Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-01-31
Dominion, the fixed and certain eastern terminus

I
and proceeds up the river Chandler in a southerly
direction through fertile and thickly settled
country, as far built, to meet the Somerset rail
way at the boundary line, 30 miles from Quebec
Forty five miles of the Lewis & kennebec railroad
has been built, and it is intended to build 80 miles
more next season, which will bring them within
Is miles of the boundary line.
The port of Quebec is closed to navigation six
months in year, and the shortest and cheapest
line of land transit for her commerce in the winter
time, or from October to April, with the maritime
Provinces of the Dominion, by l59 miles, with
Europe the West Indies, South America and the
United States, is over the lines Of the Lewis Ken
nebec and Somerset railroads to West Waterville
in Maine, and thence by the Maine Central and
other railroads, built or to be built, to such ship
ping ports on our New England coast as the com
meice of Quebec and East Canada may seek for
embarkaton and dcbarkation.
The immediate completion of this short and di.
rect line Of transit to the seaboard in Maine is
indispensable to the growth and prosperity Of Que
bee, and to the development of her commercial re-
sources, now that her energies are awakened and
her prospects frightened by becoming the centre
OF an important railway system, and the eastern
terminus Of the Canada Pacific railway, in addi.
ton to her vast maritime commerce and lumber
trade. And its immediate completion is equally
important to the kennebec valley, the maritime
towns on our seacoast, and to Maine.
The eastern division of the Canada Pacific rail-
way, the completion of which has been assumed
Montreal, Ottawa & Occidental railway, and is to
be in every respect first class road, with ste ell
rails and iron bridges.
This great highway of nations when completed
and completed it surely will be-from Quebec to
the Pacific ocean, with an outlet from its eastern
terminus ct Quebec, up the beautiful Chandler
valley, and across the State of Maine through the
unsurpassed Kennebec valley, constituting much
the shortest line of land transit that exists from
the river ST. Lawrence or from the great inland
fhntt lrn.v Al, ALL
l hesitate not to say, attract to itself a CONNER
cial, rational and international importance that
no other road in this continent possesses.
The line from Quebec to Ottawa, 2SS miles,
passes through country that is fertile and thick
y settled adjacent to its line, portions of it having
been settled by an industrious and frugal popula-
ton for two hundred years.
The Chandler, Ottawa, st. Lawrence and all
the tributaries of the St. Lawrence touching this
great line of road, are lumber regions par excel
ence, and contain pine and spruce timber of un-
surpassed quality, and in almost inexhaustible
quantities, much Of which, when this short gap is
filled from Canada line to North Anson, So miles,
Will seek an outlet over this line in the winter
time to European, South American and West In
dian markets-and large quantities of clear lum-
Der, even under our present restrictions upon
trade with the Dominion, will pass this short
and uirect line, at all seasons Of the year to our
New England markets in competition W it'll clear
lumber now shipped 600 miles by rail from Michi-
gan.
That portion of the line of Canada Pacific west
of Ottawa, has not been definitely settled upon,
but it is believed will pass about twenty miles
south of lake Nlpissing and at that point is in
about 450 40 north latitude, and thence in west
ery direction to the Pacific coast. 1t is claimed,
by candid and intelligent friends of this great and
beneticent enterprise in Canada, and / have no
doubt with entire truth, that upon this proposed
line of road between Ottawa and the Pacific coast
there is belt of as fine farming lands, for stock
growing and the production of the cereals as there
is on this continent, and of sufficient extent to
make five States as large as Ohio.
This region of country is destined, from the
character of its climate and soil, to produce bread
and meat for expectation in great abundance, in
exchange for manufactured goods or for gold, and
to be the seat of hardy, industrious and ntelii-
gent population.
These with other facts have given this project
great favor in London.
The British Isles have a redundant population
and must have bread and cotton,-cheap if they
can get it, but they must have it. Hence when
the cotton growing industry of the United States
was suspended by our late internal strife the Eng
lsh government turned ITS attention to its Indian
dependencies for an increased supply of cotton and
mainly to facilitate the cotton production of that
torrid Cline 1t has quite recently constructed five
thousand miles Of railway in India. The expert
ence however has Iot fully met English eypecta-
tons.
There is no doubt the English government will
render national aid to this great enterprise if need
be, to so largely increase the production of food
in her American dependencies, and to shorten and
facilitate communication with China and the East,
across the eastern hemisphere.
1t was urged by eminent gentlemen at the Inter-
national Commercial Convention held in Portland
in 1869, that the construction of the Northern
Pacific Railway would shorten the time from Lon
don to China fifteen days, and that consequently
the mails specie, bills of exchange, and valuable
and portable articles of merchandise, including
silks and the higher grades of teas would
seek this road to China and India fiom London
and Western Europe, for safety and speed, in pref
erence to the long and pe,ous voyage to India
around the Cape of Good Hope, and through peril
ous and torrid clmes.
What would be true in regard to saving OF time
between London, China and the East over the
Northern Pacific Railway, would be equally true
Of the Canada Pacific, when completed, if the gap
of 80 miles can be filled from North Anson to the
Canada line. Because trains coming from Quebec
would pass over our Maine railroads to points of
debaikati for Europe, either to New England
ports, or to the maritime Provinces of the Domin-
ion. But ii will be said there s no bridge across
the St. Lawrence at Quebec. True but the wise
forecast of the railroad men who at the bottom
of this great Canadian enterprise, and astue mer-
chants and capitalists of Quebec foresaw in the be-
ginning, that with the great Canada Pacific hav-
ing its eastern terminus at Quebec, and that it
must indspensably have an unobstructed outlet,
without transhipment over the short route through
Maine, above alluded to, to the open winter ports
on our coast and to the maritime Provinces, start
ed the project of railroad bridge from Quebec to
Point Lewis, and to this end have had the St,
Lawrence surveyed, at that place, by skillfnl en-
gineers who have pronounced the scheme feasible
and the bridge ia TO be built and called the "Royal
Albert Bridge"
Without aludng to the ways and means derived
for its completion, permit to cay if these loyal
and enterprsing Canadians should find themselves
minus few millions of dollars to span the St
Lawrence with a second iron bridge, in the great
interests of progress, commerce and a christian
civilization, capitalists in London will furnish
it, and ii they won't the British excheqer will, and
for these reasons This bridge is absolutely in.
dispensabe to the completion and perfection of q
great national and inter- national highway over
which must ultimately pass untold millions of dol
lars worth Of food for the toiling millions of the
Bristish Isles and because this great line of in
ter-national communication will be pathway OF
commerce and highway Of nations that, by rea-
son Of the shortness and cheapness of its land
transit over any other possible route from the
St. Lawrence to the Atlantic, it being only 240
miles from the deep and capacious sea hsrbors OF
Wiscasset and Quebec. And the coast terminus
of this great highway at Wiscasset is about $50
miles nearer the British Channel than New York,
lit being over 500 miles by rail from New York to
Buhalo) with wharfage and harbor expenses 800
per cent less, insurance low and saving of zoo
miles propulsive power on every freight laden