Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister) moved:

That a special committee consisting of His Honour, the Speaker, Hon. J. C. Elliott, Hon. W. D. Euler, Hon. Ernest Lapointe, Hon. Charles Marcil, Mr. J. Fred Johnston, Mr. D. F. Kellner, Mr. T. W. Bird, Mr. R. B. Hanson, Mr. W. A. Boys, Sir George Perley, Mr. George Black (Yukon) and Mr. Finlay Macdonald (Cape Breton South) be appointed to consider with His Honour the Speaker the advisability of revising the rules of the House, and to report to the House at the present session.

208 COMMONS

27ie late Mr. Flemming, M.P.

Hon. HUGH GUTHRIE (Leader of the Opposition):

In order that the committee

may not overlook the point, I think it would be well if they would take into consideration, in addition to the matters that were considered by the former committee, the method in which divisions are recorded in this chamber. As a rule it takes from twenty-five to thirty-five minutes to record the vote of a House of two hundred and forty-five members, whereas in the parliament of Great Britain that operation is performed, on the average, in eight minutes although the membership of that body is something over six hundred. Now, the conditions here are especially favourable to the adoption of the English system; we have lobbies adjacent which can be utilized, and I trust that the committee which meets this session will consider the suggestion. Motion agreed to.

CARILLON POWER DEVELOPMENT Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister): I desire to lay on the

table copies of orders in council relative to power development on the Ottawa river at Carillon falls, which were requested by the hon. leader of the opposition.

Hon. J. H. KING (East Kootenay):

I beg to report that no regulations have been made under the Health Act or under the Proprietary Patent Medicines Act since the last session of parliament.

THE LATE MR. J. K. FLEMMING Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister): Before the orders of the

day are called may I be permitted, Mr. Speaker, to make mention of a loss this House has sustained, and which at the moment is much in the minds of all present. For the third time, in the brief interval which has elapsed since this parliament assembled, we have been called upon to pause in the proceedings of this House and refer to the death of one of our number. The speech from the throne had just been read when we learned of the death of an hon. member from the province of Nova Scotia. At the beginning of the present week we had occasion to refer, as we reassembled after our brief recess, to the death of another honourable member, this time from Ontario. And to-day, ere the week is over, we are called upon to record the death of yet another of our number, an hon. member from the province of New Brunswick. All three were present with us and took their seats at the opening of the present session, the proceedings of which have

only thus far little more than commenced. I do not believe that in the history of our parliament the House of Commons has been called upon to mourn in so brief a space of time the loss of so many of its members; certainly never before were like losses in its membership sustained upon the very threshold of a new parliament.

The Hon. J. K. Flemming, whose death occurred yesterday, was the member for Carleton-Victoria. He entered this parliament at the general elections of 1925 and was present through the greater part of last session, which, as is well known, was also the last parliament. He was returned again at the general elections of 1926. Though in parliament but a short time he was a conspicuous figure, having some years ago occupied the position of premier of his native province. Though faithful in his attendance in this House, his voice was not heard on more than one or two occasions, partly no doubt because it was his first session in the federal parliament and partly due no doubt also to the ill-health from which he suffered. In the short time he was here, his kindly and pleasing personality won for him many friends among men of all parties.

The Hon. Mr. Flemming was born in Carleton county on April 27, 1868. His life was, for the most part, identified with the county of his birth and the affairs of his native province, of which, in the year 1911, he became the premier. After receiving an education at the common schools, he graduated from the provincial Normal school and followed for a time the profession of teaching. Later he engaged in commercial and industrial pursuits. For a time he was a travelling salesman and merchant; subsequently he became actively interested in lumbering operations and the development of the lumbering industry.

Mr. Flemming was a leader of the Conservative party -in the province of New Brunswick. Practically all his life he took an active interest in public affairs. He encountered at the outset two defeats in his candidature for the legislature of his province. That was in 1895 and 1899, but in a by-election in 1900 he was returned to the legislature; and from that time on his rise to prominence in the affairs of his province w.as unbroken and rapid. He was re-elected to the legislature in 1903 and 1908. In the latter year he became Provincial Secretary and Receiver General in the cabinet of Sir Douglas-then Mr.-Hazen, and on the resignation of Sir Douglas Hazen in 1911, when Mr. Hazen entered the cabinet of Sir Robert Borden, Mr. Flemming succeeded to the premiership

Selkirk Pulpwood, Concessions

of the province; this position he held until the close of 1913, at *which time, suffering from ill-health, he resigned both the premiership and his seat in the legislature.

From 1914 until 1925, when he was nominated to contest Victoria-Carleton in the interests of the Conservative party and was returned as member to this parliament, Mr. Flemming had practically retired from active politics. Whilst to some extent he regained his health and strength, he nevertheless suffered one or two serious illnesses during this period of retirement and hon. members who were with him in this parliament at the last session will recall that he suffered considerably at times through the impairment of his health. When, therefore, it was learned a few days ago that he had again to undergo an operation there were many who greatly feared the outcome.

May I, speaking for hon. members on this side of the House, say that we join with hon. gentlemen opposite in greatly regretting the less which the House has sustained, and which will be particularly felt by my hon. friend the leader of the opposition and those who support him; and that we share with them the sympathy which we hope you, Mr. Speaker, will kindly convey, in the name of the Commons as a whole, to the widow and sons and daughters of our late colleague, who have been so greatly bereaved.

Hon. HUGH GUTHRIE (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of those

who sit on your left in this chamber, may I thank my right hon. friend the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) for the befitting and generous tribute which he has just paid to the memory of one whom we held in great respect, whom we held very dearly in this quarter of the chamber. I did not know the late Mr. Flemming personally until he came here for the first time about two years ago; but one was at once struck with his ability, with his kindheartedness, with his wonderful fund of information in regard to public affairs in this country. What struck me most was that even as far back as a year or two ago he seemed to have himself a realization that he was afflicted with some malady which would in the near or distant future result fatally. He told me last session that his health was rapidly failing and he did not know how long he would be able to continue. But he always exhibited patience, cheerfulness and courage, although he was well aware that the vital forces were daily growing weaker and weaker.

He was a man of outstanding ability, a very able speaker, an excellent debater, a man who had risen to the highest position in his native province, and who, had he been spared in this

chamber, would have proved to be one of the ablest and most useful of our membership. But during all the time that he sat in this chamber I am satisfied that he had a hard fight against the ill health which constantly pursued him. I am sure that the whole chamber will deeply regret his death. We on this side realize that we have suffered a tremendous loss. We have lost a political friend, a personal friend, and a great ally in the Conservative party.

Mr. ROBERT GARDINER (Acadia):

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members who sit in this comer of the chamber, may I say that we desire to be associated with the message of sympathy and condolence to be expressed to the widow and other relatives of the late Mr. Flemming. We particularly in this corner did not know Mr. Flemming very well, but he always seemed to us to be very cheerful and we thought he was in fairly good health. Circumstances have decreed otherwise, and we in this comer of the chamber, as we all must, very much regret his loss. We desire, therefore, to be associated with this message of sympathy.

Mr. L. P. BANCROFT (Selkirk):

I would like to ask the government the following question : Has an application been received by the Department of the Interior for a pulpwood concession sufficient to warrant the building of a pulp and paper mill at Selkirk, Manitoba? If so, what progress has been made in *the negotiations and will the government give an assurance that this application will receive the same consideration as was, or may be, given to the Manitoba Pulp and Paper Company, who recently established a mill at Pine Falls?

Hon. CHARLES STEWART (Minister of the Interior):

The department are not in receipt of-

Mr. SPEAKER:

Such questions are out of order; they ought to be put on the order paper. But if the minister can make a brief answer, I will allow it.

Mr. STEWART (Edmonton):

I am quite prepared to answer. No application has been received for the construction of a mill at Selkirk. We have had an application from the Backus interests for territory in Manitoba for the construction of a mill in the vicinity of Winnipeg; but as that application was based on stumpage dues for all territory north of township 46 in Manitoba and only an offer of twenty cents of a bonus south of the boundary, we did not give it favourable consideration.

Immigration

Mr. J. S. WOODS WORTH (Winnipeg North Centre):

Is the Minist.iv of Immigration aware that agents for the Canadian National Railways are offering guaranteed employment to immigrants to this country and that some of those who have been guaranteed employment are now in absolute destitution in the cities of western Canada? I should like further to ask what can be done in such a matter as this.

Hon. ROBERT FORKE (Minister of Immigration and Colonization):

I have no information of any destitution anywhere in the Dominion at the present time.

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

May I not secure

from the Minister of Immigration an answer to my question? If I may repeat it, I said the Canadian National railway agents were guaranteeing employment to immigrants to this country, that some of these immigrants are now destitute, and I ask what can be done by the Minister of Immigration under these circumstances. I am prepared to offer proof of my statement. I think it is only fair that I should have an answer as to what can be done by the Immigration department when a serious state of affairs such as this exists, when men are coming to this country under an agreement that they are to be provided with work-I have a printed copy here to that effect-and then when they get here become a burden upon our cities.