The Portland daily press., 1868-01-14
Terms $500 per annun., IN advance.

and expend ~ in improving the road, the
troubles of the concern win be over, and the
road VIII become prosperous. Two or three
times the required sum has been raised and
SPENT preference bondholders have given UP
their precedence for the sake Of raising the
m0ney-and still we hear again that the great
requisite is more expenditure, on capital ae-
count. ral.aiIaA. onl sr .H4lii .o7t slt
This announcement that the Grand Trunk
wants another donation from the people Of
Canada Is the most preposterous thing We
have seen in long time, II Is utterly out OF
the question, at time when we are about to
spend four millions sterling or more upon
new railway, that we can undertake to give
nearly another million to railway already In
existence, which was built In good part by
Canadian money. The Grand Trunk has no
shadow OF claim upon the Canadian people
for further aid. II is not managed with refer
ence TO the interests Of the Province, but with
. view to the interests OF the stockholders and
bondholders. We get nothing from the cum
pany Tor which we no not give an equivalent,
Its traffic ARRANGEMENTS do not even give its
Canadian customers fair play as compared
with foreigners The through traffic Is court
ed at the expense OF the local, aud carried
al low rates, while our own people pay
high ones. Besides that, the Grand Trunk is,
gine. 1t interferes regularly ia every Parlia-
mentary election in which It can exercise the
smallest infiHence; and sometimes 1t Is found
meddling In municipal contests. It has re-
peatedly tampered with the independence Of
Parliament, and to this hour makes special
contracts with political faverites. Even II
the management Of the railway were neu-
trsl between the eontending political parties,
and it's policy were thoroughly Canadian and
thoroughly fair as between different parts of
the country, II would have no shadow OF
claim TO q further grant from the Canadian
treasury. But, under the actual. cifeum-
stances Of the ease, we can only express oti
astanishnent at the assurance which enables
the Grand Trunk to make demand Of nearly
a million sterling from this country.
The utter unreasonableness of this demand
warrants US In the belief that subservi-
ent TO The Grand Trunk as so many of our
politicians are, they win not yield to this last
preposterous request. We know that the
Macdonalds, Carriers, and Roses, OF Canadi-
an politics, have never refused the Grand
Trunk anything but we believe that they
will not dare ask Parliament to give the
company the large donation, II is now ask
ing. The country has loaned its millions TO
the Grand Trunk already. We, have put
these loans behind the ordinary stock OF the
company, and have paid millions more in in
terest upon the Grand Trunk Government
loans, The Government lien is, and has
been, utterly worthless, and the company may
have q present of il any day. But II Is Idle
for tito ask for more money from Canada. -
| The Globe, while treating this new demand
as preposterous, yet finds in. II something
alarming, because the Canadian. Government
is in so unsound a financial condition, Is 80
''perpetually borrowing money and deysing
schemes for staying off its floating Debts as
10 put II in the power Of English capitalists,
In case 1t should decline to aeeede to their
wishes In this matter, TO seriously euibarrass
1t In the English market, or even to eoerce IL
to their WILL The Globe suggests that aif our
Government should attempt to borrow upon
its own credlt-as Il took authority TO do, in
order to get another million for the Intercolo-
nial Railway nothing would be easier than
{ for the Gyms and the BArings to refuse their
aid In selling our bonds, except upon condt
tions that the Grand Trunk should get the
nine hundred thousand for which it Is ask
ing;" and it finds 10 this demand new argu-
ment for greater economy. -
Mr.. Goodwin Smiths recently published let
ter on Confederation has as might have been
expected, called out the bitter resentment of
the Canadians who are yet in love with the
plan of the "new nationality" A Toronto
paper relieves Its feelings in the following
amusing fashior:s,li slzse 'f.s ai .-s.1 leF 4
~ We are very happy to learn that Mr.. Geld
win Smith has resolved to take up his abode
In the United States. Mr.. Smith naturally
belongs to our neighbours In his present tenn
per. III he Is sent to Congress, he may pre-
baps change his views, and wish he were back
In his chair at Oxford. But in the meantime,
be thinks American Republicanisnn the high
est development of the human mind, and the
best thing for him Is a prolonged stay at
Washington. He will have his eyes opened,
and the Colonies will no longer be exposed to
his attacks. He is an able man, and his writ
ings had a tendency to weaken the tie be-
tween the Colonies and the Mother country,
although no efforts of him or of his school
could sever IL entirely. When Mr.. Smith has
been a'year or two In the States, he will un-
dersand, that which Is inexplieable to him at
present, why Canada prefers the connection
with Britain to annexation 10 the United
SfatQQ. ts8 Vi .41lfts Hitlf - slttM .Ia HNNH Z