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Tous les autres exempleires originaux sont fiimir en commenQant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la derni^re image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmte d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour fttre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film* A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauch**, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bes, en prenant le nomhre d'images n6cesssire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 • » i u i |. J ; m-mmmm >■■« t^ l t * «! «— !■ -•••••• .••••••v »•••••. A WRONG FORECAST of a FALSE PROPHET 9^9 , I A Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet THE CANADIAN DOMINION BUBBI.E. The " Canadian Pacific Railroad Company " has begun, I see, to launch its bonds. ' ' A group of Mont- real and New York bankers " has undertaken to " float " ten million dollars' worth of the Company's land grant bonds, and the Bank of Montreal, with its usual courage, has taken one- fourth of the entire loan. This announcement looks as if the Canadians were going to raivSe the necessary capital on the other side of the water, but I have a shrewd suspicion that they have no real intention of doing anything of the kind. The New Yorkers are keen enough gamblers, and reckless enough at times, I admit, and yet it is impos- sible to believe that they are such fools as to put their money into this mad project. I would as soon credit them with a willingness to subscribe hard cash in sup- port of a scheme for the utilization of icebergs. The Canadian Pacific Railway will run, if it be ever fin- ished, through a country frost-bound for seven or eight months of the year, and will connect with the eastern part of the dominion a province which embraces about as forbidding country as any on the face of the earth. British Columbians, they say, have forced on the execution of this part of the contract under which • 1 A Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet they became incorporated with the Dominion, and believe that prosperity will come to them when the line is made. This is a delUvSion on their part. British Columbia is a barren, cold, mountainous country, that is not worth keeping. It would never have been inhabited at all, unless by trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company, had the "gold fever" not taken a party of mining adventurers there ; and ever since that fever died down the place has been going from bad to wonse. Fifty railways would not galvanise it into prosperity. Nevertheless, the Canadian Government has fairly launched into this project, and I have no doubt the English public will soon be asked to further it with their cash. The parade of selling bonds in New York and Montreal is the new way of doing business that ''syndicates,'* "bankers," and loan contractors have adopted in order that it may seem that they have faith in the schemes they father. I doubt if ten million dollars of ready cash could be found in all Canada for this or any other work of utility at a pinch, but the Canadians are not such idiots as to part with one dollar of their own if they can borrow their neighbours' . The Canadians spend money and we provide it. That has been the arrangement hitherto, and it has worked splendidly — for the Canadians — too well for them to phet "I A Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet I, and ^n the British y, that e been idson's iken a ce that bad to it into s fairly Libt the it with iv York iss that rs have /e faith million ada for but the ith one hours'. That worked them to try any other plan with a scheme like the Pacific Rail- way, which they must know is never likely to yield a sin- gle red cent of interest on the money that may be sunk in it. A friend of mine told me — and he knew what he was talking about — that he did not believe the n^uch- touted Manitoba settlement would nold out many years. The people who have gone there cannot stand the coldness of the winters. Men and cattle are frozen to death in numbers that would rather astonish the intending settler if he knew ; and those that are not killed outright are often maimed for life by frost-bites. Its- street nuisances kill the people with malaria, or drive them mad with plagues of insects ; and to keep themselves alive during the long winter they have to imitate the habits of the Esquimaux. Those who want to know what it is like should read the not- yet- forgotten books of Colonel Butler. His' ' ' Great Lone Land ' ' is the land of which the Canadian Pacific Rail- way Company has yet five-and-twenty million acres to sell, and it is through a death-dealing region of this kind that " the new railway is to run." As the bonds "secured" on this land, or others guaranteed by the Dominion Government, are sure to be offered in this market by the "bankers" and others forming the Company, I think a word or two on Can- adian finances in general would be in season. Canada p ft A Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet is one of the most over-rated colonies we have, but it is heartily "loyal," and makes the loyalty pay. Its astute inhabitants know well how to work on John Bull's susceptibilitie.s, and I have seen nothing fner in the way of advertising than ])()or Lord Lc^rnc's ' i^ r" now in progress. He has gone to .lie North, but ju at the right time, and the gushing accounts we are receiving from the ' * specials ' ' who accompany him are admirably adapted to create a belief that the true land of promise is to be found there at last. With such soil to till, and among such Queen worshippers, the distressed British farmer would be in bliss. Of course, those who choose can believe all that. For my part I know of only one sound province in the whole Dominion — that of Ontario. * * It is the only pro- vince " as a shrewd land jobber said to me once, ' 'where you can lend money on land with any hope of ever seeing your own again." As for the country, as a whole it is poor, and it is crushed with debt. The supreme Government owes about ;^26, 000,000 to this country, and about ;^35,c)00,ooo altogether, and every province has its separate debt, as also has almost every collection of shanties calling itself a * * city. ' ' The province and city of Quebec are both notoriously bankrupt, and the latter was obliged to go to Paris with its last loan, probably because nobody would lend m ophet e, but it ay. Its m John ; finer in but ju ui are my him the true . With shippers, liss. Of I For my le whole ily pro- le once, )e of ever ry, as a t. The to this d every St every The riously to Paris lid lend Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet [it here. Last year the country had the benefit of a jood crop, and a good market here, so that it did a [ittle better ; but generally it has had hard work to nake both ends meet, and often couldn't. Nearly ^ver> year it comes for a new loan or two, and once it fairly committed to making this new railway, I see lothing before it but bankruptcy. While the money s being spent all will go well enough, perhaps, but in (he end the Dominion will have to go into liquidation. t amazes me that its stocks stand where they do as things are, but if people took the trouble to look below [he surface, prices would be veiy different. One of liese days, when the load gets too heavy, Ontario is iretty certain to go over to the States into which it [ovetails, and where its best trade outlet is. When lat day comes, the "Dominion" will disappear, ith that contingency ahead, and with the prospect |f another ;^ 50, 000,000 or so to be added to the debt, m it be said that Canadian unguaranteed Four per 'ents. are worth their present price ? This * * Domin- m" is, in short, a *' fraud " all through, and is des- ined to burst up like any other fraud. Then, and )t, I suppose till then, the British taxpayer will ask ly we * ' guaranteed ' ' so much of this sham Govern- int's debt. 1 FROM PRESS CLIPPINGS OF A. B. CHAFFEE, Manager, Internationa/ Rat I iv ay Guide, MONTREAL, Q^UE. /