Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

I wish to call the attention of my right hon. friend the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Sir George Foster) to two other matters on which we should receive information. We were promised some days ago by the Prime Minister that we should be informed as to who the ministers were who were to accompany him to England and as to what was, in so far as it could be disclosed without infringing upon the secret correspondence, the object of the meeting.

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

I remember

that, in answer to a question of my hon. friend the member for Maisonneuve (Mr. Lemieux) I promised to make a very short statement in reference to this matter. First, as to the object of the assembling of the war council and of the Imperial Council; my right hon. friend (Sir Wilfrid Laurier) and all the members of this House have, I have no doubt, taken cognizance of similar meetings which were held in pursuance of a similar call about a year ago or a little les9. The purpose of these meetings was explained to the Parliament of that day and Parliament signified its agreement with the purpose for which those . conferences were called. The propriety of having them attended by the representatives who are invited was also apparent. Since then, published reports have been made of what took place at those con-

ferences. Whilst everything that took place has not been made public the larger portion of the resolutions and the discussions upon them, is now public property. The summons for the meeting of these conferences this year has been made for the same purpose as before and my right hon. friend the Prime Minister (Sir Robert Borden) has been summoned to attend these as have the Prime Ministers of other overseas dominions and also a representative of India. In pursuance of that summons, and for similar purposes as were held in view a year ago, the Prime Minister proposes to proceed to London. The Prime Ministers of the other dominions are also over there or on their way thither. The Prime Minister has selected to accompany him, the Minister of the Interior (Mr. Meighen), the Minister of Colonization and Immigration (Mr. Calder) and the President of the Council (Mr. Rowell).

Mr. BUREAU:

Some choice!

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

That is quite

sufficient. It is five minutes to twelve, and we are on the eve of being summoned to the other House; but perhaps we might use the time available before the summons reaches us to take up a matter to which I have already

drawn the attention of my right hon. friend. Perhaps he will give us some information now as to the registration of man-power and woman-power which is to take place at an early date-that is to say, what is the object of such registration and if any policy has been decided upon by the Government in connection with it.

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

tion received through the registration. The memorandum is a pretty full one and will give the modus operandi as well as the objects of the registration.

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

'Have the Government formulated any policy, and if so will the right hon. gentleman state what that policy is with regard to the use of the information thus collected?

The Government has considered very carefully as to what measures can be taken to utilize to the very largest possible extent the information which will he available, and that is a matter for further consideration.

Mr. MURPHY:

Did I understand my

right hon. friend (Sir George Foster) to say that the results of the registration will be used for agricultural or labour purposes,' and not for military purposes?

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

I was speaking with reference to one of the uses which would be made of this information which is to be gathered, and that it was hoped to use a portion of that for agricultural purposes during the coming autumn.

Mr. LEMIEUX:

Just one word about

the Imperial Conference. I said earlier in the evening that the people of this country viewed with alarm the agitation which is going on on both sides of the Atlantic- the agitation carried on by the Round Table Club. For the information of the gentlemen who will represent Canada in England at the coming Imperial Conference, I wish to quote advice given by the late Sir John A. iMacdonald on the question of Imperial Federation:

We are told that we want imperial federation. I will not trouble you with a disquisition on that subject now, but I will tell you (imperial federation is utterly impracticable. We would never agree to send a number of men over to England to sit in Parliament there and vote away our rights and principles. I am, so far as that question goes, up to the handle a home-ruler, We will govern our own country. We will put on the taxes ourselves. If we choose to misgovern ourselves we will do so, and we do not desire England, Ireland or Scotland to tell us we are fools. We will say: If we are fools we will keep our folly to ourselves ; you will not be the worse for it and we will not be the worse for any folly of yours.

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

I may be allowed just one word in answer to my hon. friend's proffer of information. Whilst it is accepted gratefully, I hope my hon. friend will not consider that he is the only guardian of the rights, privileges and

liberties of this country. I hope he will consider, and that, after considering, he will not he backward in expressing that the gentleman whom I have named and the party or the section that they represent, are not one whit less loyal to the interests of Canada than my hon. friend. I beg of him to disabuse himself of the idea that he is the only guardian of the rights and liberties of Canada, and I would .ask him not to spoil his. holidays by having any undue anxiety as to what may be done on the other side.

\

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

You will allow us the privilege of believing that our trust in our missionaries is not unlimited.

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

But it is always open for us to become more and more trustful.

Sir WILFRID LAURIER:

It is very

slow to come.

Mr. BUREAU:

In view of the discussion that took place this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. member for M.aisonneuve is doing right in giving warning to my hon. friend the leader of the House to-night. There may be a disposition to give away resources of this country, and. if we are left without resources, I do not know what will become of us. Our trust may he diminishing after what has taken place in this House, after hearing the statements of the member for Russell (Mr. Murphy) and the member for Brome (Mr. MeM,aster), yet in spite of these, when the challenge is made to a member of the Privy Council to make good unfounded charges, we see him sit quiet in his seat. So we have reason to be suspicious when we see him a member of the delegation.

(Mr. CAHILL: Did I understand the

leader of the Government to refer to gentlemen who were representing the party and representing a section of the country? They are not going to the Imperial Conference to represent a party, I hope.

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

Don't worry.

Mr. J. H. SINCLAIR:

Everybody will

remember that .a very important question was discussed in this House a few days ago, the question of titles. The House, or a majority of the members of the House, reached a conclusion-

Sir GEORGE FOSTER:

Surely my hon. friend is not going to 'broach an utterly new question.

Mr. J. H. SINCLAIR:

I am going to ask the leader of the Government a question. The conclusion reached by the House, as everybody remembers, ie that we would ask for the abolition of hereditary titles.