The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-02-20
"rhe Canadian invasion of Maine.

inc CdUdutaH tuSdStOU OF Wt6in6.
Under the above head the New York Sun
calls attention to the fact that the Canadian
Pacific Railroad Company is building rail.
road across the State of Maine aud claims
that the State has exceeded its right in
granting that corporation authority to do so.
Says the Sdns
Maine exceeded her States rights when she au-
thorized one of her railroad corporations to sell
its property and franchises TO a foreign corpora
ton, to be used and enjoyed within her bounda-
res. Only the Federal government, acting
through the Congress and the Presidents can CON
fer such authority on a foreign corporftlon COM
merce between any OF our States ana a iot s TX
country and foreign commerce across any OF the
States, are exclusively within the power ana con
troll of the general government The state cam
not deal with such foreign commerce at all IL is
the yeriest exaggeration Of awlessness ON the
part of the Maine government aud Inc Canauian
Pacific Railway Company, under when ms
British corporation claims the right TO construct
AID operate railroad ON United States territory.
Ii has not the shadow Of right TO 40 IL. 80
wholly destitute of right Is THIS p'fatieai CORPORA
ton that il, instead OF buying a finishing an ull-
completed Maine railroad for Its commerce win
Europe, 1t had leased such line, Il could r., h0'
lawfully have transported goods over II TO Han
fax, PictOu or LOuisBurg
If Maine exceeded its rights in this case
then it exceeded its rights in the case of the
Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad which
was built many years ago and afterwards
leased to the Grand Trunk, foreign cor.
poration in whose control it remains to the
present day. So that if the general govern
ment attempts to interfere, as the Sun want
it to, and rip up the transfer OF the fran
chiSes and properly of the international
Railroad Company to the Canadian Pacific
it must also abrogate the lease Of
the Atlantic and st. Lawrence road IL
the Grand Trunk Theoretically the dee
trinc that foreign corporation should no
be allowed to operate railroad in the Uni
ted States may be all very well aud il year.
ago it had been established and stuck to per
haps it might have been productive OF gooC
results. But the interests Of the people Of
the United States have now become tos
closely Unidentified with many OF these for
egn corporations to allow the enforcement
of any such doctrine. The lease of the At
lantic & st. Lawrence Railroad to the Grand
Trunk proved of very great benefit to thu
people of Maine, to the people of Portland
especially. We do not believe there Is any
sentiment about here for the enforcement o
| the Suns doctrine, and we imagine that it,
call upon the general government to inter
| ferr to put an end to the buildng OF the lu
trnational railroad win yet very little sup
| port in this State.
Another consideration. II we try enforc'
| this doctrine against Canada Uanada viii
surely enforce it ag ainst us, and then somt
of our most prominent railroad lines viii
| find themselves 10 serious difficulty. The
| truth is the railroad lines of Canada and
the United States have become too inter
dependent now to permit the enforcement OF
any such policy as the Sun suggests.