<>. ^>. ^%, oJ\t. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / ./,^ :a i/s ^ M/. ^ 1.0 l.i IIIIM IIIIM m IIIM 2.0 .8 |i.25 =7 1.4 1.6 6" — ► s %^ "cca- sional measurements and estimations of difficulties and quantities. In support of the assertion that these were mere explorations, I might quote many public documents in which the urms "Exploration," "Explora- tory," and " Exploring," aro applied to t1 a operations of Major Robinson and his associates, and the worthy Major himself, writing on the subject on SOth March, 1849, expressly declares • ** Our object was not to locate the exact line, but to ascertain that there was nothing impracticable in the way, and to ascertain the general features of the country." Any person wlio will take t^e trouble to consult Major Robinson's Report, will find that there are several parts of his proposed line which he did not go over at all. If this is not conclusive as to the Northern route, it follows that evidence is impossible in the case. With reference to Mr- Fleming's labors, it is only n( oessary to say, that in his Report and com- munications he used the term " Exploratory Survey," and, indeed, such is the very title of the Report itself. It is not essential to the purpose of this article to weigh the merits of the information furnished as the result of a mere "exploratory survey." It will, of course, be more or less reliable according to the carefulness with which the work is prose- cuted, and even an actual "location survey" may be valueless if prose- cuted by careless or incompetent engineers. It is freely admitted that the Reports of Major Robinson and Mr. Fbming are quite reliable to the full extent of their pretentions, but it is quite apparent that they never intended their calculations and estimates to L regarded as final and irreversabie, and hence the inference is inevitable that more yet ought to be done before fully deciding upon the route to be chosen. Now as to the question of choice of route, what I have already advanced appears conclusive against hasty and inconsiderate action; but to make the position still stronger, I will proceed briefly to review the nature of the ROUTES PROPOSED. In treating this part of the question, I will adhere to my avowed pur- pose of proving the propriety and necessity of more careful surveys before deciding upon the location of the line. It may be admitted here, that, connected with every proposed route, there are engineering difficulties, and if the selection of one of them was the question at issue, it could only be decided by carefully weighing all the advantages and disadvantages of each, and accepting that which was found to possess the maximum of the one and the minimum of the other. Happily, however, there is "a more excellent way ;" one which, if adopted, will lead to a result which, in one way or another, must prove satisfactory to the great mass of the people of this Dominion. I have already shewn the possibility of con- (( a fltructing a line which wouid biing Quebec within easy distance of the port of St. John, and presuming that this ccnsideration will net bo under- valued by any intelligent man, I have only to show that there is good ground for believing that by a thorough examinction of the more difficult part of the country through which the Central routes must necessarily pass, there can yet be discovered a means of avoiding the more serious obstructions, and greatly reducing the maximum of the grades. That such a route can be found is the opinion of some of the most intelligent surveyors, who have visited the districts in question. According to Major Robinson, the direct distance from the coast of Nova Scotia to the St. Lawrence is 360 miles, while by any proposed Northern route, the distance from River du Loup to Halifax is about 200 miles more. Amongst the many diflSculties to be encountered in the construction of the line by this route, ma}'- be mentioned those of the only practicable pass through the Restigouche mountains. Of this valley, that of the Metapediac River, Captain Henderson, who explored the ground, says in general terms : "From the broken and rocky character of this section of country, some, portions of this part of the line will be expensive, especially the first twenty miles of the ascent, in which the hills in many places come out boldly to the river, and will render it necessary to cross it in several places." Mr. Fleming, in his report of the survey of 1864, says in reference to the same section of coiT-^ry: *♦ Although the chaining and levels were carried through to St. Flavia, on the shore of the St. Lawrence, a total distance of nearly 100 miles, the line surveyed may be said to terminate at 70 miles north from the Restigouche ; from thence northerly the country is only imperfectly explored." " The diflSculties met in crossing the Metis Valley, were not anticipated, as they are scarcely alluded to in the re- ports on the survey made in 1848. Yet my present impression is that they are perhaps the most serious on the Bay Chaleurs roatv?. At a place called * the Lewis Rocks,* the river takes several sudden twists, and it will be necessary either to form a tunnel through the Lewis Rocks, 1300 feet long, or divert the river. The latter would prove the cheapest, and is recommended. Above this point, for about a third of a mile, the chpimel of the river will require again to be changed. The works of ex- cavation for about a mile in length, in the neighbourhood of the Lewis Rocks, will be unusually heavy." But, as ©ur object is not to prove the impracticability of this or any other route, it is not necessary to continue quotations, which might easily be multiplied, all tending to prove that the 8 proposition to adopt, immediately, this or any other explored line, is un- reasonable in itseF, and exceedingly unjust tc the people of the Dominion ; aqd more especially to the population of Ontario, v^ho must bear so large a proportion of the expense ; and who, above all other points, have most interest in obtaining the shortest possible line of C/Ommunication with the Atlantic seaboard. It is very true that each explored line has its own diflSculties, and many of them of a very serious character ; and there yet remains a part of the Northern line, between the head waters of the Metap^diac and the St. Lawrence, which has not even been explored, and of which Mr. Fleming says: "I regret exceedingly that circumstances would not justify me in incuixing the expense of continuing the survey in this quarter." Now, without particularising the three or four general routes, and the large number of local divergences reported upon in 1848 and 1864, we confidently assert that a Central or Western iine of railway can be constructed, by which the open Atlantic seaboard can be reached at all seasons, without any higher grades, sharper curves or more expen- sive bridging, than what are found in very many of the existing railways, and at a saving of scores of miles in length ; and further, we assert, that the only serious difficulties apprehended, are in crossing the hills in the neighbourhood of the Tobique, in the Province of New Brunswick; and this extensive range has not yet been so thoroughly explored as to enable any engineer to affirm that no favorable pass can be discovered, by which those difficulties may be avoided. Hence, we ought to demand that a thorough examination of that region should be prosecuted before the Government decide to cast aside all the manifest advantages of the more direct route. It is perfectly natural for the people of the north shore of New Bruns- wick to desire to secure the railway as near their own domiciles as possible, but perhaps the following consideration has never been properly taken into account, or its value sufficiently estimated. The northern route would not after all touch the main localities of population. In order to make it available for commerce it would be necessary to build several connecting lines, some of them of very considerable length. The little village of Campbelltown on the Restigouche, and the small town of Bathurst on the Bay Chaleur would be touched by the line, but the tawns of Chatham and Newcastle oi the Miramichi would be still " out in the cold," until connections could be constnicted. The same is true of Richi- [l^ucto, the shire town of Kent County, and in fact the only advantages 9 that these centres of business would derive from the construction of a northern rather than a central r ilway, would consist in their being able to conneco at a few miles less distance in the one case ihiin in the other. Now let it be borne in mind that all the ridges and rivers in New Bruns> wick have a general tendency east and west, and while the difficulties of a central route are necessarily increased by having to cross these ridges almost at right angler, the facilities for connecting lines either eastward or westward are thereby greatly increased, hence, as such a trunk line as that contemplated is not for a day or a generation, but for all time, and nco for a village or a town or a city, but for the whole Dominion, should not its construction be so ordered, if possible, as to render branch con- necting lines from all points not only feasible but easy ? This desideratum can only be attained by a Central route j but if, after due examination, it be found impracticable to follow such a route, then all parties must be satisfied with that which is practicable THE MILITARY QUESTION. On the relative value of the different routes for Military purposes, I propose to offer but a very few observations. The whole question lies between the Northern and Western, or. as we may term them, the two Frontier routes. The Central line, proper, it must be admitted keeps more completely clear of objection on this score than any other. If the line is twenty miles from the boundary, surely it if far enough to render an enemy's access to it sufficiently difficult to make its defence compara- tively easy, while it might occasionally serve an excellent purpose by enabling our military commanders to throw a heavy force upon an im- portant point on the enemy's lines. But, as it respects the assailability of u line almost touching; the land boundary on the one hand, and a line running along the coast of an open sea on the other, it must surely be conceded that the preference is due to the former. It may be made very difficult for a land force to approach a railway at but two or three miles distance ; but, in these days of swift iron-clad gunboats it would be a serious matter to protect nearly seventy miles of road running in close proximity to the coast, extending from Campbeiltown to Bathurst. It may be said that the Bay Chaleur and the Restigouohe River are not accessible to gunboats in the winter season, but that is the very season when in our northern lattitudes military operations are all but impossible, when certainly there is no such thing as invasion to be apprehended. Q 10 This Military question can furnish no argument against a further and more thoiough search for the best practicable route before finally adopt- ing one or other. If it has any bearing upon the question it is all in favor of such a course. There is one other poinu upon which it appears necessary to oifer a few remarks, and I doit with some reluctance, because of the unpleasant political features of the case. Whether justifiable or otherwise, W3 know that the representatives of Nova Scotia have assumed a very determined attitude of hostility to the Union, and are preparing for the adoption of energetic means to be released from the compact. They will send repre. sentatives to the Queen md British Parliament, the efiect of which we cannot foretell. Their efforts may not be successful, but should they succeed in enlisting any considerable majority of the population, or con- stituency in their favor, it might result in a repeal of the Act of Union, so far as that Province is concerned. Should this mop.t undesirable issue take place, it would be necessary, of course, to construct the railway entirely in the interest of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The connection with Halifax would no longer form a part of the programme. St. John must be the objective point, and in such a case the people of New Brunswick, would have a right to demand that that po; t should be reached by the shortest possible route. It would not be fair to an integral part of the Dominion that a road of such magnitude, and the burden of which it must proportionably bear, should be so constructed as to favor the trade of a Province, in some sense its rival, which bg,d spurned the con- nection so cherished by New Brunswick. None could more ardently deprecate the idea of a rupture with Nova Scotia than the writer, I at it is impossible not to see that the existing state of things constitutes a power- ful plea in favor of deliberate consideration of the Intercolonial Railway route. In conclusion, I would ask the impartial reader to remember that the object of this article is to prevent, if possible, the hasty adoption of a circuitous and difficult route, until it is proved that one better adapted to the purpose, anf^ more fully meeting the interests of the whole Dominion cannot be found. I have shown that a direct route, though difficult, yet practi- cable, has already been explored. That by its adoption a great many mUes of travel can be avoided. That the surveys are all of an imperfect character, leaving room for the belief that more careful and extended 11 explorations will lead to the discovery of a much easier Una. That the the defensive properties of the North Shore route, so strenuously urged, are not equal even to those of an inland frontier route ; and Itstly that the uneasy condition of the Province of Nova Scotia, may lead to issues which would put a new phase upon the whole question, and now I appeal, especially, to the people of the rich and populous, I might call it, the Metropolitan Province of Ontario, and to all men of influence and candor in this Dominion ; to Senators and Members of the House of Commonsj to all magistrates and merchants ; in short to every man, to use his and their influence in furtherence of our object. Let us at least have the opportunity of savmg, if possible, the unnecessiry expenditure of seven or eight mil- lions of dollars.