§ 1. Sir GIFFORD FOX (for Sir CHARLES CAYZER)asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether, in view of the fact that £12,000,000 of loans of the city of Montreal were issued in Great Britain, he will make inquiries of the Government of the Dominion of Canada as to the reason for the petition lodged last week with the Premier of Quebec that an independent commission should manage the finances of the city of Montreal?
Mr. M. MacDONALDI have made inquiries of the Canadian Government and am informed that the rapid growth of the city of Montreal, which now includes the whole island and a population equivalent to one-tenth of the entire population of the Dominion, has led to a rapidly increasing expenditure, intensified in the last two years by effects of depression. This situation has given rise among citizens of Montreal to dissatisfaction which has expressed itself in a petition to the provincial government to appoint a commission to take over the administration of the city's affairs. I am assured that there is no ground for anxiety as to the city's capacity for meeting its engagements.