Hon. Lionel Chevrier (Minister of Transport) moved

that the house go into committee at the next sitting to consider the following resolution:

That it is expedient to present a bill conferring authority upon the governor in council to authorize the Canadian National Railway Company to construct a line of railway from Terrace to Kitimat, in the province of British Columbia, a distance of approximately 46 miles at an estimated expenditure of $10 million and an average expenditure of $217,391.30 per mile. The bill will make provision for the issue by the company of securities, which may be guaranteed by the government in respect of the cost of construction. To enable the company to proceed with construction forthwith, temporary loans may be made to the company out of the consolidated revenue fund, upon terms and conditions prescribed by the governor in council and secured by company securities.

He said: His Excellency the Governor

General, having been made acquainted with the subject matter of this resolution, recommends it to the consideration of the house.

Hon. F. G. Bradley (Secretary of Slate):

The Canadian government has been informed by His Excellency the Governor General that Her Majesty the Queen has approved a proposal to observe in the United Kingdom the official celebration of Her Majesty's birthday on Thursday, June 5.

As it is customary in Canada to observe the official celebration of the sovereign's birthday on a Monday in June, the queen's approval was sought, and has been received, for the official celebration of Her Majesty's birthday in Canada on Monday, June 9. An order in council was passed today authorizing the issuance of a proclamation accordingly.

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

Mr. Speaker, in view of a report which has just been received concerning the death of the manager of the Ming Sung company, I wish to ask the Prime Minister if he can give the house any information as to the company's indebtedness of more than $12 million to the Canadian government, and also as to the ships which were pledged for payment of the debt.

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

No previous notice of the hon. member's intention to ask this question having been given, I shall take it as notice and make the necessary inquiries and bring down an answer.

Mr. Robert Fair (Battle River):

I have not given the Prime Minister notice of this question, but I should like to ask whether he will give consideration to the adjournment of the house from this evening until Tuesday morning to enable us Irishmen and all our friends to properly celebrate Monday, March 17?

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

I hope that I am one of the hon, member's Irish friends. I would enjoy a holiday, but my experience has been that we honour the patron saint of Ireland by fulfilling our respective duties on that day.

Mr. Gordon Graydon (Peel):

I should like to ask the Secretary of State for External Affairs if he is today in a position to answer a question I put to him in connection with the Buffalo incident.

Inquiries of the Ministry Hon. L. B. Pearson (Secretary of State for External Affairs): I now have some information concerning the inconvenience which was suffered by passengers in four Trans-Canada Air Lines aircraft at Buffalo on March 4.

There is a firmly established procedure for the handling of Canadian aircraft at Buffalo when weather or other emergency makes landing at that airport necessary. Unfortunately, on this occasion, but through no fault of United States authorities, the procedure was not followed, and some confusion resulted, with consequent discomfort to passengers. The action of the Buffalo airport authorities in confining passengers to the aircraft was strictly in accordance with the regulations which govern such matters. Discussions, however, have been had with appropriate United States officials and other steps have been taken which it is hoped may prevent recurrence of incidents of this kind in the future.