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ON THK I FREIGHT BLOCKADE ON nns GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY. ■' MONTREAL: WITWESS" PRINTING HOUSE. ^ V^fc^^J; / N ft i3 m THE CORK EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION. \ On Friday, December 6th, at noon a special meeting of the members of the Corn Exchanj^e Association of this city was held, to consider " the disadvantajTcs under which the produce merchants and others of tlvs city arc placed by the defective freight arrangements of the Grand Trunk Railway Company.' Mr. Ryan, M. P., President of the Association, occupied the chair. The following members were present : Messrs. J. Akin. J. N. Allen. R. Arc'icr, Chas. N. Armstrong, John Baird. Charles R. Black, Allan Bowman, John Brodic, Jno. Brodie, Robert Brodie, James Brown, J. M. Bucknall, Daniel Butters, Angus Cameron, Henry (.'leghorn, A. M. Cowie, Jno. L. Craig, Thomas A. Crane, Gilbert Croft, Geo Cruikshank, S. Cookson, C. 11. Cliandler, P. Daiglc. James Esdaile, Auguste Girard, Thomas Gordon, Wm. Gosling, C. H. Gould, John Grant, John S. Hall, M. Hannan, Samuel F. Hol- comb, Jacob E. Hunsicker, C. Hebert, Edgar Judge, G. M. Kinghorn, Hugh Kirkpatrick, J. R. Kirkwood, Hospice Labelle, Murdoch Laing, Charles Lee, James Lord, Alex. Mitchell, Robert Mitchell, D. McPhie, A. G. McBean, Andrew McCulloch, George MacDougail, James Mac- Dougall, Michael T. McGrail, J. B. McLea, R. P. McLea, D. E. Mac- Lean, Hugh McLennan, John McLennan, Robert McLeod. Ewen Mc- Lennan, R. T. Routli, J. Fairbairn, William Nivin. Jno. Ogilvie, Wm. W. Ogilvie, R. S. Oliver, James Parkyn, Robert Peddie, W. Phillips, T. W. Raphael, David Robertson, M. P. Ryan, George J. Pitt, Robert vSimms, James C. Sinton, Wm. Howe vSmith, C. A. Stark, F. St Charles, Serapliin St. Onge, James Strachan, Louis Tourville, Albe:-t Vass, D. A. P. Watt, Thos. White, Jr., J. M. Young, etc., etc. The Chairman read the notice convening: the meeting, and then re- viewed briefly the circumstances wuich had render^-d it necessivy. Mr. James Akir. moved, seconded by Mr. John L. Craig: " That the ac'^ion of tlif' Grand Trunk authcritJes in r^^fusing to fur- nish cars fo/ the accommodation of the trade of this city from about 15th Noveinijc; to present date, has been j)roductive of loss and inconvenience to inJi\i(lual members of this Association, as well as seriously tLiriiuental to the general trade of Montreal " Mr. Roljert Es.laile moved, seconded by Mr. St. Charles : " That this Association protests most energetically against the piinci- s i / /^ pie of ijivincr throut^h frcij^'ht :mv precedence over local, imd of permittmi^ shipments past Montreal from points West, whilst Montreal shippers are left absolutely without facilities for moving their property. Mr. W. W. Ogilvie moved, seconded by Mr. R. Mitchell : "That this Association whilst recognizing the trifling relief that has been aflforded during the past two days, desires to impress on the Granil Trunk authorities the just claims of the large Eastern trade of Montreal to equal freighting facilities with other points." Mr. R. vS. Oliver moved, seconded by Mr. Cowic : " That this meeting do now appoint a Committee of five shippers, to enquire into the grievances complained of, said Committee to consist of Messrs. D. Butters, M. P. Ryan, J. T. McMinn, E. Judge, II. Labelle, and to report to an adjourned meeting of the Association." After debate, each of the foregoing resolutions was unanimously accepted by the meeting. wi vi(| g» exj thi b abl bel thj ev of Referring to the votes and proceedings of this meeting, as reported in the newspapers, Mr. Brydges addressed the following letter to the Pre- sident, and sent copies of it to the press. A few controversial paragraphs are appended in the form of footnotes : — Grand Trunk Raiiavav of Canada, Alanaging Director's Office, Montreal, 7th Dec, 1S73. My Dear Sir, —Since I had the pleasure of seeing yourself and the deputation from the Corn Exchange that waited upon me yesterday, 1 have read in the papers the proceedings which took place at your meet- ing, and as this has been published, I think it as well to address you this letter, to which I shall -^ive the same publicity as has already l)een given to the discussion at the Corn Exchange. Of course it is well known to you, as I explained the matter yester- day, that the changing of the gauge of the Grand Trunk Railway, which is now in process, to a certain extent interferes with the regular flow of traffic upon the line, and that disturbance must continue until the entire change is completed. Wherever there is a break of gauge there must be more or less delay and difticulty in forwarding freight. This is tlie expe- rience all over the world, and it has been the experience of this Company 1 tbr the ruimhor of years that a break of Ranjjfe existed at Snrnla. and whilst a break of gauge existed during last year at vStratford. (i) When the change to Montreal last October was decided upon. I di- vided the car stock between narrow and broad in a way which would give the best accommodation to the public. I ascertained from careful examination the total number of cars that had been at work for tlie last three or four years upon the line East of Montreal, and believing that the business would increase this year, I left upon the line East of Montreal about 400 more cars of the broad gauge than had for a series of years been usually working upon that part of the line. To that extent, therefore, the facilities for moving traffic East of Montreal are greater Ihan they have ever been before. The amount of engine power, of course, capable of working East is far beyond the demands of the traffic, as all tlie en- gines that were withdrawn from the line West of Montreal arc now available for working East. (2) There is no doubt that the narrowing of the gauge of the line to Mont- real has very greatly indeed increased the capacity of the Company from the West, and enabled it to do much more work than ever it did before. A considerable addition has been made this year to the car stock, and of course the change of gauge has enabled the cars of all other companies West of us, to run freely over the line. One result of this has been un- doubtedly to bring to Montreal a larger amount of freight than was ever done before, and no complaint is now heard of want of facilities West of here. But, what this country and thewholetrade of Canada is suflcring from, is the inability of the present facilities to move away from Portland what we take there. Thus there was at Portland yesterday 413 car-loads of freight waiting for transport by steamers to Liverpool. (3) There were also 1 15 car-loads of freight waiting for transport by water to Halifax, and 78 car-loads waiting]transport to St. John, N. B. This makes a total of 606 car-loads of freight which were lying at Portland yesterday beyond the capacity of the diflerent lines of steamers to take away. (1) Montreal shippers rlid not complain of delay in the forwarding of through-frcif^dil, by reason of the break in the gauge or otherwise. Their complaint was, that wliile tlu-y were denied cars in Montreal, freight at Western Stations long hehind theirs in preccdeMce, was accommodated with cars, and was hurried forward, through Montreal, to its (!estinatir)n. (2) Montreal merchants h.ave not yet found these increased facilities available lo them. (3) Or rather " the whole trade of Canada is suffering" because //(•;• steamship toiniui^,; ha.-, been handed over to the trade of Chicago. If the Allan vessels li.ad been loadol wi'h Cana- dian freight, our merchants would have had no cause of ccmiplaint against the (hand Trunk Railway. 6 The growth of the business at present from Canada to the Lower Provinces is very marked this year, and has ^onc very far beyond any- thing that we have had experience of. The steamers running between Portland, and St. John and Halifax, which usually are adequate to take all the freight that offers, have this season, been entirely unable to do so ; and. although I have secured the services of extra steamers and vessels, they have not been able to take away the accumulation whicii now exists. I am doing the utmost that it is possible to do to j^et additional steamers, and have every reason to expect that I shall sliortly succeed in obtaining what is nececsary ; but the unfortunate loss, so far as at present ascer- tained, of the Pictou^ which vessel was on her way to Portland, has seri- ously interfered with our arrangements up tf) the present time. It is also quite clear that one steamer a week from Portland will not suffice for the business that offers in Canada alone for Liverpool (4) — to say nothing of that which seeks an outlet at Portland from the Western States. (5) The demands upon steamers vary, of course, according to the markets, and it is a fact that when the season opened from Portland this year there was nothing offering in Montreal for the first few steamers. This ren- dered it necessary to look to the West for freight, and it has come down, owing to the urgency of shippers, in larger quantities than the existing steamers are able to take away. (6) Finding this to be the case, L a week ago, stopped all further shipments from Chicago, and have confined for several days back the shipments to Liverpool from points in Canada, where freight is offering for transportation. The capacity of the Grand Trunk Railway at present, even with its break of gauge at Montreal, is sufficient to load two large steamers a week from Portland for Liverpool. It is clear that under such circumstances one steamer a week, especially when the largest vessels are not always employed, is not sufficient to meet either the demands of the public or the capacity of this railway. This is the exact position of matters at the pre- sent moment, and although I am doing all I possibly can to increase the number of steamers running from Portland to Liverpool, that is a question which cannot be always accomplished in a hurry, although I hope in a few days we shall be in a position to say tliat at least two steamers after (4) Doubtless ! M'hy then fill that one steamer v/ilh Western States' frciglit to the exclusion of Canadian ? (5) Chicago business can scarcely be said to ''sec': an outlet at Portland"; it has, in fact, to be drawn there by an offer of low rates of freight. (6) The want of knowledge of the trade of Montreal and the non-appreciation of us magnitude and value, as evidenced by this paragraph, is not the least singular circumstance in this controversy. I the end of tlic present year will nm rc^^ulurly between I'ortlaivl and Liver- pool. (7) To a very large extent, therefore, the difficulties in regard to moving freight East of Montreal which now exist, arise not from any want of capacity on the part of the (Jrand Trunk Railway, but from want of facilities in the shape of vessels and steamers to take away from I'onland the freight which we are able to carry there. This applies of course to the Lower Provinces is well as to Liverpool. It would be well that shippers should bear this fact in mind, because it is utterly useless for us to take down enormous quantities of freight to Portland and let it lie there on wharves, subject to loss and damage, because of the want of vessels to take it to Liverpool or ehcwhore. The quantity of freight both for the Lower Provinces and for Liver- pool passing dirough Montreal, for a time, undoubtedly, interfered with the propc r flow of traffic to local stations ; but as soon as my attention was called to the matter, I gave directions that a certain number of cars should be at once supplied for that purpose, and, as I explained to you yesterday, in the three days that have elapsed since you called my attention to the matter, upwards of 50 cars have been loaded with this local freight. I have now given directions that at least 25 cars a day should be appro- priated for this local business, which, as far as I am able to ascertain, will more ihan cove , after a few days, the demands that will be made upon us for this class of traffic. I see tliat in the discussions which have taken place at the Corn Exchange that some reference has been made to the advantage which it would be to Montreal to get an outlet through Boston for Liverpool ship- ment. I can only say with reference to that, that early in the season wc ofTered rates for grain, etc., to Boston, but no one wouLl ship that way ; and I now publicly announce that this Company is prepared to carry out that arrangement, and to load 50 narrow gauge cars in Iklontreal to take freight to Boston via the Vermont lines ; provided they will undertake to find shipping capacity from that place, so as to allow ot our cars being promptly unloaded. (8) In point of fact, I wish it to be clearly understood that this Company is now prepared, even with the disadvantages of its break of gauge, to transport to Portland and Boston, all the freie^ht that there is capacity at either place in the shape of steamers to take awa}-, and if any fault exists (7) Canadian merchants will be only too glad to charter these steamers, in advance of arrival, on the terms given to Chicago shippers, to wit — 5.22 cents per 100 lbs. per looiniies to the Railway, and 25s. stg. per ton to the steamer. (S) Montrerl shippers will also gladly accept of this offer on the above terms of freight, — 5X cents per 100 lbs. per 100 miles, delivered alongside vessel. The price hithevlo abli<;(J is nearly double this rate, being $08 per cai U. .S. Currency, ii; this ri'spt'ct, it will aiisc iVoin \v;iiil of .shippiiit; fiicilitifs it) Moston and Portland, and not from any want of capjicity on tlur part of this Railway to take if. to t-ithcr ol those two places. Of course, when, next year as I have no doubt will he the case, the K''i'K^' '^^ the entire Railway is made narrow, and we can run freight cars through to Portland without changu of ^auj^'c, I shall he in a position, so far as the Railway is concerned, to transport to Portland a sutllcient quantity of freight to load three stean'.ers a week, provided the steamers are furnished to take it away. .Shippers of freight have now, in fact, in their own hands the getting rid of any freight they may desire to forward, provided they will secure, at the shipping p(»int, the steamsnip capacity necessary to take it away. (9) 1 will undertake, either as regards Portland or Boston, to load now, at either place, a steamer per week, provided the parties who want the property forwarded will get the steamers there to take it away. As I have already said at the beginning of this letter, I shall send a copy of it to the papeis, in order that the statements in it may have the same publicity which has been given to the discussions which took place at the Corn Exchange. I am, Yours very truly, C. J. IJkyooes, Managing Director. M. P. RvA\, Escj., M.P., President Corn Exchange, Montreal. On Saturday, December 20th, at noon, the adjourned meeting of the Association was held, to receive the Report of the special Conmiittee on " the defective freight arrangements of the Grand Truidc Railway Com- "pany." Mr. Ryan having taken the chair, called upon Mr Butters to read an abstract of the report prepared by the Committee, after which it was, on motion of Mr. Robert Esdaile, seconded by Mr. Oliver, Resolved; " That the report be received, printed and circulated un- ■'der the direction of the Committee, and that the Committee be conti- " ntied." Mr. Butters read as follows : — The Committee has the honor to submit the following interim Report : (9) This offer mij^ht legitimately have been made to the merchants of Chicago ; — it is altogether mit of place here. Canadians arc of opinion that tiny hy tlie Grand Trunk Railway, ofthe merchants <»(' Montreal, from all freiglitin;^ facilities Eastward, has occurred this year at a somewhat earlier date than usual, and with exceptional severity. it must he home in mind that Montreal is not a consuminj? point for any lar«;e tjnantity of western produce. It is merely a centre of dis- triI)ution, a point, near to the sea-t)oard, from which such produce may convenientiv he shipped to the consinners. Tin: measure of Montreal's rc(iuirements for freightinj^ Eastward are therefore in equal ratio with its receipts from the West. vSeekiiifj a winter outlet for this produce, and communication with the sea-hoard after the close of navigation, it is not too much to say that Montreal huilt the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway to Portland, and also the Champlain Railway to comiect with the Boston and New York roads, and so important and necessary did Montreal esteem outlets Eastward, that these railways were built long before the inlet railway from the West vva projected. Both these outlets are now in the hands of the Grand Trunk Railway. Tlnoughout the past season, the movement of Western produce through Montreal has been exceptionally large, and, so far as receipts "re concerned, this movement has continued np to the present time. Our merchants, in reliance upon the statements of the railway officials that they had unusual and excessive facilities for moving freight from Montreal eastward, ordered their produce forward, which produce has in part already arrived, and will contir. . to arrive until the close of the year, greatly to the embarrassment of tht receivers. A few figures will make this more apparent : WEEKLY RECEIPTS PER GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY from about the date of the Eastward freight-block, or say for weeks ending 1873 OkAIN. KI.OUR. CHKKSK. HUTTER. Novcm1)er 19 8850 Rush. 15500 Brls. 6102 Pkgs. 3370 Pkgs. " 26 7300 " 16350 '« 3039 " 2760 " December 3 1354° " 14375 " 845 " 682 '• " ID 26320 " 21920 " 155 " 2410 " 10 The weekly shipment* in the same time by the Railway arc not rnado public; however, for all praciicul purposes they were nil. To sliow the enormous business b/ ought to a stand-still by the freight- block, the following note of exports Eastward to sea is given. For the four weeks ending November 19th, (at which date the blockade was at its 1 eight) the quantities were — Of Grain 1,037,190 l\ishels. Of Flour 69,208 Barrels. Of Butter 27,600 Paclages. Of Cheese 56.848 Boxes. Of Beef and Pork 3782 Packages. Of Lard and Tallow 2328 Barrels. A note of the constantly increasing stocks will also throw light on this point, and serve to show how severe the pressure has been : — jjTOCK OF GKAIN AND FLOUR IN THE PUBLIC WAREHOUSES at the dates given (thev arc taken twice a month) — 1873 ORAIN. FLOUR. 0"*.oer 15 573, 103 Bushels. 41,100 Barrels. November i 706,481 " 58,100 " 15 921,808 '• 55,400 Dtcember i 980,912 " 71,300 " " 15 1.031. 359 " 89,961 The complaints made to your Committee are referable to these heads : I. Tne want ^ii freighting facilities for the ordinary local traffic Eastward, to points which are at all limes dependent on the Grand Trunk Railway for supplies. 3. The unfair discrimination against Montr';al in the lovvcr i,.tes of freight quoted from Western Canadian stations to teimiuLil poi, ts, as Hali- fax and Liverpool, wheti compared witti those paid by Montieal mer- chants, who in the first place brought ti.eir goo 's here antl afterwards shipped them thence. 3. The still more unfair discrhn nation against Canada, in th'j lower rates of freight quoted from the Western .States (chiefly from Chicago) to Liverpool, than were given on Canadian shipments to the same desti- nation. 4. That Montreal shippers who were forced into agreeing to pay the relatively excessive rates demanded to terminal points, have never- theless lieen tor more than a month absolutely locked-out f/otii all freighting facilities, chiefly in favor of cheaply earned produce from the Western States, n ft may fairly be assumed that the lirst comphunt. which your Com- mittee know to be well founded, was a result of carelessness or luisman- agcnvjut. The second complaint might be illustrated hy quoting the freight chnri^es from almost any business station in Ontario ; it lia& been tabulated from one point by a large receiving house as follows : K-.t? of freijjht paid by llicm from Paris and Brantford to Montreal per cir-lo.id of Flour $7o.cx3 I landling in Montreal say 2.00 Rate of frcig'.U demanded from Montreal to Halifax.-. . . . 70.00 Total $142.00 Rate of through-freight from ^aris to Halifax $120 Deduct the cost of handling, which *on through goods is paid by the Railway, say 2 . r 18.00 Discriminating difference against Montreal. . . . $24.00 per car (or equal to five per cent, on the value of the flour) a sum quite sufiiciont to turn the trade away from Montreal to more distant points. By svich discriminations it is in the power of the Grand Trunk Railway to ir.iurc (in some instances, probably, to ruin) the business of any place (icpcndcnt on it for its freighting facilities. It is proper to note the cir- cup.istaiice that all rail freight going Eastward is now transhipped at Mont- real from narrow into broad gauge cars, in the case of through shipments at tie exMcnse of the railway, and in the case of shipments double-billed at the expense of the Montreal receiver, who frequently has to pay storage and other charges in addition. As regards the third complaint, your Committee on enquir}^ find that ill the early part of November the Grand Trunk Railway entered the Chicago freigat market in competition with the regular lines, and in course of two or three weeks en iged to carry from fifteen to eighteen thousand ton3 of provisions and flour, a large share of it at 90 cents, and a lesser share at 100 cents per 100 lbs. through to Liverpool, the rates by the regular lines via New York and Boston being at the same time for the '^ame class of freight 115 to 125 cents per 10,7 lbs. The pro rata divisions of this money are, as your Committee are informed, as follows: The Michigan Central Railway, 284 miles 18 and 19 cents. The Grand Trunk Railway, ...861 " .., 45 " 51 cents. The Steamship 27 " 30 cents. 90 and 100 cents. — 18 cents is equal to 6.34 cents per 100 lbs. per 100 miles. —45 " " 5.22 " " " —27 " " 25s. sterlin;^' per ton, Portland to Liverpool. 12 -iif The rates quoted at the same dates to shippers from Montreal, and at which engagements were made, showed a wifle range, being 85s. per Ion (3340 lbs.) for provisions, down to 60s. for dead-weight, the latter being wanted by the carriers as stillcning for the steamers. The pro rata divisions of these rates are as follows : S^s. Maximum. 60s. Minimum. Tlic (Iraiul Trunk Railway 299 miles per loo lbs. 38 cents. 17 tents. 'Pile Stcamslii]) jkt ton 50s. 35s. 6(1. 38 cents is ecjual to 12.80 cents per 100 Ihs. per icx) miles. 27 " " 9.09 " " " From Toronto and stations East of it the rates for provisions were 90s. to I30S. an average of 105s. per ton equal to 114 cents per 100 lbs. througli-freight. From stations further West, the rates were loos. to 130s. for the same class of freight, an average of 1 15s. per ton or 135 cent, per 100 lbs. The rates of through-freight for provisions from these various points to Liverpool therefore stand as follows : Distances to Portland. From Cliicafjo, 1,145 miles — 90 cents per 100 llis. From Cincinnati, 1,128 " — 80 " " l-'rom Sarnia and Eastward, 861 " — 125 " " From Toronto and Eastward, 528 '* — 114 " " From Montreal, 297 " — 93 " '' It thus appears that the Chicago producer can not only lay down his provisions in Liverpool over a Canadian line of railway, and by means of a Canadian line of steamers at a freight-charge 25 per cent, lower than through llis own country, but further, that he can do it for less money than his Canudian competitor in London, Toronto or even Montreal. When the mileage and the steamers' earnings are considered, the re- sult is still more noteworthy. The Chicago property is carried by the Grand Trunk Rail- way a distance of S6i miles, at the rate of - - - - 5^ cents '^ 100 tbs. ?^ loomiles. Tlie Montreal property is charged for 297 miles, at the rate of 123^ " " " The Stea nships' earnings on the Chicago property, are - 25s. per ton. " " on the Montreal property, - - 50s. " The Chicago shipments to Liverpool are thus carried at less than half the rate charged upon shipme^its from Montreal to the same destination. There is one branch of the provision trade which American carriers have done their utmost to foster — one which is easily injured, and ^vhich is of great value to the country, to wit, the Butter and Cheese trade. Throughout the autumn, the regular steamers from Montreal (and also from New York), sacriticetl other classes of freight to give it accommoda- I JLM 13 i 5 tion, with the results shown in the lorcgoinj^ table of exports. Wliat pos- sible reason the Graiul Trunk Railway can have for reversinj^ this poli- cy is not apparent to your Committee. The freight hulk is not j^reat, but the money value is proportionately large, and the embarrassment caused by the stoppage of shipping facilities is serious. Your committee having waited on the Messrs. Allans to remonstrate with them against the small share of freight by the Mail steamers which had been allocated to Montreal shippers, and to complain of the do lays and difficulties experienced by them, in getting the necessary cars to load, even that small (luantity, were furnished with copies of certain cor- respondence and piotests, bearing upon these points, which had passed between that firm and the Grand Trunk Railway. These docimients are appended to this report for the information of the Association. [The Messrs. Allans also furnished the Committee with a specillcation of 561 liills Lading, representing about 17, 280 tons of Liverpool through- freight, of which the following is an analysis: — Sliippt'd fnim iMjints in the Western States 12,490 tuns. " " cfmipetins,' jioints in Ontario 2,255 " Total from competing j)oints .... I4>745 " " non-competing points in Ontario 1,610 tons " " Montreal 925 " 'I'otal Irom non-competing points - - - 2,5 :;5 Total tons 17,281^, Olwliicli Canada 4>790 " " Western Slates 12,490 ■ — — 17,280. Competing points arc tliosc which having two or more railway con- nections have a choice of routes to the sea-board, as in the case of Chicago, Brantford, London or Pari"^. The n(Mi-competing points are those which, like Montreal, have no outlet other than the Grand Trunk Railway ,"Whicu thus well serves those who are a]'"eady served, and neglects those who are entirely dependent upon it. The proportionate quantity of this freight (seven-fifteenths) due to Montreal Shippers was 8,500 tons, of which quantity they have been allowed by the Grand Trunk Ruilway to ship 925 tons !] The causes of complaint under the fourth head are of long standing, and operate adversely year after year with more or less severity, upon the whole export trade of the country. They may be condensed into the statement that the Grand Trunk Railway, which exists by charters from 14 the Canadian Pailiament, which was in part built and continues to be subsidized by Canadian money, is yet so worked as to accommodate and aggrandise the people of the Western States, to the neglect and injury of Canadians. Your Committee would suggest that a strong friendly remonstrance should be addressed to the Railway authorities, setting forth these just causes of complaint, and asking for a reversal of the policy which has hitherto prevailed. Your Committee, however, fear that no great amelioration can be looked for this season, — the stoppage has been too complete, the injury too deep for immediate remedy. The unsuitability of Portland as the sole winter outlet for Montreal was never more apparent than during the present season. No tonnage seeks employment in that city, nor is the inwards trade of the State of Maine large enough to attract tonnage from abroad. The three first Allan steamers, though of the smaller class, had only partial cargoes in- wards, and the fourth, the Polynesian now on the way, had to purchase and load icxx) tons of coal for ballast. Your Committee are, therefore, of opinion that Montreal merchants must hereafter look to Boston as an outlet for a large share of their freight, and to this end, should help by every means in their power the completion of the Vermont Central and the Montreal, Portland and Boston roads, thereby securing three outlets to Boston, and two to Portland, in lieii of the present single outlet by the Grand Trunk Railway. Respectfully submitted by D. BurTERS, Chairman, J. T. McMinn, M. P. Ryan, Edgar Judge, William Nivin, H. Labelle. Hi Montreal, December 19, 1873. 15 APPENDIX. Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, General Freight Agenfs Office, Montreal, Nov. 3, 1873. Dear Sirs, — Referring to our conversation of Thursday last, I have thought it better to put what I understand to be the substance of it in writing, so as to prevent any misunderstanding, and will you kindly put mc right if on reading this letter you find that I have not correctly gather- ed vour meaning;? In the first place, I think I intimated to you, that from present indica- tiors we were led to believe there would be a large export business offered to us from the West, and that shipments would likely be large to Liverpool via Portland ; that if this was to be the case, upon giving you timely notice, I asked if you would be willing to give us carrying capacity for any excess of Boxed Meats or other Western produce which we might be able to bring to Portland, over and above what your regular Mail Steamers could carry, and if you would carry that excess at your present proportions of through rates for traffic from the Wesc tor Liver- pool. Second, I mentioned that we would like at the present time, or as soon as possible, if we found that our accommodation at Portland would admit of it, to load one or two sailing vessels with grain from that port, coniracted for in Montreal, which we understood could at present be obtained. To tlie first I understood you to say that you would not be willing at the present time to say that you would take from us any more freight for Liverpool at Portland than the capacity of your regular Mail Steamei's, which in figures we put down at an average of 150 cars for eacli steamer ; and that of these 150 cars, I understood you to say, that you would require to reserve room for at least 70 cars, which you yourselves wished to en- gage tVoni Montreal. That would, therefore, only leave us So cars per week, wliich we were at liberty to engage from all L/cal stations West, and Irom llie Western St.ites ; and that you could not agree to take from us more than this. In regard to the second, viz. vessels to take Montreal grain from Port- land, I undcrstooil you to say that you would not agree to bring out any MM i-CKHols, lis your proportion of any throiije usual instructions, j^ivin^j aj^cnts power to contract from local sta- tions at rates based upon our present divisions in force. Yours truly, 1*. S. Stkvicnson. ^fcssrs. II. i: A. Allan*, Montreal. Movtim:ai., Noveml".>r 1. 1S73. P. S. Stf.vf.N'sox, Esq^. G. T. R. Co. Dear Sir, — We have your 27 335 of yesterday's date, referring to the personal interview with our Mr. Allan and Mr. Smith on Thursday last in the matter of trafHc via Portland, during the ensuing season of winter navi- gation ; naming a few of the more important subjects then under discussion, and reqcsting to ])e informed whether your understanding of our views then expressed is correct. In regard to Boxed Meats and otherproducc from the West, which you anticipate will offer for Liverpool, in excess of the carrying capacities of the regidar Mail steamers, you arc correct in your understanding that at present we are unwilling to imdertake to bring extra steamers to Portland for this business. You were informed that wliile we would have a large number of the steamers of our fleet lying idle, for which we were anxious to obtain em- ployment, that in the present condition of the import trade, these vessels could notbc brought to Portland for the mere conveyance of homeward cargo, without the certainty of incurring large loss on each voyage ; and that while we were willing, when practicable, to meet the requirements o*"your Road, even without i^rospect of gain, that we were averse to brlngi ng our steamers to Portland, with the absolutecertalnty of disastrous loss ; and tliat whether extra steamers could be brought to Portland later in die season, would de- pend, in a great measure, on the business from Britain improving to such an extent, as to liold forth reasonable hope, that the inward earnings of the ves- If Idls would be sufflcient In amount, to prevent the large loss certain to aristj from the small proportion of homeward through-freight accruing to thcOcean Carriers. Besides, our experience of two winters ago, of which you may not have knowledge, when at the solicitation of your Company, and on its guarantee tliat full cargoes would be furnished without delay, we brought extra boats to Portland at large pecuniary loss on each occasioii (the direct money loss on a single voyage of one steamer being upwards of $18,000), is sufficient to deter us from bringing out additional ships at the present time, when the import trade is worse than it was then, and when, in every department, the expense of running steamers ^s greatly increased. From present prospects we are convinced, that during the two first months of the Portland season, the steamers of the regular Mail service will lose largely on each and every voyage ; and the prospect that imports, later in the season, wiil increase to such an extent as to leave even a snail mar> place At Portland afore- \\n, 1 ' ii ■i ' 1 22 said in consequence of the jjlut of freigiit caused Ijy the said excessivo shipments, for all which tho said Railway Company arc alone liable, and the said Steamship Company will hold the said Railway Company liable in the event of their being called upon us a terminal carrier to pay for the same ; And, whereas, tho ajifcnt of the said Railway Company at Portland has without authorization taken upon liimself to notify the said Steamship Company there, that the said freij^ht so arrived and arriving at Portland aforesaid remains there at the risk of the said Steamship Company, whereas in fact the said Steamship Company has no control thereof, or res- ponsibility of any kind in respect thereof; And, whereas, relying upon the said agreement the said Steamship Company have made contracts for the carrying of freight equal to seventj' car-loads per week from Montreal aforesaid, and from points East of Mont- real to Liverpool aforesaid, but that the said Railway Company has not turnishcd the rolling stock necessary to carry the said seventy car-loads of freight which the said Steamship Company were by the said agreement authorized to ship from Montreal and from points East of Montreal, and which, or portions of which, the said Steamship Company had contracted with persons at Montreal and East of Montreal to forward to Liverpool afore- said by way of the said Railway to Portland, and the said Steamship Com- pany may therefore become responsible to the persons with whom they have so contracted for damages for the non-fulfilment of their said con- tracts, for which damages also the said Railway Company are liable. And, whereas, by carrying out the arrangement so agreed upon between the said Companies ; namely, that the said Steamship Company should have the right to engage freight to the extent of seventy car-loads per week from Montreal and .points East of Montreal, said Steamship Company would make larger profits by carrying such freight as should be shipped at the last mentioned points than by carrying through-freight from points West of Montreal by reason of the difference in the Steamship charges upon such different classes of freight respectively, and the said Steamship Company will therefore themselves sustain a heavy loss in con- sequence of being unable to forward freight so contracted for by ♦heir ves- sels, and of being obliged to load their vessels entirely with Western freight at a lower rate of remuneration to themselves, for which loss also they intend to hold the said Railway Company liable ; And, whereas, in fact notwithstanding that the said Steamship Com- pany have repeatedly notified the said Railway Compiny of the incon- venience, loss and damage which they are occasioning by their aforesaid acts, and have repeatedly warned them of the consequences thereof, and have repeatedly notified them to cease signing Bills of Lading for freight \ loi al no of St. im ■w I Com- incon- )resaid >f, and "Treight |o be can it'll bv tlioir Steamship! beyond the sftld amount of elpfhty car^ loads pel wt'i'k. and although the said Railway Cojnpany pi(»iniscd to stop all hirther shipments for the present, jet, notw listandin^jj sut.h warninj;, notices, and promise, the said Railway Company still continue to si«;n Bills of Ladinpf for freight by the said Steamers, thereby exposing th*' said Steamship Company to further reclamations for damages, and still further impeding and preventing shipments from Montreal and points East ; Now therefore, I, the said Notary, at the request aforesaid, and speak- ing as aforesaid, do formally hereby notify the said Railway Compatiy of all and every the premises, and do solemnly protest against the said Rail- way Company, and declare to hold the said Railway Company liable by all such ways and means as the said Steamship Company may lawfully take : — ' n First, for all loss and damage caused to the Steamship Company, or which may fall upon the said Steamship Company, either on this conti- nent or in Europe, by reason of any delay which has resaid claims, matters and things, losses, damages and injuries, they 24 Will hold the said Railway Company rL-spoiisihlc directly to thcni, and will wage every recourse ay^ainst the said Railway Company for the re- covery of any amount in which they maybe damnified or injured, in such manner or way as they may be advised, hereby further notifying the said Railvv;v Company to take at their own risk and expense, such steps as they nia\' dec.u expedient to notify the shippers of freight in excess of the said eighty car-loads per week, of the delay which must necessaiily result from the said excessive 'hipments, in the transmission of such freight to England, and also lo protect such freight, at Portland aforesaid, from all the risks and perils to which it will be there exposed while awaiting shipment by sea ; Hereby further requiring th.-: said Railway Company forthwith to fur- nish to the said Steamship Company, a quantity of cars sufficient to com- plete, the quantity of seventy cars per w^eek, for the conveyance of freight contracted for by the sa.d Steamship Company from Montreal and points East, and to forward the same to Portland aforesaid, in accordance w^ith the said understanding and agreement ; And to thj end that the said Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada may not have cause to plead ignorance in the premises, I have served them with a certified copy of these presents, speaking as aforesaid, these presents remaining of record in the oflice of W. A.. Phillips, the undersigned Notary , under the number Six thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine. In test, veritatis^ W. A. Phillips, N. P. i If i| 1l Notification and Protest at the request of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, Against the owners of the " Allan Line ' of Steamships. On the Thirteenth day of the month of December, in the year of Our Lord One tliousand eight hundred and seventy-three, at the request of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, a body politic and cor- porate, and having its principal place of business in the said city of Mont- real, I James Stuart Hunter, the undersigned Notary Public, duly commis- sioned and sworn i.i and for that part of Canada heretofore constituting the Province of Lower Canada, now the Province of Qiiebec, residing in iJie City of Montreal, in the said Province, personally went to tjie olfice in the said City of Montreal of the owners of tiiC line of steamers known as the Allan Line, sometimes culled and known as '• Tlie Montreal Ocean Steamship Company " 25 icm, and jr the re- el, ill such J the said 1 steps us CSS of the lily result freight to from all awaiting '•ith to fur- nt to com- of freight md points ance with impany of !s, I have aforesaid, lillips, the ndred and s, N. P. rp Trunk iS OF THE 2ar of Our request of : and cor- y ofMont- y commis- )nstituting •esiding in went to vvners of jomctimes Company " and represented and acting by the firm of H. & A. Allan, the agents of the said owners of said line of steamers at Montreal aforesaid, where being and speaking to Robert A. Smith, Esquire, I vleclared that whereas by notification, requisition, and protest served at the request ofthesaid owners of said steamships to and vs. the said Grand Trunlv Railway Company of Canada, by and through the ministry of W. A. Phillips, Notary Public, on the eleventh day of December instant, I the said vSleamship Company allege, amongst other things, that certain \ negotiations therein mentioned '• resulted in an understanding and agiec- 1 " ment between the said two Companies, that the said Steamship Company " would receive from the said Uailwav Company at Po: t'and aforesaid, for " transport to Liverpool aforesaid, freight not exceeding one hundred and " fifty car-loads per week, whereof the saiil Railway Company should " have the right and privilege of booking eighty car-loads at such points " west of Montreal as they might think proper." And, further, the said Steamship Company, in and by tj-pir said declaration and protest, allege as follows : " And it was then distinctly understood l)etvveen the said parties ihat '' the said Steamship Company would not hav.?, provide, or furnish any " other or further accommodation for the carri.ige of freight from Port- " land, than tlie said quantity of one hundred and fifty car-loads per week, " to be obtained in the proportions above menti^med by iixu said Com- " panies respectively." Which said above recited allegations, the said Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada specially deny ; and they, moreover, positively anil emphatically deny the truth of the assertions and the allegations generally set forth and contained in said protest, and which they the said Railway Company imhesitatingly declare to be untrue and unfounded in fact ; and the said Railway Comp uiy declare that no such agreement as pretended in said notification, reqn.sition and protest, was ever entered into between the said Steamship Company and said Railway Company, and more especially the said Grand Trunk Railway Coiuoany deny that they ever agreed that the said Steamship Company would not have, provide or furnish any other or further accommodation for the carriage of freight from Portland aforesaid, to wit, t*ortland in the State of Maine, than the quantity of one hundred and fifty car-loads per week, in the proportions in said notification, requisition and protest set forth, and as therein falsely alleged. And the said Railway Company further declare that in some former years there has been as much Grand Trunk Railway freight at PorUand for shipment by said Steamsliip Company as at present, without any demand, protest or complaint by said Steamship Company against said itiiilway Company ; and moreover the said Grand Trunk Railway Co. s« f i e :' (iliefj* that tho srxlcl vSteamshlp Company nto not tiiia season employing their steamships of larger toMr;uj»e, but on the contrary their steamships of smaller tonna;:;e ; as an instance their steamship North Avjcrican which is now clue at the Port of Portland aforesaid. And, in fact, the said Steamship Company have ?*. large number of steamships lying idle and unemployed at Glasgow in Scotland, and at Liverpool in England, which might be used in the transport of said freight, and which the said Steam- ship Company neglect and refuse to r.^e and employ for the accommoda- tion of shippers of goods from Portland, and the trade generally ; thereby, shewing their disinclination to accommodate and facilitate the transaction of business, in the interest? • of the commercial community and the public generally. And the said Railway Company also declare and assert that the service upon them, the said Railway Company, of said notification, requi'ii- tion and protest by the said Steamship Company, w^as, and is, purposely vexatious and intended to annoy said Railway Company, and with the view o screen the said Steamship Company from blame for shortcomings, and delinquencies on their part, and specially their neglect in not providing sufficient accommodation by their steamships, for the carriage of the freight brought to Portland, in the customary way, by the said Railway company ; owing to which neglect on the part of the said Steamship Company, the alleged great accumulation of freight at Portland aforesaid, of which they pretend to complain by their said protest, has taken place. Wherefore the said Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, speaking as aforesaid, hereby declare that all loss, damage, liability, deten- tion, mingling of freight, diflerence of freight and protection of the same at Portland aforesaid, and all losses whatsoever arising from the causes and reasons aforesaid, shall be borne by the said Steamship Company, the same having arisen by re.' son of their neglect and refusal to remove the said freight accumulated at Portland as they are bound to do, and for which the said Railway Company declare the said Steamship Company to be alone responsible. I, the said Notary, at the request aforesaid, and speaking as aforesaid, have protested, and by these presents do most solemnly protest against the said Steamship Company, and all others whom the same doth, shall, or may in any way concern, for all costs, losses, damages, detriment, injury and hurts already suffered, and which may be hereafter in any way suffered, and for all anl whatsoever else may or ought to be protested for or against, for and in coase juence of the premises and for all auu T;ery, the causes and rcas >ns a'oava me itu;^u their said ag;ints, speaking as aforesaid- 87 mployinff rj ships of Tn, On the nth Instant we caused a nulification and protest to be served on your Company, in order to protect the interests which we represent as Agents of the Allan Line, from the consequences, likely to arise, from engagements on the part of your Agents in Western Canada, and the Western Stales, for the conveyance of provisions, and other goods, on through bills of lading to Liverpool, in excess of the caprvcity placed at your disposal, by the Steamers of our Mail Line from Portland. On the 13th instant, a counter j^rotest was served on us at yoor in- st.'i".ce in which the statements of fact, made in our notification, are denied in such strong language, as, we think, requires us to call your attention to the precise facts on which these statements are made. In your counter protest you " positively and emphatically deny the " truth" of the following allegations, contained in our protest, viz : — " That certain negotiations therein mentioned, resulted in an under- " standing and agreement, between the said two Companies, that the said " Steamship Company would receive from the said Railway Company, at " Portland aforesaid, for transport to Liverpool aforesaid, freight not ex- " ceeding one hundred and fifty car-loads per week ; whereof the said " Railway Company should have the right and privilege' of bool«ng eighty *' car-loads at such points W'est of Montreal as they might think proper, " and whereof the Steamship Company should have the privilege of load- " ing seventy car-loads at Montreal, and at such points East of Montreal *' as they might th!nk proper." And further — " that It was then distinctly understood between the said " parties that the said Steamship Company would not have, provide, or " furnish any other or further accommodation, for the carriage of freight *' from Portland, than the said quantity of one hundred and fifty car-loads " per week, to be obtained in the proportions above mentioned by the said *' Companies respectively." 28 !^ i You further dcciJirc : — *' That no such agreement as represented in said notification, requisi- " tion, and protest was ever entered into between the said Steamship Oom- " panv and said Railway Company; and more especially, the said Grand "' Trunk Railway Company deny that they ever ajjrccd that the said " Sleamship Company would noi, have, provide, or furnisli any other or " further accommodation for the carria;_jc of frciglit from Portland afore- " said, to wit. Portland in the vStaie of Maine, than the (]U\ntit3' of one " hundred and fifty car-loails per week in the proportions in said noti- '' iication." In support of the truthfulness of our alloj^ations, and the consequent absence oF foumlation for your positive denials, we will confine ourselves for proof to the letters which passed between I\Ir. P. S. Stevenson, the General Freij^ht Manager of your Company, and ourselves, in the early part of November. The parts in this correspondence to which we would particularly call your attention have l^een italicized by us. In his communication under dale of 3rd November, referring to an in- terview had with our Mr. Allan and Mr. Smith on the previous Thurs- day, with reference to capacity of freight from Portland, during the then ensuin(y season of winter navigation, Mr. vStevens on writes : — " Referring to our conversation of Thursday last, I have thought it " better to put what I understand to be the substance of it in writing »oas " to prevent any misunderstanding, and will you kindly put me right, if, on " reading this letter, you find that I have not correctly gathered " your meaning. In the first place, I think I intimated to you that there " would be a large export business offered to us from the West, and that " shipments would likely be lui-ge to Liverpool via Portland ; — that if this " was to be the case, upon giving you timely notice, I asked if you would " be willing to give us carrying capacity for any excess of Boxed Meats, " or other Western produce, which w-e might be able to bring to Portland, " over and above what your regular Mail .Steamers could carry, and if " you would carry that excess at 3'our present proportions of through rates " fortratRc from the West for Liverpool." To this, " I understood you to say that, you would not be willing, at " the present time, to say that you would take from us any more freight "■ for Liverpool at Portland than the capacity of your regular A/all Steam- " ers^ which, in figures, we put down at an average of 150 cars for each " steamer ; and that of these 1 50 cars, I understood you to say, that you would " require to reserve room for at least 70 cars which you yourselves wished " to engage from Montreal. That^ therefore^ ivould only leave us 80 cars " ^er "week tuhich we 'we,re at libcrtv to engage from all local stations 4k u •29 . „„ J thai you could not agreeto . West ana from tke WesUrn -■='«'«; -fjl^, yo„ ,„ say that r» . t:« not agre. to Mng '''^^'^;,J,, «oul.l not give you . through-ate that could '^f^;^^;^.,Junavr tooomcont ,nl>aUa.t . .sufficientvemunevafon,..^/"-" „,ote.-" If yo" "- On the 7th November, Mr. ^'f-"""" I ,ea,sc- tukh>g any "»"> . „o°g to adhere to what you ^^^^^ ,,,„ ,,„„ So c„.-/.«<'^ .BoxedMeats, by your Steamers. «1"^1^^ ^^ ,^ „„, y„,„ /„« .!, ,acn Steanur, and "serv^^g^^^ ^^ j „m ka.e >o g^ a contracted by ''»' ''"•'" "*'•' ''[21- -»V ""« /'-"■«■*' '*""^f r . S.^^'-.,/. instructions to stop '-' "» ;,^:„,, ;„ ,,„„„Uo the Glemf- :Zndr "^« y™ -"' '-^rJ;^:: :u gnnn contracted here hv you. . '• - :r;teve,.on. «rst conr— .„, we repUed on the .r -— r:;^rdtoBo.eaMea.andodrer.odu...^^^^^ .ing that, at t^f^^^^^^^^f^r this business ^fj^J.^cr ^^ extra Steamers to ror _ f" ,i to abont So ""^ '"^ .Itaiting ™g»S=™-''WtTt ha been the custom to '=-- '-bo u »^ " half of the capacity oj tlie ^^^^ ^^^t of •«'• - T ,1,:, Citv-andjrom f'"'' "' ^ „,^ to the extent named, v\e it are onlv acu i» . istence or son.c years pas ^^^^^.^^^,^^, ,,e vcplied on the 7^^ To Mr. Stevenson s last co J^ovember :- , ^-^^^^ ,eserved for our engagements u In asking us to reduce ^ -^^ ^^ ,,, f.^t, that, from 35000 to ? .. vou seem to have lost sigU ot stiiVening pur- : :rt::.;r .a. U --- '- ,rir::veyance o^ the dead- " "^'f T, e blnce of the tonn^tge -tame^ W us, .. ^ants oftne fro^'sion trade "/^^^ ^^^ ,„,t, U that cargofrom " ^TlrX':^^-^^''^" the freight you g^^^ '« vt here iviU nett tne f *. Western provisions. 80 ** ft is not in our province to instruct you in the regulation of you^ >* Chicago traffic^ and we decline assun^ing (iny responsibility in the " matter." " Taking grain freight from hence for the Gleniffer at Boston, " would not place additional capacity by the Portland Steamers at your " disposal. As already explained, tne dead-weight is required by our " steamers for stifTcning purposes ; and wc are not contracting for grain " because there is pressure on us to provide conveyance for produce of *' that description." That you were personally aware of the position of affairs, and that the communications between your General Freight Manager and our- selves, had come under your knowledge, cannot be denied, as we hold your letter, under date of 22nd November, in which you say : — " Mr. Stevenson has sent me a copy of the correspondence he has " had with you, with reference to capacity of freight from Portland for " the coming season. *' I am sorry you decline to give us the capacity at Portland that we *' required " I can easily load, if I have the vessels there, two ships a week from " Chicago alone ; but, of course, as you decline to give us the acco7nmo- " dation that wc want^ I can only take the necessary steps to obtain it " in other quarters." " We are sending down now more freight than your steamers will " take away; but, of course, it must be quite understood, that as you de- " dine to meet our wants., we are at liberty to make such arrangements " as wp please, and if, later in the season, your vessels fall short of freight, " it will be simply your own fault and not ours." These excerpts from the correspondence which has passed between your Company and ourselves, sufficiently prove that the allegations in our protes^, to which you take exception and which you " unhesitatingly " declare to be untrue and unfounded in fact," are on the contrary strictly and absolutely correct. In your protest, it is further declared : — " That in some former years, there has been as much Grand Trun k " Railway freight at Portland, for shipment by said Steamship Company, " as at present, without any demand, protest and complaint, against said " Railway Company." In so far as the quantity of freight actually lying at Portland is con- cerned, we will not question the accuracy of this statement ; but we do not hesitate to say, and the records in our office can prove the correctness of our assertion, that, taking into consideration the accumulations at this station-, the quantity of cargo, which for lack of storage accommodation at Isl tcJ th vie txA sh (( 31 at Portland, has, in meantime, been discharged at way-stations East of Island Pond ; and the provisions and other goods en route from the Wes- tern States and Western Can^^a to the sea-board, — these shipments, in the aggregate, more than quadruple the engagements made in any pre- vious year, during the same period, and this, irrespective of cargo con- tracted for ])y the agents of your Company, but which has not yet been shipped, and for which bills lading have not been granted. In your protest you also declare : — "The said Steamship Company have a large number of steamships " lying idle and unemployed at Glasgow in Scotland, and at Liverpool " in England, which might be used in the transport of said freight, and " which the said Steamship Company neglect and refuse to use and em- " ploy, for the accommodation of shippers of goods from Portland and " the trade generally ; thereby showing their disinclination lo accommo- " date and facilitate the transaction of business, and the interest of the *' commercial community and the public generally." To persons not conversant with shipping business, it might appear that with the large offerings of homeward cargo at present available at Portland, our Steamships could be profitably employed in the trade be- tween Liverpool and that port ; and from the tenor of the last extract from your protest, this would appear to be your opinion as well. A few facts may satisfy you regarding the fallacy of such reasoning. The Polynesian^ which sailed from Liverpool on Thursday last as the Mail Steamer for Portland brings out One thousand tons of coals as ballasty without which, in consequence of the li^ht offerings of cargo for Portland, she would not have been in a safe condition to send to sea. The bulk of this steamer's return cargo must necessarily consist of pro- visions and other goods from the Western States, carried at 90c. to $1 per i(X> lbs. through from Chicago to Liverpool, out of which rates, but 30 per cent, or from 34s. lod. to 37s. 8d. sterling per ton accrues to the Ocean Carrier,while at same time the steamers of the Cunard Line from Boston and the steamships of the regular lines from Is'ew Yoric are obtaining minimum rates of 55s. sterling on all through Western provisions, and 60s. sterling on local shipments. As a consequence, although a subsidized Mail Steamer, with earn- ings from passengers on both the inward and homeward trips, we look for a loss of at least £3,000 sterling, or $15,000, on tke round voyage. Had the Polynesian been brought out as an extra boat, entirely in ballast, to assist in relieving the accumulation at Portland, and to " fa- cilitate the transaction of business," the loss on the voyage would ex- ceed £5,000 sterling, or $25,000. Being our own underwriters, we have not taken the cost of insurance into these calculations ; nor has any allow • 32 ancc been iiiatl. lur wcar-antl-tcar. The Polynesian is our largest carrier and best earner, but lier expenses in commission do not exceed those of the majority (;!' the steamers employed in our Portlaiul trade. Apart from the contract steamers, which we are oblij^ed to run weekly between Portland and Liverpool, I'or conveyance of mails and l^assengers, we do not consider ourselves bound t(j run steamers at a loss, to meet ihe " interests of the commercial community and the jDublic "'' generally," in atiy greater degree than the importers and exporters of the Dominion hold themselves bound to exclusively patronize the steam- ers of the Allan Line. That we were willing, however, to make large sacrifices to meet the requirements of trade and your Road, is sufficiently evidenced by the fact that all our extra Steamers were tendered to your Company, through Mr. Stevenson, in the early part of November, for service between Portland and Liverpool, free of any charge "johatever either for hire, interest on capital employed^ or Jor sea risk--\\-\Q only stipulation being that while your Company would have the exclusive benefit of the gross earnings of these Steamers, it should only pay us the actual costs a7id expense of rnnnitig the ships^ viz.^ wages, provisions, coals and port-charges. Thisofi'er made by us, and refused by your General Freight Manager, is a sutijcient roj^ly to your last declaration. We are aware you have always contended that your Road could carr s- to Portland greater quantities of cargo than one steamer per week could takeaway. Whether with the recent change of gauge, your abilities in this respect are greater than heretofore, we do not pretend to say ; but wc do assert, and we are prepared to prove our statement by figures if neces- sary, that, while in the months of December and the early part of January, when Western provisions are oflfering freely and the line is clear and unob- structed, your Road can carry to the sea-board, cargo in excess of the re- quirements of a weekly line, yet, during the many years our steamers have sailed from Portland, the total of your deliveries during any season has never equalled the aggregate of the carrying capacity of the mail steamers alone. There is but one other point to which we would refer in this letter, and that is, tluit had you confined yourself to accommodating the Cana- dian trade, instead of neglecting both the local and the tlirough business of the Dominion, in order to enter into competition with the New York lines, at low rates, for the provision traffic of the Western States, our Mail steamers would have more than sufficed to meet the needs of the country. The returns in our office show that np till this date, out of 18S5 car- loads of provisions and goods billed by our Steamers, 1304 car-loads are cr of 33 from tlic Western States, while only 449 cai -loads arc from Western Canada, and but 133 car-loads from this City and stations East. We can have no reason to object to your putting such construction as you may feel justified in doing upon our correspondence with you, and particularly, wiiether or no, it did not result in a complete understanding between us, as to the quantity of freight we could take at Portland, and as to tiie proportions in which it was to be procured by the Railway Company and by ourselves. We believe we interpret that correspondence •jorrectly, and that the transport of an overwhelming quantity of freight to J\)rtlan(l, witli the knowledge that, as far as any provision had been maile for its carriage to Liverpool, the bulk of it must remain there for months, was an injudicious measure which we disapproved of, had done our best to prevent, and the responsibility for which we were unwilling to share. But we must distinctly protest against the unwarranted and unbusinesslike imputations as to motives, which you have thought lit to include in the Company's protest. When the protest states that our no- tification to you, that we would not be responsible for the consequences of the improper accumulation of freir^ht at Portland, was ''purposely vexa- " tious and intended to annoy the said Railway Company," it makes a statement which we must characterize as being entirely unfounded. The tenor of the protest itself is sufficient to prove this, for its contents go no further than was necessary to show, that we had tried to prevent the block, and were not responsible for it. As to the further pretension that we gave the notification " to screen our Company from blame for shortcomings and delinquencies" on our part, and " specially for neglect, in not providing steamship accommoda- *' tion for the freight brought to Portland," it is simply ridiculous. We nni a weekly line to and from Portland and we never professed or pretend- ed, nor do we know that any one expected us, to do more. We never, certainly, were inider anv obligation to do more, nor ever held out any expectations that we would. On the contrary, we took the earliest op- portunity for rcmi«iding your Cor pany of our position, and of the danger of the difficulty which is now felt. Surely no one can pretend that we were in duty bound to run steamers, outside of our regular engagements, at a direct and heavy loss to ourselves. If such a duty devolves upon any one, it is upon your Company, which has been the sole means of pro- ducing the crisis of which tlie public complains, and we have afibrdedyou the opportunity of relievuig the commercial community from the trouble you have brought upon it, by offering you our steamers at cost. If any one is to suffer for carrying the freight through, it should be your Com- pany, which is to be supposed to be able to recoup itself, to some extent, 94 by its carriage fn Portland, especially as you have carried it there with the full knowledge of the consequences. If motives were to be dragged into this discussion, you must be aware that motives for this rush of freight to the sea-board, are imputed to your Company, which are not more creditable, and perhaps no better founded in truth, than those your Company imputes to us. But we do not intend, on our part, to conduct this controversy on such a basis. We distinctly and positively disclaim any hostile feeling to your Com- pany. We only desire to protect ourselves from claims and losses, which we think we should not be subjected to ; and if we are wrong in our views as to that point, we would prefer to differ with your Company without en- tering into recriminatory charges of a personal character. We are, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, H. & A. Allan.