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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction rai.ios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trnp grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, i! est film6 d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant \a nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE PACIFIC RAILWAY. BRITA NNICITS' I.ETTEES -FROM THE- OTTAWA CITIZEN. OTTAWA;^ |Utntcb bw Ibr "4'itr.ru" ftmtinci \m)3 |hiblisbtiig Coiti^uira. 181 .l-i> //: PACIFIC RAILWAY. BRITANNICUS' LETTERS IN OTTAWA CITIZEN. ii "THE PACIFIC RAILWAY QUESTION." LETU^ER, IVo. 1. To the Editor of The Citizen : Dear Sir, — Under this bending we have just had from the Montreal Ministerial presi, viz.. Herald, Witness and jStar, a series of articles urging, in effect, the impolicy of a Canadian Pacific Railway from ocean to ocean, wholly on Canadian ground. At the same time, with an inconsistency which can only be rightly read through the glamour of an " organized hypocrisy," they hold forth, to use the words of the Star, that " owing to its magnitude, and involving as it does the vital interests of the Dominion, the question of constructing the Pacific Railway is, by all odds, the most important which could occupy the attention of the Canadian press and people." " The Conservatives insist," the Star goes on to say, 'Hhat the policy of the Macdonald Government concerning it was better than that of the present Administration."; The writer then gives his " facts " and " figures " and general prelections — wild, exceedingl / — in support of his argument, concluding with the damning sentence — ^^The entire project appears to be nothing short of A STUPENDOUS ACT OF FOLLY on the part of its orignators, as well aa their successors, and the Colonial OfSce authorities as well." In other words, and as so emphatically put in the House by Mr. " Speak Now " Wood, in his memoiT^ble thirty shekellod speech against his former friends and masters in this " vital " matter of Pacific Railway in and for Canada — " Is the mad scheme of a mad Government." " :,r Where — if anywhere— i\iQ madness is, in the matter, I cannot, even at this advanced moment, after much actual w,- if;?. knowledge of the full truth of much of what, at the initiation of the scheme, was unavoidably assumed merely in predicate, really say. This much, however, I can say. That at the general election — one sprung on the country, as a trap, so strong and unanimous was public opinion in favor of the scheme, that even the Chief of the Ultra- Annexation Section Ministry of the day, the Hon. (and now Chief Justice) Dorion, on the hustings of Napiervi lie, standing amongst the ; sons of old Chateauguay, and seeking then and there their ; " sweet voices " for election, answered, when anxiously asked on the point, " our scheme" (i.e.. The Pacific Railway), " WILL BE IN THE MAIN THAT OF THE LATE MINISTllY." As to the soundness — impos ojt compos— o? the mind of the honorable gentleman, to whom, according to all reports, the Chief Justiceship of our Supreme Court has just been offered, and who now, by the pre-eminent ability manifested by him in his present high office, commands the respect and approving regards of all parties, I leave it to his successor in the office of Minister of Justice to this Dominion, and to the " Stars," varied and somewhat erratic and nebulous perhaps, in his : immediate galaxy to show forth. Our night, political, is dark, no doubt, and we look anxiously for Aurora, (not Mr. Blake's however), look for the dawning of a better and a longer day. ■"■^ No ! the cry, utterly false, of the moment, on the part of a few, a very few, not "nine-tentbs" as Sir Alexander Gait in his letter of the olhtr day hath it, yea, not one-tenth of one tenth of onQ-ianih. o^ ihQ people proper of Canada, of " No Pacific Railway," I say, is NOT MADNESS EXACTLY BUT SOMETHING WORSE, something rather of that treachery to national entity, which men call treason. I speak plain in this matter, for the occa- sion, in its imminence, calls for it. And now as to this issue of relative schemes, the so- called " Macdonald one " and so-called " Mackenzie one," I take up the gage of our enemies, and shall do my best to show which is the better cause. The ground I propose to go over is top ejctended for a single letter and will probably require He so he on [ a series, but which I shall make as short as possible, compati- bly with the nature and importance of the case. I purpose to show, in the first instance, what the first project was, and in doing so to confine myself, as mi^ch os possible, to authenticated dakij and to deductions which muy fairly defy cavil — and all to the effect that the first scheme was one which, as ever appeared, and as still appears to me, and as I believe to all of Canada, or out of it, who had honestly looked into it, was and is best calculated for the immediate consolidation and ;, PERMANENT V/ELFARE OF CANADA as well as for the advancement and safeguard of those larger and higher interests, material and moral, involved in the v/ork in its national and international aspects. As to the details of the scheme, I shall, as need be for the argument, take them up; and in so far as space in your columns will allow, shall make my reasoning as exhaustive as possible. ,..,-.-.,'■■., -J ■■v^.^^i ..■^.^•^^^vv ■■^A .><.>.' Vf. • In adopting the term " Mackenzie scheme," however, I beg distinctly, in limine, to say that I do not consider it as a Pacific Railway in any sense. When I come to it in discus- sion I shall explain this. In the meantime, in connection with this view, I would point to the incident that at this moment I have evidence of the fact in the open and vancry avowal of " No Pacific Rail- way" in Canada on the part of Mr. Mackenzie's special nominee, Mr. Thomas Workman (Oh, unhellevuig Thomas !) in the pending Montreal election. Add to that, as evidence indubitable, our Premier's own speech at his own Sarnia, just forty -eight hours ago. At the same time Messrs. Blake and Huntington — statesmen whose avowed policy is to drive British Columbia out of our Confederation — hold seat and high rule in executive in Ottawa. Yours, .liv*. BRTTANNICUS. Ottawa, 14th October. The Montreal Star, so far as we understand, is an In- dependent and not a Ministerial journal. — Ed. Citizen. The Macdonald Scheme. ,' To the Editor o/ The Citizen: • ;. ;•, Sir, — The theme is a large one, and for fair dealing should be accompanied with an extended line of introductory remark to show, as it were, the immediate "reason (neces- sity) of the thing ; " but, as the public mind has been, we assume, for the nonce, already favorably impressed on this point, and that all effort to change it, now and of late, has so far failed, at least to any extent worthy of mark, we defer observation on this head to general comment, in conclusion, on review of the comparative schemes in question. THE SCHEME AS FORMULATED IN CONTRACT, and as set forth in the charter was laid thus: ''Whereas, by an Act of the Parliament of Canada," — we cite verbatim from the charter act — " passed in the thirty-fifth year of our reign, entitled an Act respecting the Canadian Pacific Rail- way, it is provided, upon the considerations therein declared, thf t a railway to be called ' The Canadian Pacific Railway,' should be made in conformity with the agreement referred to in the preamble to the said Act, and should extend from some point o/iornear Lake Nipissing, and on the south shore thereof to some point on the shore of the Pacific Ocean ; both the said points to be determined by the Governor in Council, and the course and line of the said railway between the said points to be subject to the approval of the Governor in Coimcil." " And whereas it is, by the said Act, further provided, that two, and only two certain branch lines, viz : The Pem^ bina one and the then contemplated Nepigon one (if required and as might be determined by ultimate survey lor location) should be constructed within certain periods, viz., the former by Slst December, 1874 ; the latter, together with the lohole * Lake Superior section^' from Lake Superior to Tied River, hij the 3ls< December, 1876." railway. , , .; . ■ 3 " That the Company may and shall lay out, construct, equip, maintain and work a continuous railway, of the width ^V-ltl^ or gauge of iour feet eight and one-half inches; which rail* way shall be made in conformity with the Act hereinbefore recited, and with thia our royal ciiarter; and such railway shall extend from such point on or near Lake Nipisaing, and on the south shore thereof, to some point on the shore of the Pacitic Ocean, both the said points to be determined by the Government, and the course and line of the said railway to be subject to the approval of tlie Government." Then follow provisions as to " specifications " to be agreed on by the Governirient and the Company. And further, it was stipulated — Sec 8, "That the Company shall" [should] " within two years from the 20th July, 1871, commence simultaneously the construction of the railway from the Pacitic Ocean towards the Rocky Mountains, and from a point [/. e. on or near the south shore of Lake Nipissing, as fixed by Act of Parliament as already sto,ted] in the Province of Ontario, hereafter [thereafter] to be determined by the Government, cowards the Pacitic Ocean, to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the raihoay system of Canada, i. e., by a continuous rail- wtiy wholly in Canada. The whole to be finished within ten years from 20th July, 1871." " The Ciipital stock of the company shall be ten million dollars [distributed rateably, according to population, through- out the provinces in the Federation, and in the sums respect- ively, stated in the charter] which shall not be increased but by Act of Parliament [such capital stock having been already subscribed as aforesaid] to be held in shares of one hundred dollars each, which shall in all respects be deemed personal property, and ten per centum thereon shall be paid mto the hands of the Bectiver- General of Canada, in money or Canadian Government securities, within one month after the date of these presents, to remain in his hands until other- wise ordered by Parliament." Interest on deposit while The section following, at considerable length, provides for calls on shares after the ten per centum thereof so placed in deposit. By section "41" — too long for citation at present — power to issue bonds for construction to an apiouut " which shall not exceed forty thousand dollars per mile, to be issued in proportion to the length of railway to be constructed," is given to the company, such bonds to be a " first charge on the railway and its appurtenances." LAND GRANT. " Fifty millions acres of land, in blocks [alternate] not exceeding twenty miles in depth on ciu^h aide of such main line." [We italicise the words " each side," for they vary — vary very much to the advantage of the grantees — from the terms quoad hoc of the Mackenzie scheme, according to which the railway may hisect the " blocks of twenty square miles each" (alternate) "along the line of paid railway."] The blocks in the former as in the latter case, to be "alternate," but with a frontage or " width " of " not less than six miles nor more than twelve miles, the alternate blocks to be held in reserve by the Government at the " upset price " of two dollars and a half per acre, the average value as prediijed in the contract of the lands so granted. Special provision is made for arrangement with the Pro- vince of Ontario as to grant in that portion of the railway within it: and further the charter provided: — ' " That if it shall be found that any of the alternate blocks lai. 10 the " Mackeuzie next, I propofc'e taking up BRITANNICUS, In my Scheme." ,,//:.■;■:.. .^ , - , ;; ,- Ottawa, 15th Oct., 1875. ,, / LETTKR. IVo. -t. Further Consideration of the Scheme. 7b /7ic J5'(?iVo?' o/ The Citizen: / « THE MACKENZIE SCHEME," As originally laid, is to be found in Chap. 14 of our Dominion Acts of 1874. (Assentedto, 26th May, 1874.) THE LINE OF RAILWAY is defined thus : — " Section 1. A railway to be called the ' Canadian Pacific Railway ' shall be made from some point near to and south of Lake Nipissing to some point on British Columbia on the Pa- cific Ocean, both the said points to be determined and the course and line of the said railway to be approved of by the Governor in Council. " Section 2. The whole line of the said railway, for the purpose of its construction, shall be divided into four sections : The first section to begin at a point near to and south of Lake Nipissing, and to extend towards the upper or western end of Lake Superior, to a point where it shall intersect the second section hereinafter mentioned ; the second section to begin at some point on I^ake Superior, to be determined by the Governor in Council, and connecting with the first sec- tion, and to extend to Red River, in the Province of Mani- toba ; the third section to extend from Red River, in the Province of Manitoba, to some point between Fort Edmon- ton and the foot of the Rocky Mountains, to be determined by the Governor in Council ; the fourth section to extend from the western terminus of the third section to some point in British Columbia on the Pacific Ocean." ; . BRANCHES. ::' " Section 3. Branches of the said railway shall also be constructed as follows, that is to say : — " First — A branch from the point indicated as the pro- posed eastern terminus of the said railway to some point on v.- 1 11 jkenzie nniiiion I Pacific outh of the Pa- iDd the f by the i'ov the ectioDS; south of western :sect the action to lined bv first sec- d£ Mani- ', in the , Ednion- :ermined ) extend me point 11 also be 3 the pro- point ou i the Georgian Bay, both the said points to be determined by the Governor iii Council. " Secondly. — A branch from the main line near Fort Garry, in the Province of Manitoba, to some point near Pem- bina on the southern boundary thereof." By section 4, these branches are to be " considered, to all intents and purposes, as forming part of the Canadian Pacific Railway." TELEGRAPH LINE. " Section 5. A line of electric telegraph shall be con structed in advance of the said railway and branches, along their whole extent respectively, as soon as practicable, after the location of the time shall have been determined upon." By Section 6. The " guage " (gauge) of the railway is defined to be four feet eight inches and a half; and further it is laid down, as a distinctive principle in the manipulation of the scheme, that the " grades of the railway, and the ma- terials and manner of and in which the several works form- ing part thereof shall be constructed, and the mode of work- ing the railway, includinc the description and capacity of the locomotive engines and other rolling stock, shall be such as shall be determined by the Governor in Council." And to make certainty doubly sure on this score, it is enacted, by Section 7, that — " The said Canadian Pacific Rail- way and the branches or sections hereinbefore mentioned, and the stations, bridges and other works connected there- with, and all engines, ireight, and passenger cars and rolling stock shall be constructed under the general superintendence of the Department of Public Works." and, of course, of its own proper workmen. And further, still, for jobbery, it is enacted by Section 8, that — '' The Governor in Council may divide the several sections of the said railway into snh'sections, and may con- tract with any person, co-partnership, or company, or com- pany incorporated * * * for the construction of any section or sub-section of tne said railway, includiug all works connected therewith," &c., subject t^ the following pro- visions : — v . i . ; ,.„ : *' 1. That'thr works or any secHon or suB-section of tht^ iRid railway shall not be given out to any contractor or con- ! •'.A w i s \\: tractoi-s except after tenders shall have been obtained for the same." [Note. — So far well, but the Departmental principle now, and of late, as exemplified in the Pakn and certain large canal contract affairs, is evidently a very uncertain one in this matter of *• tenders."] " 2. That the contract for any portion of the said works shaU not be given to any contractors unless such contractors give satisfactory evidence that WiKiy i'>ossess — [Note — "Pos- sess I" but, pray, with what security of continued possession pending contract ?] — a capital of at least four thousand dol- lars per mile of their contract, and of which twenty-five per cent, in money. Government or other sufficient securities ap- proved by the Governor in Council, shall liavei been do- posited to the credit of the Receiver-General," &c. _ , . ; , ., . , , . SUBSIDY. ^ •, "3. That the total sum to be paid to the contractors shall be stip^ilated in the contract, and shall be ten thousand dollars for each mile of the section or sub-section contracted for — [Note. — That, for whole line, including branches, would make up fully 130,000,000, to which is to ])e added what follows as to the four per cent, interest for twenty-five years on capital on construction.] — and that such sum {le..^ $10,000 per mile) shall be paid to the contractors as the work pro- gresses, by monthly payments, in proportion to the value of the work then actually performed (according to the esti- mates of the engineers designated for the purpose by the Minister of Public Works) as compared with the value of the whole work contracted for, including rolling stock and all things to be done or furnished by the contractors; and ex- cepting money arising from the sale of lands, as hereinafter provided, no further sum of money shall be payable to the contractors, as principal, but interest at the rate of four per cent, per annum for twenty-five years from the completion of the work, on a sum (to be stated in the contract) for each mile of the sectum or sub-section contracted for, shall be payable to the contractors in like manner and proportion, and on like conditions, as payments are to be made on the principal sum above mentioned ; and the tenders of the work shall be required to state the lowest sum per mile on which such intexest and guarantees will be required." 18 br the inciplo certain bin one works ractors " Pos- session id dol- ve per ies ap- en do- ;ract()rs ousand tracted , would 1 what 3 years H0,000 I'k pro- alue of le esti" by the J of the and all nd ex- dnafter to the )ur per pletion or each hall be )ortion, on the le work I which ' • This, in effect, opens, it may be said, a tathomless gulf of expenditure nominee "Pacific Railway." It is the most reckless and astounding piece of legislatlirH,! kni*w ol, and even already, in the face of an adverse vote in one branch of the Legislature, viz. : of twenty -three (or tAventy-five) to eighteen in the Senate in the matter of the Georgian Branch contract, although no possible part ot the Pacific Railway proper, is fast being acted on. Of thir', more anon. LANDS. ' ' '' 4. That a quantity of land, not exceeding twenty thou" sand acres for each mile of the section or subsection con- tracted for, shall be appropriated in alternate sections of twenty square miles each alonxj the line of the sr^aid r.iilway." [Note. — Not on each side, and to the full depth of the twen- ty milee on each side, in alternate blocks as in the Macdonald scheme] — " or at a convenient distance therefrom, eacli section having a frontage of not less thnn three miles, nor more than six miles, on a line of the said railway, and that two-thirds of the qaantitij of land so appropt'iated s\m\\ be sold by the Gov ernment " — [no limit, mimimnm or maximum, as to price] " at such prices as may be from time to time agreed upon be- tween the Governor in Council and the contract rs, and the proceeds thereof accounted for and psiid half yearly to the contractors, free from any charge of administration or management — the remaining third to be conveyed to the contractors. The said lands to be of fair average quality, and not to include any land already granted or oc- cupied under any patent, license of occupation or i)re-emption " (Query — squatter?) U^r*" right," ''and when a sulficient quantity cannot be found in the immediate vicinity of the railway " — [as in the whole (JOO miles, in Ontario from Ni- • pissing to the western boundary of Ontario, beyond Lake Superior] — " then the same quantity or as much as may be required to complete such quantity, shall be appropriated at. such other places as may be determined by the Governor in Council." Not, be it remarked, as in the Macdonald scheme, restricting the grant in such case, to con tiguitt/ to other lands, granted, along the line. As before stated, this (the Mac- kenzie Act) gives the power of indefinite selection over the • whole vast area of our Dominion wild lands. m ,'■ T '* ' In* connection with this, I would cite, from the same statute book the following — Chap. 19, (An Act to amend the Dominion Lands Act),sec> 9. " iSection forty-four of the said hereinbefore first cited Act" (35 V , c. 23 — ''The Dominion Lands Act ") " is hereby repealed, and the following is sub- stituted for and shall be read as the said section forty- four. The Minister of the Interior shall have power to protect any person or persons desiring to carry on coal mining in uns'iu'- veyed terrilonj^ in the possession of the lands on which such mining may be carried on, provided, that before entering on the working of such mines, such person or persons make written applications to the local agent to purchase such land : * * survey * * estimate * * number of acres * * which shall not exceed " — [i. e. for each person or body of persons] — "isix hundred and forty acres, '* at the rate of one dollar per acre!' No matter how valuable the coal measures be ! and some of them are reported of nearly twenty feet in thickness, crop- ping out conveniently on the river bank, and of good quality for all industrial uses of such article. British Columbia best kinds, including anthnjcute command from $12 to $20 per ton in San Francisco, or at least did so lately, and the demand for it is ever increasing. The coal of the Saskatchewan, McLeod, Athabaska, Peace and Mackenzie Rivers, is lignite, or terhttiry coal, a compact bitumen, good for forge work, as proved at Fort Edmonton by the Hudson's Bay Company, and by such scientists as Sir John Richardson, and by our own geological staff, I believe, has been most favorably reported on. More- over, ever close by it is iron ore and limestone in abundance. To throw away such wealth — vital wealth — of a nati, 'ul v:) ; I 18 United States and by Canadian waters during the season of navigation by the year 180U as suggested." And iiow have they carried out even this feubstiiutiunal undertaking ? Only, HO iar as known, putting the " links " cf the Dav- son route under contract lor railway. That route, at its eastern terminus, is about a hundred miles south, and ont of the shortest and best (the Nii)eg()n) line of route, as laid by Mr Fleming, and over a much greater height and through rougher country. The portage links on this route are numerous, and vary between a few yards and a quarter of a mile or so, on an average between Lake Shebandowan and the Lake of the Woods. To put "steel rails" with, of course, corresponding lo- comotive engines on such links of poftage, would be like put- ting elephants to wheelbariows. An ordinary tramway, costing less than one quarter the cost of steel rails alone, woidd answer all purposeH, and be best. But, dear sir, who, with the Port of Duluth close at hand, and offering continous vail trans])ort thence to Manitoba, would ever ttiink of taking such a trail, broken, arduous and almost dangerous — as the Uaw.-on-Mackenzie route — for loco- motiveSjjWcrald have scircely space to stop, as well as start, on thosejTniking passages? The absurdity of the scheme is evident. As to the railway route westward of lied River, that, according to all accounts, is intended to be equally, yea, mnch more, oft' the true line;, by a '"linking" digression through the irrecliiniable, and for any commercial passage, impass- able swamps of the hyperborean Winnipegoosis. "' Bevond this section, No. 3 of the Statute of 1874, we have the British Columbia sectiim. As to it all Avi» have, ^yet, from Mr. Mackenzie, is, that he has had some three hun- dred and sixty-live persons, all summer past, scouring the countrj^, in " survey " to find a route. '• None " — they say — "so blind, as those who «;o;^'< see." Nearlv one hundred years ago, another Alexander McKenzie (brave Sir Alexan- der) had no difficulty — not the slightest — to find a way from Montreal via our Peace River, to the shore of the Pacific. 19 i8on of itiuiuil 3 Dav- at its I Old of tiid by hrough cl vary on an of tho ling lo- ke put- Linvvny, alone, .tliand, mitobii, )us and for loco- is start, lemc is r, that, a, mucli tb rough inipass- 574, we » have, -ee hun- ing the y day— lundrecl Alexan- ay from Pacific. Besides, our own Chit-f Engineer has — and in his report and plans, in exhaustive detail, puhllshrd nine 'months he/ore the date of tlic Mumte of Conned, uforesitld — showed, not only a feasible, but comparatively to the American (with its more than double of mountain height and way) an exceedingly fa- vorable line. Last not least, I take up THE GEORGIAN BAY BRANCH. ^ ' The scheme, as I have before said, is not and cannot be proper, or in any way belong to the Pacific Railway scheme. It is, to all intents and pur])oses^ an Ainericdii work t ) draw to American ports, New York and Busti)n. To cull it a "branch," and at the same time insist — as Mr. Mackenzie in the aforesaid Minute ofCjuncil, and has ever since, other- wise, do'.ic — on the eastern termiuus of the Pacific Kiiilway bying fixed to "some point on the western shore of Lake Su- perior/' six hundred miles from such branch, and nearly eight hundred miles from the present Canadian system of railway, is simply gibber. And what, to the public treasury, vrill lie the COST ? I cite Ihti terms of the Foster contract, as published. Length of road, estimated in contract at eighty-five miles:— Subsidy, cash, $10,000 per mile 6850,000 '• ' '-4 ))er cent, for Iwouty-tivo years oii 1^7,500 por mi lo • • Lund— icleetion tiiroughout all oui- Norlii-We.st — nay ixtrenio iniui'muin) S-'> pf-'i" "t'^'c, "-iO, ()!)!) :iercs (i37.500 (^ )or mile. Add ior utterly tiseicss te]e.f;ra]>li lino in advance of ocation »^f niilvvay line, and in tho tooth of tho statute ad hoc. 8,500,000 ).J)8T.51)U 800,000 Al so, we inav t I'v ilie Dominion of Canada, has been '^' located " — in the sense of the law, viz. — by actual location in field, and deposit of plans thereof, as by ?aw (our statute jjf 1874 invokhig.
    !" the success of Canada's I^luance Minister in negotiating a further loan, of something over $12,000,000, sny twelve uiillion and a half, in tht^ Lon- don Money Market, suggests a remark or tAvo, in so((uencc to what 1 liave just advanced in your columns. D—Rr. li--.! l\ i ^,;r ■£■■■■. :,;;;■ ' 'Wc ' m':'.\0--'^ Of tliiy iimouut, throe-fiftlis arc, it is authoritatively -stated, covered by the ■ ■- IMPERIAL GUAllANTEii:. • As to that guarantee, extending- to £2,500,000 sterling, say about $12,500,000, it is to be remarked, that it was PillNCIPALLY FOR TKE rACIElC RAILWAY, As then (1871) when granted, contemplated in the terms of Union with British Columbia, and as defined in our statute (the Canadian Pacific Railway Act) of 1872. Whether thx) other two-fifths of this special guarantee has been already touched in this very large loan (about $20,- 000,000) of last year, does not, so far as I have been able to gather, appear. But be that as it may. we have now the fact, that w have ON IT, BORROWED MONEY TO THE EXTENT OF AT LEAST ^0,000,000. And at the same time have used the credit for floating, con- junctly, a fcAV millions move of our own unguaranteed paper, and which, of course, indirectly, got the benefit of the Imperial Guarantee, The result of which was on allocation, on 4 per cent, interest, at only about 1,^ (one and a quarter) per cent, below par. Whether or not, this was a "good loan " for Canada, I leave others to show. What I inu'poso to show now, is, that, in this transaction there is SOMETHING MOST Ql'ESTIONABLE. Let me explain myself, ond for that I must crave indul- gence for reference to "dry law" — statutes — on the subject. [ shan't 1)0 long. The first act under which the present Ministry borrowed and continue to borrow money, is Chapter 2 of Dominion Session of 1874 — in the preamble of which it is textually stated, as ground of loan, that — " Whereas, one of the terms and conditions on which the Colony of British Culumbia was admitted into union with the Dominion of Canada, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council of the sixteenth day of May, 1871, was that tiie Government of the Doininion should secure the construction of a raiUmy (in this Act referred to as the Pacific Railway) to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada, in the manner more particularly mentioned in the schedules to the said order. IjS^l^ \l ^l 27 '•' And wliereaH it is expedient to raise by way ol' loan Io"Ttlic imrposc of the construction of the Pacific Railway^ and al«() for the improvement and enlargement of Canadian canals, a snni not exceeding eight millions sterling." * * * * ''And Avhereas by the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, known as '' The Canadian (Pnblic Works) Loan Act of 1873 " — after the recital of the facts aforesaid." (viz., as to loan for Pacific Railway and canals, and one million one hundred thousand pounds sterling for fortifica- tions under " The Canada Defences Loan x\ct of 1870 ") — '' and that it is expedient to authorize the Treasury " (British) '' to guarantee a portion not exceeding two million five hundred thousand pounds of such' loan of eight million pounds sterling for the above mentioned purposes, and to guarantee a further portion of the said loan not exceeding one million one himdred thousand pounds" (sterling) "in substitution for a guarantee of a loan under '*' The Canada Defences Loan Act, 1870 " — the said Act is repealed ; and it is enacted that, subject to certain conditions to be observed by the Parliament of Canada the Treasury may guarantee in such manner and form, and on such conditions as they think fit, the payment of the principal and interest (at a rate nc t exceeding four percent, per annum) on all or any part of any loan raised by tiio Government of Canada /or the purpose of the construction of the Pacific Railway and the improvement and enlargement of the Canadian canals," {i.e., I take it, canals — comparatively limited — as contemplated at the date of the Imperial Act, ad hoc, viz., oG 37 v. ch. 45) — "so tliat- the total amount so guaranteed from time to time " — con- tinues the preamble — ** do not exceed three million six hundred thousand pounds." Professedly in accordance with this preamble the Act (ch. 2 of 1874) was passed. Under it Mr. Cartwright mad(> his great loan of last year. Under it, we find moreover in the Su]iplies of that year, the following special votes [page 13] as to the Pacific Railway : Fort Guny ami I'einhiii.a IJuilway 6 050,000 Pacific Eailway Survey " 500,000 Pacific R.iilway construction, and improvements on navigable waters in interior in connection therewith 1.500,000 In all, then ^2,650,00 / 28 it'- L^y [ >4tJ In tlic fullowing session, last past, \vc have in cliap. 3 of it, the lollowiiig furthov authorization for loan, sec. 4> "' And whereas, there remain unborrowed and nea'otiable of the loans authorized by Parliament for the several works hereinafter mentioned."' &c., — infer alia. — '• Balance of the loan for fhe ronatrudioii of (he Canadiaii Pccific Railvxiy $20,U26, 666,67. [Twenty millions, nine hundred and twenty-six thousand six hundred nnd sixty-six dollars, sixty -seven cents.] In connection witii the above, in the su])plies of last session [page 10 of statutes,] under the head '' Pacilic Kail- way" we iiave a total of ^0,250,000, including an item of ^2,000,1H)0 Jbr steel i-ails and fastenings," and an item — a re-vote, 1 take it — of $500,000 f(n' '• Pembina Branch." Taking all tliese facts together, it may fairly be assumed ilirtt the present Cloverument have by loan, as stated, drawn all or nearly all, that was vouchsafed to us in the Imperial guarantee lor the Pacific; Railway. The money ••secured — j^oclicied in a sense — they note o^tenly arou- their policy of no Pacijic llaihcay ! In the meantime, not an inch of the road has been built. The whole is emphatically repudiated, and with it every solemn ('om])act and obligation relating to it. As to the '" steel rails " — ti stern, reality — they, I presume, will sell well as '•' old iron,"' and will just answer the American line across our border, and thence into our Fort Garry. But, apart from the aspects of the case, in its material features, there is a higher consideration it stake in this wondrous scheme of revolution by '* organized hypocrisy," &c. It is the honor of the Canadian name ! Wluxt of it ? Yours, I3RITANNICU8. Ottawa. 2nd Non-. 1S7o. Misappropriation of North- West Lands. To the Editor of The Citizen. SiK, — This, to tlie Donn'nitm, is a vital matter. It has just come to my notice in reading the report of the ^'' Foster contract " for the building of the so-called " Georgian Bay Branch of the Canadian Pacific Kailwav." 29 ?•> Tlu; Till claiiso of tliut contract, as laid before the Iloiifec, runs thus : — -'Thi^ road to be constructed in comforniity witli the C. P. Railway Act of 1874, and subject toallitsproviHions €^ccj>t those which provide for the land appropriated haciiuj ii certain frontatje on theraUicatj ; and inasmuch as the Dominion Government may not become pro])rietors of land on this railway, the contractor will receive land in some other portion of the Dominion.'' The only statutory enactment on the subject is section 4 of chapter 14 of last session of our Dominion Parliament under the head "' Canadian Paciiic Railway,"' to wit :—'- That a quantity of land not exceeding twenty thousand acres ibr each mile of the section or sub-section contracted for. shall 1)6 appropriated in alternate sections of twenty square miles each alonf) the line of the said railway, or at a conccnicnt dis- tance therefrom^ each section having a frontage of not less than three miles nor more than six miles on the line of the said railway, &c. * * * * * And when a sufficient quantity cannot be found in the immediate vicinity of the railway, then the same quantity, or as much as may be required to complete such quantity, shall be appropriated at such other places as may l)e deter- mined by the Governor in Council/' The obvious meaning of the above is that the land so granted shall be on the line, or if it cannot be found, then the nearest that can be found, hut no other, shall be available tor the purpose. This limitation to line of route is an essential principle in all such subsidies, and from the exceptional character of the act (alienation of puldic lands " Crown desmesne ") it is to be strictly, i.e., most restrictively interpreted. The quantity is in consideration of the mixed quality, had as icell as fjood, on the line of route. In the face of all this we have now before us, pressed with the force of an immense majority, the proposition that In' a statute of o\u' land, may, and shall, nearly two millions of acres of the '• very pick" of our North West lands, practically be granted to the Boston Or other foreign capitalists (represented b}' Mr. Foster), capitalists, who to raise revenue for their Hoosac Tunnel and its costlv lines incidental, and to secure imto themselves our North West transit trade, thus extend to us ¥m 30 ii tlicir arniH. Tlio prescDl selliiij^- price of these land!=<, in the outskirts of settlement, even l)erore the issue of a single patent, or promise of title in any shape, is from $4 to ^10 l)er acre ibr pre-emption or squatter rights. So said Dr. Tupper in his speech the other night on the matter of Pacific Railway, and w.' believe he Avas right. But our immense and most valuable COATi LANDS "' measures " of good economic seams, running up to twentv feet in thickness, cropping out in surface or river bank, and that most abundantly on the direct line of railway or other road route from Red River to the Yellow Head, or, in fact, to any of our Rocky Mountain Passes, are worth infiiritely more, and may, before long, whenever touched by rail or settlement, he worth thousands of dollars per acre. As to our GOLD LANDS, they also ma^^ I presume, be so given away. These are startling facts, and should draw the closest and most jealous attention to this scheme of Georgian Bay Branch subsidy. Relatively also should these facts prompt some scrutiny at least, as to the item of (only) $6,250,000 [six millions odd] of dollars '* for the Pacific Railwav," and on which, Messrs. Mackenzie and Blake, on the Jirst occasion of debate thereon, so ruthlessly tried to gag all constitutional debate ! What atie we ? Yours, BRTTANNrCUS. Ottawa, 10th March, 1875. Lake Superior — Eastern Terminus ['' for all Time"] of the " Canadian" Pacific Railway. To the Editor of The Citizen : Sir, — From what would appear some exceptional irr(*gu- larity [suppressive] in the distribution, even amongst members of Parliament [at least those on the " Opposition "] of the papers [printed] in the matter of '' the British Columbia difficulty," as " settled " by the intervention, in arbitration. 31 a of the Right Honoi'iible the Secretary of State for the Colonies, T have been unable to get communication of the important documents until to-dav. They are too voUiminous for masterv ■-' */ «/ at a glance, but even in a cursory glance, I find enough to isomewhat surprise anyone not in the secret. In page 38 of the blue book on this subject, under the head, " Copy of a Report of a Committee of the Honorable the Privy Council, approved by His Excellency the Governor General on the 17th September, 1874," I find the following in response to the Earl of Carnarvon's proposition : — " The fourth condition involves another precise engage- '* meut to have the ivhole-o^tlm railway communication *•' finished in 1890. There are the strongest possible objections '•' to again adopting a precise time for the completion of the " lines. The eastern portion of the line, except so far as the mere letter of the conditions is concerned, affects only the •'• Provinces east of Manitoba, and the Government have not '* been persuaded either of the iris'dom or the necessitjj of imrne- '"' diateiy constructing that portion of the railway v:hich traverses " the countri/ from the west end. of Lake Superior to the proposed " eastern terminus on Lake Nipissing near Georgian Bay, nor " is it conceived that the people of British Columbia could, " with "any show of reason whatever, insist that this portion " of the work should be completed within any definite time, " inasmuch as if the people, icho are chiejly if not wholly affected '* by this branch of the undertaMng, are satisfied [?], it is " maintained that the people of British Columbia would '' practically have no right of speech in the matter." ^ i!; * 2jc '\i •;: ^ 5i< " The committee advise that Lord Carnarvon be informed " that while in no caseicould the Government undertake the •• completion of the whole line in the time mentioned, an " extreme unwillingness exsists to another limitation of '• time ; but if it be found absolutely necessary to secure a present settlement of the controversy by further concessions ' a pledge may be given that the portion west of Lake Superior will be completed so as to afford connection by '' rail with the existing lines of railway through a portion ol' " the United States and by Canadian waters during the season of navigation by the year 1890 as suggested.'" a a a 32 111 l)a{^o 42 oi' the .sjimo blue book, wo have liord Carnarvon's final reply on this point thus : ^' 5. Lastly, that " on or before the 31st"ofDecembor, 1890, tlio railway shall " be completed and open for traftio from tlie Pacili(^ seaboard '•' to a point at the Western end of JmIcc SvjHrior, at Avhich it " will fall into connection with existing lines of railway '' through a portion of the United States, and also with the '' navigation (m Canadian waters. To proceed at present " with the remainder of the railwa}- extending by the country " northward of Lake Superior, to the existing Canadian '• lines, ought not in my opinion, to lie required, and the "' time for undertaking that work must be determint;d by '• the developement of settlement and the changing cir- '•' cumstanccs of the country. The day is, however, I hope " not very distant Avhen a continuous line of railway " through Canadian Territory will be practicable, and / '•' therefore looh upon this 2^ortlon of the scheme as postpoxed '' rather than abandoned. The italicization is my own, to obviate, for brevity comment. These extracts speak for themselves ! Read by the I'glit of surrounding facts — inter alia, the fact, that the 500 miles and upw^ards of navigation from our most westerly lake ports to the eastern terminus in (jucstion is, in a sense, virtually American, per force of the American Saidt Ste. Marie Canal — sole link of those great waters — the great scheme as laid now, is essentially one to serve the interests of the United States rather than Canada proper, or Britain. That at least I believe is the opinion of some, if not the bulk, of the people of Canada. Yours, 13R1TANNICUS. Ottawa. March IGth, 1875. LETTER, IVo. 11. British Columbia Settlement. To the Editor of TiiE Citizen : Sir, — In sequel to my last, I have only to add, as the conclusions to wiiich every unbiased reader of the pa])ers in question must arrive at on this subject. 83 the 1. That the determined ])olicy of tlie present Ministry, from first to hist, has hocn to have tto Canadian Pacific Rail- way, as proposed and ajireed to between (Janada and British Cohimbia, and as implemented by Dominion Act, c"' . 71 of 35 Vic , and as snl)sidizcd by liie Imperial (lovernment. 2. That the expres.sion of '-hope ' on the part of Lord (jarnarvon, tbat the section froni Nipissing to Red River is to be considered as only " postponed ratiier than al)andoned " (see page 42 of Bine Book), has not been acceded to by the present Ministry, bnt that, on the contrary, their avoidance of that line by noiv fixing- the eastern terminns at the month of the Kaministiqnia River, about seventy miles south of that line (the Nipigon one), reported by tlie chief engineer of the work, Mr. Fleming, as the shortest and best in that quarter, precludes all such hope, so long as they rule in the matter. 3. That the practical elfect of >«ucli break (one of about 900 miles distance from the south-east corner of Lake Nipis- sing to Rat Portage, north end of the Lake of the Woods,) would be to make all our North West territories jmd British Columbia an appanage of the United States in all commercial relations, and with a tendency, naturally, to a change of "flag" and social status in that direction. 4. That in this view, all expenditure in public works, or even Government, west of the foot of Sault Ste. Marie (the western limit of Canadian navigation proper), is worse than a mere waste of puldic money belonging to Canada. 5. That as the object of scarcely secondary moment in the scheme of a Canadian Pacific Railway as originally laid, the great Pacific trade between Great Britain, Europe, and the Eastern States was sought to be touched, and that to that end the road in question should be in every sense a through one, and short and good as possible, between the two Oceans. 6. That that trade, even already, as appears by the last official returns [of which I gave you, Mr, Editor, details in my pamphlet herewith enclosed], amounts, for Britain and the United States alone, to nearly $700,000,000 [seven hun- dred million dollars] • and that on it, even at the start, the K— Ey. 84 Aincrican Commercial Miiriiu' [Paciru'] aiitl tlii3 Ameiicjiu Trail seoiitincntal Railways are last growiii*:; rich. 7. That the present Ministry seem to ignore this ele- ment ot' transcontinental general transit trade, and pretend to treat the work as a merely domestic one. I close here for the present, l»iit shall continue the suhject. Yours, BRITANNICUS. Ottawa March 10th, 1875. International Highway. To the Editor qf The Citizen : Sir, — In continuation, let me add the ft)llowing con- sideration on this subject. 8. That it is in this larger view that by the earliest and, in fact, by all sincere advocates of a British American rail- way, from Atlantic to Pacific, this scheme has been chiefly "rged. . ^ That this has been done from an intelligent appreciation of the following f.iCts. a. That we hold the most northern and shortest arc possible for railway from ocean to ocean, north of Mexico. h. That our higher latitude bears, in terrene oblate, a lower level than any south. c. That the physical ffttures and natural resources of the whole country on our ihic of route, are no less favorable, but the contrary, for railway construction and maintenance, than the present American one, the summits and general line in our route being in height less than half that of the American one in question, or any other possible in the whole area of the United States, and Avith less snow difficulty to contend with. d. That our route is in direct line of connection with the two great " sailing arcs " (ocean highways) of the Nortern Atlantic and Pacific, a line of best commercial transit from mid-Asia to mid Europe, shorter, on an average (accord- lencau lis elu- (reteiul ue tliu DUS. )g cou- i!st and, m rail- cliicfly iciatioii est avc xico. blate, a uces of rovable, enance, ral lino of the 3 whole ulty to n with of the transit ' accord - 35 ing to reports) by 1,()0U to 2,(100 mih'Hthuu by San Francisco. c. That the trade according to the last oflicial returns for 1S7')-7I of (jJreat J5ritain aiul the UnittKl States, even already, and with remarkalily rapid ratio of increase since the establishment of a transcoiitinental railway to San Francisco with its incidental Pacific steaniwhip lines in every direction, amounts to nenrly ^700,000,000, vi/:— imiTfSU PACniC Tli.VDE— A.I). 1S7."!. Cliina, inchwlii'!.^ lloii.i;- Koii!^ uiul .Macao $i51,12(»,!)7r) Japan ' ." ■ 45,877,500 Jslamls in the PaciHc 861,625 Stnlil^^ ScttleiiH-iits 38,081,595 Aus'ii-aliaii Colonics and Now7A'alan'l a66,73(»,710 Total 3503,287,405 UNITKD 8TATKS TllADK — A.D. 1873-4 lo JINE 30lll, 1874. .lapano.so Free Ports 50,322,547 " China and Jaj)an " (Ihiif? lunipcd in blue book, sco pages 1124,433, meaning ('hina and Jn])anl|^'lusivo olMapancso Fi-co Ports 54,221,554 Ih'lUsh Kast Indies and Au.strulia (IIiuh lumped in blue book) 25,147,007 Sandwieli Islands 2,013,401 Dutch East Indies 7,812,088 liuUion — China and Japan 15,395,181 Total $154,912,438 SL'M.MAUV Ol' TOTALS. British Pacitic Trade ^503,287,405 United States do 154,912,438 3058,199,843 Add, for the rest of Europe, .say, fairly, one half of that and we have a grand total of at least $1,000,000,000 (one thousand million dollars). Two per cent, on which (an ex tremely minimum pl-edicate) Avould, most prol^ably, pay cost and something over. 9. That this consideration of the route as a through one, for generol and international trade, was n(^t advanced, nor even mentioned by either of the parties, in submitting their respective ^'cascs" to Lord Carnarvon, as arbitrator ; and, in fact, as appears by report of ''Minute of Council," our Government seemed to studiedly exclude it, by limiting the 36 i'li'! m ' Held Tor consideration to British Columbia and "nearest" railway connection eastward, viz., with the United states "system" of railways by the Peinlnna branch, i.nd with "Canadian navigation" on the western shore ofLake Superior, expresalv;, at the same time, denying the right of British Columbia to urjje any considerations for ihe eastern sec- tiou of the road as proposed and contemplated by clause 11 of the original "Terms of Union" of British Columbia with Canada. The langurge in the Minute of Council in question (see page 38) on this point, is so marked as to call for citation. "'The eastern portion, except so far as the mere letter of the " conditions is concerned, affect>J only the Provinces east of "Manitoba, ******** * " l7ie 2)eople of British Colainhla ivoidd pradicall y liave no rigid " of speech in the matter ! /" Lord Carxarvox, as arbitrator, could decide on the case or cases, onhj as laid before him, and certainly this question of "right of speech" as to thici eastern section, was not left to ]iim, but on the contrary, lie was in a sense, told not to touch it. Yet, Sir, he did,iiin] that in a manner emphatic, imperative, though gentle. As England's present chief guardian in such matters, he spoke. It is for us, the people of Canada, to respond. , On this point and others I shall conclude in my next. Yours, ^ s BRITANNICUS. LETTJai^ JVo. 13. International High^?vay. 2h ihe Editor of The Citizen : Sir, — Taking up this theme where I closed in my last, I have tv) say : — 10. That Lord Carnarvon, in his ohiter dictum, in which he was pleased to say that he considered the eastern sec- tion merely "postponed and not abandoned," and that he "hoped" — to use his own words — "that the day is not very far distant when a cordimous line of railway through Canadian territory will be practicable" — that is to say, I take it, railway completed and in Avorking order— did, in eflect, urge tliat to be done as soon as possible. 37 That the iirst coiisidciution in such ii work w hich weighs •ill the Imperial mind, and that, as one of first and highest moment, is the military one in relation to those parts (k the cmjiire more immediately affected by it. To that consideration we of Canada, as an integral part of the empire, are equally, and, in fact, more especially, bound. Moreover, the British Government has. in a manner which, so far as we know, bespeaks a desire to encourage us to such 11 v/ork, offered, as a lirst offering or '' luck pennv," a subsidy of £2,500,000 stg. That is now at our comm-ind for tJiG Canadian Pacific Railwaij, as determined at the time of the grant, and not, I take it, for the pro-American scheme of the present Government, Chap. 2 of last s«:^ssion nxju obstante. 11. This eastern section, for a distance of from 700 to 900 miles [according to what may hereafter be determined as the western boundary "of the Province of Ontario] runs through the Province of Ontario, whose Government, though thereunto applied to by the Dominion (lovernment. has, so far, declined to say or do aught Avith regard to the disposal of her lands in Pacific railway subsidy, as proposed by the Dominion. That in alternative, in the case of the. so-called Georgian Bay Branch of the Pacific Raihva}, the present Government have bound themselves to give an equal extent in some other part (without defining v/here or whereabouts) in the North-west tarritories of the Dominion of Canada. That tlie illegality and unconstitutional character of such alienation of the Crown domain — (me, if largelij applied, frail^ht with dangers that strike at the very root of political liberty in such a new field of social organization and govern- inent — forbid its application tj the 700 or 900 miles in ques- tion through Ontario. That a land subsidy as to this portion may be assumed as an impracticability on the part of the Dcmiinion Govern- ment. 12. Tliat to meet the difficulty, and under considerations which oJiviously commend themselves in the relations of Canada and the Parent State as to such a work, the British Government should, 1 liumldy think, ])o respectfully re- •ami 38 quested to further aid the work in question by a suppie- inentary subsiby, say of £3,000,000 sterling, making, with the previous £2,500,000 sterling, a total subsidy of £5,500,- 000 sterling, suflicient, probably, to cover hall' the cost of this section. That the whole of this ])e applicable to the construction solely of the eastern section, from tiie eastern terminus, as first fixed by the Act of Parliament [Chap. 71 of 35 Vic], to the western boundary of Ontario [wherever that may be]. That in consideration of such subsidy the determination [location] ot" the precise point or place of such eastern ter- minals, and of all main objective points along the wdiole line of route to the Pacific shore, and the terminus [temporary or permanent] there, be left entirely to the Imperial authori- ties. But that all subsequent work in construction shall be under the control of the Dominion Government, subject however, to such regulations as may Ije prescribed and agreed to for the proper applicati')ii of srch sub'.'idy in the progress of the work. That such work on the eastern section shall Ije begun at the eastern terminus as soon as the same can be reached ])y rail or l)oat navigation, and simultaneously, or before that, and as soon as possible, at or from the head of Nepigon Bay, or such ])oint thereabout as may seem advisable, and that from such point the work shall be prosec,uted eastward and westward with all possible energy in the most direct line possible, and vrithout any digression towards the Dawson route, other than connection at Rat Portage at the head of the Lake of the Woods, or wherever, thereabouts, the en- gineer in chief of the railway in question may advise. * That westward from the boundary of Ontario th<^ land grant system, as pro\ ided l)y the first statute (chapter 71 of 35 vie.) of the Dominion Parliament on the subject shall apply in connection with the money subsidy therein provided — or such further ; um for the purpose as may he determined on by the Parliament of Canada. That in the meantime all the works now in hand or initiated, in connection with the Pacilic Railway, or having any subsidiary relation thereto do proceed as determined on by Parliament. 39 )le- ith • DO,- of or I have still a rciuurk or two to make Ijeforo I can well conclude, but for that I must, Mr. Editor, crave your indul- gence to another and really last letter. Yours, BRITANNICUS. Ottawa, March 21th, 1875. Our Heritage in Jeopardy. To ilia EdltGv of The Citizen : SiK, — In conclusion, I would respectfully ask attention for a moment or two to the physical features, and also in- cidentally, to the political aspects of the case in this respect. Taking any true map of British North America, we may observe, first, the compact unity — a feature itself an element of strength in a country — of the whole vast terrain. In area, we find from best authorities, that it is three and a quarter millions of square miles, or within about one hundred thousand square miles of that nssigned to the United States. Of this total of Canada and Newfoundland, no less than 2,200,725 square miles, according to the official report [1872, page 14] of the Surveyor-General of Dominion Lands, fall under the head of " Dominion Lands," and which, of course, are exclusive of Provincial lands. To this Dominion land total let us add, for our present argument, tlic 350,000 .niuave mi' as of British Columbia and we have a grand total of over two millions and a half of « square miles, north and west of us, and which, for the nonce, we may term our new^ grand heritage of the North West. From the silver gleaming shores of Lake Superior to the furthest golden mountain heights and isles of British Colum- bia, a stretch of 2,000 miles w^ith an average cereal breadth of 500 miies, is the grandest and richest virgin field for home- steads on earth. I know the land. On its far, northern, horder I was born, and in early lifts, side by side Avith my father, thence traversed it from Pacilic to Atlantic, and have touched its three oceans. Let us glance at its lioundaries. for they also, 1 hold, ar<' elements' of strength unto the couniT ' On the east, we see, tin f 14 i ii 40 « a.s to (111 y elFort in war, a broad and impas.S'.ible belt of hyper- borean ice-hill and field, and a rock-bound, ever tempest, tossed '"oast. On the west (British Columbia) a vast moun- tain, mural, rock coast, deeply horded, with al30unding shel- tering harbors, but utterly unassailable to any naval force, save, in the immediate coast (a very limited one) of the Georgian Gulf, under the guns of our lost San Juan. On our north is the intangible Arctic. On the south we have from Puget Sound to the Rocky Mountains, a system of vast and insurmountable mountain ranges running in varied directions, Ossa on Pelion piled, and with passages so fcAV, narrow and difficult, that no aggressive force could cope with any military resistance in such Thermopylae. From the Rocky Mountains to Pembina Ave . [ *7h^ defence, the so-called '•' American Desert," the Prairie the Southern Saskatchewan, the home of the ever (to Britain) loyal Bedouins of the Plain? -men of utmost fight and ever fiercest hate against their tru.jtional ••enemies" — the "Boston Long Knives, or, briefly," "The Long Knives," with such native army of Sikhs "true to their salt," the British North West could Avell hold its own. From Pem- bina to Lake Superior is a region of swam]) and high rugged rock impassable to military movement. Arrived at Lake Superior we find ourselves on what, practically in every point of view, are American (U.S.) waters, for that Power, in and by virtue of its Sault Ste. Marie canal, alone Iwlds the mcajis of placing war craft on this inner and thus dominating "sea." On its death-still northern boundary ("the British") shores, no British arscal, port nor jetty, can furnish aught for fight. To transport nuiterial thither, for vessel construc- tion, or gunboat of even smallest type, is utterly impossible \7ithout a railway from the nearest Atlantic port, say Mon- treal, Quebec or Halifax, to say, the sheltered head of Nepigeon Bay. As to Lake lluroii, on its northern shores especially, the same misfortune and difficulty, but in modified degre e, would occur. In this — this immense unbridged, unroaded, untouched wild 1)etween us of settled (older) Canada, and our yoimger self in Manitoba — is our fn t al weakness Military authorities teil us so. We see it. /Ii per- ipesf, oiin- 5hel- )rce, tlio I our rom and ons, and >, I I 41 But wo. so .still. While negl-ictnig to open a military roadway (rail) for our defence and commercial convenience, by our unr.ssailable North, we construct one from the very fort gate of our enemy on our southern border to within the very portals — unguarded —of the capital of our heritage. In other words, a Pembina and Winnipeg railway, without one wholly on our own ground fjom the railway system of Eastern Canada, would be a thing ever of menace or, in case (»f war, of destruction to our national interests throughout all the North and West of our Dominion. On the other hand, with the latter, with UB countervailing power and effect, it would, in war, he comparatively or perfectly harmless, and in peace be but useful. Hence the " necessity,"^ as has ever been urged by the original promoters — necessily Lnperial as well as Canadian — that the scheme of a British American Pacific Railway should be one fit)m seaport to seaport, continuous, straight, strong, and short as possible, but touching, on military and commercial considerations, certain objective points. TJ1U8 was the contract — one based on statute specific ad hoc — carefully implemented hy the late Government. 77^?/.'^ did the i^^ople of all Canada vote for it. At the Napierville hustings — on or close to the memorable battL field of old Chateauguay — Chief Justice Dorion, then a candidate, and the recognized chief of the tivowed '' annexation " section of the present Government, distinctly said to his anxious con- stituents, and to the country iu general, then and there, that " their scheme icoidd be, In the maiv, tliatof (he late Government, id est as a through and continuous railway from the railway system of Eastern Canada to the Pficific. For that, and that alone, I repeat, was the electoral voic of all Canada cast. Mr. Mackenzie's prelections on the theme were, it is true, some- what, and rather rapidly, varied, especially about the Ame- rican border, but in the ^^ main " Ihey were as publicly de- clared by his honorable colleague. It was not the " scheme " that was, at the electoral urn condemned, but it was the " story " of its moving as got up, for a purpose, to the popular car. It was, in fact, too good, too great, too transcendent in brimful promise of good to all con* i m I pi 42 cerned in it for any rival interest or adverse national power to passively let slip. Hence the record — scarce not trea- sonous — of its defeat — so far ! Shall it rest so ? Yours, BRITANNICUS. March 23rd, 1875. ,h "it OTTAWA : I'duted by the Citizen Piinting and Puljlishing Company, Sparks Street. 1875. ional power !e not trea- NNICUS. a Street. Page 2, line " 6, line " 8, line « 13, line " 14, line " 14, line " 16, line •' 18, line " 18, line " 21, line '< 27, line " 28, line " 35, line " 41, line «< 41, line 1 3 For " of compos," read " or compos." ] 7 For " predicted," read » predicated." 16_For " they had begun," read ■' they, evidently, had begun.' 3— For " legislature," read " legislation." 20— For " anthricate," read " anthracite." 24— For '■' territory," read " tertiary." 15_For "augmentative," reaii " argumentative." 25— For " those linking," read "those short linking." 33_For " who have," read " we have." 21 —For " Naury," read " Maury." 2— For " to the purpose," read " for the purpose." 2 For " sec. 5," read " sec. 4." 18— For "inclusive," read "exclusive." n_For "the countervailing," read " its countervailing." 15_For " necessary," read " necessity."