Mr. BENNETT:

It was asserted, rightly

or wrongly, that to have more than one office in a province complicated the situation very greatly with respect to registration and deregistration of the very bonds that were mentioned and that, therefore, there should be only one in each province. In the province of Quebec, where very large business is transacted, it was suggested that there should be a transfer office at the city of Quebec as well as at the city of Montreal, and I recall all these discussions that took place. The banks, of course, would like to have one at every second door, but that is no reason why they should have one for their convenience and why this Dominion should go to the expense of establishing a second receiver general's office in any one province. If my hon. friend will pardon me I will take him through a transaction of this kind. The banks have a certain amount of legal tender which they carry and there are certain provisions with respect to the redemption of notes, but very few redemptions take place in outlying sections. All the banks do is to go to the receivers general's office when they require legal tender and they get it in bills of $500, $1,000, $10,000, $1 or $2; but, generally speaking, the banks carry them in their own treasury. Desirous as I am of assisting business, I cannot see how we are going to do that by going to the expense of establishing another receiver general's office. I think I know exactly why this is being done. It is for the purpose of giving a little

Electricity Inspection Act

more convenience for some people who are affected and not for the business community at all. As surely as you put it on the statute books, the next week you will be called upon to implement your promise and then you will have to have another building, a deputy of the receiver general and another staff; you will have to put your silver and gold in that office and you will then have two offices that will serve no greater purpose than one. If the minister will go down to the receiver general's office in the city of Montreal he will see exactly what I mean. I have no doubt he has followed these transactions himself from day to day. They are very simple.

Mr. TOLMIE:

It is no serious trouble to

do business in the city of Victoria. The whole province of British Columbia does business there; it is the capital of the province. If we listened to all these demands, probably we should have to establish four or five more capitals throughout the country. There is an excellent steamboat service with the island, with two lines of boats running every day, boats as fine as any afloat. The people are accustomed to do their business there, and it is no more trouble to carry on this business in Victoria than if you had branches established elsewhere. In addition, I am quite sure that the moment you create this precedent in British Columbia you will have numerous demands of the same kind from olher provinces.

Mr. GUTHRIE:

While this office is called a branch office of the Department of Finance for the redemption of Dominion notes, is it not an office also for the issue of Dominion notes to the banks? Can the banks go to the receiver general's office and obtain Dominion currency?

Mr. ROBB:

Yes, under the Finance Act,

if they require money quickly they can get it there.

Mr. GUTHRIE:

They can get it from the receiver general's office?

Mr. ROBB:

Yes.

Mr. GUTHRIE:

And when they obtain

it, it is in the form of Dominion notes?

Mr. ROBB:

Legals. We have made such

progress to-day, Mr. Chairman, that I do not want to delay the business of the house at all. I am simply bringing this measure forward at the request of the business men of British Columbia.

56103-24J

Mr. BENNETT:

The business men, or

the banks?

Mr. ROBB:

Yes, representing the business

men of that province; and they say to me that Vancouver now has become one of the largest shipping ports in the world open all the year round. But if the representatives of British Columbia in this house do not want this additional service I will let the matter stand. I will not say that I will wipe it off the order paper. I move that the committee rise and report progress.

Mr. BENNETT:

Edmonton wants an

office too.

Mr. GUTHRIE:

So does Guelph.

Progress reported.

Mr. BENNETT:

Will the minister explain this resolution?

Mr. MALCOLM:

During the past twenty years, as every member of the house knows, remarkable progress has been made in all electrical equipment, and the terms used in the Electricity Inspection Act of 1907 do not cover all the equipment in use to-day for the measurement of electricity. It is therefore proposed to revise the act. It is algo proposed to amend the sections relating to the officers, to bring them under the terms of the Civil Service Act.- It is proposed also to eliminate a number of sections that are considered to be beyond the power of the Dominion parliament, also to eliminate some sections that are obsolete. When we consider the bill section by section I am sure the house will realize that a good deal of the old bill is obsolete due to the rapid changes that have taken place' in all things electrical.

Mr. BENNETT:

What about standards?

Canteen Funds

Mr. MALCOLM:

Electrical standards are provided for in the bill. .

Mr. BENNETT:

Where are they to be formed?

Mr. MALCOLM:

We hope it will be here.