IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V ,<° C^ '/A^ HK'.. 1 Tie Eakf 11 iniisii I I la. Letter from E. Deaydney, Esq., M. P., to the Hon. A. Mackenzie, Premier of Canada. . (Read at a Public Meeting, held in New Westminster, on the roth of May, 1876, a "eport of which is annexed.) Hon. A. Mackenzie, Sm, — I lake tho liberty-. leavinar for the bcfiiMi .f^ .w. v..« npper countiy, of addressinuf you 011 a maitcr of j;i-cal importance not inly to tiio Province ot British Columbia but to the Do minion at largo, whoso dostinios, (or tho time, you control I fee! that, in nmUiriy an apjieal to you for further survey won tho Fraaor Eiviir Route, wlien in Committoo of Supply-, at 80 lalo a poiioii of the sos- sion, I did not do tiia: justice to tho question which its imijorlance de- mands. I have closcl3' watched your i>ub'ic utterances on the sulijoct oi tho Ca- nadian Pacific llailway ovors^inco you occupied tho important i)0.-iitiori you now hold, and as far as my knowledge goes, you have ever conlended that not until tho most exliau.siivu surveys had been made in Britif' let until our survej'ors are able "10 point out and show by evidence "what I hoy are able to accomplish, '•.VM) TlfAr TIIEY HAVE CHOSEN THE ■•liKST ROUrE '' Tbese 1 take to be tho views of a t'loniiighly piaclical man, and one who is deienii.iiied that neither pre- Ju(ii(;ed represeiiiations, political wire- jiulinig, nor iiiteresied landholders .shall nave any infiiienco in deciding tlif mailer, Hut from a s|)eech made by you (luring the late session ot Parliament. .11 the (Canadian Pacific Railway. 1 find you say "tblit the line from tho • summit of the Rocky Mountains to Fort Gieorge on the bend of the Fra- ■*ser is practicallv located." If this is true, 1 alii forced to the conclusion I hat the line of the Canadian Pacific Railwav will l,>o decided on in British Columbia!f(V7(o?(nhat thorough search, that complete survey, which in all youi utterances you hold would bo lioccssaiy to make a selection of the best rjuto ; and it must follow that you have abandoed all idea, of any further invesiigation of tho Thomp- son and Fra.oer Roule ; and in this I contend that tbcro is a great proba- bility of \'our '....wittingly!, commit- ting a grave, and what may prove to be very expensive, if not a f, tal, blu (or. " nit you do so wilfully, I would not for a moment assert, nor would i 1449r.!l I, as many aro doing, cliargo you with favoring a line awuy to I ho north of ail 8Utlloinont, willi a viow to ])un- ishing rccalcilrunl Columbians. 1 am willing, and 1 do, give you credit for an anxious dcsiio bo to locale the lino that lis ^Uapacity as a "commercial as well an a politicnl" road would bo fully broui;i)t out. Before procoediiii; to argiio on ilio rclulivo mt"'ils of tliid or \\,o oilier route, I will Himpiy endeavour to in- form you of what I, in common with many olhorH, Jmoio of tiie survej'H made on the route in question, mid after having given this 3-our Herious Oltcntion, you will quiokly pcrceivo wliellmr, in the inieiost of the Do. minion of Canada, it woula ho well lo continue miikinj^ a line wosiwtird .from Fort Geort,'e, without nt the same time ordering further surveys 10 bo ciiiiJucled on the canons of the Fr.ixer Iliver, The anxiety of the Caiiadiuii Gov- orrtmenl to eon>plete the survey uf a ciiuntry in whu'h lhi>y had ngiccd lo CDinmenee railway conslriicii.iii ,n- side of two yo'irs, was so' grout tlwit 11 Olio or two inslanees the work' of prcliininary suruev was un ivniilaOlv placed in the hands of cxlreii:«!ly in- eiippeioni men, ami. ihe consiM^iii'nce was that work of little or nn uiilily was the rtHiilt. Such was tlu! case with that porlioii of the w( rl< ahMm which 1 propose to write, namely, Ihe Canons of the Fraser. You are awaie that a first class wa.ixon road — a roail unequalleil, in- deed, by aii.V on the (/inilinenl of Amciica — was niaJe llirough the can ona in 1804 It sirueU iho genlli'man who had iiMnediaie charge of ifio survey in thai locality, I hat a j,n'cul deal of hard cliurhiiig and rou:'!) work iiiight I o uvoujeo l>\' kt'cpiu:; ihe line of wagiii roil I. and when I toll you ihat llu-ie lire as many as ihrco dcHcciiiiiis in as many milfs, varying IVnin IDL) to fi'M J'l'i'i each, you ran ca-ily imagine Hint a railway survey loHo-ving liicse OcfleclioiiM, and laUinir liii- sintio?'iiics <>t It.o roaij with llit'iii, (roiild haie liocn none ol lu'l" ihiin loic wliicli llio ]*lii>;inuer in«Cliicl woiijil (piickly cni.. (icmn; .-md » Ikmi I adil luiihcrihat while I ho Transil man w:is fiijiowing this lino, his Ijovollors wore (piiio ,is buHily engaged in running ihoira at a cislanco varying from 100 to 500 feet below him, you wdl at once por< ceivo bo V thoroughly worthloNS woh the work performed in tlio cations. The plans and profiles wore thrown aside when submitted to the Engineer as UBoloas, and wore afterwards dos- troycdl)y fire in thedeparlniont build- ings. If, then, I oxeopt 16 miles directly above Yale (a careful (survey of which was made by Mr. Cambio on one side of the river onlj*). 1 am correct in .sayin..; that any information you may possess, must bo ot'iic than that ob- tained by actual surve\-. I know further that the 16 miles above allud* ed to, i-i recognized as by far iho most difficult, and presents more engineer- ing difllcultioH than any oilier por- tion of the much dreaded cafions of the Fraser I know also that the survey of tlio Piasor River below Yale was made in connoeiion wilb Ihe Coquchalla route, and is consequentlj' on tho opposite side from Yale and was run so as to .necessitate the bridging of ihe Fraser at a very wide point, and opo which would interfere with tho lavigation of iho river. All this would be obviated hy keeping the Yale side of tho Fraser, This is what 1 know of the cireum- siancos eonneetcd vvilh the survey's of ilio Fraser, and it may be sutnmed up as lliis : that, with the exception of the 16 miles hurriedly run by Mr. Camhie, no survey has heen made of iiu! line between Burrard's Inlet and LvMttui. I am aware that il ma\' be urged thai soiue poiMioii of tho line hetwoen L.yioim and Kumloops vvjll he very heavy, as U must pass along a iiiiinher I'f ap]iarenily loose sai;d vi\d gravel- ly hill sides. Tiicse, however, when our .vagoii road was being eonstruct- edj wero found to he not so formidahle as was oxpoctoif, as the hanks hetomo much more solid sis iliey are duii>hc>i| tlllMllyll, HIIIIIIIKir U'hI willilT. ^ill(•0 tiiiil )i«M'ioil. HO iliut II tail' «'H iiiintu Clin I'eiiHoiitilily bu iiiiiiIl' ot ;li<> i-lutruu- l«T of Mr.ow luifj Iiiik' KliilcH, vvliifli iniirlit Ini Hii|i|ioseii to t:iU<- |jliico in piiv'i 11 Incnlily. It in qnile Hnt'n to fiiiy iriiil no li'oiihK* need lio npjiru- liiMi(|cd ti'oin lliiM Hotii'ce. Tlio Hoowfall ill ilicso etinoiis iicvi-i' oxeeeds tlii-oo feul at n tiino. and hiicIi fiillH do iioi occur nioi'o lliai; iwico or tlii'ico tliroujfh the worst Boasons. Diirinj; llio roinaindL'f of llio winter tlio falls ftro bnt iiglit, and from tlio ntituro of country, and tlio totnl ab- sconco ot wind liioro arc no dnft^'. A Hnovv ploiiL^li could easily clear tlio track, as lliero notild bo but few deep cut.", tlio truck for tlie most part running along nido the river, into which tlio 8now could easily bo thrown. These remarks as to fall of snow extend only to Bo»ion Bur, o distance of 25 rnilcfl above Yale. For two seasons only, I remember lieavj' falls of snow between Uottton Bur and Lytton. Above tlio latter point wheeling, and not nkigliin;;, Ih tlio rule. As for land slides either in llio canons or beyond, they never occur. 1 leavo it lojou, ihereforo, whether you have or tan po.ssibly expect lo have 8uch ovidenco as tins concerning any route you may finally select away in the distant north. I am aware that your Engineers report untavorabl}' of the Fraser Route. 1 am also aware that Mv. Smith was ciuiglit in a snow storm in tlio canons in li.e latter part of No- vember, 1874, and that he was com- pelled to taUo it on foot for 40 miles. I am frco to confess that all this wus tho case and ask you not to be guided by a single circumstance i iIii'imij.Ii slidos. whether of siioiv or hind. 1 am aware thtl it Iims Iu-imi ad- viiiiced a" an argiiineiil a:rainsi tho full survey of Ihesi! ciitioiis. I hat thu Di'puly l\ii!.'inei'r-in l/'hii'f lias passed them ofliMi i>iiiiii;r|i ur« pDsox, But I respecl fully stiliiiiil, wnether .oicli ar^uineni as that is of any value or imi. If judgment can be pa>sed on a (iieco ot work winch, it i"" uckiiowlodgerineor travidlii'g on one side of u valley and looUing over at tho other, why was not the whole country sur- veyed ill tho same economiiul man- ner i" NV'hy if tho more passing through tho canons is sufTlcient to justify an o|)inii coun'rv was put lo the enormous expense ol $2,000,0(10 for Surveys ? S) fur from admitting that any- thing like a correiit estimate can bo muilti by the oyo of tho cost of con- siriiclion l!irou>;li Iheso canons, 1 con- tinij that not only one but a number of till) most careful survex's .should bo made, before the shortest toiiloto tiio best harbour should be abandoned. ' I cannot but take it fur granted that you rci^ard tho Bute Inlet lloute as pruciicullj' abandoned, if for no ollu'r reason (and there ore other and strong reasons) than that 3'oii csti- mute llio cost of tho line from tho head rd' Bute Inlet to Esqiiimalt (the natural and onlv harbor of that rouio) at 827,500.000. ' II(jwever, for the purpose of argu- ment, I will nsk. Have \ou any testi- mony respecting ilia winter difficul- ties lo bo faced on the Bute Inlet, tho Gardiner Channel, or the Dean Canal route ? I fear you have not. 1 l.avo been told, with how much truth 1 cannot say, that even last }'ear Pand-slides occurred on tho Ho- mallico, carrying thousands of tons of rock and earth, snapping great trees as if they were but pipo stems. How much moro likely are these liable to occur in a localit}' whoro immense glaciers exist, thousands of feet above where the line would be can led. The canons of the Fraser, wo know, Hi \ aro froo of glaciers and eonfiooncnlly of land Hli(Ju8,und llio snow Hlidou uro, wo know, ot triflin^r conHcquenco foi- every poin*, at wlii(!h lliey ciin occur \» known, and ould ouHil)' bo gnnid- cd ayainst in Ituilway "onsiriiclion 1 mij^lit enlarge on the disadvan- tages of llio IJuto Inlet roiuo by ajjain roininding" you tliul to make Wad- din;^lr>n harbour the prosont termi- nus ot llie Canadian Pacific Ituilway is to compel oithcr tlio Government of llio Dominion or private parties to build 2G0addiiiona! miles of railway in order to reacli an available sea port and by tiiat means burden the traffic for all lime to come, with a tux suffi- cient to meet the interest and work- in:^ expenses equal to one sixth of ilio whole cost of the line from the Pacilio to Luke Superior. — A burden Ihut no ])i'U(leril man would for a moment con template whether competition with other lines were within the range of possibility or not. Even if a K3-siem ot land and water (the most inexpensive possible) bo adopted, the burden on the traffic would not bo lessened But I cannot bring myself to believe that efforts will be mude to avoid a liurbor whicli yon well know is free from all oljee- tiotis — is neurerthe «'entre of IralHc — nearer the coal beds — is ojn'ii at all Keusons — which is in a )>osit'on to KMOpeie for (lie Iraffii! of the l^lasi — is the eiwJ of the ^'shorle-tf route haviiij the '■•best grnillKnts" siin|ily because the first cost maj/ exceed that of others. In my endeavors to Ining to yunv notice the claims oi the liuriurd Itslet and Fraser roulen, 1 would disclaim any intention of arguing tiiat the line Bhould bo maiie to run through such l>Orlion of the count rj- as is already settled. beiMuse of siiclt settlemojit. I liold that I he interest ol the Dominion IIS a whole sin uld be looked to in a matter oi this kind, ami ih:it it would not bn at all fair for a small po|inla> lion such tis ours to attem|)t to die- tale route to a people who must. lor all lime lo come bear li.e cousequenro of any mislako that may be mad^ in se- leciiiig a line. You have not, however, overlooked ihu importance of building the Rail- wa}' in the imniediat«) vieiiiiiy of Hetllemenl where it is possible; for in your speech reported in Hansard (pngo .505 -in speaking ofthomoro norlliorly Routes,) yon say, ''Any "route so far north as tlds, is open "lo serious objections that it would '♦roach the Pacific from 50 to 60 miles "north of tlio northern oxtromily of '■ Vancouver Island. It would bo on- "tiroly beyond tlio present jiopulaled "portion of llio country whicii is "further to the south ; and it would 'be so situated that wo could scarcely "hope to compote for certain branches "of tho trans.conlinontal trade which "a moro southerly lino could secure." So that I feel sure you will not over- look items of this diaracler in mak- ing your final selection. In another part of the samo speech you remark, that the Vail -y of the Frascr presents by far tho most fa- vorable route surveyed in respect of ''short nes.>> of distance and easy "grades." Should not that circum- slanco alono induce you to order a more pariicul ir survey of thatjiortion of tho route which it is represented presents the greatest ditficulties, viz., the caiHMi of tho Frascr? I am of opinion that you would bo remiss in your diil3' to tho Dominion, if you permiited the final location lo bo made wiihoiil exhausting (your own word) every possible means to Kara the exact cost of a lino through the cafions of the Fraser. I hold, with out le.ir of siiccesstui contracUclion, that the portion surveyed by Mr. Camf)ie is not a fnir average of tho work and that nolhini; short of tho most exhaustive examination of that rockv pass, would justif}' 3'ou in filially' locating tho Iluilwav olso- wlicre. The question naturally arises, is it not much better that a few extra thousand.s should bo spent, in obtain- ing a lino whiirh > on acknowledge has the host gra(iients and which also Icatis to the best luirbonr in llio Pro- vince, than tiiat it should he placed at Dean's Car.al or other northern jioint, the winter diffieiillies of whicli no man can possibly foretell and wliero you acknowledjxe you would not ho in a position to compete will) certain I ra nscont i neii tail r.'ido ? May I. therefore, venture to liopo that 3"on will cause the survey' asked for to ho made this suinmer, simul- taneously with that, you propose mnkii):; in the iJircclion of Dcan'H Ciinnl? Tlio cohi, of ilui work will lio Biiiall ti.x (-(tinpiiroi wiili ;lini. i<> l>u dotio in llio inlei'ior. nnij I tV'cl (liut Victoria, B. 0. XInv f>, 187(5. Ilie (Jovoiimu'iil wi'l lio um|i'y ro|)ni(l fur llio oiHlay I liavo of thnnks to Edgnr Dewdney, Esq., member for Ynle Kootenny in the Commons of Cnnadn. By hia long residence in, < of New Westmintratin){ ilmt tiir selection of 'liat rnnto nnd termitiiis would lio not nione for the bencflt of this City nnd District, lint for the Kcneral iidviintii|;e of tbe Province us well na ot the whole Dominion— n course that cnn- nnt hut result in druw'nfr the intention of the Oovernment, Pnrlinmcnt, itnd people of Ciiniidn much more purtivuhirly to this route than if von hiiil adopted ii merely urctiiinni view. I have therefore much pIcBsmre in convcyinK to you their thnnks, nnd trust thnt your exertions mny hnve a succegglul termina- tion. T. U McImnics, Mayor. ^Ir. Dewdney, who was received with checrd, said he wng very (ratvfut for this demonstriitiou, nnd for tbe kind nidrcas which had been presented to him. He was one nf I lie hict settlers in tliis city, nnd hnd pns'nd here some of the pleasantest years of Ins life, rio refe'red to neveral ot the ♦'pioneer'' residenta^ whom he was very (find to see here to-night He was also plnd to see all, without reference to political dividinir lines, uniting to give a hearty expression on the railwiiy mutter. In advocnting the ndop> tion of the Fraser route he had conscientiously endeavored to do bis duty to the Province nnd tlie Dominion ; he believed th.it route was the iicst for oil. He did not olject to the northern surveys ; the more tliey sur- veyed, the sooner thev would be convinced that W3 had the noi'TB, and the only one. (Cheerc.) Mr. Dewdney then referred in complimentary terms to Mr. Cunniiiirham, memlier for tiiis District who had, he said, worked most cordially with him, and done his best for the interests of his district. Comparatively little interest hud been taken in tiii.i mitler of tlic railway route In British Columbia in former years ; but now people were luriiin); their attention to the matter, as tliey fiOt tlmt a decisinii must shurtly bo arrived it ; and now was tlie time to strike, The policy of the present Government dllFcred from that of tiie Mardnnald Administration on the lailuay qncstiitn. Kir John .Macdon- aid's party were in favor of prcs:t'i that t>'legraphic construction had been order- ed from Rdraonton to Fort Qeoi^c ; but he (.Mr. Dewdney) felt sure that no telegraph work would bo done on thi* side ofTeIc Jnnne Cache till the railway ronto was fln.illy de- cided upon. In reading over the speech which ho bad delivered on tbe railway quettion in tlio House, lib found he had omitted some points which miglit have been mentioned. He had therefore, addressed a letter to Mr. Mac- kenzie, setting the whole case before him. He h.id a copy of the letter, and would renu it, it the meeting desired it. (Ciieers.) (.Mr. Dewdney then read the letter, tbe full text of wiiich will be found on the first nnd second pages of ibis issue. Tiie reading wai- frequently interrupted by applause.) He had taken care to state nothing but f icts witnin his own knowledge. He again thanked tlien most cordially for their kind appreciation of liis efforts, .Mr. J. C. Brown moved that the Mayor be in.«trucled to have the address which he had presented to Mr. Dewdney, engrossed on parciimeni, and Ihe seal of the Corporation attached. Seconded by Mr. Edmonds nnd carried unanimously Mr. Dewdney moved a vote of thnnks fo tiie Ciiairniar, wbiih was carried by acclama- tion, and the meeting (one of the largest and most enihusiastic we liavo seen here) adjourn- ed. NKW WKSTMTNSTEIl: raiXTED AT THE 'uer.ud' OFFIOC, F.IR thk oohmittei. 1