Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

The practice that has been observed in the past will be con. tinued. It has been the practice in the past, I think, to include all the days that are referred to by my hon. friends on the other side of the House. These days will continue to be observed in the future in the way in which they have been observed in the past. The sole purpose accomplished by the Bill, even as amended by the Senate, is to take two of these holidays out of i the status of custom and convention and transfer them to the status of law.

Mr. BUREAU:

If I understand lightly, there are certain feasts which affect Catholics and which are enumerated in the interpretation clause of the Revised Statutes under the woid "holidays." The Prime Minister states that those who profess the Catholic religion hereafter will not be affected by these restrictions which are made in the Civil Service Act. Is my interpreta-\ tion correct when I say that Epiphany, Ascension Day, All Saints' Day, and the feast of the Immaculate Conception are not included and that it is not intended to en-

I force upon people who do not belong to the Roman Catholic Church the observance of these feasts, but that those who belong to the Catholic religion shall be at liberty to observe them according to the laws of their church without any deduction of pay if the observance should take any of the time which they ought to give to the \ public service?

Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

I thought I had made myself perfectly plain a great many times.

Mr. BELAND:

It is right that my hon. friend (Mr. Bureau) should have the answer because he has put the question more clearly than I did.

Sir ROBERT BORDEN:

I have said two or three times that so far as these days of religious observance and religious duty are concerned, the whole matter has rested on custom and convention. It would have been far better, I think, if this had not been disturbed by the Senate. The effect of our action is simply to transfer from custom and convention two days which formerly depended solely thereon. These two days are transferred to the list of public holidays which must be observed in the Civil Service as a matter of law. I would have preferred to have had the matter left as it originally was; that is to say, resting upon custom and convention, but bon. gentlemen will understand that we are most anxious to avoid the defeat of this Bill and that there is a possibility, and even a strong probability, that it will be defeated unless we concur in this amendment. I hope hon. gentlemen will accept the assurance on behalf of the Government that this custom and convention which has prevailed in the past will continue in the future.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

I would have liked to have had from the right hon. gentleman an expression of opinion on the other amendment excluding the 'Senate officials from the operation of the Civil Service Act.

Mr. SPEAKER:

That has been disposed of.

* Sir ROBERT BORDEN: We declined to concur.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

Very well.

Sir SAM HUGHES:

What is the custom in the Quebec legislature-are these holidays observed there?

Mr. BUREAU:

Yes.

Sir SAM HUGHES:

I would suggest that if there are to be any holidays observed, the "17th of Ireland" and the twelfth of July might very properly be observed.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

The motion can pass "on division."

Motion agreed to on division, and Senate amendment read a second time and concurred in.

Mr. ARCHAMBAULT:

What is the nature of the amendments?

Mr. GUTHRIE:

The Senate has undertaken to strike out two of the clauses of the Bill to amend the Bankruptcy Act which this House passed this session. The first is in relation to the fees and remuneration of trustees under the Act. Under the original Act these fees were limited to five per cent of the estate. Under the Act which this House passed this session, power was given to increase that amount with the consent of the inspectors or of the court. The Senate has refused to pass that amendment and has stricken it out from the Bill. The second amendment refers to solicitors' costs. The provision in the Act which passed this House last session was that the costs of solicitors, attorneys and the like should not exceed .five per cent of the estate. Under the amendment which was made during the present session these costs were to be taxed

according to a tariff to be fixed by general rule. The Senate has likewise stricken out that amendment. In my opinion these two clauses improve the Bill, ,and I would not like to say on behalf of the Government that they have ben abandoned. At the same time I do not think any difficulty will come through the action of the Senate during the next six or eight months; and I think as an experiment-indeed the whole Act is experimental-we may as well con- . cur in these amendments at the present time. If, however, it becomes necessary at a future time the Government may seek the opportunity to restore the two clauses in question.