Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, all hon. members will have learned of the air disaster this morning in which the United States ambassador, the Hon. Laurence Steinhardt, lost his life.

It was my painful duty this morning, in company with the Secretary of State for External Affairs (Mr. Pearson), to call at the chancellery, at the United States embassy and also at the residence of the United States minister, Mr. Julian Harrington, to express the sympathy of the government and of the Canadian people on the tragic death of the ambassador, of the United States minister's son and of three officers of the United States Air Force. I feel sure all hon. members would wish to join in that expression of sympathy.

I should like at this time to read into the permanent records of parliament the statement I have already given to the press concerning this terrible disaster. My statement is as follows:

All Canadians will be shocked by the news of the air disaster in which the United States ambassador, Hon. Laurence Steinhardt, lost his life.

The death of Mr. Steinhardt is a grievous loss to the foreign service of the United States in which he has had such a distinguished career. For Canada it is the loss of an understanding friend who believed deeply in the value to each other and to the world of the friendly association of our two countries, and who contributed day by day in countless ways to the strengthening of our common bonds.

The tragedy is heightened by the fact that the son of Mr. Julian F. Harrington, the United States minister in Canada, also lost his life.

The sympathy of the Canadian people will be extended ini full measure to Mrs. and Miss Steinhardt and to Mr. and Mrs. Harrington in their bereavement, and to the families of the three officers of the United States Air Force who also lost their lives in this disaster.

In the name of the government and people of Canada, I have sent a message of sympathy to the President of the United States.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to place the text of this message on the record. It is as follows:

Ottawa, March 28, 1950

Harry S. Truman,

President of the United States,

Washington, D.C.,

I was shocked to learn a few minutes ago of the tragic death this morning of the Hon. Laurence

Steinhardt. My regret will be shared by all Canadians; for in the comparatively short time Mr. Steinhardt was in this country he had won the respect and admiration of us all. I am sure that they would wish to join me in extending to you personally and to the people of the United States generally a message of sympathy in the loss of this devoted and experienced servant of his country.

Louis S. St. Laurent

Mr. George A. Drew (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to join with the Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent), personally and on behalf of those with whom I am associated, in the expressions of sadness and regret at the death of Mr. Steinhardt, and also the United States minister's son and members of the United States Air Force, and in conveying to their families the deep sympathy that we feel for them at this time.

Because of his close association with so many of us I should like to speak particularly of Mr. Steinhardt.

Death always brings sorrow and a final sense of loss. This is particularly so when someone of the great vitality and great human qualities that Mr. Steinhardt possessed is suddenly taken from us by a tragedy such as that which occurred near Ottawa this morning. Every one of us will join with the Prime Minister in the message of sympathy that has been conveyed to Mrs. Steinhardt and her daughter. It is to be hoped that for them there may be some measure of comfort in the knowledge that those of us who collectively represent all the people of Canada most wholeheartedly extend to them our deepest sympathy in the loss of a loving husband and father who had played so great a role in strengthening the ties of friendship and respect between his native land and our own.

Laurence Steinhardt was more than a great ambassador of the United States. He was a great human being. He sacrificed unusual material opportunities to serve his country through one of the most critical periods in the world's history. He was an outstanding lawyer, and until 1933 was actively associated with one of the most important and most highly respected legal firms in the United States. Before practising law he had been an accountant, and because of that special training was called upon to represent the government of the United States in many different countries in connection with the legal problems that arose out of the first world war. While giving him unique opportunities for personal advancement, this experience also trained him for the wider service of his country in the diplomatic field.

The late Hon. Laurence A. Steinhardt

Thus it was that, in his first year as President of the United States, President Roosevelt personally persuaded Mr. Steinhardt to give up his professional activity and serve the United States abroad. In 1933 he represented the United States in Sweden, where great events were under way. He remained there until 1937. From there he went to Peru, where he took part in the framing of the agreements that emerged from the Lima conference.

Then he went to Moscow, where his ability to speak many languages, and his knowledge of history and international politics, placed him at the forefront of those who were still seeking in every way possible to prevent Russia from making the fatal mistake of joining hands with nazi Germany. Those high hopes were shattered when the agreement was signed between Russia and Germany which brought on the second world war. Nevertheless he continued to work for peace in every way he could, and during the invasion of Finland by Russia he visited that area in an effort to restrain Russian aggression. In Moscow he met the Japanese foreign minister Matsuoka, both before and after his visit to Berlin, and did what he could to impress upon Japan the ultimate futility of the axis dreams of world conquest.

When the Russian government left Moscow, Mr. and Mrs. Steinhardt went to the new capital, and then later they went to Turkey where they remained from 1942 until 1945. Then they went to Prague where they saw the communist tyranny once again working in all its cruelty. In 1948, with this background of experience and service, Mr. Steinhardt came to Ottawa, at a time when the relationship between the United States and Canada had assumed such immense importance. Here he employed his truly remarkable gifts for the purpose of cementing the firm foundation of fellowship and understanding between these two democracies to which the Prime Minister referred and with which the Prime Minister is so intimately acquainted.

Great though Mr. Steinhardt's earlier achievements were, achievements which won for him the Medal of Merit, the highest United States decoration any civilian may receive, his greatest service to his country and to the world-wide cause of freedom was here in Canada during the past two years. He had great faith in Canada. In one of my last conversations with him he spent considerable time in describing the vast opportunities he saw in this country for rapid development in the years ahead. That affection for Canada and confidence in our great future undoubtedly guided the sympathetic interpretation of the Canadian point of view which he gave to Washington.

It is always a great shock to learn of the accidental death of a man of great vitality, courage, charm, and unusual ability. Nevertheless it is all too often the closing page of a life of great service. Loyalty to the supreme cause of human freedom knows no boundary. In mourning his loss at the very height of his attainments we also share a feeling of pride with his own fellow countrymen that under our free democratic system men like Laurence Steinhardt are prepared to forgo the bright prospects of personal advantage so that they may serve the cause of all mankind. Tragic though his death is, service to the things he loved has been given in full measure. Of him it may truly be said: "That life is long which answers life's great end."

Mr. M. J. Coldwell (Roselown-Biggar):

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of those associated with me I wish to join in the universal feeling of sorrow that has been expressed at the passing of a gentleman who was not only a great citizen of his own country but a great world citizen. Those of us who had the opportunity from time to time of meeting Mr. Steinhardt were impressed by his charm, his gentleness, and his humanitarian outlook. He came to Canada as an ambassador with a background of knowledge of our country. I believe that in the days of his youth he travelled across western Canada, and years afterwards, when he was being received by Canadian ministers of the crown and other dignitaries, he said that he had received just as hearty a welcome when he knocked at the back doors of the prairie people as he received when he came here to represent his country as ambassador.

To Mrs. Steinhardt and her daughter we wish to express our deepest sympathy, and to the United States people our grief at the loss of a great ambassador. I should like to express also our sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Julian Harrington, whom some of us also know well. The loss of their only son will be a source of great grief to them; and I am quite sure that from one end of this country to the other the death of the United States ambassador and of members of his staff under such tragic circumstances will indeed be deeply mourned.

Mr. Solon E. Low (Peace River):

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that I speak for all the members of this group when I say that we were grieved to learn that this morning a plane accident had snuffed out the lives of a number of our American friends, among whom was Hon. Laurence A. Steinhardt, ambassador to Canada. I find it hard to think of words to express the sorrow we feel at the untimely passing on Canadian soil, through an accident, of so many citizens of our great and friendly neighbour to the south.

If I speak mostly of Mr, Steinhardt it is not that I feel less grief over the loss of his companions on the plane, but because he was the spokesman and mouthpiece of his country in Canada.

I knew Mr. Steinhardt, having met and talked intimately with him on a number of occasions after he came to Canada in 1948. On those occasions I felt the warmth of his pleasing personality and admired his great ability. I felt that he was a real friend of our country. He displayed a keen interest in Canada, in our development, and in all we are trying to do. We had the feeling that here was a diplomat of prime stature, having such an understanding of this country as well as of his own, and possessed of such unusual wisdom, that he could draw our two great countries together into closer co-operation in all our efforts. This I think he did.

The world is far too short of ambassadors of good will. Mr. Steinhardt was indeed one of these, and therefore his loss is all the more tragic at this time.

I wish, on behalf of the group which I represent, to express our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Steinhardt, her daughter, and the relatives of the late ambassador in their bereavement, and to the government of the United States, which has lost one of its most brilliant representatives. We must not forget those who are left to mourn each of the others who lost their lives in that most regrettable accident this morning. Our heartfelt sympathy and humble prayers go out to them also.

Hon. Stuart S. Garson (Minister of Justice):

Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table two certified copies of the English version and two certified copies of the French version of a general order made by the Supreme Court of Canada amending the supreme court rules.

Hon. J. J. McCann (Minister of National Revenue):

Mr. Speaker, many requests have been made to the government on behalf of farmers and fishermen that the new regulations fixing the rates of depreciation for 1949 and subsequent years should not take effect until 1950. As I previously explained to the house, suspension of these regulations would mean that farmers and fishermen would be entitled to no allowance in respect of depreciation for 1949. It has been decided, however, to amend the regulations so that farmers and

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fishermen will be entitled to claim, in respect of the year 1949, depreciation at the rate prevailing in 1948.

There have also been representations regarding the regulations covering depreciation for taxpayers other than farmers and fishermen, particularly in regard to some of the rates and to the limitation of the allowances to corporations to the amount charged in their financial statements. Because the regulations provide that taxpayers may continue to use the 1948 rates in computing their 1949 income, this matter is not of immediate urgency, but I should like to assure the house that careful consideration is being given to these matters, and that the government's decision will be announced in due course.

Hon. L. B. Pearson (Secretary of State for External Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, members of the house may be interested to learn that yesterday the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom invited, through the chairman, the members of the North Atlantic council to meet in London in the early part of May. The Canadian government has accepted the invitation, and will be represented at that meeting.

Hon. Robert H. Winters (Minister of Resources and Development) moved

the first reading of Bill No. 81 (from the Senate), respecting crown lands in the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.

Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.

Hon. Stuart S. Garson (Minister of Justice) moved

the first reading of Bill No. 82 (from the Senate), to amend the Criminal Code.

Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.