Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-08-23
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TIE srca Of British Columbia is nearly
~ tssass tha: Of the adjoining stste Of
wash1gson. Moreover. the populati"a q
shs FL! her re,io.a In 1871 was $4,000. while
that Of the latter was bat ss,0a On the
other hand. while in 1891 the population Ok
British Columbia had expanded only to
y .uo that Of Washington had increased by
1880 70 900 and is now considerably
creassr. lie, us now pass eastward to the
second section Of the Canadian Pacific,
which extends from Banff Hot Springs 10
Winnipeg, = distance Of 81 miles, The
ARA tributary TO this section. including
Manitoba and five organized territories OF
Canassa, i, about $1,000 square miles, or Ii
times that Of the state Of New York. Yet
the population Of the whole r<,son in 1871
was only ~, 00. or one person to four
scnare miles. 1t must not be inferred that
the settlement Of this part Of British North
America began at a much later period than
did that Of the contiguous states Of the
Union. The contrary Is the case,
A colony Of we'll to do families was
planted near Winnipeg as early as ISL
other colonies were soon afterward sent
out freu. England and were provided with
lands III the valley of the Red River of the
North. .Isny years elapsed before the set
tlenaent of Minnesota begsn- In 1871 ST.
Paul had only three families Of white in
habstauts The number OF newcomers In
1873 wes only a5, and the total population
Of th. l. rriiory Of Minnesota was at that
date les than 5.oo What is the state of
things todays The inhabitants of the twin
= Atrfn.snfsDtf~ alone
outnnmler those of all Canada west OF On
taria, while the population of Minnesota is
nearly une-third as large Us that of the en-
tire Dominion. Could there be more de
eisive rruof that Canada cannot attract I'M
migra ion while she remains dependency
Of European monarchy!
We come next 10 the third section Of the
Canadinn Pacific, which stretches from
Winnipeg to Sudbury in Ontario, dis
lance Of 9sI miles. Contrast the popula-
ton OF the area tributary to this section.
which does not exceed s5.ooo, with that of
the contiguous states of Wisconsin and
Michigan. which in 1880 had respectively
|. es6, $50 and 3.093, $50. The mineral re
sources Of this region Of the Dominion are
unques,ionably great, but they must lie
dormant until the Canadians have perfna
nent free access to American markets or
sufficient population 10 consume their own
mineral products. The long winter which
prevails along this part of the railway and
he deep SHOWS add enormously to the OPP
Grating expenses of the road.
The construction, indeed. of this section
Of the line seems 10 have been grave iinan
cial bluntier, but il WAS defended i'll the OF
tawa parliament by the frank avowal that
it was unsafe to transport immigrants to
Manitoba via Sault Ste Marie and st, Panl,
IS before the immigrant trains could leave
ST. Paul and Minneapolis they would be
deserted, and people brought from Europe
ut the expense of the government Of Can
ada would be lost forever in the United
States Much the same thing may be ssiia
Il the fourth section of the railway, which
extends from Sudbury TO Ottawa, dis
lance of 32.j miles, through sparsely set
tied but heavily timbered country. Here,
again, the mineral capabilities are of indis
pute,l value, but like those of the third sec
ton they will never be turned to account
IN the absence of political union with the
United States.
We have now followed the Canadian Pa
cific railway from Vancouver to Ottawa. II
distance of $3.50 miles. How insignificant
must be the earnings from local traffic can
be Judged from the fact that in the whole
Interval there is only one town or city,
Winnipeg, with population exceeding
ZOO, and not more than five other towns
containing ever 1000 inhabitants.
The fifth and sixth sections of the Cana
dian Pacific carry us from Ottawa along
the north shores of the Ottawa and St Law
renee rivers To Montreal and Quebec and
thence through the northern parts of Maine
and the provinces of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia 10 Halifax, IA distance of up
ward Of 1900 miles. AS the fifth section
has TO compete with the Grand Trunk rail
way, the local traffic upon IL Is not now
profitable and can never be more So seeing
that the exodus from the province of Que
bee the past year has been equal to 3 per
cent of the population, or IS, eco, aud If CON
tinued at this rate for 10 years would
amount to 10000. The sixth section of
the road runs for the most part through Il
tbinly peopled and poor agricultural conn
try which, until its mineral resources are
developed, cannot pay the operating ex
penses of the road
How much hope there is Of developing
the mines under existing political condi-
tons may be estimated when we point out
that the gain in the population Of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia between 1881
and 1891 was only ! 4 per cent. We hear
much Of the coal mines of Nova Scotia and
Cape Breton. As matter of fact, in 1880
they produced only about 2,00O,0O0 tons
while the output of the American coal mines
in the same year was nearly l50, 900 tons.
An equally significant contrast is presented
in other mining industries. Pig iron has
been manufactured in Canada continuous
~ for l56 years, yet in 1881 only q ,'12 tons
were produced. against nearly 100000
tons in the United States
These statistics ought TO be kept contin-
1ally before the eyes Of the Canadian PEG
pie. They cannot be disputed or explained
away by the advocates of the British con.
section. They spell despair and ruin, un-
llss the voters of the Dominion obey the
instinct of self preservation and resolve
inter the pathway of prosperity through
political union with the United States
New York sun.