Mr. PELLETIER:

I wish to give the following answer to a question asked the other day by the hon. member for Montcalm (Mr. Lafortune):

Re discussion in Parliament in regard to establishing of rural routes at St. Esprit (daily, 151 miles) and St. Alexis de Montcalm (daily, 121 miles).

Tenders were invited for these services, which were due at the department on 6th March last. The tenders received were considered excessive. The lowest price for the St Esprit route was $600, or $39.34 per mile. For the St. Alexis de Montcalm service the lowest tender was $450, or $36.73 per mile. As a result of negotiations, these prices were reduced as follows: for the St. Esprit service, $480, or $31.47 per mile, and for the St. Alexis service, $375, or $30.61 per mile. These reduced offers were not received at the department until the

8th instant. They have been accepted and the inspector has been instructed to proceed with the contract arrangements.

Mr. PELLETIER:

The hon. member for Sherbrooke (Mr. MeCrea) made inquiry not long ago as to how many cars are in use throughout the Dominion in connection with the post office service, what the make of each car is, and the price. I may say that there are eleven motor vehicles in use by the Post Office Department, as follows:

No of Cars. Make. Cost.Montreal 1.. . . Packard $5,472Toronto, 7 .. . . 2 Dominion Automo- bile Co., each.. . -5 Russell Motor Co., 3,0004 at 2,5001 at 3,500Quebec, l .. .. Mitchell Garage and Automobile Co. . . 2,475Ottawa, 1 .. .. Packard 5,330Sherbrooke,! . . Packard 4,500

Purchased from Mr. Caron, Montreal; transferred from Ottawa to Sherbrooke in February, 1914.

I may say that there are other cars employed by the Post Office Department, but not in a direct way. In several cities we have motor cars in use by contractors.

Mr. SINCLAIR:

I wish to call the attention of the Prime Minister to the fact that a large number of orders of the House for the production of papers made during the session have not been complied with. I went over the book kept by the chief clerk in the record office yesterday, and I find that 136 orders for returns granted at various times during the session have not been complied with. To me, some of these are of considerable importance. For example, on November 9, I moved for a return relating to the correspondence concerning the express and freight rates on fresh fish. This has not yet been brought down. I should like to know if the officers of the department will toe directed to furnish these returns after the close of the session.

Mr. BORDEN:

I will speak to the Secretary of State about the matter. Personally,

I see no reason why, if the staff of the House is competent to cope with the work, these returns should not be prepared and forwarded to the members.

Mr. E. M. MACDONALD:

I would call the attention of the acting Minister of Railways to a matter of some importance, affecting the employees of the Intercolonial railway. I wish to commiserate the Minister of Customs (Mr. Reid) on having to do continuous double duty. The real Minister of Railways is in Canada, and, to the delight of his friends, is apparently in very good health. He is enjoying the delightful experience of campaigning in northern Ontario, while the Minister of Customs has to stay at home and attend to two departments. I think the Minister of Railways should be here, because he would be in a position to deal with the particular matter to which I am referring, whereas my hon. friend is not. Under the Act relating to the pension fund on the Intercolonial the men are entitled to retire at a certain age after a certain number of years in the service. In the last few months there have been cases in which men who have reached the age fixed in the statute but who have not been in the service for a sufficiently long period to qualify for the pension, have been dropped by the management. In my own county two very estimable gentlemen, against whom nothing could be urged in the way of political reasons-and indeed the justification for dropping them is not based on any consideration of that kind but solely on their age, have been discharged from the employment of the railway. These men have been there for a period of ten or eleven years, and each of them every month has paid into the pension fund. Naturally their discharge at this time of life without any other means of employment, the Government retaining the money they had paid into the pension fund, places them in an unfortunate position. My hon. friend from Westmorland (Mr. Emmerson) told me that he had a talk with the Hon. Mr. Cochrane, who said that at this session of Parliament there would be introduced legislation which would provide for the protection of the interests of these men whom the Government found it necessary to drop on account

of age. We are now on the last day of the session; nothing has been done, and these men are left in this unfortunate position that they cannot get back the money they have paid in. There is no provision for them under the Pension Fund Act, and I think the Acting Minister will agree with me that it is a case with which the department should deal in some way. I think I spoke to the minister at the beginning of the session with regard to this matter, and he personally stated that it would receive his attention. Could not the acting minister, without prejudice to the legislation which I hope will be introduced at a subsequent session, arrange for the payment back to these men, in the meantime, of the moneys they had paid into the fund, charging as against their pensions, if subsequently provided for, the amount thus paidv to them. In some cases the circumstances are such that they require immediate action, and I therefore feel impelled to call the attention of the minister to it.

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

With reference to the absence of the Minister of Railways, the Hon. Mr. Cochrane, I am sorry myself that he is not alble to be in the House. There is no doubt that Mr. 'Cpchrane returned from Europe very much improved in health, but he was far from being completely restored to his former health. He was advised that it would be much better for him not to take any active part in the management of his department for a little while longer. That is the Teason why he is -away. 'Of course, having a further holiday now, it is a good time to visit his constituency and -see his constituents; but I do not believe he- has taken the active part in politics the hon. member would lead us to believe.

Mr. MAODONAiLD: He has been advertised all over -Northern Ontario.

Mr. RiEID: The reason for that is that in his constituency for the Dominion there are four or five provincial constituencies in which they are calling conventions, and it is, of course, usual for the Dominion representative to attend the provincial conventions in his riding.

With reference to the retirement fund, I sympathize very deeply with the men who must be retiring at an age or in a condition when they are not able to continue in the service. It is a hardship in retiring them not to pay even the amounts that they have paid in. The reason for that is

that the Act was passed many yeaxs ago, and it is impossible for the minister or the department to refund anything while the Act remains in its present form. As I understood from the discussion in this House, I think it was the intention of the minister to bring in some Act to remedy the difficulty that the department is in so far as the retirement of employees is -concerned, but I believe the matter has been delayed on account of the absence of the minister during the present session. 1 think if an Act is brought in it may be possible to arrange that it should he retroactive, so as to cover those who have paid in and have left the service. As to arranging for a refund during the recess, I shall take that matter up with the minister and see what can be done to carry , out the suggestion. I do not think I can e-ay anything definite in the matter. I shall certainly -give it my prompt attention, with the minister, as soon as he returns.

Mr. MACDONALD:

The minister will remember a discussion in regard to improving the railway in the east of Nova Scotia and the proposition with reference to the construction of a bridge in Pictou harbour in order to shorten the distance. The Supplementary Estimates contain no provision for that work. The engineers' reports which were brought down and which formed the basis of the previous discussion disclose the fact that the present bridge across the harbour is not in a safe condition. I have just returned from my county and locally there are very great fears as to the condition of the bridges between Pictou and Stellarton. What is proposed to be done with regard to that situation?

-Mr. REID: The last time I spoke with General Manager Gutelius with reference to that diversion of the road I understood they were trying to get the surveys completed and the soundings made with a view to proceeding with the work at the earliest possible moment.

Mr. MACDONALD:

There is no vote.

Mr. REID:

There may be some general vote.

Mr. MACDONALD:

I do not -see anything -big enough for the project.