Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

May I ask

my right hon. friend whether he understands the government will be free to go into Trade and Commerce estimates to-morrow if they wish to do so?

Mr. BENNETT:

My understanding is that we cannot take up the estimates of any new department to-morrow beyond those of Trade and Commerce. External Affairs, and Public Works, and that only one External Affairs item will be taken up namely that respecting the League of Nations, after which we shall take up Trade and Commerce. If we do not decide to continue until we finish that, then we shall take up an item on Public Works, the estimates of which are nearly all through.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I do not think my right hon. friend is entitled to proceed with Trade and Commerce estimates tomorrow. I shall read the resolution under which we proceeded to-day. It is to be found in the Votes and Proceedings of May 6, as follows:

That the debate on the motion of the Minister of Finance that "Mr. Speaker do now

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Business oj the House

leave the chair for the house to resolve itself again into committee of supply" and the proposed amendment thereto of Mr. Brown, be resumed on Thursday, May 7th, instant, and that standing order 28 be suspended on that day in relation thereto.

After debate thereon, the question being put on the said motion, it was agreed to.

The suspension therefore of standing order 28 is applicable only to to-day, May 7; it does not apply to to-morrow. Standing order 28 reads:

On Thursdays and Fridays when the order of the day is called for the house to go into committee of supply, or of ways and means, Mr. Speaker shall leave the chair without putting any question, provided that, except by the unanimous consent of the house, the estimates of each department shall be first taken up on a day other than Thursday or Friday.

The house has given unanimous consent to take up what we have done to-day with respect to to-day, but it has not given unanimous consent to take up the estimates of the Department of Trade and Commerce on a Friday or on any subsequent Thursday without having them taken up in the regular way in the first instance.

Mr. BENNETT:

We cannot reprobate and approbate at the same time, I think Lord Eldon-once said. What has happened is that we have made to-day a Tuesday for the purpose of going into supply, and Trade and Commerce is the item which we have considered, which we could not have considered otherwise than by consent of the house. It having been so considered and the house having further consented that External Affairs be taken up to enable the hon. member for Yegreville to speak about a particular matter, my submission is that the house has now before it three supply items: Public Works, Trade and Commerce, and External Affairs, and that having agreed to take up but one item in External Affairs to-morrow; we may go on with Trade and Commerce, because that item is now properly before the committee by the consent of the house. It could not be otherwise.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

The consent

of the house was given to the taking of the item for to-day, but standing order 28 is still applicable, and while we are only too anxious to oblige the government in the matter of the expedition of its business, we must not, by giving our consent here and there, be prejudiced as respects our position in other particulars. I am quite prepared to leave the matter to Mr. Speaker to decide, but I submit that the resolution under which we proceeded to-day to consider estimates is applicable only

to the day of May 7; that apart from that, standing order 28 is applicable for the rest of the session, indeed is applicable to the session as a whole, and that by giving consent to take up a particular estimate to-day, we have not waived the right we have under standing order 28 to refuse to give consent to taking up the estimates of any department that has not been gone into on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mr. BENNETT:

Of course we treated

Thursday as Tuesday. Otherwise, without the consent of the house, we could not have gone on at all. Owing to the fact that on going into supply on Tuesday, a debate was precipitated which, except for private member's day, lasted practically without interruption until to-night, I certainly believe that since the item is by consent before the committee, it stands for consideration. Otherwise, there was no point at all in the consent. We might as well have gone on next Tuesday, because Monday is another private members' day.

Mr. RINFRET:

The items have been

passed; they are no longer before the committee.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

We are willing to do the best we can to facilitate my right hon. friend in carrying on the business of the house, but if every time we oblige him he is going to take advantage of our courtesy to go beyond anything we intend, we shall have hereafter to decline to give him consent on other things.

Mr. BENNETT:

I am not inclined to ask for it.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I submit that

my right hon. friend has not the right to proceed to-morrow with either Extermal Affairs or Trade and Commerce estimates without the unanimous consent of the house. I have said that so far as the opposition is concerned we -are prepared to give unanimous consent to External Affairs being proceeded with on the condition that one item, and one item only, shall be called, so as to allow the hon. member for Vegreville immediately to make a speech which he is anxious to make. We are prepared to do so in order to oblige him as well as to oblige the leader of the government, but beyond that our obligation does not extend.

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Mr. GARDINER:

I have not looked up

the rule in regard to this particular question, but when the understanding was arrived at yesterday, I certainly understood that if we finished the debate on the amendment to the notion for supply to-day, we would go into supply on another item. I did not understand that we would take up two items, but one item only.

Mr. BENNETT:

That is right, but the

second item was merely to enable the debate on the item of the League of Nations to take place before the council of the league meets in May.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Perhaps His

Honour the Speaker would give his ruling on the matter.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The resolution that was

passed on the 6th of May was:

That standing order 28 be suspended for to-morrow, Thursday, the 7th day of May-

That is to-day. Standing order 28 provides:

On Thursdays and Fridays when the order of the day is called for the house to go into committee of supply, or of ways and means, Mr. Speaker shall leave the chair without putting any question, provided that, except by the unanimous consent of the house, the estimates of each department shall be first taken up on a day other than Thursday or Friday.

This is Thursday, and the estimates have been taken up to-day. I take it that the intent of the motion which I have just quoted was to treat to-day as a day other than Thursday, although I may say that the right hon. leader of the opposition has applied a strict interpretation of the rule. I think that to go into supply to-morrow on any other, item than items concerning Public Works, the house should give its unanimous consent.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Hear, hear.

Mr. BENNETT:

I shall appeal from that

ruling.

Mr. SPEAKER:

And the leader of the

opposition has signified his willingness to give unanimous consent.

Mr. BENNETT:

It is needless to say that I do not agree with that ruling, but the house can appeal from it. As it is eleven o'clock I have nothing further to say at the moment.