The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-06 00:00:00

LON DON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 6, 1853.

PUBLIC DINNER AT MONTREAL IN HONOUR

OF B. STEPHENSON, ESQ., M.P.

(From the Montreal Pilot of August 22.)

The subjoined account of the proceedings of the public
dinner in honour of Robert Stephenson, Esq., M.P., will be
read with interest. Apart from the circumstance of the
worldwide ability of the subject of the testimonial, the
conspicuous position of the guests invited to paydue honour
to his presence, and the high respectability of the parties
who acted as the hosts in subscribing to the festival, there
are other points which invest it with more than ordinary
importance. The matured judgment of such persons as
Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Jackson on the matters descanted
on by them, with such native unadorned eloquence," are
entitled to, and will doubtless carry, great weight in this
country, in the future regulation of our railroad policy.
We need not urge attention to these remarks—their intrin-
sic merit and their vast importance will command for
them due respect. The speech also of Mr. Mucks, and in-
deed of all the gentlemen who addressed the assembled
company, are wtrthy of careful perusal and study.
In our last, we briefly adverted to the gratifying man-
ner in which the dinner passed over, and in giving the
present more extended account of the proceedings of the
evening, we must repeat our tribute to the entire excel-
lence of the arrangements. We have never in Canada
been present at a public dinner so well provided in every
respect with the luxuries and delicacies of the season, and at
which the wines were so recherche in quality, and the wait-
ing so excellent.
The decorations of the tables and of the room were in
excellent taste. In front of the chairmen was a model of a
railroad bridge, with cars passing over, and shipping be-
neath it, extending the whole length of the table, and
ornamented with appropriate flags and devices, which were
also exhibited at other p arts of the table. The excellent
band of the 26th Regiment being placed in a shed con-
structed outside of the building, the sound was rendered
not too powerful. It contributed largely to the gratifica-
tion of the meeting by the admirable manner in which it
performed a number of delightful pieces of music.
The chair was ably filled by the Honourable Peter
; to whom the audience evinced, alike by their
attention,, and. by.the erithrisiastio-irranner in which they
greeted the highly appropriate remarks with which he in-
troduced the several toasts, the high respect in w ,ich he
is universally held. The two members for the city, the
Hon. Messrs. Young and Badgley, ably sustained the
office of Vice-Presidents. To the right of the chairman
was the guest of the evening, Mr. Stephenson ; to his left
the Hon. Francis Hincks ; they were respectively flanked
at the upper table by R. Jackson, Esq., M.P., the Hon.
Messrs. Rolph, Ross, and Tache, Col. Bruce, and Col. Napier.
We observed the following members of the Provincial Le-
gislature amongst the party : Hon. Mr. Bourret, It. L.
C., Sir A. N. Mac Nab, Mr. J. A. Macdonald, Mr. Egan,
and Mr. Cartier. Mr. Sheriff Boston and other public
functionaries, Mr. Allan, President of the Board of Trade,
and a large proportion of the leading members of the mer-
cantile body ; Messrs. Holmes, Molson, Brewster, Delisle.
Coffin,, and other of our railroad directors and projectors
were aso present. Altogether, the company may truly be
said to have embraced a large proportion of the wealth and
intelligence of the city.

The Hon. Peter M'Gill rose and proposed the health of
the Queen, which was drunk with all the honours, and
followed by the " National Anthem" by the band—the
words sung by Augustus Heward, Esq.
The second toast, "Prince Albert and the rest of the
Royal Family," was also drunk in similar style, followed
by the band with " Prince Albert's March."
_ _

The third toast, " The Governor General," the chair-
man said, was not merely duo to the high station of the
distinguished individual, but to the efforts he had made,
most efficiently, to advance the material interests of the
country in canals and railroads. He had done everything in
his power to promote the prosperity of the country. His Ex-
cellency had been to him, (Mr. M`G.) personally, verykind ;
he might say to his Sovereign, when he reached home, that
he had left the colony in a more prosperous st Ito
than any other Governor had done. He hoped they would
wish His Excellency a prosperous passage to his native
country. (Cheers.)
The toast was then drunk, and received with immense
cheering. After the air from the Band, "Scots wha
hae "

The Hon. Colonel BRucE rose to return thanks. He was
gratified by the eloquent address with which the toast had
been introduced, and the cordial manner in which it had
been received. No man could more appreciate this mag-
nificent testimonial of the kind feelings than the Governor
General himself. No one hails with more pleasure, the
advancement of every district, and particularly the com-
munication of one with' the other. His Excellency had
this great work at heart, and trusted it would extend to

link the North American provinces with the far West.
The project was no longer " looming in the distance," but
was nearly accomplished. The toast was not the less
gratifying that it came from a gentleman for whom both
in his public and private capacity, he had the highest
esteem and regard. His Excellency leaves for a short
time to revisit his native country, and in enjoying that
relaxation, he will not abate ono jot of the deep interest
he will ever take in the material prosperity of Canada and
as an earnest, after the conclusion of the late long—he
might almost say tedious session—His Excellency had
ascended the Ottawa, and had even gone further west, and
touched a little bit of California gold, (so we understood,) and
was not the man to spend his time in indolence. (Cheers.)
Hon. Mr. M`GILL then gave " The Army and Navy,"
and remarked that there were at present rumours of war,
which he hopi3d would all end in smoke. If they did not
the soldiers and sailors in the British service would be
prepared to do their duty, as they had always done before.
Colonel NAPIER, C. 8., Actg. D.A. General, returned
thanks.

The Hon. Mr. 111`GILL again rose, and said the next
toast was emphatically the toast of the evening. (Cheer-
ing long and loud. After silence had at length been pro-
cured, he went on.) He would introduce to the company
their distinguished guest on his right hand, Mr. Robert,
Stephenson, M.P., whose reputation as a practical and scien-
tific engineer was confined only to the limits of the civi-
lised world. Gentlemen of Montreal were doing them-
selves honour by doing honour to him. His name alone
was sufficient to ensure the toast an enthusiastic reception.
He was the son of the celebrated John Stephenson, and
had inherited his father's genius and his father's reputa-
tion. In 1828 he was called by his father to assist him in
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1832 he was
in charge of the Liverpool and Birmingham as engineer,
and experienced numerous and great difficulties in the
work. He had also been engaged by mining companies in
England and Peru, and prove t himself full of mechanical
resources. In 1847 he had the Chester and Holyhead Rail-
way, and it was here that his masterpiece of engineering
was effected, the bridge over the Menai Straits. This stu-
pendous work would be looked upon by after ages as
one of the wonders of the world. He had also laid out
great works on the continent of Europe, and the Pa.,ha of
Egypt had secured his services for works on his Pashalik.
He was now here amongst us to do us good, by designing
the bridge at Montreal. Under his auspices, success was
certain ; and when built, the structure would not be the
least monument that would carry his name down to pos-
terity. In connection with the bridge, he would also
mention the great railway system now oommencing in
Canada, and the great benefit we were to derive from it.
We could not imagine that engaged as he was in works
all over the world, he could devote all his attention to this
work. But Wellington and Napoleon had their generals
and adjutants under them, and Mr. Stephenson would be
ably represented by Mr. Ross and others, until his return
next spring He gave the health of Robert Setphenson,
Esq., M.P.
Mr. STEPHENSON rose amidst much applause, and said
that he owed much to the honourable chairman for the
distinguished compliments he had paid him, and the high
appreciation he had been pleased to express of his merits.
He had come to Canada upon a professional visit, and
from what he had seen of the country, he was convinced
that the present was but the commencement of a great
railway system, and he ventured to express his sincere
desire, that Canada should avoid these errors in producing
the system which other countries had committed with
theirs. Canada was yet only on the threshold, and the
proper laying out of the plan, he thought of as much im-
portance as the introduction of railroads themselves. He
hoped that the legislature of this country would not do as
those of some countries had done, for although there were
difficulties in the way, yet here it appeared to him they
were principally those of legislation. Canada, at present,
had an unoccupied field before her, and much would de-
pend upon the first step. If it were taken with judgment,
other difficulties would be of comparatively little import-
ance. If it were taken injudiciously, what seemed but a
speck in the west might become a thunder cloud. The
dangers might not be apparent to Canadians at present,
but before he sat down he would ende,avour to make us
sensible of them. Ho had seen the rise and progress of
railways in England, and those who had not could hardly
appreciate the enormous losses occasioned by false legisla-
tion. Few, indeed, know the rise and progress of the
legislation with respect to them. He would occupy a few
minutes in pointing out what those errors were, and what
course to take to avoid them. He was incapable of ora-
tory ; but, having been mixed up with railway con-
tentions for twenty years, he thought he could teach
them how to avoid them. (Here the speaker was
inaudible for a few minutes, owing to a slight
noise in the room. The general purport of his
observations was to point out the difficulties in-
interposed to the construction of the first railways in Eng-
land.) After these obstacles raised in the first instance
had been removed, the people then became sensible of the
immense advantages of the railwoy harse, and the question
assumed a new phase. Then all places rushed into rail-
way speculations. The country was tolerably well filled
up with railway lines. Competition arose within the
walls of Parliament, not for interest, but for vanity.
Here Mr. Stephenson went into the history of several
railway struggles, and stated that the committees in Par-
liament took into their consideration, not who was right
or who was wrong, but entered upon questions entirely
subsidiary, not at all connected with the profit of the lines
or the necessity for making them. The consequence was
that committees sometimes decided upon different lines
upon reasons entirely apart from their real merits, or the
scientific questions involved in the details. There was one
district through which it was proposed to run two lines,
and there was no other difficulty between them than the
also.swhtmii emoeetrnr
merely
tl simple
Butrivalry,hrtoethloee
cgh
staehevr
projected
public.tthnehla shorten the
t tleuhi
hrnfgeeehr
another,
tnnthaoie
me:
bhngeaceor
rorat
tmneaywonmethahihcetefaotrerre tueweneai
country,
yl,msi
instance,
enonhauwetnoet
aitdhshstaewtvrheoemglii
lines
were projected through a barren country, and the com-
gave the one which afforded the least accommoda-
tgharvoeungehitahemro_uanntdai
where
country,
they
should th committeehavhave
giv
egna":nleebe baietdoh runit
neither,
stohetyllagtavwehbeoretht.he
sconmehmaittaepeeemieiagehrt
iheginvselagitievennwbaostb,
faulty,they
and he hoped it would not be imitated in this country.
There was, indeed, a committee now sitting in England,
the attention of which he had called to these facts. After
lines were granted, the competion, which began within the
walls of parliament, continued when the lines came to be
put in operation. People said it was necessary to have
competition for the benefit of the public, that the whole
country would be under the dominion of railway corpo-
ration, and competition was the only means of checking it,
and preserving moderate prices. Well, ho could say,
upon the authority of the Board of Ttade,—and from
his own knowledge that, since competing lines commenced,

out of 300 millions of .pounds expended, 60 had been
wasted ; that is, in duplicate lines. But, in order to mark
the inconsistency of the proceedings in railway legislation,
when the London and Birmingham was askelfor, the
feasibility of the route was doubted ; great difficulties
were suggested as being in the way ; engineers were called
in to decide everything in opposition to it ; the estimates
, were disputed and doubted ; it was maintained that the
company ought to prove the traffic that was, to go over it,
and that 6or S per cent. was to be obtained upon the
money invested ' • in fact, a most paternal part was taken
in the project. Before Parliament granted the charter,
before the people were allowed to expend their own money,
they were here here asked to prove the traffic and the pro-
fit, and show a regular contract to establish that the work
was to be done within the estimate. The people cla-
moured for competition, and Parliament granted the ex-
penditure of two capitals. At that time -it was be-
lieved that competition world compel them to carry
passengers almost for nothing. But what was the re-
sult? The opulent were struck down, and the poor were
reduced to penury. Nothing but the resources of British
commerce could have sustained such a shock. These
serious evils of legislation it might be difficult to escape
from in England, but they should be weighed well before
they were brought into Canada, either by the present or
any future Government. It was said that all was right,
the public gained what the proprietors lost. But the pub-
lic had not gained. Capital was absorbed and diverted
from other profitable employment. Lines had been
located, which never would have been built had a directing
genius presided over the chartering of them ; and he did
not envy the man who could glory at one part of the com-
munity prospering by the ruin of another. This error had
been most disastrous in his country, and he hoped it
would not be committed here. Competition never an-
swered a beneficial purpose. Competition, like poverty,
was the mother of invention, and when things came to the
lowest ebb, the remedy was in amalgamation. In no in-
stance had occurred that amalgamation had not reduced
charges. Mr. Stephenson then referred generally to the
expense of working short lines, and the necessity of extin-
guishing
them by amalgamation, and mentioned au in-
stance where, including water communications,
there are
five competing lines. The result from: comßetition was,
that they had laid raised tolltto
the highee4-.,"*Rfilp competition,
nothing was to he done but to develop our resources, and
make the profits highest. Mr. Stephenson then referred to
foreign countries. First of all to Belgium, which had em-
ployed one or two men to lay out the country, so as to ob-
tain the greatest amount of accommodation with the least
expenditure of money. The speed obtained was not per-
haps so great as that obtained in England; but it will
bear comparison with that in any other country. The
minor points of the country were filled up according to the
original design, and all conducted with economy. In
France no lines were allowed to be made unless they were
called for, and made part of a great system. France was
slow but more favourable comparison with Great Britain,
for there competition had marred the whole scheme. Swit-
zerland was a collection of several cantons, each preferring
its own interests as to gunge and building without refer-
ence to the whole. They decided to send to England
for an engineer to design for them a net work of rail-
ways, and he (Mr. S.) had had the honour to be called in,
and had assisted in designing their railways from end to
end, and capital was now flowing in, satisfied because there
were no rival lines, and there was no doubt of their com-
pletion. Ho then said that Canadians wanted English ca-
pital, and advised them to be guarded in the system they
should adopt, especially in regard to reckless competition.
He would for himself hesitate to recommend to his friends
in England to invest their money in railways here, if reck-
less competition were allowed, for nothing but loss and
confusion would result. Belgium, France, and Switzer-
land all possessed great advantages over England in having
no rival linos, and in having laid out their main lines for
the benefit of whole country, rather than allowing to
any town, or any portion of the country, a prepon-
derating voice in their location. They had estab-
lished, from end to end of their country, a system
in harmony with itself. They could not prevent por-
tions of the country having their railways, but they
were so small as not to interfere with the great design.
It was the interest of the country that was involved, not
that of individuals, nor of particular localities. Canadians
ought to have a system which would work in all harmony.
What was to be gained by ruinous competition? If pas-
sions and interests were brought into play, nothing could
result but destruction of property and loss of life too. He
said he could not offer a better comparison between a sys-
tem judiciously designed and a wild competition, than the
steamboat which he was on board of the night before. He
found that the vessel was propelled by two engines, each
seperate from the other, and he would suppose that they
were under the command of two rival companies. These
would have their friends and opponents on board, and he
would suppose that the engineers quarrelled what progress
would they have made ? Would they have reached Three
Rivers ? At all events he would not have had the honour
of enjoying the splendid hospitality of the gentlemen of
Montreal at that moment. He said he had one word
more. He could not leave the city without saying
something on the all-important subject of the Bridge.
There was here a most magnificent river, and. he
had received abundant information respecting it
from Mr. Alexander Ross, who had been here several
months ago, as to what the bridge was to be. It was a
startling project, and at the time he had no idea of having
anything to do with it. But having studied the admirable
report of Mr. T. C. Keefer, and the philosophical paper
drawn up by Mr. Logan, he could understand from what
had been written the general circumstances to be can-
sidered. But if possible ho would be in Canada again at
the breaking up of the ice. (Great applause.) Still they
might be anxious to learn his impressions about the bridge
and he would proceed to state them. According to his
ideas there was no difficulty to be apprehended from the
ice. From calculations he had made since his arrival in
Montreal, he was satisfied that no shove that could come
against the piers would be sufficient to displace them. The
people here had no doubt seen the formation of the ice iu
winter and its breaking up in the spring. He had himself
noticed those stupendous and beautiful phenomena, of
course, but he had not seen them as they are at Montreal.
He would say, however, that there were facts attending
the breaking up of ice which were susceptible of mathe-
matical demonstration, and the pressure of the shove was
also capable of being valued. It was therefore as easy as
the addition of 2 and 2 to estimate the pressure necessary
to retain the piers in their places. He had been told that
the ice was piled 30 or 40 feet high, but its pressure could
be easily withstood. He had calculated that if ice were
piled twice the height it would not disturb a well con-
structed bridge. So far, therefore, he would say for its
permanency. He would also perhaps be expected to say
something about its site. The minds of the citizens were
agitated on the question whether it should be below or
above the town. He thought it his duty not to conceal
his opinion upon this point, nor to permit the agitation to
to go on as if he hesitated on the point. It was a difficult
and important subject, but he had brought his best judg-
ment to bear upon it, and having no interest in it one way
or another, he was in a situation to make an indepen-
dent selection. Whether the place was to be that
laid out by Mr. Beef©r or
not, he was satisfied it
must be above the town, and not far below Nun's
Island. That was his disinterested judgment in the mat-
ter. He then thanked his entertainers for their kindness
on the present occasion;and he would remember it to the
latest day of his life. He would also reflect with pride
and satisfaction on his meeting with those with whom he
had been called on to consult ; and he felt proud that his
name would in any way be connected with Canada, espe-
cially in so great a work.

In rising to propose the Gth toast, the CHAIRMAN said,
they had the pleasure to see among them members of the
Imperial Parliament as well as members of the Provincial,
and it was a somewhat curious circumstance—a carious
coincidence, that among the former they had not only the
greatest man in the world for planning and superintending
the execution of groat public works, but also the man of the
greatest repute for carrying those plans into effect, while
among the latter they had the Inspector-General and other
members of the Provincial Government and Legislature,
who had been most prominent as promoters of railway en-
terprise in Canada. Indeed, they
are indebted to the
energy and zeal displayed by the hon. Inspector-General
that our great railway enterprises were in so favourable a
condition. Without his exertions we should not now have
seen Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Jackson among us. With-
out further preface he would propose the health of " the
Members of the Imperial and Provincial Parliaments, and
the other guests who have honoured us with their com-
pany."
Band—" Every land my Home."
W. JACKSON, Esq., M.P., responded on behalf of the
members of the Imperial Parliament. He was deeply
grateful for the honour now done him, and he was sure he
spoke the sentiments of the other members of the Imperial
Parliament present when he assured them that they par-
ticipated in his feelings of gratitude. For his own part,
he must say, that from the time he first set foot on Cana-
dian land he had been met with nothing but sincere kind-
ness. Although others had believed their interests pitted
against his, and had, therefore, offered some opposition,
yet all had been done in a kind and honest manner, and
he hoped he now met all whom he met last year
with the best and heartiest feelings of good-will. He be-
lieved all, as well those who opposed as those who aided
him had but one desire, to serve the interest of their coun-
try. They had a right to doubt his motives, coming as he
did a stranger among them. He trusted, however, all
would now be convinced, that if he expected to reap any
benefit from his connection with Canada, he was sincerely
desirous of conferring benefits in return, and it was his
earnest hope and belief, that while he furthered his own
interests by the construction of Canadian railways, he
should be promoting the most important interests of the
country, and thus he and the people of Canada might be
of mutual advantage to each other. He had no doubt—
who could look upon this great country and doubt the
great good which each individual would reap from the in-
troduction of a system of railway communication. When
as commercial men they looked at the time it took their
goods to reach their destination, they were all aware, they
all must be sensible that they would derive a benefit, and
that not a small one, from any means of communication
which should lessen that delay. He would not delay them
at that late hour with any lengthened remarks, but he de-
sired to state some of the results of his experience in rail-
way matters, to follow up the staple observations which
had fallen from Mr. Stephenson, by telling them what he
had learned, not as one who bad planned and overlooked
the construction, but as one who had something to do in
constructing them, and in managing their affairs after they
were in operation. He recollected having attended a
great
dinner in London once, when a health was given to which
he was called upon to respond. He then stated that in
consequence of the opening up of the coal-mines of Derby-
shire and Leicestershire by the railways constructed under
the superintendence of Mr. Stephenson, he had no doubt a
reduction in the price of coal would be effected equal to the
whole of the local rates of the metropolis, and a benefit
thus conferred upon the inhabitants to that extent. He was
laughedat the time ; but what was the result ? Why, the
price of coals had actually fallen by reason of the greater
• facilities of transport afforded from 345. to 225. per
ton. When it was taken into consideration that the
consumption of coal in London amounted to 3-600,000 tons
per annum, they would see that a gain to the people of
12s. per chaldron upon that immense quantity did n
reality amount to as much as the local rates. Railways in
Britain too had produced a vast difference in the price of
fish. Franklin had said that every man who drew a, fish
from the sea contributed a piece of silver to the riches of
his country. They could form some idea of how much W 941

thus contributed to the wealth of Britain of her hardy
fishermen, when he told them that one train brought 90 to
120 tons per day to the metropolis, another 100 tons, ano-
ther 50, another 75, and the Chester and Holyhead brought
immense quantities of muscles and shrimps, which were a
great luxury to the poor nun, and were furnished to him
by means of the railway at a price which had made them
a godsend. He had no hesitation in saying that, the effects
of railways in cheapening the cost of the transportation of
produce would be equal to freeing the people from the
burdens of their taxation. If they could work out a pro-
per system in Canada in accordance with the views so ably
set forth by Mr. Stephenson—if they could prevent com-
peting lines from intruding upon the business of one esta-
blished—if they could give each line as much as they could
do, and get it in consequence to work at a low rate, they
might anticipate such results in this country. He recol-
lected full well a complaint made by landowners in the
vicinity of the metropolis about the fall in the price of their
land from the large value it formerly bore in comparison
with that at a distance, and some attributed this to one
cause, and some to another ; but they forgot the great ef-
fact of railways in equalising the value of lands, lying near
the great markets and at a distance. A beast fully fat-
tened could be carried from the north of Scotland to Lon-
don by rail for 5 per cent. of its value, and thus land five
hundred miles from London was worth as much within
five per cent., as land of the same quality in its imme-
diate vicinity. People here should recollect that this
was a great producing country, and that the price of
the article being regulated by the supply and demand in
the great markets, and not simply by the cost of production
here, the charges of transportation to market were just so
much tax upon the producer, coming out of the price he ob-
tains for his products ; therefore increased and cheapened
facili ties for transportation was so much direct benefit to
producing community. Now take their western wheat
fields, to which the railways were to be built : many of
them yielded 40 bushels of wheat to the acre, and 5
bushels would make a barrel of flour, thus giving eight
barrels to the acre. If they could carry that flour for 6d.
per barrel less, it was an addition of 4s. per acre to the
net revenue of the farm. They would thus see the great
increase which would be effected in the value of those
lands. But when in addition to that gain they took into
account the groat benefits they would derive from the in-
vestment "of British capital—bere,-and the opportunity of
using it ; when they - remembered that the facilities
afforded them would enable them to do twice as much
work as before in the same space of time, he hoped there
would be no man found who would not join heart and
hand with them, and sink all private prejudices and inte-
rests in promoting the welfare of the country at large. He
perhaps had no right to make these observations, as he
ipveee
ts tt
or a npgeer
fr
oirnm? a
annadd ah,
eb h
en t
eevfeedl thhe es
hh
oa du
hai
dnwouattsyfaulicnfioltmhipitsaurarentsless he pointed out the benefits to be de-
rived on the one hand from a proper development of their
railway system, and the danger to be apprehended from
mismanagement on the other. He had recently seen with
satisfactionthasetegrrneatepasrtt o
the development
travelled
gihn
thethe
length and breadth of that district, and believed he knew,
e
f
it as perfectly as any one present, and could say for him-
Canada. He had
self and partner, and in a manner respecting the interests
of the English stockholder, they were perfectly satisfied
that the Eastern Townships offered a prospect of a full re-
turn for all investments made there. He perhaps did not
think so well of Upper Canada as Upper Canadians always
asserted it deserved, and that might arise from the fact
that he had not made himself so well acquainted with
that part of the province, but if it realised the good report
of it equally well with the districts he had referred
to, he would only say that English capitalists might
thank their stars they had such a field for the
investment of their money. (Loud cheers.) But the
great link in their system of railways would be
the bridge. If they would look at the map they would
see navigable water stretching for 2,000 miles through the
country, and here was the only place where it could be ad-
vantageously crossed. When they looked at the great
West, not only the grain fields of Western Canada but of
Michigan and Wisconsin furnished, by means of one con-
tinuous and unbroken line of railway, an outlet to half a
dozen Atlantic seaports, they might feel it that they
could bid defiance to all competition, that they must be-
come the carriers of produce, not only for their own people,
but also for some of the most fertile portions of the United
States. Ho must confess that he should be glad to see—
he believed the day was not distant when he would—one
united Province from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with one
chain of railway communication from Halifax to Vancou-
ver's Bay. When they reflected upon the vast commerce
of England with her Pacific colonies, and the means of
speedy access to them that this would afford through Bri-
tish territory, they might feel certain that it was a most
desirable and feasible scheme, which would one day be re-
alised. Then the example of Canada would more sensibly
affect the relations between Britain and her other colonies

—for Canada was now, and would continue to be, the pat-
tern card for the other British colonies, and furnish the
mother country with an example for the management of
all her other dependencies. The hon. gentleman sat down
amid loud cheers.

The Hon. Mr. HINCKS was called upon to respond on
behalf of the members of the Provincial Parliament, and
said that had it not been intimated to him that day that
he would be called upon to respond on behalf of those mem-
bers, he confessed he should have accused himself of pre-
sumption if he had risen to do so. He saw around him so
many members of both the Upper and Lower Houses of
Parliament so much more capable than he could pretend
to be of doing justice to the toast ; but he should be
sorry to show any, the slightest, hesitation in returning
thanks for the very kind and cordial manner in which
the last toast had been received. This was one of
those happy occasions when all, whatever might
be their differences of political faith, could join heart and
hand in promoting harmonious feelings with regard to
what he considered the most important interests of their
common country. He had the greatest pleasure in seeing
around him not only several of his colleagues in the Go-
vernment, and members of Parliament whose views as
supporting the Government he might be thought more ap-
propriately to reprebent, but also the leaders of the oppo-
sition, the hon. and gallant knight the member for Ha-
milton, and the hon. and learned member for Kingston.
And he might say that the hon. and gallant knight had done
more perhaps than any other man in the province, not only
for that great railway with which his name would always
be inseparably connected, but for the railway interests of
the province generally, and he was happy on all occasions
to give him credit for it. He had come there as all the
rest had probably come, for the purpose of listening, not
of speaking, and he was sure all present had listened with
great pleasure to the advice which the distinguished guest
of the evening had offered them, and he for one should be
most anxious to profit by that advice. He was quite
aware—as all who had any experience of these matters
must be —of the very great difficulty there was in laying
down a general rule about competing lines, though all
might perceive the evils of the present system. It would
be difficult to decide exactly what was best, but he was
sure he might say, as well for himself as for the other
members of the Provincial Parliament of all parties, that
it would be their aim to frame such a system of rules as
would best promote our railway interests. He had no he-
sitation in saying that the object they had in view was not
to promote the interest of any one railroad, but to foster
generally the railway interest of the country at large. Un-
less they could devise some satisfactory system to prevent
the evils which had been pointed out to them that evening,
they would run great danger of turning away the stream
of capital which was now flowing into the country, and
which it was most desirable to have continued. He
had endeavoured hitherto, as far as possible, to orga-
nise a system in Canada upon some sound basis. He
knew he had been very much blamed for entering into
negotiations with his friend at the left (Mr. Jackson) at
the time he did, and not continuing his negotiations with
the Imperial Government ; but he had since been more
than ever convinced that he had acted wisely on that oc-
casion, and he would give them one reason for thinking
so. After all that had been done—after establishing a
line of railway from the extreme west to Trois Pistoles
into the east; after New Brunswick had done her share
and provided for a road to Miramichi, and Nova Scotia
had at last entered into arrangements to complete the line
to Halifax, and nothing remained unprovided for but the
short gap between Trois Pistoles and Miramichi, for which
also Canada had offered a liberal contribution—after all
this, it had been found impossible to get the Imperial Go-
vernment to furnish sufficient aid to fill up that gap. He
said this without attributing any blame to any person, for
he believed if any person in Britain was desirous of pro-
moting the intereats of Canada, that person was the pre-
sent Secretary for the Colonies, the Duke of Newcastle.
He was sure he would be borne out by his friend near him
who had recently been in communication with him in
England (the Hon. Mr. Ross), in saying that he had mani-
fested every desire to aid them in their efforts, but it did
not seem possible to get over the great difficulties which
prevented the action of the Imperial Government. Had
he continued to negotiate for Government aid before com-
mencing the road, he believed that there were so many
difficulties in the way that they might have waited for
years without getting the road. He was placed in a posi-
tion of great difficulty; but in order to carry out any ar-
rangement whereby the railway might be secured, he felt
it his duty, after a careful consideration of the circum-
stances of the case, to enter into preliminary arrangements
with the eminent firm represented by his friend on his left.
He did not bind the Government by these arrangements,
much less any one else—the Provincial Government being
the only parties he had any authority to bind—but he
had felt it his duty, in so far as his personal influ-
ence went, to carry out those arrangements in their
integrity. It was a matter of gratification that
the subject was not treated in Parliament as a party,
question, but that he received a great deal of co-operation
from the opposition members, numbers of whom voted
with him, while those who usually supported the Ministry
were ranged with his opponents upon this measure. We
believed it a most happy circumstance that a great railway
measure had been carried by no party division. Before
sitting down he would take the opportunity of saying a
few words about a subject concerning which a groat deal
of misconception prevailed. He referred to the negotia-
tion of railway securities. Because people saw certain
quotations of stocks in the newspapers, they were wont to
suppose that any quantity of similar securities could be
" floated off," as the phrase was, in the London market at
similar prices. There could be no greater fallacy than
this. No person who had any experience in the London
market would endorse such an opinion. He saw near
him a person who had negotiated a sale of a great quan-
tity of stock in the market lately, he referred to the Pre-
sident of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway, and he
might appeal also to his hon. and gallant friend (he was
certain he would permit him to call him so) the member
for Hamilton, and the member for Kingston, and the gen-
tleman beside him (John Rose, Esqil, who had also visited
1
London on a similar business. ey would all confirm
what ho said. The quotations in the newspapers were
not those on which prices of actual sales had been made,
but those at which persons who had bought were willing
to sell again. Every one knew the effect of overstocking
the market with any commodity. The commercial men
present would know for instance the effect of crowding
the market with large quantities of sugar or other staple
article. He saw a gentleman near him (Mr. M`Dougall)
who could tell them the effect of throwing a few thousand
shares of railway or mining stock into the market here.
Similar effects would be produced in the London market
if too much were attempted to be done in this way, with-
out the perfect confidence and co-operation of London ca-
pitalists are secured ; and unless our public works were
weed on with pyskunatio caution, there would soon