The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-05


Of the route, has farming possibilities, but
the remainder would have little to rely on.
The through grain route to Europe is its
main feature. When the project Is LOOKED
at simply as a study OF distances on MAPS,
it finds much in its favor. From Winnipeg
to Fort Churchill, on Hudson Bay, the
distance Is perhaps 700 miles, while to Port
Nelson, where, however, the harbor is not
80 good, 1t Is fifty miles shorter. The
distance from Fort Churchill to Liver
pool by way OF Hudson Strait Is
about the same as from Montreal, but
from Winnipeg to Fort Churchill Is only
about half the distance from Winnipeg to
Montreal. Thus the gain for Manitoba Is
manifest, and it is greatest Of all for the
Saskatchewan, n grain.growing country,
the saving from Edmonton being about
1900 miles. A glance ut the map shows
also that from Pembina in North Dakota
there would be n gain Of perhaps 1000
miles over the route by way of New York.
On the strength of these figures, more
than n dozen years ago the Dominion Par
lament took up the question. But 1t very
early became manifest, as 1t remains to this
day, that the vital question is the naviga-
bility Of Hudson Strait. No serious obsta-
Gle Is apprehended in Hudson Bay, with its
norm area, forming only shore ice, but
in Hudson Strait It is well recognized
that the Ice blockade Ia maintained for all
but a few months each year. In 1884
the Dominion Parliament sent out, In
the Neptune, observation parties that
were stationed along the bay and
H. zl..tA Tl,A ,n~t rnnr tho Alnrt
was sent to bring them back, but was
caught in an ice pack and damaged. How
ever, after returning and being repaired.
she tried again, and had better fortune,
passing the strait in August and reaching
all the stations. The conclusion Of Lieut..
GORDON was that suitable vessels, whose
structure he described, could rely on get
ting through the strait in ordinary years
between the middle of July and the middle
of October, a period Of three months, and
might possibly, though with risks of delays
and perhaps of accidents, In some years get
through between July l and Nov. /, a max
imum of four months.
After this investigation, with its con-
sentative report, the project languished,
but n few years ago 1t was revived and
pushed vigorously by Manitoba. AS it
often happens when n particular section is
greatly interested in a special measure,
pressure was brought upon both parties in
the Dominion to favor this scheme. An
effort was made to have the Government
guarantee the payment of the interest on
the company's construction bonds. From
that, however, Parliament was inclined to
shrink, at least until the practicability Of
the enterprise should be shown more clearly,
The result has now been the sending out Of
another ship to navigate the strait, the
purpose being to ascertain by experiment
whether n longer period might not bt
counted upon for grain shipst to get through
1t will be seen from the foregoing state
ment about how the project stands. The
Dominion Government Is disposed to aid II
il really feasible, while the British capital
lists, upon whom the railroad company de
ponds for it's funds, have also their repre-
sentative aboard the ship. That the schem'
is tempting to Manitoba is clear enough
yet the man who invests his capital knows
that there are other elements in the problem
besides n saving in geographical distance
He will naturally consider the chances that
new grain OUT would have, which coul'
only be operated q few months in each year
when competing with existing route
further to the south. The additional cos
for freight and insurance OH account of tn
danger of blocking or injury by ice, and tn
delays that might in some cases make tn
shorter route in distance the longer one II
time, are also to be considered. And tn
Dominion Government will of course hav
to consider the same points, II it guarantee
the company's bonds.
However, apart from the question
whether it will pay, the project attract
attention as n bold enterprise, while tn
preliminary expedition of the present sun
mer may be expected to bring back inter
esting information of various kinds.