Mr. JOHN BRACKEN (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, according to the morning press, today is the anniversary of two very interesting events in Canadian history : one was the birthday in Canada seventy-three years ago of a child who later became Prime Minister of this country and is Prime Minister at the present time. Another was the entry into the House of Commons thirty years ago of a young man who has been here ever since and is with us still. I refer to the hon. member for Quebec South (Mr. Power).

On behalf of my associates and myself I wish to congratulate them both. This is one occasion when we can forget party differences and pay deserving tribute to two men who have given a large proportion of their lives to the service of their country.

I want to compliment the Prime Minister upon having reached another milestone in his career. Seventy-three years is three years over the allotted span given to man. I wish to compliment the Prime Minister upon looking so hale and- hearty in spite of his years, and we wish for him many more years to enjoy life as one of Canada's elder statesmen.

I want to compliment the hon. member for Quebec South as well. His has been a familiar figure here for more than three decades. I understand it is the longest continuous record without defeat of any living member of the House of Commons. During that period it was his privilege to have a most honoured record in two world wars. Whatever the future holds for the hon. member we shall always have pleasant memories of our association with him in this house. Whatever his future course may be 1 am sure he will take with him the best wishes of a host of friends not only inside this parliament but outside as well.

Right Hon. IAN A. MACKENZIE (Minister of Veterans Affairs): Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues on this side of the house, and I think on behalf of every single member of the house, I desire to express my

deepest gratitude to the hon. the leader of the opposition for his typically generous and well-deserved words.

Only a few months ago I had the honour, on another very significant occasion, of paying my personal tribute to my distinguished Prime Minister, and, on this great anniversary when he is seventy-three, we who are with him, around him and behind him to the limit-and I am speaking without the slightest political tinge-only hope that at eighty-three he will be in the same seat and still leader.

My friend said a very true thing. There are occasions on which we forget the acerbities and the asperities of political animosities and when we are able to rally together as Canadians honouring one who has honoured himself in the great service he has rendered to Canada. And so, sir, on behalf of this side of the house may I be privileged this afternoon to extend to you the hope for many, many continued years of great happiness, of great content and of great continued service to the country you love so well.

May I say a word to the hon. member for Quebec South (Mr. Power), one who is my best friend in the house. We were two of the greatest fellow sinners in the historic years between 1930 and 1935. I hope that for our sins during those historic years we shall be forgiven. But this at least I may say, sir. Although we exposed some terrible policies we established some faithful and enduring friendships. May I say humbly that the cause of democracy, the cause of freedom, the cause of those who have been wrongly called the common people, and whom I prefer to call the ordinary people, the simple, plain people of our country, have never had a finer champion in this Canadian confederation than the Hon. Charles Gavan Power, the member for Quebec South. May I at the same time, as his fellow sinner, extend to him very warmhearted felicitations.

Chubby.

Mr. MACKENZIE:

Yes, Chubby, beloved by everyone in this house. May I extend to him the greetings of every single member of every part in this house, and express what I believe to be the common wish, that he may long continue to devote that splendid and brilliant brain of his to the service of

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his province, of the nation and of all the freedom-loving nations of the world.

Mr. M. J. OOLDWELL (Rosetown-Big-gar):

Mr. Speaker, after what has been said both by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Bracken) and by the right hon. the Minister of Veterans Affairs (Mr. Mackenzie) there is not much left for me to say on behalf of the party with which I am associated in this house.

I should like, first, to convey to the Prime Minister our very best wishes and our sincere greetings and to say to him that we trust he will be spared many years to enjoy the honours that have been bestowed upon him.

To the hon. member for Quebec South I vould say that we are delighted to have the opportunity today of congratulating him also.

[ have always felt that in the hon. member for Quebec South we had a colleague with broad, humanitarian sympathies, which sympathies he showed in the high office he held during the war, while he looked after the interests of many of our young men who served in the armed forces.

While my remarks may be brief, I assure the Prime Minister and the member for Quebec South that they are none the less sincere.

Mr. SOLON E. LOW (Peace River): It is always a good thing, it seems to me, that we have birthdays and anniversaries. In this instance it gives us a chance in this house to let the Prime Minister and the hon. member for Quebec South know that if in the smoke of battle we treat them with some severity, we are happy to have this opportunity of showing them uncommon kindness lest they think we are their enemies.

We have no enmity personally towards anyone, and we wish to let the world know that is true. I take this opportunity therefore, on behalf of the Social Credit group in this house, of expressing our sincere congratulations to the Prime Minister on reaching the age of seventy-three and at the same time of keeping his vitality so high. I believe I said on the occasion of his seventy-second birthday that it was a secret which I thought a good many, people in the country would like to find out, how he could reach such an age and still keep his vitality at that level. It is also a secret, the answer to which a good many people would like to discover, how it is that although the Prime Minister has attained such a ripe age the people continue to put him and his government back in power. For the last twenty years, as far back as I

can remember anything political in my life, the people of the country were going to "throw Mackenzie King out".

Seriously, Mr. Speaker, I do wish for the Prime Minister the attainment of every single thing his heart desires except one, and I believe he can easily guess what that is. At the same time I wish to take this opportunity to extend to him our sincere wishes for a very happy Christmas season.

To our good friend the member for Quebec South, let me express our congratulations on his achievement as well. Thirty years of continuous public service is no mean achievement, Mr. Speaker, especially during the trying times that Canada has been witnessing in . recent years. We have the highest admiration for the splendid work the hon. member did during the last war. We feel that he achieved a standard of administration in the public service that will for many years be a challenge to anyone in this country who thinks of entering public life.

To both gentlemen we extend our heartiest congratulations.

(Translation):

Right Hon. L. S. ST. LAURENT (Secretary of State for External Affairs): Mr. Speaker, it is quite obvious from what is going on in the house that this day marks a festive occasion for the province of Quebec. It would not be necessary, for all to be convinced of that fact, that anyone should add a few words in French in order to associate an overwhelming majority of the people of my prov-* ince who speak my own language to the tribute which is being paid to the leader of our party and to my excellent friend and fellow-member for a constituency of the city of Quebec. But I think that the record of this tribute would remain incomplete if it did not include a few w'ords in French.

Nearly thirty years ago, we placed our confidence in the Right Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King on the occasion of the 1919 convention. We have had no reason to regret it ever since. From year to year we have become more and more convinced that he had no more real or keener wish than to associate all Canadians, whatever their origin, their language or their creed, in the privileges and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship. I believe that he has thus rendered an inestimable service not only to the people of my province, my creed and my race, but to Canada at large.

Of course, "Chubby" and I have been lifelong friends and one has reason to be proud of the tribute paid to him by all his colleagues in this house. No one has helped

Anniversaries-Mr. King and Mr. Power

more in the life work of our Right Hon. Prime Minister than the man who has for thirty years represented Quebec South in this house. It is a rare but most fortunate coincidence that we should be able, on a single occasion, to include in similar tributes, the Right Hon. the Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the Hon. Charles Gavan Power.

I want to say in French that there is no one I know, speaking my own language, who is not desirous to associate himself in the wishes and tributes we are tendering to both these gentlemen.

(Text):

Mr. J. H. HARRIS (Danforth):

Mr. Speaker, as one of the younger members of this honourable assembly, perhaps for the first time in twenty-five years I may be privileged to pay tribute to one who has been serving Canada, the right hon. the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King), my courteous, kind and considerate friend for a quarter of a century. And may I be permitted to couple with his name, sir, that of my dear friend the hon. member for Quebec South (Mr. Power).

The British Order of Merit has been bestowed upon our Prime Minister; all honour to him in accepting it. We in this chamber will not forget that it is emblematic. Today we have the honour and privilege of paying respect to these two gentlemen, as emblematic of a united Canada and of everything worthwhile not only to our own country but to civilization itself.

The tact, judgment, kindness, and consideration of these two honourable gentlemen have been appreciated by all of us, whether they were on this side of the house or on that. I suppose it would be quite natural for me to say that we were happier when they were on this side. But wherever they are, we honour and respect them. We hope and pray to God that they may be privileged to serve this country for many years to come-on this side; and we in turn will do our level best to serve Canada on the side on which we belong.

Now that the Prime Minister and my dear friend the hon. member for Quebec South have reached the age when flowers are being presented, I do not think they would mind retiring to a position of ease and contentment. But even if they do, I say to the people of Canada that they will be well served by my right hon. friend and the hon:. member for Quebec South, representing as they do not only two elements in the country but a united Canada, a people with the same objectives in their hearts as to the welfare

of our native land and the welfare of civilization, in order that we in Canada may serve better the rest of our fellowmen in these most difficult times. I offer congratulations to the Prime Minister and to the hon. member for Quebec South.

Mr. JEAN FRANCOIS POULIOT (Temiseouata):

Mr. Speaker, I met Mr. King for the first time nearly a quarter of a century ago because I had defeated his own candidate by 3,500 votes. I must say that one of my constituents impersonated the hon. member for Quebec South, and told the die-hard Liberals that he was a personal messenger sent by Mr. King to advise them to vote against the government candidate. Mr. King had invited me to luncheon at Laurier House with Mr. Lapointe. It was the most successful of all peace conferences.

I shall never forget that occasion. It afforded me the privilege of becoming acquainted with the real Mr. King, whom Canadian and foreign historians and writers have so often and so wrongly described as somebody so like the Grand Lama of Tibet that even the Liberal caucus wondered at times if he was a mar-morean statue or a human being. They did not realize that he is the busiest man in Ottawa and that, owing to his high sense of public duty, he feels obliged to sacrifice his social life to his responsibilities as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal party.

I wanted my electors to know Mr. King as well as I knew him. The first time he stopped at Riviere du Loup he was at the back of his car and was met by a handful of my friends. Years later, when he was leader of the opposition, I invited a few people to my house to shake hands with him. They came by hundreds. The third time 25,000 people had gathered at Riviere du Loup from all around on the occasion of the visit of the king and queen. Mr. King was there. Mr. King is so popular and so well liked because his natural gifts of kindness and cordiality always bloom out in a climate of mutual confidence and affection.

On another occasion, we were then in the cold region of opposition, and in Riviere du Loup it was at least fifteen below zero. Mr. King had been driving eighty miles at night from Edmundston to Riviere du Loup. We did our best to warm him up at home.

Another time the circumstances were not the same. It was the funeral of Mr. Lapointe in my church at Riviere du Loup. Mr. King was coming down the aisle with Mr. Cardin; we shook hands, and we did not say a word.

It has been repeated time and time again that Mr. King was subtle in a Machiavellian way, and that he could cut the throat of an

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opponent by a very delicate gesture of his hand. But my own experience was altogether different. The ties of friendship between Mr. King and myself were strong enough to resist disagreement, contradiction and opposition; even displeasure did not break them. After having been an active supporter of his for twenty years, to my profound regret I crossed the floor of the house on the conscription issue.

At the following general election he was coming from the maritimes. I knew he was to pass through Riviere du Loup, and although I was temporarily on the other side of the tracks, I found the door of his car wide open for me. Without asking me anything, he gave good advice to the crowd that was there. He said, "Vote for my friend Jean Frangois Pouliot," and he was cheered to the echo.

Remembering my close association of so many years with Mr. King, and remembering also that my electors of Riviere du Loup have known him better than the bureaucrats of the pen who have depicted him as so aloof and so inaccessible, I must admit that I am very human and that he is also very much so; but I hasten to say that I would willingly trade fifty per cent of my humanity for fifty per cent of his industry. We all wish for the Prime Minister that his industry will continue to serve humanity. I wish him a happy birthday and a happy Christmas; and I wish the hon. member for Quebec South a pleasant anniversary and a merry Christmas.

Mr. KARL HOMUTH (Waterloo South):

Mr. Speaker, while this gives an ordinary membeir of the house an opportunity to wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy New Year, at the same time it gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to someone; and today I do that sincerely because I am paying a tribute to one who is a native son of my own county, of which I am also a native son. I dio not need to pay any tribute to the hon. member for Quebec South (Mr. Power), because we have known each other for many years, and indeed on some occasions I think we have been stuck with each other. So I need pay him no particular tribute because in every sense of the word we are pals. .

I rise on this occasion, Mr. Speaker, because I feel that as a representative from Waterloo county' I would be remiss in my duty if I did not pay my compliments to a native son. Ours is a peculiar county; it might be called a melting pot, because it is made up of people from almost all the countries of the world. Out of that melting pot has come a virile Canadian citizenship, a people loving Canada, loving the empire and all the freedoms for which it stands. So today w'hea I address

these remarks to the Prime Minister I do so realizing that during all the years we have fought each other politically we have always had a great love for our native county. When the right, hon. gentleman returned to Waterloo county just a few months ago the acclaim he received was not offered because he happened to be the leader of the Liberal party; it was because a native son of our county had achieved a great success. So, Mr. Prime Minister, let me say in all sincerity that I pay tribute to you today as a native son of Waterloo county who has achieved great success. We may differ in our policies; we may differ in certain principles we hold; we may differ politically; nevertheless it is a tribute to our county that one of its sons should have been chosen to lead the government of Canada for so many years. Today I stand here as one who is politically opposed to you, but as a member of this House of Commons who believes in the freedom we have enjoyed and tried to preserve in this country. I pay tribute to you, sir, for having done your duty as you saw it and for having ted this country through a most- difficult period. If it is possible to do so later I should like to shake your hand, and say, "Well done, Waterloo!"

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

Some years ago, Mr. Speaker, I was much impressed by a passage I read-I think it was by George Eliot-in which appeared the words:

Speech is but broken light upon the depth of the unspoken.

I was much impressed with the significance of those words at that time. But they have come to have a new and fuller meaning this afternoon, one for which I cannot be too grateful. and for which I cannot thank the members of this house too warmly. All that has been said by the leaders of the different groups opposite, by my colleagues on either side of me, by other fellow members from this and the opposite side of the house, has touched me more deeply than I can begin to express. I hope they will understand that, while I am deeply in their debt for the kindness of heart they have revealed, it is only because I feel as deeply as I do that I am unable in return to express to the house the debt I feel I owe to its members for these many evidences of their friendship and great good will. To one and all I am profoundly grateful for the congratulations and good wishes which have been so generously extended on my seventy-third birthday anniversary.

The wish has been very kindly expressed that I might continue in public life for a considerable, time longer. No one knows what the

Anniversaries-Mr. King and Mr. Power

future holds in store. As, however, I look at the beautiful basket of flowers immediately in front of me, and see that in number the roses represent seventy-three years, I realize only too well that, with the years, the number is rapidly becoming far too large.

I should like to take advantage of this moment, if hon. gentlemen opposite will allow me, to express my appreciation, particularly to hon. members on this side of the house who have presented me with this gift, together with the good wishes they have *expressed, accompanied by a scroll containing their names individually and including the entire membership of our party in the house. This parchment is something which I shall treasure deeply all my life, and which I hope, when I am gone, may find its place in the public archives of our country.

This is the seventy-third anniversary of my birthday. In many ways I could wish the figures might be reversed, and that it might be the thirty-seventh anniversary. Looking back over the shears, I would say that had I been able to glimpse at thirty-seven what I have lived to see since, or had I been able to surmise it, I wonder very much if I should have felt at that or any time that I could ever accept office and assume the responsibilities that have come with office in the years that have followed since.

Reference has been made to the county of Waterloo. I think it was just four years before that thirty-seventh anniversary that I had the honour of being elected the member for 'North Waterloo. It was a year later that I had the honour of being made a member of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government as the first Minister of Labour. Little did I suspect, at that time, that a political career awaited me through the years, or that any career would begin to present the problems and responsibilities that have come with the years. I wonder if any of us, if we could see ahead for the next twenty or thirty years, would be able to pursue our tasks with equanimity of mind. Yet, speaking honestly, as the hon. member for Muskoka-Ontario (Mr. Macdon-nell) has questioned me for saying, looking back over the years I think I can say that, great as the anxieties and trials have been, at times, what there has been of so-called burdens of office over those strenuous years have been far outweighed by the rewards of public service. Of those many rewards, I can think of none greater than the one which has come to me this afternoon in this House of Commons. I am indeed grateful to all hon. members for that. How much all that has come to me of opportunity and reward is

owing to the sacrifices, privations and sufferings of others no one realizes more fully than myself.

May I say this further word. It relates more particularly to the future. I believe all hon. members of this house and of the parliaments which will succeed this one will have great responsibilities to bear. We have seen difficult times in the past; but I would not speak my heart honestly this afternoon if I did not say I believe we were going to witness very serious times in the years to come. I think every member of any free parliament must consecrate his life as never before to the furtherance of good will, to the utmost of his ability; and to a determination to battle evil forces as he never has battled them before.

I hope every individual member will, to the utmost of his power, wherever opportunity comes, do what he can both as between individuals and between nations to foster the utmost of good will; but, at the same time, be prepared as an individual, as we must be prepared as a nation, to use every instrument in our power to battle the forces of evil whenever and wherever they raise their heads.

I am sure we must all bend our energies in that direction; and, if we do, I have not the slightest doubt that, having played the part that the different nations of the British commonwealth with their allies have played in preserving liberty and freedom in this world, come what may, liberty and freedom will be preserved through future generations and in the same courageous way, if that is necessary.

In facing the unknown, there is only one sure path to follow. It is, from day to day, to the best of one's judgment and ability, to perform the duty which is closest at hand, sustained by the belief that, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be."

Little has given me more pleasure this afternoon than that there should have been associated with my name on this anniversary the name of another who has been a very close colleague through many years, and who is so greatly honoured and beloved by members of this House of Commons. I refer, of course, to the hon. member for Quebec South (Mr. Power). It is true that, in point of number of years of membership in the house, I still am a little in advance of him, a little over a year; his time may come but meanwhile I will not allow anyone else to assume the role of dean of this house, who cannot meet its requirements to the full.

Let me say, however, that thirty years of continuous and unbroken service as a member

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of this House of Commons is a record of which the oldest no less than the youngest member might be enviable. It is one all of us are proud the member for Quebec South has made. I extend to him both personally and on behalf of the party I represent-indeed, as hon. members appear to wish to have it, on behalf of the house-the heartiest congratulations and the warmest and best wishes for his future.

I should like with the permission of hon. members, to mention at this time one or two other hon. members who have been in the House of Commons for a long time, and whose association with its business through the years I have been here, it has been the privilege of my hon. friend from Quebec South and myself, to share. The hon. member for Danforth (Mr. Harris) has been kind enough to extend greetings in terms which touched me deeply. May I say he has been an associate of Mr. Power and myself for over twenty-six continuous years, and I extend to him the warmest congratulations and best wishes, on the record he also has made. I reciprocate toward him in fullest measure all the kindly feelings he has expressed towards myself.

There is one other hon. member who shares with the hon. member for Danforth the record of over twenty-six years of continuous service in the House of Commons. I refer to the hon. member for Haldimand (Mr. Senn) who, unfortunately, is not with us today. Through illness he has been prevented from taking his seat at this session. A day or two ago, when I learned of the serious nature of his illness, I took it upon myself to send him a telegram -not personally only, but on behalf of all members of the House of Commons-to express to him the solicitude we felt concerning his health, and how earnestly we hoped he might soon be restored to health and able to take his seat in the house again.

There are other hon. members who have been here for quite a long time. Somewhat hurriedly I have prepared a list of those who have been in the house for over twenty-one years. Among those who have been in the house for over twenty-one years are the hon. member for Temiscouata (Mr. Pouliot), the hon. member for Grenville-Dundas (Mr. Cas-selman), the hon. member for Beauharnois-Laprairie (Mr. Raymond), the hon. member for Dufferin-Simcoe (Mr. Rowe), the hon. member for Broadview (Mr. Church), the hon. member for Yukon (Mr. Black), the hon. member for Cochrane (Mr. Bradette), the hon. member for Digby-Annapolis-Kings (Mr. Ilsley)' and the hon. member for York East

(Mr. McGregor). There may be others, but I believe I have covered all of those who have been here for more than twenty-one years.

Then there are some, like my colleague the Minister of Veterans Affairs (Mr. Mackenzie), who have been associated with politics in legislatures as well as in parliament, and whose combined years of public service would extend over a very long period.

May I say to these old-timers, these old friends, how deeply I have appreciated the association we have had together through the years, and how warmly I wish for them all that is best in the future.

May I, in conclusion, thank all hon. members of the House of Commons for what their association has meant to me in the years I have been in this house-and it has never meant more than it has today. I hope each one will believe that from my heart I extend to him and to her, the very best of wishes for the future, all that one could wish for what is best in their lives.

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I should like to add a word of thanks and also of good wishes to hon. members of the other house with whom through the years I have shared public life in this parliament; and also my thanks to members of the fourth estate, my friends and fellow members of the parliamentary press gallery whose friendship has also helped greatly to enrich my life, and for whose futures, I extend my best wishes.

Hon. C. G. POWTER (Quebec South):

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a happy occasion, and perhaps for me a happy coincidence, that the birth of the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the House of Commons should coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of my entry to this chamber. It has permitted hon. members who were kind, generous and courteous enough to pay the usual compliments to persons in my position, to couple my name with that of the Prime Minister.

They have been most kind. They have shown that in this House of Commons, even in the midst of an emergency session, one may take time out to deal with matters which ordinarily might be considered as indications of frivolity and perhaps a lack of interest in affairs of state, but which really might better be considered as indications of the spirit of good will in the House of Commons, the spirit of friendship, the spirit of comradeship and of chivalry which is characteristic of this Canadian nation of ours, and which is so well represented by the members of the house.

My right hon. friend the Prime Minister has made some reference to the competition which might exist between us for fatherhood of this house. Speaking for myself, when I

Anniversaries-Mr. King and Mr. Power

look at the brood of children which throngs the benches of this chamber I would say to the Prime Minister that I wish him well in his role of father to all those who sit about him. I also admit freely he has, through his kindness, his fatherly affection and guidance, all the qualities and qualifications of a father in a degree far superior to mine.

For many years the paths of the Prime Minister and myself have followed along parallel lines, although at all times they may have been on vastly different planes. Both of us have taken active parts in political life. For my part I have enjoyed the relationship which has existed between us. of an admiring and devoted1 follower to a respected chieftain. If at times our paths have diverged, there was in no respect a lowering of the honour in which I held him or a lessening of the gratitude which I have had for his kindness. So strong has that attachment been, and it still persists, that I rarely neglect him in my prayers. As one of the few of us who are still continuing Liberals, I pray that he will return to the faith of his forefathers.

You have probably often speculated, Mr. Speaker, as I have, when at the beginning of a session you hear addresses made with respect to those who are no longer here, as to just what will be said about you. If you want to resolve that speculation all you have to do is remain twenty-five years more in this house. You will then be a witness to a full-dress rehearsal. You will also have an advantage over those others in that if hon. members who are making the addresses or observations with respect to you forget to mention salient points which you believe to be important in connection with your career-after all, you know better than those who are speaking about you-you can rise on a question of privilege the next day and correct them.

I have spent half' of my life as a member of this house. It has been a good half life. It has been joyous; it has been one filled with comradeship and kindness. There are no moments of it which I regret. I say that with perfect sincerity. There are those who have the idea that politics is a mean kind of game, that it is filled with disappointments and delusions, but so far as I am aware, and *co far as I have been able to observe during ail these years, politics is filled also with loyalties, with decencies, with honesties, with comradeship, with evidence of the helping hand and the sympathetic spirit. I for one can say that it has been a wonderful life and a good one, and I do not regret it.

My right hon. friend the Prime Minister has often expressed the wish to write a book. That desire comes to almost all of us who have taken some part in public life. I too have thought that perhaps in my retirement I might solace my years and days with the writing of a book. It would not be concerned with the mazes of statecraft nor with the intricacies of international affairs. I should like to write a book about this Commons House of Canada. I perhaps would put it in the form of a homily, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, and I would entitle it "Back to Front and Back Again". I would tell of the long and painful progress down five rows of seats to the front benches, and I would tell also of the short and rapid and sudden transition from a private car to an upper berth. I would perhaps dedicate it to the over-ambitious youth who inhabit the back benches and also to the over-pretentious elderly ones who inhabit I he front benches. I might comment on the title page in ancient Greek, "Mati-otes, Matiotetoun Ta Panta, Matiotes"- "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity".

I cannot close these remarks without making some reference to the constituency of Quebec South which during all these years has shown such patience, tolerance and indulgence in sending me here to represent them, alien though I was in birth and language. That constituency has shown me a measure of confidence which is rare indeed in parliamentary history, and for which I shall be forever grateful.

(Translation):

Mr. Speaker, may I for a moment forgo parliamentary rules, in the strict sense of the term, to direct a few words to my friends and colleagues of the province of Quebec.

My friends, for years we have stood together in struggle and in triumph, we have been friends in good times and bad. In Canada, I stand as a living example of the tolerance and broad-mindedness characteristic of our fair province since, for thirty years, electors whose language and racial background are other than my own, have been so kind as to return me as their representative.

Hear, hearl

Mr. POWER:

May I thank my colleagues for their unfailing support and friendship. May I also ask you gentlemen to convey my thanks to those leaders and constituents of yours with whom, in the past, I often rejoiced over your victories.

3S2

Princess Elizabeth

(Text)-.

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

Before I ask a page to carry this basket of flowers to my private office, I should like to inform the house that I received last night, in a communication from our High Commissioner at London, a letter which I should like to read, from Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth, thanking the government and the people of Canada for the wedding gift which was presented to her: Buckingham Palace

5tli December, 1947.

Dear Mr. Mackenzie King:

I am most grateful to the government and people of Canada for the wedding present of such remarkable generosity which they have sent me. They have given me a collection of silver so magnificent, both in quality and in quantity, that my pride in its possession is only equalled by my pleasure that the people of Canada should have seen fit to express their good will towards ine in this way.

Not content with this splendid present they have sent me in addition a mink coat of absolute perfection. Whenever I wear it, as I very often shall, it will remind me of the moving tributes and marks of affection which have reached me from all over Canada during these last few weeks and which have left a very deep impression on me. I look forward to the day when the Duke of Edinburgh and I will be able to visit Canada, to thank its citizens in person for their kindness towards us, and to learn to know the country and the people as we most earnestly desire to do.

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth

Mr. BRACKEN:

May I ask if it is the intention to proceed with this measure before we proceed with the Agricultural Products Act, as intimated previously?

Mr. ST. LAURENT: No. I understand this is a formality which is required to advance it one step and get it on the orders of the day.