Mr. PUGSLEY.

I am inclined to think that return is ready. I had it under consideration a few days ago. I will make inquiries. and I feel sure I can have it brought down almost immediately.

On the orders of the day being called.

THE BOUT DE L'lLE rsRIDGE.

Mr. P. A. SEGUIN (L'Assomption).

(Translation). Mr. Speaker, before the orders of the day are called, I may be permitted to call the attention of the government, and particularly that of the hon. Minister of Railways (Mr. Graham) upon a question of the utmost importance to the county of L'Assomption which I have the honour of representing, and to the other counties in my district. This matter also interests largely the city of Montreal.

By 63 and 64, Victoria, chapter 8, subsection 33, the government of this country granted in 1900 a subsidy of $150,000 to the Chateauguay and Northern Railway Company in the following terms:

To the Chateauguay and Northern Railway Company, for a single track standard railway bridge, with two roadways 10 feet wide, for free vehicular and foot passenger traffic, the same as upon a public highway, from Bout de L'lsle to Charlemagne, at the iunc-tion of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, $150,000.

I have no doubt that this subsidy has been paid to the company, but I do not know whether the latter have fulfilled the conditions upon which this subsidy has been granted.

Instead of constructing a single bridge connecting Bout de L'lsle to Charlemagne,

the said company, making use of an island-the Bourbon island-which was in the middle of the river, has erected two bridges, one from Bout de Isle to the southern shore of Bourbon island and the other from the northern shore of Bourbon island to Charlemagne.

The distance is twenty-five to thirty French acres which one has to travel in order to cross that intervening island has never been provided with a suitable road so as to permit the passage from one point to the other, and the numerous farmers conveying their farm produce to the city of Montreal and the travelling public in general have been obliged to travel that distance before any work had been done to put that road in order. The result was unavoidable;- that low and marshy ground was turned into a rut almost uninterrupted and often exasperatingly deep. In spite of repeated representations from all quarters, it has been impossible so far to have this unfortunate grievance redressed. The Montreal newspaper, especially ' La Patrie,' as late as last week, in an editorial, demonstrated the inconveniences to which the traveling public of Montreal and of the rural constituencies were subjected to on account of that altogether impassable road. Here is what ' La Patrie ' of the 26th March said:

The Bout de Pile Bridge.

La ' Patrie ' has already called the attention of the federal authorities upon the impassable and dangerous state of the approaches to the Bout de Pile bridge.

Thaw has set in. Loaded or pleasure vehicles, wagons, automobiles, etc., going from Bout de Pile to Charlemagne, or in the opposite direction, are in danger of getting stalled or of breaking to pieces in the deep ruts at the two ends of the bridge. It is almost impossible to pass there. And such is the situation since the bridge has been open to the public.

Upon whom rests the responsibility of making the necessary repairs ? Is it upon the Railways department or upon the Canadian Northern Company P

However it may be, it is really disgraceful to leave an 'important road as this in such a state of rack and ruin.

We do not know whether the contractors were bound to complete the embankment so as to facilitate the entrance to the bridge, or whether the government inspectors have reported. But it is incumbent upon the federal authorities to complete or have completed without delay that which has too long remained unfinished.

The member from L'Assumption shall undoubtedly renew his representations to the government at the re-opening of parliament.

The members of the city and the island of Montreal shall join with him to put a stop to that intolerable situation.

Every summer thousands of vehicles and automobiles cross the Bout

Mr. P. A. SEGUIN.

We instantly request the government to send an inspector thex-e and to have the necessary repairs made.

Last year, to prevent circulation from being altogether interrupted at that place which, had become dangerous, some people clubbed together in making ameliorations, and I had to put up some money myself towards that and the work we have done has been rather temporary, did not give a very passable road but rendered it less perilous.

And now that road is almost impassable. I think it is incumbent upon the government, who have granted leave to use that island instead of building a bridge over it, to relieve the travelling public which is suffering so much from that situation. Therefore. I humbly suggest to the hon. Minister of Railways that it is high time that redress be given to the thousands and thousands of people using that bridge, and that within the shortest delay an inspection and a report be made if need be, in order to fix the responsibilities of the subsidized company and to have it fulfilling its obligations.

Thus justice will be rendered to my constituents.

Mr. C. A. WILSON. (Laval).

(Translation). Mr. Speaker, I would like to add a few words to the remarks of the hon. member for L'Assomption.

Mr. SPEAKER.

I must observe to the hon. member that I cannot allow the discussion to go on upon this question at this moment. I have allowed the hon. member for L'Assomption to state his grievances as a question of privilege, but a discussion upon these grievances would be out of order.

Mir. WILSON.

(Translation. If I am out of order, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat. I intended only to endorse the remarks of the member for L'Assomption, and I would have done so with great pleasure, because a great many of my constituents are interested in the remedying of this grievance.

Mr. GRAHAM.

I regret that I am not able to answer the hon. gentleman in the language he has used, but I may surprise the House some day by undertaking to do that. In the meantime, I think it will be sufficient to assure my hon. friend from L'Assomption (Mr. Seguin) and my hon. friend from Laval (Mr. Wilson) that I am glad they have brought this matter up. As I understand the remarks of the hon. member for L'Assomption, a grant of $150,000 was made for the construction of that bridge. There is an island in the centre of the river, and the bridge really developed into two bridges, using the island as a means of communication between these two bridges. The complaint made is that the

roadway on this island connecting these two bridges is in a very bad condition, and the people complained bitterly. I will take the matter up, and if there is anything possible I can do to straighten it out and have this road put in proper shape I will certainly do so.

Mr. R. L. BORDEN.

We can easily regulate the matter, but it had better be done in accordance with the rules of the House. The motion which was called by Mr. Speaker was for resuming the adjourned debate on the motion to go into Ways and Means, under which, of course, the debate would be resumed. The minister desires, as a matter of -convenience, that we should not resume the debate at the present moment, but that we should go into Committee of Ways -and M'eans for the -purpose of dealing with another matter. That can be done provided it is understood that we shall have a motion to go into Committee of Ways and Means for the purpose of resuming the former debate, and that the former debate should go on exactly in the same way as if it were an adjourned debate.

Mr. FIELDING.

Quite so; that is- my proposal, that the matter shall stand exactly as it is for the present as Tespects the tariff debate.

Mr. R. L. BORDEN.

I mean as to the rights of speaking.

Mr. FIELDING.

Quite so. Those who have spoken already on the matter have exhausted their rights.

Mr. FIELDING.

We are dealing now with the balance of the supplementary estimates for the year 1909-10, which expired a few days -ago. I may remind the House that we dealt with a portion of these estimates several weeks ago, and ultimately, following the usual proceeding, a Supply Bill was passed and assented to. But there was a portion of those estimates which, although voted by the House, was not taken in the form of a Supply Bill. The House had dealt with them in Committee of the Whole, but it is necessary that they should be put into -a Supply Bill. But it will be inconvenient to wait until the -close of the session for that purpose, as it is desirable that the business of _ the year be closed up as quickly as possible. The present proceeding is that we now pass a Supply Bill covering the balance of the estimates for the year which has just closed. These various votes have been gathered in the usual way by the clerks, and the amount of them is expressed in the resolution which I now beg to move:

Resolved, that towards making good a supply to be granted to His Majesty on account of certain expenses of the public service for the fiscal year ending March, 81, 1910, the sum of $1,646,350.28 be granted out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada.

Mr. FIELDING.

In connection with the understanding we had a while ago, I move that at its next sitting, the House again resolve itself into Committee of Ways and Means, and that it be taken that the debate stands adjourned. I would like the clerk to record it as an adjourned debate, so that the matter may stand exactly as it was before.