Mr. GARDINER:

That suggestion was

not made to the committee, so far as I remember the representations made by the gentlemen who appeared before it. They gave their evidence without objection, and raised no objection to the committee hearing further evidence with regard to it.

Mr. STEWART:

Is that not the proper attitude of witnesses before a committee of this house?

Mr. GARDINER:

Certainly it is the proper attitude.

Mr. STEWART:

Is it their business to suggest that some policy should be followed other than that adopted by the government?

[Mr. Gardiner.!

Mr. GARDINER:

But is it not the proper attitude for every member of this house to accept the position taken by the representatives of the implement companies as being the position that we can expect them to take before a committee at the next session?

Mr. STEWART:

Certainly.

Mr. GARDINER:

All the evidence available will be given to the committee.

Mr. STEWART:

They would have to take that position.

Mr. GARDINER:

The whole speech of the leader of the opposition presupposes that some finding will be made by the committee on agriculture that will not be favourable to the implement companies.

Mr. BENNETT:

Not any such thing, nor did I say it. I will not be misrepresented by this gentleman. I made no such suggestion. [DOT]

Mr. GARDINER:

Well, hon. members will have within their memory the words of the right hon. gentleman, and I shall go on to deal with a few of them at length, in order to indicate to him that some such suggestion was made. In beginning his argument the right hon. gentleman founded much of what he had to say upon the statement that the western provinces of Canada were bankrupt.

Mr. BENNETT:

That is not so, of course.

Mr. McLEAN (Melfort):

Of course they are not any more than in other places.

Mr. GARDINER:

Of course it is not so; but it has been inferred in this house on another occasion during this session, by the leader of the opposition, that the western provinces are not in a position to finance, and I think some explanation of their position is due to the house. It was also stated by the leader of the opposition that this country is no longer an agricultural country. I do not suppose he will deny that statement.

Mr. BENNETT:

Yes; what he said was that this country is not an agricultural country solely, or only, or primarily.

Mr. McLEAN (Melfort):

Never was.

Mr. GARDINER:

I wrote down the exact words of the right hon. gentleman as he uttered them. His statement was that this country is no longer an agricultural country.

Mr. BENNETT:

And followed with a sentence afterward.

Mr. GARDINER:

Yes; true, he followed it by that statement. But his statement was

Agriculture-Implement Prices

that this country is no longer an agricultural country. I submit that will be news to many inside and outside of Canada. This country is still an agricultural country, and while probably no more than fifty per cent of our people are actually living upon the land, the right hon. gentleman's government, while it was in power, tried in every possible way to get a larger percentage of the people of Canada back on the land, because he realized it would* probably be much better for us if more than fifty per cent were still on the land. In other words, this country from that point of view is preeminently an agricultural country. Then, in addition to that, the railways which have been built from one end of Canada to the other, the ships that are plying down the lakes and canals from the eastern ports to western Canada, those who are engaged in taking supplies into every agricultural community in the dominion are, in every proper sense of the term, concerned with the development of agriculture in Canada. All those who are interested in extending financial assistance to the people across the prairies, the people in the agricultural areas of eastern Canada, the farmers in British Columbia and the farmers in the maritime provinces-all these make their living from the pursuit of agriculture in some of its spheres.

I suggest that while oply fifty per cent of the people are living upon the land, at least seventy-five per cent of them owe their living directly to the fact that agriculture is pursued in Canada. And for anyone even to suggest that Canada is no longer an agricultural country, when these facts are admitted by every member of the house and every person who has made a study of the situation in Canada, is to suggest a situation which does not exist.

I was astounded, too, at the statements made to the effect that agriculture has had more consideration from the governments of Canada than have the industries for which the leader of the opposition was speaking a few minutes ago.

Mr. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I said no such thing, and I am not going to be misrepresented in this house in this way.