, 1874-05-18
THE CANADA PACIFIC RAILWAY

| oy the terms Oh which tho Dominion of Gnu
aua received British Columbia iuto tic Union.
| tho 9oVornmont pledged itself to build mill
'arS foad' and ultimately railway, to tho Pa-
| clio. our roadorH will remember that tho Efao-
donald Ministry became Involved in o1tonBiyo
'cfcd1e Mobile" operations withHir Hugh Allan
aud oshors, aud, in consequence OF their rnscal-
itiea coming to light, lott control Of tho Domin.
ion farnamout. aud wore forced to resign, Mr,
hackenzlo and his compoors took their pIace,
and they aro now wrestling with their Pacific
Railway elephant.
Tho Macdonald Government arroed in tim mt
OF ontqn to construct tho railway within ten
years. In IN elaborate speech Oh tho rosolu-
ttona now before Parliament to authorize tho
doyoEnmcnt to bring in bill for tho clartoring
OF now company, mr. Mackenzie frankly con-
fosses that 1t is impossible to do tho work with
in tho time specified. Hoaays:
All engineers pronounce It physical imposBbility
aio' under theao circumstances NIL that British Colu-
oa Could fassy complain Of would DO IN ndisnosittou
on our pRrto carry out tho terms as far a. practicable
1noy nave seen no scinBposition on tho mart Of ta
Government, Ind they will SEQ mono on tito mart of
ths Parliament, aud It would be mere madness for
thom to expect, or for to pretond, that we wero
willing to do what everybody knows Is physical i'm.
possibility.
Ihoro is no diHpoait!on apparently, to dodge
the responsibility Of building tho road. The
torms on which 1t ia proposed that tho Goyoru-
ment may charter now company, arc grant OF
2oooo ncres of ]and aud SIC, 900 por milo in cash.
absolutely. Tho Government proposes to retain
tho control OF the salo Of no-thrd Of this land,
aa 1t is not deemed advisable to yield to any CON-
pany tho ontiro management Of 30 largo landed
ostGto. This subsidy, it is admitted, will not bo
sufficient to insnre the building of tho road, and
therefore tenders arc to be invited to ASCERTAIN
how largo an additional sum in bonds. with iu-
toroat guaranteed by Government ut nor cent.
responsible company will require In order to
take the contract for constructing tho limo.
The Promor Bpoaks wlsely Of the Necessity Of
making thorough surveys before entering upon
tho construction Of the road. These surveys aro
no" in progress, and it may take many months
to complete thom as tile country 1s now, very
sparaely sctt1ed, and the obstaclos to bo oyor-
como are many and difficult.
Mr. Mackonzio speaks hopefully Of tho co1,u.
try. He says:
haVo firm belief In great future for Canads.
nave rm he]icf that the vast pralrlcs Of tie West
WILL even within my Own lifetime DO dlod with MILL
iona OF busy population, that tho vast min |
afal resources Of British Columbia will be oyeopcd.
1nd that ia agricultural resources will proyp much
greater thAn ut preaunt wo have to think they
ire. And wo haVo also reason to hoco for traffic |
upon thH road TINT will make 1t commercial success.
"henover 1t becomes necessary to uae it as CONNER
,lal highway, nc will find tho dIlioulty Which
Slll he created BY having IL poorly surveyed ard
badly graded.
This plea for timo, Us It oommonts itsolf to
:ho common sense Of every one, will, of courao,
20 granted. II tic Government aud people of
he Dominion are really III earnest with refor-
'nco to tho building Of thoir Pacilo Railway, thoy
Tll1 have mono but tho boat wzhea for their sue
'esa on this eido Of tho line, whatever no may
link of tho enterprise in it's finanoia! aspocts,