Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-04-06
FROM LAKES TO SEA.
Canadians Looking and Seeking After
Deeper Waterway.

Ottawa, April s. Sir Wilfrid
Lauriers reply to the French river
deputation clears up all doubt on the
subject of the intention of the govern
ment to proceed with the development
of Canada's transportation system
from the Great Lakes to the sea. The
administration stands pledged to go
ahead as far as means permit. The
scheme completed by Mr.. Tarte, for
mer minister of public works of the
Dominion, before he left Office, con-
templated an expenditure of $25,000,O0O
to $30,00O,O00, which, it was contended,
would give Canada a shorter and
deeper waterway from the West to the
Atlantic shipping ports than an ex-
penditure of $3O0,000,000 in the i'm
provement of the existing canals on
the American side could do.
Sir Wilfrid favors development pro-
ceeding simultaneously on railways and
canals, and in the East as well as the
West, and sets his face against pro-
posals first to develop the western sec
ton, as desired by members from
Western Ontario, Manitoba and the
Northwest Territories. He holds it use
less to spend money in pushing on the
deepening and widening of the water
ways in the lake region until the facil-
tiles of the ocean shipping ports are
sufficiently increased to handle the
traffic brought down.
1t will take $5000,000 to $4,000, 900 to
complete the French River route from
Georgian Bay to North Bay. A char
ter was granted a private corporation
10 wears ago to undertake the work,
but nothing has been done, and the
government has taken power to go on
with it if the company fails to do So
The transportation commission APP
pointed by the government will take
up the whole subject shortly. The
commission consists of Sir WilliaR
Van Horn. George Bertram of ToronS
to. and Herbert Kennedy of Quebec.
Meantime, Sir William Mulock, post
master general, has foreshadowed a
government policy embracing the
building of a link in the proposed
transcontinental railway route in the
shape of a national road extending
from Quebec to Winnipeg, crossing the
provinces of Quebec and Ontario far
north. but we'll within the fertile belt,
with branches to existing systems, and
an undertaking on the part of the
Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern
to pass all their through traffic be-
tween the prairies and sea over it. In
other quarters it is confidently asserted
instead of the new transcontinental
road being subsidized it's capital will be
granted by the government, secured by
mortgage bonds.
Opposition to the granting of sub
sidy to the Grand Trunk Railwy Paci-
ic extension or any other railway, is
assuming formidable proportions in the
county constituencies throughout the
Dominion. Inside the Ministerial party
itself some difficulty is of the parti-
sans of the proposed trans-Canada and
Grand Trunk Pacific project. The
ns-Canada element recognizes that
in any case both the roads cannot eX-
pect to receive subsidies and wants the
government to consider the claims of
the competing lines together, and this
will probably be done.
Canadian shippers to South Africa
are looking for mutual preference
policy between Canada and the South
African colonies. following the British
preference granted by the Bloemfon-
TEN conference. If the Australian COM
monwealth also can be induced to give
berlain will be prepared to advise his
colleagues in the imperial Parliament
to consent to a system of inter-impe-
rial preferences, including the mother
country.