Mr. O. R. GOULD (Assiniboia):

The morning newspapers make note of the fact that there has been a severe electrical storm involving loss of life and considerable damage by hail in the western country. Hon. gentlemen laugh. It is no laughing matter when people lose their lives as the result of a severe storm. I rise to ask if the Government has received any more definite information than was contained in this morning's papers concerning the loss of life and property in that storm.

Hon. CHARLES STEWART (Minister of the Interior) :

If my hon. friend is referring to the storm in western Canada, we have no information other than the press reports.

Mr. T. G. McBRIDE (Cariboo):

Has the Prime Minister any information with respect to the Chinese immigrants I inquired about yesterday?

Hon. CHARLES STEWART (Minister of the Interior):

I have made inquiry and our information is that none have landed. However, I learn from another source that there are supposed to be that number on board ship.

Mr. GERMAN:

I would like somebody

to explain why it is necessary to create a harbour commission at Trenton. There is not water enough at the present time for a vessel of any size to reach that harbour. Coming through the channel from the west there is only twelve feet of navigation. From the east up through the bay of Quinta there is certainly not fourteen feet of navigation, and the channel is a very crooked one. I cannot understand why it is necessary to have a harbour commission at Trenton, and I would like to have an explanation as to why this bill is necessary from the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. I know something about the harbour of Trenton- having been there many times in my boyhood days, and on a number of occasions since then-and to my mind it is absolutely unessential to have a harbour commission there.

Mr. LAPOINTE:

I can only refer my

hon. friend to the hon. member for West Hastings (Mr. Porter). He has succeeded in convincing me and I hope he will convince my hon. friend from Welland of the necessity for this legislation.

Mr. PORTER:

I am afraid it is so

long since my hon. friend from Welland (Mr. German) was familiar with conditions at the port of Trenton that he has either forgotten what they were or he has not been keeping track of what has been going

fMr. Lapointe.]

on there in recent years. Trenton is at the southern terminus of the Trent canal where that canal enters the bay of Quinte, the latter being the outlet for shipping from either direction. Trenton is a town with a population of about 6,000 people, and a very Large amount of shipping passes through the port, apart altogether from what may be developed by the use of the Trent canal.

Mr. GERMAN:

Can my hon. friend

give me any figures as to the extent of the shipping?

Mr. PORTER:

I will give the information in a general way; I cannot at the moment offer any exact details. The freight that enters the port of Trenton consists of material brought in from the United States to supply the large creosote works there, and the fertilizer works that are now manufacturing fertilizer and creosote in Trenton. There is also a large amount of coal shipped to the port of Trenton for distribution to various sections of Midland, Ontario. In addition a very large lumber industry is about to be developed there. A company has been formed with a capitalization of about $5,000,000. They have acquired the timber limits of other companies in the vicinity containing large quantities of timber and it is their intention to manufacture this timber into lumber in the town of Trenton and ship it from the port. Now Trenton heretofore had only owned a small portion of the dockage or wharf privileges at Trenton but recently, by expropriation proceedings, have acquired the whole or major part of these privileges. That involved the expenditure of a large sum of money on their part. The dock and wharf facilities have been acquired by the municipality for the purpose of enabling them to develop the harbour as far as they can. They will necessarily be put, to considerable expense in maintaining the harbour but, as conditions now are, will be unable to collect any harbour dues whatever, or any revenue enabling them to maintain the harbour in proper condition. The present bill is for the purpose of enabling the municipality to collect such dues as will afford them means to improve and keep the harbour in a proper state of repair. As to the number of vessels that trade at the port of Trenton, I may say that the same boats trade at Trenton that trade at the port of Belleville, which has been a government harbour, and under a commission, for a period of from twenty to twenty-

Trenton Harbour

five years. The same class of boats and of freight passes through the port of Trenton as through the harbour of Belleville. I may say that although the town of Treniton is considerably smaller than the city of Belleville, yet the tonnage which passes through the former is very nearly equal to that which passes through the latter. This legislation will not entail the expenditure of a single dollar on the part of the Government, it is only a matter of protection dn the interest of the municipality of Trenton to enable them to maintain the harbour in good condition and improve it whenever found necessary. The depth of water in the harbour is from fourteen to sixteen feet, which is ample to accommodate any and all boats passing through.

Mr. GERMAN:

Does my hon. friend

say that there is fourteen feet navigation in either direction?

Mr. PORTER:

Coming by way of the

Murray canal there would not be fourteen feet, but in the other direction. Through the Narrows at the port of Deseronto there is a depth of fourteen feet or more. There was that depth last year and the year before, when the water was very low as I am advised.

Mr. GERMAN:

I would ask the Minister of Marine and Fisheries if there is any intention on the part of the Government to spend a dollar of the public money on the Trenton harbour?

Mr. LAPOINTE:

Not a dollar that I

know of.

Mr. GERMAN:

As a result of this

legislation I am afraid we shall see a demand in future for the expenditure of public money on Trenton harbour. Notwithstanding what the hon. member for West Hastings has said there is not a sufficient depth of water in the approaches to Trenton harbour to permit navigation by a vessel larger than a few hundred tons, and to construct a channel navigable for larger vessels through the Murray canal or the bay of Quinte from Kingston will need a very large expenditure.

Mr. PORTER:

Let me tell my hon.

friend that the sum of $100,000 has already been expended in improving Trenton harbour and the approaches thereto, so that what my hon. friend is apprehensive of has already taken place.