Mr. Chairman Orders of the day. Mr. Smallwood to resume the debate on motion of Mr. Higgins K.C.,
dated May 22, 1947.
[1]
Mr. Smallwood After the reading of the letter
from the Commission of Government, I feel quite
sure that you will be very much less interested in
this resolution proposed by Mr. Higgins on
Friday last than in the subject matter of the letter
that has just been read. However, we have got to
conform to the order paper, and at the moment
Mr. Higgins' resolution is the one before us. It is
a resolution which, if passed, would put this
Convention on record as being in favour of turning the Newfoundland Memorial College
into a
university, into an institution that would confer
degrees. I am in favour of that, and that is why I
seconded the motion.
I have looked up some facts concerning nearby parts of the world, those nearest to
Newfoundland — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward island. The population of Newfoundland, with Labrador, is about 320,000.
In
Nova Scotia, with a population less than twice the
population of Newfoundland, they have eight
degree-conferring educational institutions. In the
city of Halifax alone there are five.... in New
Brunswick, with less than 200,000 more than our
own population, they have five degree-conferring institutions and in the tiny province
of
PEI, with only 95,000, they have one.... We have
not got even one. Not one in all the island, where
a Newfoundland boy or girl, young man and
young woman can attend and take sufficient
training to lead to the conferring of a degree. This
motion is to the effect that, in the opinion of the
Convention, not that we can do anything about it,
the Memorial University College ought to be
raised to the status of a degree-conferring institution.
I am no authority on education but I am fully
agreed that from a purely educational standpoint
the Memorial College ought to be raised to that
status, but there is another side to it, another angle
that interests me a great deal. in this country of
ours we have had 450 years of a very remarkable
history — perhaps the most remarkable history
of any part of the western half of the world. This
is a country in which we have developed very
distinctive peculiarities. We have our own traditions. We have our own folklore. We
have our
May 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 581
own folkmusic. I remember on one occasion in
London going to talk to Miss Maud Karpeles,
perhaps one of the world's greatest authorities on
world folksongs, and her telling me that in Newfoundland there had been discovered
some of the
oldest and most interesting folksongs anywhere
on this side of the Atlantic. We have got a distinctive culture all our own, and yet
we have nothing
...with the exception of the O'Leary poetry award
which is given annually, we have nothing, nor
have we had anything to foster and encourage the
development and growth and recognition of a
distinctly Newfoundland culture. And one of the
most attractive possibilities of the Memorial
University, if it became a university, would be
that of having the university become a dynamo,
a power-house, in the inculcation and dissemination and encouragement of a distinctly
Newfoundland culture, because mark this, whatever
form of government we may have in the future ...
remember this, that we Newfoundlanders must
never for a moment forget or neglect or turn our
backs on our own distinctive Newfoundland outlook on life, our distinctive Newfoundland
culture. I go a step further; in the case of our deciding
some day this fall, perhaps, in the national
referendum, to link this country with another
country, in such a case it will be more important
than ever to see to it that our Newfoundland
culture is preserved and encouraged and fostered
and developed, and in no way can that be done
better than through the creation of a Newfoundland university. I wanted to make that
point. It is not a new point, I have been making it
for many, many years, and I want to associate
myself very heartily indeed with the motion....
Mr. Jones Mr. Chairman, I have been connected with education all my life, having taught
in some of the principal high schools of this
country, and I rise to support the resolution.
I consider that Memorial College should be a
degree-conferring institution. There have been
many boys and girls thwarted in their education
by the lack of such an institution in this country.
During the last ten or 15 years I know of many
young men and women who, having completed
their second year at the Memorial College, were
handicapped by the lack of funds from continuing
their studies abroad. Had we such an institution
in this country, some of these boys and girls
would have been able to continue their studies
and obtained their BA degree. The same of
course applies to any other course of studies
taken at the Memorial College. As time goes on,
the need of such an institution will be more urgent
because many of our young people are beginning
to realise the necessity of such an education. Why
should we not do our utmost to make it possible
for these young people to reach their goal? I hope
the Commission of Government will give the
matter their serious consideration; if so, it will be
one of the best things they have done for our
young people during their reign....
Mr. Harrington As a Newfoundlander first,
deeply concerned with the customs, traditions,
progress and destiny of my native land, and
secondly as a graduate of the Memorial College,
I am more than glad to be in a position of national
significance today, whereby I am able to support
the motion of Mr. Higgins that the Memorial
College be granted the necessary charter by the
government enabling it to confer degrees.
I do not propose to speak at any great length
on this matter, which is beyond controversy. The
mover has summed up most of the arguments in
favour, and at the same time disposed of some of
the most outstanding antagonisms with regard to
the elevation of the Memorial College to full
university status. Other speakers have enlarged
on the theme and it has been covered rather
thoroughly. Yet I cannot let this opportunity pass
without adding a few comments of my own on a
subject that is very close to my heart....
What is a university? Too many people have
the wrong idea. They think it means snobbishness
— they think it is a place where a young man or
young woman attends for so many years to
emerge with several letters after his or her name,
which do not mean very much. How mistaken an
idea! In this country, the tendency to think of a
university as a breeding-ground of snobbishness
arises from the fact that only those who can afford
it attend a university. But that is not a true appreciation of the real case. The
reason that so
many of our young people do not, cannot attend
a university, is simply that there is no university
in the country. The cost of attending a university
is relatively small — that is the actual tuition fees,
and so on. In the case of Newfoundlanders, it is
the expense of travelling, board and lodging and
the rest, that makes attending a foreign university
prohibitive to most. The establishment of a New
582 NATIONAL CONVENTION May 1947
foundland university would get over these obstacles in great part — and even in the
case of the
out-of-town student, he or she would be able to
complete a university course at a much lower cost
than formerly possible, and emerge with a degree
from a university peopled, staffed and run by
Newfoundlanders, along lines best suited to the
development of the Newfoundland character,
and with a view to fitting its graduates to cope
more successfully with the more obvious
problems of our national life.
That has been the trouble with us in the past.
All our education, before we got the Memorial
College, and after we had it, tended to fit our boys
and girls, and young men and young women, for
a university education, which could only be obtained at universities in England and
Ireland and
Scotland, and in more recent years the United
States and Canada. Only the well-to-do or the
exceptionally scholarly students who captured
scholarships could ever hope to complete that
education. And when they did, they were being
educated on the curriculum of the particular
university, which in most cases was moulded to
the needs or objects of that particular country.
Our students were educated "away" from
Newfoundland, not in the mere sense of being out
of Newfoundland, but more especially in this
sense: as the word "educate" means "to lead out",
so "educate away" meant also to "lead away
from" Newfoundland, and that's just what happened. The majority of our students never
came
back; many of those who did were forever more
or less aliens.
The possession of our own Newfoundland
university would change that position. The main
purpose of a university is not simply to confer
degrees. Getting a degree is almost incidental —
it is just something that comes at the end of the
university course, as the mechanic receives his
certificate after having served his time. No one
will say that the certificate that the mechanic
receives is more important than the years of his
apprenticeship; by the same token no one should
say that the degree is more important than the
years of study and training that precede its granting.
In a University of Newfoundland our students
could be trained along lines calculated to help to
develop and broaden the national life and outlook. They could be educated with a view
to the
development of our industries and our culture —
our peculiarly Newfoundland culture, which is
no more like the culture of England, Ireland or
Scotland than it is like the culture of Canada or
the United States. It combines them all. There
could be connected with the university a school
of education for the fisheries. There could be
courses on such subjects as elementary fisheries
conservation, economics of the fishery, and the
countries with which we deal in fish, on processing, on markets. And of course it
is unnecessary
to emphasise the need for more foundational
training and education in connection with research work in the various fields of fishery
science.
There is no need to labour the point. There is
a need for a University of Newfoundland. Its cost
as we have seen is relatively small. The Memorial
College must be enlarged. It is bursting at the
seams now — it must have a new wing, whether
or not it receives its university charter....
The additional cost is so comparatively little
that there would seem to be no reason for holding
back. I understand that the charter is already
prepared and has been in the offices of the
government for some time. awaiting popular
demand. The popular demand is now being made
in full voice, from organisations in all parts of the
country. Twenty-five years ago the Memorial
College was established as a war memorial to the
Newfoundlanders who died in the First World
War. It could not be more appropriate than to
raise the college to a degree-conferring university this year, as a memorial to the
Newfoundlanders — many of them Old Memorials —
who died in World War Two.
This year 1947 is a very historic year. The 24th
of June next marks the 450th anniversary of
Cabot's landfall. It will be a year of great celebrations and events. Again, the time
is ripe for the
granting of a charter to the Memorial College.
Celebrations, fireworks, these things pass away,
but an institution of learning remains to enlighten
the succeeding generations, and to make their life
richer and their hopes more easily obtainable.
I could say a great deal more, but there are
others who will echo what I have said, and add
what I have left out, so I would conclude with a
few words from one of the presidents of the
United States, James A. Garfield, who said:
"Next in importance to freedom and justice is
May 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 583
popular education, without which neither justice
nor freedom can be permanently maintained" I
leave that thought with all of you — realising that
the establishment of a University of Newfoundland will be an immense stride forward
in
the growth of popular education in Newfoundland....
Mr. Butt ....For many months me Convention
has been occupied with attempting to assess the
natural resources of this country — fish, ore,
lumber and other industries. It has not been our
business to assess that most natural and basic of
all resources, that is, our people, our human
resources. There is not one man here who is not
conscious of the great potentialities of these
human resources — the stuff and fabric of all we
have attempted, suffered and achieved. There are
many who may not yet have realised that our men
and women, like our industries, are capable of
infinitely greater development, and that just as we
need the means for the development of our industries, we need the means for developing
the
knowledge, courage, the judgement and the cooperative abilities of Newfoundlanders.
We need
these things far more.... Newfoundland needs
wealth, production, industries, but she also needs
men and women with imagination, the creative
abilities, the scientific knowledge and training to
bring these things about....
Mr. Fowler ....After all the confusion and
suspicions caused by delegations, motions and
amendments, I am glad that Mr. Higgins found
time and opportunity to introduce this resolution,
which if instrumental in giving to this country a
university, will have a greater effect upon the
future citizens of Newfoundland than any other
resolution we have had. A country cannot rise
above its people, and any progressive policy
designed to bring about a better Newfoundland
must of necessity hinge on the ability of our
youth, the future citizens of this country, to be
able to carry out that policy. I contend, gentlemen, that the ignorance of the masses
has been
the curse of this country down through her long
history, and unless and until we get a more enlightened people, a people who will
be able to
think and act for themselves, we will be kicked
about by those who would stoop so low as to
capitalise on our ignorance.
It is surprising to me that a charter for a state
university was not sought and obtained years ago.
Countries smaller and less historic than ours are
blessed with such institutions, even Iceland with
its small population has its university. Some
people may say, "Oh, that is no benefit to the poor
people of Newfoundland. especially in the outports". That is not true, for as Mr.
Higgins
pointed out yesterday the benefits permeate
downwards. The first and immediate benefit
derived by the poorer classes will be to have fully
qualified teachers possessing degrees in the arts
and sciences going out to teach their children, and
these same children in turn will be drawn through
the channels of their schools and colleges to
climax their studies in their own Newfoundland
university. And let it be a Newfoundland university
in the strictest sense of the word, a university
which will cater to the needs of young Newfoundlanders and fit them to go out and
grapple
with the many problems peculiar to their native
land.
As the proposed University comes to full stature, I would like to see a scheme inaugurated
whereby one or more scholarships would be
made available to every district; this, in addition
to helping to defray the expense of outport students in St. John's, would be a great
incentive to
students to pursue their studies with greater enthusiasm....
Mr. Keough In a little while this land we live in
will see the end of 450 years of history. More
often than not those years have been lean. Our
land has never flowed with milk and honey. Always, in this island, it has taken most
of a man's
time to keep body and soul together — to keep
the wolf at the door in his place. The meagre grey
existence that has been our historic portion has
been come by only in consequence of hard work
and high courage, epic in their proportions. The
unrelenting struggle we have known has never
left us with much margin of time for accomplishment of other than the making of both
ends meet.
We have been far too busy out on the squid-jigging ground to have made many songs.
We have
spent so much time in little yellow dories as left
us but a meagre margin for literature and the
drama. Our hands have been too busy with the
"knots rotted with the salt water" to have given
them to painting and sculpture. We have had to
put so much effort into making cod as to have had
none to spare to put into making concertos.
And yet there have been men in the land who
584 NATIONAL CONVENTION May 1947
were equal to the land Those great have walked
among us who wrought some monumental works
in their time. There were Newfoundlanders who
were indeed giants in their day and generation.
And they have bequeathed to us many things of
which we may well be proud — a tradition of
great endeavour to make the most come of the
land's meagreness; a native culture which the
philistine may dismiss as a 'fish-and-brewis' culture, but which is of considerable
consequence
and meaning to us; and a structure, and a way of
life, Christian to the core. Because our fathers
were what they were, we are still secure in this
island in the realms of the mind and spirit. We are
still convinced that two and two make four. We
are still certain that there is but one God. In this
island we still live in the presence of eternal laws
and great truths that are true unto eternity. We
have certain institutions that we revere; certain
principles that we would live by. We have tested
them and have found them good — as have all
men who have tested them. We are jealous of
their presence amongst us and we will not have
them altered or removed. And, may I say in
passing, that it has been a cause of much concern
to me to learn that because I have laid much
emphasis upon the economic in this Convention,
that I have been misunderstood or misconstrued
to mean that the economic is all that matters. It is
rather amazing how intently some people listen
on the bias. I am quite aware that there are values
that are prior to economic values. I do believe, as
do all men of reason, that not by bread alone doth
man live. But I do believe also that the bread is
nevertheless important.
It is ours, who are of this day and generation,
to be caught up in all the turmoil coincident to
one of those historic crises that sees the great
body of mankind lift itself a cubit closer to the
stars, or turn aside from the larger sanity to which
the moment beckons. This is a time that tries
men's souls, and tests their manhood with many
strange new challenges that we in this island must
meet, as must all the peoples of the earth. It is a
moment of high destiny without equal since the
world began. Of all the challenges that must be
met, the greatest is this. This is the challenge that
contains all the others. It is the challenge to
achieve a synthesis of civil liberty and economic
security that will be acceptable to the civilised,
western, Christian conscience. If such a synthesis
cannot be achieved, the civilisation we know is
doomed. If it can be achieved, then shall we come
into the inheritance of that stable social order of
which the men of our race have always dreamed.
Here in this island we have our own small part
to play in the meeting of that challenge, and on
that account more than any other, am I anxious
for the advent of a national university. Because I
hope that from such an institution there will come
forth a new economic leadership that will achieve
for our people a greater measure of security than
has been their historic measure. Because I hope
that from such an institution there will come forth
too a new political leadership that will restore our
faith in our own ability to conduct ourselves in
politics and in government with honour and with
dignity. Finally, because I believe that from a
national university there will come forth a greater
company of scholarship than we could otherwise
come by — a company who will deal competently with this greatest challenge of our
times, and
yet contribute the full measure of its scholarship
to the preservation of that Christian culture and
way of life that are ours. For there are things in
this island, Mr. Chairman, that do deserve to
endure — things that are part and parcel of the
good, the true, and the beautiful. And their value
is beyond all time.
Mr. Vardy ....The Convention will remember
that in the debate on the report of the Education
Committee, I covered the ground thoroughly in
connection with the further extension of the
Memorial University College, and I think
Mr. Ashboume gave his support to my remarks.
There is no need to repeat what I said. The whole
country is in full accord with the project. I think
one of the darkest spots in the history of Newfoundland has been our dire lack of
education,
and the fact that so many ofour youth who could
afford to go elsewhere to complete their education never returned to their homes....
Only recently we heard of the Blackmore
Memorial Library being opened at Clarenville in
honour of a gallant young airman who gave his
life in World War Two. I think that the best
memorial that we can give to the dead is to
improve the conditions of the living.
Mr. Job ....There is only one thing I want to
refer to and that is the financial aspect. The
introducer, I think. indicated it would cost
$20,000. But it is in connection with that I do
May 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 585
want to make a remark about finance generally.
I would like to remind the delegates that the
Finance Report is the most important report of the
whole Convention, which report lies on the table
without a word of comment being made on it —
not alone any question of debate. The question of
$20,000 extra would be nothing, but the education grant, generally, is a very big
one. What will
the people think of us if we made an indefinite
adjournment, as I believe is in the minds of the
delegates, without giving perhaps two or three
days' consideration to this question of finance?....
We are thinking of adjourning, more or less indefinitely, without a word of discussion
on our
financial position and particularly without any
consideration of the chief reason for our appointment, which was to determine whether
the
country is or is not self-supporting, and more
especially, if it will be self-supporting in the
future....
Mr. Chairman I have allowed you to go on now
for five minutes on a subject which is not germane to the subject before the Chair.
Mr. McCormack On June 24 we shall celebrate
the 450th anniversary of Cabot's discovery of
Newfoundland, and it is natural that we ask ourselves what progress we have made through
the
centuries. A country may be judged by the nature
of its educational institutions, for from these will
come forth the men and women of tomorrow, and
if we wish to do anything permanent for our
country's welfare we must be concerned about
our schools. Our Department of Education has
done and is continuing to do a good job. Our
teachers are giving invaluable service for small
pay. Our system of education is good, but it does
not go far enough as our young men and women
have to leave the country to pursue higher studies
in arts and sciences. The time has come for the
Memorial College to be raised to university
status.... At present comparatively few can afford
to continue their studies, particularly students
from the outports who, after paying their way at
St. John's for two or three years, find it financially impossible to go on to Canada
or the USA.
Our teachers in particular should be given
every possible advantage, because on them will
depend to a large degree the moulding of our
future citizens.
Apart from this, a Newfoundland university
would be able to pass on our traditions, and look
at current problems with a view to the country's
good. Our men and women attending foreign
universities cannot get a Newfoundland outlook,
and in many instances are attracted away from the
country, whereas if they studied at a Newfoundland university, they would become more
keenly aware of the country's problems and possibilities, and they would remain to
devote their
energies to building a better Newfoundland. A
university could also be of great value to countless people, other than those seeking
degrees,
through extension courses.... The granting of a
charter to the Memorial College would be the
most acceptable way of recognizing the 450th
anniversary of our country's discovery.
Mr. Ashbourne Newfoundland should have a
university of its own.... We realise that there are
those who can afford to travel to other cities and
study at the universities of their choice; but there
are some who have done this at no little inconvenience to themselves, and even at
considerable
expense. If there is a university in our midst, and
should there be those who prefer to study elsewhere, there would be nothing to restrict
them.
With a university here I believe there would be
many who could be afforded an opportunity for
studying for a degree....
The decision of the government to continue
the vocational school as a technical school is a
progressive move. The need of such a technical
institution has been apparent for some time, and
the government is to be congratulated in this
regard.
The matter of raising of the Memorial College
to the status of a university may not be accomplished without some difficulties, yet
I have
no doubt that whatever the difficulties may be,
they will be surmounted and overcome....
[The motion carried]
Mr. Cashin A few moments ago Mr. Job drew
the attention of the House to the fact that the
Finance Report
[1] had not been debated. When we
went into a committee of the whole on the
Finance Report, it was decided not to debate it at
length but to lay it on the table for future reference
586
NATIONAL CONVENTION
May 1947
and comment. Now, with regard to the Economic
Report,
[1] there is nothing to stop the Finance
Committee from preparing it. I am only one
member of the committee — there are eight or
nine others. I cannot see why the load should be
thrown on me to prepare the Economic Report
when there are eight or nine members just as
competent as I am. With regard to the Finance
Report, briefly, it is divided into four portions.
The first relates to the government from 1909-
1920. If my memory serves me right, it shows that
in that period, under responsible government, we
had a surplus of some $7 million. The next section deals with the government from
1919-20 up
to the time Commission took over in 1933-34,
and it shows we had an average deficit, if my
memory serves me correctly, of $2 million a year.
Then it goes from 1933-34 to 1939-40, and it
shows the deficits had increased, even though a
reduction in interest annually had been made of
$2 million. Finally it winds up with the period
1940 to March 31, 1947, and it shows we had
surplus in cash of something over $30 million. In
other words, the Finance Report was a cash book,
and showed we had available at the moment
surpluses of around $30 million. The report
covers the railway from the time it was taken over
by the government in 1923 to the present time,
and shows it cost $30 million in deficits and
capital expenditure. It shows the taking over of
the Newfoundland Hotel — we paid $450,000,
and up to the present time it has cost considerable
additional money. It is not an economic report.
The position of an economic report, as I understand it, would be the presentation
of a budget.
Well, I am going to take the position now that this
House, under the terms of reference, has not any
power to prepare a budget, and that is what an
economic report is. Last year, when this Convention opened, Mr. Wild told us it would
cost from
$23-23.5 million a year to administer the affairs
of Newfoundland. Now we have another budget
which shows that Mr. Wild was wrong.
[2] He did
not know what he was talking about. They have
raised it up $4 million. We find today, according
to the Commissioner for Finance, that it is going
to cost $27 million, in addition to which there is
to be an expenditure on capital account of $ 10- 12
million. For the life of me, I cannot see how
anyone here, under these circumstances, can
prepare an economic report, because we have no
stability; there is no one in the government with
the stability to foreshadow a budget. We cannot
be sure it is going to be carried out, because the
Commission will not take advice from us.
The London delegation went away to England
trying to find out if we could get anything on
which to build a budget. We were told to mind
our own business and come home. We were told,
"We will give you an order for fish, if we feel like
it; we will give you an order for iron ore if we feel
like it." Personally, I feel I would not be able to
prepare an economic report on my own, and
under the circumstances 1 have to plead I am
unable to do it, and l challenge the fact that
anyone else is able to do it. We know we are
self-supporting. Lord Addison told us we were
self-supporting Mr. Wild told us we were self-
supporting; Mr. Attlee in the House of Commons
in December 1945 said so; Lord Cranborne said
so. Better authorities than I am have told us we
are self-supporting. Whether we will be self-supporting in years to come, no one knows
— not
even me, not even Lord Addison or anyone else;
not even Mr. Smallwood. We have been assured
that if we had a government — any other form of
government — we would have power to find out
whether we are able to sell our fish; whether we
are able to sell o're. We know we can sell
newsprint — it is a private business — and there
is a big demand for it. The three major industries
in Newfoundland are, today, fish, iron ore,
Buchans and pulp and paper. We know where we
stand in regard to pulp and paper; we know there
is a big expansion going on. A motion was
brought in to send a delegation to Washington to
try and find out about sales of fish and iron ore,
and we were told it was not within our terms of
reference. Why does not the government of the
country do something about it? The government
cannot do it because we were told in London that
the British government is not in a position to
approach the United States and ask them whether
they could give us any concessions, and they will
not allow the people of Newfoundland to do it.
That is the position also with regard to iron ore.
"We will take it if we can." They told us in 1930
that our iron ore was not suitable for their fur
May 1947 NATIONAL CONVENTION 587
naces. Yet their furnaces have not changed, and
they have used it. Either the grade of iron ore has
changed, or the furnaces changed, or it was a lie
they were telling us from the beginning.
So far as I am concerned, the Finance Report
is there and you can debate it all you like. It
cannot change the balance sheet of $30 million.
You cannot make it more or less. If you leave the
Commission of Government here much longer
you will not have much of the $30 million left.
They will clean it out from stem to stem; that is
their policy now, and will be in the future.
Mr. Chairman Major Cashin was offering a
sort of explanation. There is nothing before the
Chair upon which I can permit a debate.
Mr. Job I move the adjournment until tomorrow
and I would like to see this budget speech debated
here tomorrow. I understand Major Cashin is
going away; but he will be here tomorrow and we
will have the advantage of his presence. I believe
we might debate it even for one day — even one
day will get some information to the country.
Would I have to give notice?
Mr. Chairman You could give notice of motion to debate the Finance Report in the light of
the budget speech. You could give notice of that
kind.
Mr. Job Perhaps I could do that, with the consent of the House.
Mr. Chairman There is no need for the consent
of the House. You will have to have my consent
to make the motion.
Mr. Job I give notice to ask your consent.
Mr. Higgins I do not want to upset Mr. Job's
programme, but we came to an informal understanding on Friday afternoon, and on that
understanding a lot of the members have made plans to
go home. Some have already gone. If we are
going to begin a debate of this nature, not only
may Major Cashin miss his plane, but a lot of the
boys will miss their boats. As far as I am concerned, I do not see the point of going
into this,
and I move the formal adjournment of the House
to the call of the Chair.
Mr. Banfield I second that motion. A lot of us
have made arrangements to return home. If we
have to come back tomorrow there will be a lot
of members who will miss their boats.
Mr. Job It seems to be the wish of the House to
adjourn.
Mr. Chairman Does it not occur to you that,
after all, the report which we have received is, as
the chairman stated. in the nature of a cash book?
There is very little to debate, except, in the light
of the budget speech of the new Commissioner
for Finance. Would that not come in more advantageously in the general debate that
will occur
after the House resumes?
Mr. Chairman Yes, and if we have it now it
may be the more easily forgotten.
Mr. Cashin When the House re-assembles, the
economic position can be embodied. If anyone
can do it, that is.
Mr. Chairman As you claim you are unable to
do it, perhaps we will ask Mr. Job to do it.
Mr. Cashin Yes, perhaps Mr. Job can do that.
The Finance Report is nothing more than a cash
book, which shows what has happened over the
past 40 years. There is no auditor can come in
here and say we have not got $30 million. All the
debating in the world won't change the figures.
[The Convention adjourned to the call of the
Chair]
