The Portland daily press., 1879-12-13

Last Tuesday as Sir Hugh Allan happened
to be in Halifax reporter of the Halifax
Morning Herald made him call sto
ask him about Halifax as winter
port. In the course of the interview the re-
porter said:
Reporter-That brings us, Sir Hugh, to the
"winter port" question. Could you not secure
four return cargoes of grain at this port instead
of Baltimore?
Sir Hugh with animatien)-How? Where?
Where is your grain? Your elevators? Your
through railway connections? What have you
done to make this the winter grain port? The
fact of the matter is, you have begun at the
wrong end of this business. Your citizens
have done nothing to make this the winter
grain shipping port.
Reporter-Sir Hugh, when do you think
Halifax will become the winter grain shipping
port?
Sir Rugh-Not until your people build ele-
vators, and make an effort to make it a grain
shipping port. | may say that Halifax Is not
naturally suitable port for shipping grain.
But it can be made so by artificial means. 1t
through connection with Chicago over Govern
ment Railways with low rates. What is
wanted is the purchase by the government OF
the Quebec Shore Line, so they can make
through connections with the grain markets
and to carry it at low rates. The people of
Halifax must do the rest. We do not want to
go to Boston or Baltimore and would only be
too glad to make this our winter port of desti-
nation when we can secure return cargoes.
Until then, we will have to continue our trips
to American ports.
Reporter-I notice that some of the Quebec
Ministers are now in Ottawa trying to sell
the North Shore Road. Do you think they
will accomplish their object, Sir Hugh?
SIR Hugh-I don't know.
The Morning Chronicle of Wednesday COM
!.
follows:
The citizens of Halifax were taught by the
leaders of the party now in power to rely on
the government to do all that was needed to
make Halifax the winter grain port. Mr..
MackenZie'S government was condemned be-
cause it had not accomplished that desirable
object The Conservative party, by its leaders
and its candidates in Halifax, promised to do
all that Sir Hugh thinks the citizens should
do. Perhaps the promises were rash, That is
not worth debating now. The promises were
made. They were thesmeans OF securing sup
port for the Conservatives. The Conservatives
are now in power. They have not fulfilled
the promises. AS we have pointed out fire.
quently, and as Sir Hugh Allan says now,
nothing has been done. Some of the Cana
dian grain trade has been diverted from Port
land, but only to be turned to Boston. Even
freight from Europe for Canadian importers
has been carried past our harbor and landed at
Boston.
We may say that but very little freight has
been diverted from Portland to Boston. The
Grand Trunk has been doing a splendid busi-
ness, of which, of course, the Canadian trade
forms a large portion. Last winter there were
three fine lines of freight steamers running
from this port-the Beaver, Dominion and
Clyde and numberless sailing vessels In
fact the PRESS published, at the close of last
winters seas on, list of the ships and barques
taking grain and other commodities to Europe
from Portland. The elevator here is great
institution, and the fact that Portland has no
port charges and that the cars run right to the
wharves alongside Of which the ships lie,
gives her great advantage over almost all
seaport towns. This winter we have the Do
minion and Beaver, and shall have the Clyde,
lines, and we published the other day long
list of vessels chartered by the Grand Trunk
for Europe that had just sailed or were load
ing. In fact ships are daily coming here from
Boston, Delaware Breakwater New York and
other places to secure cargoes because they
cannot get them in those ports. There are
three gentlemen, at present in the city, repre-
senting three of the largest grain houses in
Canada, chartering ships for the transporta-
ton of grain to Europe. The Grand Trunk
business was never better, and if the Allan
Line steamers should chose to come here they
could be accommodated without difficulty.
The fact is the Intercolonial Line has not af-
fected the Grand Trunk in the least, and Port
land still remains, as she will continue to, the
winter port of Canada