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BY VISCOUNT BUHY, M.P. mtixmtti to tfte Sbftarefiolbcrs OF THE HALIFAX & QUEBEC lUILWAY COMPANY, LIMITED. 47, Sloank Strkkt, J'lb. 4, I85y. WIl.MAM 1-KNNV, [,7. I.INCOI.X'S-INN Flia.O.v VH. MEMOMNDllI. Before the close of the last session of Parliament, the propriety of connecting Halifax and Quebec by a line of railroad was brought under the consideration of Her Majesty's Government. This question had been frequently mooted before, and it is not too much to say that its importance, in a national as well as an economical point of view, has been acknowledged by every Administration which has succeeded to office during the last ten years. It has been the subject of voluminous correspondence, which has been presented to the British Houses of Parliament and the Canadian Legislature from time to time, between the years 1849 and 1858. In 1847-8 three routes by which the proposed object might be attained were surveyed and ably reported on by Major now Colonel . Robinson, R.E.,* and Captain Henderson, of the same corps. This survey was undertaken l)y order of the Imperial Govern- ment, but at the expense and by the request of the colonies. Earl Grey was at that time at the head of the Colonial Office, and expressed himself then and afterwards very strongly in favour of the undertaking. Difficulties, however, arose, and after several unsuccessful attempts to revive it, the project dropped. I need not now enter into the history of the question. It will be sufficient to Lay, that during the last year it was revived, and that it enlisted the warm sympathies of many gentlemen of influence. A meeting was held on the .5th June, 1858, at the Thatched House Tavern, at which it was resolved to make a strong appeal to the Colonial Minister, Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Disraeli. In order to carry out this resolution with effect, the pro- moters of the undertaking registered themselves under the Halifax, August HI, HUM. u provisions of the Limited Ijiability Act, and appointed four of their number to net as Provisional Directors. The Com- pany thus constituted, accompanied by several members of Parliament and gentlemen well known in the mercantile world, M'aited upon Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The deputation pressed upon him the political aqd com- mercial importance of the undertaking. They quoted the Acts of the Legislatures of Nova Sootia, New Brunswick, and Canada, passed in 1849, promising to Her Majesty c€;20,000 per annum each, and all tlie ungranted Crown lands situated within ten miles of the proposed line of road, provided that Her Majesty, either by herself or through the instrumentality of a private Company, would undertake the construction of the road. They concluded by asking to be recognized as " the Company " mentioned in the above-cited Colonial Acts, and to be appointed the agents of the Government for carrying out the work. Sir Edward's reply was encouraging. He said : — " I think the question divides itself into two great divisions : one is the political, and the other is the linancial. So far as the political is concerned, which more immediately comes under my notice, I have given the best consideration I can to the subject, and I think that the imperial advantages are not exaggerated. I think that there is a sufficient degree of imperial advantage to be derived from the proposed line to justify, to ray mind, the Government, in giving assistance to the colonies; and the more I look at the great importance of it, the more favourable I think the proposed course is." On the following day, the deputation re-assembled at the official residence of the Chaucellor of the Exchequer, to whom tliev advanced nearly the same arguments as those they had before urged upon Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Mr. Disraeli replied : — " It is not au unfavourable period for undertaking these great works, if you can agree upon any arrangement. I can ordy say that I am duly impressed with the great importance of it ; and your (Lord Bury's) very clear and lucid statement has revived my recollection. I remember a great deal on this point when Lord Grey was in office. It certainly is, in every point of view, a matter of the highest consideration, and I will confer with Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton immediately upon it." The promoters of this undertaking, on considering the answers given to tiiem by Ministers, were inipressed with the belief, that the obstacle which principally prevented them 3 from at once ohtaiiiin>; tlie Government guarantee, was the uncertainty whicli both the right honourable gentlemen felt — which, indeed, they strongly expressed — as to the present intentions and feelings of the Colonial Governments. Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Mr. Disraeli pointed out that the nssistance promised by the three provinces was gua- ranteed by the Colonial Legislatures in 1849; that the nego- tiations then entered into had not been carried out ; and that the Acts then passed, though not formally expunged from the statute-books, might not improbably be regarded as having fallen into dissuetude. It was true that since 18i9 all three of the provinces had undertaken, and had carried to a forward state, great public works; and that during the last year, though their commercial institutions had nobly withstood the shock, they had experienced a crisis perhaps unexampled in the monetary history of the Western hemisphere. Under these circumstances, the Directors determined that one of their number should visit British North America, and ascertain, from personal observation, iiow far the colonies would be disposed to ratify and renew the engagements made in 1849. In consequence of this arratigeraent, I sailed for America in the early part of last October. During the last three months and t liaif I have devoted considerable care and attention to the subject. The result may be arranged under four heads : — 1 . How far the Halifax and Quebec Railway is a matter of imperial concern ; and if it be, in what manner the Govern- ment can most advantageously give it their assistance. 2. Whether Canada, New 13runswick, and Nova Scotia would co-operate with the mother country ; and if so, to what extent and in what manner. 3. The probable cost of the construction of the road, the character of the country through which it must pass, and the best route for it to follow. 4. What trade already exists there, and what trade the line would be likely to create. I. The first and most important point to be considered is, upon what grounds the Company can demand the sanction and assistance of the Imperial Government. If the reader will take a map of North America, and, from a point about the centre of James's Bay, will draw two semi- circles, one beyond the other, towards tho south — one with a radius of about 900, the other with a radius of from 1,200 to 1,300 miles — he will observe that the itnier semicircle will follow the general direction of a line of hills that are usually Ml considered the northern boundary of the Canadas ; the outer ■will indicate the position of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and part of Canada lie side by side on the south shore of the St. Lawrence : their southern limit forms the line of demarcation between the British territory and the United States. " At a point midway between Montreal and the Foot of Lake Ontario the national boundary-line touches the St. Lawrence : from that point it winds away towards the west, bisecting the Great Lakes and the channels of the rivers which unite them one with another. The British possessions, then, present a semicircular front to the United States, from the Atlantic Ocean to the western boundary of Canada. It is thus evident that there are but three modes of reaching them from Europe. Either by way of the St. Lawrence, by traversing the United States, or by landing from the sea, on their eastern extremity, at or near Halifax. The St. Lawrence navigation is considered under a separate head (No. 4). Practically the choice rests between travers- ing the States, and landing at Halifax. The inconvenience of depending on a foreign power for access to our own territory is too self-evident to require proof. But to that inconvenience we now submit. Mails now go through the United States, and in order to do so make an average detour of 450 miles.* Passengers are obliged to do the same. I was at Halifax a few weeks ago, and wished to go to Quebec. I was obliged to wait a fortnight for a steamer to Boston, in the United States, and then go by United States railroads. When at Halifax, I was distant from Quebec, by the route that Major liobiu- son proposes for the railway, 635 miles. I had to travel 400 miles by sea and 600 by United States and Canadian railways in order to reach it. In 1857 the United States authorities, in consequence of a dispute which arose with reference to the postal convention between Great Britain and their own Government, gave notice that the existing arrangement should terminate in six weeks. Incalculable injury would have been done if this threat had been put into effect. But why are we left open to such threats ? The construction of this railroad would render us independent of the United States. During the late war, aud at one of the most critical periods * Wlien tliL' inuil jroes rouiul liy New York, it trnverses 515 miles, ami when it uol- hy liustoii, 'M't luiles miditiunai (libtaiii-e. of that war, the British Governnent were desirous of removing large munitions of war that were in store at Quebec to the Crimea. The law officers of the Crown who were appealed to on the subject, gave it as their opinion that, inasmuch as the articles to be transported were contraband of war, they could not pass through the territory of a neutral power without a breach of the neutrality laws. The stores were, in consequence of this opinion, conveyed on sledges, at an enormous expense to Halifax, along the route of the proposed railway. England has the military defence of her colonies to take care of. A war might break out during the winter time, in which it was necessary either to throw troops into Canada or to withdraw them from it. If the United States were either hostile, or in a position of armed neutrality, we could not, under present circumstances, effect our purpose at all. But if, on the other hand, this railroad were constructed, they would be on board ship in forty-eight hours after leaving their quarters in Canada, or concentrated on any part of the frontier within the same time of their landing at Halifax. The danger above alluded to is not chimerical, for in 1837 and 1838 Canada was actually invaded by the Americans. Troops were indeed transported from Halifax to Quebec, but in small numbers, at a great expense, and with much suffering to the soldiers. It was found that military stores could not be conveyed at all in sufficient quantities. The misfortunes which would inevitably accrue, both to the commercial and the military interests of the country, if any rupture should, unhappily, take place with the United States, would be greatly enhanced, if there were no means of communicating with all the colonies at all seasons of the year. Looking at the question only in a military point of view, there ought either to be a large force always stationed in the provinces, or means should be provided to concentrate such a force on the required point at any moment. In case of an American disturbance, the military base of operations would be in England instead of in Canada. The facility and rapidity of transport would economize alike troops, stores, and time. Much has been said about federalizing the provinces. I express no opinion upon the advisability or possibility of such a plan ; but it is right to note, while considering the imperial character of the undertaking, that it would be impossible to unite the three provinces politically, without first uniting them physically by means of this road. It has long been a desideratum with the Imperial Govern- ment to have a military road through British territory, rr accessible at all seasons. Indeed, it is necessary that such a road should be completed without delay. It has l/cen truly observed by Canadian authorities, that "The Color)y has received the solemn assurance of the Imperial Government, a promise on which she implicitly relies, that while she is expected to assume h.er share of the burden of anv force which her own internal wants mav require in time of peace, yet that the wliole power of the empire will be put forth for her protection and security against foreign a;;gression. Canada has acted on this assur- ance, and performed her part of the obligation ; but we would respectfully urge that, without means of communication with Great Britain, the Imperial Government is powerless to per- form its share ; and that the very first step towards the fulfil- ment of the promise is to provide proper access to the country."* Another point, which is matter of imperial concern, is the increased rapidity with which the postal communication would be conducted. The weekly European mails now arrive in Canada alternately by way of New York and Boston. The ship that takes the msiils to Boston touches at Halifax, and yet is obliged to land its mails at Boston, which port is reached in from thirty-five to forty houra after lea\ing Halifax. But supposing that the railroad were built, and the trains running over it at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour, the mail would be delivered in Quebec about twenty- four hours after the arrival of the steamer at Halifax, at Montreal in about thirty hours, and in Toronto in about forty hours. The mail would thus arrive at the capital of Canada AVest nearly at the same time that it now starts on its thirty or thirty-five hours' journey to the same point. Earl Grey in a despatch dated 14th March, 1851, announced that Her Majesty's Government were willing to assist in the construction of the Halifax and Quebec Railway. I cannot better describe the way in which his lordship proposes to do this, than by transcribing a few lines of his despatch. He says : — " Although Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that great caution ought to be observed in pledging the credit of the British treasury, in aid of loans raised in the colonies, they regard the work now in contemplation as being (like the St. Lawrence canals) of so much importance to the whole * See till' lion. .J. r -e and tlie Hon. J. A. Macilonald's Meinonin- tUnu to the Iinperiiil (joveninient. the empire as to justify them in reconunendinj? to Parliament t!»at some assistance sliould l)e given towards its construction. Nor is there any mode of aflbrding such assistance which has been hitherto suggested, whicli appears on the whole so little burdensome to the mother country, and at the same time of so much real service to the colonies, as that which is now pro- ])osed." The plan alluded to was that the British Government should guarantee the payment of the interest on the moneys raised for the purpose of making the road. It may be remarked that Lord Grey mentions as a set-oft' against the proposed guarantee, that the Colonies, and especially Canada, should take upon themselues a much greater share of the expense of their own defence than lieretofore. Canada has already performed her part of this implied contract, by the enrolling, arming, and drilling of a large and highly efficient volunteer force. I cannot, before dismissing this part of the subject, refrain from expressing my conviction that this road is destined, pro- bably at no distant day, to form part of a chain of railways from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The pliysical obstacles pre- sented by the country to be traversed bv such a line are as nothing, compared M'ith the great advantages which would accrue to the empire at large from its construction. A Canadian company with, as yet, slender resources and imper- fect organization, already transports mails, both in winter and summer, over the country between Toronto, C.W., and Fort Garry, on the Red lliver. The valley of tlie Saskatchewan offers few engineering difficulties. The rocky mountains have a pass easy to ovrt*- eome near the head-waters of the Saskatchewan. The valley of the Columbia slopes easily to the Pacific. I i^ requires no argument to prove that the route, by way of Suez, to our Indian possessions, is politically objectionable, and may at any moment become unsafe. The Isthmus of Panama is objectionable on the same grounds. The route round the Cape is tedious and expensive. British America affords the only route whicii England can with certainty count upon as safe. The country which occupies the eastern shore of the Pacific will, without doubt, ultimately possess the dominion of the East. The Halifax and Quebec railroad, as part of the scheme of communication, must inevitably be considered a matter en ently of imperial concern. Under these circumstances, I beg to suggest that the above facts should be submitted to Her Majesty's Government, and 8 m ii I!' that they should be requested to ratify the promise of Lord Grey, II. I have nov to co;i8ider how far Canada, New Bruns- wick, and Nova Scotia would be disposed to co-operate with the mother country ; and if so, to what extent, and in what manner ? This point £700 per mile." The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada has cost, on an average, £10,000 per mile, including the Victoria Bridge. I have no official data, but I believe the bridge is to cost £2,000,000. From £10,700,000, the estimated total cost of the road, deduct £2,000,000, the price of the Victoria Bridge; this leaves £8,700,000, which, divided by the milage, 1,114 miles, gives £7,809 per mile.t The Grand Trunk Railway is a single track j but land has been purchased for a double track, which will be made when the extension of the trade requires it. This land and the termini have been paid for by the Company — an expense which will not fall upon the Halifax and Quebec Railway. The most difficult section of the Grand Trunk, in an engineering point of view, is that from Island Pond to Portland. The road here crosses the White Mountains, and passes through a country as difficult, by all accounts, as any that is to be encountered in New Brunswick. This has cost nominally £8,000 per mile, but I believe that it is well known that it was paid for in debentures issued at a great depreciation. The line from Quebec to Trois Pistoles is now under con- tract, and will be ready for opening in May. A line from Halifax to Truro is now completed. A branch line from St. John's, New Brunswick, to Shediac, is also in a forward state. This line will join the Halifux and Quebec Railway at Shediac, and will not only connect St. John's, New Brunswick, witli Halifax, and give great facilities for com- munication with Prince Edward's Island, but will ultimately (when the New Brunswick railroads are carried to the west- ward to join the United States lines) connect the Halifax and Quebec Railway with the whole of the United States system of railways. It must be admitted that the lines now completed or under contract, which will form part of the Halifax and Quebec line, have stopped short of the mountainous district of New Brunswick, which is expected to run up the average beyond the exceedingly moderate sum per mile that would other- wise be rc'(]uired. The most expensive part of the line, * (Jnotoil Iiy Mr. Pryor. t Tluw H;;un's iirc ik-iiveil fnnu Mr. IJlack well's Ui'poi't. 13 as far as engineering is concerned, still remains to be built. Taking all these things into consideration, it appears to me that Major liobinson's estimate of £7,000 per mile ought to be sufficient to make the remainder of the road.* IV. I have now to consider the trade that already exists, and the trade that the line is likely to create. In the life of George Stephenson, there is an instructive argument, showing the manner in which water-routes and railways, running in the same direction, re-act upon each other, and enhance the value of both. This was eminently the case in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which, instead of bringing, as was anticipated, ruin upon the Bridgewater canal, increased the receipts of that work to an enormous extent. In the same way, the Erie canal and the railroads of the State of New York have mutually aided each other. The Halifax and Quebec Railway will run along or near the banks of the St. Lawrence, its entire length, and there is no reason to doubt that each will be of very great advantage to the trade of the other. It will have an additional advantage. The trade which is attracted by the Erie Canal and railroads is such, that during the time the navigation is open, the canal is so crowded with vessels as to be almost unworkable. The canal, when first undertaken, was supposed to be so large, that no traffic likely to go over it would ever pay. Now the increased traffic has dwarfed, as it were, the size of the canal, till it has become quite inadequate to the demand. The St. Lawrence, on the contrary, cannot by any possible amount of traffic be overcrowded. There can be no doubt, however, that a very beneficial influence will be exercised upon its trade by the establishment of the Halifax and Quebec Railway. At tlie present moment there is much reason to fear that the carrying-trade of Upper Canada products by way of the St. Lawrence is decreasing; and that the freight thus diverted goes to swell the receipts of the State of New York. It is also the case that the reciprocity treaty, by which the St. Lawrence was made free to American vessels, has failed to attract any of the American vessels on the upper lakes throug'i the St. Lawrence to the ocean. * Mr. BrothcrliooJ, an Englisli contractor of great experience, has liftd tho line, an laid down by Colonel Uoliinson, surve.vtd from Tnuo to Ihilhousie, and he is williiig to undertake the construction thereof for tlie sum of i,7,000 per mile, agreoalily to l>oluiK'l Rubinson's estimiile. 14 li I: The question arises, How shall the St. LaM-rence compete with New York for the trade which is thus diverted from her ? Is the stream of Western commerce to continue to find cheaper outlets by United States' ports on Lake Ontario than by the St. Lawrence ? One principal means by which, independent of the local traffic, the Halifax and Quebec railway can hope to be sup- j)orted, is by successfully attempting to attract the trade of the West. At the present time, the two great railways of Canada, the Great Western and the Grand Trunk, connect, one at the Niagara river and the other on the frontier beyond Montreal, with the railroads of the States. The Montreal and Quebec railroad and its extension to Trois Pistoles, is a mere cul de sac, as far as Canada is concerned, and will remain so until the Halifax and Quebec road is built. The Halifax and Quebec railroad, then, must depend, as a commercial specula- tion, first on local trafSc, and next on the improvement which may be effected in the St. Lawrence navigation. Quebec is over three hundred miles nearer England, vid the St. Lawrence and the Straits of Belleisle, than New York is by the ordinary' route. Ships to Quebec now usually arrive in ballast ; conse- quently the return freight has to pay for both voyages. Freight from Quebec or Montreal is thus double what it is from New York. If the Welland Canal could be so improved as to admit of large vessels coming through it with the cereals of the west, to meet the ocean vessels at Montreal or Quebec, it may fairly be presumed that both freight and passengers would be attracted by a line which would take them from any foreign port to the far west by a single transhipment and by the shortest route. Ships going out, would make a profitable voyage out, and be prepared to carry freight back as cheaply as the New York ships do now, because they would no longer have to depend upon the voyage in one direction for remuneration. In addition to this, the St. Lawrence route is made in consider- ably siiorter time than that through the United States. " A propeller of ordinary speed leaving Quebec will reach Toronto in three days and Cleveland in five days; while the average voyage by canal boats from Albany to Buffalo is about twelve days. It is no less true, whatever may have been stated to the contrary, that freights by the St. Lawrence can be des- patched as early and as late in the season as can be done by the water comniuiiication of the United States."* * lion. John Younj,a', M.IM*,, k-tter to the Hon. Francis LemitMix, 15 The question, therefore, presented for considfjration, is, — Can the Halifax and Quebec railway successfully compete for the great trade of the West ? Assuming thst the interest upon the amount necessary to construct the re id be guaranteed by the Imperial Govern- ment, it will not require to raise a greater sum per annum to pay the amount of that guarantee than any existing line of railway running from the Atlantic sea-board to the St. Lawrence. Distance for distance (excepting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, because it is open only during the summer), taking Halifax as the starting-point, the shortest route to Canada and the great West will be by this line, inasmuch as Halifax is 400 miles nearer to Europa than the seaports of the United States. Two companies will own and control one continuous line of railway running from the harbour of Halifax to the shores of Lake Huron, 1,235 miles. If the cost of transport for goods and passengers does not exceed that of the cost upon other lines, it will not only present the most favourable route for the great Western trade during the season when the Erie Canal and St. Law- rence navigations are closed, but it will retain through the winter, and permanently establish, the channel of trade via the St. Lawrence. It will at all seasons command the greater part of the through passenger traffic and the con- veyance of mails and valuable merchandise between Europe, Canada, and the gfeat Western States. The amount of local traffic will, in the first instance, depend upon the amount of population, and the state of agriculture and commerce of the different provinces which it intersects. The present population of Nova Scotia is about 350,000 New Brtmswick 220,000 Part of Canada 150,000 Prince Edward's Island 70,000 790,000 It may be fairly assumed, that at least 600,000 come within the area contributing to this railway, as it is and must always remain the great trunk line of the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and a great part of Lower Canada. The receipts of the railroads of the New England States average 18*. per head of the entire population. The receipts of the Great Western Railroad of Canada average 22.?. per head pf the entire population within the area. 16 ■i I None of the above lines of railroad have cither a lumber or a mineral traffic. The Halifax and Quebec Railway will have both. It will run through the finest portion, both of the timber and mineral district, for which New Brunswick is 80 celebrated, for upwards of 200 miles. No port in America is so suitable for an extensive timber trade as Halifax ; the trade may be kept open during the whole year. The iron and coal mines of *Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are not surpassed in richness by any on the continent of America, and they are the only ones on the Atlantic side of the Alleghany mountains. The railway will run through their very centre. Whenever this line of railroad is open through to the St. Lawrence, the part of Halifax will become the great steam-ship terminus of the American seaboard, as surely as a straight line is the shortest possible distance between two points. In conclusion, I submit that the question is one of vital importance to Great Britain and her colonies, and well worthy the immediate and attentive consideration and the practical support of Her Majesty's Government. BURY. Februaty 7th, 1859. 47, Sloane-street, S.W. 11 mbcr jr will •th of swick rt in iifax ; swick jnt of ide of rough open Bconie ird, as stance f vital 1 well id the RY.