Mr. Church:

I forgot to include one question in my remarks. In view of the revenues of the department, is there any hope of going back to the one-cent rate for drop letters for city delivery and the two-cent rate anywhere in the dominion?

Mr. Church:

Mr. Speaker-

Mr. Church:

Everybody likes to see the postman coming around. They have a very efficient staff.

I am sorry to say that in this country the post office has not assumed many of the functions which it discharges in England. For example, telephones are under the post office in that country. I hope that in his travels the minister will go over to England with his deputy and investigate the functions which have been added to the post offices in England, France and other countries. As a result the post office in England is a great public utility, and is giving wonderful service to the people, as the post office here is giving to Canada. I believe there should be better working conditions and salaries for the rank and file members of Canada's Post Office Department.

Mr. T. L. Church (Broadview):

Mr. Speaker,

I have a question which I might have raised as a question of privilege. I am addressing it to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. In view of the statement made in this morning's issue of the Globe and Mail and in other newspapers I would ask him these questions:

First, has the government any further information on the development of power in the Niagara river? Officials say that nothing has happened there since 1920 or 1922.

Second, what hopes are there for the ratification of any treaty separately? The treaty with respect to additional power at Niagara was before the house in 1922 and 1923. Has the attention of chief officials of the government been called to a statement by chief officials of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario, who have been asking ratification of this for twenty months? A spokesman for the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario has said that the report made in the house yesterday is erroneous; one of them went so far as to say-and used a word which I do not think should have been used-that it was "silly".

Is there any change in the international section of the St. Lawrence river regarding the use of power, either separately or in conjunction with the seaway plan? Will any further information be forthcoming before the session ends on these important matters? -because, as I said yesterday, no doubt blackouts are due in Ontario and in other places owing to the scarcity of power. Nothing has been done in the matter whatsoever. The Secretary of State for External Affairs should make a statement about it.

Mr. Church:

It is just all talk; that is all it is.