The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-25
NEW FOUNDLAND's RAILROAD.
Will it Bring Better Times to the Ole
 Crown Colony?

Will it Bring Better Times to the Old
 Crown Colony?
 New Foundland has it's railroad at last The line was finished a month ago from St. Johns to Port au Basques at the southwest corner of the island a distance of five hundred and forty.sev- en miles. There are various branches bringing the total mileage up to six hundred and fifteen. It is narrow gauge road, three and half feet, but is said to be well built and equipped with flrst-class rolling stock It's com pletion marks an era in the history of the ancient colony, and New Found landers are naturally much elated over it. No doubt 1t will afford an opportu- nifty for opening up the mineral, lum- bering and agricultural resources of that part of the island to greater ex- tent than ever before, and it will also probably increase the number of visi- tors who go thither for hunting, fishing, sight. seeing or what not, and who by their expenditures add con si i"rably to the income of the thrf'v islanders. It marks, too, an era in British imperial development, for it practically extends the government transcontinental line, which hitherto has reached from Van couver to St. Johns. The gap between Port au Basques and Sydney is only fifty miles, traversed by ferryboats in six hours. There is a narrow gap at the Strait of Canso and another be- tween Vancouver and Nanimo. Except for these there Is now an unbroken British government railroad from the -tray oc-tr tt1t nf Nryfh A,,ap pri ca to the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, a span of about seventy-one degrees of longitude, and by far the longest one now existing ill the world.
 But what will it profit New Found land? That is the question the more thoughtful of the islanders are asking amid their exultations. It has cost about ten million dollars, and has thus more than doubled the public debt of the colony There will be three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in interest to pay on it's bonds every year, and no hope of any dividends for many years tc come Indeed, it will have to be run at heavy loss, which the colony escapes only by getting the contractor who built it to operate it at his own expense for seven years in consideration of a grant of five thousand acres of land for each mile of road. There will be 8 chance to develop the industries of the island, but for that purpose capital will be needed, and where it is to come from no one can at present tell. The people of the island are poor. There are only two hundred thousand of them, all told and their public debt is nineteen million dollars. They have thus to pay besides the expenses of their government, nc l less than seven hundred thousand dol lars year, or s9.5O per capita, as inter. est on the debt.
 And times are hard and growing l harder The cod fisheries are no longer profitable in competition with theil bounty-fed French rivals-another Ot | the blessings of the full monday of tE' ! Cobdenic gospel" Thousands of mrr are now idle. and the completion of the | railroad will leave thousands more without employment. In the face oI l these conditions the outlook is a trou | bIous one.-New York Tribune.