Mr. J. E. ARMSTRONG (Lambton East) moved:

Mr. LAPOINTE:

Is this recommended by the Committee on Railways, Canals and Telegraph lines, or is it a motion from my hon. friend without having the support of the committee?

Mr. ARMSTRONG (Lambton):

I understand that the committee were in favour of reporting in the way that I have stated in the motion. .

Mr. LAPOINTE:

Of refunding the

fees? Was the question of refunding the. fees considered in the committee?

Mr. ARMSTRONG:

It is the usual

course to refund the fees when a Bill is not reported upon favourably in the Senate.

Mr. CURRIE:

Always.

Mr. J. A. ETHIER (Laval-Two Mountains) :

I beg to present petition from the strawberry growers of Laval-Two Mountains, asking that Inspection and Sale Act, section 326, paragraphs (a) and (b), be suspended and paragraph (g) of said section be enforced for 1921, and the use of boxes for berries, commonly called " short " be permitted.

On the Orders of the Day:

Mr. ETHIER:

As a consequence of the petition which I have just presented, I beg leave to move the adjournment of the House under rule 39 for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely the suspension of section 326, subsections (a) and (b) of the Inspection and Sale Act respecting the sizes of boxes manufactured and approved for sale in Canada and for packing berries for sale in Canada.

Mr. SPEAKER:

It may be open to question whether this is a subject that properly comes within the letter and spirit of rule 39, but without giving a decision upon that point at the moment, I wish to say to the hon. member that I cannot entertain the motion to-day for the reason that probably the House will be moved into Committee of Supply, and, that motion being debatable, the hon. member will have ample opportunity to present the matter to the House. Therefore, it would not be proper at this stage to submit a motion of this character. I shall look into the merits of the motion in the meantime, and if the hon. member is within his rights under rule 39 in submitting a motion of this character, and if a motion to go into Committee of Supply is not made, I shall at a later stage decide on the merits whether the hon. member may proceed.

Mr. ETHIER:

I bow to your ruling, Mr. Speaker. My intention was not to provoke a controversial discussion. This is an important matter, and I had intended to submit the motion to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture before the House opened this afternoon, but I could not reach them. I am sure that when the matter is submitted to the Minister of Agriculture on the motion for Supply he will agree with me that the matter is urgent.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING (leader of the Opposition) :

May I ask the Prime Minister why the expedition of the Arctic to the north lands has been cancelled?

Right Hon. ARTHUR MEIGHEN (Prime Minister) :

The Government did contemplate an expedition into Northern Canada, as we describe it, to the islands of the Arctic this year, for purposes connected with the ensuring of Canada's claim to that territory, but since the appropriation was inserted in the Estimates for that purpose-and I believe it has passed- there is reason to believe that no great danger would ensue if the expedition were deferred until at least next year. As a consequence, it has been decided so to defer. In so far as any expenditure has been incurred, I am told that little, if any, will really be lost, because it has gone for supplies, and the like, which can be used.