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

Mr. Speaker, my hon.

friend was good enough to send me a telegram which had been received this morning, and while it is not in the same terms as the one he has just read, the purport is much the same.

I would say at once that the policy of the government for the duration of the war is to restrict, except under permit from the Minister of Justice, the acquisition of land by purchase, lease or otherwise by persons of Japanese origin or by Japanese controlled companies.

In replying to my hon. friend, I think I ought perhaps to express just a word of caution with respect to the wording of messages and public utterances generally which may relate to the present position of Japanese nationals and other persons of Japanese origin in Canada at this time. I need not say how critical the situation is and how necessary it is, if we are to maintain law and order in the different communities and prevent hasty and unwarranted action on the part of individuals who may not be sufficiently appreciative of the effect of their actions, for all to be as restrained as possible in the language used in dealing with these difficult questions.

Mr. D. G. ROSS (St. Paul's):

Mr. Speaker, as the question I asked yesterday on the orders of the day, at page 687 of Hansard, comes within the jurisdiction of the Minister of Finance and not of the Minister of Pensions and National Health, I would ask the Minister of Finance to be good enough to give me an answer at some future day.

Hon. J. L. ILSLEY (Minister of Finance):

Yes, I shall be glad to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I forwarded a notice of a

First Victory Loan

question to the Minister of Transport on February 4, and I asked a question publicly on February 13. I am wondering if the Minister of National Defence for Naval

Services has drawn it to his attention. If so, may I have a reply on this question about the sinking of'the Lady Hawkins'!

Hon. P. J. A. CARDIN (Minister of Transport):

I understand that the subject matter of the question asked by my hon. friend comes within the purview of the Minister of National Defence for NavalServices. I understand that the minister is

now or will be quite soon 'in a position to give an answer.

Hon. R. B. HANSON (Leader of the Opposition):

May I be permitted to say that in the interests of the relatives of those who perished on the Lady Hawkins-I am

speaking of the passengers as well as the crew-some assurance should be given that a thorough investigation will be held into the loss of this ship.

Hon. ANGUS L. MACDONALD (Minister of National Defence for Naval Services): Mr. Speaker, I can now give the hon. member for Rosetown-Biggar (Mr. Coldwelll) an answer to the question he asked the other day respecting an investigation of the loss in the Atlantic of the SS. Lady Hawkins.

The matter of routing, diverting and protecting shipping is a naval responsibility of the allied powers and strictly cannot be discussed in public or made known to our enemies.

It may be said, however, that the SS. Lady Hawkins was independently routed, not convoyed. She saiilled from a United States port after the British Consular Shipping Adviser had consulted with the master of the ship and had issued relevant instructions and precautions. The Consular Shipping Adviser works closely with the United States port director.

When the Commander in Chief, America and West Indies, reported that the Lady Hawkins was overdue, an investigation was oarried out by instruction of the Chief of the Naval Staff of Canada. Nothing has come to light to indicate that the regrettable loss of this ship is anything other than an unavoidable accident of war.

Hon. J. L. ILSLEY (Minister of Finance):

On the orders of the day, on Tuesday last,

the hon. member for Lincoln (Mr. Lockhart) requested information as to the amount of 1941 victory loan bonds that had been sold by original purchasers and1 had reached the hands of banks and lending institutions.

I have had inquiries made to see whether I could add anything to the remarks I made on Tuesday. I learn that it is practically impossible to make even a rough estimate of what holdings have been sold since the time of their original purchase. The hon. member will realize that in the 1941 victory loan, bonds in bearer form were issued in denominations from $50 up to $25,000. These bonds are sold in the open market and pass freely from hand to hand without any record of such sales being registered in the Bank of Canada.

It might prove useful to place on record the figures for the combined total security holdings of the Bank of Canada and the chartered banks as at June 30, 1941, immediately after the sale of the 1941 victory loan and as at December 31, 1941, the latest available date. On June 30, 1941, the holdings of dominion and provincial direct and guaranteed securities totalled $2,085,220,028, and on December 31, 1941, the holdings of these securities totalled $2,124,401,449, or an increase of only $39,181,421.

However, in that period there were a number of factors that would affect these figures to some extent, namely, an increase in the amount outstanding of Dominion of Canada treasury bills, maturities of dominion and provincial issues, etc. The very satisfactory market which has prevailed on these victory bonds is a further indication of the fact that they could not have been sold1 in any large volume. Considering all these facts, I am of the opinion that there is nothing in the situation as a whole to cause any worry.

At the same time, I think I should repeat what I said on Tuesday, namely, that in the case of the short term bonds more sales appear to have been made by original purchasers than I would have liked to see. I did not regard this situation as very satisfactory and I trust that in the present offering those who buy the short term issues will do so with the intention of holding them.

Hon. J. A. MacKINNON (Minister of Trade and Commerce):

Mr. Speaker, the

hon. member's question should have been addressed to the Minister of Trade and Commerce. In reply I would say that the matter has been receiving consideration, and we had hoped to have reached some finality by this time, but I expect that we shall reach finality in our recommendations within a very few days.

Mr. DOUGLAS (Weybum):

Will the bill be referred to the agriculture committee?

Mr. MacKINNON (Edmonton West):

That is the intention.