Mr. PUGSLEY:

Did I? Then I made a mistake. I should 'have said Military District No. 6, in the Maritime Provinces. I wish to correct that error.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

It raises the old question whether she is a person.

Mr. MEiIGiHEN: I do not think that the section relating to enumerators used any particular word, but whether it does or not, I do not hesitate to give the opinion- I know that it is generally unwise to give legal opinions on cross-examination in the House of Commons, but I feel sure of my ground in this case-that it would be quite within the law to appoint a woman as enumerator.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

This relates to the

ughthouse and coast service. I want to call the attention of the minister to the ,act that early in the session a question was put to the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, as to whether it was proposed to' give Lhe lighthouse keepers an increase in salary. There have been a great many increases given by Parliament upon the invitation of the Government during this session, most of which were pretty strenuously opposed on this side of the House. In answer to that question, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries said that he could not hold out any hope of an increase. It is within my knowledge that there are a great many lighthouse keepers who are getting a salary, some of them, of only $300 a year. The average salary is from $300 to $400, I am informed. These men are leading a lonely life in a lighthouse upon a

rock, and in the winter especially their life is surrounded with great hardships; and to expect men to continue to perform those arduous duties and undergo the hardships they are compelled to undergo for the small salary of $300 is to my mind not at all creditable to a country like Canada. I regret very much that the minister was not able to give some assurance that the representations which have been made to him would be favourably entertained, and I would ask the minister now whether ho could see his way clear to bringing down before the close of this session .an item, providing for an

increase of even $100 a year for these men. They are affected by the high cost of living just as other people are, and the salaries which they receive may truly be called starvation salaries. They cannot live upon them. In some cases lighthouse keepers can make some money out of fishing, but those cases are the exceptions. The great majority have nothing but their salaries, which are entirely inadequate for them to live upon and to bring up their families.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

The item is put in to cover " travelling and other expenses." I quite agree with my hon. friend from Fron-tenae (Mr. Edwards) that $5,000 seems a large item for " travelling and other ex-

penses." I think it would he ibetter to make an allowance to the Chief Justice as deputy Governor General, toy reason of the very high ,and honourable position he holds and by reason of the fact that he does discharge the duties of deputy Governor General. I think it would be better to put it on that distinct ground. To my mind it would not be proper to strike out the item, because the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada has always acted as deputy Governor General, and has always received an allowance. I do not knorw whether it was $5,000 per year. It certainly would seem rather ungracious to discriminate against the present occupant of that high position and refuse to treat him in the same way as his predecessors have been treated. I agree with the minister, that the salary of the Chief Justice of Canada is not by any means a large one. I think we pay the Chairman of the Board of Railway Commissioners $15,000 a year, $5,000 a year more than the salary of the Chief Justice of Canada. The other day a vote was passed to pay the Chairman of the Bureau of Research $10,000 per annum. As has been stated, a lawyer in good practice in Canada can earn twice or three times as much as the salary of (the Chief Justice, and a gentleman oif the eminence of the Chief Justice could easily earn at the Bar from $25,000 to $50,000 per annum in the larger cities. I do not object to voting the amount. What I object to is the language of the vote and the way it is put, as " travelling and other expenses."

Post Office-Outside Service.

To increase the minimum salary of railway mail clerks from $500 to $600, and to raise the annual statutory increases of railway mail clerks from $50 to $100 in cases where the salary is over $800, notwithstanding anything in the Civil Service Act or the Post Office Act; also to provide for the payment of provisional allowance of $100 each to Civil Service employees of the Outside Service of the Post Office Department whose salaries are $1,600 and under, and also to provide for the establishment of inspectorate at North Rattleford,_ Sask., $608,000.

Mr. PUGSLEY:

I do not think it necessary to read ,all these items, but I would like to speak of one matter. There is an item for improvement work in St. John harbour, and I wish to call the attention of the Acting Minister of Public., Works to what I think is a very serious state of affairs in connection with this work. There was a contract given for a large amount of work there, including the building of a dry dock. When I was minister, I exacted a security of half a million dollars. I am told that the Government has reduced the security to $250,000, and that drawbacks accumulated, and that the contractors were at work and had a large plant on the spot, worth $300,000 or $400,000, in respect of which the department would have a lien for the purpose of the work. There was also about $700,000 of cash on hand including the deposit. I understand the Government has returned to the contractors the whole $700,000, and that the contractors are now trying to get the plant released. If that is done, it will he handing over to defaulting contractors, who were under obligation to perform this work, nearly $1,000,000 which this country had a right to insist should be applied towards the completion of the work. I do not think my hon. friend is responsible, but the Government is responsible, and I would ask him to exercise the right of lien which the Government has on that plant to keep it

there until matters can be arranged for the completion of the work.

I am not going to criticise to-night anything in connection with the half million dollars; perhaps that can be satisfactorily explained. But I would ask the minister to retain control of the plant until satisfactory arrangements are made for the continuance of the work and the unravelling of all matters connected with the dry dock.