1929-02-07

[Stage Direction]
F. A. ACLAND	[DOT]

[Stage Direction]
House of Commons Befoates
[Stage Direction]
Thursday, February 7, 1929

[Stage Direction]
The parliament which had been prorogued from time to time to the 7th day of February, 1929, met this day at Ottawa, for the despatch of business.

Mr. SPEAKER read a communication from the Governor General's Secretary, announcing that His Excellency the Governor General would proceed to the Senate chamber at three p.m. on this day, for the purpose of formally opening the session of the Dominion parliament.
A message was delivered by Major A. R. Thompson, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:-
Mr. Speaker, His Excellency the Governor General desires the immediate attendance of this honourable house in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly the house went up to the Senate chamber.
And the house being returned to the Commons chamber:

Mr. SPEAKER:: I have the honour to inform the house that I have received the resignations of the following members, viz:-
Of the Honourable S. F. Tolmie, member for the electoral district of Victoria (B.C.)
Of Lawrence A. Wilson, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
I accordingly issued my warrants to the Chief Electoral Officer to make out new writs of election for the said electoral districts
respectively.
I have also the honour to inform the house that I have received a communication from the Chief Electoral Officer, informing me that, in accordance with chapter 145, section 11 of the revised statutes of Canada, 1927, he had
received communications from several members notifying him of the following vacancies having occurred in the representation, viz:-
Of Jean Joseph Denis, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Joliette, by the acceptance of an office of emolument under the crown;
Of William Thomas Goodison, Esquire, member for the electoral district of West Lambton, by decease.
And that the Chief Electoral Officer had accordingly issued new writs of election for the said electoral districts respectively.



NEW MEMBERS


Hewitt Bostock: I have the honour to inform the house that the clerk of the house has received from the Chief Electoral Officer certificates of the election and return of the following members viz.:
Of James Earl Lawson, Esquire, for the electoral district of West York.
Of D'Arcy Britton Plunkett, Esquire, for the electoral district of Victoria, B.C.
Of 'Charles Edouard Ferland, Esquire, for the electoral district of Joliette.
Of Ross Wilfred Gray, Esquire, for the electoral district of West Lambton.



INTRODUCTION

[Stage Direction]
James Earl Lawson, Esquire, member for the electoral district of West York, introduced by Hon. R. B. Bennett and Hon. E. B. Ryck-man.
D'Arcy Britton Plunkett, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Victoria, B.C., introduced by Hon. R. B. Bennett and Hon.
H.	H. Stevens.
Charles Edouard Ferland, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Joliette, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. P. J. A. Cardin.
Ross Wilfred Gray, Esquire, member for the electoral district of West Lambton, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. J. C. Elliott.
[Stage Direction]
Governor Generals' Speech

[Stage Direction]
Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister) moved for leave to introduce Bill No. 1, respecting the administration of oaths of office.
Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.

Hewitt Bostock: 
Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister) moved:: That the speech of His Excellency the Governor General to both houses of parliament be taken into consideration on Friday next, and that this order have precedence over all other business, except the introduction of bills, until disposed of.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.


William Lyon Mackenzie King: It will be generally conceded that the past twenty years have been the most eventful in the history of the modern world, if not in all history. How much within that period of time the unity and concerted action of the British common-78894- li
wealth of nations has been due to the position and personality of the reigning sovereign, we are only just beginning to understand. Let me make mention of but three particulars.
In the Great war His Majesty King George, in virtue of his high office and his own personal example, stood as the symbol of the common effort of all its parts. He was the ral'ving centre of all the forces that, in His Majesty's name, and in the name of British liberty, fought for a larger freedom. As other thrones were overthrown, his throne became the more firmly established.
In the difficult post-war period of reconstruction, when governments came and went, and many constitutional changes were effected, His Majesty again, in virtue of his understanding, and wisdom, his steadfastness and composure, and his high office as head of the state, stood as the embodiment of an unwavering constitutional authority in Great Britain and beyond the seas.
In war and peace alike, in virtue of his broad democratic sympathies and his never-failing sense of duty, King George has ever worked with his people, as well as for them. Their fortunes have been his, and his theirs. No sovereign has ever been so largely in personal touch with his people and their many interests. There has never been a more democratic sovereign nor a better king.
Is it any wonder, then, that when, two months or more ago, it seemed as if the Angel of Death were about to enter the royal chamber, there came to British peoples, in all parts of the world, a consciousness of whart the living presence of King George has meant to the empire over which he has reigned in this momentous epoch, and the sense of what the personal and world loss would be were he to be taken away?
Never have the minds and hearts of the British peoples been drawn more closely together than during the weeks and months in which they have shared the anxieties of the Royal Household, and at no time since His Majesty's accession to the throne have the feelings of love and devotion on the part of His Majesty's subjects found deeper or more universal expression than in the course of the long illness which His Majesty has been oalled upon to endure. In no part of the British commonwealth has solicitude been greater than in our own Dominion.
It is therefore with profound thankfulness ind, indeed, with rejoicing that, as we reassemble, we are able to hope for the complete recovery of His Majesty. Lf this happily is the case, I feel that we should pause to pay a tribute to the skill of the
His Majesty the King

attendant physicians, surgeons and nurses, and to their respective professions, and to acknowledge with grateful hearts the beneficent Providence which, in answer to the prayers of a people, has guided their ministrations.
It will, I believe, be the wish of the Canadian people that, before entering upon our discussions, we, as their representatives, should give to His Majesty at the earliest possible moment some expression of our feelings at the promise of His Majesty's restoration to health and strength. If therefore it should meet with the convenience of hon. members opposite, and if the house will give its consent to waive the customary notice, I shall be pleased forthwith to move an address to His Majesty embodying the sentiments which we cherish in common. With the consent of the house I move the following resolution:
That it be resolved that an humble address be presented to His Majesty the King in the following words:
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty:
Most Gracious Sovereign:
We, Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Canada, in parliament assembled, humbly beg leave to approach Your Majesty with the expression of our thankfulness and rejoicing that, under the providence of God, there has been vouchsafed to Your Majesty the promise of complete recovery from the severe and protracted illness which Your Majesty has borne with so great patience and fortitude. We have watched the course of Your Majesty's illness with anxious solicitude and with profound sympathy for Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen, and for all the members of the Royal Family. It is with sentiments of the deepest sincerity and loyalty that, as representatives of the Canadian people, we join our prayers to those from all parts of the British Empire for the early restoration of Your Majesty to the fullness of health and strength.


Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Leader of the Opposition):: This is an occasion on which
those who sit to the left of the Speaker can associate themselves with the observations of the Prime Minister (Mr. Mackenzie King), not in 'his capacity as Prime Minister and chief of the government, but as leader of the House of Commons. And, the Prime Minister having spoken as leader of the house by virtue of his office, it only remains for me to say how heartily we agree, and how earnestly we associate ourselves, with every observation he has made.
The King of England has occupied, as the Prime Minister has so fittingly said, a very great place in the world. He came to the throne, as we know, rather unexpectedly and his life has been one of devotion to duty. No man in our time has given a greater example of earnest and sincere devotion to duty than 
our king. It has been said of him by one of our great contemporary writers that our king asks nothing from any man which our king does not himself do. That, I think, fairly indicates the attitude of the sovereign during his reign. When he was stricken with illness it was because of his devotion to duty that he found himself in the condition in which he was; and one cannot but realize how great a position he has occupied in the constitutional life of our country when one observes what has transpired during the period of his illness.
I will not repeat what has been so well said, but I do associate myself with the observations of the Prime Minister as to the constitutional attitude of the sovereign with respect to every movement that has taken place to broaden, to expand and to extend the constitutional liberties of his people during his reign. We in this country are,-well aware just what that means.
It has been said by some that the sovereign plays but little part in the administration of the affairs of government. Those who know intimately the history of our times know that this is not quite accurate; the sovereign has played an ever-increasing rather than a diminishing part in the life of the country. His wisdom, his detachment, his impartiality have enabled him to speak with his ministers with an authority, and to give an assistance and advice, which could come, in the very nature of things, from no other source. The Canadian people have peculiar reasons to rejoice that one who knew their country so well and who has, with fortitude and patience, borne so serious an illness is now on the threshold, we trust, of permanent recovery. No calamity could be greater to the empire or to this Dominion than that the illness of the sovereign should have a fatal termination; and if there is one people that has reason to rejoice more than another it is the Canadian people-the people who inhabit this great Dominion. We are all agreed on that.
I desire to associate myself with what has been said by the Prime Minister with respect to the men of science who against great odds battled for the life of their patient. I suppose that the victory of science over death has never been more marked than in the case of the illness of our sovereign. All that experience could teach, all that research had made known to younger men, was made available, and the result has been a striking tribute to the ability of science to grapple with the powers of death in a manner never before known.
And there is one other to whom, I think, our hearts at this moment go out, one who,

Internal Economy Commission
in the opinion of those who were in constant attendance, the nurses and others waiting upon His Majesty, has played perhaps as great a part, in bringing about the present favourable condition of the sovereign, as any of his physicians. I refer to Her Majesty the Queen. With a fortitude and a courage of which we have a few similar examples in our history she has borne long vigils and cared incessantly for her husband; and as one of our great poets has said, she has discharged her duties as a wife, a mother and a queen in a manner that has merited the commendation and approval of all the people who live beneath our flag. For that, too, we are grateful, proud and happy, and realizing as we all do the weakness of human nature when assailed by the shafts of disease, we are proud to live in a country where men of science have been able to achieve such great things, and we are happy that the life of our sovereign has been spared. It is with extreme joy that upon the threshold of this new session of parliament we place on record our appreciation of the great service rendered to the empire and the world by our Sovereign Lord and King and the great part he has played in peace and in war in relation both to his own subjects and to people in far off lands. The interest with which they have followed the course of his illness has been the subject of much discussion throughout the world. Why was this so? It was not alone because of his position but because of the splendid example he had given of devotion and unselfish courage in the performance of the duties of his high office.
So in common with all the people beneath our flag it gives me very great pleasure indeed to associate myself with the motion of the Prime Minister that this parliament place on record its sincere and fervent hope that the life of the one who means so much to the world, and very much more to our empire, may be long spared, that he may rule over a loyal, devoted and contented people. That indeed is in accordance with the history and tradition of His Majesty's loyal opposition.


Mr. ROBERT GARDINER (Acadia):: I desire to take this opportunity of associating myself and my colleagues with the remarks of the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. We trust that His Majesty the King is on the road to recovery and that soon he will be so far recovered as to be able to take his accustomed place and perform the duties which attach themselves to his great office.


Mr. JOHN EVANS (Rosetown):: On behalf of the group which I represent I wish also to extend our sympathy to His Majesty the King because of his long illness. He has endeared himself to all his subjects by the keen interest he has always taken in their welfare, and we sincerely hope for his speedy recovery.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
William Lyon Mackenzie King: Thajt the said address be engrossed.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
William Lyon Mackenzie King: That a message be sent to the Senate informing their honours that this house has passed an address to His Most Excellent Majesty the King expressing the thankfulness and rejoicing of the people of Canada on the promise of complete recovery of His Majesty and requesting their honours to unite with this house in the said address hereto attached, and that the clerk of the house do carry such message to the Senate.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

William Lyon Mackenzie King: That a special committee be appointed to prepare and report, with all convenient speed, lists of members to compose the select standing committees of this house under standing order 63. said committee to be composed of Messrs. King (Kootenay), Forke, Casgrain, Hanson and Stewart (Leeds).
He said: This is the same committee we had last year.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

[Stage Direction]
Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister) presented the following message from His Excellency the Governor General:
The Governor General transmits to the House of Commons a certified copy of an approved minute of council appointing the Honourable W. R. Motherwell, Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable J. H. King, Minister of Pensions and National Health, the Honourable J. C. Elliott, Minister of Public Works, and the Honourable Fernand Rinfret, Secretary of State, to act with the Speaker of the House of Commons as commissioners for the purposes and under the provisions of chapter 145 of the revised statutes of Canada, 1927, intituled An Act respecting the House of Commons.

William Lyon Mackenzie King: Mr. Speaker, you have
The late Mr. Goodison

drawn the attention of hon. members of this house to the vacancies which have arisen in its membership since the last session of parliament. Of the number, one has been occasioned by the hand of death. The constituency of West Lambton was represented in the last two sessions of this parliament and in the previous parliament by Mr. W. T. Goodison of Sarnia, Ontario. Mr. Goodison's place in the representation of that constituency is filled to-day by a new member who has just been introduced.
Before we enter upon the duties of the session it will be the wish of all present that some expression should be given to the loss which we have sustained in the death of the one who has been taken from our midst, and that to Mrs. Goodison and to her son and daughter there should go from this house an expression of the sympathy which, by all its members, is felt for them in their great bereavement.
It not infrequently happens, especially with men of unassuming and unobtrusive ways, that we come to know the extent of their public service and the degree to which their lives have 'become a part of the communities in which they live only when we witness the void which their passing creates. This was particularly true of our late friend, whose great modesty and retiring disposition served to conceal a wealth of service to a variety of interests that might well be the envy of any man in public life. Indeed, so much was this the case with Mr. Goodison that, with profit to ourselves, and honour to our parliament, we might well pause to consider how many-sided his activities were, and how deep-rooted were the associations which made him an integral part of the community in which he lived and which he served so well.
Mr. Goodison was born at Strathroy, Ontario, on February 18, 1878; he died on the 3rd of December of last year. In the brief period of little more than fifty years, he had come to be identified with most of the important interests of the community in which he lived, and of the constituency he represented in this parliament.
Most of Mr. Goodison's life was spent in Sarnia, the county town of West Lambton. Shortly after graduating as a barrister from Osgoode Hall, Toronto, he became the president and manager of the John Goodison Thresher Company, Limited, an industry intimately associated with the manufacturing and agricultural interests of western Ontario. With the advancement of both those interests, the latter half of his life was closely identified. To the activities incidental to his interests

as an industrialist he added many of the activities of an agriculturist. He was known as a successful farmer. He had a special interest in live stock, was the owner of a large stock farm and a racing stable. He was closely identified with the business and commercial life of Sarnia, and with its educational work. He was president of the Industrial Mortgage & Savings Association of Sarnia, a director of the Ontario Commercial Travellers Association, of the Sarnia chamber of commerce, and chairman of the Sarnia board of education, as well as chairman of its building committee. The present collegiate institute and technical school at Sarnia, one of the finest of its class in Ontario, is generally referred to as a monument to his breadth of vision and business acumen. He was not less closely associated with the work of the church to which he belonged.
There was something even finer about Mr. Goodison than this record of service and achievement, splendid as it is. It was the nature of the man himself. He was one of the most sincere, most upright and most lovable of men. There was nothing assertive or ostentatious about him, indeed he was the very embodiment of modesty and humility. As I heard an intimate personal friend say of him, "His simplicity of character was really alluring." It mattered little to what walk of life a, man belonged, no one could long be associated with him in any pursuit without becoming conscious of a sympathy which helps to make all the world akin.
It 'is not a matter of surprise that one of so great experience, so wide a range of interests, and possessed of so sterling a character shornd have found his way into parliament, as the representative of the community with which his many activities were so intimately identified, and that in the brief period of his membership in this house, he should have won so completely the confidence of the men of his own party, and the good will and admiration of hon. members opposite.
Mr. Goodison was first returned to parliament at the general elections of 1925. He was again returned at the general elections which took place in the following year. His membership in the commons was, therefore, of little more than three years duration, but in that brief space of time he had come to be recognized as one who held a foremost position in the councils of the political party to which he belonged and in this parliament. I need not recount his endeavors here on behalf of his constituency and in the pursuance of the principles and policies he upheld. They are known to us all and have found more

The late Mr. Goodison
than one enduring expression which will have a permanent association with his name. Had his life been spared, there is no doubt that he would very soon have attained the distinction of being an outstanding figure in the public life of our country.
We on this side, who knew Mr. Goodison best, and who have reason to remember his great loyalty and fidelity, have suffered an irreparable loss. When we recall his character and his ability, and that he was little more than fifty years of age at the time of his death, we may, 1 think, say that the loss to our parliament and to our country is also irreparable.
May I be permitted a further word in conclusion, and in this address myself more particularly to the hon. leader of the opposition and the gentlemen who sit around him. We believe that the avoidance of a contest in West Lambton in the filling of the vacancy which was occasioned by Mr. Goodison's death was the outcome of a very natural desire on the part of members of all political parties in West Lambton to pay some tribute of great respect to the memory of one who held so strong a place in their affections as well as in their regard, and that the avoidance of a political contest seemed to them, in the circumstances, a fitting tribute to pay. We recognize that even the wish of the constituency in this particular might not have been realized without some degree of acquiescence on the part of my hon. friend. Believing this to be true, may I say to hon. gentlemen opposite that their chivalrous attitude in this regard is deeply appreciated by those of us who have suffered most, and constitutes a tribute on the part of this House of Commons to the memory of him who has gone, far more eloquent than any eulogy it would be possible to express in words.


Richard Bedford Bennett: Mr. Speaker, the span of human life at best is brief, and it does seem that at the beginning of every session there is some sad circumstance to remind us of that brevity of human life and the futility of human effort.
Mr. Goodison was much better known to those who sit opposite than to those who surround me. It was my privilege to sit with him upon a committee where men's passions were at times displayed, and where feelings were not always of the kindest. I should like to bear this tribute to him: that even when the provocation seemed greatest he endeavored always to be fair. His sense of justice was great. He desired impartiality so
far as a man who is a loyal supporter of his party might be impartial in the discharge of the onerous duties which devolved upon him as a member of that committee. He did his duty as he saw it and he did it faithfully and honestly and well. Those of us who knew him by reason of that association came closer in contact with him, perhaps, than those who only knew him as a member of this house.
His history is the history of a typical, industrious Canadian who not only had trained himself for a position at the bar, but, by reason of his family connection, had became associated with a great industrial enterprise. In that industrial life he became a master. His enterprise occupied a great place amongst those manufacturing farm implements, and he was justly proud of it. He was prou'd of its history and its achievement, and prouder still of the quality of the goods it produced and the ability to sell its product, because of its merit, in competition with the world.
Reference has been made by the Prime Minister to Mr. Goodison's position in his community, wherein be held the respect and the esteem and, one might not exaggerate by saying the affection of the people among whom he lived. It is not always that the great captains of industry are able to win the affection and esteem of the people in their own community. Such, however, was the position of Mr. Goodison.
He has been called by death. He has left behind him a record of willing, useful service to his country and devotion to his business. In the discharge of his duty, as he saw it, associated with one of the great political parties of this country, his allegiance to that party was not so strong or so loyal that he might not see at times causes for criticism or just observations with respect to what the policies might ultimately lead to. We who knew him know that this house has lost a distinguished member, a great Canadian, a man of industry, a man of perseverance, but, above all, as the Prime Minister has said, a man of character, and that which will endure is not the recollection of the benefits that came to his fellow citizens in the community in which he lived because of his courage and enterprise in business, because of the position he held, but the example of his character to younger men and women, which will long survive the memory of any services he may have given in the circumstances to which allusion has been made. That character will be of some influence to guide others in their careers, and the memory of it will be precious not only to the members of this house but to his family and those who come after him.
8	COMMONS
Natural Resources-Western Provinces
We desire to associate ourselves with the observations of the Prime Minister in extending to the bereaved wife and the stricken family our very sincere and lasting sympathy, believing they will find some solace in the fact that their great loss will be to us, not so great a loss, it is true, but a loss that will not easily be forgotten. His memory will be precious to the members of this house who were intimately associated with him in the discharge of their legislative duties.


Robert Gardiner: Mr. Speaker, in Mr. Goodison's death this house has lost a very valuable member. I did not have the privilege of knowing him prior to his entry into this house, but later I learned to know him very well and I sympathize with his bereaved wife and family. I feel that in his death I have lost a personal friend, and our group wish to be associated with the remarks of the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition.
On motion of Mr. Mackenzie King the house adjourned at 4.40 p.m.
Friday, February 8, 1929