Mr. T. B. FLINT (Yarmouth) moved :

That the provisions of rule 60 requiring twenty-four hours' notice of private Bills originating in the Senate before being considered by the committee of this House to which they are referred, be suspended for the remainder of the session.

BORDEN (Halifax) What is the particular reason for this ?

Mr. FLINT.

A number of Bills usually come from the Senate at a late stage of the session, and if such a motion as this is not adopted, they cannot be considered at all.

Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).

The difficulty is that persons who may desire to be heal'd with regard to these Bills will have no opportunity of presenting their views before the committee. A case of that kind was brought to my notice this morning. A Bill is on the Order paper for the second reading to-night, and if this motion be adopted, it will go to the committee to-morrow morning, and it would be impossible to arrange that persons who wish to be heard with regard to that Bill should be present. However great may be the desire to close the session on a particular day, that must not be carried so far as to prevent those who are interested in these matters from being heard. I am as much desirous as any other gentleman to have our labours terminated at an early date, but we cannot do

that at the expense of denying these people the right to be heard. I can only assent to the motion on the understanding that sufficient time will be given to parties interested to place their views before the committee.

1 do not think that any injustice will be done to any person if this motion passes. If representations were made that the parties interested in a Rill desired to be heard, no committee would think of pressing that Bill forward under this rule if injustice were to be done. We sometimes forget in dealing with business of a public nature that these Bills of incorporation and other private Bills are of the utmost importance to those interested in them, and that every opportunity should be given to have them passed before prorogation. This is an ordinary motion which is made near the end of each session.

Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).

I am not much in favour of suspending the rules of the House, except for very urgent reasons. This motion seems to have been usual in the past, and I shall not object to it at present, provided it is distinctly understood that it shall only apply to Bills which are not opposed, and that Bills which are opposed shall be suspended for a sufficient length of time to give reasonable facilities to those who desire to be heard in opposition.

Mr. FEINT.

There can be no objection to that understanding.

Motion was agreed to.

Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).

Before the Orders of the Day are called, I would like to Inform the government, particularly the hon. Minister of the Interior, that I have received a further communication from the miners whose telegram I read in the House the other day, asking for a reply to the message which was then sent, respecting the Miller Creek concession. I would like the hon. minister to state whether any answer has been sent, and generally what the position of the matter is.

I cannot say now. As the hon. gentleman knows, yesterday was a holiday, and it was impossible to get the records, the clerks being all away. I will have the matter looked up, and I shall be able to state to the hon. member this afternoon just how it stands.

Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).

I wish to mention to the hon. Prime Minister that I have received a communication from the hon.

member for South Wentworth (Mr. Smith), inquiring as to two returns which he states had not been brought down when he left the House a few day ago. One was an order for copies of all tenders for the carrying of the mail from Hamilton to Guelph. He states further, that early in the session he moved for copies of the contracts with steamship companies receiving subsidies from the government, and that these had not been brought down when he left the House. He is anxious to have them brought down as soon as possible.

I now lay on the Table a return to the order which the hon. gentleman is asking for.

I wish to move a few small changes in the Bill. There are two slight changes in section 8. to improve the wording, and to make the meaning clear.

I have been furnished with a copy of tl;e amendments suggested by my hon. friend from Lincoln (Mr. Lancaster). The most of these amendments I see no objection to, but there is one which involves a radical change In the principle of appointment, and which we would have to debate. I would suggest that we first go through the Act and make the clerical amendments I suggest, after having carefully examined and revised the clauses. Then we will go back and take up my hon. friend's amendments one after the other.

Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).

That will be all right, it being understood that we have the same rights exactly as if we had not gone through the Bill.

The MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR moved that section 18 be amended by inserting after the word * Canada ' in the forty-fifth line, ' or a cheque for that amount accepted by such bank.' This is to make the Act accord with the change in the law by which a certified cheque may be accepted as deposit.

The sections 40, 41 and 42 provide for a man being placed on the list on polling day after he lias taken the oath. I may say that that principle was not in the North-west Territories Representation Act, but an amendment was subsequently passed providing that that might be done. I do not think that It will work satisfactorily in the territories. Hon. gentlemen will agree with me that in a place like the Yukon, where there is a

large floating population, it is desirable that the list should be final, and that upon election day an election should not be capable of being influenced by a large number of persons who might come to the poll and simply take the oath. The original Northwest Territories Representation Act did uot make any such provision, but provided that the lists should be final.

1 n 1899 an amendment was passed, at whose instance I do not know, authorizing persons to vote on taking the oath upon election day. I know that at the last general election that Was found to be unsatisfactory. Persons were unaware whether they had the right to vote or not and where they could vote, and, generally there was a lack of certainty about what the rights of the voters are which always arises when the list is not final. Parliament has decided many times that whatever disadvantages there may be about having a voters' list, one of the great advantages is that when it is made up and fairly revised, it .is final.