1. What was the value in dollars of the textile goods imported during the years 1925, 1926, and 1927, from: (a) Czechoslovakia; (b) Esthonia; (c) Hungary; (d) Latvia; (e) Lithuania; (f) Portugal; (g) Roumania and the Serb, Croat, and Slovene kingdom?

2. What is the itemized list of such imports, showing values?

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

My hon. friend on April

27 asked the following question:

Whether or not application has been made by the Beauharnois power interests to have determined the principles upon which the waters of the St. Lawrence are to be diverted from their present channel into a canal.

I replied on that date that I did not know of such an application but that I should not wish my reply to be regarded as final. When my hon. friend asked the question I did not know just what he meant by the word "principles," Whether he was referring to legal principles or engineering principles.

Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Leader of the Opposition):

Did I use the word "principles" at all?

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Yes. The

question reads:

.... to have determined the principles upon which the waters of the St. Lawrence are to diverted.

I do not know whether my hon. friend refers to legal principles or engineering principles.

Mr. BENNETT:

I attach no importance

',o the word "principles." If the question reads ' upon what conditions," that will be quite satisfactory. What I desired to know was

whether the question of the diversion of the water was to be referred to the International Joint Commission.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Possibly the

reply that was given in the house on March 22 to the hon. member for East Toronto (Mr. Ryckman) answers the question my hon. friend has in mind. The answer was given by the Secretary of State to this effect:

Applications have been received of the Beauharnois Light, Heat and Power Company and are of date March 17, 1927, and January 17. 1928.

Preliminary plans have been submitted to the Department of Public Works and to the Department of Railways and Canals.

That I think is all that I can state to my hon. friend beyond this, that I am informed that no further communications have been received from the Beauharnois interests.

Mr. BENNETT:

I may say to the Prime Minister that my question was whether or not an application had been made to the International Joint Commission as distinguished from the government, or referred by* the government to that tribunal. That was what the question had reference to and not to the question asked by the hon. member for East Toronto.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

That does not appear according to the question.

Mr. BENNETT:

Does it not refer to the

International Joint Commission?

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

No reference

is made to the commission.

Mr. BENNETT:

I used the words "International Joint Commission" in my reference. I did not look at Hansard afterwards.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

That evidently missed the reporter. I am not aware of any reference having been made but I will make inquiries.

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

The day before yesterday

my hon. friend asked the following question:

I was going to ask whether the attention of the Secretary of State for External Affairs (Mr. Mackenzie King) has been directed to threatened proceedings against the Asbestos Corporation of Canada and the United States, whether there was any correspondence, and what action it was proposed to take.

International Peace

I am advised that a formal communication has been received by the Department of External Affairs from the solicitors of the Asbestos Corporation of Canada giving particulars as to a pending suit in the United States, but that this communication does not request any formal action on the part of the government. I might say, however, that there appear to be some important matters to be considered in connection with this litigation and the Departments of Justice and External Affairs are conferring on the question at the present time.

Mr. THOMAS CANTLEY (Pictou):

Mr. Speaker, I asked for information in regard to the commission appointing Charles Crockett, of New Glasgow, a commissioner to investigate charges of political partisanship against government employees in the province of Nova Scotia; also the names, evidence and report of the commissioner in each case, and so on. May I ask the minister in charge when I may expect a reply to this question, as it is now six weeks since the question was asked?