The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-07 00:00:00

LON DON, FRIDAY EVENIN

STRIKES.

(From the Times.)
If anything were necessary to show that "strikes"
are generally unjustifiable, it is the fact that they
are generally unwise. When a man puts price
on his commodities which the public will not pay,
or imposes terms on his customers which they will
not submit to, their refusal, and the fact that they
suit themselves elsewhere, are conclusive against
the propriety of the demand. Now, there has al-
ways been observed a peculiar infelicity in the time
chosen for " strikes." Workmen either select the
time when their employers are under heavy
penalties for the early completion of contracts,
when, of course, the " strike ' condemns itself by
its treacherous and mischievous character, or, by
some strange fatality, they fall on a time so conve-
nient to their employers as to suggest the idea of
contrivance on the part of the latter. At the
present moment we hear of combinations and strikes
on all sides, in almost every branch of industry,
and, as we are far from thinking that in this country
the working man is, generally, too well paid for his
strength, comfort, and condition, we are not sorry
to find his prospects improving. But just now it so
happens, and it can hardly be denied, there is a
slight pause, ominous, possibly, of a still longer one in
our recent unexampled career of prosperity. Across
Europe the grim phantom of war, with its attendant
horrors—not the least of them, debt—is looming

, .
upon us. Australia, which was starved and stinted GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY OF CANADA. pany."
of everything last April, was overflowing with every- The Toronto and Guelph Act had been passed in
The following is the Special Repsirt of the Board of
thing in June, and, from being the most wealthy, . 1851, and the new bill was framed for the purpose of
has suddenly become the cheapest city in the world. Directors of this Company to the English shareholders : amending the provisions of the first act, -slid removing
The public discussion which is taking place in regard' doubts as to certain bonds which the company had
As for the home market, no one ever expects it to
to the maw policy of Canade—the meetings which issued.
make up for a sudden check in the foreign, Hance
there is no small probability of a depression, not have been -held at Hamilton and London, as to the The contractors for constructing the Toronto and
indeed, as we trust, of a ruinous character, but
attempt now being made by the Grand Trunk Cora- Guelph line include Messrs. Galt, Holton and McPher-
pany to construct a rival competing line to the Great son.
enough to make it convenient to manufacturers Western Railway, and thereby to force it into an amal- The notice for the new Bill contained the following
that production be kept within compass. At this gamation with its gigantic opponent—and the remarks words : " Also for power to extend the railway to some
juncture, then, we find in the Manchester papers which are almost daily appearing in a portion of the points on Lake Huron and the River St. Clair, with a
that the operatives are everywhere driving their Canadian Press upon the subject, seem to the directors branch line to London and Woodstock ;" but when the
employers into defensive combinations. For such of the Great Western Railway Company, (as the Grand bill came before the railway committee, after the Great
measures the employers only want a pretext, and Trunk and Government are here viewed as one,) im- Trunk Bill had been passed by the committee, the former
that pretext is supplied by the short-sighted ope- peratively to call upon them to address their distant was found to contain authority to extend the Guelph
ratives themselves. shareholders in England,. both for the purpose of ex- line to Sarnia, in the face of the latter place having al-
The address of the " Burnley Master Spinners'
plaining the position in which
the company stands, and ready, in the charter of the Great Western, secured con-
andalso in order to indicate
the poll?), which they have, nection with the trunk series of railways, and Goderich
Manufacturers' Association " in our yester- after mature consideration, determined to follow in the having desired an outlet through the Goderich and Buf-
day's paper indicates, if not a just cause, at all present juncture. . falo line, then before Parliament, and their decided pre-
events a strong sense. of injustice. It has appar- The proceedings which took place at the aunual meet- ference for which, the united counties of Perth, Huron,
ently been compelled by a wide-spread combination ing in June last, and the part taken by some members and Bruce (the district lying between Guelph and Sar-
of operatives, supporting certain portions of their of the board at the public meetings alluded to, have nia) had declared by subscribing for 125,0001. of stock,
class in their struggles with their employers, lead- sufficiently testified to the shareholders in this country, which is thus referred to in the preamble of the Buffalo
ing to " acts of insubordination and positive vio- theeviews entertained by the directors ; but the distance and Goderich Act, which became law at the same time
lence," and controlling the free agency of those at Which the English shareholders are, renders it highly with the bill which limited by specific enactment the
who are willing to work on the existing terms.
important that the policy of the board should be fully Grand Trunk line extension to Toronto, viz.:—
But, without going into the quarrel, that is, and distinctly placed before them.
United Counties of Huron, Perth, and Bruce, have re-
selves to what is really a more important view of the very important "And that among others, the County Council of the
into the question of justice, we will confine our-
Before proceeding to discuss
matters which will form the subject of this report, it is solved to empower the 'Warden thereof to subscribe for
nwehcieeshsary inatrhel fiirsnt place to rem
nto lareakduepronaansetawteemaent sr
ehnaertsunlidirtehde stock of theasaidthcompar- to the amount
have
of
the question,—the general imprudence of hostile
combinations on the part of the operatives. In
the present instance, as is stated in the ad- which is understood to be an organ of the Canpalaen adopted for publication, have printed, and
Government, and apparently also of the Grand Trunk passed the requisite bye-law."
dress referred to, they have had full employ- Company. The statement alluded to is, that differences Nothing that we could. say could express so forcibly as
ment for several years, and have been thereby foregoing of opinion or misunderstandings' exist at the present the facts how the Government and the Grand
placed in a position of extraordinary comfort and time at the Great Western Board. The simplest and Trunk have outraged the great principle so strongly ad-
prosperity. It may be presumed that they have most decided answer to that insinuation will be found vocated by Mr. Stephenson, of not sanctioning compet-
saved money ; that they have got into good houses, in the fact, that every director now in this country has ing lines,they even if did not make equally plain that
well furnished and filled ; that they stand well with appended his signature to this report, as embodying the the faith of solemn engagement had been by them alto-
their tradesmen ; that they are in unusual health deliberate opinion of the board upon the important gether disregarded.
and strength ; are better men in their own eyes than questions of which it treats. Evidence was taken by the committee upon the grant-
they were a few years ago ; and, in consequence of The directors of the Great Western Railway Corn- ing of the Guelph and Sarnia extension, and amongst
the immense emigration, and the gold discoveries, pany will now proceed
tot review the proceedings in others the following :
have more opportunities in reversion. It is very this country, in referenc o railway undertakings,
so far as they affect the position and prospects of the
in " The Honourable the Speaker examined -
natural that people so situated should feel more" Question 18.—` Were you a member of the railway
Great Western Railway,
"committeeneetielanstly9e.—ar,.'W—LYtews.'as
confidence in their position as regards their employ- Between the years 1834 and 1839, acts passed the
ev. But, as a matter of sober calculation, this very Canadian Legislature,by the understanding when
prosperity is, in the present instance, a reason why Western Railway was constituted,rghiuh theand pzseeliiit Great the Toronto and Guelph road passed the committee ?'—` I
gave
roaddistinctlyconstructNiagara was not to go further than Guelph.' "
and immense exportations cannot continue very through Hamilton and London, to Windsor and Port After discussion, the committee, upon division, passed
long, especially when the prime necessaries of life Sarnia. The scarcity of capital in Canada itself, and the following resolution on. the 30th October, 1852 :—•
are the things most affected by the rise in prices. other circumstances, tended to delay for several years
" Resolved
the progress of a work which had always been looked
would ,—That of this Committee, it
In all speculations the idle and ignorant, who con- be unjust
stitute the majority of mankind, are apt to press board at length
thhelpfeat provincial
dimportance. The with the Great Western kailwayto, rantg
aas camaee9antiye
in at the rear of success, pretty much as suttlers confidence in the undertaking.eore endeavolrrte
thtoe.creatbela
hfoerdeignre he Toronto and Guelph Company, in the prosed extension
and spoilers into the battle-field when the fight has ports they shadowed forth the idea of a trunk line of rail-- o f
evidencetei r
lineadduced
fr from t
oGiliiiieort
othtarniac , tltiteeree
ti) havingathe beeonairci
been won. They hear that fortunes have been way, passing throughout the whole length of Canada. be more business than one line coulde
iinciloi; that the provincerew
made, and they rush in when the tide has ceased In 1849 they succeeded in obtaining an act of Parlia- having taken interest to the extent of one-half the cost of the
to flow and is already on the ebb. Commercial pros- ment permitting the Government, under certain condi- road now chartered (being upwards of seven hundred and
perity must inevitably fluctuate. It must cut its tions, to guarantee the interest upon the bonds of rail- fifty thousand pounds), that interest, as well as the inte-
own throat after a time, as we are told in the well- way companies in Canada, and in 1850 they procured rest of the individual stockholders, should be protected.
This committee are of opinion that the extension of the
known lines, for, as prices continue to rise, they the passage of an Act of Parliament, authorizing Mu-
Toronto and Guelph Railway Company should not be
exhaust wealth, check consumption, drain credit, nicipal Corporations to become shareholders in rail- granted."
and impede manufacture. It is a matter of wonder way companies.
Acting upon the faith of these proceedings, which This resolution was reported to the house, and after a
that our present spell of prosperity has lasted so
were always held tobe the recognition of the Great
long rather than that it should now be on the
esternasthe great
step of a
rovincasYsrtemt
ment, and now directors of the Grand Trunk Railway,
turn. But if the operatives in the north—and we of a trunk line of railway, the directors of the Great voting in favour of the extension to Sarnia. The act
suppose we may add those in all parts and all em- Western Company were enabled to procure the' sup- was accordingly passed, with a clause appended, giving
ployments—were well advised, or would only re- port of the leading railway authorities in the United the necessary power to construct the line from Guelph
fleet for themselves, they would see that, in the States, who had lines abutting on the two extremi- to Sarnia, such authority being comprised in a single
ordinary course of human affairs, the longer pros- ties f the Peninsula of Western Canada, which clause at the end of the bill, having no reference to
perity has lasted the less reason there is to expect found their best and most natural connection along the preamble or other parts of the act. The Govern-
its continuance, and that there cannot be a more the Great Western line. Subsequently, the completing ment guarantee was, however, refused to this line,
suicidal proceeding than to stand out for higher of a main trunk line through Canada was seriously dis- which, it will be recollected, the Act of 1851 declared
wages or better conditions in a falling market. cussed, (the promoters of the Great Western, be it kept shoul
d only apply to portions of the Trunk line,
in view, being the most influential parties in this move- which. this was not ; the Leslature thus distinctly
Everything is against men who enter on such a
policy. The consumers want less, and the em- matnht,inagnucleatclcBosrdlingaelyeedthe Cantal3liani!ltment, on tht(it aps:
retrtoifnfli et Grand r intention
Trunk,teint i on
and thati
t theis
herenecessarylineshould nott e
state
a
ployers have less money and less credit for the ex- to construct the railway,3 nalindacer Im-ayguwaranteev;•osmprttpeose
that the Great Western Board, feeling alarmed at the
penses of trade, for materials, and for wages. Yet, perial government. In the 4th clause of that act, it is pro- threatened introduction of competition into the country,
when working men have once taken their stand on vided that "the whole of the Main Trunk line of railway, sent a' deputation to Quebec to oppose the Guelph and
any list of demands, they find it impossible to re- from the city of Quebec, or a point opposite thereto, to the Sarnia line, and that at that time one of the directors of
cede, and will not recede till starvation drives city of Hamilton, or some convenient point on the Great this company was distinctly assured by Mr. Jackson
them. The common feeling of an organised class, Western Railroad, shall be made as a provincial work." that it never had been and never would be entertained
standing face to face with a higher class, possibly And again in the 16th clause, it is provided that the to include the Toronto, Guelph, and Sarnia line as a part
both of them insolent and provoking, is something provincial guarantee, authorised by the act of 1849, of the Main Trunk. The fulfilment of this pledge will
imperious and uncontrollable. Thousands of men should be limited to the lines which form a part of the be found in the fact that in the Grand Trunk prospectus
will walk about a city, daily more squalid and wan, main trunk ; and after speaking of certain lines then this road is recognised as a part of the Grand Trunk,
only re-visiting their homes to see their wives and constructing by private companies, proceeds to say that while it turns out that Messrs. Galt, Holton and
children pining for lack of all things, rather than the guarantee shall be extended "to the Great Western McPherson, whose persistence in an independent course '
succumb to masters they have once defied, or break railroad, which has been commenced and partly con- in regard to the road from Montreal west, would have
their word with their fellow-workmen. So diffi- strutted on the faith of the said guarantee, and forms been fatal to Messrs. Jackson and Co.'s colossal contract,
cult is it to withdraw, that workmen should con- part of the said main trunk line." are found to have been awarded the contract for making
the usurped section of the new project, to wit, this same
Upon the faith of these proceedings, plainly and con-
sider well before they plunge such
into quarrels. Toronto, Guelph and Sarnia line—a line which running
elusively chewing the Great Western railway to be a
The first step may be ever so unadvised and unfor- " part of the main trunk series of lines," the directors through a comparative wilderness, and wanting as it did
tunate, but it must be persevered in, whatever the the co-operation of the local municipalities, as well as
of the former were enabled to induce English capitalists
consequences. the. guarantee of the province, could not have been
to embark money in the undertaking, which even then
We have been speaking of prosperity in its most presented great prospects of a remunerative result, attempted except with the assistance of Messrs. Jackson
solid form, that is, in the form of increasing de- although not so great as the existing circumstances now and Co. The history of these extraordinary parliamentary
mand, production, and wages, and we have pointed hold out ; and which seemed, by the Acts of the Cana- proceedings is closed by the passing of an act inthe
in firstthe
out that even this prosperity sometimes misleads dian.parliament, to be protected against the adoption of part of the last session, and subsequently amended.
same session, authorising the amalgamation with the
the workman by inducing him to calculate on its a wild and reckless system of competition.
of any lines which intersect it—thus per-
continuance. But there is another prosperity Greateste
anythingrn further is needed to indicate that the Grand Trfunk
amalgamation with the Toronto and Sarnia
which is altogether unreal and delusive. It is the found in the factwtaheat
apart of of the trunk line, it may be line, g.
i inwniuch is virtually to deprive the Great Western of
prosperity of increased luxury and show. When it impossible to procure the Imperial
guarantee?overnment, finding
chartered rights, secured by specific act of the same
trade has been ' thriving for a few years the em- plated by the act of 1851, calfedri into
teexistence
c o n
privatem Legisture.
ployers begin to put forth signs of sudden wealth, companies for constructing the trunk line between Mon- So matters rested until April last, the Great Western
such as the West Indian interest used to exhibit at treal and Toronto ; and in the required proclamation, Board feeling assured that the Grand Trunk parties
certain intervals, but which we should in vain ex- issued by order of the governor in council, there occurs would faithfully anhd. honourably adhere to their promise
pest after ever so long a spell of agricultural pros- this
~ rwsan,owdefinintf thet actual course of the line—viz : ofnoatuhsvfeinetnagnyeeteuringe
in
no dthoeVhheitehe
aGuealrpthofanthd Sarniaii
perity ;—new mansions, with the most magnificent
royal consideration ; and being
tdaelLn
desirous
of line,readv'asnesclnngteaennil Trunk, as so repeatedly and distinctly
Seel dbe th byn
are o
upholstery, splendid equipages, sons and clang eispromoting the interests of our said province. We have Parliament and the Government.
handsomely settled, costly fetes, with a correspond- directed and declared, and do hereby direct and declare, In the month of April, however, the Grand
Trunk
of new that the said Main Trunk '
ing enlargement of enterprise, in the shape , . Line of Railway shall be made prospectus was brought forward in E landandthe
factories, ng,
factories,that must be long before they can be in upon a line extending from some point on the Eastern surprise and deep regret of the directors of the Great
man frontier of our said province, hereafter to be determined
working order. Now, to argue that because a
upon, to some point (hereafter to be fixed) in the parish of Western Company may be imagined when they foUnd
or a ;whole class are launching out in this manner,
St. Joseph do la Point Levy, opposite or nearly opposite it to contain the Toronto and Sarnia line, not as a feeder,
therefore they must be better able to pay wages, to the city of Quebec, running thence in as direct a line as but as the western section of the Grand Trunk line ;
and can afford to do so for a longer continuance, is may be found convenient, to the river St. Francis, in or and the existence of the Great Western line, the pioneer
at best but workman's logic. A manufacturer who near the village of Richmond, in the township of Shipton, of railway undertakings in Canada, the legal western
has just built a great house, or set up a son in busi- thenceof by the
or
and Atlantic Railroad to the part of the main trunk, and the line whose success and
ness, or given a daughter a good dowry, or who city,
St. Lawrence, Lawrence, oPprossiree point on the south shore of the prospects had turned the eyes of English capitalists to
is known to be throwing away money on the further extending westward` fnroemar
nearly opposite thereto, and this country, almost ignored. Nor is the answer of
turf or any other amusement, must so far have the city of Kingston, or some other pointi finMeornnteraeral,titloe many, that no legislative or other effort can render the
less money for wages. Whatever his expenditure river St. Lawrence on Lake Ontario, in the vicinity of Great Western stock other than the best security and
may seem to show, its actual consequence must be Kingston aforesaid ; thence to the city of Toronto ; investment in the province, any excuse for such a gross
diminished capital. The working classes, however, thence to the city of Hamilton, or some convenient outrage upon this company.
are much more apt to be led by appearances than point on the line of the Great Western Railroad, and The regret of the Great Western Board was much
to make a sober calculation, and they conclude, thence theesterntrolitvaedr, indeuhding any part. of the enhanced by finding the direction of the Grand Trunk
when they see a man spending his money, not that from the city of Hamilton to thein ayNtemcoranstiiitiievteerd mainly composed of the e memberste of the very Govern-
he really has so much less, but that he must have as provided by an act of the said Legislature, 'passed in the ment whose acts from,
to the
time hifve been here
pointed out, as securing
ritt tle t Western as a great
so much more. We offer these remarks for the said session thereof, chaptered 74, and intituled, "An act
benefit of the working classes, because we have to extend the provisions of an act passed in the present Public improvementtaed
in whose
privilegefaith
ha conferred upon it by
found them ever insisting much on the splen- session, intituled. an act to make provision for the con-
raadrm unlimited` confidencee well
as friendship they
struction of a Main Trunk Line of Railway throughout the .reposed • '
dour and luxury a their employers, and putting length of their province." It is not perhaps for us in our capacity as directors of
forth a claim to a larger share in the spoil. We What ingenuitysophistry they or what
have also known instances when a very few months the introduction
of the line from Guelph to Sarnia is not nary and unprecedented position occupied by members
have undeceived them, by the downfall of their a breach of faith towards this company,and the intro- of the Government in forming a large part of the direc-
supposed wealthy employers,
by the sale of houses, duction of competition into this country tion of the Grand Trunk Railway—thus securing an
land, furniture, and equipages, and the subsidence Again there is the fact, that the same Government at identification of the policy of the Government with that
of families into the class from which they sprang. the dose of last year, actually advanced to the Great of the railway, and placing the former in the anomalous
It was then seen how little reason there was for Western Railway Company, as part of the main trunk, position of having,
_. as heads of the various departments
the inference that a man who spent money must and under the authority of the already quoted act of of n
t e public service, to decide upon the propriety and
correctness of proceedings, which they themselves direct
therefore be wealthy. But these cases are happily 1851, a sum of 200,000/ sterling. as managers of the railway. This 't.
As has been said, the project of an imperial guarantee posi ion, however, is
rather the exceptions than the rule, and it is undo- rendered the more extraordinary,
Diable, as well as a matter of congratulation, that 1 failed, and
siits waesethfertehfore left to private companies, rendered
placed themselves
af
directors from()f thethe fact Grand thaTt
Trunk
many manufacturers have made, and are making, with
thet the assistance
sectionsne o
the
provincial
geevtrinuenikalline
guarantee.Aneetrodicand
Railway, in hostility to the Great Western Company, and
large fortunes. Why should not their workmen, the Great Western Railway Company and its friends are therefore very peculiarly placed, as guardians of the
then, it is demanded, participate more in their applied in 1852 to Parliament for authority to make a public interests, in viewing questions which are arising
advancement T The workmen who ask this ques- railway from Hamilton, their then Eastern terminus, to between the two companies. But, as Great Western
tion little know how much it is to their advantage Toronto, which was granted ; the Act of Parliament Directors, we have a right strongly to denounce the
that such large fortunes should be made, how it containing the following words in the 2nd clause, viz. : proceeding of introducing the Toronto and Port Sarnia
provokes competition, how it sets employer bid- " The said railway shall be held to form part of the main line into the Grand Trunk scheme, as a breach of faith
above truck line of railway, and the said company shall, accord- towards this company—a repudiation by the Govern-
ding against employer, how it creates a class
the range of minor fluctuations, and so gives steadi- i itngly behalf complying with all the provisions of the law in , ment of the acts of the Legislature, which they, esotut ;
thehat ,be entitled to the be eft fhe guarantee of Executive of the Province, were bound to carry
wild _
Less 'to trade, how it makes England what it is— 1 province, to the extent and in the manner by law pro- and as the introduction into the country of that and
the seat of trade, because a place where wealth can I vided." reckless system of competition which has produced such
be won and enjoyed in perfect security. Little, 1 Here then is the Great Western Company carried disastrous results elsewhere, and which, if persisted in,
too, do they know how soon those large fortunes ' eastward as far as Toronto "as part of the Main Trunk will deprive the province of its fair prospects of getting
would melt away under the process of adjusting Line, and upon turning to the Grand Trunk Act itself, English assistance to any really sound enterprise
the wages of the employed into a speculative it appears that it authorises that company to make a line , amongst us.
state, that the Direc-
harmony' with the profits of the employer. Cora- of rai 1 way from Montreal to Toronto, thus carrying out
1 It is only due to themselves to
took eve necessar '
the
andintentiou of all preceding acts, both of Parliament tors of the Great Western Company ry y
pare town with town, and it will always be found the Government, of making the Great Western to •out the spirit of the arrangement,
stnp early con- i
that good wages go with large fortunes, and that Railway a part of the Main Trunk Line. • h shareholders, upon the appear-
in a town where large fortunes are not made the The proceedings which took
place at the time that the !ante in England of tires .
e Grand Trunk prospectus, and
working class find a corresponding difficulty in ris- Grand Trunk Act was before the Railway Committee of that they regret having to report that when, after some
obtained an interview with the Grand
ing or even maintaining themselves steadily and the House of Assembly, must next be set forth, as bear- , trouble, they o
comfortably. Many a town has been ruined by ing in conjunction with what has since taken place, a
"strikes," and still more are injured by combing- very important part of the present statement.
tions, which assure manufacturers that, in that place, Trunk
The present Prime Minister of this country proceeded , consideration oard upon the subject, they were informed that
: the arrangement in question had never been under the
• ration of the Grand Trunk direction ; and the

r pm. SD•

tone adopted by the latter practically amounts to an en-
tire repudiation of the whole arrangement.
Not only do the Grand Trunk board seek pretexts to
break up the London arrangements, made on their behalf
by their directors, Messrs. Glyn and Baring, with the
assistance of the president of the company, the Hon.
John Ross, Attorney-General of the Province, who was
in England in April (by which arrangement the friends
of the Great Western hoped at least to stop at its
then point, the threatened injury to this company, as
well as the credit of the province), but they are attempt-
ing by every possible means, including a threat to carry
traffic from Sarnia to Toronto gratis, to force this com-
pany into an amalgamation. To so great an extent has
this been carried, that public meetings have been held
at Hamilton and London to protest against such pro-
ceedings. The first was a large, highly respectable, and
entirely unanimous assemblage of the citizens of Hamil-
ton, and at which the following resolutions were passed
by acclamation.

" Whereas reports have reached this city from various
quarters, as mainly proceeding from gentlemen connected
with the Grand Trunk Railway, that measures are in
contemplation by the directors and others aiding that
enterprise, to endeavour to absorb the Great Western
Railway Company into the Grand Trunk scheme.
"And whereas any such amalgamation could not fail to
operate most injuriously to the stockholders of the Great
Western Railway, by joining their road to a larger and
much less profitable enterprise, and placing it under the
control of parties whose interest it would be to force the
trade of the United States to the east and west of us, over
a more northern, much longer, and less convenient route,
and thereby in all probability forcing such travel and
traffic round by the south shore of Lake Erie, thus turning
off from this Province and the waters of Lake Ontario and
the St. Lawrence the business that rightfully and fairly
belongs to them--be it therefore
"Resolved—That in the opinion of this meeting, the
shareholders and directors of the Great Western Railway
Company will best consult the interests of this Pro-
vince, as well as their own self-evident advantage, by de-
clining to enter into any amalgamation with the Grand
Trunk Rairesolutelylway, and
eet
namaintainining their own in-
c,
the g,
the route of the
Great Western Railroad is so far superior to any other
projected in Canada, that its prospects can only be injured
" That in
by amalgamation with any other line.
" That this meeting, while resisting railway monopoly,
looks with much satisfaction upon the recorded opinions
of so eminent an authority as Mr. Robert Stephenson, in
deprecating the evils of railway competition, and trusts
that he may be enabled to advise the adoption of a policy
in regard to the competition now threatened by the carry-
ing of the Grand Trunk line from Guelph to Sarnia,
which runs the whole way parallel to the previously
chartered Great Western Railway, at a very short average
distance therefrom, instead of running North West to
Saugeen and Owen Sound, a magnificent line of commu-
nication still unoccupied, and which would complete a
railway system for Canada West, such as Mr. Stephenson
has foreshadowed, white not interfering with any existing
or chartered line of railway."
At London also, the following resolution was passed,
the leading men of the town supporting it, and speaking
strongly as to the injurious effect upon Western Canada
of absorbing the Great Western Railway into its large
and already overgrown competitoii.

Resolved—" That the extension of •the Grand Trunk
from Guelph to Port Sarnia will, in the opinion of this,
meeting, be the creation of a rival and unnecessary line,
and that the true interests of both the Grand Trunk and
Great Western Railway companies, and of Western Ca-
nada, would be best served by avoiding that species of
competition so much deprecated by Mr. Stephenson."
The great efforts which have been made to accomplish
the absorption of the Great Western Railway into the
Grand Trunk scheme—efforts which are visible in every
act of the latter, its directors, contractors, and agents,
have compelled the present appeal to the shareholders of
the Great Western line. All that has been attempted in
this country by the Grand Trunk party has failed • the
strong assertions and loud threats of the Grand Trunk
have failed in shaking the confidence of the Great
Western Board in the position which they have assumed
—the attempted cajolery of the Canadian shareholders*,
who know the facts and the localities, have had no effect,
and the voice of the country is universally condemning
the proceedings which are being resorted to to destroy
the independence of this company. Still the efforts
continue, and finding that all else has failed, we are now
assured on unquestionable authority, that the Grand Trunk
agents have sent to England to offer an amalgamation
of the• two stocks at a considerable premium on the
Great Western shares.

This step of the Grand Trunk, has made the present
appeal to the shareholders impossible to be avoided, and
in the judgment of the directors, it is rendered the more
necessary, on account of the expectations understood to
be.entertained by the Grand Trunk party, that they will
be able to influence (if not something worse) some of the
leading railway men in England, now connected with
the Great Western—a report which is evidently calcu-
lated to damage our case so essentially, however much
we ourselves may repose that confidence in our friends
in England, which their consistency and devotion to our
cause in times of greater difficulty, ought unquestion-
ably to justify.
Having pointed out the present position of matters in
this country, and having felt it to be their duty to ex-
pose the proceedings which have characterised the pro-
gress of the Main Trunk, the Directors of the Great
Western will now state a few facts which induce them
to recommend their shareholders, firmly to retain their
independent position, and under no circumstances what-
ever to listen to any overtures of amalgamation film
the Grand Trunk Company.
With this report two maps are enclosed. No. 1
shews the existing lines which have been chartered by
Parliament. From this it will be seen what a glaring
case of competition the Toronto and Sarnia line intro-
duces into this country, and it will chew the great ex-
tent of railway lines which will be constructed in a
small and limited district, provided the projectors can
induce foreign capitalists to supply the necessary funds.
The only lines actually progressing at this moment are
the Great Western, the Buffalo and Goderich, the To-
ronto and Guelph and the Erie and Ontario.
The others are all endeavouring to raise means to

8
ar
' and passing through a line lumbering country to Pori- / Imo,, -.
:.,--
, Burwell—another southern lateral line, leaving < 67'
,1/2...', '-.---- '..:,t.a
.
Great Western at its junction with the Galt Bra siL 41,...:- -,, .'
placing Brantford in direct connection with Ham' '• ' " ~,
.. ..
and continuing to Simcoe and Port Dover, thus gi .4,._..:4 ~.,;.)., --ktiii,,,,G
to the fine agricultural districts through which it p 7i 4k:- -,_ '4
communication both to the east and west, and also to t e ----;--Ell_ , ..;;;---L----_-
north ; another cross line is from Niagara to Chippawpr" ..,,.',' '—
~
the importance of which the board cannot too strongb"ca- VaSMOM
urge upon the consideration of the proprietors.
All the foregoing lines the directors feel it is the in•
terest and duty of the company to aid the localities in
constructing by every means in their power, provided
Parliament and the Government will adopt and carry
out the principle upon which they are based.
The adoption of this system would of necessity
involve the abandonment of lines of railway which have
been agitated merely for the purpose of creating in this
country competition, and would necessitate the aban-
donment of the connection between the Grand Trunk
and the Toronto and Sarnia lines, which it has been
shown is in defiance of the pledges of Parliament, the
government, and the parties themselves.
This would enable that Company to turn their line
northwards, through the splendid tract of country
stretching to the Georgian Bay —it would provide, with-
out the evils of competition, railway communication
with all the prominent points on the western frontier of
Canada, viz, the Saugeen, Goderich, Sarnia, Windsor,
and Malden ; and it would afford to the various towns
and districts better accommodation than a series of
competing parallel lines, each attempting to vie with and
ruin the other. It would have the effect of benefiting
the Grand Trunk, by procuring for it the hearty co-
operation of this company, in exchanging with it, at its
legitimate termination at Toronto, its proper proportion
of the great travel which must flow on to the Great
Western line at its western termini, and would save the
Grand Trunk the necessity of working an unremunera-
tive line of 170 miles, and after all, not getting any of
the through travel, iithey force us into a state of com-
petition. It would ensure at an early date the doubling
of the Great Western line from London to Toronto, a
measurelwhich the vast traffic will, under any circum-
stances, soon render indispensable.
All that is wanted to accomplish this is, that the
shareholders, the men who provide the means to carry
these great works into execution, should assert the power
which they possess, regardless of the interested clamours -,,t.
of contractors, who having got very heavy prices for
their work, are naturally anxious to get as much of it to
do as possible.
All that has here been stated are facts, and facts alone. - '-
The directors have the greatest confidence in submitting
the case to the shareholders, feeling assured that they
will always be supported in honestly and faithfully en-
deavouring to guard the interests of those who have
done them the honour to appoint them to control and
guard this great enterprise.
They would at the same time take this opportunity of
stating, that nothing would give them greater pleasure
than to have the English shareholders send out two or
three of the best and most impartial men that could be
selected, to inquire into the present position and policy
of this company, to inform themselves throughly as to'
the facts herein detailed, and to examine into the prospects
of this company's fulfilling the expectations which we
now hold out. To such a commission fairly and impar-
tially selected, the board would be most happy and ready
to afford every possible assistance and information. The
Great Western has truth and justice on its side, and
only needs that truth to be analysed and investigated to
place the company in the position which it ought to oc-
cupy ; and the board are satisfied that no other effect
can follow the strictest investigation into the Great West-
ern, its position and prospects, than to place it more
firmly and securely in the public favour.
C. J. BRYDGES, Vice-President.
G-. S. TIFFANY, Director.
W. P. MCLAREN, "
H. JUSON,
H. MclinlsTßY, "
ISAAC BUCHANAN, "
*E. ADAMS, Mayor of London.
4'W. NILES, Warden of Middlesex.
*D. MATHIESON, Warden of Oxford.
*W. G. KERR, Mayor of Hamilton.

* Ex-officio directors, representing 125,0001. of municipal
stock.

UPPER INDIA.

A. meeting of, scriphohiers in this company was held
yesterday at the London Tavern ; Mr. F. H. Robinson in
the chair.

Mr. W. BRYSON said, lie had taken the liberty to con-
vene the meeting, but be had no doubt they would excuse
him when he assured them that he was actuated solely
by a desire to promote their interests in the present
crisis of their undertaking. Having observed the
correspondence which had taken place a few days
since between the secretary of the Stock Exchange
and Mr. Andrews, the managing director of the com-
pany, by which it appeared that the directors wished
to obtain a postponement of the call of 2/. per share,
which had been advertised for the Ist of November, he
(Mr. Bryson) was led, in common with many other
shareholders, to believe that so reasonable a proposi-
tion would be at once acceded to by the directors
of the East Indian Railway Company. He could not
imagine that those gentlemen *mild for a moment sup-
pose that in the present state of the political and mone-
tary world there was the slightest chance of that call
being responded to. He believed the East Indian Ex-
tension shareholders were in a similar position to them-
selves, 2/. per share having been called on the extension
shares, and the holders have the option of taking two
and a-half shares for every share they now hold, on con-
dition of paying 2/. per share on or before the let of No-
vember. He took it for granted, however, that the ex-
tension shareholders were, like themselves, men of busi-
ness, and alive to the condition of the money-market, and
that it was not probable that payment of the call on their
shares would be made more readily than on the Upper
India shares, seeing that their shares, with 2/. paid and
interest accruing thereon, were now at a discount. His
first impression, when he contemplated calling the meet-
ing, was to ask for an extension of time for the pay-
ment of the call, but, on reflection, the aspect of
political affairs appeared even more grave than it
was a short time since, and a considerable period
may probably elapse before a favourable change
may take place in the monetary world. He intended
to submit to the meeting a resolution appointing a
committee, with full power to act on behalf of the
shareholders, and to concert, in conjunction with the
directors, such steps as they may think desirable for the
furtherance of their interests. He thought that course
would be more desirable than aiming at merely an ex-
tension of the time for payment of the call, inasmuch as,
should no improvement in the money market take place,
it may possibly be necessary to appeal to the Hon.
East India Company for an increase of the guarantee of
41 per cent, already conceded. He had reason to be-
lieve that the views he had expressed were shared in
by their directors, and concluded by moving the follow-
ing resolution :
"That a committee be appointed, with full power to
act on behalf of the shareholders, and to confer with
the directors as to the present position of 'the company,
and to adopt, in conjunction with the directors, such
steps as may be considered advisable to protect the in-
terests of the shareholders."

carry on their operations.
Map No. 2 presents a different aspect. It will be seen
the United States at both extremities of the Great
Western Railway, with which it is in friendelystern
the
connec-
tion, and which will find in the Great
the two
shortest and most facile connection between .
that upon it are laid down the lines of Railway in
to and from t
' d with the vast tide of travel which
one not acquainted
is constantly flowing between the Eastern and Western
.
States of America, canform any
idea of the amount
of business which will be carried along the Great
systems. ThehtehGroruegaht
Western
rwnhliienhe,tihseisme
mlineenssew:lal
neadriz
Western line. Nature has placed that part of Canada
traversed by the Great Western in such a position, as
to make that line, in point of time and distance,
immeasurably superior to any other route which
can accommodate the same travel. Any attempt
to force that travel by a more northern route,
which would be tried if the Grand Trunk succeeds
in securing the Great Western Line, would result in the
entire loss to Canada and its railways of that vast tide
of traffic which has been referred to, and which will, in
the opinion of the best informed railway men on this
continent, make the Great Western the best paying
stock on this side of the Atlantic.
Look at its feeders. On the one side of New York
Central lines, which have paid 10 per cent. dividend,
doubled their capital without. making any calls upon
their shareholders, and with a traffic which is increasing
at the rate of 25 per cent. per annum, bidding fair even
now to pay 10 per cent, on its doubled capital.
On the other side, are the Michigan Central and
Southern lines, the first of which has paid dividends of
from 10 to 14 per cent., and is connected with about
1,500 miles of Railway, stretching through the most flour-
ishing districts of the vast and teeming west, the
travel of which will be drawn to Detroit and thence to
the Great Western.
Again the local business on the Great Western line
will be of such an extent aAo present results, which
hardly any expectations which we might feel justified in
holding out, would at all approach. The position of
Hamilton, at the head of navigation, will make it un-
questionably the place of shipment to the ports on Lake
Ontario and the St. Lawrence, for the whole of the
extensive district west of it.
On the whole, the directors must express their strong
and decided opinion, founded on extensive local know-
ledge and many years familiar acquaintance with the
districts and traffic which are soon to be served by
the
the
Great Western, that nothing but amalgamation with
Grand Trunk line can do us any vital injury.
ex-
pected, be in operation from Niagara Falls t
to London
on the Ist of November ; it will be extended
and by the Ist
blind rectors
to etahne,i,ra towwli :liiiie.ltieevned interests ttha that
ustrhttoehaelBtirhs
by the beginning of the following month.,
seems
ws
to
orotceheemd
its entire length.
suggestion
of January, 1854, will be opened fordieed,
and the di-
The Great Western line will, it is confiodHenatinlyiitonlts prospects are then about to be re
iwlitiyll bofe
theso
a gigantic scheme, for
itanetrtnheobe:tohl
sdaerybs ground
for merging those prospects into
of Montreal. Westernleaietcnypwh ieh
i wills
briefly to indicate
this a
should be followed at juncture, policy Which in
which a spade has hardly b
their_ opinion
'the
Great Western Railway as a permanent and safe invest-
ital and will at the same time much better
inent for cap
serve the wants of districts, and of Canada generally,
than the wild competition now threatened by the Grand
The directors of tthheeGproe
Trunk.
A reference to map No. 2 will show a system of lateral
lines, coloured red, running from the north and south into
the Great Western line. They consist of a short branch
to connect Malden (opposite
the Southern Michigan
line), with the main line—a line diverging at London
South to Port Stanley on Lake Erie and another north-
wards, through some of the
richest 'townships in Upper
Canada,
Canada, to the point where the Sable empties itself into
Lake Huron—a line running south from Woodstock,

Colonel S. PERCIVAL seconded the resolution; which,
after a 'short discussion, was carried, with one dissen-
tient.

The following committee, with power to add to its
number, was appointed to carry out the objects of the
meeting, viz., Colonel S. Percival, Major Johnson, Ma-
jor Archer, Sir H. Maddock, Major Henderson, Mr. F.
H. Robinson, and Mr. Maltby.
A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the pro-
ceedings.

* The view entertained by the Canadian shareholders is
best evinced by the following extract from the proceedings
at the last annual meeting of this company, viz.:—" To
prevent further discussion the president, Mr. Harris, would
take an expression of opinion from those present, and would
request those against the amalgamation with any other
company, particularly the Grand Trunk, to stand. up. All
the stockholders present immediately stood. up."

THEATRE ROYAL DRITRY-LANE.

Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.
THIS EVENING, OCT. 7,

Will be performed THE WIFE. Supported by Messrs. G. V`
Brooke, Jas. Johnstone, Belton, A. Younge, Morgan, Moorhouse
and G. Burt ; Mesdames Anderton and E. Ormond.
To conclude with THE FOUNTADI. OF BEAUTY, in which
Miss Featherstone and Miss E. Ormond will appear. Reduced prices
us usual.

f ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.

Under the Management of Mr. Charles Kean

'This Theatre will OPEN for the Season on MONDAY NEXT,
the 10th October, when will be performed Lord Byron a Tragedy of
SARDANAPALUS, with other Entertainments.
Full Particulars In future Announcements. The Box-odic° opened
on Thursday, the 6th instant.

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.

Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster —Directress, Madame Celeste.

THIS EVENING. °cr. 7.

Will be performed GENE V IEVE. Characters by Messrs. Parielle,
G. Lee, Leigh Murray, C. Selby, Bedford, Keeley, 0. Smith, &c. ;
Miss Woolgar, and Mrs. Keeley.
-After which, will be presented SARDANAPALUF.
To be followed by THE CAMP AT CHOBHAM.
-To conclude with COMING OF AGE.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.

Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.

Xhe new and Classical Burlesque the greatest triumph ever achieved.
Crowded audiences nightly prove its powerful attraction, while
ehniummtte approbation greets its gorgeous effects The Fall of
Phteton, and his destruction on the banks of the River Po, are
.pronounced by the Press and the Public the most perfect and beau-
' tiful Tableaux ever witnessed in this Theatre.

- -
R-engagement of those wondrous Artistes, Signor CARLO and
" Signor FItANCOIS, whose extraordinary pert rmances on LA
PERC RE surpass those of all other Artistes who have appeared.

THIS EVENING, OCT. 7,

And during the week, will be presented (the 23d time) the New
Classical Burlesque, entitled JUPITER'S DECREE, AND THE
FALL OF PHATON; or, THE FIERY COURSERS OF TILE SUN,
siipported by the entire strength of the Company.

New and original Scenes in the Circle, introducing Signor CAR-
..
LO and Signor FRA.NCOIS.

Concluding with (96,h time) TILE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W.
West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Ten DAT —Morning 29 min.after 4 I Evening 50 rniu.aft. 4
To•Af ORROW —Morning 12 min.after 5 1 Evening 34 min.aft. 5

THE WEATHER.-SuN OFFICE, OCT. 7.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
54—highest since noon yesterday.
51—lowest this morning and during the night.
57—this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 29'48—rising ; has been down to 29'35.
WIND, W. S. Vir. - Light airs, and fine weather ; rain
in the night.