Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister):

I beg to lay on the table of the house a summary of proceedings and appendices of the Imperial conference of 1930, and to move in that regard:

__ That 1,000 copies be printed in English and 700 copies in French of the summary of proceedings and appendices of the Imperial conference of 1930; and that standing order 64 be suspended in relation thereto.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

May I ask

my right hon. friend if these documents have already been printed, and if so, if they will be distributed immediately?

Mr. BENNETT:

The usual custom has been followed. They have been printed but not distributed. They have been distributed in England for some time, as my right hon. friend knows, but I understand that the rule here is that they should not be distributed until parliament has given its formal sanction to the motion. Once the motion is passed, copies will be distributed without further delay.

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) moved:

That an humble address be presented to His Majesty to express the deep concern of this house at the loss which His Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal; and to condole, with His Majesty and to assure His Majesty that this house participates with the most affectionate and dutiful attachment in whatever concerns the feelings and interests of His Majesty.

He said: Mr. Speaker, death takes its toll from the family circle of the King or from his humblest subject, alike from the ruler and the ruled. Sometimes we are fain to forget that those who sit on thrones have the same human impulses, emotions and sufferings as fall to the lot of all mankind. On this occasion we are reminded that our sovereign king, who is the Crown to us, has suffered a great bereavement through the death of his beloved sister. It is fitting at this time that we should record our deep concern at the loss he has sustained and the sorrow he has endured.

4

Tributes to Deceased Members

That touch of nature that makes the whole world kin, the hand of death, affords us the opportunity to express our concern not only in this present sorrow but in all that affects the welfare and happiness of our King, who is the sign and symbol of that single authority which binds together a quarter of the world's surface into what we know as the British empire.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Leader of the Opposition):

I support and

am pleased to have the privilege of seconding the motion for an address to His Majesty expressive of the sympathy of this house in his recent bereavement. I have nothing to add to what the right hon. the Prime Minister, in his capacity as leader of this house, has just said. I am sure he has expressed the views of all of us not only appropriately but also felicitously. On behalf of the official opposition which I represent may I say we wish to be associated with those sentiments expressive of sympathy to His Majesty in the loss of his beloved sister.

Mr. ROBERT GARDINER (Acadia):

On behalf of the Independent group in this house may I be permitted to join with the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and all members of the house in expressing to His Majesty our regret at the loss of his sister. We share His Majesty's sense of loss and we desire to convey to His Majesty an expression of our deep sympathy.

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, sometimes I have thought that the melancholy duty which devolves upon the leader of the House of Commons at the opening of parliament is one which he would like to be spared. We are reminded that since we last met two of our members have been called to their long homes. From this part of the house we have lost the member for East Hamilton, Colonel George Septimus Rennie; on the other side of the house my right hon. friend and his supporters have lost the services of the member for Three Rivers-'St. Maurice, the late Arthur Bettez. Colonel Rennie was a Canadian, born and educated in this country. He proceeded abroad to complete his medical education and while abroad he obtained that knowledge which enabled him thereafter to 'become one of the famous practitioners in that part of Canada in which he resided. He was always interested

in military matters and in fact was associated with the batteries of artillery in the city of Hamilton. In the service of the artillery he gained the rank of commanding officer. At the outbreak of the war he offered his services to his king and country and proceeded to England where he was in charge of an area for some time. Later he proceeded to France where he served until the close of the war. Three times he was mentioned in despatches, and he retired bearing the rank of colonel. I am told by those who are well able to judge that the services which he rendered in his capacity as medical officer and his wide knowledge and experience and very superior training in the great universities of the old land, both in Great Britain and continental Europe, enabled him to discharge the onerous duties which devolved upon him with a skill equalled by few and to the complete satisfaction of those with whom he served. At any rate his services were so recognized and his courage was indicated by the three despatches I have mentioned. Returning to Canada he once more interested himself in the artillery, with which he had been associated in his pre-war days, and continued to .take an active interest not only in the welfare of that section of the militia but also in the public affaire of the community in which he lived. He was not often heard in this house. His experiences in the war made him think sometimes that there was something unreal in parliamentary procedure as contrasted with his observations and experiences abroad. He loved this country however and was profoundly interested in its progress and welfare. In his passing we on this side of the house have lost a loyal and devoted colleague and his constituents a faithful and conscientious representative.

I offer my sympathy to the right hon. gentleman and his followers upon the death of Mr. Bettez. He was also a Canadian. His interest in his younger days in municipal institutions is familiar to those who have watched the progress of the constituency of Three Rivers-St. Maurice. I learned that Mr. Bettez had a very strong hold upon the feelings of the people whom he represented in this parliament. He had a personal following which was not measured by his political support, and those peoples among whom he lived moved and had his being have lost a very firm and devoted friend. His party has lost a most charming colleague; he was not often heard but his interest was always great in matters touching the life of his municipality, educational institutions and the welfare of his country. We sorrow with those who -are left behind.

We believe however that those who have passed from us have not lived in vain and

Tributes to Deceased Members

that the influence of their activities will continue to be felt in the promotion of the interests of our country.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, the

right hon. the Prime Minister has just given expression to feelings which I am sure will be shared by all hon. members of this house. We who constitute this parliament come from many parts of a large Dominion. The fact is, however, comparatively we are a small company with the result that when one of our number is taken away we feel the loss individually and collectively. There are few places in which there is borne in upon us more frequently or impressively the uncertainty and the brevity of our allotted span than in these halls of parliament where from day to day we contend with each other in debate and then in a moment become silent and united in our sympathy as we think of those whose voices we shall hear no more. It were well were we also reminded of the charity which we do well at all times to accord to those with whom our lot may in different ways and places be cast.

The two hon. members who have passed away since we were last assembled here had been in parliament about the same time, but it was for but a short period. The member for East Hamilton, the late Colonel Rennie, was returned to parliament at the general elections of 1926, and the late Arthur Bettez, member for Three Rivers-St. Maurice, was returned at the general elections of the year preceding. The fact that they were in the House of Commons for but about five years all told doubtless is the reason why they were less known to the public through their activities in parliament than through their activities in other spheres of public service, and particularly their services to the communities in which they lived, where the appreciation of their interest in civic and public affairs won for them the recognition which brought them to this house as the representatives of their respective constituencies.

Colonel Rennie, as the Prime Minister has just said, held a foremost place in his profession as a physician and a surgeon. He was also prominent as a soldier. The services which he rendered alike to his profession and to the army during the period of the Great war won him real distinction. He had close and intimate friends among members on both sides of the house, and I extend to the right hon. Prime Minister and to those who are associated with him my very sincere sympathy in the loss of one who was a personal friend and a loyal supporter of the party to which they belong.

May I also thank the Prime Minister for the sympathy which he has extended to myself and those of us who belong to the Liberal party in the loss which we have sustained through the passing of the late Arthur Bettez. His loss will be felt very much on this side, but by no one more than by myself, to whom at all times he accorded a close friendship and a very loyal support. Mr. Bettez's activities were mostly associated with the city of Three Rivers in which he was born and where he lived throughout his life. He was in 1913 elected an alderman and held that position for nearly a decade. In 1923 and again in 1925 he was elected mayor and continued to hold that office until the time of his death. His capacity for civic affairs and his experience and interest in them caused him to be chosen as vice-president of the Canadian Union of Municipalities. He was returned to parliament three times, on the last two occasions by very large majorities.

As the Prime Minister has said, Mr. Bettez owed the position he achieved in municipal-federal politics very much to his own personality and to the deep and abiding interest which he had in the well-being of the working classes whose representative he was in a very true sense alike in municipal, provincial-federal fields. His political battles were far from easy ones but they won to his side a large personal as well as political following. _ He will be remembered by all who knew him as a fearless fighter, and sturdy champion of the people to whose cause he gave much in the way of personal sacrifice.

I am sure, Mr. Speaker, that you will convey to those who have been bereaved, to Mrs. Rennie and to Madame Bette?, and also the son and daughter of the latter, the sympathy which this house extends to them.

Before resuming my seat may I be permitted to add, Mr. Speaker, how pleased we all are that Your Honour has fully recovered from the indisposition from which unfortunately you had been suffering until within the past day or two. Also may I say that I am sure that it is deeply gratifying to members in all parts of the house that two of our number who during the period of the recess had had very serious illnesses are being restored to complete health and strength. There was general delight yesterday to see the hon. member for Quebec East (Mr. Lapointe), the ex-Minister of Justice in his seat. May I say I am sure all are equally gratified to know that the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Mr. Stevens) is progressing very favourably, and that we hope that it will not be long before he has

Representation Act

fully recovered and is again able to take his accustomed part in the proceedings of this house.

Mr. ROBERT GARDINER (Acadia):

Mr. Speaker, it is always distressing that at the beginning of each session we have to record the death of one of our members. May I say that I got to know the late Colonel Rennie very well indeed when as a member of the Conservative party he sat in opposition on this side of the house. Colonel Rennie was seated close to our group and of the two members whose loss we regret to-day, I knew him better probably because of that circumstance. We regret the loss of Colonel Rennie and Mr. Bettez and join with the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in expressing to the relatives of these deceased members our sympathy in their bereavement.

Mr. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, while there is no formal motion, may I take it that you will convey to the widow of the late Colonel Rennie and to the widow and children of the late Mr. Bettez this expression of the sympathy of the members of this house in their great loss and bereavement?

Mr. SPEAKER:

The wishes of the house

as expressed by the right hon. Prime Minister will be carried out.