Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

Not the order in council. I have not seen the order in council at all.

Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

I was under the impression that it had been laid upon the table of the House.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

In connection with thi3 motion, I would like to call the attention of my right hon. friend to the fact that it has been stated in the press that the remuneration to the Director of the National Service has been fixed at $250 per month, in addition to travelling expenses. I also saw an intimation that the Director General, the hon. member for Calgary (Mr. R.* B. Bennett) would not be paid any salary. I understand, however, that there is upon the commission Mr. Green, one of the members for British Columbia, and I think my right hon. friend will agree with me that it will be a violation of the Independence of Parliament Act for him to be paid a salary. I would also call attention to the fact that one of those appointed to the commission is Mr. Tilley, who .is a representative of the city of St. John in the provincial legislature. The provincial statute expressly provides that for any member of the provincial legislature of New Brunswick to accept an appointment under the Dominion Government to which a salary is 'attached is a violation of the Act and Tenders his seat vacant. I do not knpw whether the attention of the Tight hon. gentleman has been called to this matter, but I thought it my duty to mention it. I have no objection to Mr. Tilley acting as a director, but, of course, he could not act as director and still continue to be a member of the legislature.

Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

My attention

has not been directed to the New Brunswick .statute, nor am I informed as to the fact whether. Mr. Tilley is being paid remuneration for his services or not. Mr. Bennett is receiving no remuneration; he accepted the appointment distinctly on the condition that he would accept nothing for bis services. The same is true of Mr. Green, who is the other gentleman to whom the hon. member refers. I shall make inquiry about the New Brunswick statute.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

The right hon. gentleman will find it in the Act relating to the members of the legislature.

Sir WILFRID LAURIER moved:

For a copy of all correspondence with the Imperial Government on the subject of sending to France rails and other railway material taken from existing Canadian railway lines, giving copies of orders in council and a statement of all action taken in regard to same.

He said: Some time ago a despatch appeared in the newspapers to the effect that the Canadian Government had been asked by the British authorities whether Canadia could dispense with rails npw in use, that they might be supplied for the construction of railway lines in France. I do not know whether there has been such correspondence, but in case there may have been, I move for dt.

There was, naturally, some correspondence on the subject; and the Canadian Government, after consultation with the several railway companies of the country and with the officers of the Intercolonial railway, were prepared to take certain action. This correspondence took place during my absence, therefore I am not wholly familiar with it; but I believe that in the end the extent of the requirements -was considerably cut down, as compared with what was stated at first. I do not know that I have seen all this correspondence myself, and I cannot speak as to the nature of it all, but the right hon. gentleman (Sir Wilfrid Laurier) will understand that some of the information as to the necessity for the rails would, possibly be of a character which would make it inexpedient to lay the correspondence on the table of the House. Should that be so, there would be no objection to submitting the secret -correspondence to my right hon. friend.

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

I do not call for anything of a confidential nature. W-hat I wish to know especially is the action taken toy the Government in answer to -the inquiries made. .

Mr. OLIVER:

Some weeks ago a very

extraordinary announcement appeared in the public press-in the absence of the Prime Minister, as the right hon. gentleman (Sir Robert Borden) has just -stated- to the effect that the rails upon- certain railway lines in the Northwest would be taken up and sent to France. The newspapers stated very clearly that the Government was entering upon a definite policy, and that policy appeared to be the tearing up of rails

j

on established railway lines in the western provinces, and particularly in northern Alberta. Of course, I do not assume that the Government has control of the press of the country to prevent such an-ouncements being -made; but I wish to say to the Government that when such announcements -are made so -publicly and so definitely as in this case they have a most disturbing influence upon the public mind and lead rto very important conclusions having a direct bearing upon the business of the localities affected. It was announced very definitely that the rails on the Canadian Northern west of Edmonton for a distance -of over two hundred miles were to be taken up. At that time contracts were in process of being let for taking out railway ties in *the wooded country through which this line, in -part, runs. I am unable now to -say whether these contracts were cancelled because o-f this announcement, but I am in a position to say that th-e question- whether they should be cancelled or not was seriously considered because of that -announcement, and a general dis-arrangeemnt o-f business was caused along the whole line. In the newspaper pre-ss there seemed to be a general consensus- o-f opinion th-at there were too many railroads in the Northwest and particularly in northern Alberta, -and that it would be entirely in the public interest to Ih-ave these railways taken up. I have taken occasion -several times to -draw the attention of the House to the fact that in northern- Alberta, so far from there being too many; there a-ro railroads there the grade of which has been completed for several year's, running through settled parts of the country, where the people are in desperate need of railway communication, -and the excuse is made by the railway-this -same Canadian Northern Railway 'Company-that they cannot get the rails to lay upon these lines, the money for the grading of which has been spent. It certainly -strikes the people in our part of the country -as entirely peculiar ' that, afteT the money has been voted, after guarantees have been given- by the provincial Government in the one case -and by the Dominion Government in the other in the full belief that these railroads were needed, and the railroads -having been completed in the case of the Dominion guarantees and partially completed in the case of tba provincial guarantees, the proposal should he sent broadcast through the country that the rails on the lines under Dominion guarantee should be taken up and the lines partially built under provincial

guarantee should remain without rails being placed upon them, on the general assumption that there are too many railroads in the Northwest at the present time and that the public money had been wasted in giving railroad accommodation to the people of that part of the country. I take this opportunity of pointing out to the Government how serious the business effect of such a report must necessarily be, and I can hardly think that the Government was doing right in permitting such a report to become current without promptly contradicting it if it had no foundation. In regard to the superabundance of railroads, there are people to-day in the constituency immediately to the east of that which I represent who have been living for years 100 and 120 miles from railway communication. I say that in such circumstances the idea that seems to prevail that there are too many railroads in that country is entirely mistaken.

Hon. FRANK COCHRANE (Minister of Railways):

The first request that came from the British Government for rails was for about 1,000 miles, and it was thought then that we should do anything in our power in order to help the British Government during the war. The intention in taking up the rails in the western part of Canada was to take" them from 'stretches where the Grand Trunk Pacific railway and the Canadian Northern railway parallel. It would certainly have been no hardship to take those up. When, owing to the difficulty of securing transportation overseas, the request was cut down to 300 miles, we decided to take the rails up at divisional 3 p.m. points of the Transcontinental railway, and that is what has

been done.

Mr. GRAHAM:

That would be sidings?

Mr. COCHRANE:

At divisional points, the yards.

Hon. CHARLES MARCIL:

My attention has been caked to a newspaper cutting dealing with the case of the Hon. Dr. Beland, the h,on. member for Beauce. I would like to know if there is anything new in his case. This newspaper points out that two Germans, one Baron von Polenz and another named Mundheim, have been liberated from internment camps in Canada. I would

ask Whether the release of these men would not have been a good opportunity for effecting an exchange in the case of Dr. Beland who, as we all know, has been a prisoner of war in Germany for about two years.

Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

I am not familiar with the circumstances attending the alleged releases from the internment camps, but I do know that not only this Government, but the British Government have made every possible effort to secure the release or exchange of the Hon. Dr. Beland. In every instance I think I have made my Tight hon. friend the leader of the Opposition acquainted with what has been done. I have sent to him, and also to the hon. member for Rouvdlle '(Mr. Lemieux), and to another gentleman who wias a very intimate friend of Dr. Beland, the correspondence which from time to time has taken place. The difficulty with regard to this case, as well as to other cases, is that when very strong efforts are made to secure the liberation or the exchange of any person who is held by the German military authorities, that circumstance in itself seems to strengthen the determination of those authorities not to liberate or to exchange. I shall make inquiry of the Minister pf Justice as to the matter referred to by my hon. friend.

Mr. MARCIL:

Can the Prime Minister ^complete his answer by saying who has control of the release of men interned in Canadian camps?

SIR ROBERT BORDEN: The Minister

of Justice. All the internment operations are under his direction by authority of an order in council passed for the purpose.