Tuesday, February 27, 1968 G. Max Thompson (Fourth Prince): Mr. Speaker , anything before the House? Mr. Speaker : Nothing before the House. G. Max Thompson : It is my honour and pleasure to second the Motion which has been Moved by my colleague to thank His Honour, the Lieutenant - Governor for his Speech which opened the Third Session of this fifty-third General Assembly of this Province. I want to congratulate the honourable member from the Fourth District of Queens for the very capable and distinguished way in which he has opened this Ad¬ dress. It is also an honour to the District I represent, with my good friend and colleague Mr. Jardine , to be asked to participate as the Seconder of the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. Last year during this Debate, when I was making my maiden speech to this Assembly, I spoke in considerable detail about my District and paid it fitting tribute I do not propose to repeat now what I said at that time, except to say that it is indeed a great honour to represent the people of such an outstanding part of Prince Edward Island . Every economic indicator points out that Fourth Prince leads the way in many areas of activity. All of which confirms that the district has been endowed with many advantages both human and material. During our Centennial Year we were honoured by visits from many distinguish¬ ed people. The highlight of the year's events came when we were visited by Her Majesty the Queen Mother last fall. She was a most gracious representative of our Queen of Canada , and the Royal Family , and we welcomed her with the warm affec¬ tion which we all have for our Sovereign and her family. We were all shockel last summer when Her Majesty's representative in Prince Edward Island , Lieutenant - Governor MacDonald and Mrs. MacDonald , were injured in a highway traffic accident. We rejoice that they have recovered completely and are enjoying the best of good health. His Honour and Mrs. MacDonald , despite this unfortunate accident, had a very busy Centennial Year and graced many functions by their presence. Now. Mr. Speaker , we are happy that you are again presiding over our delib¬ erations. You are the custodian of our rights and privileges, the guiding hand in our discussions, and the arbiter of any differences that may arise among us. In these important and demanding responsibilities you have our best wishes, our good-will and the insurance of our co-operation. We admire your person, and are impressed with the competent manner in which you have fulfilled your high office. I also want to thank the other officers of the Assembly, the Clerk and his Staff , the Messengers, the Pages, and all others who assist us in our work and make our task more pleasant. We appreciate the efforts of the Press and news media to report our proceed¬ ings. In a democracy, the press has an important responsibility in informing the public in a clear and objective manner. I believe the members of the press who report our deliberations show this ability and objectivity which is so essential to the fulfillment of the prominent role they play in our system of democratic, responsible parliamentary government. Now, Mr. Speaker , I would like to congratulate our Premier on the outstanding leadership he has given the government and the people of this Province. (Applause) I would like in particular to call attention to the excellent and capable manner in which he represented this Province at the Premiers' Conference in Toronto last autumn. (Applause) I was in a position to hear him speaking on three different occasions by means of radio during the Conference, and I was very proud, as I am sure every true Islander must have been when he was singled out by newspapers and radio and TV commentators and other provinces as the "Big Star" of the show. And I would like to point out that his performance at that Conference, and that historic Constitutional Conference in Ottawa last month was nothing unusual for him, with the result that he is fast gaining the reputation as being one of the outstanding young statesmen in Canada today. (Applause) —9—