The Portland daily press., 1889-11-30
THE FIELD MARSHAL GETS A SETBACK
The Ambitious Canadian Pacific
Schemes Shattered by Sir John.
A Canadian story OF the Collapse OF
the New Ocean Line.
Present Transatlantic Service Like
Iy to Have No conDetItoT.

OTTAWA, November 29.-General Sir Dom
aid Smith and First Marshal Van Horne,
the commanders-ln-chief Of the Canadian
Pacific railway, have had pretty bad set
back at the hands of Commodore Sir John
A. Macdonald, prime minister Of the Do
mlnion treasure vaults. The General and
Field Marshal have been In the habit OF
coming up here from their place In Montreal
whenever they wanted anything from the
government, naming their requirements, and
getting whichever 1t was that they wanted.
pretty much as matter Of course. The uE-
ders.andlng Is that whenever general cleo
tion takes place the Canadian Pacific rail-
way influence goes solid for the candidates
Of the government. When it was decided
by the Dominion government to establish
line OF last ocean steamers to make better
time between Dominion ports and Great
Britain, than Is now made between New
York and Europe, the thing looked simple
enough. IL appeared to be chiefly question
Of subsidy. A line Of steamships, in which
Sir Donald A. Smith was interested, was TO
tender, through the medium OF private par
ties for the construction and maintenance OF
the fleet. The Central Pacific railway inftu-
ence on the London market was TO be used
to back up the financing of the plan. In
scheme for the Japan fleet, at the Pacific end
OF the line, was put through the Canadian
and Imperial Parliaments, and that for the
Atlantic fleet through the Canadian Parlia-
ment The Canadian Pacific railway openly
appeared as sponsors OF the Japan scheme.
No opposing Canadian interest was involved
Ths imperial approval was of itself sufi-
cient to carry the thing through, and the
necessary contracts TOR steamers were let.
On the Atlantic side Of the scheme, the men
who were nominally to make the contracts,
were sent here from London to go through
the necessary fOrmalities with the DOmin-
ion government. Obstacles were at once
placed in the way by the existing steamship
lines. The Allans were promptly up here,
and the Grand Trunk people took hand.
No end Of pressure was brought TO bear on
minister's much work done through the press
on this side Of the water, and Just enough
doubt was thrown on the project In the right
financial quarters on the other side to dis
credit 1t and frighten capital, always timid,
from investing In any company that might
be launched, or from aff0rding the necessary
facilities to finance the scheme in any shape.
simultaneously with these operations the
arrangements for making the proper land
connections were going on. The main ques-
tion was the ocean terminus on the Atlantic
coast. The Canadian Pacific Railway had
at the time no port on the Atlantic, but were
heading fast for the coast in more than one
direction, tine main scheme being the now
famous Short Line through Maine, connect
ing the system with the Nova Scotia ports
and giving an air line to st. Andrews, fine
open port in New, Brunswick, Dear the
Maine border. On the English side OF the
water strong feeling was manifested In IA
vor Of the all-Canadian route, with Halifax
as the port 1t was soon seen that this feel
ing, together with the opposition generated
in the money market, would surely
wreck any proposal to establish
steamship line to st. Andrews.
In the meantime the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way had come to the conclusion, perhaps in
dependently OF the considerations mentioned,
that In order to make success certain II must
have complete control Of the government
railway between st. John and Halifax, the
International Railway, the only branch Of
the road that was showing a profit. They
SS Splg eSndef th e annus a6 e 6e%
ers into Halifax over II, but sought pledges
not to allow other roads to be chartered to
Halifax for term OF years. To these pro-
posals the government was obliged to give
refusal. The International Is one Of the
thorns In the side Of the Cabinet. Successive
Ministers have killed their regulations In
trying to manage it. Sir John A. Macdonald,
now that he has taken over the Portfolio OF
railways and canals, knows how 1t Is him
self TO give up the only remunerative
branch was little too much even for gov
ernmeht that has yielded pretty nearly every
thin to the Canadian Pacific Railway on de-
mand. The result was that Sir Donald
tempt to float the Atlantic fast steamship
fleet; his catspaws and fgureheads cabled
that they withdrew from their contracts, and
the whole thing seemed to collapse. IL was
then arranged that Smith and Van Horne
should come here and have powwow with
Sir John. They have done so. and
found for once that the Premier could
be firm. He cannot yield II he wanted to
ever so much. In fine, to sum up In his own
emphatic declaration as the ''confab" broke
up: "You want to go to Halifax, gentlemen,
and send me TO Hades."
And so the Canadian Pacific has met with
one Of the most serious reverses that 1t has
ever encountered In its ambitious career.
There are grave doubts here now whether
the whole scheme will not collapse, and the
Canadian Pacific railway be obliged to con-
tent itself with its present ocean service for
years to come, aud lose the subsidy which
has been the object of so much solcitudo
and so much figuring. The blow, soften IL
how one may, Is severe slap 10 the face for
pretensons which are becoming little too
all-em1racing, even for the patient people
and cOmplaisant government Of Canada.