IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 t 
 
 | !.0 
 I.I 
 
 ■ 56 fp^i 
 
 1!^ m 
 
 110 
 
 US ■■■ 
 
 M 
 
 12.2 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 1.25 
 
 1-4 llllli.6 
 
 V] 
 
 m 
 
 e. 
 
 % 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 % 
 
 4 
 
 <p 
 
 
 Scmces 
 Corporation 
 
 S 
 
 1 
 
 
 'Oi 
 
 % 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ' >% 
 
 
 '<?) 
 
 23 WEST Mii«N STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 
 
 J 716) »72-4503 
 

 <^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 <;. 
 
 £<> 
 
 '"4'/ 
 
 % 
 
 Ua 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 \\ 
 
 is 
 
 
 
 Ca ladian Institute for Histonce.1 Micro'aproductions / >nstitut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
 ■' £ 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibtioaraphiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet eyemplaire qui sont peut-Stre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 vne image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage 
 sont indiquds ci-dessous. 
 
 □ Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 □ Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagee 
 
 □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde 
 
 □ Cover title missing/ 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes g^ographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. auf-e que bleue ou noire) 
 
 □ Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 □ Pages dameged/ 
 Pages endommagdes 
 
 □ Page? reS'tored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restiurdes et/ou pellicul6es 
 
 [Zl 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained o^* foxed/ 
 Pages d^color^es, tachet^es ou piqut^js 
 
 □Pages detached/ 
 Pages d^tach^es 
 
 nrj' Showthrough/ 
 I I Transparence 
 
 □ 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustt-ations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with otiier material/ 
 Relie avec d'autres documents 
 
 r"/ Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 
 i—J along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serree pout causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le lonj^ de la marge intdrieure 
 
 D 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 a|)pear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'oiit 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 □ Quality of print varies/ 
 Qualit^ in^gale de I'impression 
 
 □ Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend dj materiel supplementaire 
 
 □ Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponibU 
 
 D 
 
 disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, ate, have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiallement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 vilmdes d nouveau de fapon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 n 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppldmentaires; 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 y 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 aox 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 n 
 
 32X 
 
Tho copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 University of Saskatchewan 
 Saskatoon 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 *ilming contact specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grflce A la 
 gdn^rositd de: 
 
 University of Saskatchewan 
 Saskatoon 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 do la nettotd de l'exemplaire film«i, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printvtd or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol — ♦- (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Las exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimde sont film6s en commengant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 derp^dre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autros exemplaire'i 
 oriqinaux 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 9ur la 
 dernidro image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 fiimds d des taux de r6duction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul nlich6, il est filmd d partir 
 de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 1 2 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
•A 
 
 '?i 
 
 if' 
 
 PR^ 
 
 T 
 
 T 
 
PRIVATE. 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE . 
 
 HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, Jr.. 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 THROUGH TRAFFIC 
 
 CONNECTIONS 
 FOR SEASON 1878. 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 THE OGDENSBURG & L. C. Ry. Co. 
 
 , . AND 
 
 THE NORTHERN RAILWAY OF CANADA. 
 
 -> (COLLINGWOOD LINE.) 
 
 •I 
 
 m 
 
 
 
M. 
 
 it '1 
 
 
 
 .r*^ 
 
 u^ 
 
 LETTE R 
 
 TO THE 
 
 HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, Jr., 
 
 KELATINO TO 
 
 THROUGH TRAFFIC CONNECTIONS 
 
 FOR SEASON 1878, 
 
 BETWEEN THE OGDENSBURG AND LAKE CHAMPLAIN 
 
 RAILROAD AND THE NORTHERN RAU^WAY OF 
 
 CANADA (COLLINGWOOD LINE.) 
 
 To the Hon. John Quincy Adams, Jr.. Boston. 
 
 Northern Railway of Canada, 
 
 Toronto, 31st August, 1878. 
 
 SlR,^ — V/hen I had the honour of waiting upon your Com- 
 mittee at Ogdensburg, on the 14th inst, with a view to con- 
 sultation upon the rehitions between our Companies, you were 
 goo(' enough to read to me a statement made by Mr. John C. 
 Pratt, having special reference to those relations, and to a corres- 
 pondence which had passed betweer that gentleman and myself, 
 and which I had thought it my duty to print for the private 
 information of the Directors of the O. & L. C. Railway Co. 
 
 The tenour and method of Mr. Pratt's .statement made it 
 necessary for me to request an opportunity for answering it in 
 writing, which your Committee courteously granted. 
 
 I propose now to submit to you as briefly as possibly the 
 history of the transactions upon which we are unfortunately at 
 issue with Mr. Pratt, offering my views upon such of the points 
 as may seem, in view of his statement, to demand explanation. 
 
 In doing so, I mu.st express my regret that Mr. Pratt has 
 ventured to adopt language with reference to me and my officers 
 inconsistent alike with the sobriety of business criticism and with 
 the courtesy usual amongst gentlemen ; but his unmannerly 
 method obliges me to say that when he charges us with a 
 "studied effort" throughout these negotiations "to pervert the 
 truth," he makes their continuance or repetition with himself 
 impossible : for although personally his challenge is ofTensive, 
 officially I am quite content to submit our veracity and good 
 faith in these transactions to such independent and business-like 
 
enquiry as your Committee may care to institute in the interests 
 of the O. &. L. C. Company. 
 
 Mr. Pratt opens his statement by reference to " a pamphlet 
 issued by F. Cumberland, ¥.sc\., purporting to be correspondence 
 relating to through traffic connections" between our Companies, 
 and involving therefore the imputation that " the correspond- 
 ence " so issued is something other than it professes to be. I 
 accordin""ly feel obliged to say tha\: the correspondence as 
 printed (including the Contract) is verbatim et literatim the only 
 and the complete correspondence which has ever passed, or is 
 ever likely to pass, between Mr. Pratt and myself. 
 
 Proceeding now to the history of the whole case, I may 
 premise that in August, 1877, the Superintendent of the Ogdens- 
 burf and Lake Champlain Railway came personally to Toronto 
 and solicited my Company to establish traffic relations on through 
 grain business with his TJne. Alter considerable discussion, an 
 understanding was arrived at. The divisions of rates were 
 settled, the bill of lading (O. & L. C. Co.) was adopted, the 
 Western agencies appointed, and the Line (including sail vessels 
 on both lakes) was put into immediate operation ; the result 
 being that between August and the close of navigation, 603,000 
 bushels of grain were delivered to your Company's elevator at 
 Ogdensburg, in a manner, at rates, and on settlements which 
 were wholly advantageous and satisfactory to both Companies. 
 There was no hitch difficulty or difiference between the two 
 Companies at any time, and the season's business was closed 
 with mutual congratulations. It may be fair, however, to add 
 that up to that time we had not had the honour of doing business 
 
 with Mr. Pratt. 
 
 On the 29th November we invited your General Superin- 
 tendent to meet us, with a view to renewed connections for the 
 then ensuing season, to which Mr. Hungerford replied that he, 
 with the President (Mr. Pratt) would come to Toronto at an 
 
 early date, with that object. 
 
 On the 29th December, 1877, Mr. Hungerford again writes 
 to the effect that he will be in Toronto about the 15th January, 
 and adds, that he is " arranging to secure some steam power on 
 the Lake's, and as soon as that is consummated, we (the O. & L. 
 C. Co.) will he ready to arrange for both grain and merchandise ; 
 will push matters to a close as fast as possible." 
 
11 
 
 'r 
 
 i:^ 
 
 It " 
 
 m 
 
 Accordingly, on the 31st January, 1878, Mr. Hungerforcl 
 again came personally to Toronto, and opened negociations for 
 the re-establishment of the Line on the basis of the arrangements 
 of 1877. He expressed his strong approval and complete appre- 
 ciation of the business of the previous season, and urged that its 
 success was such as to warrant the formation oi a steaiK line {or 
 1878 ; and he made ''sham " a sijic qua non. 
 
 After introductory consultation with myself, Mr, Hunger- 
 ford and Mr. Kerr (our General Freight Agent) pursued the 
 negociation in detail, resulting in the preparation (in these offices 
 and in Mr. Hungerford's own handwriting) of a Draft Contract 
 to which I was invited to give, and then gave, my preliminary 
 and informal assent. 
 
 Acting upon the suggestions of this Draft Contract, and in 
 order, before final conclusions to make '* assurance doubly sure,'' 
 Mr, Hungerforri and Mr. Kerr, on the 7th February, 1878, pro- 
 ceeded together to Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee, to inform 
 themselves in relation to dockage, agencies, and the probabilities 
 as to the securing of steam power, and these details ha. ing been 
 mastered, it was arranged that the consideration and conclusion 
 of the contract should await the presence and sanction of the 
 •President of the O. & L. C. Co., Mr. Pratr.. 
 
 Accordingly, on the 6th Ma^ch, 1878, Mr, Hungerford and 
 Mr, Kerr went again to Detroit in further prosecution ot their 
 efforts to secure steamers for the Line, and were by appointment, 
 joined there on the 9th March by Mr. Pratt, all three proceeding 
 on to Chicago. 
 
 On the lOth March, 1878, a meeting was held in Mr. Pratt's 
 rooms, at the Palmer House, Chicago, for the purpose of discu.^' 
 ing and concluding the contract which had been under negotiation 
 and progress since the 31st January. At that meeting were 
 present Mr, John C, Pratt, President ; Mr, Hungerford, Superin- 
 tendent ; Mr. Church, General Freight Agent ; and Mr. H. W, 
 Pratt, the President's son and Western Agent ; all on behalf of 
 the O. & L. C. Co., and Mr. Kerr, the General Freight Agent of 
 this Company, 
 
 The Draft Contract was then read over, discussed and passed 
 clause by clause, all parties freely joining in the explanation and 
 criticism of its provisions ; and the contract having then been 
 approved by- Mr. Pratt, it was signed, by his authority, " as an 
 
s 
 
 evidence of good faith on the part of both Companies," by Mr. 
 Ilungerford, on behalf of the O. & L. C. Co., and Mr. Kerr, on be- 
 half of the Northern of Canada, and pending its execution at To- 
 ronto by Mr. Pratt and myself, the pr.^posal being that Mr. Pratt 
 should stay at Toronto for that purpose on his way home to 
 Ogdensburg. 
 
 A telegram was forwarded to me from Chicago to that effect 
 requesting me to meet Mr. Pratt, on his arrival here, for the pur- 
 pose of final signature ; but being called suddenly to Ottawa, on 
 parliamentary business, which would not admit of delay, I was 
 unable to be present, and Mr. Pratt proceeded eastward without 
 stopping. 
 
 On the i6th March (six days after the conclusion of the 
 contract at Chicago), Mr. Hungerford wrote explaining that " on 
 receipt of our telegram to the President, stating that Mr. Cum- 
 berland was absent," (and therefore could not meet Mr. Pratt for 
 the final execution as aforesaid), " we " (the president and himself) 
 " started for home and did not stop at Toronto." And he goes 
 on to say, " I have been expecting a telegram from you giving 
 " the result of your negotiations in Chicago for a dock, and also 
 " as to what you have done about a contracting agent. I am 
 " anxious to know how you have succeeded. Did Austrian agree 
 " to place the Norman in the line } I felt quite sure he would when 
 " I left. Our President has placed the Western business entirely 
 " in my hands since his return from his Western trip. Now that 
 " he will let me work ive can zvork this line smoothly, and let us rush 
 " matters along and get ready to start the boats by the first of April 
 " if the zveather holds good. When can yon come to Ogdensburg 
 ''and arrange the ticket issues and passenger business? Please 
 " write me and give me all the particulars. Do not fatl to hurry 
 " up the boats to have them ready by April first. I want the first 
 " cargo of grain to come over your line to open the season^ 
 
 On the 19th March, Mr. Kerr replied to Mr. Hungerford 
 to the effect that he was completing arrangements with steamers 
 to fill the line — had secured the City of Montreal and 
 Lotkair and was closing with a third ; that he had concluded 
 arrangements with the Empire Warehouse Co. to provide dock- 
 age for the Line, and enclosed copy of the agreement with them, 
 vvhich he hoped would meet Mr. Hungerford's approval. He 
 goes on to say, " After considering the question of Contracting 
 
M 
 
 5 
 
 ::f 
 
 .Si 
 
 ^k\ 
 
 
 !.4 
 
 
 '3 J. 
 
 Agent (at Chicago), in all its bearings, I finally concluded that 
 Mr. D. B. Linsted was the proper man to take care of our in- 
 terests. I "made careful enquiry of disinterested parties regard- 
 ing him, and found them unanimous in saying that he was the 
 most popidar and one of the smartest contracting men on the 
 floor. All this, coupled with the fact of his splendid connection 
 with the leading shipping houses to New England, decided me 
 to offer the position to him." He adds, " I am working like a 
 beaver to get everything into shape, and will be all ready for 
 you at opening. There is just one thing 1 wish to impress upon 
 you, that is, that otir Boats cannot run unless they have, West 
 bound freight." 
 
 On the 8th April, 1878, Mr. Kerr again communicates with 
 Mr. Hungerford, saying : " First cargo having left Chicago, 
 when will you have merchandize moving West, steamers here 
 ready to go on," and he writes, " Our Lake Ontario, steamers arc 
 ready to go to work. 1 expect to have all my three Upptr 
 Lake boats under contract by Wednesday or Thursday." 
 
 To this Mr. Hungerford replies under date i ith April : 
 
 " President Pract is now in Boston, and has gone to Portland to-day lo 
 confer with the Portland and Ogdensburg R. R. officials, and with the 
 Northern R. R. also about opening the line this month through to Rouse',- 
 Point. The General Freight Agent of the Eastern road will then commeiK e 
 at once to scour Boston, Portland, Salem, Lewiston, Portsmouth, and all 
 other Eastern points, for freight for your line. I think we will have plenty of 
 freight by the time the boats get into line to give it despatch." 
 
 Again on the iith April, Mr. Kerr telegraphs the following 
 
 message to Mr. Hungerford : 
 
 " Line is now complete. Steamers Lothair, N/atrara, Robertson^ betwiin 
 Chicago and Collingwood, Armenia and Cuba between Toronto and Og- 
 densburg. Please report prospects regarding up freight, anxious to hear of 
 your arrangements. Lake Ontario steamers will commence running so siuui 
 as you can give them West bound freight. Please answer." 
 
 On a review of all the circumstances of the case so far, 
 I think your Committee will concur with mein the opinion that 
 we were amply warranted in regarding the contract signed at 
 Chicago on the nth March as conclusively recognized by, and 
 binding upon, both Companies. It will be observed \.\\2X franud 
 on the basis of the business of iSyy, the contract was under nego- 
 tiation and detailed preparation from the 31st January to the 9th 
 March ; that it was carefully revised and discussed by the Pres- 
 
ident and his officers at Chicago on the loth March, and with his 
 authority was thereupon signed on beliali of the two Companies : 
 that thereafter continuously for six weel<s, (viz., from loth March 
 to 2 1 si April), energetic measures were taken by the officers of 
 both Comp'inie^, acting in full concert, to give practical effect to 
 its provisions. Steamers were contracted with, dockage was 
 secured, agents were appointed, and all preparations made for 
 the opening of the season, and we were promised that "all 
 Eastern points should be scoured for West-bound freight," and 
 that we should " have plenty of it by the time the boats got into 
 line." 
 
 I think, too, that your Committee remembering that we had 
 in the interval incurred the most serious responsibilities in regard 
 to the contract formation of the Line by five steamers under differ- 
 ent ownerships, by the reconstruction of 70 cars specially fitted 
 for this trade, by liabilities in regard to dockage, agencies, and 
 the like, will not be disposed to rely upon Mr. Pratt's assertion 
 when he says " it is further true that Mr. Cumberland repudiated 
 the contract of March nth." 
 
 The first cargo arrived at Ogdensburg on the 21st April» 
 with bill of lading and back charges in strict accordance with 
 the provisions of the contract. 
 
 Payment of the back charges on thai; basis was then refused 
 by Mr. R. W. Pratt, Agent at Ogdensburg (one of the Pres- 
 ident's sons) and the announcement of such refusal was the first 
 intimation to us that the contract zoas to be repudiated ! 
 
 The action of the Ogdensburg Agent, Mr. R. W. Pratt, 
 being sustained by the President, the ship-owners (Messrs. Hagar- 
 ty and Grasett) enquired on what ground he repudiated a con- 
 tract made by the Agent of the Line in Chicago, and Mr. R. W. 
 Pratt replied by telegram in the following words : 
 
 " We have no Agent in Chicago, ar 1 I refer you to Mr. Kerr to settle 
 
 the difference. 
 
 " R. W. Pratt." 
 
 I shall presently shew that the Chicago Agent, Mr. Linsted, 
 was the joint appointee of both Companies, and had been ap- 
 pointed after full consultation between the officers of both, act- 
 ing in concert, and it may perhaps appear that his repudiation 
 by Messrs. J. C. and R. W. Pratt was not altogether unconnect- 
 ed with the fact that Mr. H. W. Pratt (another son of the Pres- 
 

 8 
 
 ident) had also in the interval been appointed Western Ay^vnt 
 of the O. & L. C. Railroad Co., and that he had (much to our 
 surprise) established his office as such in the offices of the 
 Northern Transit Company at Chicago. 
 
 The contract having thus been practically dishonored and 
 set aside, we understood that Mr. Hungerford applied to the Pre- 
 sident for instructions, whereupon the President wrote the fol- 
 lowing letter : 
 
 Ogdensruro, N. Y., April 22, 1878. 
 Mr. W. Hungerford, 
 
 Superintendent. ■ 
 
 Dear Sir, — In answer to your request for my views as to the terms upon 
 which we should do business with the Collingwood Line, I beg to say that I 
 will make the same agreement with that Line that is now in force with the 
 Northern Transit Company, under an agreement made by them with the 
 Central Vermont Company, dated March 20th, 1876, and also under a sup- 
 plementary agreement made with our Company dated March 20th. 1878, so 
 far as said agreements refer to freight between New England and Lake Mich- 
 igan points. 
 
 By such an arrangement no bills will be recognized by us that do not 
 
 pay us forty (40) per cent, of the published all rail rate, and one half cent, per 
 
 bushel elevating, and no charges to us for commissions, either directly or 
 
 indirectly. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 |. C. Pratt, 
 
 President, 
 
 Your Committee will observe that from first to last there is 
 not a single word in this letter in any way referring to the con- 
 tract signed at Chicago, not a word to indicate that any arrange- 
 ments had been made or that any relations whatever existed 
 between the O. & L, C. Company and the Northern Company, 
 The President simply ignores the whole thing by a scratch of 
 his pen, and writes a letter which if proper to be written at all 
 should have been writteri in January, when negotiations were 
 initiated, or at any rate should have been insisted upon (if at 
 all) at Chicago on the loth March. 
 
 * In view of these instructions from his President, Mr. Hun- 
 gerford, invited Mr. Kerr to go to Ogdensburg, which he did, 
 when Mr. Pratt declined to carry out the contract of the nth 
 March agreed to and signed at Chicago, on the ground that he 
 had not understood its provisions, that he could agree to no 
 other terms than those established with the N. T. Company, 
 that he would not pay any commissions to Western Agents, and 
 
that he would not issue any O. & L. C. Company's bill of lading 
 at Chicago. Thus all the chief points in the contract were repu- 
 diated, and it was practically valueless in its most vital features. 
 I thereupon myself proceeded with Mr. Kerr to Ogdensburg, 
 and was favored by an interview with the President, Mr. Pratt, 
 who repeated to me the same objections to the contract as he 
 had previously .stated to Mr. Kerr ; and as he still declined to 
 execute the contract or to recognize its provisions, I contented 
 myself by informing him that I should appeal to the Board of 
 Directors which had been already summoned for an early meet- 
 ing at Boston. 
 
 My visit to Ogdensburg clearly exposed the fact that great 
 differences existed between the officers of the Company in rela- 
 tion to the contract. Mr. Pratt repudiated, but Mr. Hungerford 
 recognized it. The President claimed to have misunderstood its 
 provisions, whilst the Superintendent upheld them. 
 
 With the 'nternal dissensions of your Company we had 
 hoJ-hing to do, although they sensibly embarrassed us in our rela- 
 tions with it, and although it was clear to us that in the absence 
 of them the business would have run smoothly enough. 
 
 Mr. Hungerford at one time stated that " the President had 
 placed the Western business entirely in his hands ;" and 1 
 observe that Mr. Pratt claims that it is " absolutely and unquali- 
 fiedly false" to chargci him with " interference with Western busi- 
 ness," but as outsiders doing business with your Company we 
 are bound to say that all the difficulties, obstructions and repu- 
 diations have, so far as we can judge, arisen out of the action of 
 the President and his sons, and the letter of the President, dated 
 22nd April, and already quoted, sufficiently proves that with 
 him. and him alone, rests the responsibility (whatever it may be) 
 of having treated the contract of the nth March as so much 
 waste paper, and of having set aside, without one word of enquiry 
 or suggestion^ an agreement which had been the deliberate work 
 of himself and his officers, which had been signed by his own 
 authority, and which, after signature he had held in his posses- 
 sion for nearly six weeks, without offering one word of warning 
 chat it was not in accepted operation, or that he intended to 
 repudiate it. ' ' o. -^ 
 
 I observe that Mr. Pratt states that " the contract was a long 
 one, and many of its details were not clear to him ;" — that at 
 
. J: . 
 
 to 
 
 . I I' , ■'■ 
 \ J. ' ' 
 
 m 
 i 
 
 the time of it signature he was assured that " the contract gave 
 them" (us) " the same ter s and facilities and divisions of rates 
 that we" (you) " gave to the Northern Transit Co.," and that he 
 '^ autJwrhed Mr. Himgerfnrd to sign it. intending afterwards to 
 examine more carefully its provisions /" 
 
 Surel) your commif-tee will be of opinion, that on Mr. 
 Pratt's own snewing, his course was at least irregular and unfair 
 towards us. I have shewn how we were urged forward to put 
 the contract into operation, to complete agreement with steamers, 
 to " push matters along and get ready," to " hurry up," so that 
 " the first cargo of grain should come over our line to open the 
 season," and all this time (some six weeks), the President holds 
 the contract in his possession, makes no sign in disapproval of it, 
 and awaits the arrival of the first c^rgo, to repudiate all its most 
 vital provisions ! It is fair to Railway men as a class, to claim 
 for them, that although contracts may bt " long," and their 
 details intricate, they generally master them before authorizing 
 titeir signature, and do not execute documents under a mental 
 reservation, that they '' intend afterwards to examine more cart- 
 fidly their provisions ! and to claim complete freedom as if no 
 contract had been signed. 
 
 I propose however, to consider the objections to the contract 
 of the nth March, upon which Mr. Pratt justifies its repudiation, 
 and I think they may be stated, as follows: 
 
 1. That the contract does not conform to the agreement 
 " now in force with the Northern Transit Co." dated 20th March, 
 1876, and also "a supplementary agreement made with our 
 Company, dated 20th March, 1878." 
 
 2. That the division of rates ought to give the O. & L. C. 
 Co. 40 per cent, of the published all rail rate, and y^Q. per 
 bushel elevating, 
 
 3. That the O. & L. C. Co. should not bear any part of the 
 expense of Western agencies and commissions. . ^ 
 
 4. That the Bill of Lading should not be the Bill of the 
 O. & L. C. Co. 
 
 I will discrss these in their order first showing that the ob- 
 jections are so clear, simple and tiecisive, that ordinaiy people 
 would be disposed to conclude that any railway authority (with 
 the assistance of a superi.itendent, of a general frefght agent and 
 of a western agent), would have been able to discover whether a 
 
 «-^*^ 
 
 » ..... . r 
 
contract d'd or did not provide for them, and would have thought 
 it his duty to make that discovery before authorizing its signature. 
 However, Mr. Prattt claims that he did not understand the 
 document, and we, of course, are bound to accept and arc quite 
 ready to believe his confession. 
 I. As to the objection that the contract does not conform to the 
 
 agreements in force with the N. T. Company. 
 
 If such conformity v/as necessary why were we never invited 
 to agree to it > I am told that when. Mr. Pratt (with the assist- 
 ance of his three officers) discussed and adopted the contract 
 clause by clause, the agreement with the N. T. Co. was not men- 
 tioned nor any suggest; n offered that the N. T. division ot rates 
 should be adopted. And if the N. T. contract of 1876 precluded 
 the O. & L. Co. from adopting any other rates and d'visions in 
 1878, how came it to be disregarded in 1877, when the business 
 was done on precisely the same system as is embodied in and pro- 
 vided for in the contract of the nth March ? The president will 
 scarcely say that he " did not understa.nd " the nature of the 
 arrangements of 1877, ^^^ y^^ the provisions of the contract of 
 1878 which he says were "not clear to him" were purposely 
 and avowedly identical ! 
 
 Wj were not aware that at the same time that Mr, Pratt was 
 concluding the contract with us at Chicago, he was also negociat- 
 ing a ** supplementary contract " with the N. T.. Co, and 
 throughout the negociations he never suggested that we should 
 in any way be guided or governed by his relations with the 
 N. T. Co., but rather, by his denunciations of that Com- 
 pany, led us to believe: that he was, and wished to be, entirely 
 clear of tlieni. 
 
 We had been vvarned that Mr. Pratt was using us as a whip 
 and lever to " bring the N. T. Co. to time," but we rejected the 
 suggestion. It is nevertheless peculiar that if it was necessary 
 (as Mr. Pratt now says it was) that we should conform to ,the . 
 terms of a then existing contract with the N. T. Co., and if (as is 
 undeniable) Mr. Pratt was at that moment negociating with the 
 N. T. Co. as well as with us, we were never advised of it, a con- 
 tract on different terms was signed with us, a supplementary 
 agreement with the N. T. Co. was concluded eight days after- 
 wards, when Mr. H. W. Pratt became Western Agent of the 
 O. & L. C. Co., and established himself a^ such in the N T. Co.'s 
 
12 
 
 ' V0'^ 
 
 offices ; and thereupon and then only the President having, \vc 
 presume, "examined more carefully the provisions " of his con- 
 tract with us, calmly and for six weeks awaits the arrival of the 
 first cargo, and then, and only then, repudiates the agreement by- 
 telling his Superintendent that he will only " c/o dimness znth the 
 Colhngwood Line'' on the same terms as' those " noiv tn force with 
 the Northern Transit Company^ 
 
 I abstain from criticism of these transactions and leave the 
 committee to unravel the complicated web of them if they con. 
 2. " That the divisions of rates ought to give the O. & L. C. Co. 
 
 40 per cent of the published all rail rate and \ c. per bushel 
 
 elevating." 
 
 Nothing could have been easier than to have said this at 
 Chicago on the loth March, and nothing to my mind could well 
 be more irregular and unfair than to reserve so simple a demand 
 until the 22nd April, after we had in good faith made ^v^ry pre- 
 paration (under great liabilities) to give effect to a contract em- 
 bodying different terms. 
 
 I repeat that the terms of the Contract of the nth March 
 were no new terms, but were the terms upon which, in 1877. 
 we had delivered to your Co. no less than 603,000 bushels of grain 
 between August and November of 1877, a business which was 
 declared to have been so satisfactory to your Company as to 
 warrant it in soliciting us to reestablish it in 1878. 
 
 If the terms were fair and profitable to your Co, in 1877 on 
 the basis of " schooners running wild" they could not be less 
 advantageous in 1878 on the basis of " steam lines wider season 
 Contract" the whole burthen and responsibility of which was cast 
 upon and is now carried by us< 
 3. That the O, & L C. Co. should not bear any part of the 
 
 expense of Western agencies and commissions. 
 
 Upon this point Mr. Pratt says that he '* refused to walk into 
 the trap so cunnint^ly set for me, whereby our road was to be made 
 to pay several thousand dollars commissions on freight obtained 
 for Ogdensburg." v 
 
 But if we are to congratulate Mr. Pratt on his escape from 
 '* the ti'ap so cunniiigly set for him" in 1878, he may expect us 
 to commiserate his fate in 1877, when he cheerfully and boldly 
 walked into it. Perhaps the different circumstances of the two 
 seasons may explain the contrast, for whereas in 18/7 Mr. H. 
 
^3 
 
 W. Pratt, (the President's 5 n), was the agent of the O. & L. C. 
 Company at Chicago, receiving a commission of y. a cejit a 
 bushel, paid by that Company, with (of course) the approval of the 
 President, /;/ iS'jS Mr. Linsted zuas the agent with a commission 
 of only y^of a cent a bushel, ivhich the President refuses to pay : 
 but " the trap " of 1877 was baited with a son and a double com- 
 mission, and having succeeded to a charm ; '• our road was made 
 to pay several thousand dollars commissions on freight obtained 
 at Chicago;" whilst in 1878, Mr. Linsted, and not Mr. H. W. 
 Pratt, having been caged, zvith a commission reduced by 50 per 
 cent., Mr. Pratt rejects the seductions of the trap and regards 
 the whole proceedings with unmingled condemnation. 
 
 I will trouble you with a brief history of this matter, observ- 
 ing that Mr. Pratt is himself responsible for dragging in personal 
 discussions, to which I have the strongest repugnance. 
 
 When the personnell of the Western Agencies came under 
 discussion, it appeared that whilst in 1877 Mr. H. W. Pratt was 
 nominally the agent, it was necessary to the efficient transaction 
 of business that he should associate with himself some one of ex- 
 perience in duties to which he was a stranger, and Mr. Linsted was 
 selected ; but as that gentleman declined to work for less than the 
 standard commission, of a i<( of a cent, the commission was 
 doubled, and ^ a cent, paid to the agency. In 1878 Mr. Linsted 
 declined to continue his association with Mr. H. W. Pratt, and it 
 became necessa.y to choose between them. We were advised 
 that if the choice were allowed to rest with nhe O. & L. C. Co. 
 Mr. H. W. Pratt would undoubtedly be re-appointed : a course 
 to which the steamboat proprietors had already strongly demurr- 
 ed, as prejudicial to the Line ; and clause li of the contract, giv- 
 ing the nomination of the Western agencies to us, was there- 
 upon specially introduced to meet the difficulty. 
 
 That clause, with all the others, was approved by Mr. Pratt 
 when he authorized Mr, Hungeiford to sign the contract. It is 
 quite possible that Mr. Pratt did not understand it, until zve had 
 put it in effect by the appointment of Mr. Linsted, and that the 
 discovery then found expression in the telegram of Mr. R. W. 
 Pratt, announcing tiiat, " ive have no Age.it in Chicago'' and, in the 
 instructions of the President to Mr. Hungerford that he would 
 pay no charges for commissions, cither directly or indirectly. 
 It will be for your Committee to determine whether, in view 
 
H 
 
 11- 
 
 .if.;. 
 
 of the agencies and commissions paid by their Company in 1877, 
 there was much consistency in the objection of Mr. Pratt to their 
 repetition on a more economical and efficient standard in 1878; 
 and your Committee may, perhaps, institute enquiries as to the 
 relative values of the respective agencies in those years, 
 
 4. That the Bill of Lading should not be the Bill of the 
 O. and L. C. Co. 
 
 To this I have to say that the language of the contract, 
 which Mr. Pratt claims was " not clear to him'' is as follows : 
 
 "J.I." "The said agents at Chicago and Milwaukee shall have full 
 power to issue Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railway through Bills of 
 Lading on behalf of the Line." 
 
 And when I add that this clause of the contract simply pro- 
 vided for the contiiiiiance of the system adopted in iSyy, when the 
 Bills zvere Bills of the O. & L. C. Co., your Committee w'U pro- 
 bably seek a solution of Mr. Pratt's difficulty either in Mr. 
 •Pratt's absolute ignorance of the operations of 1877 or that the 
 English language is " not clear to hini," or that he simply sought 
 for a reason, any reason, to break down the contract. 
 
 I am not aware that there was a single claim against your 
 Company in 1877, upon its liability on these Bills, or that the 
 credit and standing of this Company hos not always been ample 
 to secure any bill to which it is a party. 
 
 I have thus disposed of the four alle..^ed objections upon 
 which Mr. Pratt repudiated the contract of nth March; but 
 before leaving this branch of the subject I desire to direct the 
 attention of your Committee to the fact that although on the 
 nth April the Superintendent of the O. & L. C. R. Co. assured 
 us that all New England points were to be immediately 
 " scoured " for West bound freight, and that we should " have 
 plenty of it by the time the boats got into line ; " up to the date 
 when I had the pleasure of meeting you in Ogdensburg, uo 
 Agent had been appointed anyhwere in the East, and as the inevit- 
 able result not one single ounce of West bound freight has been 
 secured ; and I appeal to your sense of justice and to your appre- 
 ciation of the moral (apart from the legal) obligations of contracts 
 to say whether v/e have not good cause for the most serious com- 
 plaint, and whether moreover your Company has not suffered 
 serious loss by the inaction, not to say the opposition, which we 
 have encountered from Mr. Pratt. On the i6th March your 
 
|in 18;;, 
 to their 
 
 I" i8;«i 
 
 to tlie 
 
 of the 
 
 tontract, 
 lows : 
 
 [have full 
 Bills of 
 
 )ly pro- 
 'hcn the 
 :II pro- 
 in Mr. 
 hat the 
 sought 
 
 st your 
 hat the 
 I ample 
 
 s upon 
 h ; but 
 ect the 
 on the 
 issured 
 diately 
 " have 
 le date 
 irg, no 
 inevit- 
 %s been 
 appre- 
 itracts 
 ) com- 
 fifered 
 ch we 
 . your 
 
 15 
 
 Superintendent plaintively says : " S^ozv that he {the President) 
 ivill let me zvork, zve can ivo^k this line j/«^^////j'," and we feel 
 that had that officer been allowed as he proposed " to rush mat- 
 ters along'' the business would have been more satisfactory and 
 more profitable to both interests than even in 1877, when every- 
 thing was done to mutual approval and advantage. 
 
 Having appealed from the action of President, I had the 
 honor of an interview with the Directors of the O. & L. C. Com- 
 pany at a meeting of the Board held at Boston on the 30th April, 
 and the questions in difference having been discussed, their adjust- 
 ment was left to Mr. F. Thompson (a member of the Board) at 
 whose suggestion and on who.sii authority as the representative 
 of his colleagues a memorandum was prepared and signed by 
 Mr. Thompson, Mr. Pratt and myself, to the effect that " the 
 business be carried on under the provisions of the said contract^ 
 of nth March, " excepting that the question of Western commis- 
 sions and brokerage be suspended for adjustment and decision at 
 close of season,"' and that "Bills of Lading for Eastern bound 
 freight made in the name of the O. & L. C. Co. must in form 
 and substance be .satisfactory to the President of that Company." 
 
 That memorandam was adopted and signed in Boston, at 
 about ten o'clock on 'the night of the 30th .\pril, and I then 
 parted with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Pratt, under the assumption, 
 mutually expressed, that all differences had been settled. 
 
 Accordingly, on the following morning, the ist of May, Mr. 
 Kerr, by my instructions, joined Mr. Hungerford in a new effort 
 to establish Boston and New England agencies, to secure West- 
 bound freight. I returned to Toronto, and Mr. Kerr prolonged 
 his stay in Boston for the above purpose. 
 
 On reaching Toronto I was amazed to find the following 
 letter from Mr. Pratt, bearing date the 1st of May, 1878 : 
 
 Oy,densburg &^ Lake Chaviptain Railway Co., New York. 
 
 J ' Treasurer's Office, Boston, Mass., May 1, 1878, 
 
 F.W. CUMBERLAND, Esq., . ;,^ 
 
 General Manager, Northern Railway oj Canada. -' 
 
 Dear Sir,— 
 
 To prevent any misunderstanding on your part, I deem it proper to 
 notify you that we recognize no agent in Chicago or Milwaukee as acting for 
 or representing the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad Co. excepting 
 Henry V/. Pratt, who has been appointed our agent. Any other person who 
 
i. i iiiiitl 
 
 
 
 \6 
 
 
 
 liii"? 
 
 if 
 
 f.'' 
 
 ',{jj 
 
 ;;*»<.! 
 
 
 
 ■V. 
 
 «' 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 may claim to act in that capacity, acts without authority from this Road, and 
 we shall bear no part, either directly or indirectly, of the expense of his 
 services. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JOHN C. PRATT, 
 
 President O. ^ L. C. R. /?. Co. 
 
 Thus the " settlement of the differences " made by Mr, 
 Thompson under authority of his Board, was in its turn re- 
 pudiated by the President, and although the memorandum 
 declared that the business should be carried on under the pro- 
 visions of the contract, with certain specified and limited 
 exceptions, Mr. Pratt ignored all agency at Chicago, excepting 
 Henry W. Pratt, and absolutely refused to " bear any part either 
 directly or indirectly of the expense " of that agency, although 
 under the memorandum of Mr. Thompson, signed by himself, 
 he had within 12 or 14 hours, agreed that such expenses should 
 " be suspended for adjustment and decision at close of season." ! 
 
 I think your Committee will concede, that under such cir- 
 curnstances, no other course was open to me than to recall Mr. 
 Kerr, stay all further proceedings, and stop the traffic. This I 
 did with great reluctance, because I felt Mr. Pratt's action was 
 in dfrect contravention of the action and policy of the Board as 
 set out in Mr. Thompson's memorandum. 
 
 In the beginning of June the officers of your Company be" 
 coming uneasy, owing to the exceedingly small quantity of grain 
 which was being delivered at Ogdensburg by the N. T. Co. 
 (deliveries by Collingwood Line being stopped), Mr. Hungerford 
 telegraphed Mr. Kerr on the 4th June, saying he would be in 
 Toronto on the 5th, and asked for an appointment accordingly. 
 
 Mr. Hungerford duly arrived, accompanied by Mr. H. W. 
 Pratt, and a meeting was held resulting in Mr. Hungerford making 
 a proposal in writing, that relations be renewed on a basis of 
 divisions — each Company to have 50 per cent, of the current 
 through rate, with one-half cent to the O. & L. C. elevator, 
 division to continue until further notice, or until the through rate 
 advanced to 121^ cents per bushel, and that the O. & L. C. would 
 immediately put an Agent or Agents into the field in New P2ng- 
 land, and use their utmost endeavours to secure west bound 
 freight for the Collingwood Line. 
 
 To this proposal I s-gnified my willingness to re-open busi- 
 ness, on a basis of 50 per cent, to each Company until such time 
 
'k 'ii 
 
 17 
 
 as the rate advanced to 12>< cents per bushel, and thereafter to 
 revert to the terms of the oricrinal contract, providing the 
 O. & L. C. Co. would undertake to provide sufficient west bound 
 frei|rht to make it ;.n object to the propellers to carry Ogdens- 
 bur^' business, and also providing that each Company'pay to the 
 other a commissim upon the net earnings of the Railways, that 
 is, the portions of the through line between Collingwood and 
 Toronto, and Ogdensburg and .ouse's Point. 
 
 To my proposal Mr. Hurgerford replied that he had no 
 authority to bind his Company to the payment of the commis- 
 sion, and I, being anxious that whatever arrangements were 
 then made should be authoritative and final, instructed Mr. Kerr 
 to accompany Mr. Hungerford to Ogdensburg, with a view to 
 that end. On the 6th June, Mr. Kerr had an interview with 
 Mr. Pratt in his office at Ogden-burg, Mr. Hungerford and 
 Mr. Church, the Gen. PVt. Agt., being present, and after dis- 
 cussing my proposal, agreed verbally to a division of rates, 50 
 per cent, to each Company, and proposed, with regard to the 
 commission, that my Company pay the O. & L. C. 10 per cent, 
 on all west-bound business handed to us, and that they (the O. & 
 L. C.) would pay us 10 per cent, on the same amount of earn- 
 ings on which we paid them, and agreed to appoint any man, and 
 pay him any salary we might choose to name ; but when Mr. 
 Kerr proposed to goto Boston to look up the business, Mr. Pratt 
 objected, and volunteered to bring a man to Ogdensburg, where 
 Mr. Kerr could meet him and make arrangements. On Mr. Kerr 
 reducing this proposal to writing, Mr. Pratt, in pursuance of the 
 policy which evidently has guided his every action throughout 
 these negociations, again departed from the letter and spirit of 
 the understanding arrived at, merely contented himself with 
 returning a copy of the proposal submitted by Mr. Hungerford 
 at Toronto, claiming that it embodied the full terms of the dis- 
 cussion had at the meeting held in his (Mr. Pratt's) office. 
 
 On Mr. Kerr's return to Toronto, I concluded that it was 
 utterly hopeless to expect to arrive at an equitable solution of 
 the difficulty with Mr. Pratt, and concluded to continue to direct 
 our traffic into other channels until such time as we could arrive 
 at a fair basis with the President of the O. & L. C, and only take 
 such business for Ogdensburg as might be wholly to the interests 
 of my Company and the steamers to carry. After the meeting 
 
i8 
 
 
 IP 
 
 
 rip! 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 '..t.'f 
 
 of the Board of your Company; held at Saratoga, on the 17th 
 July at which Mr. Averill was elected President, Mr. Hungerford 
 again invited me to re-open the line to Ogdensburg, and to 
 that end I met him in Boston, on the 25th July, when a provi- 
 sional arrangement was made, whereby business was resumed, 
 and connections made to give us a share of the west-bouml 
 business ; since that date we have worked heartily for New 
 England busine<^r., with results which I think you will find are 
 highly satisfactory to your Company. 
 
 On investigating the result of the repeated checks put upon 
 the business by Mr Pratt, your Committee will find that from 
 the opening of the season (say 2 1st April to 1st June), our 
 aggregate contracts West represented 625,000 bushels of grain, 
 of which 566,200 were sent to other points, and 58,800 bushels 
 only delivered at Ogdensburg ; whilst since, under Mr. Averills 
 administration, our relations haying been restored (say since the 
 17th July), our Western contracts to date have represented 
 750,000 bushels, of which 450,000 bushels have been delivered 
 to your Company at Ogdensburg, and are now in transit ; when 
 all contracts mail ■ up to 31st August have been delivered tiiis 
 Company will have carried 1,617,000 bushels, of which only 
 558,000 have been taken for Ogdensburg. 
 
 In reviewing this volume of traffic and measuring its value 
 representing as it does something approaching to one and three- 
 quarters million bushels of Western grain handled by us be- 
 tween the -1st April and 31st August, I am free to confess 
 that were my Company ever so prosperous I should (zven' it 
 offered to me by any Wcstivard connections as we have offered it 
 to you), regard it as of sufficient importance to suggest the most 
 anxious and conciliatory consideration, and I should , watch 
 with great solicitude for every opportunity for nursing and 
 strengthening such a valuable contribution to my traffic. 
 
 Mr. Pratt says, " Mr. Hungerford asserts that the Colling- 
 wood route is quite equal to that of the Northern Transit Com- 
 pany for Western-bound freight ^ith rates the same — the asser- 
 tion is too absurd to require an answer. Every man engaged in 
 business and every freight Agent will say that the two Lines 
 placed side by side with the same rates, the Collingwood Line 
 could obtain little or no business as against the Northern 
 Transit Company." 
 
!9 
 
 By this gratuitous observation, Mr, Pratt shews his hand 
 and exposes his sympathies and poh'cy, for if it means anything 
 it means that your Company should exclusively deal with the 
 N. T. Company to the rejection of all others. 
 
 I decline to engage in comparison between the Collingwood 
 Line and the N. T. Company, which like my own is an old estab- 
 lished, and I believe a respectable organization, but I protest 
 against the depreciatory language indulged in by Mr. Pratt, and 
 I appeal to you against the policy it exposes and which would 
 ignore the very theory and principle upon which (as I remember 
 when your Line was first opened) your undertaking was orig- 
 inally established, namely, " free access to the juakes and to the 
 traffic which such a connection ivith the p-eat inland ivaters would 
 imply," for Mr. Pratt's idea and action suggests the notion that 
 you should have but one and an exclusive connection on the 
 lakes to the persistent rejection of all others. As well might the 
 New York Central Company, because it has close relations 
 with the Lake Shore Road, reject and belittle the important 
 traffic brought to it by the Great Western, the Canada Southern 
 and other Western Lines, as that you should build a Chinese 
 wall against all other contributions to your business than that 
 afforded by the N. T. Company, be the latter ever so valuable. 
 
 I confess that this assault of Mr. gratt's, taken in connection 
 with his secret negociation (after closing zvcth us) for a supplemen- 
 tary contract with the N. T. Company (for ivhoin previously he had 
 no zvords sufficiently condemfiatory) with the appointment of his 
 son as the Agent of your Company, and his establisJtnient in the 
 N. T. Offices, and with the ultimate and determined repression 
 of all business between us, — seem to point to a settled intention 
 on his part to limit your operations on the northern waters to 
 that Company. 
 
 But it would be an impertinence on my pa-rt, even under the 
 provocation of Mr. Pratt's gratuitous hostility, to pursue the dis- 
 cussion which he challenges. The interests of your Corporation 
 are in your hands and not in mine, and you will best know how 
 to pass judgment upon a policy which would limit your opera- 
 tions within so narrow a sphere. -^' '^-;^fe-^«*^*-- ^ ,.. 
 
 I think I have now covered the whole ground of this miser- 
 able controversy. Nothing but respect for your Committee and 
 regard for the standing and interests of my own Company would 
 
20 
 
 have induced me to travel over the dreary paths of this disrepu- 
 table history ; but I hope that notwithstanding the obstructions 
 ■itid disappointments by which the relations between our com- 
 panies have been beset that the future may still be allowed to 
 justify the hope that we may work together to mutual advantage. 
 I cannot close without making some reference to Mr. Pratt's 
 complaint ;;hat "it is a significant fact that while he (Mr. Pratt) 
 has acted in this whole business under the contract as explained 
 by Mr. Hungerford, that no word of censure has been made or 
 implied by Mr. Cumberland against Mr. Hungerford, it is all 
 against him (Mr. Pratt). Let Mr. Cumberland (he says) "in ad- 
 dition to the correspondence printed in his pamphlet furtish us 
 with all the cotrespondeiice both by telegraph and by letter',' (the 
 italics are Mr. Pratt's) " between him, Mr Kerr and Mr. Hunger- 
 ford, since January last : we may then see the inner working and 
 meaning of this whole business." 
 
 In reply to this I beg to say that all the correspondence 
 thus referred to is entirely at the disposal of your Committee, and 
 that I will take care it is forwarded to you for perusal, and I 
 think it will be accepted as shewing that Mr. Hungerford has been 
 energetic in promoting and vigilant in protecting the interests of 
 your Company, that he has been subjected to most vexatious 
 obstruction and tyrannous coercion by his President, and that 
 the only rebuke to which he is perhaps somewhat open, is that he 
 lacks the backbone to resist with the persistence with which it 
 ought to be resisted, the spirit of intrigue and nepotism by which 
 his superior officer seems to be governed. He has, as I believe, 
 been trying to do his duty loyally to his Company without rais- 
 ing an issue with his President, but I venture to think that he 
 would have compassed his duty better had he feared the issue 
 less. At any rate there are no secrets in the correspondence to 
 justify the ungenerous imputation which Mr. Pratt casts upon 
 Mr. Hungerford. 
 
 Should your Committee desire to pursue their enquiries of 
 me personally, I shall be happy to attend at Boston at any time 
 on receiving reasonable notice. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with much respect, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Fred. Cumberland, 
 
 Mana0»g Director, Northern Railway of Canada. 
 
1]