Mr. EULER:

I think my hon. friend will

admit that when that question was asked I stated that the report had not been received, but I said if it had been received that it would not be given to the house because it was the practice of the department not to disclose the 'business of any private individual. If that practice is to be reversed by the will of this house, I have nothing more to say. That is the practice which has always been followed, and I think it is a good one.

Resolution reported, read the second time, and concurred in. Mr. Dunning thereupon moved for leave to introduce Bill No. 347, for granting to His Majesty certain sums of money for the public service for the financial year ending March 31, 1931.

Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of privilege. It will be observed that one of the evening papers has displayed in large letters a declaration that a member of the house alleges that his frank has been forged. I thought the hon. member for Antigonish-Guysborough (Mr. Duff) was in his place, but I see I am mistaken. That hon. member made a charge of the most serious character involving his opening a letter which had been placed in his post office box. At

my request the envelope in which the letter was enclosed was handed to the clerk. After seeing this letter, the hon. member for Inverness (Mr. Macdougall) was certain that the initials were those of Mr. Finlay MacDonald, the hon. member for South Cape Breton. A few minutes later the hon. member for South Cape Breton entered the house and at once recognized his initials. He then communicated with Your Honour, as it was necessary that he leave immediately in order to catch a train, and stated that his initials "F. MacD" were those appearing on the envelope in question. I had not the slightest difficulty in recognizing the initials.

I desire, speaking only as one member of this house-this is not a question of privilege which attaches to me alone, but one which concerns every hon. member of this house- to place this matter before the house in order that the charge made against one of our members, namely that of forgery, should be met immediately before it can be sent out through the country. It was suggested that the initials of the hon. member for Antigonish-Guysborough had been forged, but there was no difficulty in recognizing them as being the initials of the hon. member for South Cape Breton. This is a question of privilege which does not belong to any individual member of the house; it is a question of privilege which concerns the whole house, and I raise it because it touches the honour of every hon. member. An hon. member asserts on the closing day of the session that he opened the letter undeT the circumstances. The envelope is placed on the table of the house before the clerk and remains there in order that an opportunity may be afforded for a statement to be made by Your Honour in consequence of the hon. member for South Cape Breton being called away to catch his train.

Mr. SPEAKER:

After the incident this

afternoon the olerk of the house sent the envelope to me, and I had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. MacDonald. He said in my presence that the initials were his; that it was his own frank, and I have no doubt, after what I have seen and knowing his handwriting, that they were his initials.

Mr. SPEAKER:

I have the honour to inform the house that I have received the following message:

Ottawa, May 30, 1930.

Sir,

I have the honour to inform you that His Excellency the Governor General will proceed to the Senate chamber at 10.15 p.m. for the purpose of proroguing the present session of parliament.

I have the honour to be, Sir Your obedient servant,

E. C. Mieville,

Secretary to the Governor General.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister) :

We have concluded the business of the evening, and this brings to a conclusion, so far as the House of Commons is concerned, the fourth session of the sixteenth parliament of Canada. I would move Mr. Speaker, that the sitting be now suspended until 10.15 o'clock this day.

Hon. R. B. BENNETT ((Leader of the Opposition) :

Mr. Speaker, perhaps it is entirely out of order to make any observations at the moment, but as the Prime Minister has indicated, we are now in the dying hours of the fourth session of the sixteenth parliament. It might not be thought out of place, therefore, if one who sits to your left, sir, should convey to you our thanks, our regards and good wishes for your future. While I believe it is not usual to do so, because in England I understand the office of Speaker continues from parliament to parliament, in view of our constitutional position there is not much likelihood of that happening in this country for a long time, and as representing the opposition or at least one portion of the opposition in parliament it affords me great pleasure to congratulate Mr. Speaker upon the eminent fairness he has shown in the discharge of the difficult duties of his position; his urbanity; his courtesy, characteristic as it is of his race; his willingness and desire at all times to represent faithfully, as the spokesman of the House of Commons, the great traditions embodied in the wealth of lore that has accumulated during the centuries in connection with the high office that he holds.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased indeed that the last word it should be my privilege to utter in this parliament this session should be one of entire accord with my hon. friend the leader of the opposition (Mr. Bennett). He has expressed so eloquently what I believe to be the feeling of all here assembled, that it is unnecessary for me to say more that that we to your right, and indeed, I may speak for all, are in most cordial accord with what has been said about yourself in the discharge of the duties of your high and honourable position. May I add that as we bring to a Close the proceedings of another parliament and take our leave, whatever the future may hold in store for him or for us, our best wishes go with the present Speaker of the House of Commons.

Mr. SPEAKER:

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Bennett, I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words. I have been in the house for thirty-four years. My heart is in this house. From the day I came here I have met friends only. On returning home this evening I can truly say that as Speaker of the Commons I have been actuated by good faith and fairness to all. When I took the Chair in 1922, I resolved that from the moment I stepped into it I should cease to be a partisan. I had been, God knows, a good partisan. I have striven to live up to my promise and I can declare honestly and conscientiously, that in every ruling, in every decision I gave as Speaker of the House of Commons, I have ignored parties and have followed the standing orders, the usages, the customs and traditions of parliament.

In 1926, when for the third time you unanimously reelected me Speaker of the house, I said that every morning as I passed in front of the monument of Alexander Mackenzie, that great Scoteh-Canadian and revered Prime Minister of the Dominion from 1874 to 1878,-I would read the beautiful inscription which characterized his life and crystallized his sense of responsibility:

Duty -was his law, conscience his ruler.

I have tried to live up to the great teaching that I find in that sentence.

Once more, I thank all parties in the House of Commons for the support they have given me. I have tried to maintain here British parliamentary traditions, and if I have a word of advice to offer to you, my friends, it is that in future, whether you sit on the left or on the right of the Speaker, or there, yonder, you will live up to those traditions. What is taking place in the world to-day shows conclusively that after all those traditions. when deeply rooted in the soil, constitute the best safeguard for justice and Liberty.

Motion agreed to and at 9.30 p.m. the sitting was suspended until 10.15 this day.

Prorogation

The house resumed at 10.15 o'clock.