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Newfoundland National Convention, 10 April 1947, Debates on Confederation with Canada

April 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 465

April 10, 1947

Mr. Jackman I give notice that I will on tomorrow move the following:
Whereas it is desirable that the National Convention and the people of Newfoundland should be fully informed, so far as possible, of all the facts having any bearing upon forms of government that might be submitted to the people in a national referendum;
Therefore be it resolved that the appropriate authorities be advised that the Con vention desires to inform the Government of the United States of America of the Convention's wish to learn that government's attitude on the question of the federal union of Newfoundland with the United States of America: and further wishes to ascertain the terms and conditions on the basis of which the Government of the United States of America consider that such federal union might be effected, for which purpose 466 NATIONAL CONVENTION April 1947 this Convention desires to send a delegation to Washington, D.C.
Be it further resolved that the delegation shall have no authority whatsoever to negotiate or conclude any agreement or in any manner to bind the Convention or the people of Newfoundland.
Mr. Chairman You can file your notice of motion with the Clerk. Orders of the day: notice of motion. Mr. Higgins to give notice that he will on tomorrow move that the Report of the Mining Committee be presented.
Mr. Higgins I give that notice now. I am prepared to proceed this afternoon with the presentation of the report if the Convention is prepared to receive it.
Mr. Chairman Do you move that?
Mr. Higgins Yes.
Mr. Chairman It has been moved and seconded that, with the consent of the Convention, notice be waived in this matter, and that this Convention do now resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider that matter. Is the House ready for the question?
[The motion carried, and [he Convention resolved into a committee of the whole]

Report of the Mining Committee:[1] Committee of the Whole

Mr. Higgins I would like to inform you that the report which you have in front of you is not complete insofar as the mimeographing is concerned.
Subject to your approval, I would like to go ahead this afternoon with the sections that are completed.
As you will note, the report is divided into nine sections, made up of the introduction, sections on Buchans, Bell Island, St. Lawrence, sections dealing with coal and copper, a section dealing with various other minerals in the country, and a table comprising the water-power. Insofar as the water-power is concerned the Committee felt it was not strictly a part of its job, but as no other committee did it, we brought in what we could on that subject. The other sections left are those on Labrador and the section containing the summary....
I don't intend to comment on the contents of the report before you, as the introduction deals very fully with the report itself. I would like, however, to thank the members of the Mining Committee for their co-operation in the preparation of this report. The Committee worked extremely hard and, as none of us, with the exception of Mr. Jackman, had any real knowledge of the mining industry, it took us a little longer to get the information and digest the facts necessary to compile this report.... I suggest that we might deal with it in sections, taking the introduction first.
[The Secretary read the introduction]
Mr. Higgins Are you satisfied to proceed with the next section, which is really part of the introduction, or is there any question on the introduction? I will be glad to answer them now.
Mr. Crosbie I would like to know about the $25,000 that was spent in Labrador, where this was spent and how.
Mr. Higgins You mean in the field survey?
Mr. Crosbie Yes.
Mr. Higgins It was the cost of the parties in the field. Their expenses were paid by the Geological Survey....
Mr. Smallwood On the first page, the third paragraph, while mining is listed third of the country's industries, nevertheless the wages paid prove it to be the most highly paid industry in the country. Does that mean the hourly wages paid are the highest, or the average earnings per man per hour?
Mr. Higgins The average earnings per man per hour are the highest. Mr. Howse gave us that information.
Mr. Jackman On page 4, paragraph 3: "It is of great interest to note that this same mine again possibly will be a producer of lead, this time under the management of the company operating the mine at Buchans." I would like to read here a quotation from Toronto with regard to the situation in regard to the supplies of lead in the world today: "Today lead is receiving in world markets the highest price in history — 15 cents per pound. There is no reason why this should not be held for some time to come." Apparently the situation today as far as lead is concerned is very precarious, and they have to go to outside April 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 467 markets, and it looks to me as if the value of the Buchans mining output will be greatly increased, and this will no doubt add to our national income.
Mr. Higgins I may say Mr. Jackman, on that point, I have some figures here that were given by Mr. W. E. Ralph, Director of the Geological Survey, and he gives an estimate of the lifetime reserve of the various metals in the USA last year, and for lead he says, "Based on present government reserves and the present rate of consumption, they only have reserves for four years at the present time." That's four years of normal use. I understand, in fact I know, that the Buchans Mining Co. has signed an operation agreement with the company syndicate that has the ownership of La Manche to begin exploration immediately, and they are actually there exploring at the present time. There is a section on La Manche here, and they are hoping to go into production in the present year.
Mr. Harrington Before you pass on from this section, on page 4 there is a list of expenditures of the Geological Survey, I was just adding up the figures, and it comes to about $400,000, and over a 13 year period it comes to about $30,000 a year. I am wondering if the Committee thought that was a reasonable sum.
Mr. Higgins As far as I remember the Committee does say that they would like to see the amount increased, and the Geological Survey increased as a whole. We think it is high time that we had our minerals thoroughly classified and evaluated.
[The Secretary read sections of the report and Mr. Higgins answered questions on points of detail]
Mr. Smallwood Before you pass on from Buchans, what I am a little nervous about is that as you read over each section there may not be an opportunity to come back to them. I know that theoretically there is, but practically there may not be. This Table III, compiled by Mr. Hollett I believe, follows page 12.
Mr. Higgins Yes, that was Mr. Hollett's idea.
Mr. Smallwood It is a splendid idea. I would like to make this point. This table in the first column for each year shows the total revenue of the Government of Newfoundland, and further over in the table there is a column showing the estimated amount of that total revenue that came into the country on account of Buchans, and the final figure shows the percentage it bears to the total amount. If that were done on the same basis exactly for Bell Island and for the AND Co. and Bowaters and a considerable number of other large companies and corporations and work out the percentage, I have the feeling that upon this same basis you would find that 70 or 80 % of the revenue that the government receives each year is paid by those eight or ten large corporations. Now if so, it would be an entirely misleading table if it were compiled for a large number of companies, because, as a matter of fact, the revenue is received mainly from the people of Newfoundland and not from eight or ten companies or corporations.
Mr. Higgins We don't claim that.
Mr. Smallwood No, it is because the company is operating.
Mr. Higgins In other words that money would not be there except for Buchans.
Mr. Smallwood That raises the other point I want to make. I found myself running into this very danger when I was reading this table — a sort of comfortable feeling that the Buchans Mining Co. was paying a good fat slice of taxes to the government, whereas in actual fact they are not doing any such thing.
Mr. Higgins I don't see where you get that idea.
Mr. Smallwood No, the table does not say so, but the general impression I got from this table in particular was a comfortable feeling that somehow or another, with such grand enterprises out there, and the government getting as a result of it over 7.5% of the revenue, almost a tenth of the whole revenue, Buchans must contribute a lot of money to the revenue. That is through thinking of Buchans as an operation, but thinking of the Buchans Mining Co. and of the Terra Nova Properties Ltd.[1] as companies, it is rather startling. You see here they have made $18 million since they have been operating.
Mr. Higgins "Total net profits over the said 20 years were close to $18,672,240." By the way these figures we ascertained from the facts we had.
Mr. Smallwood You worked them out?
Mr. Higgins Yes.
Mr. Smallwood How far does that go, to the end of 1946?
Mr. Higgins Yes.
468 NATIONAL CONVENTION April 1947
Mr. Smallwood I know it is a lot to do, but essentially all they did was this: put some capital to work, enough to hire men and to open the mine and build the plant in which to separate the ores. That's all they did. You can put quotations around "all" if you like, but the point is that that mineral was one of the things that God put in the country when he made it, and he put it there for us, the people of Newfoundland, not for outsiders. It is just a case of digging down into the earth and getting it and selling it. The day comes when there is no more to take out, and the asset is gone, and the net result of it all is that ten years from now we may look back with a thrill to recognise that we had at Buchans a wonderful piece of wealth, that was put there when the country was made; and a foreign company came in, because we did not have the capital, and was given the right to mine it, and, having been there from 1927 to 1957, they cleaned up something in the nature of $25-30 million and went off, and there is no asset left. That's the hard thing about a mine.
Mr. Higgins Does not that happen everywhere?
Mr. Smallwood Yes, with this big difference, that the capital to develop the mine is usually in the country, but these profits do not remain in the country.
Mr. Higgins Take Canada, does not a great deal of the capital coming into their mining concerns come from the States?
Mr. Smallwood Well, it did. The point I am trying to get at is this: the Mining Committee is merely stating the facts, and it is not your fault or the Convention's fault....
Mr. Higgins Thank you very much for that!
Mr. Smallwood But it is the old, old story of a corporation coming into the country and being given concessions out of which they clean up; well, here's one company that's cleaned up $18.5 million.
Mr. Higgins That's two companies, Mr. Smallwood.
Mr. Smallwood Well it's all the one mine If they want to split up into two outfits that's their business. They have cleaned up $18.5 million. Have you a table showing the total taxes they have paid to the government?
Mr. Higgins In "E", Mr. Smallwood.
Mr. Smallwood Customs duties, I don't mind at all, $2.25 million.
Mr. Higgins Income tax, there you will see.
Mr. Smallwood Yes, I am coming to that. They have paid $2.25 million in custom duties, but that is identical with what any company does. I am referring to the principle of it. If you start a sawmill in White Bay you have to pay customs duties on certain materials that you have to use in that sawmill. They are not doing us any favour, they are just on a par with every sawmill.
Mr. Higgins Well, it might have happened that they could have had free entry.
Mr. Smallwood That would be that much worse. We will take income tax. 1 take it they pay the regular rates?
Mr. Higgins As far as we know.
Mr. Smallwood I believe it is so. The amount upon which they pay it may be according to agreement, but once the amount is determined they pay the normal amount of income tax.
Mr. Higgins You have to admit the fairness of Buchans, they have given us a full disclosure of all their figures.
Mr. Smallwood I understand that. They were very decent in giving us these figures. They have turned in $5.25 million for the movement of concentrates. While it is perfectly true that this money came to the Railway, therefore the government, nevertheless it is not money for nothing — they got good service. You can't call that taxes.
Mr. Higgins But it is money we would not have had otherwise.
Mr. Smallwood Oh yes, but we have been blinded by that fact all our lives.
Mr. Higgins Pity we were not blinded a little more in that case. As far as the Mining Committee is concerned, we realise it is a wonderful hole in the ground at Buchans. We feel that mining is a gamble in every way, and they were entitled to the profit they got.
Mr. Smallwood This does seem as if you were defending the Buchans Mining Company.
Mr. Higgins Well I am not defending Buchans, but the profits. I am not going to get into an argument on it.
Mr. Smallwood Let me pass on. They get value for what they paid in for freight and express. In fact this was brought out in the Report on Transportation and Communications. They got a lot of their freight hauled by the Railway at rates which were a lot lower than they should have April 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 469 been, and since we brought that out these rates were increased. They got good value for the $5.25 million they paid the Railway and the $1.1 million. I don't think we have anything to thank the company for whatever. What you have got left is royalty. All these come to a lot of money, it is perfectly true, but the duty is the perfectly normal thing that any company pays, and also the income tax, and the freights, etc., they paid the Railway are subnormal. Well the rest is royalty, and what is it? Less than $1 million from 1927 to 1946, $933,000, call it a million in all the years they have been operating. $1 million out of a profit of $18 million! Of course we are pleased that we did get that $2.5 million for customs duty, and that $2 million income tax, and the money that the Railway got, the $5.25 million and $1 million for freights, a total of nearly $12 million in those years, that's fine.
Mr. Jackman What did labour get?
Mr. Smallwood $15.25 million, that is salaries amounted to $2 million, and they spent on lumber and mine timber nearly $2 million, and other supplies within the country $3 million, and they paid to the AND Co. $5.5 million, mostly for labourhandling concentrates, etc. That would be in Botwood would it?
Mr. Higgins Yes. That AND Co. handling concentrates is mostly longshore work.
Mr. Smallwood That is a total of $40 million since they have come in, that they paid out. That's splendid, and I am not complaining or anything of that nature. The point I am making is that out of a total of $40 million they have paid to the government less than $1 million, if you exclude income tax and custom duties. Now I would like very much if Mr. Higgins, the convenor of this Committee, a lawyer and a King's Counsel, and a member of this Convention, and who is trying to figure what the future income of the country and the future income of the Government of Newfoundland is likely to be, I wonder if Mr. Higgins, with his specialised knowledge, could tell us what chance is there of getting more royalty or special tax out of them, since they are taking the last bit of mineral we have in the world in that part of the country? What can we hook out of them? What stands in the way of hooking more out of them? If they have made $18 million profit I am not inclined to turn handsprings of joy, I want to know what we can do to get more out of them.
Mr. Higgins I don't like to give legal information in this matter, but, as you will note, there is a written agreement between the company and the government, and you know the difficulty in breaking a written agreement. You can do it, the government can do anything it wants, but I think it extremely unlikely; it would not be in keeping with governmental policy for a government to break a written agreement if the conditions are being carried out by the other party. We realise that the company is making a very good profit, and we consider that the Buchans Mining Co. are probably more entitled to it than the other party to the agreement, and the other party to the agreement got the land.
Mr. Smallwood What other party?
Mr. Higgins The Terra Nova Properties Ltd. It's been a very fine deal for the Buchans Mining Co., but, as they told us, they themselves spent a certain amount of money before Buchans came into the picture at all, and they consider themselves that they should be repaid with interest.
Mr. Smallwood You think, then, that the government can't get any more out of them?
Mr. Higgins I would not like to give it as a definite ruling, but that would be my opinion.
Mr. Smallwood I wonder could we get an opinion from the Chairman?
Mr. Chairman The Chairman has to be completely impartial.
Mr. Ashbourne I would like to have some information on Appendix E. In 1945 the duties paid were $137,611.72, and for the nine months of 1946, I don't know if that's an estimate or the exact figures, $51,000?
Mr. Higgins We are given to understand these are the exact figures.
Mr. Ashbourne That's quite a drop, although I know one period was for a year and the other for nine months.
Mr. Higgins The whole table was supplied by Mr. Thomas, and I am afraid I can't enlarge on it.
Mr. Hollett The impression I have is that the Company found it practically impossible to get the necessary parts to keep up the mine, and they went to work and made them themselves. That column for nine months is estimated, but we have been assured that the column under income tax from the Buchans Mining Company for 1946 will go very much over $500,000. 470 NATIONAL CONVENTION April 1947 Mr. Ashbourne Thank you for that information. I am glad to see that they are paying such a large amount into the income tax, and I would like to know and feel that there are a good many other mines in Newfoundland that can produce the wealth that Buchans has produced. Whether or not we have these mines I do not know, but I know that I stood on my feet 20 years ago when this company's bill went through the House,[1] and I believe they were looking for 20 years free customs duty, is that right? Were they given that?
Mr. Higgins I don't think so. They did have a special rate, but I can't tell you what it is.
Mr. Ashbourne I understand that they did have it for 20 years free.
Mr. Higgins I believe there were provisions in the Crown Lands Act of 1930. There may be special provisions for Buchans, I don't know, do you Mr. Hollett?
Mr. Hollett The title to the Buchans mine comes from the 1905 act, and the duty rates are defined in that act.
Mr. Ashbourne As my memory serves me they were looking for exemption for 20 years from that time. The argument put up was that they did not know exactly how much ore was there, but it seemed to be limited. My argument is that if we have mines in this country of good grade ore, gold and other things, they have to be prepared to pay a higher rate of tax than a mine of a doubtful nature. The answer given me was that I should not "balk" a certain company. I agree with Mr. Smallwood that this has been a very rich mine, and I realise that they have paid out a lot of money, but the question is, has the country reaped the benefit that it should from its natural resources? We have these assets, we know that every ton of ore taken out of the country is one ton less, and we have to be careful, and our governments have to be very careful when they give such sweeping terms and leases of millions of acres of land to any company. That's a point we want to try and stress and impress upon any government that takes power in this country. They are dealing with the natural resources and assets of Newfoundland, and, whilst it is only right that these companies that put their capital there should have a just return, yet the mineral that's in the earth belongs to Newfoundland and that is where we, as Newfoundland people, want to see that our interests are safeguarded, and as regards granting exemptions and certain other concessions, we should know that they are justified when we come to do it.
Mr. Cashin Mr. Chairman, in connection with this nine months duty of $5l,000, I wonder if Mr. Higgins could tell us whether they were informed as to whether or not the government for the past 12 months ever gave a rebate of duty on chemicals to the Buchans Mining Co.?
Mr. Higgins I can't tell you Major Cashin, but I have been informed that negotiations were going on between the Buchans Mining Co. and the government. I presume it must be something in connection with duties, but the Committee was not informed that I remember.
Mr. Cashin As a matter of fact the government did give them a concession on their chemicals of $75,000.
Mr. Smallwood Now we are getting somewhere. I think it is completely outrageous. When I look at the burden that customs duty and taxation generally constitute to some of our local industries, and I don't mean local manufacturers now but the fishermen and the seal hunters, when I think of the burden of taxation on our own Newfoundland industries and discover after all this talk of mine that on top of all that that they are allowed scot-free $75,000 customs revenue, it is utterly scandalous.
I have just discovered this here now in "E": "Customs Duty total $28 million." But in the very next column: "Total paid to the Newfoundland government and to others: $40 million." What would that be?
Mr. Hollett Add the seventh column, payments made to the Newfoundland government, which is the payment made to others, and you get $40 million.
Mr. Smallwood I see, yes. The total of the first five columns. $11 million, I don't even like that heading, it was not paid to the Newfoundland government.
Mr. Higgins Well, they got it.
Mr. Smallwood No, $6.5 million of that was paid to the Railway for services rendered.
Mr. Higgins Well, is that not the government?
Mr. Smallwood No. They are only a common carrier. The government had to pay the deficit of the Railway because the Buchans Mining April 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 471 Co. was not paying enough to them. They had to dig down and pay the operating deficit because they gave Buchans and other companies lower freight rates than they should have. That's not paid to the government, but to the Railway, so you have to cut that in half.
Mr. Higgins This Committee calls the Railway the Newfoundland government.
Mr. Smallwood All right, the government lost money. If I gave you $100 and it costs you $110 for me to pay you that, I have not given you any have I?
Mr. Higgins No.
Mr. Smallwood Well, if Buchans pay the Railway $6.5 million for hauling their freight, and it cost the Railway $7 million, then the government had to pony up half a million dollars.
Mr. Higgins That does not say that Buchans cost the country anything for the Railway.
Mr. Smallwood Of course it does. At the moment we are only considering Buchans. Others are doing the same. I feel like making a motion that "Payments made the Newfoundland government" be cut out. It is misleading.
Mr. Hollett I had something to do with the compilation of this report, and I don't want the Convention to get the wrong impression from Mr. Smallwood's remarks. He seems to have got the idea that we should keep our ores in the ground and let them stay there till the next millenium. I fail to see what value ores are if they are not dug out and sold I see no reason why we should keep them mere. If we go back to the other table we find they contributed 7.6% to the revenue of the country. Mr. Smallwood drinks that duties do not go into the Newfoundland government. I wonder where they do go? They surely went into the general revenue of the country. Royalties certainly did, income tax — there should be no doubt about that, and the trouble seems to be concentrates, freights, etc. I will tell you what Buchans get from the AND Co. for that amount. We will forget that the cars are loaded with ore when they leave Buchans. They send two trains a day from Bishop's Falls to Buchans to haul away ore. The AND Company put two engineers and one brakesman and one conductor on the Newfoundland government's engine. That is connected up on the cars owned by the Buchans Mining Co. The government finds just the engine and three or four men to manipulate it. They go to Buchans and load up and come back again, and the only part of the Newfoundland Railway which is touched by these cars is the railway between Millenown Junction and Bishop's Falls. In other words, during the past 19 years the AND Co. for concentrate freight, have paid $5,375,420, for supplying an engineer and the men to drive it, to haul their own cars to and from Millenown Junction and Bishop's Falls. I think that looks a very good showing.... We merely threw the point out to the Convention, the value of that little hole in the ground up in Buchans, away in the heart of the country, which would have been of no value whatever if certain corporations did not secure certain sums of money. It would have been there yet, and this country would have been deprived of a great deal of money, over $40 million. Our men would have been deprived of labour to the value of over $5 million; we would not have received over $4 million in royalties, income tax, etc., so I fail to see why Mr. Smallwood gets so hot under the collar on this question. I would like him to hold fire until he sees the report which we shall put in about me Bell Island and Labrador operations. I felt pretty hot under the collar too when I saw some of these figures, but we were definitely informed that ore is absolutely valueless until it is dug out, freighted from the country and sold. It seems to me that if the proper deal had been made in the first instance, we would either have got more money, or the corporations concerned would not have taken the chance. I am prepared to state that the less taxes you can put on capital coming into this country in the endeavour to locate ores and send them out — I would almost go so far as to say we should let them import all their machinery free of duty, the better it will be for this country.... I think the Buchans Company have made a jolly good thing out of this. I am glad they have, and I think the country has made a very good job out of it too.
Mr. Smallwood I agree with so much of what Mr. Hollett says, that it seems ungraeious to disagree in part. The issue is not whether we should be glad to have Buchans or not, of course we are glad, but Mr. Hollett has summed up for me better than I was able to do myself the whole attitude to this whole business. He said we should be grateful about those mining companies com 472 NATIONAL CONVENTION April 1947 ing into Newfoundland. That is precisely the thing that we ought not to be. That's what we have been. You have five corporations in this country today. First, Bell Island. The story, if that's ever written, of the taxes they have paid and have not paid, would raise anybody's hair in this country. Some of it has been told, and men have almost gone to gaol over it, but they have never been treated as in almost any other country, except perhaps some oriental country where it is graft from the top to the bottom. This country has been treating these foreign corporations in the most gingerly way, and letting them off from the paying of taxes. Bell Island, the AND Co., Bowaters, Buchans and St. Lawrence — here are five companies. They did not put any minerals, timber or water-power in the country, but they have been taking them out and using them up and never paying to the government of Newfoundland a just share of the cost of running the country, a fair share of the government's revenue, and when I say "just" I am thinking of the standard that's laid down in USA and Canada for taxes for such corporations. Compare our taxes with the tax that they get in Canada and the United States. A little later we will have the report on the Labrador Mining and Development Co. I am looking forward eagerly to what the government has decided they should pay in taxes. I don't want to anticipate this part of the report, but by all accounts we are on the very trembling edge of one of the greatest mines of the earth. Are you going to have someone standing up 40 or 50 years from now talking about the short-sightedness and lack of imagination of the Government of Newfoundland in the 1940s in giving away one of the great resources that God gave us? We are glad of the labour they have given and the wages they have paid, though I am not glad of what they gave us on the Railway, I regret we lost money on that. If we had refused to let them use the Railway they would have had to build a railway of their own. Instead of telling them to build their own railway we say, "Oh no, we will haul your concentrate for you at a loss", and that' 5 what we have been doing instead of letting them build their OWn railway, or letting them pay the cost. I like Buchans, I have gone in there on train, airplane, Speeder; everything but walk in there. I like the company and the people, and I am not grumbling with them for not paying more taxes than they are supposed to pay, but I am grumbling against the law and the attitude Mr. Hollett just expressed. There may be other companies come in and I would not approach them in the way he has. I would stop it right now, and any other companies, paper companies, water-power or anything that uses our natural resources, I'd make them pay for it. You have to tax them or tax the fishermen. We tax the fishermen so high that we can't sell the fish in competition with other countries, and in comes a big firm that's making $18 million, and what do we hook off them? A little paltry $1 million. We ought to be ashamed.
Mr. Hollett I am not ashamed of anything whatever. I would let companies bring in all the machinery they wanted duty free, but I would plank on a big income tax. If you are going to put a prohibitive tax on machinery, who is going to come in here? You say God put the ore in the ground, well who put the fish in the sea?
Mr. Higgins If we don't give these people fair treatment, they won't come here at all.
Mr. Smallwood I agree with the fair treatment, but I say we should treat ourselves fairly.
Mr. Higgins It might be as well if we left that angle over until the whole report is in.
Mr. Penney I don't think it is fair for one delegate to take up so much time on one subject as the delegate from Bonavista has this afternoon. He is surely giving the Buchans Mining Co. a hard time of it, and he told us that God put the mineral in the ground, and I suppose it is a natural inference that the Devil took it out, but when we look at it right, they give some 700 men $2,000 a year; and I think it would be a good thing, instead of knocking these concerns, if we gave them praise for what they have been doing, and we could spend our time in a better way, I think, to pray that Almighty God would give us direction to find out more holes in the ground, with the help of our friends Mr. Howse and Dr. Snelgrove, to tell us where mey are so that we could find them.
Mr. Reddy I am inclined to agree with Mr. Smallwood and Mr. Ashboume. I don't think the country has got enough out of these companies. They are using our natural resources and I think they should pay for them.
Mr. Hollett We all think that.
Mr. Chairman Is the committee ready for the question? The motion is that this section do pass April 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 473 as read. Motion carried.
Mr. Higgins We have one more page on the La Manche mine. I don't know if you wish to have that now, or if you wish to adjourn. With your consent I was going to ask that we adjourn until tomorrow, rather than have another session.
[The Secretary read the section on La Manche. The committee rose and reported progress, and the Convention adjourned]

Source:

Newfoundland. The Newfoundland National Convention, 1946-1948 Vol 1: Debates. Edited by J.K. Hiller and M.F. Harrington Montreal: Memorial University of Newfoundland by McGill-Queen's University Press, 1995).

Credits:

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Selection of input documents and completion of metadata: Gordon Lyall.

Footnotes:

  • [1] Volume II:313.[Volume II is not in The Confederation Debates Collection]
  • [1] A subsidary of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company.
  • [1] Volume II:318. [Volume II is not in The Confederation Debates Collection]

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