• • r J PROCEEDINGS Id OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE OF NEWFOUNDLAND 1929 1\11\NNING & RABBITTS, Printers, Prescott Str eet, St . John's, Newfoundland, 1929 . a •

PROCEEDINGS ~f tl1e House of ·Assembly of Newfoundland SESSION 1929. Tuesday, April 16th, 1929. Upon 1'uesday, the sixteentl1 day of April, A.D. 1929 the Members returned for the several districts with the ex­ ception of Sir William F. Coaker, K:B.E., member for Bonavista East, assembled between the hot1rs of two and three of the clock in the afternoon in the Council Chamber and took and s11bscribed to the oath of allegiance before tl1e Honourables Sir Patrick · l\1:cGrath, Tasker Cook and George Shea, tl1e Commissioners of His Ex­ cellency the Governor thereto ap­ pointed.

At three of the clock the Members bei11g assembled in the Assembly Room tl1e Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod delivered a message from His Ex­ cellency the Governor, requesting the attendance of the Members in the Council Cha.mber where His Excel­ lency's commission having been read by the clerk, the Commissioners sig­ nified that the Members should forth­ 'vith return to their own Cha.mber and elect a proper person to be their Speaker, and present such person to His Excellency on to-morrow in the Co11ncil Chamber at three of the clock. \Vhere11pon the Members having re­ t11rned to the Assembly Rooni the Prime Minister, tl1e Honourable Sir Ricl1ard A.

Squires, K.C., K.C.M.G., moved tl1at tl1e Member for the Dis­ trict of Harbor Ma'in, Albert ·J. Walsh, Esq., do take the Chair as Speaker, and it \Vas seconded by Mr. Frederick C. Alderdice, Member for the District of St. John's City (East) and no other person being proposed Mr. Walsh was unanimously called to the Chair by the House and was conducted to the Chair by the Members who proposed and seconded him. Whereupon the Speaker standing on the steps he addressed the House, ex­ pressing his gratitude to . the Hon­ ourable Members for the high honor unanimously conferred upon him.

The House then adjourned until to­ mcrrow Wednesday at half-past two o'clock in the afternoon. . Wednesday, April 17th, 1929. The Ho11se met at half past two o'clock 'in the a.fternoo11 pursuant to adjournment. At three o'clock a message from His Excellency the Gov­ ernor "\Vas delivered by the Gentle­ man Usher o.f the Black Rod, com­ manding the immediate attendance of l\tlr. Speaker and the House in the Council Chamber. "\Vhereupon Mr. Speaker and the House attended His Excellency in the Council Chamber and being returnecl

4 HOUSE; Oii, i\Ei81Jl\'1BLY PROCEEDINGS to the Assembly Room, Mr. Sreaker informed the Ho·use that when in at­ tendance upon H'is Excellency in the Council Chamber His Excellency was p1eased to ap·prove of his election ctS Speaker . of this House; and that in the name and on behalf of the House of Ass.embly, "he had by humble petition laid claim to all their ancient rigihts and privileges" which Hi1 s Excellency h1ad confirmed in as full an· d ample a manner as 'they h·ave been heretofore granted o· r allowed by His Excellency or any of his predecessors. Mr.

Speaker informed the House that when in attendance on His Excellency the Governor in the Council Chamber, His Excellency had been pleased to make a speech to both branches of the Legislature, a copy O · f which, for pur­ poses of greater accuracy, he had ob­ tained, and which he then read to the House. SPEECH .FROM THE THRONE. )Ir. Pre.side 1nt a.nd Hono ·ur· a.ble Ge1ntle 1 - me. n o· f the Legisla .tive Counc·ili: Mr.

Speaker and Gentleme 1n of the Honour ·ab·le House 1 of Assembly: As I no•w, for the first time since assuming the Office of Governor of this Colony, enjo· y the privilege of meeting this Legislature in Session, I desire to express to you my recog­ nition of the responsibilities attaching to that Office, my resolve to adhere striotly to oonstitutional principles, and my desire to ·assist in promoting the .best interests of this ancient De­ pendency o.f the Empire. In greeting yot1 at this the opening of the Twenty-seventh General .

As'­ sembly, I trust that yo.ur lab.ours un­ der the guidance of Divine Providence vvill tend towards the prosperity and \Vell-b ·eing of the people of Newfound­ land. It is with a feeling of deep sincerity and profound gratitude that we off er thanks to the Almighty Giver of all good that He has graciously given to our Sovereign Lord the King the promise of recovery from the severe and trying illness fro . m which His Majesty has suffered. We unite with all parts of the Empire in the prayer that His Majesty may shortly be re­ stored to full health and strength.

A suitable resolution will be submitted to you dealing with this matter. The General Election held in October last was marked by good order which emphasized the law-a .biding character of our people. The rest1lt was decisive and my Ministers assumed the reins of office with confidence born of the fact that the great majority of the peo·ple have approved their policy. For the first time in the history of the Colony the wo·men exe·rcised at a Gen­ eral Election the francl1ise which had been given them, and a very large percentage went to· the Polls.

The questions . of tra.de expansion within the Emp-ire, the better market­ ing of our products, and the making of Trade Agreements beneficial to Newfoundland have received consider­ ation. It is proposed to a.ppoint a Trade Commissioner in London in place of a High Co·mmissioner, the commercial interests of Newfound­ land in Great Britain b·eing of great impo ·rtance. Negotiations with respect to a Trade Agreement have been opened with th· e Government at Ottaw ·a, and it is hoped that these will result beneficially to the c ·olony. The returns from the Fishery last year were satisfactory.

There was a slight shortage in the catch in our staple industry, but enhanced prices and favourable markets more than off­ set the shortage in catch. During last year the production of iron ore exceeded that for the pre­ vious year by more than 600,000 tons with an increased value of over $1,- 000,000. Tl1e export of paper also has

HOUSE OF, 1~ .. SSEl\lIJLY PROCEEDINGS 5 exceeded that of the previous year by 13,700 tons, with an increased value of over $1,000,000. Imports during the last fiscal ye~r totalled $27 ,600,000, and the exports for the same period were $33,600',000, showing a trade bal­ ance in favour of this Colony of $6,- 000,000. The total trade of the Col­ ony for the last fiscal year was $61,- 00Q,OOO, being $5,,000,000 in excess of the total trade of the previous fiscal year. The Sealing Fleet, still engaged in their arduous work, appear to be reap­ ing substantial success.

The International Power and Paper Company is using every means to prove the value of the coal d·eposits in the District of St. George; the Anglo­ N ewfoundland Development Compa .ny and those associated with them have made considerable progress in the de­ velopment of the valua .ble lead-zinc deposits at Buchans, while the Paper Plants operating in this Colony are increasing their output each month and developing plans that in due time will give a very material increase in paper production.

Mr11 S11·eaker and Gentle imen of tJ1e Honourable House of Assembly: The Statements of Revenue and Ex­ penditure for the fiscal year which ended on the 30th J 1 une, 1928, will be submitted to you. Tl1e Revenue returns for the quarter ending March 31st last, show~ as com­ pared with the corresponding period of 1928, an increase of $2,30,000 in spite of considerable reductions in Customs taxation.

The Estimates for the coming year will be sub,mitted to you at an early date, and you "\Vill be invited to make the customary provision for the needs of the Pub1ic Service. · It is pro.posed to submit to you a Loan Bill providing for certain Capi­ tal expenditures of the Public Service, • including Fishery, Marine and Road operations, Education, Penitentiary 2nd Poor House reorganisation and a Reforn1a .tory programme in addition to the l'iquidation of the large deficits which my Ministers have been called upon to assume.

It is proposed to appoint a Com­ mission for the revision of the Tariff so that there may be an equitable dis­ tribution of the burden of taxatio ·n, and tl1at inequ~lities of the Tariff may be eliminated. A Bill will be submitted pro,viding for a tax on incomes above a certain figure. Mr • . P1°c,sident and Honourable Ge·ntle­ me~1 of the Legislative Council: i'!Ir.

S1)caker and Gentleme 1 n of the Honoura .ble House of Assembly: The question of t1nemployment and the consequent distress among the people have caused my Ministers to appoint a Commission to enquire into the cause of such unemployment, and to find a remedy for the same. A Commission has also been appointed to enquire into the administration of Hospital and Charitable Institutions, and also into the expenditure made by tl1e Department of Charities.

My JVIinisters look forward to the time when the fuller development of the resources of this Island will call for the employment of the whole male population, and during their admin­ istration every effort will be made by constructive pro·gramme, and utiliza­ tion of every resource to banish the distress endured at present by our labot1ring people. Questions arise from ti1ne. to time affecting the eco·non1ics of the people of this Co.Jany and the necessity for some authority to deal with such qt1estions has been felt.

My Min­ isters propose to submit legislation for tl1e appointment of a Public Utilities Commission which will deal with such questions as they arise, safe-guarding

6 I-IO USE OF ASSJ.Dlv1BL Y PROCEEDINGS all legitimate interests involved and protecting the peo1ple from unfair charges or undue imposition. My Ministers feel that the various fisheries which constitute the greatest natural asset of tl1is co11ntry are capable of further development to the great advantage of the fishermen as well a.s the fishery supplier.

Tl1ey con­ sequently propose to esta .blish a Fish­ ery Comm'ission representative of all I fishery interests in the country to study the problems involved and to make a report to the Government thereon for the consideration of the Legislature at your next Session. When my Prime lVIin.ister 'vas in the City of New York during January last, he had conferences with repre­ sentatives of the American Tele iphone and Telegraph Company, of New York . The result of these conversations and subsequent negotiations is embodied in certain legislation which will be sub·mitted to you.

My Ministers hope that, as a result of these arrange­ ments, cable telephonic connections will be established between this Coun­ try and Great Britain and Europe to the East and South and the Con­ tinents of North and South America to the West and South. The matter of additio ·nal street-car facilities for the City of St. John's and suburbs has engaged the attention of my Ministers, who expect that legis­ latio · n in this regard will be submitted for your consideration at this Session.

The matter of local municipal au­ tonomy applicable t10 towns both popu­ lous and prosperous will be submitted for your deliberation. As sparsely populated localities are greatly handicapped in the operation of their schools through the smallness of their educational grant, my Min­ isters propose to give substantial in­ creased Educational Vote for ex­ penditure in such localities. A Bill for the more effective pre­ vention of the illicit liquor traffic in St. John's will be submitted for your consideration.

A n t1m ber of Bills regarding various matters connected with the Govern­ m ent Depr.:rtments will be brought be­ fore you for your action. I trust that in the discharge of your important duties you may be granted Divine wisdom and guidance. RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY TO ROYAL FAMILY. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER. ­ Mr. Speaker, allow me, sir, to invite you to permit precedence to be taken by the resolution which I now have the honour to read and which I have pleasure to move. HON. THE LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION.-Mr.

Speaker, I ha.ve m11ch pleasure in seconding the reso­ lution so ably proposed by the Hon­ ourable the Prime Minister. I think if we were to try to enumer­ ate the characteristics of His Gracious Majesty outside of his kingliness, probably the first characteristics that would occur to us would be his man­ liness, his thoughtfulness, his human­ ity and his spirit of. se lf- Eacrifi ce. I am very much afraid tl1at when this illness came upon the King, that u p to tl1en we "\Vere apt to forget the great services that he wa.s rendering the Empire.

We know how every day of his life he committed some act of self-sacrifice, and I do not think we realized what he w 1 as doing until it \Vas brought home to us that "\Ve might lose him altogether. Then and then only did we wake 11p to the fact and were able to announce our feelings of deep love and loyalty to the Throne an· d the King himself. It seems to me that this illness of the ICing has been the means of draw­ ing the Empire closer together. I think that we have tl1e bringing together of

I!OlTSFJ OF r\S8J]JlVIBL Y PROCEEDINGS 7 the classes. Millions from the highest to the lowest have . a community of · thought between them and I know of nothing more reaching or more bind­ ing, either in a household or country, then a great common sorrow. It struck me during my visit abroa . d that the singing of the National Anthem had taken on a new signifi­ cance. The singing had ceased to be perfunctory. I had a feeling that when the people uttered the words "God save the King" they breathed into them a spirit of sorrow, of ueep 11eartfelt prayer for the Royal sufferer. Mr.

Speaker, I have much pleasure in seconding the resolution before the House. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER.­ Mr. Speaker, I move that this resolu­ tion be sent to the Legislative Co1uncil with a request for their concurrence. HON. THE LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION.-Mr. Speaker, I beg to second that. RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY ON DEATH OF HON. DR. ROBINSON. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER.­ Mr. Speaker, again, sir, I seek pre­ cedence to the regular business of the House this time for a resolution of sympathy to the family of the late Hon. Dr. J. A. Robinson. Dr. J. A. Robinson came to, this country as a yo11ng man, a school teacher.

Carbonear was his home­ his adopted home. He raise 1d the educational standard there fro · m that of an 'insignificant and unknown school to the well known, big, educational institution, Carbonear Academy. Some time passed, and he then came to the Methodist College at St. John's and then into the newspa .per activities and business world, with which he has been recently largely identified. He was a member of the Legislature for a time and a member for a time of the Legislative C1ouncil.

He occupied, under the old system when the Coloni­ al Secretary was connected with the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, the official position of Postmaster Gen­ eral. He resigned from that office wl1en he decided not to take over the responsib-ilities of the Dep11ty Minister of Posts and Telegraphs under the new regime of 1919. He took over newspaper work and carried on successfully for he was a man known as an educationalist of value and what he knew himself he told to the co11ntry, and under his capable man­ agement devolved from nothing a newspaper in St.

John's which takes a stand with the Evening Telegram, which is the product of the united and systematic efforts of the Herder family for l1alf a century. We grasp something of his ability when we consider his selection of the men with whom he was associated in his work and particularly as business manager of a gentleman with a large experience as accountant with the Ra.ilway and a successful business­ m.an, Mr. J.C. Puddester, who occupies a seat in this Ho,use.

He was an effective life-long politi­ cal opponent of mine and I feel I owe it to him and to his memo ·rY. to refer to the work he did in connection with the Permanent Marine Disasters Fund. That fund and its importance to-da . y is due in no small measure to the active work of Dr. J. A. Robinson, and then in connection with the publicity through the Daily News "'hich he controlled. When even his scholarship, even his ability are forgotten, with respect will be remembered his activities in con­ nection "\Vith the Permanent Marine . Disasters Fund.

"We live in deeds, not years; thoughts, not breath, • Ill In feelings not in figures on a dial." And so when the little discrepancies 'vith which his name and n1ine are

8 HOUSE OF A· S~:~E J.\lEI"'Y PROCEEDINGS • associated have been forgotten, we will find that he liv·es still for his past acts and will be remembered as a good educationalist, a su.ccessful business .man and above all, as a man who gave his supreme efforts to de­ velop one of our most important pub­ lic charities. I beg to move the resolution. HON. THE LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION :-Mr. Speaker, it is with deepest feeling that I rise to second the resolution proposed by the Hon- • ourable the Prime Minister.

In the Legislative Council I had op­ portunity o.f coming into contact with the late Honourable gentleman and it was there I was confirmed in the al­ ready high opinio · n · I ha1 d al ways held of him. He came to this country at the age of twenty years. For twelve years he laboured in the Carbonear Grammar School. After coming back to St. John's he took up journalistic . work and made it his life's work.

He went into public life in 1897, he was elected a member of this House of Assembly as representative of the Dis· ­ trict o.f Bo·navista . , but it is more in his journalistic and philanthro .pic work that I wo·uld remember him, and I believe that he himself would prefer -to be remem ·bered on th· e score of journalism and philanthropy than political life. He will always be associate(l wit11 the Permanent Marine Disasters 1~und.

He was always the m ving· sr;irit in it and it was to· his labours prir1ci1JaJly that the funds were collected for it. ·It wa· s a labour of love and tl1ere • IS • many a wido 1w and many an .1rph~11 that for his ministrations has good cause to bless his name. In the journalistic wo·rld he wielcled a very strong pen and he fot1ght what he thought w·as the good fight for the best interests of Newfoundland. He was a fearless man in the espousal of any cause. He was a strong te·mperance advocate and social reformer. He practised what he preached. He has been always advo - ­ caiting the best for Newfoundland.

His . charity was the right kind, quiet and unostentatious. At times a little stead­ fast in his ideas but never offensive in holding to them. He was a faithful adh·erent to his church, a loving hus­ band and a deep lo·ver O · f Newfound­ l1and. He is now gone to his reward, the sure reward of e vry one who comforts the widow and orp a· n in their affliction. MOTION FOR ADDRESS IN REPLY CAPT. JOHN PARSONS.- Mr.

Speaker, I r'ise for the purpose o· f moving for the appointment of a Committee to draft the Address in Reply to the Speech with which His Excellency has been pleased to open this session of the Legislature, but before ·doing so I would like to, avail myself of the opportt1nity to· tender to you, sir, my heartiest congratulations on your unanimous appointment as the gre~test co·mmoner in the land, and I am sure tl1at yot1 will fill that position with honour to the Assembly, honour to this country, and honour to· the ' district which you represent, and I • b:ave no d1ou:bt that Hon. members on both sides of this House will give you every assistance they can in e·nabling . you to make the duties of your po·sition as light as possible.

I feel that it would be presumption on my part to tender congratulations to our Le·ader for the wonderful following that he has here behind him. When he looks around ·at his large following in this House and can feel that whatever happ ·ens, that crowd of men is at his b·ack under · all circumstances, and that whatever laws he may wish to make for the benefit of this country, or for the ben­ efit of the people o.f this country, that these men will be at his back under all circumstances.

HOlTSE OF i\~3t~~]l\1BLY PROCEEDINGS 9 I notice in your reading of the Spee ch from the Throne, Mr. Speaker, and I was very agreea .bly surprised to 11ear it, that .the output of ore from Bel l I sla nd for 1928 exceeded the ot1t­ put for 1927 by a large amount, and I sincere ly hope that tl1e company that is r unning that mine will see their vva.y cle ar to give their employees a litt le be tter wage now that they got a gre ater output for their material.

It is a well known fact that the grec::ter part of the residents of Bell Isla nd are entirely dependent on the co1npan y for their support, and there is a considerable number of men res iding in the different sections of Conce ption Bay that are almost as inuc h dependent on Bell Island Com­ pany for their support as the resi­ den t s of Bell Island itself. They are only employed for eight months of the yea r a nd I can readily t1nderstand how hard it is for a man to make provis­ ion for the other four months with the small wages that he receives from th is company.

Another paragraph that I notice in the Speecl1 from the Throne that im­ pr ess ed me very forcibly as being a ste p in the right direction, is in con­ n ection with the intention of the Gov­ ern1nent to appoint a commission to d eal with the problem of our fisheries. And I am sure tl1at if the same success attends the appointment of the com­ m ission , as attended the efforts of the Liber a l Party under Sir Robert Bond, \Vl1en he made an effort to revive the 11err ing fishery, then I am. sure that it will be a great benefit to the country.

As you know sir, in the e3.rly days of the Labrador Fishery, th e h e rring fishery was a very close sec ond to the Labrador fishery in this country, so that a great many of the m en who had been making their living a t the codfishery, abandoned it alto­ gether , and went into the herring fish­ er y e ntir ely. At that time they used to market most of the herring at Montreal, and from there to· different parts of Canada and the United States.

But the time came through careless packing and careless handling of herring, 1that if we sent our herring to Montreal dealers as a present, and paid the freight, they wouldn't :allow them to 1 be handled there. As I say the fishermen got so careless in handTing this valuable product of the coun1try that people of otl1er countries refused to take ther11 altogether, and for a great number 0 1 f years there wasn't a herring shipped from the Southern Coast or the Labra­ dor. Then as I said the Liberal Party t1nder Sir Robert Bond made an at­ tempt to revive it.

For a good many years they were ridiculed by the opposition and their opponents in all parts of the countr)r; and as a result of those efforts you know what the herring fishery amounts · to to-day. \Ve are not troubled with finding markets today; the only trouble to·day is find­ ing herring enough to supply the people who want to buy. Consequent­ ly if the Liberal Party under the leadership of Sir Robert Bond had not taken the trouble to do something about those poor conditions existing in respect of the herring fishery it would still have been in that deplor­ able state.

As regards the seal fishery, I can't see any \V~Y our hardy toi~ers can receive any better remuneration from · the industry than they are getting to­ day. As we know through the efforts of Sir William Coaker thH men are getting well fed, and are getting every­ thing· done by the merchants for their comfort that can possibly be done as far as I can see; but the unfortunate part of it is that we have got to take crews of a very large size. The crews that ships take rto the sealfisher.r f.re so nun1erous that \vhen you flf)n1e to divid e up the ren1uneration for the •

10 HOUSE OF AS~;El\JBLY PROCEEDINGS 11ardship and hard work is not ade­ quate for what they have done. If it were decided to reduce the crews it would only cause more unemployment. I "\vould like to refer, too, to the Labrador cod fishery. In the early That went on for a number of years and a younger generation ca1r1e along, and wl1en they went down on the Labrador and found what was happening said: "Wl1at is the good of taking the trouble to make good fisl1; d~. ys of the Labrador cod fishery we don't get any more for it.

We don't when men for the Labrador went down to prosecute the fishery in the summer and caught their fish and returned to Newfoundl 1 and in the winter, there also was fish caught by the residents in the southern part. The fish was shippe(l to Spain and Portugal by ships that used to come for the express purpose of buying the fish on. the Labrador coast. They wanted a certa ,in quality of fish and they would buy if they could get that quality and load the vessel and pay cash and return to Spain or Portugal. The fish that was not suitable "rould be brought back to Newfoundland and sent to some other ma·rket.

The consequence was. our forefath(trs were in habit of making good fish on the Labrador coast. That went on for a certain number of years. Event ally the Newfoundland merch­ ants got into the Labrador fish busi­ ness and exp.orted to those countries from which people were coming out to buy fish. When this was started every small vessel that used to go down to the coa,st was supplied with a culler or supercargo, and as the fish went aboard the vessel it would be superintended by those men. Conse­ quently we "\Vere getting fairly good fish in those days shipped frolll the Labrador coast.

After a short time the merchants decided to pay what is called a tal qual price, that is all fish shipped from the coast o.f Labrador would be paid for at the same rate. Men went down and took considerable trouble and made their fish as a good

article of food and would get say $3.00 a quintal. Other men would go down, and make their fish carelessly, and still get $3.00. • get any more money, conseq11ently we r_:_re losing money." The consequence was tl1e q11ality of the fish cured on the Labrador became "\Vo,rse and worse every year; 1and today no one can con­ scientiously call it an

article of food at all. I believe as I said before that this appointing a commission for look­ ing into the Labrador fishery particu­ larly is a ste, p in the right direction. There is no Newfoundland merchant as far as I know that ever engaged in marketing Labrador products ever made a success 10f it, or ever made any ,, money; and the whole tro11ble of this is on account of the ·talqual system and on account of the quality o· f fish ship,ped from the Labrador.

I want to tell you that from 1896 to 1916 I shipped from the· Labrador coast myself for different merchants in the co·untry and some on my own account between six and seven hun­ dred thousand quintals of fish. As far as I know there has nev·er been but one form of bill of lading made out for vessels taking a cargo from the Labrador. Every bill of lading is made out in the same way.

Amongst tl1at six or seven h11ndred thousand that I shipped from 1896 to 1916 I believe . there were thousands of quintals of green fish, thousands of quintals of slimy fish, and of burnt, and of dirty fish, but the form of every single bill of lading for those cargoes described the fish as prime, dry, No· . 1, Labrador -codfish. That is the reason why merchants in Newfoundland have been continually losing money through the export of Labrador fish. They have been offered a price for a certain quantity of fish, have bought the fish

HOTTSE OF Af3SJ~l\.1BJ~ Y PROCEEDINGS 11 from the fshermen at a price leaving a good n1argin of profit, but when the fish vve11t across to the other side it 'vas on the reclamations for inferior auality fish that the merchants lost ..... money; because as I said before I venture to state without fear of con­ tradiction for the past twenty Y·3<trs there hasen't been twenty thousand quintals of fish shipped from Labra­ dor that was prime, dry, No.. 1 Labrador. .

So there is a great work for that commission to do; and those conditions today are a good deal of the reason why we have such a 1vonderful a1nount of unemployment on the East coast of Newfoundland. About twenty-five or thirty years ago we were shipping from the coast of Labrador every year five or six hun­ dred thousand quintals. Last year the men down there caught practically all the fish they could 11andle and I think the total catch was somewhere about sixty thousand quintals.

When vve con1sider tl1e number of men who used to have to go down there to catch that large quantity of fish and get it ready for the market and the small quantity we are sending c::way toda3r we can understand the t1nen1ployment. Lots of young men dissatisfied vvitl1 the s1nall remunera­ tion decided not to go down any longer and consequently tl1ere is an exo·dus of yot1ng men from the country every year.

So I say this Commission -~ a step in the right direction and if 1 lhe men appointed carry out their duty to the country in the near future we vvill have the Labrador fishery on the same basis as the herring fishery, namely, we won't ~ave trouble to find markets, our trouble will be finding fish enough to strpply the markets. I have very m11ch pleasure in moving tl1at a committee be ap­ pointed to prepare an address in reply . . to His Excellency's n1ost gracious Speech from the Throne. MR, FUDGE.-Mr.

Speaker, it gives me great pl~asure to second the mo­ tio11 .made by my friend the Hon. member for the District of Bay Rob­ erts, who has proposed an Address in Reply to tl1e Speech from the Throne with 'vhich His Excellency the Gov­ ernor has been pleased to open this session of the Legislature. I would like, first, Sir, to be per­ mitted to extend to you hearty and sincere congratulations on your un­ animous selection for tl1e high and honourable position you now occupy. It is no small honor for a citizen to be elected as representative of his i1ative distriGt.

It is an even 11igher mark of esteem for him to· be selected by 11is fellow-members of this Honourable House as . "First Commoner'' of the land we love. You, Sir, occupy your present high position in succession to a long line of able, distinguished and fairminded Speakers. Honorable Mem­ bers of this House are confident that, both as representative of the old dis­ trict of Harbor Main and as heir to the ennobling traditions of Speaker­ ships of the past, you will afford con- · stant and consistent ca.use for pride on the part of fellow-Newfoundlanders in your conduct and your pronounce­ ments from the Chair.

The duty that has been assigned to me presents two difficulties. I have to endeavor to live up to the high order of speech-making that ever appears to characterise occasions of this kind in this Honoura .ble House. I trust that those who hear me now will excuse my shortcomings on the score of short connection with p11blic matters. There is the added difficulty of equalling such an effort as that wl1ich has just been made by the hon­ ourable gentleman who has just made the motion for the Address in Reply. The member for Bay Roberts possess­ es a country-wide reputation as a fearless mariner, a successful fisher- •

• IIO"GSE OF 1\.SSElVIBLY PROCEEDINGS inan and an able sealing captain. The presence of men of l1is stamp on the floor of this House augurs well for the practical benefits to this country of our proceedings during the session just opening. Permit me next, Sir, to extend both my congratulations and my. thanks to the Honourable, the Prime Minister. I congratulate him on the score of his recent tremendous success at the Polls and on the size of the majority given him by the Electorate as Leader of the Government. He is to be ·con­ gratulated, too, on the character of his following.

His associates, both in the Executive Government, as well as in his Party generally will, I am confi­ dent, re-establish in this country the old Liberal Policy of Progress and Prosperity with all its attendant bene­ fits to all classes in Newfoundland but particularly to the Common People of our Beloved Land. My feelings of thankfulness are in. ­ spired by the nature and contents o.f the Speech from the Throne. Its var­ ious pronouncements provide numer ous and inspiring texts for an address on public matters of the day. It teems with the spirit of Liberalism.

It revives 0 1ld time aspirations and old time hopes regarding the b,eneficial effect of Liberal administration on the ~ffairs of our Country and its People. Such practical and important sub­ jects as Trade Expansion, Encourage­ ments of the Fisheries, Improvement of the Status of our Workers . and allied matters are dealt with in a manner calculated to inspire hope and confidence in the minds of all who 11ear or who read the Speech from the Throne. Happily enough, the present Spe·ech from the Throne strikes the Imperial note at its very opening.

It forecasts efforts on the part of the present Lib­ eral Governm ·ent to increase the vol- ume and the value of Newfoundland's trade within the Empire. It is is a happy augury, too, that those efforts have had their commencement within the Old Country itself. A trade com- . missioner is to succeed the high com­ missioner. That is a change in tl1e direction of greater benefit to this co11ntry. The efforts of the trade con1- n1issioner will be directed towards the con1mercial advancem€nt of our coun­ try. That was not properly nor to such an extent tl1e b11siness of the high comn1issio11er.

I · anticipate that the change of policy in connection with 011r office at ~ndon 'vill result in outstanding economic benefits to the trade of the country particularly ~nd, necessarily, to the people of the country generally. It has always been the aim and the endeavour of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland to construct and to ap­ ply policies of industrial development and advancement. Through the efforts and the various regim€s of that Lib­ eral Party, Newfoundland secured its railroad development, its Grand F 1 alls industry and its Humber develop ·ment.

All have had strikingly beneficial ef­ fects on the life and th· e living of our people. It is gratifying to learn that the most recent of all ,the Humber In­ dustry ·, is meeting witl1 such a great measure of success. I understand it paid net profits on last year's op er­ ations totalling over three quarters of a million dollars. The honorable the present Prime Minister must feel im­ mensely gratified over this proof that his b11siness foresigl1t was no more at fault than his plans for ind11strial de­ velopment within Newfoundland.

The gigantic industry of papermaking is employing many thousands of New­ foundlanders. We hear of plans of expansion of these plants wl1ich will result in the employment of many more of our fellowcoun trymen and in the expenditure of millions of dol- •

• I-IOUSJ:!l 011., A~. Sl~l\-1BL Y PROCEEDINGS 13 Iars in our country. I trust that the day is not far distant when 've 'vill 11ave many more ind11stries in New­ foundland and when, too, our mi11eral reso11rces 'vill be properl~y and ade­ qu[:tely developed. It is to such de­ velopments that we have to lo·ok fo:r one of the solutions of the problem of un~mployment tl1at has faced Ne"\iv­ foundland during th· e last few years. Liberalism is always practical in ·dealing with public affairs.

It is not surprising, tl1erefore, to learn that a Liberal Government that has only recently st1cceeded to the reins of power 11as already taken steps cal­ culated to discov ·er tl1e cause and the ren1edy of uner11ployment in our Land. Hitherto, only palliative measures J1a.ve been tal{en in this connection. 'I'l1e displayed disposition now is to face facts fairly, squarely and cour­ ageously and to devise practical methods for escaping from our major difficulties in this connection. The Liberal Government, Sir, com­ mences its regime witl1 a large deficit bequ·eathed by its predecessors in office.

That is a bit of a handicap . . lVIost of it was created a few months previous to the general election~ It does not, however, discourage the Honourable the Prime Minister <J.nd his associates from setting th·eir faces steadfastly towards the goal of indus­ trial development or from ap.plying policies of material benefit to all classes of our people.

I look confi­ dentially to meas11res in the future to obviate conduct such as has in the past mad· e such a condition of our public finances possible, and I am confident that the policies of Liberalism will stress laid by the mover of this motion on this important subject. The Hon­ ourable th· e member for Bay Roberts has stresed one aspect of our great and tradi :.ional indt1stry. I represent anctl1er portion of the country and an1 interested in another phase of this i11any sided subject.

On the South­ we st Coast we hav· e the ·banking fish­ ery vvl1ich is prosec11ted for about nine months of the year, commencing in l\.1:arch and ending in November. The banking fleet consists of splendid ves­ sels that reflects great cr·edit on the e~terprising men who spare no effort and no expenditure to ensure the com­ fort of ot1r brave toilers of the sea, and to give them ·every possible chance of seccuring profitable voyages. The shore fishery conducted by our men is also of in1mense importance, both because of the number of fishermen engcged and the size and value of the annual voyage.

Last year, I speak now particularly of the Southwest Coast shore fishery, that total catch · for the season was reduced by thousands of quintals be­ cause of failures of bait supplies. I strongly advocate the establishment of Cold Storage Bait Depots which will facilitate the important undertakfng of providing adequate bait supplies, available to the fishermen whenever and whereever reql1ired. I need scarcely stress the fact, Sir, that ·such prevision ensuring such results will be beneficial not only to the fishermen particularly concerned but to the country as a whole.

The Southwest Coast has also a .. ~ ar­ ticu.lar interest in the fresh fish in:­ dustry. Other sections of the r.oast sp eedily rest1lt in reform of public un- have identical interests. We, ho,v- dertakings and in redress of the griev­ ances of the people and improvement of tl1eir condition. The Speecl1 from the Throne, Sir, e mpl1~ si s es the importance of our fish­ eri es to an extent that justifies the ever, were really pioneers in the prac­ tical effort to establish this indus t ry on a large scale.

Our particuiar in­ terests are now concerned with the pr e par~tion and marketing of fresl1 salmon and fresl1 halibt1t. A ready

14 IIOUSE OF ASSI~~lVlBL Y PROCEEDINGS market can be found for all the fresh salmon we can produce and this year should see greater and more profitable activities than ever in this connection. During the present season a larg·e qu4ntity of heavy halibut has been caught and it is very much of a prob · ­ lem to find a market. For the past fifteen years I have been actively en­ gaged in this industry and know some­ thing of its conditions and of its pros­ p·ects. I have a great deal of faith in its future. Ass·ociated with all the phases of the fishing industry, Mr.

Speaker, are many insistent problems calling for an immediate effort at a solution. It is encouraging to note that the Lib­ eral Party returns to power with its plans made for such an effort at find­ ing th· e necessary solution. The Speech from the Throne announces that in the near future a Commission charged with the proper investigation of our fishing industry will commence to function. A properly balanced com­ missio · n o.f earnest, practical and courageous men can discover many lessons from our past mistakes and just su'ch a desirable 'and beneficial c11ange. Mr.

Speaker, it is gratifying to note the reference to Education made in the Sp·eech from the Throne. Tl1e present Liberal Government, Sir, are heirs to the policy and the achievements in this field sh4red in particularly by the present Prime Minister and some of his associates present in this House today. To them we owe the present highly efficient system of educational administration which they reorganized during a previ9us terrr1 in office.

The country generally is debtor to them for tl1e Normal School and Memorial U111versity College tl1at has proved and is proving of such immense benefit to people of moderate means. It is fitting that such public men and the rest of llS associated with them should ·enter on a new regime -vvith an undertaking to advance the cause of Educa.tio · n ft1rther and to such a material extent as in the annot1ncement with which I c:.m dealing today. No

section needs educational ·encouragen1ent and as­ sistance to such a great extent as that composed of sparsely settled localities. from the activities of competing coun- · Such settlements cannot be satisfac­ tries who have developed their fish- torily handled out of the present eries to greater general advanta .ge than have we.

Personally, I admit to being old fashioned enough to believ · e that the solution of much of our unemploy­ ment problem is to be found in the adoption of the principle of "Back to the Fisheries." When the return movement does take plac·e, there will, of course, have been radical changes made from the old order of things that forced these men out of their traditional employment. And . the prospects for remunerative employ- ment will be far greater and far more certain than was formerly the case. The policy of the present Liberal Gov­ ernment will be designed to ensure eclucational grants.

Tl1e increase will ensure them adva .ntages they have craved for their children for years but have hitherto been unable to secure. In making this possible the Liberal Party are not only proving their faithfulness to tl1eir traditions from the past, they are also giving proof of their practical adherence to the principle that the children of to­ day must be properly equipped to be­ come the efficient citizens of to­ morrow, and that the country owes its little ones such educational eqt1ipment as will fit them to play their

part in life efficiently in competition with those of all other co11ntries soever. Of course, further advancement must still be made along educational lines

HOlTS:BJ OF ..:\S~~El\TBL Y PROCEEDINGS 15 before we can rest content in this con­ nection. I am confident, hoTvvever, that all unprej11diced observers 'vill admit that the Liberal Government has made haste to tal:::e a long stride in the right direction. Before cloning, Mr. Speaker, I feel that I must condole with members of the other Chamber in the rece11t loss of an 011tstanding member in the per­ son of the late Hon. John Alexander Robinson. I have pleasure, Mr.

Speaker, in seconding the inotion for the appoint- 1nent of a co1nmittee to draft and Ad­ dress in Reply to the Speech from the Throne with which His Excellency the Gcvernor has been graciously pleased to open the present session of the Legislature. MR. ALDERDICE.-Mr. Speaker, I 'vish first to congratulate you both officially as Speaker and also as the representative for the District of Harbor Main. Yo11 are starting in where a great many men leave off. I wish that you will go on to other and greater honour.

As Leader of the Opposition I wish to say that you will always find us, the members of the Opposition, myself included, reaqy to help you out in your undertaking. You will al,vays find us amenable to your jurisdiction on this side of the House. I hope that you will be very successful. I should also like to con­ gratulate the honourable inember for Bay Roberts and the honourable mem­ ber for Her1nitage on their speeches in moving and seconding the vote of thanks to the address and reply to the Speech from the Throne. These men are the type of men that we like to see in this House.

They are in close relation \Vith the producers and have large interests in our fisheries and h~ve also great stakes in the country. I also desire to show that there is no ill feeling between the t'vo parties. It is a pleasure to see the Prime Min- ister sitting in the chair accompanied by his devoted followers. He is like the proud motl1er of a very large fam­ ily, t .11t h e has a lot of mouths to feed. In the Speech fro1n the Throne con­ ceri1ing the question of unemployment \Ve are promised a solution in the shape of a Commission.

Prior to the election we were told that as soon as the present Government got i11to power the day of unemployn1ent wo11ld be over. The land would be flowing with milk and honey. All l,.hat the unemployed would have to do " ro:.ild be to ask for a job and they would be given . it. The Liberal Party do not seem to know what is the ca11se of all the unemployment since they have appointed a commission to in­ vestigate it. They do not know the state of affairs it seems; that b 1 eing so how are they going to effect a remedy when the cause is not known.

If they do not kriow or cannot find out the c ~ 11se they should not be in the posit­ ions they now occupy. I would suggest to the Leader of the Government that if he '\Vere to ask any policeman he would be able to tell ·what to do without having to go so high up in the ranks as the Inspector General of Constabularly. If the Gov­ ernment were not desirous of passing the buck they co11ld solve the proble1n for themselves. They are afraid to take on the responsibility.

As for the appointment of a Commission so as to get second hand i formation the ami­ at.Ie gentlemen appointed have no knowledge of conditions of working men at all. Another disappointing feature in the Speech from the Throne is tl1at there is no real promise of starting any employment. There were rumours about the Gander for mon.ths before the election. l\Io\v there is noth­ ing being done a.bout it. The Govern­ ment does not know at all what to do abo11t unemployment and does not seem to be able to cure it.

• 16 I-IOUS:D.'. OF ASSI~MBLY PROCEEDINGS Another item tl1at is mising and to which reference should be made is about this temperance business. I ex­ pected to see something about the abolition of the bottle a day. I know that some of the candidates especially the member for Trinity South \vhe11 contesting the election canvassed with tears regarding the b·ottle a day. Still nothing is done about it. The Liberal Press brags about the fact that the revenue collected a quarter of a million dollars on the sale of liquor.

If it was such a sin to have a law giv· ing a bottle a day before the election surely it is a sin to have one novv. A lady said to one of our lady canvassers that she would have to choose between the abolition of the b·ottle a day and Customs in collecting every dollar possible and holding every dollar that he gets and so reducing the deficit. I wish to po.int out that the deficit was not created during my administration but dt1ring the time of my predeces­ sors. It is very excellent for the Min­ ister of Finance and Ct1stoms to at­ tempt to balarice his bt1dget.

If I were in his place I would be very happy if I could reach it in 1931. The figures quoted from the Speech from the Throne in connection with the production of iron ore from Bell Is­ land has nothing to do with the pres­ ent Gover11ment, but it is an indication that if any industry is let alone and receives fair play it is going to ex­ pand. That 'is the reason why the Bell Mr. Alderdice's honesty. Well we did Island p·eople were able to increase not get prohibition. the outpt1t of ore.

Unless the people There is one item that I welcome in the Speech f1 om the Throne and will say a few words ·about it when I h·ave the opportunity to d· o so, that is re­ gard'ing doing something towards the encouragement of the fish·eries. I know of no industry in tl1e world where methods are so slack in the market­ ing and distribution as in the fishery. It is the same with suppli _es and raw materials. We must have some sort of standarization, we mt1st 11ave some means for the regulation of shipments. It is useless to attempt to fix prices.

I hope the Commision will receive better consideration than the very same type of commission that was formed under Mr. Monroe. When that commission was formed all the members were willing to serve except the members of 1the oppobition.- They refused to serve and the consequence was that the commission never functioned properly. The members of the oppo­ sition will now help in any way that is for the good of the country.

The financial situation appears to have improved thanks to the great work of the Minister of Finance and have confidence in the Government that they will be let alone it is just as well to close up business. By far tl1e greatest thing in business is sta­ bility and tranqt1il"ty. The same ap­ plies to Corner Brook and Grand Falls r.:s \Vell as Bell Island or for that matter any other industry. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I \Vant to say that as far as the members of the opposition go all criticism v1ill be of a contructive nature.

We we1 e sent here by the people to help in the mal\:­ ing of laws for the good of the country and that will be my attitude and the attitude of my followers during the coming session. HON. T'HE PRIME MINISTER.­ Mr. Speaker, I desire to join with the Honourable the Leader of the Oppo­ sition in extending to you hearty con­ gratulations upon your appointment as Speaker of this House. Witl1 an eminent scholastic career behind you, a high standing in your profession, representing a con- . . stituency which was won in spite of overwheln1ing odds, I feel that 3rou have a career before you of which this

. I .. I-IOUSE 01'., i-\f)S!~MI1LY PROCEEDINGS 1. 7 111ay be a worthy step as a begi.nning. N ewforindl~nd has had many. dis­ t inguished men occupying the speaker­ .ship of this HOllSe-Political leaders, S11preme Court judges, men who have taken high rank in finance, men out­ side of Newfoundland and leaders here, doing hono~r to themselves and to us, have been identified with the Speaker's Chair of this House.

Then 've only l1ope, Sir, that not only will you maintain the traditions of this I-Iol1se with m11ch credit to yo11rself, bt1t will have s11cl1 honourable s11c­ cesses in your career as have been 11anded down to you as examples. I wish to join with the Leader of tl1e Opposition and would say that I 1vant to heartily congratulate Capt. P arsons the member for Bay Roberts 011 his capable speecl1 and also Mr. F udge, the meml)er for Hermitage.

Til1ey come to this House as new men - new men to politics certainly, but able n1en fron1 tl1e standpoint of k110"\vledge of the country's affairs and pa rticularly of that branch to which con siderable attention must be paid ­ the fisheries. Botli l1ave proved tl1eir a bility as fisl1 producers and have con­ sidera.ble kno,vledge of all fishery i11atters.

In the common everyday cltit ies of human life, the codfishery or th e herring fishery, in con11ection with tl1e supply business these two gentle- 111en are not only a stre11gth to the Government party bt1t to the Legisla­ t11re, because of their \Vide and 1nature experience and ability . whicl1 they 11ave displayed this afternoon to p11t t l1eir thot1ghts into "\vords in the hear­ ing of tl1eir fellows so that 've may Tea p ben eft Of tl1eir \Visdom b:y- tl1eir spee ches. ' I . \Vould like to extend a \Yord of con gr~tulation to tl1e Leader of the Op position.

I think tl1is is the first ti111e that t11e Ho1101l:rab1e gentle1na11 11as l1acl a sea.t in tl1is Chan1 ber a11d \Y e 'vel- come hi111 as he takes over his onerous duties in the Council of tl1e country, in the House of Representatives, in the formal and official capacity as leader of the party which he represents. Those of us " rho can look back upon more than twenty years in and out of this Cha111ber and in and out of the Legislative Council, realize the diffi­ culty which a ne,v-con1er has in getting into the swing of public affairs.

It would · 1be just as difficult for n1e to successf11lly take a sealing steamer to the ice in the place of, say, Capt. Parsons, as it \vould be for a new­ comer to take charge of tl1e affairs of this colony, as has been done during recent years and I feel sure that the training wl1ich my Honourable friend r ecei,red in tl1e Upper House for deal­ ing \vith departmental n1atters, will be ·adn1ired and as the years go on day by day he \Vill be given a further training so that if by chance the people cl1oose again to select his party in this country, he "'\ivill be there to form tl1e party and to be leader of it.

I 'v~1J1t to tl1anlr Capt. Parsons of Bay Roberts for his reference to the desirability to so ha11dle the Bell Islan . d sitt1attion that tl1e labourers on Bell Island may get fair wages. We m11st remember that the pro­ dticers of the world go first. The capitalists of tl1e "'~orld come seconcl both in tin1e and fact. vVl1ile the l)roclt1cer sl1ould be first the producer i1eeds tl1e l1elp of the capitalist, for without hi1n i10 ventt1re wol1ld go on.

No vent11re V\7 ill be t1ndertake11, how­ ever adventurous the producer may be, "\Vithot1t the aid of the capitalist; so, neither can move any,vhere witl1- ot1t the s t1pport of labot1r bel1ind 111e v e11t11re. Labour is becoming n1ore • and n1or e partner of capital ai1d in Newfo11ndland tl1e reve1111e in many cas es "\\roulcl be larger if ther e 'vas a p art11er sl1i1) bet\veen capital and

18 I-IOusn; OJ;"" ASf}l4}l\ifBLY PROCEEDINGS labour in connection with our fishing i11dustries. and the Commercial Cable Co., bee11 brought into closer touch with tl1e I do not intend to make reference markets, through those services and on this occasion to the political re- the telephone intercourse direct bus- · marks with which the speecl1 of t~1e Leader of the Opposition 'vas itemised, other than to say that when referring to the Speech from the Throne he om·itted to say something which on every other occasion has been stated - that this is the worst Speech witl1 which a session of the Legislature 11as been opened.

This is the only occasion that it 11as ever been omitted during my twenty years experience. One thing in the Speecl1 from the Throne wl1ich, I think, is above all others, is, I think, worth while. I m11st sincerely tell you that I think the Speech from the Throne is a first class public document and as the de­ bate goes ahead \Vithin the next fe"'r weeks I think members of the Cham­ ber vvill recog11ize it.

B11t there is one thing that I took occasion to mention at a very distinguished gatl1ering last evening - the banq11et of the Benevolent Irish Society-that should do much to revolutionize New­ foundland, ind t1strially and commer­ cially and to some extent socially. The proposed arrangements 'vith the American Telephone and Telegraph Company 11nder a provisional contract, which will be s11bmitted to you on l\Ionday. There will be a connection from Ireland to the bottom of Con­ ception Bay and from the bottom of Conception Bay to Nova Scotia.

Certainly not only will we 11ave the opportunity of large development, not only will our boys and girls have a • cl1ance to get a world to11ch and a chance to obtain employment, j11st as • tl1rough the Cable Companies, but \Ve will have the opportunity of being in direct touch with trade telephonic conversations of the world.

Just as Newfoundland has already through tl1e Anglo-American Telegraph Co. iness will be carried on, and 've hope : in years to come to commun'icate with our various markets without difficulty and to have a system whereby a gentlen1an sitting in his office at the Rope\valk will have an opportunity of .speaking to 11is suppliers in some i11arkets in New York or London.

I do feel that idea co11pled with the long distance telephones in Newfound­ land will be one great thing wl1ich will 11elp keep the country on the map and put it on the map, that 'is well worthy of the position that \Ve hold geographi­ cally, of being tl1e stepping-stone be­ tween tl1e Old World . and the Ne,v.

I do n·ot propose to enter on the debate on the Speech from the Throne which is before the House, but I do 'vant to feel as 've approacl1 the various problen1s day by day during • the next few weeks. there will be a close earnest co-operation between the Oppositio11 and the Government, so tl1at we may get the very best that there is out of every mind, so that the best can be obtained for the develop­ ment, advancement, upbuild-ing and upkeep in tl1is our common cause, tl1e country in \"\rhich we live.

The motion being . put, was then carried, and it was ordered that lVIessrs Parsons, Fudge, Greene, Win­ ter and Puddester be the Committee to draft an Address in Reply. Hon. th~ Prime Minister gave notice that he would on tomorrow ask leave to introduce the following bills: A Bill entitled "An Act Respecting Air Navigation." A Bill entitled "An Act t· o Amend the Act 15 George V., ~h1 apter 9, en­ titled "An Act R1e.specting Alcoholic Liquors." '

• I-ll)USE OJ~ ASfrEMBLY PROCEEDINGS 19 A Bill enrtitled "An Act to A1nend the Act 15 George V.,

Chapter 6, en­ titled ''An Act to Regu1'ate Traffic in Highways, ·and the Speed, Op·eration and Load of Vehicles th·ereon." A Bill entitled "An Act to Am1end the Act 12 George V.,

Chapter 13, en­ titled 'An Act to Amend and Consoli­ date the Laws in Relation to the Muni­ cipal Affairs of the Town of St. John's.'" A Bill 1entitled "An Act Relating to Restaurants and Hous·es of Public Re­ freshment." Hon. the Prime Minister gave notice th·at he would on tomor+ow ask leave to introduce the following Resolu­ tions: To m·ove the Hous · e into a Con1mit­ tee of the Whole to consider certain Resolutions Respecting ·an agreen1ent between the Government and the American Telephone an· d Telegraph Co., Ltd. To m·ove the House into a Co1nmit­ tee of the 'Vhole to consider certain Resolutions in Relation to an A1nend­ ment to the Act 19 George V.,

Chapter 18, entitled "An Act Relating to the Rai.sing of a Loan on the credit of the Colony for Certain Public Purposes." Hon. the Minister of Finance and Customs gave notice that he would on tomorrow ask leave to introduce a Bill e11titled ''An Act further to Amend

Chapter 22 of the Consolidated Sta­ tutes (3rd Series) entitled 'Of the Customs.' '' Hon. the Minister of Finance and Custon1s gave notice fuat he would 011 I tomorr .ow move that Supply be grant- ed His Majesty. Hon. Dr. Mosdell gave notice that he would on to-morrow ask leave to in­ torduce a Bill entitled "Ali Act to . Amend

Chapter 43 of the Consolidated 'Statu 1 tes (3rd s .eries) entitlecl 'Of tl1e Pl1arnTacuetical Society ·a11d Sale of Drugs.' '' Mr. Puddester gave notice of ques- ti on. Mr. Alderdice gave notice of ques- tion. Mr. Sulliv ·an gave notice of ques- ti on. Mr. En1erson gave notice of ques- ti on. Mr. Byrne gave notice of question. Mr. Wint·er gave notice of question. It was moved and seconded that when the House rises it adjourn until lVIonday, at 3 of the clock in the after­ noon. The I-Iot1se the11 adjourned accord­ i11gly. Monday, April 22nd, 1929. The House 1net at 3 o'clock pursu­ a11t to adjournment.

TENIPERANCE RESOLUTION lVIR. GRIMES.-! ask leave to pre- ­ sent a copy of Resolutions to this Ho11se, Resolt1tions that were passed at a public ineeting that was held i11 the Pitts Memorial Hall on Marcl1 20th, I will read to the Ho11se what these Resolutions contain: Reads.: I may say that I was present at that meeting whicl1 \Vas largely attended, 'in fact there was a very big crowd, inostly women, and the Resolutions were adopted . unanimously.

Since then endorsement has been · g'iven to these Resolt1tions by the President of the Presbyterian Ladies' Aid Society, by the vVesley Ladies' Aid Society, by by the Cochrane Street W.M.S. Ladies' Colleg·e Aid Society, by the St. Thomas Women's Association, by tl1e Cochrane Street Women's Asociation and tl1e G·eorge's Street \tVomen's Association. In reference to these Resolutions, I would say this that it is quite trl1e what they state, that in 1924, wl1e11 tl1e Bill was considered by this Legis­ latt1re. representatives of tl1e people.

.. 20 I!OUSI•J OF J~:3SEMBLY PROCEEDINGS not only of St. John's, but of tl1e outports a,s 'vell, presented themselves to a select committee that was ap­ pointed to consider the Bill. Despite the fact, that they had asked for time for consideration, the Bill was rushed through in eight or ten days, and such is the fate of all · hasty legislation what we have had the experience of the last four years. The rest1lt has been anything but creditable to the Legislature who pased the Bill, or to the city itself or the country.

Instead of, as was intended that tl1ere should be decreased drunkenness by the passing of this Bill, we have it in. ­ creasing on a larger scale tl1gn ever, and the Court records l1ave shown tha ~ the number of arrests for drunkenness increased from 700 tl1e last year that the Prohibition Act was in force to 900 last year. Does not tl1at tell the "\Vhole story.

I venture to make this assertion to the House tl1at if ac­ commodation had been large enot1gh at the penitentiary, there would be at least two or three hundred more down there, but the police do their best in clealing with those that tl1ey find the "\Vorse for liquor. They . try to get their · fam'ilies to take them home or they take them home tl1emselves. Now as to the poverty mentioned in the · resolutions.

There is no question 'vl1atever in the minds of right think­ ing people that poverty has increased i11 tl1e city, during tl1e last four years . and while I do not state that a11 the poverty is due to increased drinking, I do say that the large portion i's c1112 to that. I know that by experience inyself, and I knovv that those interest­ ecl in the different organisations tl1at 11ave to do 'vith relief in tl1e city 'vill .. bear out the statement made in tl1e resolutions.

Now I a. m very glad to say l1ere that tl1e Government have for some time l)een considering legislation that 'vill im1)rove tl1e conditions in the city so far . as the sale of alcoholic liquor is: concerned. And I think that it is pro­ posed at th'is session to introduce a. bill tl1at 'vill reduce the number of days in each week on which liquor ­ will be sold. So far as the p·rinciple . of the resolutions is concerned the reductio11 of the n11mber of days there­ by decreasing the excess ·ive drinking that has been going on will in part meet the request of the resolutions.

I do not propose at the present moment to say anything further on this. There will be ample opportunity for me to say \vl1at I have to say "\Vhen the bill 11as been brought forward to deal vvitl1 tl1ese matters. I tl1erefore ask that tl1ese resolt1tions be referred to the department to wh·ich they relate. H01~. DR .. CAMPBELL.-Mr. Speak­ er, I rise for the purpose of supporting the resolt1tions now before the Ho11se. I may say that tl1e Government 11as a.nticipated the petition and for some montl1s have been considering certain . a1nendments to the Alcoholic Liquors Act.

We realize, as any reasonable · minded person must, l1aving in mind the excessive conditions prevailing, tl1at there is too much liquor being· consumecl and has been consumed in tl1is city. There is a notice of m.otion on the order paper to-day asking for amendn1ent to the Alcoholic Liquor Act, 'vhich I tl1ink in some measure at least will meet the requests of the petitioners. It may not meet the re­ qt1ests of ardent prohibitionists, b11t it will meet the requests of reasonable ones. I therefore I1ave much pleasure i11 st1pporti11g the prayer o.f the petitioners. • MR. HALFY ARD. - Mr.

Speaker, I rise for the pt1rpose of supporting tl1e IJra·yer of the petitioners~ as expressec1 in these resolutions now before the Ho·use. There is not a member in this J_Jegislature, nor any person present this afternoon bl1t knows that the amotint of strong liquor consumed by·

I-!OUSE OF l\SSI~JVTBLY PROCEEDINGS 21 some people is neither to their own adv({ntage nor to the advantage of the people who happen to be associated ,v·ith them. It is a question that is diffic11lt to solve, but I hope tl1at what­ ev ... er will be done by this legislature will be of a material nature. I hope that when the bill is presented that it will meet with the support of all the members of this House, whether on this side or on the opposite side, and that those working for the cause of te1nperance will have their request met to a certain degree. I beg to support the prayer of the petition. PETITIONS. MR.

GODDEN.-Mr. Speaker, I beg . to present a petitio11 from the residents of Winterton, Trinity Bay South on tl1e subject o.f a road. The road re­ ferred to ·is one which it is very necessarS should be repaired and im-· proved for the petitioners, leading a.s it does not only to the agricultural part of Winterton, but it also serve~ t'vo cen1eteries.

This road has been terribJly neglected during the past few years altho11gh nt1merous petitions 11ave been presented on the matter, and it is now my privilege to req11est for my constituents. at Winterton that this time they b, e given cons·ideration and not have their petition relegated to the waste paper basket. The sum required for tl1is road is in the vicin ·ity of $500.00 and I beg leave to refer the matter to the Department to which it relates, with the hope that it will receive tl1e support of the Government. MR. BENNETT.-Mr. Speaker, I 11ave been asked to present a petition from the fishermen of St.

Phillip's, Conception Bay relative to

section 12, in particular of the new regulations brought in force by the Marine and Fisheries Department in reference to saln1on fishing. It is signed by sixty­ six names which I thinlr is the whole fishing population tl1ere. I also un­ derstand that in a fe,v other sections petitions are being formulated to be sent for the urgent consideration of the House. Salmon fishing is a very important industry, only emphasised by the fact of its short duration.

I l1ave been assured by the Sports Or­ ganisations who made the recommen­ dation to the Marine and Fisheries Department that their recom1nenda­ tion has either been misconstrued or else that it was more or less ambig­ ous. But it certainly was not their intention to have a clause such as Clause twelve inserted in the reg11- lations which made the lifting of salmon nets from midnight on Sat­ urday to Midnight on Sunday, general tl1roughout the Island . Everybody knows that there are inany stretches of shore '1Vhere salmon abound for a time and no. river what­ ever in the vicinity.

But the idea that the Sports Organi­ sations had ·in mind was in connection with the nets placed in the estuaries or mouths of rivers. That they should be ' lifted during certain periods to allow the salmon free access to the rivers during that period. Tl1e salmon nets to wh·icl1 I ref er are well out to sea and it is with great difficulty, in fact sometimes, owing to the inclement weather it is almost im­ poss ·ible to raise them. People there­ fore have taken cognizance of the fact that the act js too stringent.

It had been argued that salmon remain­ ing in the nets after a partic11lar time are unsuitable for fresh fish consump- · tion. ~ But it is a fact tl1at this fish is very easily cured and can be made marketable in tl1at way. Smoked OT salted it would be a very nice source of income to the fishermen engaged in · th.is industry. I th'ink it is the duty of every gov- ernment to boost an ind11stry as as it is intelligently possible, I tl1ink tl1at i11 this particular that too strigent regl1lations far and case 11ave

22 IIOUSE OF 1\SSEMBL Y PROCEEDINGS oeen made . . I thinlr, to bear out the Sports recommendations that if the nets were raised in the mouths of the rivers it would be something to start with, and if tl1at was found not con­ duc'ive to the good of the industry and if the salmon were not propagating as it was hoped then more stringent reg- 11lations could be brought in. I think it is going to affect the salmon fishing this year to a great extent and 'it will react on the people interested. I there­ fore recomn1end it to the very close consideration of the Government. MR. QUINTON.-Mr.

Speaker, I rise . for the purpose of supporting the petition just presented by the member for St. John's West, extern. One of the reasons why I think that this law should be amended is because la.ws should be carefully made and strictly enforced, and from my experience I know that it is impossible to enforce the law under

section twelve of this act. Suppose a fisherman sets his net and one or t'vo hours afterwards these nets are from t'vo to five fathoms un­ der the water with tide, how can that fisherman take his net up, following circumstances of that nature. Then yo11 have the diminished earnings of tl1e fisherman to take into· considera­ tion. The argt1ment that if there is any salmon in the nets before Satur­ day, it cannot be exported in a fresh form, does not 11old because the fisher­ man has means whereby tl1at fish can be preserved and marketed as pickled or tinned sal111on.

I believe that pro­ tection is quite in order, as far as that is concerned. I believe that the people 11ad this in mind in the beginni11g and tl1ey felt that tl1ere was need for some sort of protection but do not see why the Government should see fit eitl1er through carelessness on the part of themselves or through lack of know­ ledge of conditions, to per1nit thes e reg11lations to pass and be imposed on the fishermen "\vho are powerless to act under existing conditions. I have a telegram here now fro111 my district, Bonavista South, which supplies a. large proportion of the fresh salmon which we export.

It it signed by sixty names, and it says: "The whole district is against such a law. We want it cancelled." If the question of protection for salmon is under consideration "\Ve would do 'vell to take a leaf out of the boolr of other countries that have had this matter t1nder consideration f o· r a considerable number of years. The),. have gone so far in the Territory of Alaska as to construct weirs on a nu111- ber of rivers and they have men ther e cl1ecking the nu1nber of salmon going through.

We have a number of streams in this country vvhere ob­ structions are found to the detriment of the salmon entering the rivers. It it time that the Marine and Fisheries Department in this Government or in some other government took some cognizance of the fact that Newfound­ la11ders ought to know more about the products of their country than they· have known in the past. I trust that the Department of Marine Fisheries and the Government will see their way • clear to have this

section twelv e amended and suitably amended , so that tl1ese unfair restrictions so ob­ viously apparent in possible enforce­ ment will not react t1pon the men wl10 are the mainstay of the country the fishermen. NIR. PUDDESTER.-Mr. Speaker, I rise for the purpose of supporting the petition presented by the honourabl e member for St. John's West exter11. There are two places in my district. Old Perlican and Daniel's Cove tha t these regulations hit very hard. I giv e the department of Marine and Fish­ eries credit for acting in good faitl 1 and I give them credit also for tryin g· to protect the salmon fishing, but I

HOUSE OF 1\SfJEl\fBLY PROCEEDINGS 23 tl1ink that they have gone a little bit t oo far in th·is instance. I do not think that it is humanly possible for people who have salmon nets in the water, t o remove these nets before twelve o ~clock on Saturday nigl1t and put tl1em out again after twelve on Sun­ day night, and secure a catch of sal­ mon bet\veen that and nine o'clock on 1'1onday morning when tl1e train leaves for tl1e city.

Up in Old Perlican last week where people are quite used to having their nets out early in the spring, they had tl1eir nets out there last week, and tl1ey \Vere stlpposed to take their nets out of the water before twelve o'clock on Saturday night. It v.'.'"as a bad even­ ing to have to go out on the water. Tl1ey sent in word to the responsible persons and told them .. that it was a great hardship to have to take up the nets that evening. I , understand that they got v;ord that according to the la'v and the regulations, the nets had to come out of the water, before twelve o'clock on Saturday night.

The fishermen of Old Perlican and Daniel's Cove take their salmon out of their nets on Monday morning, and some of the salmon are on the train at i1ine o'clock coming in for the market. And if they do not catch the train .on Monday morning, they cannot get in their salmon before next Wednes­ clay morning. On account of the putting down of the nets in the water after twelve o'clock on Sunday night or early Monday morning, they will not have any salmon to send in on Monday morning, and the people of that vicinity at any rate will be out of pocket.

They get little enough for the fish when tl1ey catch it, but if they are dep r ived of the Monday morning catc h du ring tl1e mont hs of May and Jun e a nd a part of J u l}r, then it will be very bad for those people, and I thin k th at tl1ese regul ations l1ave gone a litt le b it too far. You will be de- priving these people of at least one fifth of their earning po\ver because it is absolutely impossible to get their salmon nets in the water on Monday morning early enough to catch salmon and catch the train that goes out to bring the fish into St. John's.

Because of these reasons and for a number of other reasons that I am not going to relate, I beg to give this petition my hearty support. HON. THE PRIME I'1INISTER.­ Following the notice we have just received from the Legislative Council on the address of congratulation to His lVl:ajesty the King, passed at the opening Session ·on Wednesday last, I beg to move that the following ad­ dres be presented to His Excellency the Governor for transmission to the Secretary of State for the Colonies: Reads. HON. THE LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION.-! beg to second that 1notion. HON.

THE PRIME MINISTER.­ I beg to move that a message be sent to the Legislative Council requesting their concurrence. HON. THE LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION.-! beg to second that motion. Pursuant to order and on motion; of I-Ion. tl1e Prime Minister, the House resolved itself into a Co111n1ittee of the Whole to consider certain resolutions Respecting "An agreen1ent between the Governm ·ent and the American Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd." Mr. Speaker left the Chair. Mr Gri1nes took the Chair of Com- 111ittee. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER.­ Mr.

Chairman, this contract 'vill be entered upon along the same lines as previous contracts with tl1e Anglo and Commercial Cables Con1panies. Tl1ey will l1ndertake to land cables in the foot of Conception Bay a11cl tal{e them

24 I-IOUSE OF ..t\SSEMBLY PROCEEDING 1S out again in St. Mary's or Placentia Bay and connect them up in some pa.rt of Nova Scotia, thus establishing tel­ ephone connections across the Atlan­ tic. Whether there will be one or a half dozen cables will depend, o.f course, on business and costs, and such things as will go to make it a successful enterprise. They will un­ dertake to pay a landing tax of f ot1r thousand dollars per cable, each end of the cable will be taxed so as not to conflict w'ith the previous decisions of the Courts as to whether each end of the cable could be considered a sep­ arate cable.

The company undertakes this special pro·vision because it may mean that a special cable will have to be laid from Nova Scotia to New­ foundland if it is found that the cable cannot be broken here. If so they un­ dertake to lay another cable in order that Newfoundland may have telepho- 11ic connection. There are no· special provisions regarding the entry ·duty free of any materials except the cable thernselves and the special bulbs us·ed in connection with the operation of the service.

I may say that the Government co.nsiders it advisable to have the cable imported duty free rather than have the cable come in in bond as it vv'ill obviate the necesity of the company b·eing bothered with customs invoices, etc. The cables will in all probability be landed in the botto1n of either Conception, St. Mary's or Placentia Bay. MR. ALDERDICE-Mr. Speaker, may I ask the Honourable the Prime Minister to postpone further debate regarding this Bill until the members of the Opposition have had 0 1pportuni­ ty to consider its provisions.

Tl1e Committee rose rep·orted hav­ ing considered the matter to the· m re-• ferred reported progress and asked leave to sit again on to-morrow. 011 n1otion tl1is report was reveived ai1d adoptecl. HIS HONOUR THE SPEAKER-I 'vish to d'irect the attention of Hon. ourable Members to a statement by my predecessor of certain general pro­ poS'itions for guidance in framing questions. You will find the state­ ment to which I refer on Page 69 of 192'6 Hansard.

Under Rule 92 of the Rules of the House questions may be put to Min­ isters of the Crown relating to any Bill, motion or other public matter connected with the bus·iness of the House in which such members may be concerned. This rule, if strictly con­ strued, is narrow and would greatly li.n1it tl1e class of question which may be asked. There is, however, an in­ herent right in n1embers to ask ques­ tions of Ministers of the Crown and rule 92 is cleclaratory of a right al­ ready existing and it is not ·excluslve, tl1at is it does not limit that right.

Ho,vever, there are certain definite limitations upon the right of inembers to ask questions and I wish to· refer you to the page of 1926 Hansard above referred to, and to May's Parliamen­ tary procedure of 12th Edition Pages 223-5. Because of .the· limitations laid down by tl1e authorities 'it is necessary for the Speal{er to examine the notices of questions "rith a view to disallow­ ing· improper qt1estions.

The practice has been since 1926 to submit ques­ tions in duplicate to the Clerk at the table, tl1e Clerk . retaining one copy and forwarding the other to the Speaker for his cons ·ideration. · I "\Vish to say that very often com­ prehensive questions are asked in­ tended to illicit qt1ite an amount of in­ formation and quite a nt1mber of facts. Sucl1 co1nprehens]ve questiJns :1. ; ··~ sometimes irregular beca11se some of tl1e facts are not properly demandable. I i11a~r sug·g·est that a certain amount of i11formation may generally be had by· asking st1itable questions.

ROVSE OJ:c; AE~S1~1\1BL Y PROCEEDINGS 25 ~ Attention should be directed par- t icularly to 1926 Ha.nsard page 70 \Vl1ere the statem.ent is made "No question can be asked wl1ich reflects upon the character or conduct of a 1nember or "\Vl1ich implies charges of ' a personal character and no question sho11ld be asked '1Vhich tends to pre­ j udice a pending trial." In May's Parlia .mentary proce .dure at p·age 224 .it is stated that a question wh'ich might pr ejudice a pending trial should not be aslred .. QUESTIONS. l\tJR. S"OLLIV AN- 1.

To ask the H on. the Minister .of Justice to lay on the table of tl1e House a copy of all correspondence between his Depart- 111ent and any other Departn1ent, or person or persons in connection with tl1e removal of the Fog Alarn1 from J ude I sland. 2. And to f11rnish this House with a copy of report n1ade by Police -Officer in charge of the contingent that \vent to Jude Island in connection vvitl1 the dismantling of the Fog A~arm. HIS HONOR THE SPEAKER - I thi11k tl1e second part of that question I11ust be disallowed. l\1R. SULLIVAN.-! subn1it to your r uling, Mr.

Speaker. l\1ight I be per- 111itted to ask the lVIinister of Justice if l1e would 11ave any o,bjection to giving the Memb ·ers of the House that in- ~ fo r1nation confidentially? HON. THE PRIME lVIINISTER. ­ Y ou have disallowed the question , IVIr. Speaker? H IS I-IONOR THE SPEAKER - I . take it on myself to disallow the qt1estion. The report of a police offi­ ce r is a privileged document , and I t l1i11k the making of it publi c is con­ t r a r y to public policy. lVlR.

SULLIVAN - I fully a ppr eciate t11at certain matters may not be inad e pt1blic as contrary to public policy·, but l \YO t1ld lik:e to have the info r111ation given in confidence outside the House by tl1e Prime Minister if he would do that. I do not see that there could be · any objection to that. • HON. THE PRIME MINISTER ­ The matter is a little awkward in this way. Tl1e police are investigating re­ ports of certain inflamatory messages sent by persons in St. John's to other persons up there.

If those reports be true, which I may say I very much doubt, and it be found that messages of the character intimated w·ere sent , the persons responsible would have to be sent before a Magistrate for his preliminary heari11g on a very serious charge. I do not believe tl1at the re­ ports are true, but they are be'ing in­ vestigated, and so of co11rse we would rather not enter into any contro ·versy on tl1e matter until we have l1ad an opport11nity of co·nsidering the cases and deciding whether they sho11ld be s11bmitted to a Magistrate or not.

There is a11other matter; there were certain ri11gleaders in connection with the affair and it might be necessary to have those ringleaders proceeded aga.inst in the due co11rse of the ad­ ministration of justice. It would be prej11dicial to the interests of those parties to have police reports dis­ ct1ssed in tl1e House. I would be glad · to disct1ss the matter personally with Mr.

Sullivan,. 1but would do so only on the clear understanding that the inat­ t er wo11ld not be debated here and the inf or111ation would not be t1sed by him in any way not in accordanc e with our duty of protecting the interests of thos e i11en that might be proceeded ag·ainst on tl1e on e hand and the ad­ ministration of justic e by tl1e Depart­ ment on the otl1er. Tl1e Honorable Member 'vill understand that a police r eport is an entirely confidential doc11- ment on \Vhicl1 tl1e fr eedom of the subj ect depend s .

The matter is very . se riou s a nd the de cisio11 \Vhetl1er th er e sl1ould or should not b e pro secution s

• 26 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCE .EDINGS rests with the Department of Justice. I migl1t say the decision Vlill be made 'vith all due regard to the unfort11nate circumstances of the case and the political agitation arising in con­ nection with the matter and there will be no step taken of a harsl1 nature. Any violation of the law will be looked at in vie'v of the circumstances in the inost len'inent manner possible, but there are certain bot1nds beyond \Vhich leniency cannot go and there may possibly be arrests made. I "\ivould be gla. d to give the information privately to Mr. Sullivan.

As to the first part of the question no correspondence whatever passed to my personal knowledge, but I have asked my secretary to go through the files to see if there should be anytl1ing. I received personally a large number of telegraph messages addressed to me as Prime Minister in connection 'vith the matter.

When I found so many messages coming i11 I drafted this reply and gave it to my secretary and told him to send it as a stereotyped reply to all messages. (Reads reply and it is tabled.) I do not know who sent messages as I did not see the greater part of them but my secretary may be able to obtain a list of parties sending those messages. MR. SULLIVAN - I quite appreciate that it may not be in the best interests of all parties in certain cases to n1ake stich matters ptiblic and I accept tl1e Speaker's ruling. I thank the Prime ·Minister for an opportunity of reading . the report privately. MR.

EMERSON.-To ask '"l1e Hon. the Minister of Finance and Customs whether any party or parties who 11ave heretofore acted as agents for the sale of Alcoholic Liquors to the Board of Liquor Control 11ave recently i11tervie\ved him in connection \vith tl1e loss of their agencies and the ca1ises of s11cl1 loss and if so, to lay on the table of the House a statement in connection with such interviews ·,. and to table all correspondence in con- ­ nection tl1erewith. HON. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE .

AND CUST.OMS-1 a1n unable to give very exact information as to people coming to see me in reference to their · losing their agencies. There were several interviews. Various persons called to see me. I distinctly remem­ ber two or three. Mr. Bennett, the Honcrable Men1ber for St. Jol1n's West (Extern) called to see me, and Mr. Tobin, Member for St.

John's East (Ex1tern) I didn't take down any of the partict1lars of their interviews consequently I haven't any statement. to table in connection with them; neither ha,re I any correspondence ex­ cept tl1at they sl1owed me some copies of messages they had from firms on. the other side. 1\!R. EMERSON.-1. To ask the Hon .. the Minister of Fin·ance and Customs to lay upon the table of the House a complete statement in relation to 200 cases of Teachers "\Vhiskey recently landed ex S.S. incemore, and co 1 nfiscat­ ed by the Hon.

Minister, stating the reasons for such co11fi·scation and to give an account of interviews held witl1 hi111 by any party or parties who owned or represented or purported to represent the owners of the co11sign­ ment, and to accompa11y such state- 111en t with all corres .pondence and other documents relative thereto. 2, What steps, if any, have been taken by the Minister against the owners or otl1ers in relation thereto. HIS HONOR THE SPEAKER-I feel that this question should be clisallo\v­ ed.

It is a very comprehensive ques­ tion; and it n1ay prejudice persons not Members of tl1is House and who may be proceeded ag·ainst by the Cus­ toms or Jt1stice Department. Besides I understand t1nder tl1e Ct1stoms Act there is a q11asi judical proceeding for

HOUSE 0- F ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS 27 about thirty days subsequent to the seizure, from wh·ich there may be an appeal to the Supreme Court. I suggest that some information be obtained, all cannot be obtained and· I am prepared ~ to rule against the que·stion in the in- I may say in connection with this matter that no steps have been taken to my knowledge by this department under the Liquor Act. The steps have been taken under the Customs Act. The Liquor Department did not know terests of other parties not here in anything about it until the Customs the House who may be prejudiced.

I had taken the necessary steps. disallow the first part of the question. The second part may be asked. HON. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE .AND CUSTOMS-The Deputy Mi11ister 'Cf Customs has given notification in the ordinary way; has given thirty ~ days notice in connection "\vith the _matter. lVIR. EMERSON-How soon will it be before we know whether it is going into Court? HON. THE lVIINISTER OF FINANCE .AND CUSTOMS-When the thirty days -expire; thirty days from the time of notification. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER­ .These people have a right to demand the reasons for the seizure of the goods.

That demij,nd is made on the Dept1ty Minister of C11stoms, who re­ fers it back to the Department of J11s­ tice for his advice at to the legal points involved. When all the evi­ dence has been collected a report is made to the Minister of Customs, who ref~rs the matter to a Select Com- 1n •ttee. MR. EMERSON.-To ask the Hon. the Minister of Finance and Custon1s to inake a statement of all information which lie or the Chairman of the Board of Liquor Control, has in con­ nection with the proposal recently on foot to estiblish a Bottling Plant in St.

John's for the bottling of Alcoholic Liquors to be sold to and by the Board of Liquor Control. HON. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND CUSTOMS-lVIr. Speal{er, neither myself or the Chairman of the Liquor Control Board have any information officially or otherwise in connection with tl1e alleged project on foot for the establisl1ment of a bottling plant in St. John's. Question No. 14, Tabled. Q11estion No. 15, Tabled. Question No. 16, Tabled.

MR. vVINTER.-To ask· the Hon. the Minister . of Finance and Customs whe­ ther the Board of Liquor Control has, since the 13th day of November, 1928 purchased any Alcoholi ~ Liquor out of stocks of liquor imported for storage MR .. EMERSON - Mr. Speaker, ' the in transit, and if so whether it has Attorney General and tl1e Minister of · been called to the attention . of the Finance have confined themselves. en­ tirely to q11estion of procedure t1nder tl1e Customs Act.

Bt1t what abot1t the procedure 11nder the Prohibition Act, of which the Minister of Customs is tl1e legal head. lVIay I ask what steps have been taken against the O\Vners of the liqt1or, steps \Vhicl1 co11ld be take11 t1nder the Prohibition Act. HON. MINISTER OF FINANCE AND CUST01\1S-1Vlr. Speaker, for the in­ for1nation of the Honourable l\1ember, . Hon. the Attorney General, as ·such sale is contrary 'to .the provisions of tl1e Alcoholic Liquors Act, and wheth­ er any steps have been taken to pro­ secute tl1e Vendors. HON. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND CUSTOlVIS-Mr.

Speaker, tl1e answer to tl1is question is "yes." I may say that prior to my assumptio11 of the office of Finance lVIinister there was a stand'ing order by my predeces­ sors in offi'ce that they could allo\v the

28 HOUSE OF J""SSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Liquor Department to p·urchase, from certain people who had liquor in bond, out of that bonded warehouse. When I took charge of that office I knew nothing ab·out it. And the first in­ timation that I had was when one hundred cases of loq uor were purchas­ ed by Mr. Mifflin out of that bonded 'varehouse. It was drawn to my at­ tention.

I sent for the officer and ask­ ed by whose instructions he had al­ lowed the delivery of that liquor and he told me that certain of my prede­ cessors and p.articularly Sir John Crosbie had given him instructions to allow liquor to be sold out of bond and to the Liquor Controller's Department, and I immediately gave instructions that he was not to allow it any more • I and these instructions are on file in the Custom House at the present time. ·Question No. 18, Deferred. Question No. 19, Deferred.

Pursuant to order and leave grant­ ed, and on nlotion of Hon. the Prime Minister, the Bills e·ntitled: ''An Act respecting Air Navigation." "An Act to Amend c ·ap 15, George V.,

Chapter 9, entitled 'An Act respect­ ing Alcoholic Liquors.' " "An Act to Amend Act 15, George V., Cl1apter 6, e11titled 'An Act to Re­ gulate T:raffic on Highways and the Speed, Operation and Load of Vehicles thereon.' " "An Act to Amend Act 12, George V.,

Chapter 13, entitled 'An Act to Ame·nd and Consolidate the Laws in re1ation to the Municipal affairs of the town of St. J o·hn's.' " "An Act relating to Re.staurants and Houses of Pu'blic Refreshment," were introduced and read a first time and ordered to be read a second time on to-morrow. Pursuant to· order and leave grant­ ed, and on motion of Hon. tl1e Prime lVIinister, the House resolved itself in­ to a Comn1ittee of the Whole to con­ sider certain resolutions in relation to an amendment to the Act 19, George V.,

Chapter 18, entitled "An Act relat­ ing to the raising of a Loan on the Credit of the Colony for certain Pub­ lic Purposes." Mr. Speaker left the Chair. Mr. Grimes took the Chair of Cori1- mittee. The Committee rose reported having con·sidered the matter to them refier­ red and passed same without amend­ ment. On motion this report was adopted and it was ordered that a Bill be in­ troduced to give effect to· these Re­ solutions. Pursuant to order and leave grant­ ed, and on motion of Hon. the Minister of Finance and Customs Bill entitled "An Act further to Amend

Chapter 22 of the Cons·olidated Statute · s (Third Series) entitled 'Of the Customs,' '" was introduced, read a first time and ordered to be read a second time on to-morrow. On motion of Hon. the Minister of Finance and Customs Supply was granted His Majesty. Pursuant to order and leave grant­ ed, and on motion of Hon. Dr. Mosdell the Bill entitled "An Act to Amend

Chapter 43 of the Con·solidated Sta­ tutes (Third Series) entitled 'Of tl1e Pl1armaceutical Society and Sale ct Drugs,' "' was read a first ti1ne an ( I ordered to be read a seco ·nd ti1ne 011 to-morrow. Mr. Pucldester gave notice of ques- tion. Mr. St1llivan gave notice of question. Mr. Alderd'ice gave notice of qt1es- tion. Mr. Sl{eans gave notice of question. l\tlr. Tobin gave notice of question. Mr. Bennett gave notice of question. It was moved that when the Hot1s e rises it adjourn until to-morrow at three of the clock in the afternoon. The House then adjourned accord ­ ingly. , •

• HOUSE O~F' ASSEl\IBL Y PROCEEDINGS 29 vVEDNEDAY, April 2·4th, 1929. The House met at three of the clock in the afternoon pursuant to adjourn­ ment. MR. K. BROWN-I beg leave to present a Petition from the residents of Twillingate in the District of Twill­ ingate, asking that a light be placed on Smart's Island, Bonavista District, as an aid to navigation. With your permission I would ask the Clerk to read the Petition. Clerks Reads .: MR.

BROWN._.! am very reluctant to present a Petition from the people of Twillingate asking that a light be placed somewhere ·in Bonavista Dis­ trict, but that is owing to the fact many Mariners in the District of Twillingate have to travel that route in all seasons of the year, particularly in the late season of the year around about Decem ·bcr and during January month, and as a r11le- when vessels leave St. John's in the morning their first port is Catalina, ·and the next day they leave and get around Grant's Point to Sheldon Cove.

It has often been the case, that vessels running on the land on the North Side of · Bon­ avista Bay find .it advisable to pick up the land, consequently they have to heave to and they ·often have to take quite a drubbing, and in some cases tl1e vessel is lost and all hands. These in all good fa·ith are petitioning the Government that a L·ight be placed on Srnart's Island, Bonavista Bay for the safety of Mariners who have to travel that coast, particularly during the late season of the year. I trust that this Petition will receive the . con­ s:ideration ·it deserves.

During the past four and half years, I presented something like sixty-four Petitions in tl1is House, all of these have been con­ signed to the \vastepaped basket, and not one of these saw light of day in passing from this House to the Depart- 1 11en t to whicl1 it relates. I ask tl1at the Government see tl1eir way clear to grant the request of the petitioners and that the Petition be referred to the Department to which it relates. MR. ABBOTT-Mr. Speaker, I aslc leave to present a petition from Stephenville Crossing in the District of Port au Port.

The petition is signed by over two hundred residents of that place. When the railway went through there some years ago the Government in charge of the country at the time gave away a parcel of land to the Reid Newfoundland Com­ pany. It is hard to understand why any Government would be so short sig'hted as to give away land. At the · present time it is badly needed there by the people for there is a dearth of a wood supply there. The people need \vood for their houses, fences, boats and most of all for firewood. This is the largest settlement in the District of Port au Port.

The people there are most industrious and earn their live­ lihood by fishing and farming. I would like to draw this to the attention of tl1e Honourable Member for St. George's \vl10 represented this District and did quite a lot to relieve the situation. I ask that the petition be ref erred to the Department of Agr,iculture and Mines and that it be given full con­ sideratio ·n. THE MINISTER OF AG RI CULTURE AND MINES-Mr. Speaker, in con­ nection with this petition I wo11ld say· that unfortunately when tl'le I{ail "\Vay contract was being signed Port au Port was very badly treated by tl1e then Government.

The Reid -blocks \Vere- given continuo11s to high water mark. The timber ren1aining beyond what was covered by the Reid blocl{s . was very scant and was all c11t ov~t during the time I was representing th e District. I succeeded in making arra11gen1ent \vhereby they could cut over tl1e Reid block for a time, bt1t I tl1ink tl1at ar-.

• 30 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS rangement has been rescinded. ~~ro·m what I know of the District the paople there are very badly placed in respect of wood. At the present time there is an absolute dearth of fire-wood. Owing to the increased demand for wood the far sighted ones during the last few years are seeking grants of wood­ lands in many localities . and are en­ deavouring to take up all the wood possible to make provision for the shortage that must come in the near future, it is becoming more and more difficult for people so placed as those in Port au Port to get a supply for their wants.

I don't know what remediable measure it might be possible to take, but certainly the people there are in need of some assistance in this re­ spect. MR. PARSONS-Mr. _Speaker, I beg to pr·e·sent the . report of the Comm'ittee appointed to draft a reply to H·is Ex­ cellency's most gracious Speech fron1 · the Throne. HON. THE LEADER OF' THE OP­ POSITION-Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Prime Minister if he would postpone the Debate on the Address in Reply until the other matters on the Order Paper have · gone through. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER-.

Certainly we \vill postpone it until the • Order Paper generally has been dis- posed of. HON. THE 1V1INISTER OF MARINE AND FISHERIES-Laid on the truble of the House the Annual Rep·ort of the Department of Marine and Fisheries for the yeaer 1928 . . And in do·ing so begged to call the attention of the House to a clause there submitted by Profe ·seor Sleggs. Reads: During the last few days we hav e l1ad several petitions with regard to the new salmon regulations.

Sinc e tl1e country see111s s· o int1ch opposed to them as they are at the present time, I propose to make some amendments which are now before the Government. HON. THE MINISTER OF F'INANCE AND CUSTOlV!S-Laid on the table of the House the pu1blic accounts of the Colony for the year ending last June. HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY L_Laid on the table o.f the House the report of the Superintendant of the Poor Asylum. Mr. Bennett gave notice of question. Mr. Abbott gave notice of question. Mr. Emerson gave notice of question. Mr. Alderdice gave notice of ques- tion. Mr. Winter gave notice of question.

Purst1ant to order and leave grant­ ed, and on motion of Hon. the Prime lVIinister the Ho,use resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider certain re·solutions respecting ''A11 Agreement between the Government and the American Telegraph and Tele­ ph'one Co., Ltd." Mr. Speaker left the Chair. Mr. Grimes took the Chair of Co1n­ mittee. HON. THE PRIME ·MINISTER ­ ! wisl1 to point out the outstanding strength of the company and to give a brief outline as published in the re­ port isst1ed by the company in Jan­ t1ary last.

In this connection I would like to call the attention of the Ho11se to the l1igh financial standing as set out in the Financial

Section of tl1e New York Times of the issue of April 14th last. Reads: I also have here the annual report of the company for the year ending · 1927 which was kindly lent me by ID)'" frie11d the Manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia. I will lay 'it on the tabl e for the benefit of the members of the House. I may say that for the year ending December 31st, 1928 the asset s of the company amounted to t\v o

HOUSE OF ASSEMBL · Y PROCEEDINGS 31 tl1ousand two hundred and thirteen ourable Memb ·er for Placentia (West) 1nillion dollars. In dealing with such a corporation I think we may be safe in saying that it will be able to carry out its undertakings. MR. ALDERDICE-Mr. Chairman, I 11ave not the slightest doubt about ,vhat the Honourable the Prime Min­ ister has been so strongly advocating with regard to the American Tele­ graph _ and Telephone Company, but he has not sa.id one word about wh,at Newfoundland will get as a result of these resolutions.

As far as I can see the only use they have been, has been to enable him to make two very fine after dinner speeches. He says that the company is still in the ex­ perimental stage now and therefore I do not see why we should tie our­ selves to it. We should have so·me­ thing definite before we committ our­ selves. We are exactly in the same position as wl1en the cable companies ca1ne to the country. We came out the wrong end of that transaction. We are expending over $16,.000.00 a year in keeping up a line for them.

They paid the $60,000.00 for the marine cable and w, e are paying them back at the rate of $4,000 .00 per year for fifteen · years. I think that from exp,erience 've should go extremely slow in tying ourselves up with this cmopany. We can see nothing in it for ourselves b·ut there may be a very great deal in it for the American Telephone Company. For that reason I do not think the time opportune. l\1R. HALFY ARD- Mr.

Chairman 'vhy is the honourable the leader of tl1e Opposition so strong in his crit­ icism as to the resolutions put before the House in connection with the wis­ dom of making arrangements with a cable compa11y. With reg·ard to what lie has just quoted he is absolutely in error. It was only this . afternoon that I tabled a reply · to Question numbered 19 as ked by Mr. Sullivan, tl1e Hon- giving the amount received from the Commercial Cable Company. The reply is- Reads: For the fiscal year ending 1928 the amount of $35,220.10 1 was received by the Government. MR.

ALDERDICE-What about our having to keep the line up at our own cost? Who will have to· keep up the line for them? MR. HAL.FYARD-Yes, we have to keep seven or eight of our own wires and we permit them to put a line on our poles. Yes., we have to keep · up 011r own lines. MR. PUDDESTER-Mr. Chairman, I wisl1 to draw attention to

section three of the resolutions and

section eight­ Reads: HON. THE PRIME MINISTER- The cables come • and will be Ill ditched across from one bay to another. It 'vill probably • come Ill at Conception Bay entry and go out in Placentia Bay or St. Mary's Bay, the location being chosen by the com­ pany's engineers. It will come across the ocean from Ireland and from America and then will be ditched across the land. There will be erect­ ed here the branch offices at the ends of the line. Only the machinery will come in duty free.

The life of the - special X-ray bulb · s depends like the radio tubes upon the electric current 'vhether they will b· e burnt out in a few hot1rs or days. The company will have to erect at one of these places, to be chosen by the engine ,ers, a huge water tank in which will be kept the spare cable tl1at comes 'in and is pt1t in tl1at tank. This comes in duty free. It is j11st the same arrange1nents as are in use with the telephone acces­ sories and strictly along~ the lines of of the A val on Telephone Company and the Commercial and all companies doing b11siness l1ere.

32 HOUSE OF ASSI~:r~lBL Y PROCEEDINGS l\fR. SULLIVAN-Mr. Chairman, "\Vith regard to the resolutions now be­ fore tl1e chair, the benefit to be de­ rived from this agreement is negli- , gable. Even if the con1pany operates in Newfot1ndland I yet fail to see how there is to be any benefit in it for Ne\vfot1ndland. We will have to take that with a grain of salt. As far as I can Siee there will be nothing outside . the $4,000.00 paid on every cable, that is $20,000.00. Of course we all know that the company is trying to get in 11ere owing to tl1e geograpl1ical po­ sition of Newfoundland.

It is the land­ ing place of all cable connections with the old and the new world. Personally, I do not see very much harm in the bill now before the Cha.ir, provided, a few safe guards are added. Certain exemptions should be made in cluty clauses, such as all hand tools, picks, shovels, axes, wheel barrows, etc., should not be admitted duty free. Within the last four or five years all ne\v Companies starting had to pay duty on hand tools and coal.

In so·me cases there is a duty of 50c. per ton on coal plus the sales tax, manufac­ turing concerns have tried to get in without paying the sales tax, in view of the fact, that they could not com­ pete with similar industries in Canada t1nless they had the sales tax removed. · I was rather surprised at the Prime l\1inister a few days ago when he was referring to the Speech from the Tl1rone. He told the House · th'at the getting of this Company in to New­ foundland was a great thing. We "\vould like to be convinced of that, and let him expla ·in in what way it is goi11g to be such a tremendous bene­ fit.

He did hint, that · there wot1ld be employment for a large number of our yot1ng men and women with the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, if they were established in Newfoundland. I am afraid he is an Optin1ist. I do not think the fishermen of this country are likely to go in rap­ tures over this wonderful telephonic cable we are expecting to get. Not many of our fishermen will be in a position to pay probably $5.00 a minute to telephone to Canada or the States, very few of them will telephone to Glouster captains to ask if there is any chance' of a job.

No doubt it would be a very good thing for the American Telegraph & Telepho11e Company, if their experi­ ments are successful and they are able to provide telephonic cable connecting up the old and new world. They are not b11ilding this cable for any bus­ ines they may get in Ne"\vfoundland as tl1~t \vould not be worth considering, they are using Newfounclland simply as a landing stage for their cables. The Geographical position of Newfoundland makes it very in1portant for the land­ ing of cables.

Up to the present time no Company has been successful in making cables that will suit for tele­ phonic communication between the old world and the new. The Western Union Cable Company laid a cable last year to the Azores, this cable I under­ stand cost $1,000,000 and to lay a sim­ ilar cable from the cost of Newfound­ land to Ireland would cost $2,000,000. The cables mentioned wot1ld not do for telephonic communication.

It is quite probable, that a cable-if the experi- 1nents the Company are making prove . successful - would cost, at least, $5,- 000,000, and probably more, so it looks . as if the cost of cables for telephonic comn1unication is bound to be very ex­ pensive for many years to come. I11 a way, it will be a certain benefit to N e,vfoundland if they are successful in their experiments and they are able to provide a. cable to do the work ex­ pected. HON. DR. CAMPBELL - They are n1aking· them now. l\iR. SGLLIV AN-As I said before the cost of telephonic communication

... • 1I'O L~SE OF 1-\.f~Sl~l\fBLY PROCEEDINGS 33 js going to be high. I propose to vote for the bill provided a few amend­ ments are made. The Prime Minister told us about .two large stations that were to be built, one in Conception Bay and one at tl1e bottom of St. Mary's or Pla- ,centia Bay, I do not think there will be a station built at each place, it ,v·ill probably be the same as Bay Roberts, where the Western Union Cable Co. cable landed. It is true tl1ey will pTobably establish one cable office, but the men employed will ·11ave to ·be slrilled men.

How so inany . ·young· men and women are to f)e em- ployed I am at a loss to know. MR. Chair1nan, \Vi th reference to tl1e clause in this bill which provides for the building· of Internal Telephone Line. 1 feel tl1at the cost of building this line for tl1e business it 'vould be "likely to secure \Vould be excessive.

I take it, tl1at .tl1e A val on Telephone Company, are not pre-pared to connect · a long distance telephone fron1 the .A val on Penins11la to Grand Falls, and even if they did we have no reason to ·suppose tl1at tl1e Anglo-Newfoundland Development Con1pany, and the In­ ter11ational Po\ver & Paper Co. of New­ fo1111dland, Ltd., would be prepared to link up their telephone line at their own expense.

As the an1ount of local telepl1one business tl1at tl1e American 1.,elegraph and Telephone Co1npany -vvould secl1re in Nevvfoundland wol1ld be very sn1all at the rates they would . , 11ave to charge, I do i1ot think it wo11ld be \Vorth co11sidering. Then, agai11, I 1vould like to point Ollt that if the Government built a Telephone li11e across country to secure tl1is local ·business, they will be competing with tl1eir own telegrapl1 system. It seems to me u11fajr to build lines or subsidize companies to compete "\Vith our o'vn Postal Telegrapl1 syste1n. Mr.

Cl1airn1an, personally, I 'vant to go 011 record and want it to be u11- derstood that I am not here to play politics, and I want to help the Gov­ ernment, and any legislation that I believe is for the interest of the country I am going to support, and anytl1ing I believe is injurious I am going, to vote aga'inst it. There are members sitting on the Governme11t side of the House that know my record in other Governments.

When I was in the Opposition I voted for measures · tl1Clt the present Prime Minister SllP­ ported because I believed ·in them, I also voted against measures when I believed t11e)r \Vere injurio11s. That is tl1e kincl of criticism I gave in the past; and that is the kind of criticism I intend to give i11 the future. Con­ strl1ctive criticis . m not destr11ctive. I regret exceedingly -that Doctor Camp­ bell, sl1ol1ld be so unfortunate as to bring party politics into this dis­ cussion.

It does not matter what the Squires Government, or the l\1onroe Govern1ne11t or the Alderdice Govern- 1nent or any otl1er Governn1ent did in the past, and perhaps they all made 1nistakes, as everyone makes mistakes once i11 a "\vl1ile, but from now on_ let t1s be more or less unitecl and be big and broad enough and let us do the best vve can in the best interest of this cotintry, to get the best legislation we can.

So far the criticism that has been given by this side of the I-Iot1se has not been harsh, \Ye have only endeavo11red to protect the country from son1ething tl1at ma.y happen in years to come. , In tl1e past, Government's have been criticized for rushing legislation tl1rot1gh. We are not g·oing to hold you llP, tl1en again, 1ve are not going to rt1sh leg·islation throt1gh, we want a reaso11able time to stt1cly and un­ derstand the ineaning of tl1e different cla11ses of the differe11t bills.

Let t1s in f11tt1re, c11t ot1t politics, it is going· to do i10 good, and ·it is something I 11ave al'"',~ays kept clear of cll1ring tl1e '

.. • 34 IIOUSE O:B., l1J3~~~Jl\1BLY PROCEEDINGS period I have been in the House. I 11ave given decent and fair criticis 1 m and I have not been vindictive, and that is the policy I intend to pursue, and I trust that the Mem1bers on the Government side of tl1e House will do the same and not show a bad example to the number of new Members who l1ave taken their seats for the first time in the I-louse of Assembly this session. I know it is 11ard for some of the old timers to show a good ex­ ample to the new men who are taking their seats in this House for the first time this . Session.

You are calling us on the Opposition side of the House Tories. Many men who are to-day on the Government side of the House have been Tories in the past when it suited . them and they are now Liberals-as a matter of fact, there are onlj.r t'vo of the old L'iberals in this House; namely Dr. Barnes and myself, . we stood by Sir Robert Bond, until he was driven out of politics by tl1e n1en 'vho now call themselves Liberals. As. far as I can see there is little or no difference between the Liberal and Tory in this country to-day, instead of Liberal and Tory of to-day it is the ins and outs. THE HON.

LEADER OF THE OP­ POSITION~Mr. Speaker, I l1ave no private motive in bringing llP this n1atter of the imp·ortation of goods similar to those manufactured in this country and coming in under free entry; we must all recognize the fact that local ind11stries ought to get fair a11d reasonable protection if the inan- 11facturing ind11stry is to s11rvive.

I know of the benefits local man11fac­ turers give and in tl1e main tl1eir a.m­ bitions are to get no more than s11ffi­ cient protection to enable them to pay their employees fair and decent 'vages in order that they and their families inay live in comfort and contentn1ent and tl1at t11e enterpris e may pay a fair profit. MR. SULLIVAN - Mr. Chairman, I do not see very much harm in tl1is proposed bill, provided a few little safeguards are put 'in it. All the com­ panies for whom legislation was passed . in the last few years had to pay a duty on all coal imported.

That was one thing that they were not allowed to get in duty free .. I was ratl1er surprised at the Prime Minister the other day, when referring to the Speech from the Throne, he told the House that this is one of the greatest things for Newfoundland, the getting of this company here. I would like the Prime Minister to convince t1s of that. Tl1en he told us about the number of people that were going· to be employed. In fact none of ot1r girls and boys will be going away any more. Tl1e fishermen of the country will be delighted when they hear abol1t the wonderful telephonic cable that we are going to have.

Wl1en they are 011t jigging sqt1ids they will be able to go 4shore to a pay station and pay probably five dollars a minute, and ask a Gloucester captain if there is any chance of giving them a job. We can see tl1e number of people that are going to get employment by that tele­ pl1onic cable. It \Vill be a nice thing for the company provided that tl1e experiment is successful. At the present tin1e they are not able to make a cable tl1at -vvill carry telephonic communication. I tl1ink that the cable tl1at was laid last year by the \Vestern .

Union and the Anglo A111erican cost one million dollars a11d to construct a similcrr cable to go to Ireland 'vill cost two millions. And ·it is. not possible to send telephonic communi­ cation over one of those. They have not bee11 able to make that kind of a cable yet. HON. DR. CAMPBELL - Tl1ey are mak'ing them now. MR. SULLIVAN - Then the cost is going to be pretty high. It \Vill cost

HOUSE OF P_SSElVfBL Y PROCEEDINGS 35 :probably five or si~ million dollars, to make a cable that will be able to send telephonic messages between New­ foundland and Ireland. And they won't be able to . send the message ·very cheap. I am not saying that I ,vill not vote for this b'ill. I propose to vote for it if two or three small .amendments are made. The Prime Minister told us again about two big stations one in Conception Bay and the other at the other end of St. Mary's Bay or Placentia Bay. Why do they \Vant one at both places.

As far as the employment that is going to give it will be -something like the Com- 1nercial Cable Company probably, or the Anglo American Company. Tl1ey ·will establish good offices, and employ ·skilled men. How the ordinary peo1)le are going to get employment, I an1 at · a loss to understand. If we could get the assurance that only material for the cable for the original construction, a,nd for the extension of the same \Vould be brought in that would be ·satisfactory. But we should not leave · a loophole in this bill so that they could get anything they like i11 d11ty free.

Hand tools should be d11itable, ancl they should be no possibility of their bringing in their coal st1pplies duty free. I don't think that those telegraphs companies are going to use very much coal, but it is. only reason­ able to say that \Vhat is allo-vved in duty free sl1ould be mentioned in this bill. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER ­ Mr. Chairma11, on the question of .coal, it is agreed that that be inserted. On the questio11 of hand hools, that is s11ch as are man11factured in this ieotlntry, that is also agreed. I may say that this

section is a. 1'eplica of

section eight of the acts of 1911, whicl1 '1ve l1ave on the Statt1te -Book no\v, tl1e Western Union Act of 1911, and tl1e United States Direct Ca bles --~ct. Tl1 eir

section reads: - Reads: Our

section reads1:­ Reads. The only difference bet\veen our duty clause and the free duty clause given by the Western Union of 1911 and the United States Direct Cables of 1911, is so as to make it clear that vacuum tubes are considered appar­ atus. The only reason why that extra clat1se was put in was that the ques­ tions might arise as to what was or was not apparatus in connection witl1 the telepl1one. MR. ALDERDYCE-Mr. Chairman, I '1vo11ld expect the Honourable the Min­ ister of Finance and Customs to be more interested in his department than Galley 22 · · to let an ambiguous clause go through.

He sl1011lcl be endea,rouring to elimate as much free entry as possible. It ·is not fair that these people can get their pick axes and shovels in duty free when any other man in the country has to pay duty. HON. THE PRIME MINISTER- That is agreecl if by hand tools meant pick axes, shovels, ·etc. . IS MR. ALDERDYCE - My 'vording· would be "Goods manufactured 'in the . country or in common use in the country." HON. THE PRIME MINISTER- I co11ld not accept that wording. Vact1um t11bes are also in common use in the country.

But if it means so that they cannot bring· in wheel bar­ ro\vs, pick axes, etc., I am entirely agreeable to that. MR. ALDERDYCE - You are dealing \vitl1 a two million dollar company and they do not forg·et much. MR. PUDDESTER - 1 wo11ld like to ask the Prime Minister, if he has figured 011t what the cost is going to be to the country after the two cables are in operation? HON. THE PRilVIE MINISTER ­ lVI:r. Cl1airman, they \Vill be no cost to

JIOUSE OF 1\.Sf.->ElVIBLY PROCE 'EDINGS the country at all. We have at the present time in Newfoundland three seperate telephone systems. There is a rough telephone system operating by the government as the Bay of Islands Telephone System. There is the Anglo Postal operating over hundreds of iniles by land. There is the system of the International Power and Paper Company operating over hundreds of miles. There is the Avalon Telephone Company in St. Jol1n's.

It is the policy of the government and we have already started to secure techinical in­ formation in tl1at connection to ascer­ tain whether it is not practically pos­ sible without substantial cost to the country to have these systems co-re­ lated, so that the merchant at Grand Falls would be able to talk over the 'vires to the merchant at St. J'ohn's or Corner Brook, . etc.

In this 'vay also tl1ree or four seperate organizations t1nder separate ownership and control will be able by an understanding as to the rates, as between companies in Canada and the United States, make it possible to talk over a matter by long . clistance, so tl1at a man in Grand Falls for instance, who 'vants to discuss stocks with the stock broker in Mon­ treal or New York, the co11versation ' \Vill go on through the one center at St. John's whicl1 'vill be the trans­ oceanic centre.

The tolls will be divid­ ed up in accordance with tl1e system of tolls in Canada and the United States, based on the distance which the message travels over the con1pan­ ies lines before entering the other people's. In Canada and the United States the whole thing is worked out on a elaborate and scientific basis. So that there is no charge on tl1e cou11try in tl1is connection. We anticipate tl1at there will be correlation bet,veen tl1ese several co1npanies so that the propositio11 . can be l1andled 'vitl1out a vote being passed ann11ally in this legisla tl1re. MR.

PUDDESTER-Shall we havev to b11ild a line in Conception Bay? I-ION~ THE PRIME MINISTER­ Yes, a line will 11ave to be built, but wl1ether it 'vill be a private or a gov-· ernment venture is not a matter to be. worked out until we see wl1at progress~ can be made in connection with thi