Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

I would like

some information from my right hon. friend regarding the commission appointed to report on the claims of the province of British Columbia for better financial terms. Can my right hon. friend tell me in what condition that commission if?

iMr. BORDEN: A question arose a's to whether the case filed on behalf of the province of British Columbia was within the scope of the Order in Council appointing the commission. Negotiations and discussions have taken place, and the province of British Columbia has agreed to amend its case by omitting certain items. As I understand, the amended case has not yet been filed, and we are awaiting receipt of that case for the purpose of filing our counter plea.

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

Has the third commissioner been appointed yet?

.Mr. BORDEN: No, the third commissioner has not been appointed. In order to appoint him it is necessary to know the probable date on which he will be required and the length of time he will probably be engaged in the investigation. It is im-

possible to get any exact date or any definite information on that point until both cases have been filed.

Mr. G. H. BRADBURY:

Hon. J. D. REID (acting Minister of Railways):

I will take this matter up with the Railway Commission immediately and with tile Canadian Pacific railway, and will certainly do everything possible to help tile people in that district. I am sorry to hear they are taking off the train. The Railway Commission have power, of course, to see that a proper service is given, and I will direct the attention of the Railway Commission as well as of the Canadian Pacific railway to the telegram and information the hon. member has given to the House.

I would like to invite the attention of the Minister of Railways to a somewhat similar matter to that which the hon. member for Selkirk (Mr. Bradbury) has directed his attention. In this matter the minister will be more powerful to correct the injustice which is being done to the people in a very large portion of New Brunswick including the people of the city of St. John. The Ocean Limited, which gives splendid accommodation between Montreal and certain points in the Maritime provinces, has lately been put on, and in advertisements and in the train arrangements all that part of New Brunswick west of Moncton is utterly ignored. No connection is made for that part with the city of Montreal, and the service is so arranged as to make it exceedingly inconvenient for the people residing west of Moncton to take the Ocean Limited either going to Montreal or coming from Montreal. I cannot but think that the arrangement has been made in the interest of the Canadian Pacific railway so as to encourage all persons travelling between St. John and Montreal to take the Canadian Pacific instead of the Ocean Limited. I may say that in the public advertisements of the Ocean Limited it is expressly declared that it is not intended to be a train for St. John. In the advertisement appearing on the Government Railway Folder, the Ocean Limited is advertised as follows:

Montreal, Quebec, Moncton, Halifax; only one night on the road between Ontario and Halifax, saving hours of time; through sleeping cars between Montreal and Halifax; dining cars are noted for excellence of service; through the beautiful Matapedia and Wentworth valleys; connection for the Sydneys and Newfoundland.

Mr. REID:

The time-table shows the St. John connections.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

By the time-table we

find that the Ocean Limited arrives at Moncton at 3.55 in the afternoon, about fifty-five minutes after the train has left for St. John, or fifty-five minutes too late to make connection with St. John; and, in order to utilize the road by way of Moncton, the passenger arriving at Moncton has to remain there about three hours before he can get another train to take him to St. John. The same remark applies to the service north; a passenger must remain two or three hours at Moncton if he desires to take the Ocean Limited. There is no sleeping

car connection, and the whole service is designed to cut out St. John as a point to be served by the Ocean Limited. I believe that the service which has been advertised for this season is worse, eo far as St. John and other points west of Moncton are concerned, than it has ever been before, and I cannot but believe-

Mr. SPEAKER:

I would like to remind the hon. gentleman that although the present is not an inopportune time to present to the House a matter of urgent importance upon which he desires to base a question, it is not the proper time to take up some matter which may start a discussion on both sides of the House.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

I was simply, on the

Orders of the Day being called, drawing attention to a matter of great public importance, and perhaps I was led to go further than I would have gone by the fact that the hon. member for Selkirk was very properly [DOT] allowed to bring a similar matter to the attention of the House.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. gentleman

read a very long telegram and made some remarks upon it. It was my intention, provided he desired to go further than ask a question, to direct his attention to the fact that it would not be proper to proceed. Although a sufficient amount of explanation is necessary in order to lay an intelligent foundation for the question to be asked, any discussion of the matter is out of order.