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Mr. MacBride took exception to the answer, saying that it did not give the information asked for, and in this he was jJoined by Hon. How-- ard Ferguson. A brisk debate fol-- lowed on the subject for an hour and terminated when the Premier «@@nnounced that he would inquire of Mr. Harris himself about the ques-- | tions and try to obtain the informa-- | tion for the House. Mr. MacBride i said that he was satisfied that, if the Premier asked Mr. Harris, Mr. Har-- \ris would give him the information |he wanted. OPPOSITION ' BRANDS HARRIS This statement was made during the course of the debate on the question raised by the Opposition on the propriety of Mr. Harris being a member of the Royal Commission to investigate Chippawa, as he was al-- leged to be a director of power com-- panies in opposition to Hydro. The question came before the House following the answer to a question put on the order paper by Mr. MacBride, asking if Mr. Harris was a director of the Dominion Power snd Transmission Company, if he was financially interested in the Montreal Heat, Light and Power Company, and upon whose recom-- mendation had he been appointed to the commission. The reply was that the Government had no official in-- formation on the subject, and that Mr. MacBride further stated that a month ago he had travelled from Brantford to Toronto on the same train as Mr. Harris, and claimed on that occasion he had "heard him condemn the whole Hydro project-- its power development, its Chip-- pawa, its transmission lines and everything connected with Hydaro." Opposed to Hydro? Mr. Harris had been recommended ::t the position by the Prime Min-- er. k Mr. Lloyd Harris' business affilia-- tions and his attitude toward public ownership and Hydro formed the basis for a strong Opposition attack in the Legislature yesterday after-- noon on Mr. Harris' appointment as one of the Chippawa inquiry com-- missioners. M. M. MacBride (South Brant) seriously questioned the ad-- vieability of having Mr. Harris on the Chippawa inquiry. He stated frankly: "I know that in back of Mr. Harris' mind is the desire to unload certain power companies in which he is financially interested." 'The south Brant member ventured the prediction that at the end of the Chippawa Commission sittings Mr. Harris' decision would be absolute-- ly opposed to the whole Hydro policy. Defended by Liberal Chief. The debate was marked also by a defense of Mr. Harris, made by Wellington Hay, Liberal Leader, who said thatt he thought they wanted examination of the project by big men. Mr. Harris was a man of such reputation that he thought his judgment would be the unbiased judgment of a man deserving to ~rve his Province. M. M. MacBride Declares New Commissioner Is Closely Linked With Private Power Interests and Not Proper Man to: Probe Hydro--"W ill Ask Him," Says Drury "DECLINE POSITION," SAYS MR. FERGUSON SATURDAY, APRIL 29, pany." € Mr. MacBride asked if the com-- mission decided to put up the rates, say, 10 per cent., would that not benefit competitors of the Hydro? Mr. Drury said the commission had definite questions to investigate, and the one raised by Mr. MacBride was not included. Will Ask Harris Himself. W. H. Cagsselman, U.F.O,. member for Dundas, announced his agreement with the views of Mr. Ferguson and Mr. MacBride. "If Mr. Harris is a person such as one would 'be led to think by the character of the ques-- tions, then I submit that this gentle-- man would be no more fit to sit in unprejudiced judgment on this com-- mission than members of this House would be to sit in unprejudiced judg-- ment on this matter." a man of integrity, ability and fair-- mindedness. The appointment was not parallel to the case of Mr. Car-- vell. Public ownership was not on trial. Opposition members thought otherwise. "I will reconsider the question and see what information I can get," said the Premier. "I will ask Mr. Harris himself, because he is an honorable man and will tell Premier Drury said that the Gov-- ernment had no desire to hide any-- thing, but it had not considered the whole record of Mr. Harris. He was Mr. Ferguson, in opening the de. bate, said it looked as if there was no desire on the part of the Govern-- ment to afford the public the in-- formation asked for. If it were so that Mr. Harris was interested in companies compéeting with Hydro, then the public would conclude he was not the best kind of a man to be on the commission. Mr. Fergu-- son recalled what he termed a simi-- lar case of Hon. Frank Carvell, who was criticized for acting on the Rail-- way Board on a telephone rate case. Mr. Ferguson read out the various parts of Mr. MacBride's questions, and said that the Government, when it selected a man of this kind on the commission, was bound to give the public the information asked for concerning him. The Government should have known before he was appointed "if he was tied up to one of the biggest aggregations of pri-- vate power companies in -- America, fighting public ownership interests as long as they had existed." Mr. Ferguson said he would sug-- gest to the Premier that the sug-- gestion might be made to Mr. Harris that he decline the appointment, in view of the position he occupied. Suggests Resignation. 13