The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-03-27 00:00:00

CANADA AND ITS NATIONAL
HIGHWAY.

At a meeting of the Foreign and Colonial Section
of the Society of Arts under the presidency of Sir
Charles Tupper, K.C:M.G., High Commissioner for
Canada, Mr. Alexanderßegg read apaper on "Canada
and its National Highway.' He began by giving a
brief sketch of the country from its discovery by
Sebastian Cabot in 1497 to the present time. Alluding
to the recently completed Canadian Pacific Railway
arid the consequent opening up of the great North-
West with its vast area of fertile land, he said that
it would undoubtedly drain thousands of agri-
culturists from the overcrowded countries of
Europe, and in this way the population of
the Dominion was certain to be very mate-
rially increased within the next few years.
After giving comprehensive statistics of the various
industries of the country, consideration naturally
being first attracted to agriculture, Mr. Begg
gave some information about that fast-disap-
peering class, the aborigines or Red Men of
Canada. There were now remaining only 131,952
throughout the whole of the Dominion, and of this
number 33,959 belonged to the tribes of the North-
West Territories. A large proportion of the Indians
in the eastern provinces were more or less civilised.
Those in the North-West were so scattered, and more-
over bound by such just and fair treaties, their part
of which the Dominion Government endeavoured
faithfully to carry out, that any outbreak or trouble
was, in his judgment, next to impossible. (Cheers.)
The attempt to incite the more important tribes to
rebellion during the late rising of half-breeds in the
North-West, signally failed, and no greater proof
than this of their loyalty Wes needed Corning to
speak of the physical features and beauties of Canada,
the lecturer remarked that a country so vast in
extent could hardly fail to present a great variety
of surface, as well as every description of
climate, soil, and produce. Mountain and
woodland characterised to a large extent the
eastern and western portions of Canada, while the
central was principally level prairie. Returning
again to the subject of the " National Highway,"
Mr. Begg shortly reviewed the difficulties encountered
and overcome in the construction of the railway.
Shortly after the accession of Sir John A. Macdonald
to power in 1878 work commenced in earnest, so that
at the close of 1881 165 miles were constructed west-
ward 'from Winnipeg. In 1882 the company com-
pleted a further distance of 419 miles, and in the
May of 1884 it was finished to Stephen, the summit
of the Rockies, being altogether a total of 981
miles constructed in three years' time. Although
the work of construction was quickly done, it was
thoroughly well built with the best of materials.
The year 1884 was principally occupied with the
construction of the railway north of Lake Superior.
On this section of the road, which was
one of the most difficult the company had
to overcome, there were from 10,000 to 12,000 men
employed, and from 1500 to 2000 teams of horses.
Twelve steamers of different sizes were employed to
bring supplies to this army of labourers. The Lake
Superior section was completed early in 188.5, and
opened for traffic in the autumn of the same year.
On Nov. 2, 1885, the first through train to the Roeky
Mountains left the city of Montreal, and on the 7th
of the same month, in the same year, the last spike to
complete the line from the Atlantic to the Pacific was
driven by the Hon. Donald H. Smith, who had been
throughout one of the warmest and strongest sup-
porters of the great enterprise. (Cheers.) One had
only to travel over the line tlarough the Rockies
to comprehend the immense physical d fficul-
ties that had been overcome in the construc-
tion of the railway. More than 300 miles had
been cut through solid rock; the mountains had
been pierced by scores of tunnels; innumerable rivere
of various sizes had been crossed, some by iron bridges
over 1000 feet in length; one wooden bridge of most
solid construction, 286 ft. above the water—the highest
in America—and no less than 14 streams had been
diverted from their natural beds by tunneling through
the solid rock. He looked upon the completion of
the railway as the welding of the last link in the
chain of confederation with British North America;
and without that link the elements of disunion would,
be feared, have developed. This was especially so as
far as the North-West Territories and British
Columbia were concerned, for without railway con-
nection between the eastern and western portions
of the Dominion the latter would occupy an
isolated position, such as could not last long with-
out danger of a disruption of the union. The comple-
tion of the road bound together all the provinces
of British North America politically and commer-
cially, and opened no to the surplus population of
the United Kingdom the mest productive wheat lands
in the world. It would tend more than any other
work ever could do to make Greater Britain
reality, and to consolidate in more ways than were
hitherto suspected the unity of the Empire. (Cheers.)
At the conclusion of the lecture a number of very
effective lantern views of the Dominion were exhi-
bited, and gave great satisfaction. Dr. James
Edmunds, in proposing a vote of thanks to the lec-
turer, said that our overcrowded population was
becoming day by day a more pressing question, and
there could be very little doubt that our colonies
were the most valuable possessions which England
had. For men who emigrated to Canada there
was a great future such as could not be paral-
leled, as far as his experience went, in this country.
Mr. Chadwick seconded the motion. Tho
Chairman in supporting the resolution remarked that
there were just one or two points upon which he
wanted to offer a slight criticism. He was afraid that
in giving too much praise to himself, and perhaps too
much to the leader of the Government of which he
was a member, Mr. Begg had hardly done justice to
their political opponents, who, when they came into
power in 1872, declared their intention of steadily
carrying out the scheme which their predecessors in
office had begun. Whether they regarded the railway
as opening up to English emigration a land which
would give comfortable homes to 40,000,000 of her
Majesty's subjects, or as a great highway to the East,
the importance of the work could not be over-
estimated. (Cheers.) The vote of thanks having been
unanimously accorded, the proceeding closed with a
similar compliment to the chairman.