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Show THE CANADA PACIFIC. The New York World of a recent date publishes a lengthy article, from ita "own correspondent," upon the projected Canada Pacific railroad. The writer id evidently thoroughly posted in ull the uiioutiio of the grand scheme J'roui tho time the idea was first broached io political circles in the Dominion Do-minion down to tho failure, lately reported, re-ported, to Hcgothto bonds for it in the English money market. In 1870, there was ouiiniderabJe euid in regard to organizing a company on u commercial basin to build a lino then projected from Perabiua to Fort Barry, nod thenco to the Pacific, the Northern Pacific beiDg relied on as itB eastern branch; but tho death of one of the priucipal movers in that enterprise and llio WitinepCK insurrection caused it to Ull through. The negotiations for the union of British Columbia with the Dominion followed, in 1871, and itB inhabitants desired communication with the cad tern provinces, on account of its isolation, to, that tho con federation federa-tion would bo a commercial and social reality instead of only an official myth. Ah a condition of becoming a part of tho Dominion, Britiuh Columbia asked that all means bo used to complete railway communication at tho earliest practicable date; and, wnen tne terms of oonlederatioo were brought, up in lie Dominion parliament, provision was mado for the building the whole of tho road within ten years from July 20, 1871. Then it was the cabinet saw tho opening for a distribution distri-bution of $130,900,000 direotly among the supporters of the measure, a pros-licet pros-licet which appeared at tho right time, s the general eleotions were at hand. A bill was introduced by the oabinot, ) roviding for the building of a line of railroad from tho eastern shore of lake Superior to tho Paoifio, to be completed com-pleted in eight years, commencing July, 1873; voting $30,000,000 gold, to build it; 50,000,000 acres of a land Krant, and an allowance mado to the company to bond tho lino up to $40,006 Mold, per mile. Tho passage of this bill was declared to be absolutely necessary nec-essary bo lure British Columbia oould i nter the Dominion; but it met with Urong very strong opposition, al-i al-i bouh its strength was inadequate; for "motions Cor delay in tho consideration df this gigantio Bchomo, introduced by r-upporters of the administration, were voted down, and the measure carried after a desperate fight." The passage of this bill was a grand triumph of trickery; for, in carrying it through tho political wire-pullers had represented British Columbia as hav-iug hav-iug "demanded" the building (of this line as a condition of her becoming a part of the confederation, when, in l'aot, sho simply "aslcnd" for it; and the forcing of this scheme through the commons is characterized as a "transcendental "trans-cendental audacity," an "intrigue lvhioh Bhamcs tho clumsy efforts of our own administration," and is "without contemporaneous parallel oven in the wildest feats of tho liadioal carpet-baggers." It is a World correspondent who thus writes. Tho cost of tho road, the route it was to tako and how the money was to be raised, were unanswered questions; yet, the company organized to construct it is already about to commence this stupendous stu-pendous undertaking, and who would hot, having tho handling of so muoh "power" as it ha&? The control of the following funds is given them (if they cm only make the raise): Government subsidy $.10 ,000,000 Laud sr , nt 12i,UOC,000 Hoods Uti.OOO.lWl) Total fcM 1,00U,W0 "Which 'demnition total,'" says the writer, "would have compelled respect even under tho consulship of Colfax." The route to be taken can be traced with satisfaction on tho map; but of the naturo of tho country it traverses little is known. ''Starting from the wilds back of the Ottawa, the first ob-jcativo ob-jcativo point is Lake Nipissing; thence tliero is a jump to Fort Garry, where there is a population along the two liverB of from 10,000 to 12,000, and sfter that there is not a soul nor a settlement till tho terminus is reached in British Columbia, where tho population popu-lation does uot exceed 12,000." And of the fertility of the belt run over, he lays, "there would not bo left one aore alter tho railroad had selected its 50,000,000 of acres," and it "must be many, many years GFC liio country becomes be-comes peopled sufficiently to consume what it produces, and the immense distance at which the producer will find himself from a market will make shipment ship-ment equally disadvantageous." This is the proposed lino of the Canadian Paoifio, briefly stated, and an anonymous anony-mous opponent has irreverently said that it is a line "from bush, through hell, to nowhere." "Tho intelligent Canadian," the correspondent goes on, "will have some idea of tho job ho has undertaken when he hears that its construction will require re-quire 10,000 men for eight year?. To Jay out the road 265,000 tons of rails are required, and about 7,500,000 of tics, with 88,000 telegraph poles and 1,500 tons of telegraph wire. For equipment tho estimate is 7,000 cars with locomotive power equal to t'8,000 horse power. But this is only the lust cost of equipment. Tho annual charges ioclude interest to the extent of about $7,000,000; 275,000 cords of wood for fuel, 40,000 tons of new rails lor re-rolled rails, 800,000 new ties, 2,6i)0 trackmen, an! 6,800 other employes their wa-cs exceeding $2,-500,000. $2,-500,000. From $10,500,000 to $IJ,-000,000 $IJ,-000,000 is the estimated expense of maintenance and operation, so that t0 pay expenses 5 IS, 000,000 must be earned earn-ed annually. It is said that the company that has undertaken the construction of the road ie composed chiefiy of Americans largely interested in tho Northern Pacific; Pa-cific; and that tho Ameiican-haters aro wrathy at the connection, oonceiv-ng, oonceiv-ng, as they do, the probabil ity of the Canada Pacifij becoming a mere branch of the Northern Pacific tbrouch "an rxteofU'D bui't a'cng the pou'o shore o Uko S'l.'rinr from in Du'aih lioe lu the .uu'f, and tho Canada Paoifio. two h. i xtonMon aod N- P. track a tar u Unl river, will commence at Petubioa ani peoira o thence tho 'fertile 'fer-tile belt.' " Tho wjrkiogs of this pchemo it is alleged, have been mantrpiccea of intriguing in-triguing and bwtndling, in comparison with which the Credit Mobider of the U. 8. id bB noihiDg. Tho Dominion cabinet st cored lrom parliament tho power to let the contract, the cabinet having the selecting of the company; and with this grant in their possession they promised the contract, as long ago as 1871, to Sir Hugh Allao,the Vander-bilt Vander-bilt of Canada ind his company. But the premier, notwithstanding the promise, pro-mise, held out to sonator McPhereon, and the Interoceanic company offers to them of bids for the contract, and kept these offers before them, inducing them to hope on, until after they had voted for him for another term of office- when ho withdrew them and awarded the contract to Allan aod tho Americans io consideration of the trifling remuneration remu-neration of $300,000 paid into the adminiutration coflerB to assist in furthering, fur-thering, a certain way, the elections. Tho ooucluuionfl drawn from lengthy statements of which the foregoing is a fair resume, are, of oourso, unfavorable unfavor-able to the road aad sympathetic with the Canucks. Yet it is supposed t ) be the wUh of American citizens, of the United States, that this Canadian Cana-dian Pacific road should never be built; and one cannot help mentally comparing compar-ing tho results predicted with those which wcro so free uttered concerning concern-ing tho oertain failure of tho present Paoifio railroad. Whatever dishonesty and swindling may have attended the 1 inception, so far, of tho Canadian interoccanio lino, it will be found in tho end to open up a fertile country, attraot settlers, and become a paying concern of vast magnitude. |
