Hon. C. D. HOWE (Minister of Transport) moved:

That standing order 63 of the House of Commons, relating to the appointment of standing committees of the house, be amended by adding to the standing committees of the house for the present session a standing committee on railways and shipping owned; oper-atf. , and controlled by the government, to " -lU b

Hon. ERNEST LAPOINTE (Minister of Justice) moved:

That the name of Mr. McLean (Simcoe East) be substituted for that of Mr. Pmard on the standing committee on privileges and elections.

Hon. ERNEST LAPOINTE (Minister of Justice) moved:

That the name of Mr. Pinard be substituted for that of Mr. McLean (Simcoe East) on the joint committee of both houses on the parliamentary restaurant

That the name of Mr. Rheaume be substituted for that of Mr. Howden on the joint committee of both houses on the parliamentary restaurant.

Mr. M. J. COLDWELL (Rosetown-Biggar):

I wish to direct a question -to the Minister of Justice (Mr. Lapointe). I am informed that during the regular nightly CBC news broadcast on Wednesday of this week at 10.45 p.m. eastern standard time it was stated that the government of Canada contemplated the passing of an order in council giving effect to the Imperial Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 in Canada, with a view to the prohibition of Canadian volunteers fighting in Spain. I wish to inquire whether, and if so why, a decision of such importance is to be dealt with by order in council without first ascertaining the will of parliament now in session.

Hon. ERNEST LAPOINTE (Minister of Justice):

The hon. gentleman was kind

enough to give notice of this question. No order in council has been passed regarding enlistment in the armed forces in Spain or elsewhere, nor has the government contemplated passing any such order in council without first bringing the question before parliament.

In order to make the information more complete, and as it relates to the same subject, on behalf of the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) I desire to answer immediately a question asked by the hon. member for Three Rivers (Mr. Gariepy), being question No. 19 on the order paper, which reads:

1. Has the government given consideration

to a speech delivered by the Honourable Maurice Duplessis at Three Rivers and published verbatim in "Le Devoir" of January 26, 1937, in which he said: . .

"I declare that in our province communistic recruiting has been going on, that our young men have been enrolled to fight for the communists in Spain, that Canadian passports have been procured for them for Spanish ports, not for one or two young men, but for several, which shoivs that an organization exists, and indicates that there is something lacking somewhere."

2. Is it the intention of the government to investigate these assertions concerning the issue of passports, as mentioned in this speech.

In reply to a question by the hon. member for Kindersley (Mr. Elliott) on January 19, I stated:

In view of recent developments, the question w'hether any special action should be taken regarding the control of enlistment m Canada for military service in foreign countries has been under examination. Canada is not included in the twenty-seven countries, all European states, which are represented on the non-intervention committee organized to deal with the Spanish situation, and which has made recommendations to the governments represented thereon for the prohibition of the substantial enlistment on both sides m the Spanish conflict which has taken place from European centres. The question, however, will continue to be given consideration.

I added that something more would be said on the subject later on. The whole question of the control of enlistment as well as the related question of the export of munitions has been under consideration by the government for some time past. As regards enlistment, members of the house are aware that the Foreign Enlistment Act, passed by the parliament of the United Kingdom in 1870, extends to Canada. The government concluded it would be desirable to propose Canadian legislation on this subject. After examination of the question by a technical committee, instructions were given for the drafting of a bill, which will shortly be introduced.

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As regards application to Spain, I may say that the main section of the act, section 4, provides a penalty for enlistment or inducement of enlistment of a British subject within or without His Majesty's dominions, in the military or naval service of any foreign state at war with any foreign state at peace with His Majesty; the fifth section provides penalties for embarking for such purpose, and other sections deal with shipbuilding and fitting out naval or military expeditions against the dominions of any friendly state. It had been generally held that the prohibition of enlistment or recruiting did not apply to a civil war. This month, in pursuance of its endeavours to secure the acceptance by European states of the policy of non-intervention in Spain, the government of the United Kingdom issued a statement indicating its opinion that the act, and particularly the sections penalizing enlistment or inducement, or embarking for the purpose of such enlistment, are applicable in the case of the present conflict in Spain. As the Canadian government had already decided to introduce legislation on the general subject, it was considered advisable to deal with such specific questions in that connection.

As regards the issue of passports, I am informed that for some months past no application for a passport has listed Spain among the countries to be visited, and no passport has been issued to any person who has indicated Spain as one of the countries of destination. The procedure as to passports will be brought into conformity with any legislation that may be passed by parliament.

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARYSHIPS On the orders of the day:

Mr. T. C. DOUGLAS (Weyburn):

In the absence of the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King) I should like to ask the Minister of Justice (Mr. Lapointe) the following question: The speech from the throne last year promised a bill to provide for the creation of parliamentary secretaryships. This bill was not presented to the house last session. Does the government propose to submit guch a bill to the house during this session?