleJi.rerated uoon ".vill be deaJt witli. ~ • with as much economy of time a. s tl;.e tm 1ortance of the m?:J.s11r1;:·;.s '\\rjJJ 21.1o·yv; tut . vve are exipeeci11g the Gov­ e ·rrrr'8it to !)l3yT the game "vitt1 llJ a11d 11:ot use the \·Tar fer their pa,rt.y in­ t~r2c-~ts. ...\Ve are expecting to hea.r t~"at '."irhat the Fditor o?C th· e Dai:v r 1 -~,_ .. ,~. \-1ho has a seat in this House, s'-!i.rl ~n l1is e11itoria1 thts morning,when he referred to this being the final ses- • -~ t"'~ 2~""d As~0mr.1 - .. l !. ·........1 • ,.., J.. ,,;... ...l _, • v ~-· ... !..i - y is corr1ect. reference • v.' 11· 1 t. e'T' ~::- to t~riis rr_a tter u!luer ordi:..1- ary ci:::·cu:::-11st2'11ce s but the.:.~e are s e ·;­ eral roasJ11s vvl~Y I sl!culd.

In the <::.~ e.:.:ce i11 tl:e Sp09ch ~: ro::.~1 tl1e T l1rone -to a bill f·or 1 putting off the election, l ut I 11a-.-e ·already l1'0·inted out otl1er re Ir1J,r ltab:2 · 01nissi 10J.1s, a11d tl10refore the mere o~.nis3ion i;; no assura11c , e to us, nor aTe \V·e 0ertain that the Edi­ tor of the Daily News i's . s· p1eak- i11g· author itativ 1ely.

We wish to ·:\no¥v, Sir, wh·ether the Go;vern- r11en·~ intends to play the game with us and d10 exactly as ·We have bee11 d.0;1115 in tl1· e pa13 t-not use the War for party rpurposes, r1eco1g·11ize tl1at tl1is is tl1e final session, and liet us k11·0\1V tl1at they regaI·d this ses·sion as the last s essio n.

I Il'eed hardly '.:1a.y i11ore, e)tcept t, o rep· e1a;t what I have alre ,ady said, that w· e hope to aid and assi ist the 1 G1overnment in cJr111eeLion vvitl1 1natters dealing Vv'ith th· e vvar , as v~e have don· e in the past, so tl12,;t this session n1~1y not be prol•o11ged, a11d it will be Y\ 7 itl1 the utmost r1eluciance :tl1at we sl1a.ll cl1ange,if \Ve are C{}li1pell6d to cl1a11ge or jr1 any way r11odif.Y' tl1is attitude i11 connection \\rith r11atters tl1at T..vill Le trougl 1t up this session.

Now, Sir, I 1; a \Te t1011e, but I \V1ould llke tcJ i~· epeat ,~vhat I said in my o·pening remarks ::hat no n1at·te1· I10Vv' gl.00111:-{ che (>U~­ look n1a,y be it is no ti1ne for despo11- de11cy. It is a ti111e· of stress and strugg·I,e but the su11 is breaki1ig th1'iQu1gl1 .the clouds, and I firmly b·e­ lie\'e 'that there ar. e brigl1ter years be­ fore t11 s tl1an the Nations ha"1e ever kno:wn. RT. HON. PRIME MINISTER- Mr. Speaker, I desire to make a few o bser1rations in re.ply to .th1e Hon. the Leader of the Opp1osition, who has just sat down.

Gene .rally, I may say that from the Gove ·rnm1e.nt sta.nd­ point, and viewing the spee ·ch as that of the I...1e.ader of th1e Opposition, I do i1ot find any any sp1ecial fault with •

22 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. the severity, if I may use the term, . of some of his re,marks. I want, h 1 ow­ ever, at th1e very outset, to disabuse his mind, and the minds of the pub­ lic outside · , of any suggestion that in thi: s w.ar the Gove·rnment has not play,ed thi e game. It is the first time in three years that I have heard the suggestion.

As a matter of fact, from th·e v1ery pr1oclamation of the war it h. a1 s bee·II the de,sire and exp·resse · d policy of th· e Gov· e,rnme ,nt to share the re1sponsibilities which the war entailed with the other side and th 1 e public, so that th, e carrying on or our contribution to th· e war could not have the sligl1test tinge of party pol­ itics. - If mi1stakes have be·en · m,ad 1 e, tl1·ey have to ,be shared and borne eqt1alily by the

partie 1 s on both sides of the House. The Government are merely paying the bills. Th1e Patriotic Association, which has don 1 e splendid work, are do.ing the work that in otl1er countries i1s p·erformed by p·aid departments. What the War Offic · e is doing in England, and the De1p1art­ ment of l\1:ilitia is doing in Canada, Australia and N·ew ze,aland, the Patriotic A;ssociation, on a small scale, is dioing in N e·wfoundland. They have done, and are doing, their be·st, and the, y ar· e doing it fr'ee; a.nd the respon 1sibilitie , s for the work of the various committee . s of that body - th 1 e .

Re·CTuiting C,ommitte 1e1, the Finance Comm .ittee and all the other cummitte · e·s-must be share , d alike and equallly by members on both sides and by the public outsid 1 e. The very first act of the Gove,rnme .nt when war was decla .red in 1914 was to call togeth3r the officers of the only military bodie1s which we had here, and invite them to a public me,eting, ·over which th1e Governor of the C1olony pre.sided, and at th?.t n1eeting the Patriotic A·ssooi .ation ·was given birth. Now, wherein has the Government faile · d to play the game, I d10 not know.

I am on a good many of the committees of the Pat­ riotic Association, and I h, ave ne,ve 1 r inissed ,one me,eting when I h,ave beien i11 town, and I 11a ve never h· e,ard even the remote ·st ~ugge, s1 tion that there was anything party about it ·wl ... ttt1 - e·ver, or any tinge of _party politics in tl1e work that was going on. And for tl1ese reasons, the1n, I take is;sue \:vith my honorable friend and I do not thinlr that he has been_ just to 11lrvself when he stated that the Gov­ e:_·nment shirked ·any of its responsi­ L)ilitJ·e·s.

Ther·e might have been some r1eason for him to criticize as he ha. s do1ne if we were leading the country 'u day thro11gh this -vvar ais . a · party organization. And I have no doubt it would b, e fully ventilate · d in the opposition press and subje .cte· d to the criticism of my friends on th 1 e othe . r side of the House.

But as I h. ave saicl, the Gove.rnment is merely pay­ ing the bill1s, findi :ng the mone ·y, and the Minsters on this sid 1 e of the House and the private me·mb·ers of the House have gone down to the Patriotic A1ssociation and shared the work d·own there, and have gone fr.om harbor to harbor a:nd done good re­ cruiting work. They have worke,d sid1e by side on airplane, recruiting, finance and othe · r committe .es, and there can be no justification fo· r the charge th,at they have been shir·Iring. There could be no shirking becau ,se there wa, s nothing to shirk.

The whole work is in the care of the Pat­ riotic Association and that i1 s true of the p1ens,ions. It was never sug­ gested that the fullest and highe ,st pension paid to soldie .rs . in ,similar dominions, in the Dominion of Can­ ada which is the ne·arest, would not be the pensions for our soldiers he:re; and I do n1ot think anything can be said outs .id 1 e if the Government ar·e prepared to pay our men the pen,sion I.aid down in Canada, and the Gov­ ernment have already stated that at th1e Patriotic Association and public-

l t HOUSE OF ASSEMBI-'Y PRO·CEEDINGS. 23 ly. And every sold ;ier at the front tJo-day, and ev·ery soldier rat urned, and every recruit k1nows he has all tl1e priviliges and advantages of the Ca11adian soldi ·er in that re· s· p•ect. And for these rea.sons there was no point call .ing on us to put a statement in refere ince to pensions in the Spe.ech from the Throne. There was cer­ tainly no need to put th·ere what ha, s been tl1e settled princip1e and :policy of the Patriotic Association, with the Government 1be·hind them, and which has already been publicly announced.

Now my honourable friend regre ·tted tl1at he 11ad not an interview with . me and that the.re wa. s no state ·ment in tl1e Spe.ech from the Thr1on•e of a matter of very great importa .nce .. \Ve1ll, now, tl1· e position is thi.s: When 1 \Vas about to leave for England, I ,.,-as rr1ade a -.vare that we had only a c ouple of hundred men at Ayr and I I f o u~ nd th·ere some.thing like 700 or 800 men, half of whom we.re not able ,, to go to the front and most had been tl1e.re a11d w·ere recuper·ating and doing light duty.

And I was qu.ite sa tiisfied that some special e.ffort would require. to b· e made he·re in Ol.'C.e1· to get more recruits . a.nd I sug­ t;;es ted this in an in te.rvi·ew on the ~1on d ay after I arrived he·re, in an interview I gave the Pr·ess.

In fact , I sent it to all the papers in the city. f\To thing v\ras further from my m.ind , · e-1 1 m ac1e th· e sugge ·stion th.at 1some special effort must be made; i1:Jtbing "\Vas further fr·om my mind tha11 tl1e suggestion of co·nscription. ~ r1 e,~ er hi11 ~ ed it here nor anywhere els ·e, but I said in that intervie · w that I 11oped at an early d·ate to take this matter up with the Le.ad·er of the Opposition so that .if possible we might devise some m•ethod to further stimulate recruiting so that our rank · s \v-ould be kept up and the regime ·nt would not have to be Wiithdra .wn.

No\v that was on Monday, and I was unable to meet the Executive until the following Wedn · e1sday and on Wednesday night after my arrival­ ! lost no time . I brought this matter with other thi'ngs before the Execu­ tive Council and the Council ap:pointr ed a ci ommittee to meet Dr. Lloyd, the L·eader of the Opposition, in relation to the question of coalition which involve · d the other matter. In fact, this was one of the matter.s which formed a rea.son why we ·Should n1ake an effort in orde . r to brin . g a,bl)Ut a coalition. N1ext d·ay, Thur ,s­ clay, wa· s a ho'1iday, and I made an ap. p·ointment 'vith Dr.

Lloyd. next (tay, Friday, and he made it conve- 11:ent to come and me·et me and the C~olonial Secre ·tary and the· n I sug­ p,e.sted to him the d•esirability of coalition and I mentioned to him in the pre.sence of th· e Cololnial Secre­ tary the de1sirability of our discussing how recruiting could be stimulate ·d. I n·ever use1d the word con.scription. If the main obje .ct of the meeting had bee. n settled it would hav• e bee· n easy to discuss the other matters, and p·erhaps organize som· e scheme to appoint some permane .nt committe i e to travel in the inter ·ests of recruiting. That was on Friday. Dr.

Lloyd wa· s not able to get his friend · s together until the following Monday. Mr. Coaker, h· e .said, wa· s not in town. DR LLOYD-1 did uot say any such thing. RT. HON PRIME MINISTER­ Pardo . n me, I think you did. Mr. Bennett was with me and he will endorse it . . DR. LLOY~~--I did not You ask­ ~d m• e if Mr. Co.aker was in town and I i s aid he wasn't. RT. HON.PRIME MIN I STER-Well, that is the same thing. I asked him if Mr. Coaker was in town beca .use I kn·ew he wa. s th· e "barr ·el man" an· d he had to look him up. He came on Saturday and they had a meeting OJ:t M101nday. Y·esterday, Tuesday, Dr.

Lloyd intimated to me that there was • •

, HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. no h{)pe of coalition. That was why I had no opportunity of co1n1nuni­ cating to him the ne\v metl1od by which \v'1 e hoped to stimulate recrui'~· ing, but I .want to say that the word conscr.iption was never us·ed by me or sug•gested by n1e to any person. Now my friend also referred to the c:tsence in the speech of any refer­ ence to the F·orestry Battalion.· That v,ras not mentioned f.or the same rea­ s·:.>11s as held good in the Pension mat­ ter.

Tl1e reaso11 it \Va13 :1ot :nention­ ed. is because it is an acc 1 omplis ·hed fact. ri:·he Patriotic Ass 1ociation at t11e request ·of the Sec:-etary of State for the Colonies and the British Gov- r.1~"1'V) 1 en -4-\.) .L -'-~ lL for111· e, d a Forestry Battalion o~· it is in c.ourse of f 1 ormation, and t11ere is nothing whatev ·er to say &bout it.

If everything that happen . s in the col1rse · of a year m·ust n8 1 eds find a place in the S p·eech from thi e Throne, it \Vould take instead of a c1a 3r to op·e11 the 1Ic11sc at least t\\"O o:"' three vle·21rs. ·The Bere absence of sl1ch inforn1ation cannot in anv ~ \"'ray· justify the conclt1sion my friend 11as drawn from it. A11other noint to ~ which h· e r·eferre . d touches the que,s- ti·'.111 c£ eco:i0rn:r.

In the 1 Sf)eech fron1 th 3 T·hrone t1 a-d~ty ·economy is sug­ f: es~· ed, and my h1onorable friend says tl1at that was not the recommenda­ tion of t1•_e Go~T e.,·n:n811t in the earlier stnges of the -war. rrh·e hon . memb ,er is in

part correct, b·ut ·he \Vill remem­ f)8'" I pointed out that there were two kinds of econ10 ·IDY. There was econ­ omy v.-hicl1 v1oulcl assist the country and th1ere wa1s fals , e economy. I am g:J.ad tl1 e hon. me1n1ber has called my n.t~·enJion t10 this matter so that I may make the :position clear. What th_, e G·overnment feels is necessary. is economy i11 th1e ·use of food and all other requirements.

Last year I per­ sonally know of pers ·ons \Vho said to me, I ha,v·e dischar 1ged my help, and I ha 1re d1one this and tha't, \vhile in the very act instead of helping their country the :y 'vere u11consciously in­ Jt1ring· it. Eco11on1y is Il()t discl1arg ·­ ing :help-old servants, taking away the living of a man, leaving his wife a11d family to go hungry. That is not econ 1omy. What I meant then v1as that employers shoul , d as f'.lr as r c J'::~L le retai11 their employees, and tl1 us give th, e family the chRJnce of li ';ing.

There are ina11y ·\\rays by 1.:·vh.' cl1 a ma11 ca.n econo11~ise ~11d yet 11~, t 1reep a d·ol1ar Ollt of tl1e p1 ocl~ets of thos i e who h1ave be1en in the past ctcc.1~sto~ned to s11p·port and \v·ho are de,pending on him. .r\t the sa1ne ti111e there are n1any in1ported luxuries- -­ ·v;,,-'hich pe· o,ple can easily cl i~;1Je _11se \", ~tl1-the purchase of vvhich L~ J.nere­ ly sending money 1out of the C(>~OlJY :1r:d do,es not b1enefit one "~ent to anv • fierson living in the 1ColonJr.

Now that is the economy referred to and on that occasion I made the same explanation and I make it here again: It i~ all ve.ry well to econ­ omise in the interest of the· State and the interest of the individual pr·ovid­ ed that economy is not injurious and does not seriously d.amage people at whose expense we economise. Another point made by hon. frie ·nd is this: he takes exception to the statement in the Sp1ee.ch from the Throne that the Colony had increased the volume of its trade last ye.ar by ten million dol'lars. MR. LLOYD-I acce ·pted the figure .s. RIGHT HON.

PRIME MINISTER. -He we.nt on to say th.at that was no test of the prospe ·rity of the country. _Well, to a certain extent I agree with him, and the state -me·nt is there for what it is worth and no state .ment of the trade of the country or of any country as regards the volume of its trade can be regarded as a complete measure-a correct measur ; e of the country's trnde: because, a.fter all, the volum · e of trade ·only repre1se ·nts the imports and exports and it may mean and it does very largely mean

• HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. in our case at th· e present time that the large increase in the value of trade is due to the high pric·es on the goods coming in-the high price of flour, the high price of salt, the high price of corul and other commodities­ but you have to remember this that these articles would not come in if we did not have the quid pro quo to send out to pay for them; and fish at nine dollars helps to swe·ll the volume of trade in this country by paying for the flour.

If a man in Petty Harbour or Torbay or Cape Broyle or Bonav­ ista has a hundred quintals of fish and is getting to-day nine dollars a quintal for it (three dollars more than he got in ordinary days) and two hun­ dred dolilars a tun for oil, why there is three hundred dollars on that hun­ dred quintals of fish and he does not altogether mind the increase, the exo.rbitant if I may use th 1 e word, extraord'inary and unusual ;increase in the price of flour.

These high values on our exports help to swell th• e trade of the country and to in­ crease it ten million dollars over the year previous, but as I said before, I do not claim here and it is not put in the speech for that purpose,-it would b· e too rubsurd. No man, not even the most juvenile member of the public would be misled by saying that that would he a correct test or the prosper­ ity of the country. No one would expect that in normal times, when trade matters were normal as regards imports and exports that we would have a jump of ten million dollars.

I never remember it advancing more than one or two millions in any given year and even if you take the country for the last fifty years you will see a grad ua1 -increase every year in the vo'lt1m· e of trade as measured by im­ ports and exports. Go back to '86, '87, '88, and '89, What were our imports About six mil1lions and our exports were about six millions. The total volume of trade in the eighties • amounted to about twelve million dollars in normal times, when the price of flour very rarely varied half a dollar and at a time when the price of fish and oil and other commodities were about the same.

Well, what happened since these days. The vol­ ume of trade has gradually inc·reased year after year until the yiear before the War it was dowble that of the eighties. We have- sixteen millions of imports and sixteen millions of exports, t1hirty-two mill ion dollars. MR. COAKER-Did you say thirty~ two millions before the War? That year it went back. RIGHT HON. PRIME MINISTER. -It went back the last three years I may tell the hon. member and I thank him for mentioning it. The fir.st year of the War we were short seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in our Revenue. In other words the trade did not import.

There was such a feeling of uncertainty the fir·st year of tl1e War that the importers did not imp·ort and sold old stock from th,eir shelves that had paid duties, some of it in the nineties, and we had short Revenue. Our imports fell off and our trade went down to twenty-five million dollars. Now it has increased again till it is something like thirty· five millions or about three millions more than any normal year. That statement with regard to the volume of trade is not in the speech to mis ... lead.

However, the important point to remember is this that when our imports are increasing every year the exports must also be increasing be­ caus · e you cannot get anything on the other side or on this ,side unless you pay for it. You can always make certain that whe- n the imports of this Colony are incre 1as,ing we are using more flour, more p·ork, more kerosene oil, more luxuries, that we are earning more money, that we are catching more fish or getting higher wages to send a way for those imports. The

' .. I-IOUS~ OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. balance of trade can never be against a country. There must be some way iound of paying the bills.. It is a mere fetish to talk about the balance of trade being against the country. You vvill be very quickly wound up and rounded up by the people you are buyi11g from if you are not a1ble to send them something for the goods y~ou order. Now, Mr. Speake·r, I do not propose to delay the House on this occasion by dealing at length on- my visit to IDngland.

B·efore however touchiny on that subject, I would like to com­ pliment and congratulate the gentle­ men who made such excellent speech­ es this afternoon.

They, in commoi1 "\vith the Leader of the Opposition, have raised the debate~the character of the debate~onto a higher plane, and it was most r'efreshing to follow · the interesting refe,rences, the histor 1i­ caI refe.rence.s and their connections so inter 1 estingly established betwee11 the events of the old days and the ev·ents that ar·e tal-ring place to-day; and I s.ay it is a matter of congratula .. tion to u1s all that on an occasion like this we have in our midst men who ' are able to rise to such lofty thoughts and put aside the mere eve,ryday con­ siderations and look at the great pro bl ems we ar1e faced with to-day ~rom the standpoint I have reiferred to. · I am sorry my hon. fri:end, Dr.

Lloyd, should have considered it nece,ssary to sqggest that in any way I h.ad promised l1im or mad'e an ag~eer­ men t with him as to the date of my return to this Colony. MR. LLOYD.-Not as to your return. . :1 'J~ RIGHT HON. PRIME MINISTER. -I mean as to the opening of the House. You said I made an agr·ee­ ment. MR. LLOYD.-I did not use th· e word "agr'eement." RIGHT HON. PRIME MINISTER. -You insinuated I gave some under­ taking. What r·ea'lly hap·p1end was this. I had hardly returned from England-I only got here in Octob ·er -when I received an invitation to r·eturn. I got the invitation on Chri1st­ mas Day.

Shortly afterward . s I saw Dr. Lloyd and explained to him I had to go, and as h· e very correctly states, I intimated to him that I hoped I might be back about the tim· e he sug­ gested-the middle of April. MR. LLOYD.-That the House would open. RIGHT HON. PRIME MINISTER. -Yes, that the House would open, about the middle of April. That statement wa.s mad1 e bona fide as far as I wa.s concerned. I left here e,a.rly in February. I had every r'e.as·on for . b·elieving that I wou 1 ld be back and that the Legislature would be open.­ ed the middle · of April.

But I wa· s delayed on the way, I w·as nearly a week in Halifax 1 I did not go there on my own motion. I had to go ther·~ in connection with my voyage across the Atlantic. When I ieft I me·ant to go by New York and it was ·only when I was arriving at Port aux Basqueis that I learned that I had to go to Halifax.

Th 1 ere I was detained for neiarly ,a week and when I did arrive on the oth·er stde it was found that owing; to thr e late arr'ival of Gen­ eral Smuts re·pre·senting South Africa and owing to uncertainty as rega.rds the Austra:lian :rep1res·entativ·e·s, whose v·isit became impossible owing to an election, the Conference I ·was invited to did n1ot o.pen until a month after I arriv 1 ed in England. The first meet­ ir1g was on the 20th of Ma.rch. I ar­ rtved there on the 20th of :b-,ebruary. Tlhat delay ·of a month is exactly the month that JJ.as thrown my calcula­ tions out.

In ·oith·er words, if the work had comm·enced on the 20th of :F"''ebruary, the day I arrived, I would i1aT'"e tec::J. l~o __ ne ·e2.,si1y a montl1 bef,ore I returned. I arrived here · last Sat- • •

• HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.,. PRO··CEEDINGS. 27 urtlay \v,eek a111j wo11ld ha-v-e be,en l1er·e a montl1 earlier b11t for \vhat ha:ppened; bt11 t rbe that as it n1ay I \V-Ould lil{'e n1y ho11. friend to under­ star11d that as far as I was concerned, \Vl'len I mad· e ti11at statement to him as to 1.vh·en the I-louse would open I bel, i1eved th.at the House would have opened on that date. The vVOJ.'k i11 \'vhic11 I was invited to talce :part 11as 1bee11 referred to l1ere tl1is ·ev:ening by the vario11s s_pGaliers a.nd it is not necessar)- for n1e to go i11to it in any great d·etail.

Ev er}'Oli.e ir1 this House and perhaps 011tsiG.e ,o:J: i, t is a war· e of wh~t has , . iJe1011 takin.g pla.ce i:n. ~ngland in re- la ti-on to tl1e Conference and War Cabinet. It \Vas of a two fold char­ acter. F~irst, the re.presentatives of L1.t.e Do1ninio11s and I11dia \:~Tere invited to E11gland to tak· e

part in th, e de­ lib era tio11s rof the Impe1'ial \Var Cab inet in other \"vords '.-vith th· e Briti 1sh ' Cauii:et i11 relati,o · n to the conduct of tl11e wa,r, in relation to the term 1s of peac·e and in re1lation to matteJ:"rS after tl1e vv·ar. 1 he Cabinet met every Lecond day whi.ie w. e were in England. 'l'llere ·were i_Present th· e Prime . lVIini,s~ te1· 101: England, t:h· e Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Secr ·etary of dta.te fo:c India, Mr. B 1 o·nar Law\ the Chancellor of the Excl'lequer, Mr. I-I end er son-re .presenting Labo ·ur-the I1 - 1 oreign Secr ·etary, Mr.

Balfour, and we \¥ere advis ,ed in our meetings by ... 4..a_111ir al J ellic 1oe the First Lord of tl1e Admiralty, Sir Edward 1Carson, as v;el'l a, s re.pr·esentativ·es of the Army, t11e 1 Chief of Staff, 1Sir William Rob­ erts·on a11d Gene .ral Maurice, and Lord Der.by, th· e l\/Iinister of War, In addition th·ere wa.s of cou.rse th. e re­ pres ·entatives of the Dominions and tl1ose of In·dia. They are n1em•orable historic me·etings-of gr·eat inter ·est lacking in n,one · of those requisites which go to make up grea;t historic • occasions.

The re·pres 1 entatives o, f thE:; Do111i11- io1is vvere adm.Itted to f rr~l r 1rt ."'..?·r 3li.: ;) in a1'1 the discu.s • si·cr13. ~- l~1 . J gres. t t-1 i"\ ilege, this ad~.nission by tl io Bri t ­ if,~1 Gov.ernmo!lt of th·e r~ ,~::l1ts of ~~ i the British o -ve:::'S83, Dornini s !.rS a;::. \\'8 11 as India to take

part in i ~'-·~ gr·33 t <vvar councils of th 1 3 E i.1,;_pire, \Va~ me~·· el~r a re~ur11 for \'/hat t11ey selve r s had well earned, be,caus · e th · ~ -, - , ( . ... ""-- ' ..I ... • the posiition tl1at they h&d t,:;., ~s: 911 i.11 tl18 vvar n1ore · tl1an justified tl1e:r C'JJr1- pl,ete and full r·ec,cgnition by tl10 I1n­ perial :Government, in relation to forei ign :rr1atters an! j the cor1dt1ct of the vvar.

England h3.s, as has 1) 2 Cn (' stated here this aiternoo11 by one 01.. the speakers, accor11pl~shed f.".'.:'er..t 2r thing1s than has ever been accomplish·· ed by the grea~ect eff,crt8 of G 1· s~~ ce or Ro1n1 e. , becaus 1e England 11as ac­ comp1ist1ecl in thirty or forty montl1s y;1 b.J.,t it to,ok thirty or· forty years for the Gerr.t1an err.i):pire to accor_1plish. ln ot:her "\1/0i"'ds, li:111glal:d :1r_ s perforn1- ed c., r11iracl 1e, and has add.ed a i1othe~· ~J\.· 011der tC> tl1e se "".~ en \von!:lers of t11e \V·or!d.

E:ig,lan · d l1:i. s raise .d, trr~in 2 ci aJ1d equii;Jped and has taken an arn1y of 5,000,000. 1Le::.'l t· o . France and l1rol1gt1t thei-11 bacl: agJ,i::..'1 \Vithout los- . -..,,~ ,... n -1-·hrou' 0 ~1 the "llida:'lce, 1 lj er a .L..!...I. CiJ 1,,..:..1. .-, L t ..L.1.. .0 ' 'r' ,..."1 - -i~ 1 nn~l T\1"Qtec+1°.0il Qf her !!feat ., .il....L..tl u, u. 1."'... .., ~ navy. 1\.ustralia, Cana .da, N e· w Zeal­ and, 1South ~~frica, Ne wfot1ndland and tll8 IDr~::. pire Clf !ndi[1 , have sent overseas more tl1:in a million men ::o take p::~rt in th~s .great confli~t. Nor have they f..: to.;;: p,ed t hGT1e.

Tl1 cy l:. 2~ ',-e sutsc1·i1Jed treasure and go1ld, and all, 8'.:en vre, cut i11 far a\-,-,-ay I~ewfound­ ls,11{1, l1a 're done our part and taken our share of England's b11rden. As re­ gard.s ou:c 1owr1 shar ,e, I n1ay tell Y·OU that on 1every occasion . f :~ 'orn the I\::in. g dovin t10 tb.· e l~Jv;r est pe2is B.,nt in Great Britain all ext0ll in highest rtern1s an t1 pral r3e tho part N evvfou11dian c 1 had talr,en, not alone her s·oldiers, but her sail ,ors. On thre · e or four oc~ casions I -vv·:..is a gu,est of His l\!f a ·ies1y the Ki11g·, bot!1 i11 1 1is historic hcime

IIOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. :::. t \7\/i11(1or Castle, and in his . reR-1- ·Lenee at Buckinglian1 Palace, and or o·very occasion he impressecl on m·e his high appreciation o! th~ part =~ e-;vfoundland has played.

He rec­ Jgnized that in a cot1ntry like Nev/· (ounclland, "\vhere there was no mili· . ~ar3r s1Jirit, where we had not seen a 3oldier for half a century, ,,-here \Ve \Vere engaiged in th·e arts of peace\ \vhere we had forgotten the sciE11ce ::>f war-as indeed ha1 d inan "1 other • prrtions of the Empire-not 0'1'.Y the g·r·eatest ·spirit of 1patriot!; a prevail· c.d but that \V-e had nobly borne 011r ~ }·hare in the great Vv[Lf that England »i\ ~· ~ 'vaging on bel1alf of 11u11ia.nity 8 nd ci\rilization. We c:i,1J. never go l u \ t( to 'vher 3 vie werA iJefo ro t_ !-.

A • il' ft has l1Gen said ti1·v.: Nev\·foltll(l­ land has l1een placed on the mail of the w·orld. And all England. the l'uc'1ic rnen of Great Britain and the , o 0 ··e~~p.: n-·n Of ~-be g'rc~t P:"J•t-i ~h l"i;m-,.._ /' '-'lf:.; ',__ .1.. \11. ...o.V<.A,, iLJ-L;..::: _.___.. .. pire, ha1.re on more than one occas­ ion testified to the splenilid 'vorl{ i1erforn1ed by our soldiers anrl s~ilors.

Not alone. our soldi 1ers and sailors, ht1t the whole co·untry, ot1r· 1ne11 and women who .suffer in sorrow, keeping up the burden of ru11ning the cot1n" tr:r as "\Vell as those Wh·o sacrificed tbeir sons a11d brothers and all who are dear to them. A'll, all have won recognltion for the way we have borne ·out

part in the burdens of tl1is historic war. As I ha·ve .said, partici•pation in the·se war councils i11trod11ced llS to the seriDus matters upon vvhich the En1pire now has t 10 focus all its attention and concen­ trate all its strength. You c.an ha.ve no iclea of the mass of material that 11a,,d to he c1onsi(lered da.ily, be·caiuse the VVar ~a. binet had to be given the fulle~c information on ever"jrthing that 11ac1 been do11e a.nd ,,·as to be done.

A 11 the possibilities of peace had to l' e considered, and everythi11g contin­ F"·ent t1pon every possible peace.__all t11ese questions vvere considere 1d in / deta.il ant1 for two m0nths almost we were :pra ctically engag·ed carrying on t11e war, an·d I am free t10 say that there i1 s a splendid sp,irit to-day in Eng­ land n1anifested by her i>ublic men1 by the press, and 1)y citizens of all classes. All exhilbit the same spirit, and the sure conviction that victory is certain. We may have rev1erses. We expect, antici,pate and are pre­ parecl for them.

It was like a bolt from th· e blue vvllen the ne\,vs of th· e Russian revo­ lution came. No one had an)r idea that we wer.e s-0 near a complete change of g·overnment. You have f1ollowed what has taken place, and read the messages every day the past iew months. No one can fully a.p- precia te the outco1ne of that revolu­ tion, 1or the ipolicy which present and future governments may have to adopt there. It was a wonderful thing when l11undreds of n1illio11s of p·eople jumped from 1serfdom and sls.very to tl1e l1ighe3t plane ·of liberty and equa·lity.

I ho1)e they inay prorperl)r use th·e great p1ower tl1ey hav~e won. Older natio11s kno\v-those who have g;o11e throug ·h the mill-that the R·us­ sian peasant will 11a ve to learn the '~ lessons they have · learnt in the :past, namely, that the pri11ciples of libert)T a.r2 th·e ·on·ly fou11dations of an em­ pire1s pr10SQJerity, and that labor and lauor al0ne c0nsti ,tutes a co·untry's strength. It all comes back t10 this, th.at all tl1e vvealth and luxury aroun , d . us, our great public b1uildings, factor­ ies, docks, rai 1 l\vays, and theatres are merely the r·esult of labor.

If you stop Y'vorking in the mine, if the fishery ceases, if men go idle, there can be 110 ;prosperity in the c·,ountry, th·e country cannot S•U'p1porit its 1popula­ tion, and ther i e is n 1 0 ind1ependence, tl1ere is no liberty. The,se ipeople ii1 l~,11ssia have jum1ped from s·erfdom to 11Lerty in a J1ight, and they will have to recogniz·e th,e fact tl1at their first dt1ty is to their country, that their

.HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. 29 cou11tr~r ca11 only exist as '1on1g ap they v11ork. They must contin 1ue to upl1old the principles for which for the last three years, Englan . d and her allies have been fighting. It was Russia that England came in ti() help. England is tl1e he1per and friend of fi"J."anc·e a11d Russia and the truste , e of Be·l·gi11n1, and the war woul · d have i_een over in a month or two, or three at the furthest, had England re1nain· ed out of the contlict. Germany would have overrun France.

W 1e. have heard tio-day gra:phic descri 1ptions of \1~-l1at has been acc·omplishe 1d .by· the British Expeditionary Force that V\rent ov·er to France. vVe fight for tha fr·eedom of the world. The aliie3 must stand together, else huma11it;.T "'rill st1ffer f·or Qenturies to cor.t~P. \Ve figl1t that Russia ma.y be fre2.

She ca,nnot g-.o back on her allies. l\1y obser·vations mer 1ely tend to pro\re that if a separate peac · e is ma.de by Russia it may prolon.~ th·J wat for years, because in the first place · it wi 1 enable the German~ to pl1rcl1ar:>e vl;hea,t fro· m R.ussia, unless, i11deed ... it v1ere one 1of the terms of peace that Russia vvould not se 1 ll to Ger­ man}r, and, s1econdly, it \VOlll(i enable tl1e Ger1nans to concentrate all i 11eir strength uipon th. e other fronts.

Stl<~h a p·eace would be a permanent strain and inj 1UI"Y to Rus,sia. w . e can eas]1y see ,ho\v iml)·ortant it is that Russi:i sl1ou ld remain ·true to her 'promis .8s, and this is one of the uncerta:n eJe­ ments in the war. The other is the submarine. A week before I left England s·om.etl1ing like sixty ships '\Vere sunk. Since then conditions 11a ve b·een improving. Germany's policy is to starve England out. They do not hope to \Vin on the western front, because \Ve are now blasting our way to :Berlin, and it is only a question of ti1ne, ,of calculation, \Vhen Ger1nany will fire her last s'hot.

But they do not trust to end the v.,rar on the land. They trust to starve Eng- la11d into te::-n1s of .peace, but I do not think the y v.rill succeed tl1ere, because • the advent of the United States more . tl1a11 cou:r1teracts a11y result tl1at eith­ er of t:1ese ,dangers n1ay lead to. The - allies can get al: the 1nonay Twe want from 1\.merica, a11d \Ve \vill get valu­ able assistance from the American na·vy, assistance in th· e sl1a;pe of de­ stro·vers and con\·oys for food ac:i:oss ~ ~ t11e J~~tlantic, so th~al all risl{ of Eng- land's being starv ·ed into terms of pe:.tce is practically very ren1ote.

The next fori.r or five months '';-ill vr·obab­ ly -v·vitn2ss a bit of pincl1ing in Eng­ lancl as far as wl1eat is concerned, bt1t ·011J.y in relati 1on to \~.-11eat. There is rr1ore meat in Engla11a to-day tl1an before the war. In Septem 1 ber they will have their own wheat cro1ps. The n· e. w w·heat cr·op will render the sub­ marine danger less of a menace. The United States l1ave come to the res­ cue a.nd 1 l thi11k we may .. safely as­ sume that by next May we will be in a better position to carry on the war' if bv that time it is not o·ver.

These &I w·ere the questions that daily con-- cerned us in tJ1ese v..;ar ca tin et coun­ cils, and I need not say that it was a m·ost i11teresting opportunity to get rigl1t ,0 n to the inside history of those \\?l)nderful international problems, . To learn of our foreign relations from n1en li]{e Balfour, the Forei ,gn Secre­ tary, to hear naval .problems daily dealt with ·b).,. men like Adrr1iral .J el­ lic,oe, straight from the North Sea, \vhere he l1a,d f·or three years bee11 ke,epi11g "'Natch and ward in that great n1arine theatre of war.

Daily he plac­ ed before us all tl1e problen1s that confronted the Navy in e\rery detail. It 'Nas v;10nclerful to 11ear men who ha.d fo:r three ).,.ears been intimate with tl1e greatest workings of the \Var. discl1ss each phase, men like the Secretary of State f:or tl1e 1 C·olonies, IJ011g, who re1)resents all the outly- 1• n~ 0 rc·n ,'r'. ,r'1 ,~ 1,..,."""'1 D..... D l -t T .__.. '- y -- .._...; 0 ... ..,. _ :..~...; .:1. J..J - ... can:'.l·ot on :l1is occaGion iettr tl1at I delay the •

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS: House lon·ge:r, the hour of adjourn- 111en. t ha 1.·ing aJreacly arrived, but I \vi!l a\ra5l ;nyself of an early o~ppor­ tu.11ity to do so. I would ask the r:ern1issi<)Il of the House to deal with "'· on_ e otb_e:r matter tief,ore I sit dov1n. rrl·e ne~l'.:t o·opo-rtunity this Legislatur1e .r)ffsrs J ,.,.,.,.ilJ. take to describe in greater d·etail a number of l1ocal 1natters I h_ad to deal with when in England, also the questions relati·ve to 011r troo 1ps in France and }\y r.

I would lilr· e to conclude by readi11.g to tbis House t\vo letters re­ lati·ve to our Re1giment at Monchy. ' Rt. Hon. Prime l\lf inister read two letters as follov1s :- Do·wning 1 8 t:rieet, 21.st .April, 1917. My Dear Prime M1inister,- I think you will b·e intere 1sted to see the enclose . d extract from a l1etter from G 1 eneral Sir Edmund All1e,nby. The Nev1ioundland Regiment ar· e maintaining their spl1e:ndid recor·d. Sincerely yours, WALTER E. LONG. (Extract from lett 1er fr·om Gen. Sir E. Allenby to Mr.

Walt i e· r Long): The N ewfoundlande ,rs too did greiat work at Monchy in ~epelling a viery 11ea\ry counte 1 r-.attack by the German ·s. 711eir ca.sualties vrere high, but they show 1 ed splendid staunchness and fought like h1 e1~oe1 s. A r·e1port from the Divisional 1 C1ommand.er reads: " . . . . . the Germans were ad­ va nc~11g and the Eastern defences ap­ r)ea!"ed wea.l{. On this the Command­ ~ng· Officer and and the ren1ai11der ,of tl1e Hea.dquarter rt1n­ n.ers, signa, 'llers etG., proceed 1ed as ra­ pid.ly as possi·ble to the south east en::ner of tl1e town.

The C. 0. climb­ ir:.g a ladcler, savv the Germans jump­ ing ~nto our starting trench. His sn1a11 party then ran across to the garden fence, losing a fe"\v men as tl1e:y cros3ed, but gettin 1g oover in a sort of ditch. F'rom tl1ere thev were able to fire all da~l, at close range, r-etting the Trench nearly in enfila.de nnd acco11 nting for a large number of Germa~1s . . . . . . . I have per­ s·onally commende·d the good work of thJs Battalion. and that of the 1C. 0. and his Headquarters in particular .

B~r his prom1ptness and p·ersonal bra­ 'rer·y he avoided what might ha,~e been a very serious situation." ThB t is very high prctise, comi11g from such a. person. I may also say that tr is fo:renoon I have learned from the Colonial Secretary that there is in­ for1nation in to the effect that a num­ l1er of ot1r boy~ have 1)een talten pris- 0ne'f'c;. The Colonial Secreta,..y will g'i.ve the House any information that may 1Je required on this important point.

As I have said on an early occasion I "\Yill avail myself of the opportunity of d.eaJing with matters which the Leader of the Opposition has referred to, which time prohibits me from do- • Ing llO'\V. " HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY. 1\1..,,.. Spealze1_ .. , I ·vrill reacl the informa­ ti0n -v·vhich I ha,ve received. Before so doin ~' however, I will tal{e this op­ po1tunity of referring to a statement made by the Lea.der of tl; e 0pposition tl"!.is afte:"noon, rela.tive to the pay of ;he !\Ta11al Reserve.

He stated that he had learned in conversation with a J\1'inister of the Cro\vn that the addi­ tion~l pay of the Na~ral Reservists v1cu!d not be paid them until after the war. I am not aware if he meant me "~,-he11 he said this. r1/i R- !_ LQYD-l\To, I did ·not. l-~O!\l. COL.ON I .AL SECRETARY­ I remember on one occasion when the discussion of this matter in connection "'1itl1 the pay of the Na.val Reservists '<'-~ ~ t''efol:'e the Government, tl1at I mentioned t11ere that I was strongly in favor of equa.lizing the pay of both the Regiment and the Reserve, and also referred to the fact that last year

, HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. in c~1nada they 'vere advertising for na,ral volunteers and were paying them $1.10 per day with sepa,ra,tion Clllo•vance. (These men, I may say, could not compa,re with our men pJ1y­ sically at all. They struck me as be­ ing a very different type ~f men.) I represented this to the Executive · Gov­ ernment, every member of which Ptrongly concurred in ~rhat I ha.d said.

J-\ s to the payment of these men after tl1e war, ne,rer on any occasion, either p11hliC'ly or private, have I made any such a statement as that to which t11e . hon. the Lea,der of. the Opposition ha.s ref.erred tl1is afternoon. MR. LLOYD-I would like the Gov­ ernment to make a clear statement as to "'Nhat they propose to do in this matter. The Hon. Colonial Secretary has not yet stated when he proposes to 1pay these men. H1e has not said tl1a.t they were to be paid at once. HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY­ ! never had any other intention. On motion the debate was adjourn- ed until to-morrow.

Tl1e following notices were given: Mr. Coaker gave notice of question. lVI:r. Half)rard gave notice of ques- tion. l\tI'!". Lloytl gave notice-of question. Rt. !--Ion. Prime Minister gave notice t,11at 11e would on to-morrow ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled "An Act to Amend the Death Duties Act, Acts 1914-16." Rt. Hon. Prime Minister gave notice that he would on to-morro\v ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled "An Act Respecting Discipline on Ships Con­ trolled by the Admiralty." Rt.

Hon. the Prime Minister gave notice tl1at he would on to-morrow ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled ".r.\n Act respecting Returns of Loss­ es ty Fire Insura11ce C1ompanies." ·1-t:e Hon. Colonial Secretary gave I18tice that he would on to-morrow a.sl\: lea \Te t,o introduce a Bill entitled "An r\ct for the Confirn1ation ·of a Contract \Vith t!1e Riverside \Voolen '""ir'•l T • 't d" .i\lll S Lilllll e • The I-Ic·n. Colonial Secretary ta l)led the follo\ving: Stater11ent of the St. Joh11's lviunl­ cipal Council f·or the year 1916.

Annual R.ep,ort of the Cashier of tl18 Ne<.vfoundland Savi11gs Bank 1916. linn1.Ial Rvetu1~ns ·of tl1e Reid Ne-vv­ foundlct11c1 Company for the period Jt1ne 30t11, 1915, to June 30th, 1916. Re:p1ort and Financial Statement of the Council of Higl1er Education for tl1e year 1916. / t11at seconded wl1ej_1 the House ris·es it adjourn un­ til to-n1orro--w~, Thursday, at three of the clocJ\: in the afterno·on. Tl1e House the11 adjourned accorcl­ ingly. THUR,SDA Y! May 31.st. The I-louse n1et at four of tl1e clock~ ]n the a.ftern 10,on pursuant to adjournment.

Hon the, lVIii1ister of Fina11ce tabl· ed t11e Pu·blic Accounts 1915-1916. NEW BILLS. Pursuant to notice and lectve gra,nt­ ed and on inotion of Rt Hon. the Prime :~viinister, the Bill entitled "~L\_n ..L\ct to Amend .the Deat·h Duties Act, Acts 1914;·1916," wa,s introduced and re,ad a. first tin1e, and ordered to be read a second time on to-morrovv. P:ursuant to notice and leave grant· eel a11cl on motion of Rt.

Hon. the Prim·e Mi11ister tl1e Bill entitled "An Act Res 1 pecting Discipline on shi'ps controlled by the· Adn1ira1ty,H v-vas in­ troduced ai1d read a first time and ordered to be rea.a a, second itime l\.)n to-morrow. Pursuant to notice and leave grant­ ed and on 111otion ol Ilt. Hon. the Prime Minister, the Bill entitled "~L\.n Act respecting Ret11r11s of L1osses l1y Fire Insurance Companies,'' was in­ trioduced and read a first time and or­ dered to be read a second ti111e· on to- ~ morrov.r.

• . 32 HOUSE OF A SSEMBL Y P RO·CEEDINGS . . , l.J urBuant to notlc:e and leav e grant- ecl a11d on ino,tio n of the Hon. Coloni a l Sec.i·etary, the Bill enititled "4.n Act ror t11e confirmatio.n .of a co. n tract with the R~i\'erside W-oole11 Mills , Lin1ited ," \Vas i;.1trod11ced and r ea d a firs 1t time ailu o:rd.e:ted to be read a secvnd tirr1e 011 to-r11orr o w. ;:-- ,.r~· ,.-, ·~ ''"' ., ')'~·er-" a,1d ...... u...... J..) \....l ._A ...... J.. l ......,, . ~ -J ,_ , .._ '-' - .1. lea ve grant- e:t a11rl o:n :tnotiol.1 of tl1e H<0n.

Colon­ ~.11 Sec:;:-etary, the Bill entitle . d "An ~~ct fer the conf irmation of a Con­ tr2.ct \Vith the Ne\·v foundl a~ nd Knitting i\/! ills, Li mited," was in1troduced and 1.·ead a fi r st ti me and ordered to be read a se cond tim e on to-mor r ow. QUES · TiIQN1S. r!f R. CO.A.KER ask ed the Minister of Public Work s to table a st at ement ·;:·J1owing · t h e a mo unts ·expended for re.­ pairs upon P11blic Buil din gs in tl1e f\olo11y fr om Jul y 1st, 1916 , "'"il to ~\Tay ~lsit. 191 7, th e rt ame of suci1 huilclings or wh er e situated and to ·, 11 ~ .) , .. ·\ '·".! l" n l-, ' ' ' 1 • D L\ \To ..

F p l µ.fJ a J ' f;j ,/-;. 1 SQ - ....... , ·-· ~" l.1. • .J. _, -·"-'· ~, l' '..I t ....... th e q uanti ty of coal supplied each r·1 ~blic built11vc; ~1t St. John 's, fron1 ·,_\ :u)m purchase.d, an.d price paid for ~.:i ~ne :uer ton. . . M ! f'J !STER ' ) F PU Bl-IC WORKS-- r t--0.0· tn. t~1..,1° ·na .... t o !! r.110 info r ~-nat"on l.. • ....... •t_--, ..... ·_; ,,..:_k \.J ;'-"·~ Jl, v - l. ........ ~• ~ req11ired.

Th e re m ain .. der wil1 l)e i,.., 1.... 1 0d to-miorrow - .. •!J ... _,, .• Pll f-1, CO;.\ KE R as k ed the Right Hon. ,..;--he Prem ier to table all corre ·svon­ clence and a n y A, greements relative to the re-oipe ni ng of the Howley Coo.,l Sean1. Rl·. HO N,. · PRIME MINISTER­ Th'.Jre wa,s noth i.ng whatever in tl1e \\ray of co·r respondence in this mat­ t er. The matter vvas br·ougl1t 'before t,!-- ci parties inter esite. d and th· e ad­ vantages both t o the Colony and t1hem \Vere pointed out, but nothing took place that gave ris e to any corres­ pr)11dence V'Thate ver . MR . COAi< ER ask ed the Hon .

Min­ ister of Finan ce and C·ustoms to ta.ble a det aile d state ment showin . g t.1'18 a11antity of fres h cod fish, halib ·ut :in(l s alt bullr codfish ex portecl from t!1e Colony from J a nt1 a r y 1st, 1917, to :\'1ay 1st , 1917, and the v~lue placed a pon ·the same by the exp·orters. !\.lso, 1th e nun1ber of gallons of re­ fined ,Cod Liver Oil ex·port.ed from the Co.lorry from July 1s t, 1916, to May 31st , 1917, and the 'ralue placed u1p­ on t t .e same by the ex porter. HO N. l\11NISTER FINANCE AND CLJ STOMS-That is being prepared. r .. r: R. CO,.'\K ER asked the Hon.

Min­ ister of Finance and Customs to ta ble a state 1nent sh1owing what liqrc r 1?vas disp ·ensed by th· e Acting Con tr oller f or medical pur·poses dur­ ing Janu ary, Februa r y, IVIarch, April and May , sho vv-ing tl1e amount for each month. Also, to table a state­ n1e:J.t st. o\ving \7hat £lour was im­ po-:'ted into the Colon3r from D·ecem­ ber 1st , 1916, to May 1st, 1917, and by \Vhon1. ...L\.lso, to table a staite·ment sh o\.ving th e number of inen that left t~;e Col 3r1y fro :n No r e1nber 1st , 1916, ;· o ~\Carc11 31st, 1917.

Al so, the num­ b e ~· of 111 e n ·tha, t entered the <Jiolony du :rir1 g th· e sa1ne 1 p·eriod. 1-tON. MINISTER FINANCE AND C U :S TO r\1 S--Tihat is be 5. ng pre1pared . i•f. R. COA~< ER c:tsked the Hon. Col- . c·ni a l Secretary to tab,le all corr ·e­ s:1Jo11dence, or· copies of same, and a~o.y a·greement s made relative to the present service rendered by the S.S. Cl:i7d e a 1 1d S .S. Du n dee, also any cor­ se '.) r_:i:;nde 1 1c e r elati ,re it.o the Fortune ~ B'1 .. ~: s e:--·vic e s ~ nce l\1ay 1st, 1916.

Also, a COip)r or th e ori,ginal of the CQn­ t:ract en,te:re1 into re·lative to tl1e Bay of Is la nd s-St . George's ma:LI ser­ v1c·e, and the ser vice· betvreen St. Jo~; n' s a11d Cc; o .. k's Harbor. Also, a d.et :liJ eel sta te,rr e"Jt of cost of Lower T;atrador ser,rice d11rjng 1916. HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY­ The reply is being prepared. MR. COAKER aske . d the Rt. Hon. tl1e 1~ re,111ier to table a st:::ttement sh o\ivin1g (

a) total accepted recruits f·or the army and navy from .A_ug11s't, 1915, to l\1ay 31st; 1917; (

b) the dis-

• HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDJNGS. 33 tricts to which such belong; (

c) the number for each service rejected dur­ ing th~ above period; (

d) the dis­ tricts to which s1uch belong; (

e) th· e total ainount of war exipenditure 11p to ·May 31st, 19'17; (f) · the casua.lties in rthe Naval Reserv · e and Newf1 ouna~ land Regiment u;p to April 30th, 1917, defining number killed, deaths from wounds, number unfitted f·or service a11d number discharged, number in hos.pita! and numfb1er missin ·g; (

g) number now fit for service o:ut of the total enrollments in ea,ch s·ervice and where sucl1 are sirtuated. Rt. HON. PRIME MINISTER-As y to this qt1estion (

a) is being prepar­ ed, (b), (

c) and (rl) are in course of preparation, (e) 1 I. beg leave to table this, (f), these facts are being obtained from Eaptain MacDermoU and rthe Re:gim·ern tal figures are be­ ing pre.pared, and (

g) that is also being pre.pared. I shall be able to provide an estimate shortly. Col. Whittal{er is pre·paring these. l\1Rm HALFYARD asked the Min­ is.ter of Marine and Fishe ·rie. s to lay on the ta.ble of tl1e 1 louse a state­ ment of all moneys sent to St. Jacques, Fortune District, for the vears ~912 a.11d lfl.J '!. \Vith copi~g of • returns for same, if any have been received. MINISTER OF MARINE A;\JD , Fl SHER I ES--I be· g to table that in- formation. MR.

HALFVARD ask·ed the Minis­ ter of Public ·works ti o lay on the table of the H·ouse a sta;tement of all moneys frolJ\ the Main Line, local and S'Pecial grants allocated from his Department for expenditure a.t St. Anthony, St. Barb · e District, for the years 1915 and 1916. MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS­ That I 'be. g to ta.ble. MR. HALFYARD asked the H 1on . . the Colonial Se·cretary to ~ay on the table of the Hous . e a copy of all cor,.. respondence between ithe Postmaster General, tqe representative of Fogo district, and th· e H 1on.

Colonial Sec­ retary, re the erection of telegraph wires from Gander Hay to Musgrave Ha'rbor, Fogo 'District. Also, to ask the Hon. Colonial ·Secretary to table a statement showing what money has been paid, and to whom .paid, for the storage of teJ.egraph wires at Carman­ ville and Ladle \Cove· from December 31st, 1913, to date. HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY­ That wil, l be tabled to-morrow. MR. LLOYD asked the H 1on. Minis­ t·er of Finance and CuSitoms to table the reports of the Auditor General on the accounts of the ·Colony and on

section 33b of the Audit Act. HON. MINISTER FINANCE AND CUSTOMS--.JThat will b· e tabled to­ morrow. MR. LLOYD asked the H 1on. Minis· ber of Finance and Cusitoms to tab,Je a statement of balances of Govern­ ment accounts in th· e Bank of Mon­ trP,al on May 31st, 1917. HON. MINISTER FINANCE AND CUSTOMS-That is ·being :prepared. MR. LLOYD asked the H·on.

Minis­ ter of Finance and Customs whether the grant of money for the office of Judge of the Central District Court has ,)een expended during ithe past two years in who1le or in part; and if so, to name the 1persons to whom the moneys of this grant have been paid, and in what am·o·unts, and the dates of such vayments. HON. MINISTER FINANCE AND CUSTOMS-I be1g to table that infor· ma ti on. MR. LLOYD asked the Right Hon. the Prime l\1inister whether it is the intention of the Government to rt1ake 1·rovision ithis session for a G8t1eral r·:•t.cti·on in tr E Fall. RT. HON.

PRIME MINISTER-I do i~ot think the .practice woulJ be to r1 t kc an:v- prov· i~ion. It is gP.oerally ct ariged to · f-r·l; t Fund. MR. LLOY=>- !{~it provision 011gl1t t~ be inatle. RT. HON. ?R~'VIE MINISTER-I •

I • • 34 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRO·CEEDINGS. • v1as speal\:ing c1r the pract1c~. I -tm speaking frori.1 - ~,1 ~ll10ry. It i:-. lL<)t in the Sup:pleme11tary Supply. i thinlr. MR. LLOYD asked the Rt. Hon. the Prime Minister w·hether it is tl1e in­ tention of the Governmen~ to ii1tro­ duce legislation to abolish the -office of Judge of the Central District 1Court. If not, when this office will be filled. RT. HON· . PRIME MINISTER­ That has n·ot been before · the Govern­ ment. As regards the latter part of this question I may say that that is before ithe Governme ·nt f·or consider­ ation. MR.

LLOYD-That is not much in­ formation. MR. LLOYD 1to ask the Hon. Minis~ ter of Finance and Customs if pro­ vision is bein : g made in the Estimates for taking the Voter's List this sum­ m·er • HO'N· . MINISTER ,FINANCE AND CUSTOMS-JThe Estimates ·have n·ot yet been completed. fVI R. LLOYD aske . d the Hon. Min- ister of Finance and · C·ustoms if pro- vision is being made for the General Election this fa1.1. HON. MINISTER FINANCE AND CUSTOIVIS---JThe same answer applies to this question. MR. LLOYD-May I r· e·quest that these ques ,