May 30, 1930

LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

The fuss is about a member of your party opening a letter that did not belong to him. You would not have done that, I trust, and I trust you would raise some fuss about it if anybody had done it against you.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB

Rodolphe Lemieux (Speaker of the House of Commons)

Liberal

Mr. SPEAKER:

I would ask the hon. gentleman to use the third person when referring to another hon. member.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

My hon. friend from Antigonish-Guysborough by no stretch of his imagination, and he has quite a good imagination. I fancy, could interpret this as being his frank. He has opened a letter addressed to a certain person, Fred H. Sullivan, Esquire, Argyle Street, Glace Bay, which is not even in the hon. gentleman's county.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

You opened it

knowing it did not belong to you.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

You could see by the letter it did not belong to you.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

It is not your frank, the letter is not addressed to you, and exercising the ordinary courtesy of a gentleman you should have returned that letter, but you opened it.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

To the post office because you knew that letter did not belong to you.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON

Isaac Duncan MacDougall

Conservative (1867-1942)

Mr. MACDOUGALL:

You opened a

letter belonging to somebody else.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB

Rodolphe Lemieux (Speaker of the House of Commons)

Liberal

Mr. SPEAKER:

Order. The question of privilege has been stated, the answer has been given. Now, I leave the chair for the house to go into committee of supply.

Hon. CHARLES A. DUNNING (Minister of Finance): I suggest that the wrongful use of a frank is a matter within Your Honour's control as Speaker of the house. Allegations have been made and in turn denied. The questions. I presume, are questions of fact.

I have not seen the frank, and I am not attempting to judge as to the correctness of my hon. friend's statement. I am merely remarking that it is a matter for Your Honour to deal with.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB

Rodolphe Lemieux (Speaker of the House of Commons)

Liberal

Mr. SPEAKER:

This is a matter for the Postmaster General to deal with.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB

Lucien Cannon (Solicitor General of Canada)

Liberal

Hon. LUCIEN CANNON (Solicitor General) :

I am quite sure, Mr. Speaker, that the members of the house would be satisfied to leave the matter in your hands. I think everybody will agree that no member should open a letter not addressed to him; and if the hon. member for An/tigoniSh-Guysboro (Mr. Duff) did so, I am confident it was under a misapprehension that the letter was addressed to himself.

Topic:   PRIVILEGE-MR. DUFF
Permalink
LIB
CON
LIB

May 30, 1930