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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd 6 partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche 6 droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 MONTREAL A FREE PORT. STATEMENT I)Y MH. ANDREW ROBERTSON SubinitltJ to i/'ii' Ildiboiir Cominissioncis 13/"// JA/j, iSSo. CrENTiiEMEN, — It lias bceii I'ustoinary that all the state- ments made by the Chairman hav^e been submitted to the Jioard belbie beiui*' delivered to the general public. How this eustom was introduced, or what purpose it was in- tended to serve, I do not profess to know. I have, however, i'ol lowed strictly the same rule up to this point, but on the present occasion I intend, with your leave, to ask vour indulnence in what I am now uoiui? to sav, and that I personally accept the entire responsibility therefor, it is my intention to reply to the varied statements which have lately been made in connection with the Trust, by individuals and througTi the press. \jMi me lirst reiV'r to the (question ..nd meaning of what has been termed A KIJKK PORT. I have been criticised for asking that the term "Free Port" should be delined. My object in doing so at the meeting of the Board of Trade was not to put any obstruction in tlie way of the port becoming free, but that it was causing conllicting ideas in the minds of many people. A IVee port has been stated by some to be a free port for ships — that is to say, ships are not to pay tonnage dues. Others maintain that a free port means no dues on ships or their cargoes, but everything to pass free. I think in looking at this question the present position of the Trust should be considered. In doing this, let me c no 2 s;iy lliat the (lovoriimcut in 1841 l)ei>an the rhaiinel operations as a public work, when, al'tor having spent tht' sum ol' $800,000, the work was abandoned. The Harbour Commissioners took up the work in 1851, and expended s^ 1,200,000 in improving the channel to 20 teet, so called, in 18()0. The Clovernment assumed |900,- 000 of the cost of the work to that time. The bahince, about !|;800,000, expended from that time to 1865, yet stands to the debit of the account. In 1873 an Act was passed which authorized the De- partment of Public Works to ])rocecd with the further di'cpening, undiu" arrangement with the Harbour Commis- sion, at a cost not exceeding $1,500,000. Of this amount about $1,250,000 has been so far expended. Assuming, therefore, that the channel will be completed at the esti- mated cost, this will give $3,000,000 as the total .imount to be expended. Of this sum of three millions, $1,200,000 has been paid by the Government, leaving $1,800,000 as a debt on the Trust, It is this sum which tlie Harbour Commission have been urging should be assumed by the Grovernment as having been expended on o) e of the public works of the Dominioji. The Harbour proper means the Harbour within the limits of the City of Montreal, and it has cost very nearly, if not quite, as much more, say $3,000,000. Of this sum there is a debt of $1,800,000 in bonds issued by the Harbour Commissioners themselves, and for which the Trust is solely responsible for principle and interest, the difference between the amount of cost and debt now^ owing having been defrayed by the surplus revenues of the port ovi'r a long series of years. When the channel is completed to 25 feet, the interest on the outlay, including the $800,000, at debit of 20-foot channel, will be, at 5 per cent $90,000 Sinking Fund as required by law 15,000 Interest required for Harbour Bonds 100,000 Estimated cost of Harbour maintenance 75,000 Making $280,000 n^^/ 8 as tlio annual chargo necessary to maintain the Trust without any provision i'or further oxtcnsions, and improve- nient.s, whicli necessity or time may sliow to he re({uisite. It has heen sui»^V8ted that when the Government relieves the Trust of the obligation incurred for the «-han- nel debt, that tlie tonnag'e dues should be entirely aboHshed. I would suggest, before doing so, that some consideration should be given to see, if by a reduction on certain classes of through goods, which we are not now, or are, in very snudl (quantities bringing to the port, they could not be encouraged ; and if this course would not prove practically more beneficial to the vessels themselves than by entirely freeing them from tonnage dues. It has also been suggested that the city shoidd assume the debt and maintenance of the har})Our. It will thus be seen that the city will havt^ lo assume a liability of $175,000 pi'r annum to make Montreal a truly Free i)ort. Before leaving this subject, I think it would be only proper to state that Montreal does not ask one cent for any expenditure for her harbour proper, as I find many people are under the impression that Montreal is demanding from the CJovernment the entire debt of both river and lake improvements as well as the harbour debt. All we ask is, that what has been expended on the deepening of the channel in lake and river, which we consider as much a Dominion work as the canal and railway expen- ditures. For her harbour proper Montreal, so far as I aiU aware, has nev<'r received one cent for harbour ]mrposes, while since Confederation, it will be found by the Tublic Accounts, that in Ontario alone for harbour purposes about one and a hall' millions has bet'U expended for purely local harbours in that Province. To our (Quebec friends let me say that we do not ask, as they have for the Harbour of Quebec, the Grovernmeiit guarantee for the Harbour oi' Montroal, by which thoy get I'rom the Gov- ermiKMit the money they re(|uire at 5 per cent., \vhile Montreal is paying' at the present momenl i'rom G to 7? per cent, lor bonds now in (existence; and perhaps I may })e pardoned for Siiying in this connection that I have just suecessiiilly iioated a loan of |100,000 at i)ar lor Ihe Harbour of Montreal at ;") per cent, for thirty years — the most success ul linancial operation yet done, and which, when required, 1 hope to be able to repeat at a similar rate. Montreal only gets from the Government the money for the lake and river imj^rovements at a per cent. Iler Harbour improvements are entiiely at her own cost for principal and interest. The Herald says : — " Mr. Esdaile properly expressed his surprise at the inaction of the Board." I accept this as personal to mysell, because, as Chairman, I am no doubt expected to see that the work is i)ropcrly attended to. In order, therefore, to show what has been done, allow me to refer back to the date of my appointment, at the end of June last. When the late Chairman, Mr. Cramp, was superseded, he mentio]ied that there were three important subjects left for me to deal with, viz., the Grand Trunk Railway track on the wharves, the Q. M. Ik O. right of way to Qutd)ec Gate Barracks, and the allow^ance to Mrs. Young. The last question has been settled, as 1 believe, satis- factorily to those more immediately interested, and I am glad to say that the Government of the day were mag- nanimous enough after Mr. Young's death to recognise the services of probably one of the strongest opponents they ever had. The .loly Administration fell, and consequently, for the time being, settled the Q. M. & O. question ; while the Grand Trunk question is receiving my most anxious consideration, and is in a fair way of solution. f) After tho mootino^ of tho Board of Trade lu-ld in .Tanunry last, on tho Gth of V'e])ruiiry tlicrcafter I was waited upon by a deputation of that IJoard to deal with tlie questions of towag'o and pilotau(\ Some very stronu; remarks on towage had ])een mad«> at that meetinii', to which I will hereafter allude. After a lonu' interview with the depu- tation, consisting of the President, Mr. Ilenshiuv, M«»ssrs. White and Adams, I ventured the sugg(>stion tluit, ms we had no i)ower to deal with towage, we miuht ussist port of call vessels, say under 800 tons, by reducing or abolisli- ing their tonnage dues, which I think met with their approval. On leaving, 1 asked them to embody their views in a letter which I received undvU' date ol' 9th of that month. Their suggestions were l)rieflv as follows : — 1. To ask the Tug Boat Compiinies to frame a tariff on the minimum of last years rates. 2. To ask for pow^er to ])uild tugs to be worked by the Commissioners, or by a company. 3. Pilotage. — That tugs should carry a licensed pilot, and vessels in tow should not require to carry one. After considerable and careful eiu^uiry as to the pilot- age question, I have, so far, been unable to get experts to agree on a solution of the question. As to the towage, I had anticipated their wish, in so far as getting the tug l)oat owners to try and frame a reduced tariff from that pul)lished in 1874, by commencing a correspondence in Septembt>r last year, wdiich ended in March this year, and I can refer you to my remarks at the annual meeting of the Commissioners, when it wns conclusively shown that the tug boat owners had not been receiving over one-third of their published tariff of 1874 for the years 1878 and 1879, rnd which rate was considered totally inadequate to meet expenses. I did not personally approve of the owning or sub- sidizing of tug boats by the Commissioners. The h'ast 6 ol)jeclioiia))l(^ modo sug«?estod, viz., (hat ol" subsidy, was adopted by the Board. I have, howcvor, succeeded in inducing" (he Ijeavcr Line to jHiblish a tarill'at on(;-hair ol" tlie rates exisjiiig in 1S74, but who say that it depemls entirely on tlie amount ol" vessels towed whether that valo can be maintained ; il" there is an increase of sailing' v«'ss(ds, they can y>robably reduce the rates ; if their tugs are not constantly employed, they cannot all'ord to do it at the rates published. Tlio trade aiul the port is much indebted to this compnny lor their action. Meantinu^ 1 had obtained a return of all the sailing ves- sels and dues paid by them lor 1871*, and finding that lh(> total sum rectnved was !^lG,4n, 1 then proposed that r/// ocean sailing vessels should l)e made tree ol' tonnage dues, and a bill was prepared asking |)ow(M" to frnnu' a larill'lor towage, and with ])o\ver to grant a subsidy, as also special i)ower to a])olish or reduce the tonnage dues on all ocean sailing vessels. This bill was duly forwarded, on 11th March, to the Minister ol' Marine and 1^'isheries, and it was understood by mi^ at that time that there would [)robably be little or no dilliculty in passing it. Uni'ortunat(dy this was not the case, and the bill has been dropped, excepting one clause referring to the trial of pilots, which sim])ly limits the quorum to three members of the Commission. Mr. (^ramp says, in a letter to the Herald of 3rd instant, that last year's bill was sufRcient to enal)le us to nnluce the dues on sailing ships ; I was of the same opinion, but our counsel thought we could not abolish the tonnage dues, therefore the clause granting power to abolish ton- nage dues was inserted, in order that there might b<' no mistake. In connection with the redu<'tion of the tariil the I'oard have b(>en charged by the Herald for insincerity in the following statement : — '' It i(s stated tlial thoir most ivcoiit not proves conclu- ' sivoly their insincerity. They adopted a larill" to tnke " eH'eet on 1st April, whidi was passed by ( )rder-in-('ouii- " oil oil tlie l!»th Ai)ril, imd in phuc of rediieiuL'' the du»'s '' on tlie number oT articles (ax«'d, the list has been in- " creased by some 4(1; all (his h;id been work i)rior to the " professions of the Iiarl)our C'ommissioners to assist the " deputation in brinint>'. The prepaiatit)n of this tarilf was commenced in Novem- ber last, and was btdbre the (\)nimissioners for months. It wns sent to the (joverjior-iu-Counoil for ai)proval on the 23rd day of March, and was only rcioivod c(mipleted on the 21)th April, under cover of 28th, from Ottawa. At the meeting of the Board of Trade on 6th A])ril, the day on which it may be said the ])resont ai>i(ation comm«Miced, T then stated, as may be seen on the fyles of the /lera/d oi' 7th April: — ' Tht» Harbour Oomniissioners " had simi)liiied the tarill", — reduced it in somi' cases — and *' it had <]fone before the (Jovornor-in-Council for approval." Where, then, the insincerity ? Then we are charged with increasing the dues on tbrty- six articles; it is trm» that there may appear more articles, but that does not show an increase of tarilf. All articles unenumerated are charged one-quarter of 1 per cent. The additional enumeration only delined their class — did not add to the charge. But so far from having increased the number, they have been reduced in number. It so happens that the tariff of 1877 had to be amended by an increase of donomiiifilion I'or the Cnslom IIouso. mid «an 1)0 soon thoro, why not i>u])IisluMl, 1 loavo io Jln> lute chairrniiii oi' i\u\ Board to explain. At Iho inootin<4' of tli(> Ijoiird ol" Trado Hold on 21st January last, Mr. (-rainp, when spoakinu' of Iho lun- ])Our Avhari'ag'o duos said: — "A vory ahlo rojiort ol' (ho *' Committco ol" the ISoard ol' Trado look up tho <[uesiion "and oonnnunicatod wilh lln^ Harbour (\»iuniissionors. " Tho «hango i'vom nd valorem Io spocilio was a, strp in IJio " riuht diroction, and lod to a vory olaborato in\ cstiualion " as Io tho wharl'ago duos and goods whith had boon " diverted, resulting in a groat ma-ssol" in rormation, which " is now at tho Harbour ollioos." If Mr. Cramp will rol'er Io tho novvspai)ers of January 9th, 1877. he will liud that tho able report rol'orrod to was made when I was Prosidont ol'lho Board ol" Trado, and at the annual meeting ol' the Board thai year Imado Iho lol- lowing remarks, which doall wilh tho subject as follows : "Tho (juestion of Harbour duos has also boon bolbro the " Council, it having boon found thai tho nd valorem, rales " now causing so much annoyance to thoWosleni Importers " that many woropn'i'orring tln^ American seaports to Mon- " troal, oven when Iho through competitive rates wore tho " same by both routes. Th(» subjiH^t has been fully g^one " into in the report, but I may add that this is a question "which deserves the careful attention of the Harbour " Commissioners. During the summer season, at all events, " every thing coming into Montreal or for the Western " points of the Dominion slnmld certainly come by the 8t. " Lawrence route and through the port of Montreal. " K not, what will be the use of the 24 f<^et channel, our " increased Harbour accommodation, our oidarged locks, •' and our enormous canal expendilure, if Boston and New '• York can atlord to send goods to Montreal, and thc^ West, *' as they did during last summer, at clnnipi'r rates than " via the river and cost of the Harbour dues ? **Tho ml valorem systom as applied to Moiiircnl li;is not " IxM'ii any i'iius' of Irouhlc lo Ihc s(«»aiu<'r.s and railroads. " hill, ill iho Ihrou^h irallic it has ; it, is this Iratlir which " wo oiin'hi moro cspcfially to walch and make trihutary "to us, when such keen compclition is against us thrt)iiuh "the other ports. They (the carriers) have louiid ureal " dilHculty, hocause the coiisin-nees are compelled lo pay " the harhor dues at I he Custom House when they pass ''their entries, and attorwards get themselves r«'eouped lor "their outlay I'rom the railways or steamers, as in Ihrough " tralHc the carriers have I'- ]>ay the harhoiir dues in *' competition a<4aiiist their rivals. "This fact aloiH' is oi" siiliicienl importance, and has "caused a large number ol' Canadian importers to order " their goods through United Slates ports, by wliich this "outlay and trouble ol recouping is avoided. "The carriers hav«^ also a strong cmisp lor complaini " I'rom the lad thai they carry good.> l)y the ton-weight or " measurement, while the value ol' the contents are iin- " known. In this case they never know ;ii whal " rate ol" IVeight they are carrying unenumeraled goods. " and it is a ra.ct that in someinslances they have actually " l)aid more lor harbour dues than they received from Liver- " pool to the Western points ol destination. IJy the i)ro- " posal your (\)un( il have made to lh(» Harbour Conimis- " sioners this diliiculty will be remedied, viz., to charge, " instead ol the