Mr. PELLETIER:

I think there is a

good deal in what the hon. gentleman says. This resolution does not exactly express the idea. But I have the proposed Bill before me, and I think it is much clearer.

Mr. CARVELL:

We have not the Bill

before us. Would the minister read it?

Mr. PELLETIER:

It says:

A person who has not passed the required Civil Service examination may be employed as a temporary railway mail clerk for a period of not more than one year.

That makes it clear.

Mr. C'ARVELL: Yes, but then section

C qualifies this broad statement that he cannot be employed for more than a year. Under this section the minister has power to advance him by $100 a year and keep him for four years.

Mr. PELLETIER:

I admit that that construction is possible when you read the resolution. But when you read the Bill-

Mr. CARVELL:

Will the hon. minister send the Bill over? We have net a copy.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

The change is automatic-

Mr. PELLETIER:

He is not appointed

until after one year's probation. After that probation, if he passes the preliminary examination, an Order in Council is passed putting him on. Then he advances automatically by $100 a year until he reaches $1,000 a year.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

Then, if he passes the

qualifying examination he is put on a par with the other railway mail clerks?

Mr. PELLETIER:

Yes.

Mr. CARVELL:

What is the number of the Bill?

Mr. PELLETIER:

It has no number; it has not yet been introduced. We are still on the resolution, and that is why I suggest that we should leave the discussion until we are in Committee on the Bill. W'e can go into the matter fully at that stage. In the meantime I will call the attention of the officers of the department to the remarks that have been made. I wish to have this matter made clear myself.

Mr. CARVELL:

I beg pardon; I thought * we were in Committee on the Bill.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

I wished to satisfy my hon. friend (Mr. Carvell) that I

4 p.m. was right. In view of the very difficult examination to which the railway mail clerks are subjected, the Postmaster General is obliged at times to take temporary mail clerks. They are purely and simply labourers, and have a labourer's stipend and cannot advance unless they show that they have the necessary qualifications. According to this pro-

posed plan, they will be appointed at $600 a year and will advance by $100 a year until they reach $1,000. Then, if they pass the qualifying examination, they will be on a par with the regular mail clerks and can reach a maximum of $1,400 a year.

Mr. CARVELL:

I quite agree with my

hon. friend from Rouville. But I have seen some of these examinations and they are the greatest farce ever known. What difference does it make in the appointment of a railway mail clerk whether he can tell what the capital is of some state in China or Siam?

Mr. PELLETIER:

The hon. gentleman is mistaken; the railway mail clerks are not subjected to these ridiculous questions.

Mr. CARVELL:

I have seen the questions and some of them seem to me ridiculous. The proper course for the Postmaster General is to change the examination, and not to take power to himself to drive a coach-and-four through the Civil Service Act. If the examination were put upon a reasonable basis, I do not think there would be much difficulty in getting the proper number of qualified men. The qualifications a man should possess in order to be an efficient railway mail clerk include a knowledge of English, ability to read writing of almost any kind, and an intimate knowledge of the geography of his own country and of many other countries in the world. It may take a year for a man to study up what he needs to know. But I would suggest that the minister should simplify the examination, boil it down to the necessities, and not take too much power to himself.