Mr. MONK.

The legislation proposed by my hon. friend is certainly in the right direction. I would like to inform my hon. friend that the section of the Conservation Commission which has in charge the question of our water-powers is now preparing a Bill very much on the same lines as that of my hon. friend, and is getting information on the subject from different parts of the Dominion and from men experienced in these matters; and as soon as that Bill is finally adopted by that section of the commission, it is intended, with a very brief delay, to lay it before the House.

Hon. W. S. FIELDING.

I beg to submit the reply to the hon. gentleman's question, supplied by the chairman of the Battlefields Commission:

1. The following properties have been bought by the commission: (a) a lot of

land situated on the north side of Ste. Foy road, being subdivision No. 58 of lot 26 of the cadastral plan of the Banlieue of the parish of Notre Dame de Quebec, belonging to one Pierre Cauchon. Area, 16,060 square feet; price, $7,846.55. (b) Part of lot No. 4440 on the cadastral plan for Montcalm ward, in the city of Quebec, belonging to 'Le Seminaire de Quebec'. Area, 1,137,111 square feet; price, $129,137.99. The following properties have also been deeded to the National Battlefields Commission, without cost, for the purpose of the park: (a) Tim piece of ground commonly designated as 'The Plains of Abraham', covering an Mr MAGRATH.

area of 88 arpents and 71 perches (French measure), (b) The plot of ground on which is erected the monument known as Le Monument des Braves', on the Battlefield of Ste._ Foy. (c) A certain parcel of land on which Martello Tower No. 4 is erected. .

2. (a) Yes, if reasonable arrangements can be made with the landowners interested. (b) As soon as possible after the lands required have been secured.

3. (a) $348,387.56. (b) Certain le

points which have arisen in connection with the mode of procedure under the powers of expropriation given to the commission.

1. Hare any repairs been made to the Halifax custom house since it was handed over to the customs authorities by the contractor ? If so, what was the nature of the repairs, were they done by contract or by day work, and what was the cost, and who did the work?

2. Were any repairs made to the Queen's wharf or the Lumber wharf at Halifax during last year? If so, what was the nature of the repairs?

3. Was the work done by contract or day work ?

4. If by contract, who was the contractor, what was the amount paid, who were the parties asked to tender, how were they asked, and what were the amounts of the different tenders ?

1. The following repairs have been executed:

$ cts.

Repairing roof, copings, &c.. 1,131 80Repairing floors

554 68Re-glazing

60 25Re-hanging windows

400 00Re-laying floor in doloment [DOT] [DOT] 564 90

2,711 63

Materials were supplied and work was done by Malcolm & Johnston. Frank Reardon, Nickerson Bros, and the Montreal Doloment Company, under the supervision of C. E. W. Dodwell, district engineer.

2, 3 and 4. No expenditure by this department.

1. What applications have been made to the government or the Post Office Department for the closing of outer doors of the post office on Sundays, and what persons or institutions have made these aoplications?

2. In what post offices have these outer doors been recently closed and box holders refused access to their post office boxes on Sunday ?

3. If tlie post offices have been closed on Sundays, what are the reasons for such action of the government or the department?

4. Is the action of the government or department only an experiment, or is it the final determination of the government to close the post offices on Sundays for all time to come?

5. Why should the department receive on Sunday a letter for transmission and prevent its delivery at its destination on that day?

6. Does the Post Office Department know that in Winnipeg for over thirty years box holders have had access to their post office boxes on Sunday, and that the present action of the department, it is alleged, will cause serious inconvenience to a large number of citizens ?

7. Is it known to the Post Office Department

that

8. What good purpose will be served by the recent action of the government in closing the outer doors of post offices on Sunday?

1. Numerous communications and petitions have been addressed to the department from the local branches of the Lord's Day Alliance, and also from the citizens and business men throughout the west, asking that the lobbies of the post offices in that section of the country should not be opened for the convenience, of box holders on Sunday.

2. At the following post offices, viz: _ Bat-tleford, Saskatchewan; Brandon, Manitoba; Calgary, Alberta; Dauphin, Manitoba; Edmonton, Alberta; Emerson, Manitoba; Esquimau, British Columbia; Fernie, British Columbia; Lethbridge, Alberta; Macleod, Alberta; Maple Creek, Saskatchewan; Medicine Hat, Alberta; Moosejaw, Saskatchewan; Nanaimo, British Columbia; Nelson, British Columbia; New Westminster, British Columbia; Portage la Prairie, Manitoba; Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Qu'Ap-pelle, Saskatchewan; Regina, Saskatchewan; Revelstoke, British Columbia; Ross-land, British Columbia; St. Boniface, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Vancouver, British Columbia; Victoria, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba.

3. The post offices have been closed on Sundays in the west in accordance with what is believed to be the spirit of the people of Canada-that Sunday should be observed as a day of rest and cessation from business. The privilege of keeping the post offices open in the west was given or rather taken in the early days when the train service was scarce and irregular and the arrival of mails uncertain. When great numbers of the people coming into the country as settlers, or prospective settlers, had their mail directed to certain points where they exepcted to be at certain dates, and when it was important that they should obtain their mail so that their progress in travelling should not be obstructed. Moreover, the offices were a great distance apart, and settlers only went for their mails on the days when they were least busy and when the exigencies of their business permitted them. This usually occurred on Sunday as even then the settlers, moved by the spirit of their early training, did not usually devote themselves to business and labour for financial gain, and a great majority of them went into the towns where the post offices were situated for the pur-, poses of public worship. Now, the situation is entirely different. The country is becoming settled, is intersected in all directions by lines of railway, and mails are received as regularly and frequently in all centres of the west as in the other and older parts of Canada, and the necessity which existed for keeping the offices open in the large towns and cities of western Canada, has entirely disappeared. Furthermore, it has been reported to the department by its officers, by many leading citizens, and men in religious and commercial life, that the result of business men obtaining their mails freely on Sunday has led to . the transaction of business at these western points and the forcing of employees to labour on Sunday almost as much as on week days, at all events to a sufficient extent to interfere with their enjoying any advantage which might accrue by Sunday being granted a day of rest. The statement that conditions in the west differ from those in the east is due to the fact that, not the mass of western people, but great numbers of business men have imported into Canada the practice of carrying on business on Sundays the same as any other day, notwithstanding that it is absolutely opposed to the best interests of labour and the laws and spirit of the Canadian people, viz: That every man may

enjoy where possible the benefit of Sunday as a day of rest.

4. The action of the government is not an experiment, nor is there any necessity for such an experiment. This has been tried in the cities of the east for many years, and it has been found that not only is no inconvenience caused to business, or to the travelling public, but that it has received the unanimous support of all classes of the community, who have found it to

be in the interests of both the employee and the employer.

5. The vast number of letters posted on Sunday, in fact, it might be said the whole of the letters posted on Sunday are not for local delivery, but for outside points and in most cases far distant points.. The refusal to receive these letters on Sunday would mean a delay during the week of perhaps 12 to 24 hours and serious inconvenience to business, and it cannot be compared with the delivery of mails on Sunday to addresses locally, where all unnecessary work is supposed to cease, particularly, in view of the fact that all such letters are delivered in plenty of time for the opening of business on Monday morning. Moreover, these trains would run whether mails were placed on them or not, and the public and business people would naturally resent any failure on the part of the department to .forward the mails on all running trains, involving as such action would make a delay of 24 hours in the transmission of a large portion of the correspondence for business centres. This has been specially recognized by parliament and exempted from the working of the Lord's Day Act.

' 6. The department is aware that for many years box holders have had access to their boxes on Sunday, but is not of the opinion that the present action will cause any serious inconvenience to the citizens at large, and has reason to believe that outside of the few business men who take advantage of Sunday delivery for the purpose of working themselves and their staff on Sunday, as well as the other days of the week, there is no desire for the keeping open of the post offices on Sunday.

7. The department is not aware that a large number of commercial men are said to arrange to pass Sunday in Winnipeg with their families to receive and answer their mail on that day.

3. Better opportunities for the observance of Sunday, and protection to labour.

9. The men engaged in sorting for Sunday box delivery will be relieved from duty. The department is unable to say definitely how many clerks require to be engaged in this work, but there must always be a considerable number of men engaged in sorting these mails for Sunday delivery.

10. The present action is not an experiment, but was taken after the fullest consideration by the department.

11. A circular was sent out from the department on the 20th January, 1910, to the postmasters of the offices above mentioned, instructing them that on and from the 1st February, 1910, the lobbies of their offices must be closed to the public on Sunday.

Mr. LEMIEUX.

1. What was the amount expended in each year to date on construction of Boat hai'bour at Toney river, Pictou county, Nova Sootia?

2. What is the total paid to date?

3. Is the work completed?

4. What further sum is to be expended?

5. Who were superintendents or overseers of the work, for how many days and how much was each paid?

6. What is the length of each wharf constructed?

7. What is the depth of water at the outer end of the wharf at high tide and at low tide, respectively?

8. How much further out will the wharfs be extended?

9. When so extended what will be the depth of water at outer end of high tide, and at low tide, respectively?

Mr. PUGSLEY:

1 and 2.

In 1905-6 $4,727 551906- 7

2,103 111907- 8

758 051908- 9

1,793 02Total $9,381 733. No.4. $2,000.5. H. McKinnon (1806-8), 169 daysat $3 $507 00

D. A. Barry (1908-9), 29 days at

$3.50

101 50D. A. Barry (1908-9), 24 days at $3

72 00Total $680 50

6 and 7. The works referred to are protection piers on east and west sides of a channel 11 feet deep at low water and 71 feet deep at high water; the east side protection pier is 291 feet long, and the west side one, 235 feet.

8 and 9. Fifty feet on each side, the depth of water at outer ends remaining the same as at present.