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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — »• signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document es^ trop grand ,)our dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. rrata to pelure, □ 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 \ t Wl KETTLE RIVER VALLEY RAILWAY. REPORT OF A MEETING -OF THE- firitisli CoUia Boarl of Trale, HELD AT VICTORIA, ON THE 22ncl & 23rd MARCH, 1899. EEPRIHTED FBOM THE VICTORIA " COLONIST." ■ il \ It mt KETTLE RIVER VALLEY RAILWAY. REPORT OF A MEETING OF THE British Columbia Board of Trade, HELD AT VICTORIA, OlSr THE 223SriD -A.IT3D 23I11D I>^ -A. R O H , 1899. Reprinted from the Victoria " Colonist." Sixty-five members of the British Co- lumbia Board of Trade— au uuusually large percentage — attended the special meeting of that body held yesterday un- der the chairmanship of President G. A. Kirk to discuss the advisability or other- wise of the board supporting the Corbiu application for a Dominion charter for a railway from the United States side of the boundary line into the Kettle River valley, and tapping the wonderfully rich mining district known generally as the ; V Boundary Creek counary. This charter, \ I it will be remembered, was sought last year and refused, the board at that time expressing disapproval of the project, as not in the best interests of Canada or of British Columbia. Yesterday's business crystallized into a resolution in the direc- tion of negativing the action of 1898. with an amendment affirming the stand taken last year, and citing in the pream- ble numerous reasons for the course then adopted. The case of the charter appli- cants was very fully and effectively pre- sented by Mr. E. V. Bodwell, who has long acted as solicitor for Mr. Corbin, and is therefore closely in touch with all the facte bearing upon the question while MesBrs. D- R. Ker, Joshua Davies and C. H. Lugrin spoke with force and directness in opposition to the charter application and in support of the amend- ment. It was all but six o'clock when Mr, Lugrin resumed his seat, and as the list of speakers was even then far from exhausted, it was deemed wise to ad- journ the debate until to-day at three o'clock. The motion for the continua- tion was made by Mr. W. H. Ellis, sec- onded by Mr. J. H. Ton as had luite anti- say or do le or said r for Mr. solicitor, ame time oiild give sincerity had said, e applica- as Mr. ? had ap- imittee at ver to ad- had been arge, but had there t of a re- ocated the tion as he iously be- f the pro- >uld be of jjreat benefit to Rritish Columbia, and to Victoria city more particularly. Nor in Huch an event would he be at the present meeting, as a member of the board of trade, and as a citizen of Victoria, whose entire interests were ideiitilit'd with the prosperity of this city and province, wen' he actuated solely by the fact that he had served Mr. Corbin in the capacity of solicitor. In connection with the case at issue, he noted that grave misconcep- tions of the facts existed. To set these right ho might be pardoned if he tres- pjiased longer upon the time of the meet- ing than he would otherwise. To illus- trate how grave a lack of correct infor- mation on the subject existed, he might point to an editorial in the Colonist of the morning (reprinted from March 2», in which the following passage occurred: " It is simply a project intended for no other purpose than to draw away from British Columbia the trade that will be developed largely because of the con- struction of railways within the province. The Corbin raihvay. as it is called, is a "Washington enterprise, having both its termini in that state." This view was utterly and entirely in- correct. The road as it was projected started at Xorthport. in the state of Washington, and went to Cascade City, across tlie boundary line, crossed the boundary lino again at Carson City, and then followed the Kettle river northward into the Boundary Creek district, where it terminated. This assuredly did not bring both termini in the state of Wash- ington. Again another editorial in the same paper said: " The facts of the case are that there is an important mine in the state of Washington at what is called Republic. It is a producing mine. It is without railway communication. Speaking in regard to the probability of his con- structing a railway to Republic as a branch of the Great Northern, President Hill of that road said to the editor of the Seattle Times a few weeks ago, and the editor printed the s atement in his paper, that there was not enough busi- ness at Republic to warrant the con- struction of a railway to that point, be- cause there would be iio ore to haul away, and the passenger and merchan- dise business would not be sutBcient to keep a railway going. If a railway is to be built from Marcus, in the state of Washington, to Republic, in the state of Washington, it must be so located as to secure the hauling of ore, or no one will put up the money. We are told that Mr. Corbin is a very public-spirited gentleman, and simply wants permission to build railways without asking for a subsidy; but this connection with the Boundary country, which he asks parlia- ment to give him, is his subsidy. With this he can go to the money market and finance the railway. Without it he can- not. That is to say, the board of trade is to be asked to-day to lend its aid to hand over to the Corbin project the haulage of the Boundary Creek ores iu order that he may be able to induce financiers to put up the money to build a railway from Marcus to Republic. This will be a development railway for a por- tion of the state of Washington, and its cjustruction will be made possible by what is equivalent to a direct bonus from the province of British Columbia." But here again the Colonist was wrong. The road was not to be built from Marcus to Republic; nor from Northport to Cascade City. It was an- other mis-statement of fact, indicating a grievous misapprehension of the subject. There were several mines forming a group at Republic, and if this contemplat- ed Kettle River road were built, it was quite probable that a branch line would be run down to Republic; this did not by any means indicate that the road would be continued to Marcus or Spo- kane. Indeed it was far more to be an- ticipated that the ores of the Itepublic camp would find their way to British Co- lumbia for treatment. ITiey were of such a character that they required to be mixed with the same fluxes as the ores of the Boundary Creek camp, and hence if the branch to Re- public were built on the completion of this present projected road, it was to be expected that a great part of the Re- public ores would be sent to British Co- lumbia for smelting. There was, he would say positively, and with a full knowledge of Mr. Corbin's plans, abso- lutely no such scheme in view as build- ing a road from Republic to Marcus or anywhere else, to take the ores of the Boundary country south — although as he had said, Mr. Corbin «lid contemplate a branch down Curlew creek to the Re- public camp, and the hauling of the Re- public ores north for treatment. Proceeding, Mr. Bod well referred to Mr. Corbin's past railway enterprises in the Kootenay country and the benefit that they had been in the development of that district, the Red Mountain road from Northport to Rossland having been built without any bonus whatever, while the Nelson & Fort Sheppard received a land grant from the provincial authori- ties. It was unnecessary for him to re- cite the benefits that had accrued to the Kootenay countrj-, and indirectly to all British Columbia through these several roads, and Mr. Corbin now aimed to create still another avenue of service in the development of the mineral areas of Southern British Columbia. The ore of the Boundary country was as a general rule low grade — not so valu- abh? H« thi> ore of the Kootonay, but in mtinitely Kivator bodies. Aud in this connoc-tioiL the fact should not be lost sight ol' that the dovelopmetit of a low Krado ore district was intinitely more ad- vantageous to a country generally than that of a high grade ore district. More men had necessarily to be employed, and loore money was thus expended for sup- plies. The miner was everywhere known as a pood spender, and his aver- age earning of $800 per year was almost always spent at once. The result was a favorable distribution, a large popula- tion, aud the prosperity of all business ioteresta. But the ore of the Boundary country, being low grade, could not possibly be developed as it should be and in a man- ner profitable to the claim owners and beneficial to the country, unless cheap transportation was first obtained, for the introduction of machinery and the bringing in of supplies. Otherwise it was only possible for the highest grade ore propositions to be opened up. And herein lay the danger to the coun- try of allowing it to be controlled by one railway company. They found a better profit naturally in hauling limited quantity of freight at a high rate than in handling large quantities at a low figure, and without the incentive of com- petition they would assuredly make a rate that would only permit the operation of those mines that could pay good freight aud still make money out of their oreg. And as to the Boundary Creek country particularly it was certain that if a road did not go in from the south, the C. P, R. would continue to control. They now had all the passes through the Rocky mountains, and although running rights were accorded other lines through the Crow's Nest Pass, the concession was of more value theoretically than actually. The Canadian Pacific railwav had last year bought the Columbia & Western charter from Mr. Heinze, so that they would have a secondary main line run- 1 ing through the country from the Crow's Nest Pass. The Grand Trunk railway, the Canadian Pacific railway's great national rival, could not build into the country through either the Kicking Horse or the Crow's Nest Pass, nor •;ould any other company build in from *he Coast, for the Canadian Pacific rail- ■^•ay would effectually tie up their svs- tem at one end- The Corbin system was the Grand Trunk railway's foothold in Kootenay, and herein alone was the opportunity of obtaining competition, without which there could not be low rates. As to the cry that had been raised that the construction of Mr. Corbin's roads had been for the purpose of diverting trade to Spokane at the expense of Can- ada, it might be said that originally the people of Kootenay went to Spokane for a considerable portion of their sup- plies, because it was home to them, and in the second place because the Ameri- cans were the only ones who had learned at that time the necessities of the coun- try, and were prepared to supply them. That day bad passed, however, and at present Canadians were doing 90 per cent, of the Kootenay trade. In support of this statement he quoted the collector of customs at Rossland and the secretary of the board of trade of that city. Their statements were obtained a year ago, but the assurance was had that the pro- portions of the trade had not changed materially at the intervening period. At the present time he was authoritat- ively informed that of all the goods gomg into Rossland over the Spokane & Northern Railway, an equally large proportion are Canadian goods. To this should be added the large Canadian treight coming in over the 0. P. R. Nine out of every ten cars hauled over the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway to Nelson and Rossland were Canadian cars in bond, and this was easilv under- stood, for the Grand Trunk had its own line to Chicago, with a running ar- rangement thence to St. Paul. And at St- Paul the cars in bond were conveni- ently passed to the Northern Pacific rail- way, which delivered them in turn to the Corbin road at Spokane, Grand Trunk freight going in this manner to Nelson and Rossland. And the same conditions would natur- ally prevail in the Boundary countrj-, the Canadian goods holding the trade, and railway connection with the United States never being able to alter the con- ditions. The rate of duty was always a sufficient protection to the Canadian ar- ticle, and if at any time it was found that the tariff was insufficient to afford this protection, the remedy was very con- venient— a re-adjustment of the tar- iff. If the duty would not protect, the cutting off of this railway would assur- edly have no effect in preventing Am- erican goods going in. If the American articles were to go in the fact of this road not being built would not keep them out. The Canadian Pacific railway would, indeed, be found quite ready and willing to handle all the business of this class offering. The Can- adian Pacific railway had now its agents in every part of the United States who were alert and on the lookout for freights for Canada; the Canadian Pacific rail- way owned in its own name over 2,000 miles of Poad in the United States for which business had to be made; and if there were shipments of American goods divertiug ? ot Can- Dally the Spokane' heir sup- hem, and e Ameri- d learned the couu- y them. >r, and at 5 90 per n support ( collector secretarj' ty. Their year ago, t the pro- ; changed g period. lUthoritat- the goods Ipokane & Uy large . To this Ciinadiaii •• U. luled over 1 Railway Canadian iily under- had its inning ar- And at e conveni- acific rail- turn to le, Grand nanner to nld natar- countrj', he trade, he United r the con- always u nadian ar- found that itTord this very cou- the tar- rotect, the nld assur- nting Am- re to go in teing built Canadian be found idle all the The Can- its agents States who '.OT freights acifie rail- over 2,000 States for de; and if •ican goods I h to come into British Columbia the Can- adian I'acilic railway would be found ready and eager to deliver. The final argument against this pro- jected Kettle IMver railway was that with it constructed British Columbia ores would be taken to an American smelter, to contribute to a foreign country at the expense of our own. This was a very easy thing to say — but the facts did not justify its being put forward. As in the case of American goods incoming, if British Columbia ores were to be more profitably treated ac. uss the line the Canadian Pacific railway would be found quite capable and willing to haul them to one or other of the American smelters — Northport. Omaha, Everett. Tacoma or Puebla. The Canadian Pacific railway Avas indeed hauling ore to the American smelters every day — it was business for it to do so. And if this projected road were not built, and it were found that the ores of the Boundary country wouiu have to go to American smelters for treatment, the Canadian Pacific railway would bf> found on hand to haul the ore out of the province — but at a higher rate than if they had the competition pro- posed. As for himself, he was quite confident that the Boundary Creek ores would be smelted at home in any event. Mr. Cor- bin did not want the hauling of ores out. There was no money in it in comparison with the money to be made in carrying general merchandise into a settled and prosperous country, and it was therefore to Mr. Corbin's interest to build up com- munities in the Boundary country and hhve the ores treateil there s» that he could do his share of the carrying in of goods to those communities. In consid- ering the question of ore treatment, it would have to be remembered that the ores of Kootenay could not be consider- ed in comparison with those of the Boun- dary country. The former were very si- licious, and for their smelting lime and ■ iron fluxes were a first necessity, so that the ore had to be hauled to the lime and iron, or vice versa — the iron and lime must be brought to the ore. The Boundary Creek ores, on the contrary, are self-fluxing, carrying in themselves all the lime and iron neces- sary for their treatment. Wood and water were also plentiful in the Boun- dary country, so that the only requisite to make smelting profitable at Oreen- wood or Grand Forks appeared to be coke, which at present cost .$11 per ton. Taking the cost of coke requisite for the smelting of one ton of ore in comparison with the cost of the coke for treating a ton of ore at Northport and it would be found that there was an advantage of S!> c^nts in favor of home smelting. Thus one mine producing VH) tons of ore a day by having its output sun'lted at home would save |:{(>.(MMI a year. Besides the greater part of these ores woidil not stand out shipment, showing an average value of $1S,75 jK'r ton, or a smelter value of .$lli..'i(J. The cheapest smelting rate was that offered by the C'anadian Pacific lailway smelter at Trail ($7.50) and allowing .$1.00 for freight, a profit of $4.80 on the ton was left the mine operator on the average value ore. If this same ore were sent to the other side of the line it woidd easily be seen that no money at all would be left the mine owner, and he could not operate. So excellent an authority as Mr. Iled- U'y. manager of the Hall Mines, at Nel- son, was to 1k> cited for the assertion that ores could ))e treated as cheaply at Boundary as anywhere else in America, .iikI under these circumstances what man was going to send his v)res out to be treated at Northport or any other .Vmeri-i can smelter — particularly as he could buUd a l(M)-ton smelter lo handle his own ores at a cost f»f about $7.").0(Hr.'' The argument that The Corhin road would haul to the smelter over the line had been very effectually disposed of when the nuitter was tiefore the railway committee last year, and ln> (Mr. Bod- well) had in Mr. Corbin's behalf offered to submit a regulation— which wonid be put in the charter applied for this year — granting the Governor-(ieneral-in-coun- cil power to fix the rate to be charged for the hauling of oi*.- outward. They might very easily nuike theis rate itro- hibitive, so that the matter was thus effectually disposed of at once. But the ore would not be hauled out — for economic reasons it would be smelted on the spot. It had been stated that Mr. Corbin owneIying first to Mr. Bodwell, expressed the fear that that gentl"mi.u was in the unhappy position of tiie little boy who told a lie, and re- peated that lie so many times that he finally came to believe it as gospel truth himself. Mr. Bodwell bad been so long the advocate and special pleader for Mr. Corbin that he could not look upon any project with which that geutlemfin was identilied in an entirely unprejudiced maniur. Ii(> had, however, made out the best case that couKl be offered for the Corbin ai)i)lication, while of course ne- glecting to say anything of how the Boundary country was at the present time being looked after by the construc- tion of the Columbia & Western railway — now being pushed to Cascade City by larg(> forces of men working both day and night. To build the Columbia & Western over this backbone of the country entailed very much greater expense than was in- volveil in the Corbin plan, the latter costing something like $18,000 per mile, while the road for making the mines tri- butary to Canada instead of her rival to the south would cost $28,000 or $30,000 a mile — so that it would be seen the land grant in this case cut a very insignifi- cant figure. Tliere was no doubt what- ever in his mind that Mr. Corbin's ob- ject in this project was to tap the Re- public camp, which was proving very rich and attractive; and if he could get in there and at the same time make the Boundary country also a feeder of bis ailway it would no doubt be a very good thing for him. as the line would be a cheap one to construct comparatively. It would be found, however, that the Co- lumbia & Western met all the re(iuire- ments of the country, while there was certainly nothing to prevent the Colum- bia & Western (or the Canadian Pacific railway — for it was really the same thing) from bringing the or«>s of the Republic camji for smeltimr on this side of the line. The Columbia & Western was essen- tinllv a road for the benefit of the whf)Ie country, as it was eventually to be extended up to the Okanagan, to Pentic- ton. to provide an outlet and profitabh' market for the farms of that valley, .lud make the Shuswap & Okanagan railway a complete and liinmcial success, so that instead of a losing it would speedily be- conu' a paving line ami the province save some .i;iiO,(H)0 or $:{0,(X)() annually, while the coast at the same time gained a much closer and better connection wilh the mining country. As to the necessity of competition in the preservation of legitimate freight rates — the governnu'ut had already made provision for the regulation of all rates, so that this argument fell to the ground entirely. The Canailian Pacific railway would not as a matter of business polic.v antagonize or seek to antagonize all Canada, and if they did, the government could step ill at any moment and apply the check. Nor was it the intention of the C. P. R. to build railways alone for the deveh oiJineiit of the mining region in consid- eration. They had a very complete and admirable plan for a series of smelters throughout the country, to treat British Columbia ores at home, while he knew of still anoth'M* smelter «^ompany with $(i0(>,000 in the treasury at the present time, prepared to give smelter facilities to the Boundary country at a very early date — this country being one in which smelters can be operated with the great- est advantage, more especially as the Crow's Nest line will enable coal or coke to be brought in cheaply. Nor was the smelting industry standing still in British Columbia by any means. The smelters were now putting in lead stacks, and an immense trade with China in lead was opening up the ulti- mate proportions of which it would be hard to conjecture, British Columbia lead, home smelted, being carried to the Orient in our own Canadiau steamers. Again — looking at this railway ques- tion from a federal standpoint — the Do- minion government at the present time was making a great effort to open up and settle the agricultural areas of the Northwest and Manitoba. A most ad- vantageous market was found in this Boundary Creek mining region, directly to the south of which— over the line — lies an asrricultural district in the United Stati's. With the road proposed by Mr. Corbin it would be unfair to expect our own farmers and those of Manitoba and the Northwest to compete with their American rivals closer at hand, while with the Canadian Pacific railway's sev- eral systems in operation the mining and the agricultural districts in question might very well be developed to be mutually supporting The great point for Victoria, however, to Pcntio- profitabU' valley, .iiul in railway iH, SO that )ee(lily bo- j provinot' auimally, 1110 piiiKHl 'ctioii with [letitioii ill te freight •ady III i(h' ' all rates, he ground lit' railway iiesH policy >;oiiizo all ((VcniiiuMit and apply the C. P. the devel> in consid- nplete and f smelters ?at British • he knew [laiiy with tie present r facilities very early in which the great- ly as the )al or coke standing ny means, ig in lead iide with the ulti- would be Columbia iod to the teamers. kvay ques- — the Do- ?sent time > open up ?as of the most ad- d in this directly the line — ;he United ed by Mr. jxpect our litoba and svith their nd, while way's sev- lining and question ed to be , however. a appeared to him to be— how are we of S'ictoria to derive any benefit fnmi this Ho-called competing line. In his own business he did not find low rates the result of competition. Oo to the tele- phone to-day in Victoria and ask the Great Northern, the Northern Pacitic or the Canadian Pacific railway for rates to some particular point, and what would be found? You would get the same rate fn)!ii all. The belief that coinpctitiou induced reduction of rates was M'vy erroiH'ous when applied in prac- tice—it only induced combination. He knew whereof he sjioke in this matter, for he was perhaps the heaviest shipper of any present. Mr. Bodwell had endeavored to le. d the meeting to believe that there was I)ractically no American goods in the Koot«'nay country, yet statistics showed that the great bulk of the supplies for llossland. Nelson and Kaslo came from American towns. The hauling of the British Columbia ores out for smelting to Northporl or some other of the Ameri- can towns meant what? Simply so much more in the pockets of the !);(5.'>.00(),(»(MI American smelting trust that had recent- ly been formed — depleting the mines of this province without any adeciuate ad- vantage to its inhabitants. He pointed in this connection to the e.vperience of Ontario in lumbering. On- tario had made no efforts to saft'gnard its forests from American depredations, and as a result found now t() its dismay that they had duinii)s alont' left and has- tened to put on an export t'uty now that the damage had been doiit-. He thought British Columbia might learn from the experience of the sister province, and lock the door before — rather than after — the horse was stolen. MK. JOSHUA DAVIES. Mr. Davies, as last year, was foiind opposed to the granting of a charter to Mr. Corbin for his Kettle River railway project. He was opposed to it as a Brit- ish Columbian of thirty-eight years' standing, and all whose interests were in the province; and he was opposed to it as one not interested in any railways, or merchandise that would be benefited through the carrying out of any of the particular projects under discussion. In order that he might not be guilty of re- petition he had prepared for presenta- tion at this meeting his views, which ■with permission, he would read. They were as follows: "The notice of meeting of to-day was only received on Saturday afternoon so that there has been hardly sufficient time given for examining thoroughly into all the points which bear upon the object of this meeting as to the advisability of supporting an application for a charter from (he Dominion government for a rail- way from Monie point in the T'iiit«'(l States into the Boundary country by the way of Kettle Hiver valley. '•It must be distinctly shown wherein changed conditions warrant the board in nullifying the action of last year. It must always be considered that the ac- tion of the legislative assembly was in keeping with the report made by this board; that was, that no railway charter should be granted in the province of British Columbia, unless they had lirst the sanction of the legislature of the province. "The legislation ol' this year would in- dicate that provincial rights would be in- sisted upon and the Hominion govern- ment should not grant a charter unless it was first brought before tlie legislative assembly of the province. "The action of the board of aldermen, whose duties must be confined to locjil issues, was certainly mistaken ujion their part, as it is doubtful whether any single member of that body knew enough about the BouiKlary country to intelli;:ently dis- cuss the subject. It is doul)tful whether any of its members had ever visited the country under discussion; anyway they had no authority over the citizens of Victoria to interfere or to give an opin- ion upon questions atTecting enterprises outside the city of ^'ictoria. "Mr. Corbin has received much praise for his building of the Nelson iS: Fort Sheppard railway and the Bed Mountain railway. Certainly he is entitled to s(nne credit, but those railways were built entirely in the interesis of the corpora- tions that he represented. The Spokane I'^alls iK: Northern railway was bnilt from Spok.'iiie to Marcus and was certainly not Itrotitable until the lines were extended into British Columbia. In fiict. the coun- try through which that road ran was not sulficiently developed to give sntticient trade for the line and unh'ss the roads were extended into the niii'iiig regions of the province today, that road would not pay. "The building of the Nelson iV- Fort Sheppard n.ilway was much assisted by the efforts of Victorians ami possibly other British Columbians. The right of way was given free; its terminal points and way stations; its timber, the timber required for its construction were also given free, and besides which the road was subsidized by the province b- the gift of 1().24(» acres per mile ovei ts (50 miles of road, aggregating over 000,000 acres. It was shown that there was not snfHcient land on the Nelson & Fort Sheiipanl line to comply with the land grant and subsequently the government gave lands west of the Columbia river, termed lien lands, which encircle the city of llossland and covered a block of land i vi it- 8 t'xtontliiig from tho cast side of the Co- lumbia river, westward for about 10 miles, a part of the country which the Nelsou & Fort Sheppard did not touch. "The Nelson & Fort Sheppard when completed and reached Nelson had a great carrying trade of goods into that country and its out-going freight com- prised the rich lead ores from the Slo- can. Later on the Rossland camp was developed and large quantities of ore were being sh-iped to the American smelters. "August F. 1 inze built a smelter at Trail and a narrow gauge railway from that point to Rossland and had contract- ed for the smelting of 75,000 tons of tho Le Roi ore. The smelting charges had been $13, put under contract the trans- portation from the mmes and smelting ore was reduced to $11 per ton. "It was on account of the Helnze en- terprise that the Gorbin management was force*^ to build the Red Mountain road and later the strong opposition of the railway company, combined with the Le Roi Mining Company, brought about the erection of a smelter at Northport- The fact that the Heinze smelter at Trail must lose the output of the Le Roi mine made it almost certain that the Heinze smelter would be a losing enterprise, and subsequently his railway and smelting interests were sold to the present corpor- ation. "I have ascertained that the last year's ore tonniige from the Rossland camp to Trail aggregated .»ver 40,000 tons, the largest shii»per being the War Eagle, amounting to upwards of 38.000 tons and the Le Roi furnishing 900 and all the other mines the remainder. The ship- ments to the Northport smelter from the Ije Roi exceeded 07,000 tons and from aU other mines about 1,300, the total ton- nage to the United States smelters amounting to nearly 70,000, while to the Canadian smelter less than 47,000 tons. The total shipments of ore from Ross- land during 1898 exceeded 115,000 tons, less than half of which found its way to Canadian smelters. "I have been told that the pay roll at Trail amounted to nearly $120,000 for 1898 and other disbursements amounted to nearly $375.0(»0 besides an expendi- ture for ore of $551,000, making a total disbursement of over $1,000,000. You will therefore readily see how necessary it is that the smelting of the ores of the country shall, if possible, bo kept within the province. "There was no necessity for building the smelter at Northport, ten miles below the boundary line; nor was there any ne- cessity of the Red Mountain railway to have been built partly in the United States and partly in British Columbia for tho reason that a better line grade could have been found within the prov- ince of British Columbia. The extension of a line from the United States point into the Boundary will only repeat what has been done in the Rossland camp. "Our whole province from its eastern boundary as far west as Hope is found to be highly mineralized and we should do all we can to treat the mineral at some point in Canada. The smelter at Northport gives no opportunity for alien labor to be employed, nor does the Unit- ed States permit an alien to build rail- ways within their territory, but it must be an American company. The laws of British Columbia have been most favor- able to the people of all countries while the laws of the United States have be 'i enacted entirely for the interests of their own people. "The smelting and refining of our min- erals means profiting to the great labor market free to all, which would cer- toinly add to the increase of our trade. The Canadian Pacific railway is built entirely within the Dominion and their success indicates our prosperity. We have had the Slocan and Rossland camps furnishing large tonnages of ore and we have the prospects of East Kootenay as well as the Boundary district becoming large shipping centres. The Slocan and East Kootenay are both furnishing ores whose base metal is lead, upon which the United States charges a duty of l%c. per pound upon its lead contents and 2V8C. per pound when the lead ores arc treated in our smelters and the product shipped as bullion. Our principal market for the high grade ores are to the smelters of the United States; our miners are pre- vented ii, working tne io«ei grade lead ores on account ' " the excessiv, duty and the poor fecilitlcs that we have at present in treating the lead ores to a commercial product, there being no re- finery in the Dominion, besides which the enormous capital invested in the smelting industry in the United StaiC^p makes it impossible for any corporation unless backed by millions of dollars to compete for the business. "ITie smelters at Nelson and Trail are- often closed down for the reason of lack of ore. Both these camps produce ore with a copper base, which are free to enter the United States. Both these en- terprises are not now in operation, the smelter at Nelson being forced to rely upon the output of their own mines, while the Trail smelter, which is also closed down, had to rely upon the out- put of the War Eagle, which at present is not shipping. The shipments of last week were quoted in our newspapers as 2.200 tons to the Northport smelter, and 58 tons to the Trail smelter. "Tho building of the road now under discussion means merely to add to the 9 the prov- extensiou ites point jeat what camp. 8 eastern is found ve should lineral at melter at for alien the Unit- )uild rail- t it must e laws of ost favor- ries while inve be n :s of their our niin- 'eat labor rould ecr- )ur trade, is built and their ty. We ind camps e and we- otenay as becoming locan and shing ores which the f IV^c. per and 2V8C. re treated 2t shipped :et for the ueltcrs of 3 are pre- jrnde lead isiv, duty e have at ores to a facilities of the Northport smelter, to capture the larger quantities of copper ores, by reason of the miie being owned, more or less, by America. ^s, and further that probably the main object of the buiding of this line of railway along the Kettle Kivor valley is for the purpose of reaching the liepublic camp in the state of Washington, situate about 20 miles south of the boundary. It is doubtful .whether our mines are sufficiently devel- oped at present to be able to furnish 100 tons of ore per day. "It is a well known fact that copper ores are most sought after and that the general use of copper is so marked that the price has reached, at present, a high liguro. . "The first smelter erected in the prov- ince, located at Pilot ilay, paid $13.75 I)er ton for its coke — to-day coke from the Crow's Nest is landed at Nelson and Trail for $7.25 and coal at $5, and no doubt, if s'jipplied under contract to smelters woc'd be much less; freight rates being $2.25 as against $2 when the coke came from llosslin. "Tlie road now being constructed from the Robson country, I am told, will be completed in the specified time and that over 92 per cent, of the grading is ncv completed. This road has been subsi- dized by and located within the province, and I am credibly informed, will have cost not less than $32,000 per mile. This line of road, no matter where it touches, will benefit some point which will furnish trade to our merchants, and it seems ab- surd that our people should consider for one moment the supporting of an appli- cation for a charter which will come in direct competition and whose efforts must be to our detriment in carrying and smelting ^ores out of the country, especi- ally when every precaution has been taken by the Dominion government to prevent excessive freight charges. "It is certainly of national importance that both our transportation and mineral interests, in all their different branches, should be conserved to the people of Can- ada and the stronger these corporations are the better able our people will be to make these enterprises of value. "The action of the legislature this year demonstrates the fact tiiat provincial in- terests should not only be protected but such projects of merely local concern should be first directed through our leg- islature. Upon :hese principles there ought not to be two opinions and the board should be careful not to stultify their action of last year by making any change. *'C..:;adian labor shoulr be put upon an equality with Americi a labor and we should demand a better position for the Canadian labor, especially when deuling with the manufacture of the natural pro- ducts of Canada. Such conditions should be afforded Canadians to manufacture their own raw material at home and sell it in the American market instead of taking that raw material across the line and manufacturing it there — buying the finished product. "A word upon the Northport smelter. It was pointed out, both to Mr. Corbin and the Ix» Roi management that th6 building of a smelter it Northiyort would be considered a menace to Can- adian interests. The matter of erecting a smelter upon the Canadian side was fully gone into and at one time it ap- peared as though the Le Roi smelter would be located on the Canadian side. The Rossland Miner had advocated its being placed at a place called Sayward, where the best water power and shijv ping facilities could be had and where sufficient ground could be obtained as a gift. The only objection offered was the question whether lime rock could be ob- tained near at hand, and upon investiga- tion it was ascertained such lime rock was upon the ground at a place called 'Pug' mine. "The Northport smelter was looked upon as a political movement by the then management of the Le Roi mine, assisted by the Corbin interests, who owned the town of Northport. "If the railway line, now projected, is built it will only be for the bringing of the copper ores of Boundary Creek to Northport. The cars returning will take American merchandise to the Boundary country." The American imports to the three chief points of the Kootenay last year, he found, were; Rossland $457,930 Nelson .^83,697 Kaslo 201,318 Total .<;i,242,865 In concluding, Mr. Davies gave his at- tention to Mr. Bodwell's statement that the great bulk of the goods consumed in Kootenay — 90 per cent. — were of Can- adian produi^tion. It was officially stated that American goods to the value of $1,242,865 came into the Ktotenay last year, which wouid make the Canadian goods something like $12,000,000. And how much of this twelve million dollars' worth of business had been done by the merchants of British Columbia? The best that could be said for the Corbin plan appeared to be that it would enable Eastern merchants to control the greater part of the trade of the British Columbia mining sections. He could not see that it was of advantage to Victorians to en- dorse this platform, and he accordingly offered the following as an amendment: if 10 - "Whereas iu the opiuiou ot this board k is the true policy of Gaaadu to further such measureH us will brlug about the smelting aud retiui'ig of Oauadiaa ores within the Dominic n, thereby building up Canadian towns, and furnishing mar- kets for Canadian agricultural products and merehandise as Wv»ll as labor for our own people; and whereas this board has alreadj' afflnned this principle in connec- tion with the lead ^molting industrj'; and whereas the evident object of the proposed Kettle River railway is identical with that of the Red Mountain railway, namely the carrying of ores out of the country to be smelted in the United States; and whereas such exportation of oi'es leads to a corresponding importa- tion of merchandise, as is shown by the txade returns of Kooteuay; and whereas the necessity for safeguarding Canadian interests iu respect to smelting is empha- sized by the recent formation of a smelt- er trust iu the United Stages with a capital of $05,000,000; and vihereas the Canadian Pacific Railway company is now constructing a line of railway from Robson to Penticton, touching all points proposed to be reached by the proposed Kettle River railway; and whereas the Dominion government has reserved the right to regulate and control freight rates aud tolls on all Canadian Pacific lines leased, owned or controlled south of the main line in British Columbia, which power precludes all possibility of exces- sive rates; therefore be it resolved that this board is of opinion that parliament should not sanction the construction of any railway from the United States into the southern por*^ion of British Columbia until our interior towns and smelting and refining centres have been firmly es- tablished and brought into close relation with the Canadian agricultural and coni- mereial centres." MR. C. H. LUGRIN. Mr. Lugi'in seconded the amendment offered by Mr. Davie<», aud in doing so paid a graceful compliment to Mr. Bod- well upon his admirable statement of the case for Mr. Corbin — a case which all would agree had been stated in the strongest possible manner. Indeed, com- ing after Mr. Bodwell in this matter all others would necessarily be at a consid- erable disadvantage, as he had. as he stated, had abundant opportunities to prepare his case, as Mr. Oorbin's paid representative which others could not possibly enjoy. Mr. Bodwell had prefaced his remarks hy seeking to disassociate himself on the present occasion from Mr. Corbin— he had he said, come to this meeting as a citizen of Victoria having all his inter- ests in this city and province, bound up with its progress and prosperity. This all would be quite prepared to be- lieve, but the fact could not be lost sight of nevertheless— and he spoke as a law- yer himself— that it was a poor lawyer who was not prepared to subordinate all other interests to those of his client. Unconsciously or not, Mr. Bodwell's views were bound to be colorefl by the interests of Mr. D. C. Corbin. Hence Mr. Bodwell, It was safe to say, had made the very most that it was possible to make of the case for Mr. Corbin— had made an excel- lent case— but after he hnd concluded, ht (Mr. Lugrin) could at least understand quite well how It was that he had not got the charter applied for at Ottawa last year. For, colloquially speaking, his entire ad- dress might be described as speelal plead- ing. It was an argument through and through for a particular road— a particul&r privilege— not an enunciation of beaeflcio.l general principles to be followed for the advantage of the province of British Go lumbla. And here it was that he took issue with Mr. Bodwell. He felt that It was not for this meeting or the citizens of Victoria to consider why Mr. Helnze had seen Ul to reduce his smelter charges; or why the smelter at Northport nad been located there instead of somewhere else; of wherein Northport had the advantage of Trail as a smelter location. These were not the Issues to be faced. The question as he slewed It was what was best for Brltislt Columbia In this matter of railway build- ing— and as a sequence best for Victorl,!, for what benefited the province benefited Victoria. Mr. Bodwell had made a strong point In his pleading of the great advantage to be gained through the Introduction of com petition, and In this It was interesting to note the utterances lecently of so thm-- ough a student of railway policy as the editor of the Toronto Globe, Mr. ^^"Hson, the Globe having been one of the foremost advocates of the Corbin charter. Mr. Wll- llson after thoroughly Investigating the question had come to the conclusion that there could be nc such thing as railway competition— that It was an Impos^iblUiy, and that, realizing this, it was the duty of the government to appoint a commission to regulate railway rates. And he had private Information that this was at tlie present time receiving consideration by the government. If, said Mr. Wlllison, two railways weri* found In a territory, eno'i costing a mil- lion dollars. It was self-evident t'lnt t>"'i would have to have its set of ofttcers, its separate machinery of administration, und to earn a profit upon Its cost. Throat- cuttlnff would not pay the bills, and so n combination was made to regulaLv. rates to a living basis. If such a combination could not be made to adjust the rates to the mutual satisfaction i.f the two com- panies, then a pool of earnings was ar- ranged, which could not b<» prevented, and I 11 red to be- loat sight aa a law- or lawyer rdinate all clieat. rell's views e Interests r. Bodwell, > the very ake of the an excel- icluded, ht stand quit- lot got the last year. entire aU- ;eial plead- rough and I particulur F beneficUl ed for the British Co issue with ?ag not for jf Victoria ad seen (it or why the cated there (f whereiu 3f Trail as re not tlie tlon as ho for Brltisli Iway build- >r Vlctoii.t, e benefited Qg point In itage to be m of com InterestinK of 80 thor- Icy as the r. ^^I'lisou. le foremost . Mr. Wll gating the luslon that as railway iposatlbilily, s the duty couimlaslon ud he hail (vns at the tlon by tiie Iways were ting a tnll- ■ t>int pxii oflioers, its :ration, t.nd t. Throat- ). and so n ulai^ rates combination he rates to ■ two com- gs was ar- yented, and by which the same end was ultimately attained. Across the line in ths Unitod States the Interstate law had been t;e- vlsed to prevent railway combination. Yet earnings were pooled and the same re- sult achieved. And if this proposed roud were built to-morrow, there was nothing whatever to prevent a comblnatfon bein;; made or a pool of earnings arranged ths't would maintain rates at what would ho <>onsidei'ed a living standard. Take the example of the competition, so-called, among the several Hups of steam- ships now catering for the Northern trade. Go into the offices of eooJi and all and it would be found that a standard rate of charges had been adopted; the companies had agreed upon a regulation rate, and there was nothing to prevent them from so doing. The competition was supposed to exist, but did not exist in reality. Railway competition, so much talked about as a great boon to the land, wa« In truth very much of a myth. Was then, he asked, any competition between the Northern Pacific railway and the Great Northern railway In th* carrying of goods Into Seattle? There was not. Or was there any competition In the real senso of the word between the Sout'>' rn Pacific and the other lines for Portland business'' There was not. The competition will-o" the-wisp was very alluring no doubt, but it would be of more advantage to the people of British Columbia to look about for the best means of making their coun- try contribute to the prosperity of its own people, and think very seriously be- fore lending aid to get this road in from the south. Mr. Bodwell had made another strong point of Mr. Oorbin's rare generosity In offering to give the Dominion government the supervision of the rates on ore hauled over bis line. But how much more wns It to the Interest of British Columbians and British Columbia merchants that the Canadian Pacific railway gave the gov- ernment jurisdiction to regulate the rate, not only on ore, but upon all freights. Mr. Bodwell had gone to considerable trouble to correct what he described as the mistakes of the Ct onist. in st.itini; that this projected rond was to go from one American point to another. And yet in the very next breath Mr. BiKlwell h.id said that it was contemplated to construct a branch into Republic across the lo^-. The only difference was that Mr. Bodwell chose to call the Republic extension f branch, and the Boundary spur the inain line, while he (Mr. Lngiin> looked upon the former as the main line and the larter as the branch. The fact remained iust the same. Then, again, Mr. Bodwell had declf«red with emphasis that Mr. Corbin wns build- ing this road, or proposed to build It and operate it. as a business Investment. But how was Mr. Bodwell to be tnken as on thorlty for whnt Mr. Oorbln might or niiirtit not do In the future? Mr. Corbin had built the Spokane Falls & Northern — and had sold It to the Great Northern. How could Mr. Bodwell say that If he built this line Mr. Corbin might not stra's'ht- away sell It on completion to the Northern Pacific railway or the Great Northern rail- way? The Colonist had therefore been quite right in its assertion that the pro- jector of this road proposed to have its two termini in the United States. Then, as to Mr. Bodwell's contradiction that the Red Mountuin railway had been built as a feeder to the Northport smelter, carrying to that Institution in the Ualted States the ores of the Rossland camp. What was the fact to-day? The railway in question is carrying those ores to North port— a fact that cannot be denied. What- ever the object of the projector of the Red Mountain railway, whatever the cause of thnt railway's existence, the effect re- mained self-evident. The Red Mountain railway Is diverting the ores of British Columbia for smelting In the United Siiics and the effect of this Kettle River road if constructed would In all probabilities be the same. But. said Mr. Bodwell, the mine owners f-an for ?7.'),000 build a 300-ton smelter for lilinself. And whnt chance, he would ask, would this $75,000 smelter proposition havp as opposed to the smelter trust of which Mr. Ker had spoken, with its capital of $65,000,000? Was it probable that any small capitalist, by comparison, would in- vest his $75,000 in opposition to a truR* of $75,000,000? Or if he did what were his chances in the fight? Mr. Bodwell, he was glad to see. had shown great appreciation of the wealth of the Boundary country In natural resources; the mineral wealth of this great district: was unquestionably magnificent. Then wuy not develop it for the beue.dr .if iinrselvos and not our neighbors? One of Mr. Bodwreil's .in?.unea:s had been very much of a surprise io him. Mr. Corbin's advocate had read an official teie- Kiam saying that durinj; Mie ast three months 620.000 pounds of Canadl.in freight came Into Kootenay— and he RpjK> of this as something unusually grri'ifv'.ug to Cana- dians. Six hundred thou'<;ini and con before casting their votes— Mr. >V. H. Ellis moveu, seconded by Mr. J. H. Todd, that the de- bate be adjourned until ?1 o'clock on Wed- nesday. This motion finally prevailed. Attending the meeting wtro the fpllowlng members of the board: G. A. Kirk, C. A. Holland. W. J. Pendray, U. H. Hall. E. V. Bodwell. S. Jones, Capt. J. G. Cox, B. W. Greer, W. Walker, Hon. B. W. Pearse, A. E. Greenwood. John Piercy, C. T. Dupont, C. E. Renouf, T. W. Paterson, C. H. Lugrln, Joshua Davles, D. R. Ker, James Mitchell, T. H. Bone, Lindley Crease, R. T. Williams, T. S. Futcher, W. H. Evans (the new manager of the Canada Paint Co.). A, Htrnderson. William Jensen. J. H. Todd, H. Cuthbert, J. S. Harvey, C. F. Todd. H. Robertson. .John Nicholles. Hon. Fred. Peters. H. D. Helmcken (M.P.P.), A. G. McCandiess. H. B. W. Aikman, E. E. Wootton. F. C. Davldge, Cllve Phllllpps- Wolley, H. P. Bell, Charles Hayward, T. N. Henderson. D. W. Hlgglns, A. St. G. Flin*;, F. Elworthy, William Wilson, W. H. Bills. S. Leiser, B. Boggs, William Munsle, Capt. C. B. Clarke, R. Hall (M.P.P.), Capt. Wil- liam Grant, L. G. McQuade, G McL. Brown, E. E. Blackwood, R. Seabrook, Jacob Sehl, A. L. Belvea. E. M. Johnson, W. J. HanuJi, Max Leiser, W. T. Andrews and J. J. Shall- crosa. CONCLUSION OF THE DEBATE. The members of the British Columbia board of trade present at yesterday's ad- jour ued meeting voted to rescind their couucil's resolution of February 25 last year, which declared against Mr. D. C. Corbin's application for a charter for his proposed railway from tlie state of Washington into the Bound- ary Creek district of British Columbia, via the Kettle River valley. The result was not altogether unanticipated, and there is this to be said of the debate leading up to it — that it was not only the first to provoke a two-day meeting of the board, but at the same time the most thorough, exhaustive and interesting of any discussion in the history of this representative body. The organization and tactics of Mr. Corbin's friends and supporters for the second day were ex- cellent, and the addresses of Messrs. C. E. Renouf, A. G. McCandiess, Lindley Crease, T. W. Paterson and J. J. Shall- cross, the last gentlemen more particu- larly, left no argument unadvanced that could be presented in support of their proposition. It was left for Mr, Wil- liam Wilson to move, and Mr. R. T. Williams to second, the resolution that was finally adopied, while Mr. D. R, Ker, Mr. Joshua Davies and Mr. C. H. Lugrin made the last and a gallant stand for the opponents of the principle involved. The second day of the debate brought to the board room au even more numer- ous gathering than that of Tuesday, the members present— with Mr. W. H. Evans and Mr. Charles Pickford as guests— being: Messrs. G. A. Kirk (presiding), B- W. Pearse, John Nicholles, J. A. Sayward, T. W. Paterson. G. H. Lugrin, H. Hirschel-Cohen, R. T. Wil- liams, W. J. Hiinna, Joshua Davies, L. G. McQuade. Capt. J. G. Co.x, H. P. Bell, E. B. Marvin, C. E. Renouf, J. H. Todd, A. G. McCandiess. J. S. Harvev, E. V. Bodwell, James Mitchell. J. T. Bethune, William Jensen, T. N. Hender- son, W. Walker, Lindley Crease, C. F. Todd, D. R. Ker, W. H. Bone, William Munsie, R. H. Hall, William Wilson, A. L. Belyea, Beaumont Boggs. D. W. Hig- gins, M.P.P., Luke Pither, F. Elworthy, S. Leiser, E. M. Johnson, H. D. Helm- ckfc M. P. P., H. E. Robertson, A. St. G. I' lint, Senator William Templeman, H. Cuthbert, A. C. Flumerfelt, Steven Jones, A. Henderson, B. W. Greer, Rich- ard Hall. M. P. P., Oapt. William Grant, Clive Phillipps-WoUey, R. Sea- 18 cL. Brown, racob Sehl. , J. HauQii, J. J. Sliall- >EBATE. Columbia jrday's ad- rescind ebruary 25 against tiou for a way from the Bound- Columbia, The result pated, and the debate ot only the neeting of le the most eresting of •y of this rganization riends and y were ex- Messrs- O. ss. Lindley J. J. Shall- jre particu- vanced that >rt of their r Mr. Wil- Mr. R. T. jlutiou that . D. R. Ker, !. H. Lugrin t stand for ; involved, ate brought nore numer- .""uesday, the li\ W. H. 'ickford as A. Kirk in Nicholles, (rson. C. H. R. T. Wil- i Davies, L. Cox, H. P. enouf. J. H. S. Harvey, chell. T. T. N. Hender- rease, C. F. >ne, William 1 Wilson, A. D. W. Hig- ^'. Elworthy, I. D. Helm- rtson, A. St. Tempi eman, •felt, Steven Greer, Rich- >t. William ey, R. Sea- brook, J. J. ^jhallcross G. McL. Brown, Henry Crolt, .Tohn Piercy, W. J. Pen- dray, George L. Couvtney, W. H. Ellis, E. Pearson, C. D. Mason, Capt. Charles E. Clarke, Max Leiser, T. S, Putchcr, R. Brskine, Charles Hayward, P. C. Davldge, Joshua Holland and Hon. B^ed. Peters. Messrs. Ellis and Todd waiving their right to resume the debate, the original resolution and the amendment thereto offered by Mr. .Toshua Davies were thrown open to general discussion at 3:20. Before the debate proceeded, however, a little preliminary skirmishing was initiated by Mr. MrCandless, who held that the amendment offered was not strictly in order, as involving matters foreign to the motion it proposed to amend — that it was in reality a substan- tive resolution. Mr. Lugrin defended the admissability of the amendment, and Mr. William Wilson declared that rescinding the reso- lution of Irst year would be in no way an endorsatiuu of the Corbin project, but would merely leave the board free- handed to act as the members now thought fit, Mr. Higgins, as a local authority on practice and procedure, maintained that the amendment was quite in order, deal- ing, as did the resolution, with the sub- ject of the Kettle River railway; while Mr. B. V. Bo Kootenay ing plainly rican goods lecline. Collec*^ information ' Victoria's 000.05 last $3,162,000 represented ' American )eing equal of Victoria d he there- Jan goods nee in the ctoria. observation 3uch quan- had been :oria; did the figures not— if he at Victoria lestion, no ion up to Kootenay, in addition to the direct im- portations of that district. Mr. McCandless, contiiiuing. observed that in the Viitoria importations he found $112,000 worth of oats, flour and grain from the Unitemed to be summed up in two l)ro|)ositions: On the one side it was stated that the board should not support the Corbin charter. a.s it would give an outlet f(jr British (Vilumbia ores in the United States, and facilitate the importa- 16 III tioii of Aiucricau >,'oo(1m by the rosidouts (if the Boundary country. On the other hide, it was said the board should sup- port this railway, as it would give rail- way competition, which had been de- scribed, not inaptly, as the safety valve of commerce. He could not look with favor upon Mr. Lugrin's argument that thci" was nothinjT iu railway competi- tion that railways in competition en- joyed, by combination or pooling of in- terests, relief from the natural effects of (•ompetition. The experience of British Columbia and of every other province was against this contention. What did we see now. in view only of a promise of competition V That the C. P. R. had awakened to an unusual activity in rail- way buildinp in the districts in quesf- tlon. The carrying out of the plan for competition would bo equally good for British Columbia in the production of new rates and general concessions calcu- lated to promote the progress and de- velopment of the province. Again, an appeal hai been made to the citizens of Victoria, as represented by the board of trade, to oppose this railway on patriotic grounds- He did not see that there was any force in this. No one could be found who was more heartily patriotic than himself— a native-born British Col- umbian and one who was proud of the title. It certainly appeared to him that opposition to the present plan for secur- ing railway competition was false patriotism— to endeavor to exclude the advantages of trade that would work for the upbuilding of our oAvn country. Nor could he see how it could be esteemed good policy to allow railway lines to cross and re-cross the boundary line in Eastern Canada and bad policy to do the same thing in this province. MR. T. W. PATERSON. Mr. T. W. Paterson contended that the remarks of the several opponents of the Corbiu road had been inspired by self- interest. Mr. Ker, for example, had taken the trouble to write a letter to the press even before the matter came be- fore the board in which he rejoiced in the fact that a rate of $7.50 had been ob- tained, by which oats could be taken into Kootenay from the Northwest. To what extent, he asked, did this benefit the peo- ple of British Columbia? The people of the Northwest did not pay any portion of the British Columbian's taxes, then Avhy should we rejoice that they were given a market that was closed to our own farmers? The fact could not be controverted that while the C. P. R. was thus assisting the producers of Mani- toba and the Northwest to get the trade of Kootenay our own farms in the Fraser valley could not be worked for the want of a favorable market. A surplus was to be dreaded most of all on the Fraser, because even with a limited production the farmers there were unable to sell their goods at cost. Provide a market such as this Oorbin road aimed to pre- sent for British Columbians and there would not be an acre of land in the Fra- ser valley that would not be worked to the limit of its capacity. At present, as Mr. Ker had explained, a preferential rate was being made by the lines which British Columbians had subsidized for the advantage of the Northwest produc- ers who thereby cut British Columbia's farmers out of their own market. If the farmers of our province could not get equal rates and equal rights with their Eastern competitors he for one thought it was high time we should be up and doing to obtain competition through an American line. Again, as to tlie value of railway conijjetition, he emphatically denied that such competi- tion was not to the benefit of the coun- try. Where a railway found a rival in the field it wns forced to improve its equipment and keep it up to aate; it was compelled to afford a modern service, and it could not but give fair rates. Cora- petition, he asserted, was the only cause that had produced a living rate to Vic- toria by which Eastern freight could be brought in and re-shipped to mtermedi- ate Eastern points. If the efforts of the opponents of this project were success- ful and the railway defeated, it meant the giving over of the control of ti>e rich- est mining region in all the world lO the greatest of monopolies — to one i-aihvay ompany— and thus giving British Co.'um- bia a blow from the effect of which it would probably never recover. Cali- fornia's experience surely taught the unwisdom of such a course — California, where the monopolistic railway had so cursed the land that— finding their efforts to obtain capital in the world's markets frustrated— they had finally to subscribe the money themselves to build an oppos- ing road. If the O. P- R. were permit- ted to carry out its plans for building through from Penticton it would be im- possible at any future date to parallel their system and give it competition, no matter how essential that competition might be to the prosperity of the coun- try and its inhabitants. Another great danger was found in the contemplated es- tablishment thrftughout Kootenay and the other mining districts adjacent to a C. P. R. smelter monopoly, the smelting business being naturally altogether for- eign to the railway business. The C. P. R. smelters would naturally be operated so as to contribute to the success and earnings of the railway, and with the railway behind it the smelter trust wo 'Id be enabled to coerce the mining intcrt s and eventually monopolize these too— tiie rt bi SI 17 the Fraser, protluctioa able to sell e a market Died to pre- 3 and there in the Fra- worked to ; preaent, as preferential lines which bsidized for vest produc- Columbia's market. If e could not rights with he for one e should be competition \gain, as to etition, he oh coinpoti- )f the coun- il a rival in improve its aate; it was servico, and ates, Com- i only cause rate to Vic- ;ht could be o interniodi- fforts of the ere succees- d, \i meant of tue rich- world to the r)nc rui.'way iish Co.'um- of which it )ver. Cali- taught the —California, ivay had so their efforts d's markets to subscribe Id an oppos- vere pormit- for building on Id be im- to parallel ipetition, no competition )f the coun- lothor great pmplatcd es- otenay and Ijacent to a the smelting ogether for- The C. P. be operated success and id with the trust wo dd ng intert s cse too— t lie ■;# )i^: 't '.m railway not only operatlngf the smeltere itut controlling the freight rates and fuel supply us well. The railway smelters would fix a price for ore, based upon the low grade ore value, and what would be the position of the owner of a mine turning out higher grade ore? He would be offered by the smelter buyer the price established by the smelter people, and if he ventured to in- terpose that his ore was of much higher worth, he would be told "there is our pric(! — you can take it or leave it alone." What could he doV The railway would not give him a fair rate by which he coukl market his ore at any outside smelter — if such a smelter could have an existence — and his mine would there- fore either have to remain dead property on his hands, or he could accept the price offered by the smeltei* to his own dis- advantage. In the other event he could sell his property to the smelter— at a price fixed by the buyer. Here was the ultimate conclusion to which the present plans of the C. P. R. lead. Would it then, he asked, be fair to the mining men of British Columbia fora Board of Trade to lift ity hand in the direction of putting the mines and their owners in this position? With reference to the shorter route from the Coast, which was a subject of direct interest to Victorians: If the C. P. U. was allowed to carry out its Pen- tictou road plans, without competition 'is now proposed from the south, how would it be possible to carry out a project for u road from the Coast? Such a road would simply have to tie on to the C. P. R. at its terminus, and the C. P. R, would dictate terms to it. Whereas with the present road con- structed a future road from the Coast vyould have its choice of two lines to tie to on to and each would be ready and willing to offer fair terms — the con- struction of the Corbin road therefore meant going a long way toward securing a second and shorter route from the Coast eastward. With such a road he firmly believed the population of Vic- toria as well as that of Vancouver would more than double in less than two years while the property of the whole province would be increased many fold. Then again, it had been said that the C. P. R. should be supported inasmuch as it was a Canadian institution. Did the C. P. R. when they had hew lines to build, as instanced very recently, give home peonle an opportunity to build those lines on anything like fair terms? On the contrary, the first thing that was done was to go to St. Paul for a contractor. As a matter of fact, the i-ecord of the past showed that the C. P- R. had never at any time risked a dollar in the open- ing up of any sectii^n of British Colum- bia. In Kootenay Mr. Corbin had pro- vided a railway that was the first factor ill development— -building it because he had confidence in the resources and the future of the country, and building it in the face of the opinion of his friends and in fact of almost everyone, that by doing BO he would be a ruined man. When Mr. Corbin had proved the rich- ness of the country, the C. P. R. came in to crowd out the pioneers of develop- ment. The tame thing applied in other railway building in Kootenay. Then other local people saw the opportunity of making money through establishing a steamship service on the lakes and rivers. They inaugurated such a service, and were earning good dividends as a result of their enterprises, when the C. P. R. stepped in and said — you must give this business up to us. Mr. Heinze, with commendable far-sightedness saw that a smelter would pay. He built a smelter and a railway to feed It; then appeared the C. P. R. when all was done, and said you must sell out to us at our price. And this was what happened. The C. P. R. always waited for some one else to make the venture, and when others had proved that a thing was good, then entered the railway corporation to compel a forced sale to itself. The C. P. R. had never yet put a dollar, he as- serted, into anything that was not a sure thing. If in the present case the Corbin road was defeated, the people of British Co- lumbia could look fonvard to the C. P. R. very quickly making the Boundary country, having a monopoly of it, the dumping ground for all their worn out rolling stock, and dilapidated engines — with corresponding poor service, after the nuinner of that given the people on the Shuswap & Okauagan. Nor did he blame them as business men, whose pur- post it was to put evev.v dollar possible into the pockets of the shareholders. Tlie gentlemen at the head of the C. P. R. were, as he had said, good busi- ness men, the best in the world, and amply able to take care cf themselves without the assistance of Victorians, who, if they went to the rescue, would do so at their own expense. Mr. D. R. Ker, briefly repl.ving to Mr. Paterson, corrected the statement that any hay was taken into Kootenay from Edmonton to kill the market for the Fraser river product- As a matter of fact there was no hay offered from the Fraser that was not bought here at the highest market price; while he could from his own business experience bear testimony that the C. P. R. had been especially active in the making of rates that would enable the producers of this province to me?t the competition of those 18 li In the Colvillo viiUoy. who were the keenest coaipetitors for tlie trade in question. The (1. P, R. hn«l indeed Riven a $2 lietter rate to Kootenay in order to fos- ter aKricultural development in this province, and enable the producers to niarlvet their wares to the very best ad- vantage, r^'ir farm produce from the Coast to Kootenay. n 5*2<)-milo haul, the C, P, U, since Tebruary 1, 1897, had uiven a rate of 35 L-ents a hundred— this being with the dintinet obje<.'t of enablins Hrilish ('olunibia producers to compete successfully for the Ktenay trade, which prior to the C. P- 11, taking coni- trol of the Columbia & Kootenay steam- ers had been enjoyed entirely by the pro- ducers south of the line. From the Kaniloops section, over 300 miles of a haul, a 30-cent rate had been made; from the Okanagan valley (where there could be no competition, let it be borne in mind), a ^o-cent rate; from Kclownn. 28 cents; and from Edmon- ton, .'{."> cents. The charge at the same time from the Palouse country, south of the line, to West Kootenay points (a haul of something like 150 miles only), the rate was 45 cents; and from Col- ville, but <)0 miles away, 25 cents. These were open rates, and he left it to the board to say whether or not they did not declare the policy of the C, P. R. for the assistance of the British Columbia farmers, Mr. Paterson observed that he had be trans-continental railways to ' the south as well as to the north. "Whereas the above named railway [would be of very material benefit to the [Coast cities. "Be it resolved: That thi.-^ Board of [Trade urge upon the Dominion govern- ment the necessity of granting a charter [to the Kettle Rivei railway, and that a icop.v of this resolution be forwarded to [Right Honorable Sir Wilfrid Laurier; [Hon. A. G. Blair, minister of railways; I the chairman of the railway committee (if the House of Commons, and the sen- iators and members for British Columl)ia tuow at Ottawa." Speaking to this, Mr. Lugrin again ro- tgretted that the board had seen fit not |to give further consideration to the point contained in the amendment proposed by Mr. Harvey — that no application had ■'been made for the endorsation of this ^proposition by the parties directly inter- ested, and that indeed, no facts on- coming it had been formally laid hex ore the board by Mr. Corbin or his repre- sentatives. Then again Mr. Paterson had dilated at great length upon the terrible danger that menaced British Columbia through the grasping, monopolistic tendencies of "the C. P. R., and had intimated that this projected sixty mile railway was the only thing that stood in the way of the C. P. R. obtaining absolute control of the mining regions of British Columbia. Would it not then be well, if the board decided to endorse the application for ithis charter, that they should insist upon "some obligation from Mr. Corbin that he would not sell out to the C. P. R. as soon as his line was built, and thus put British Colnmbin at the mercy of the Canadian railway? And would it not also be well, an Mr. Davies had suggested, to insert another proviso that the Corbin line should be continued through to P«'iiticton, and that its owner would do all in his |M»wer to en- courage rather than discotirage the erec- tion and operation of smelters in the Boundary country? The suggestions were not acted upon, and having adoptcMl Mr. Wilson's resolu- tion, the board adjourned. NOTE— The result of the voting on the res(dutions and amendment is stated in the Victoria Tinn-s of the '2:\v{\ .Matvli. as r