Mr. SPEAKER:

I have the honour to lay upon the table of the house the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, made in pursuance to section 58 of the Dominion Elections Act, chapter 50, 24-25 George Y; also extract from the report on the eighteenth general elections held in 1935, published in advance by the Chief Electoral Officer, giving list of names of candidates; also the report of the Chief Electoral Officer made in pursuance of section 4 of chapter 54, 23-24 George Y.

Hon. C. H. CAHAN (St. Lawrence-St. George):

Will the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenize King) lay on the table copies of orders in council passed by His Excellency the Governor General in Council which relate to the imposition and enforcement of sanctions against Italy? I would like to have copies of the original orders in council laid upon the table, and also any departmental instructions which were issued in pursuance of the terms of those orders.

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

Mr, Speaker, it is my

intention to present to the house very shortly a white paper which will contain the essential documents with respect to sanctions and allied matters which have been before the govern-[DOT] ment in regard to the Italo-Ethiopian war. The white paper will, I think, include what my hon. friend has requested. If, after looking over his remarks anew, I find it does not, I will carefully consider what he has proposed, and if it is appropriate to do so, will see that his request is met.-

Mr. J. S. WOODSWORTH (Winnipeg-North Centre):

Mr. Speaker, may I ask the

Prime Minister what commitments, if any, have been made by Canada with regard to imperial defence?

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

I would have to have a

conference with my colleague the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Mackenzie) before I could answer my hon. friend. At the moment I am not myself aware of any commitments.

Mr. A. G. SLAGHT (Parry Sound) moved:

That the following address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General, to offer the humble thanks of this house to His Excellency for the gracious speech which he has been pleased to make to both houses of parliament: namely,-

To His Excellency the Right Honourable Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, Governor General and Commander in Chief of the Dominion of Canada.

May it Please Your Excellency:

We, His Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the House of Commons of Canada,

The Address-Mr. Slaght

in parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both houses of parliament.

He said: Mr. Speaker, the speech from the throne this year, as we all should expect, contains the following special references in its opening: first, to the loss our empire has sustained in the death of His Majesty King George V, an expression of sympathy to our young king, to Queen Mary and all the royal family, and an expression of our loyalty and devotion to King Edward VIII.

On Friday last the right hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) seconded by the right hon. leader of the opposition (Mr. Bennett) in very simple and touching addresses, expressed for us the thoughts that were in our hearts, therefore my task on this occasion, in reference to that portion of the speech from the throne, will be limited indeed. May I recall and quote to you, from among the many beautiful expressions that have come from public men throughout the empire, just two lines which seemed to me the most impressive in that address delivered by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, who said:

King George, it, is true, inherited his position on the throne-he won his own way to the hearts, o-f his people.

If one might be permitted, sir, to speculate as to which of his varied activities His late Majesty was most happy to perform, I would suggest it was not when he wore the crown and the ceremonial robes of office but rather when he went in his own simple, human way to the hospitals of the motherland and, with a friendly arm around their shoulders, cheered his wounded men and those who were unfortunate enough to be disabled in the war. I think another duty which he and the gracious queen delighted to perform was when they went to those functions at which little children gathered. There, I believe and feel, he was often most happy in the performance of his public duties. If I might revert to schoolboy days I should like to quote you something that comes to my mind from the fourth reader of those days; I should like to give you four lines which seem to me perhaps better than any we could find to exemplify the two outstanding traits of our late beloved king. They are as follows:

For whatever men say in their blindness And in spite of the fancies of youth

There is nothing so kingly as kindness And nothing so royal as truth.

To our new and beloved King Edward VIII we of this house affirm our loyal allegiance, and in the storm of controversy and the heat

of debate throughout this eighteenth parliament I think we cannot do better than always remember those lines, which have been left as an example to us, that there is nothing so kingly as kindness and nothing so royal as truth.

Before I proceed, Mr. Speaker, to discuss the speech, majr I extend to you my congratulations upon your election to the office of Speaker of the House of Commons. I feel that. I can do this with double sincerity because for some years past I have enjoyed the privilege of your personal friendship. I feel also that your long experience in this house and your knowledge gained from participation in the debates eminently fit you to uphold the traditions which we heard so well expressed last week and to carry out with fairness and impartiality the duties of the high office to which you have been called. I desire to express to you, sir, the hope that for many years to come you may preside over the deliberations of this house and continue, as you have begun, to perform in a fine and noble way the duties that fall to your office.

I understand that it is the privilege of the member performing my task to have a word to say about his own constituency. May I first offer to the right hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) and to his cabinet, on behalf of my constituents of Parry Sound, their most sincere thanks for the honour you have done them In selecting me to move the address. The Parry Sound district which I have the honour to represent, I need scarcely tell you, is one of the most important districts in the Dominion of Canada. My people are engaged in the basic industries of agriculture, cattle raising, fishing and lumbering, and the district, which as you perhaps all know is some six thousand square miles in area, is situate on Georgian bay, with one hundred miles of waterfront, the beauty and scenic grandeur of which cannot be surpassed. The district is dotted with a myriad of small and sparkling lakes, with four great rivers which empty into Georgian bay. Because of the industries I have mentioned, Mr. Speaker, my district of Parry Sound will be particularly and specially benefited by the cattle and lumber provisions of the treaty which will be submitted to this house shortly and as to which I shall have a word to say later on.

May I say also, Mr. Speaker, that because of its scenic grandeur and its wonderful fishing and hunting my district enjoys a great influx of tourists from both Canada and the United States. Not only are we blessed by the provisions of the new treaty; our blessings in Parry Sound do not come singly.

The Address-Mr. Slaght

Oh, oh.

Mr. SLAGHT:

My hon. friend apparently appreciates, as all hon. members may not appreciate, that I have the privilege of claiming as one of my constituents, and I believe even a supporter, the famous Doctor Dafoe, and just a mile outside the little town of Callander, w'here he lives, the five Dionne babies are nestled in their hospital. So I ask you, sir, if any constituency in our broad dominion could be more appropriately honoured on this occasion than my own constituency of Parry Sound. And lest I should be thought lacking in hospitality I convey to you now, sir, and to all hon. members of this house, an invitation to come to my beautiful riding this summer, to come to Callander and visit us. I desire to single out and render a special invitation to four members of this house in the persons of the right hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King), the right hon. leader of the opposition (Mr. Bennett), the Postmaster General (Mr. Elliott) and the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Mackenzie). I assure these hon. gentlemen that if they will do us the honour of paying us a visit this coming summer I shall be able to introduce them to five of the most charming young ladies in the Dominion of Canada.

It is also with real sincerity that I desire to congratulate the right hon. former Prime Minister, the hon. member for West Calgary (Mr. Bennett) upon his return to this house apparently greatly improved in strength and vigour. Sir, I count the house and the country fortunate that in the years immediately ahead of us we are to have the benefit of his courage, his industry and his wide experience in framing the law's of our country. It has been said that laws are best made when there is a strong and virile opposition. While the opposition in this house may not be numerically as strong as the right hon. gentleman would wish it to be. I am sure that in the able and brilliant veterans w'ho survived the late struggle, and in the new blood which he finds added to his party, any lack in numerical strength will be fully compensated by their capable support.

Permit me also to felicitate the hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre (Mr. Woods-worth) on his return to this house at the head of his party. It is true that he has returned writh a progressively diminishing following, but that I feel sure will not affect his indomitable optimism, his sincerity, and his fighting qualities, all of which are so well established.

I desire. Mr. Speaker, to make a reference to His Excellency the Governor General. In the speech from the throne His Excellency

declared himself honoured by having been chosen to represent the king in Canada. We in turn feel that for us the choice has been a singularly happy one.