Mr. C. G. MacNEIL (Vancouver North):

Mr. Speaker, as I have given the required notice under the rules of the house, I now desire to move, seconded by the hon. member for Weyburn (Mr. Douglas):

That the public accounts and the report of the auditor general for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1938, together with a copy of the agreement between the government and the John Inglis Company of Toronto for the manufacture of Bren machine guns, the report of the royal commission dealing with said agreement and all related documents, evidence, vouchers and exhibits, be referred to the standing committee on public accounts.

I have already stated my reason for moving this reference to the public accounts committee, and I do not intend now to deal with the matter at any considerable length. I wish merely to refer to the remarks of Commissioner Mr. Justice Davis-

Mr. SPEAKER:

Order.

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

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, I do not wish in any way to interrupt my hon. friend in presenting his motion, but if he is about to debate the motion I am afraid that the resolution of this house, which has been concurred in, with respect to the debate on the address, would preclude such debate at the moment. The house has already agreed:

That the speech of His Excellency^ the Governor General to both houses of parliament be taken into consideration on Monday next, and that this order have precedence over all other business, except the introduction of bills, until disposed of.

If my hon. friend is simply making a motion to refer the two documents he has mentioned to the committee on public accounts, that would be a routine motion and I think it might be permitted to pass; but if he is wishing to debate the subject at the present time I am afraid that he would be out of order, until after the completion of the debate on the address.

Mr. MacNEIL:

I agree with the Prime Minister.

Mr. SPEAKER:

Shall the motion carry? Mr. STEWART: No.

Hon. R. J. MANION (Leader of the Opposition) :

Just a minute, Mr. Speaker. On the point of order, I wish to draw the attention of the Prime Minister to the fact that according to standing order 38 "the following motions are debatable," and it includes a motion-

(k) For reference to a committee of a report or any return laid on the table of the bouse.

So that this motion is debatable.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Oh, yes.

Mr. MANION:

I object to its passing without debate. If it is to be carried, Mr. Speaker, it will be carried after debate, not before.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

My hon. friend is quite right in saying that the motion is debatable, and that is the reason I interrupted the hon. member to draw to his attention the fact that he could not debate it, according to the resolution which the house has already passed, until we have disposed of the debate on the address. If he wishes to make a formal motion the house can debate the motion, or decline to, as it wishes: the documents are on the table and they can be referred to the committee at once.

Mr. MANION:

It is not a case of accepting or declining the motion. The question is whether the motion shall or shall not go through without debate. My submission is that this is such an important question that the place to discuss it is not behind closed doors in a packed committee.

Oh, oh.

Mr. MANION:

I do not use that expression offensively. I withdraw the statement; I did not mean that. What I was thinking of was a committee which is four or five against one on this side of the house, and that is not the place to discuss a matter of this kind. The place to discuss it is in the house. As far as this motion is concerned I have no objection to its ultimately being adopted, but only after it is debated in the house.

Foreign Policy-Status of Canada

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

My hon. friend is quite within his rights if he wishes to take objection to the motion being put at the present time, and the government is quite prepared to meet him in that regard; but it will have to stand, then, until another day.

Mr. STEWART:

Assuming the motion were passed and the report were referred to the public accounts committee, would that prevent discussion of the subject matter of the report in this house on other -occasions-on estimates, and going into supply?

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

My hon. friend is an old parliamentarian; I should think he may have referred to the rule even before I did. He knows very well that when a matter is referred to and is being considered by the committee, that precludes discussion on it by the house until the committee has reported.

Motion stands.