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

Members of the House of Commons will have learned with profound regret of the death of the distinguished Prime Minister of Ceylon, the Right Hon. Don Stephen

Senanayake.

His loss will be deeply felt in Ceylon, where he served in public life faithfully and with great distinction for thirty years. Itwas under his leadership that Ceylon, a

crown colony, attained dominion status in 1948, and became a member of the commonwealth of nations.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Senanayake at the meetings of the commonwealth prime ministers in London in 1948, and again in 1951, and learned to value his wisdom and vision, especially about affairs on the Asian continent. It is not only his own country which will mourn his loss; the whole of the commonwealth is saddened by his tragic death. Ceylon has indeed lost one of its faithful servants, and the commonwealth one of its wisest statesmen.

His Excellency the Governor General and I have already expressed the sympathy of the government and people of Canada with the people of Ceylon, and with the members of the Prime Minister's family. To confirm those messages of sympathy, and as a special tribute to the memory of the late Prime Minister, I beg leave to move, seconded by the leader of the opposition (Mr. Drew):

That as a token of our sympathy for the family of the late Prime Minister, as well as for all the people of this sister state in the commonwealth, we now stand in this chamber for a moment of respectful silence.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of our party I should like to join with others in these expressions of sympathy. One of my most valued recollections is a pleasant evening I spent in London with the late Prime Minister of Ceylon and his charming family. He was an exceedingly able man, and we all extend sympathy to the people of Ceylon and to his immediate family in their sad bereavement.

Mr. Solon E. Low (Peace River):

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Drew) have spoken for us. We should like to be associated on the record with what has been said.

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

Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table the annual report of the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the year 1951, together with a copy of the accounts of the corporation.

I move that this report be referred to the standing committee on banking and commerce.

Right Hon. C. D. Howe (Minister of Trade and Commerce):

Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to lay on the table the annual report, in English and in French, of Trans-Canada Air Lines for the year ended December 31, 1951.

Copies of this report are being distributed to the members of the House of Commons.

Mr. Stanley Knowles (Winnipeg North Centre):

May I direct a question to the Minister of Finance? Will the minister comment on the press report in Saturday's Ottawa Journal, a clipping from which I sent over to him, in reference to temporary employees on the staffs of this building? Can these employees expect their pay increases to come through at an early date?

Hon. Douglas Abbott (Minister of Finance):

I shall be happy to bring that matter to Mr. Speaker's attention, and I feel sure that it will be looked into promptly.

Mr. Speaker:

I might assure the house that the matter has received my attention and that of the officials of this house, and that a report will be made shortly.

Mr. Knowles:

Thank you.