I shall have to ask my hon. friend to move for a return.

The quantity of bauxite imported into Canada during the fiscal year 1902 amounted to 1,524 tons. The countries from which imported, were Great Britain 234 tons, Germany G39 tons and United States 651 tons. One thousand and thirty-five tons of bauxite were imported at Montreal and 4S9 tons at Quebec.

1. Has the government received from the Winnipeg Board of Trade a copy of the following resolution, passed by that body, in reference to trade with the South African Colonies ?

* Whereas It has been stated in the public press that a proposal for preferential treatment in the customs tariff of the British South African colonies, in favour of the mother country, was favourably received at the conference lately held at Bloemfontein ; and whereas the Dominion of Canada accords such preference, not only to the mother country, but also to such of the colonies as will accede such preferential treatment to the products of Canada. Therefore, be it resolved, that the Winnipeg Board of Trade desires to impress upon the government of the Dominion the importance of at once opening negotiations with the government of the British South African colonies, with the object of obtaining the benefit of a like preferential treatment for Canada, as may be accorded to the mother country.'

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2. Has the government sent any reply to said Board of Trade in reference to said resolution; and what was the tenor of such reply ?

Yes ; the communication has been received and acknowledged.

The government is not now importing, nor has it arranged to import or decided to import, bal'd pine or southern pine (so called) railway ties for use on the government railways.

Mr. JAMES J. HUGHES (King's, P.E.I.).

Mr. Speaker, before the Orders of (he Day are called, I wish to say a word or two in reference to a question answered in this House on the 8th instant, concerning which, perhaps, the Minister of Railways will make an explanation. On the day referred to the hon. member for Saskatchewan (Mr. Davis) asked the following question :

What is the total cost (capital account) of the Intercolonial and other government railways ? What is the total amount of money paid by the federal government as subsidies to railways in each of the following provinces :- Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, North-west Territories, and British Columbia, since confederation ?

To this the lion. Minister of Railways (Hon. Mr. Blair) answered :

The total cost (capital account) of the Intercolonial and other government railways to February 28th, 1903, is as follows : Intercolonial Railway, $39,418,275.54 ; Prince Edward Island Railway, $5,112,435,27.

The question having been asked in the form it was, I think the Minister of Railways could not answer it in any other way than as lie did. But it should be understood that the amounts given here include the amounts spent by the provinces as well as the amounts spent by the government of the Dominion of Canada. Without that explanation, the answer as it stands might give an incorrect impression to the House and the country, and also to the hon. member for Saskatchewan. There was a large amount of money spent by the provinces of Mr. McCREARY.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia cn the Intercolonial Railway before confederation, and this was charged to these provinces at the time of confederation. The Prince Edward Island Railway was built by the people of the island, and paid for by them before confederation, the cost being $3,114,735.11, and that amount is included in the amount given by the minister in the answer I have quoted. The actual money paid by the Dominion government for the Prince Edward Island Railway was $1,907,700.16. I wish to ask the Minister of Railways to make that explanation, because, as I have said, the form in which the question was asked brought out an answer which, unexplained, might be misleading.

The hon. gentleman (Mr. Hughes, P.E.I.), is entirely correct in the statement he has made with reference to the amount of money which was expended by the respective provinces through which the Intercolonial Railway and the Prince Edward Island Railway ran at the time of confederation. I think that must explain why those answers were given in reply to the question. The statement which was read by me was handed to me by the officer of the department in the usual way, and was entirely in keeping with the published capital statements that have been put forward from time to time. This has been the uniform method in which the accounts of what is called the capital expenditure upon the road have been tabulated and have been published in the report of the Department of Railways and Canals from the beginning. It is true, as the hon. member has said, that there was expended upon the Prince Edward Island Railway prior to confederation the sum of $3,114,000. This amount was a portion of the indebtedness of the province at the time it entered confederation. It was allowed to enter confederation with an admitted debt of a certain sum, and whatever might be the difference between its acknowledged existing obligations and the sum which was allowed it by way of credit in debt account, was applied either to new capital expenditure by provinces, or would entitle the province to be paid interest on such difference at the rate authorized in the account, viz., 5 per cent. Practically, I think, the statement as given then and the capital account as published now are correct. It shows just what the total capital expenditure was upon these two different roads. It would be misleading to conceal the fact that there had been this large capital expenditure made before confederation. I do not know how it could be very well stated in a more explicit way than it appears in the published report, because the inference is clear, when you read that the government expenditure prior to confederation was so much, it manifestly could not have been an expenditure made by the Dominion government in a

direct way. It was already made by the provinces, and if made by the provinces, of course it would be an account to be adjusted between tlie provinces and tlie Dominion subsequently to that date.

Mr. E. F. CLARKE (West Toronto).

Before the Orders of the Day are called, I would like to ask the right lion, the First Minister, if he can give the House any information as to the abolition of the corn duties in the imperial parliament, if the abolition applies to all corn and grain imported into the United Kingdom, or only to grain imported from the colonies. I believe a cable lias been received to the effect that some action has been taken in the imperial parliament respecting such duties.

We have received no information up to this moment.