Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Leader of the Opposition):

I have been asked to bring to the attention of the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Gardiner) the fact that at Cardross, Saskatchewan, the farmers are without feed or seed; their horses have had no fodder since March, and it is alleged that they are without seed for the purpose of putting in a crop, although conditions seem to be favourable for an adequate return if they are fortunate enough to get the seed. I can only say that those who have asked me to bring the matter to the attention of the minister are of the opinion that if he will take notice of the conditions he may be able to remedy them.

Hon. J. G. GARDINER (Minister of Agriculture):

I would suggest that if those who send such telegrams would direct them to the provincial government they would get much more speedy action than by sending them around by way of Ottawa. I took this matter up fully with the government of Saskatchewan when I was in Regina last Friday and Saturday, and they are giving every attention to any delay that there may be in getting the seed grain distributed.

Mr. BENNETT:

Apparently that action had been anticipated; for they complain that they are unable to get any action from Regina. That is the only reason it is brought to the attention of the minister through this channel at the moment. It is just possible, as

Member jor Beauce

it was Friday or Saturday that the matter was dealt with, and this telegram having come through Crane valley, that they were not aware of the conditions to which the minister has referred and to which I shall direct attention.

Mr. E. E. PERLEY (Qu'Appelle):

I should like to direct the attention of the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Gardiner) to a report appearing in the two Regina newspapers, the Leader and the Star, to the effect that the Minister of Agriculture of that province had given an interview in which he stated that the wheat board was responsible for the delay. I understood that the federal minister was meeting with the wheat board in Winnipeg, or was getting in touch with them, and I was wondering if he would care to make a statement as to the result of that conference.

Mr. GARDINER:

I do not know whether I understood the first part of the remarks of the hon. gentleman. Was it suggested that I had made the statement that the wheat board was responsible?

Mr. PERLEY:

No. I have here the two Regina papers, which state that Mr. Taggart admits a hitch in distributing seed wheat, and charges the wheat board with responsibility for the delay. The report goes on to the effect that the federal Minister of Agriculture had been in communication with the wheat board by telephone, and it was understood that on his return to Ottawa he would take up the matter with the board in Winnipeg. I wondered if the minister cared to make a statement as to the result of that conference.

Mr. GARDINER:

I interviewed the wheat board while passing through Winnipeg and also discussed the matter with the provincial government in Regina on Friday last: In

those two interviews I discovered that there had been some delay due to the unnecessary sending of messages, first from Winnipeg to Regina and then from Regina back to Winnipeg, when the messages might have been transmitted from either one point or the other without the duplication that actually resulted. That probably brought about a delay of about one day in some of the distributions. The main difficulty in connection with distribution, however, is that this year wheat had to be found for a very large area, and had to be brought in from outside the province. Until very recently it was impossible to know the amounts that should be shipped to the different municipalities, but it is hoped that any delays will be overcome during the present week.

Mr. R. A. PELLETIER (Peace River):

I desire to direct a question to the Minister of National Revenue (Mr. Usley). Has the minister taken notice of a charge levelled by the premier of the province of Quebec against a member of this House of Commons the hon. member for Beauce (Mr. Edouard Lacroix) to the effect that this member had defrauded the Department of National Revenue by bringing trucks into Canada without paying duties? What steps are being taken by the department to protect the revenue in this case? Will the government conduct an investigation into this charge, and if so, when?

Hon. J. L. ILSLEY (Minister of National Revenue):

I have not seen any newspaper reports of the charge to which the hon. gentleman refers, but I may say that the hon. member for Beauce himself informed me of a charge having been made. The hon. member denied the charge, said it was entirely false and demanded that I have an investigation made into it. This I propose to have done.