Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-03
DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHWEST
Canadian Frontier is Beginning to
Attract the Attention of
Great Britain.

LONDON, July Especial Cablegram to
The Bee. THE editor of the financial col
ann Of the London Daily Telegraph has the
following leader regarding the development
of the great Canadian northland:
That the opening up Of the Canadian
northwest Is making rapid progress Is bp-
the Grand Trunk Pacific and the Canadian
Northern which are in course Of construc-
ton. II is now reported that a scheme Tor
Yet another line from HudsOn's bay to the
Pacific, for which a charter was granted
by the Dominion government as long as
advantages OF a railway from port on
Hudsons bay across Canada, which would
OPo! W tht vast WhedI growing ltIlllOIles
or saskatchewan and Alberta, and at The
same time tap the extensive oil and aurlf-
erous regions Of AthabasCa and the north
west provinces, are Of course obvious. The
shortening of communication between Great
Britain, via the Hudson straits, and thence
6y a railway to Vancouver, or onward 10
Japan and the far east, is clearly Of great
Importance. 1t is estimated that dis
tance of over 300 miles as compared with
tAlsllne routes would pc saved .! SD anu anu
land between England and the districts
surrounding the north Of Lake Winnipeg,
Prince Albert, Edmonton, Calgary and
other places within the radius of the rich
est wheat growing area in the Dominion of
Canada. The proposed route would un-
doubtedly facilitate the carrying of emf
grants and settlers into this part Of Cam
ada, and the shorter train haul would spell
an important reduction in grain freightS
from OdudQd TO Great Britain. MOI long
ago Dr. Robert Bell, assistant director of
the geological survey of Canada, in the
course of an address on the commercial Inn
portance of HudsOns bay, made the FOL
lowing remarks The Canadian northwest
territories, embracing hundreds of millions
OF acres of fine land, are capable Of becom-
Ing the greatest wheat field in the world
The center of this immense agricultural
region probably is to the north of SaSkatCh-
evan. II we look at the map we shall see
at a glance that the shortest route between
these territories and England is through
Hudsons s bay The great saving in dis
tanCe represents an important economy In
time and money or in freight and passen-
ger rates. An inlet by Hudson's bay is the
only Independent channel which can ever
and our great and invaluable territories in
the interior of North America, and IL is
desirable on national grounds that it should
The dificulty of the scheme lies not on
lapd, but on water. il having yet to be
proved that the Hudson straits are open to
period during the year. II way be recalled
that in l. O3, after the Alaska boundary de-
clsion, tine Dominion gO\,-....,tn at tUUI, 81, ps
10 assert the supremacy of Canada in Hud-
sons bay. With this object in view an ex-
petition under the command of Major
Moody was sent to the bay in the whaling
steamer Neptune, and Commander A. p.
Lowe Of the Canadian geological survey
was a member of the party. Both these
gentlemen reported that a shipping route
from Hudson's bay ports to Liverpool or
elsewhere in the United Kingdom was COM
mercially feasible, and that the narrow
est part Of the straits was thirty miles
wide. Whether these views are correct re-
mains to be seen, but if feasible the enter
prise would certainly benent Canada as
well as Great Britain. The fact that the
application Of the Hudson Bay & Pacific
Railway company for an extension of the
charter passed the senate without amend
ment, and became law at the beginning of
last May, points to the desire of the Do
minion government TO further the scheme.
Whether 1t will come before the public
yet awhile depends largely upon the finan-
clal strength OF the promoters' put Just as
adian Pacific seemed hopeless, so it is more
than likely that in years to come we shall
hear more, of a direct sea route to ports on
Hudson's bay.