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J \xf\s>Jtk

PDBUC WORKS POLICY

Outlined by The Premier in His Speech on

The Second Reading

Of the Public Works Loan Act by Which
$5,000,000 Will be Spent

In Assisting Railway Development— The
Mackenzie & Mann Contract.

ADVANCE, BRITISH COLUMBIA.

(The Colonist, May 7, 1898.)
The cry of the people of British Colum-
bia has been for a bold and aggressive
policy, which would lead to the develop-
ment of the great resources of the prov-
ince, attract immigration nnd capital and
generally contribute to its prosperity.
This demand has been wholly reasonable.
It: has found expression in the opposi-
tion press. It has been urged by the op-
position members of the legislature.
The members of the house who usually
vctp with the government have united
in the demand. The press which sup-
pi -rts the government has taken a strong
attitude in favor of it. The Colonist
can fairly claim to have occupied an
advanced position in regard to such a
policy. To meet this demand much fore-
Right, faith and courage have been re-
quired—foresight to discover not only
what ought to be done, but what could
bo done; faith in the extent and value
of the resources of the province; courage
to meet the criticism that will and
ought to be directed to every proposition
Involving large public expenditures. Wo
ffel that we can say of the Loan bill,
the second reading of which Hon. Mr.

Turner moved yesterday, that it displays
in a high degree these three admirable
and necessary qualities. If it becomes
the law of the province and its several
provisions are acted upon, Mr. Turner
and his colleagues will take a place
in the history of British Columbia and
Canada, scarcely second to any public
men the Dominion has produced, as pro-
moters of material prosperity. The priv-
ilege which Mr. Turner had yesterday,
of standing in his place in the house and
announcing that the government of
vhich he is the leader has made ar-
rangements which will secure the im-
ii'.ediate beginning of two great lines of
railway from the I'acific Coast of the
province to the inteiior, one through tho
southern and the other through the
northern part of the province, and both
t'» open to the world great gold fields,
was one that has never fallen to the
lot of any provincial premier to equal
nnd has been surpassed in the history of
Canada only by the announcement of
the perfecting of arrangements for the
construction of the Canadian Pacific.
These two railways involve the construc-
tion of over eight hundred miles of road,
through and to connect with what un-
doubtedly are the richest gold-bearing re

gionH iu the world, but whose resources
sre uot limited by the wealth which may
be dug out of the bowels of the earth.
Thf Premier stated his case so modestly
that possibly the house hardly grasped
its full significance; but it was an epoch-
making declaration, presuming of courso
that the house places the government
in a position to carry out the arrange-
ments which have been provisionally
made.

A PATRIOTIC NOT PARTY QUES-
TION.

Prom t^e outset the Colonist has ask-
ed the members of the legislature to ap-
proach this great question from a non-
partizan standpoint. The credit for ori-
ginating this bold and comprehensive
policy must rest with the government;
but the credit for its adoption can be
shared in by members on both sides of
the house. The question rises so far
above all considerations of party politics,
that one does not see them at al! when
regarding it, any more than when we
look upon some grand mountain peak,
rising clear and white into the blue
heavens, wo notice the mists which ling-
er in the shadows of the foothills. It is
not too much to sa.v that the eyes of
Canada are upon British Columbia at
this crisis. Let our legislature acquit
itself so that it will centre upon our
province the eyes of the civilized world.
We do not pretend to know how all the
members will vote upon this loan
bill; but we do know that the man who
by his vote shall contribute to the de-
feat of the measure assumes a respon-
sibility before the country, which noth-
ing he may hereii fter do as a public man
will efface. A great policy has been an-
nounced. There is no alternative pol-
icy to be considered. It is this or noth-
ing. The Dominion government has de-
clared that it will do nothing for the
railway to the North this year. The
railw-.y in the South cannot be carried
out unless this bill becomes law. If this
bill does not gc through a year with all
its priceless opportunities will be lost.
What man is there who dares take the
responsibility of this? Is there an in-
dividual in the house who will let his
partizan feelings so blind his eyes to the
great ndvHntage of immediate action
thfi<^ he will not see where his duty lies
ill Ihis great emergency?

NEW FEATURES.

The two new features in the loan bill
are the extension of the railway provided
for last year from the Coast to the Co-
luKibia river, and the line from the Cop.st
to Teslin Lake. As nearly every one
knows new bill amends, provided for a
line from English Bluff on the Coast to
Boundary Creek. This was recognized as

incomplete, but it was all that the gov-
ernment felt able to ask the house to
gDint at that time. It was hoped that
the outstanding land subsidy would be
sr.fllcient, with what "id the Dominion
government would give to secure the
construction of the whole line. This
anticipation has uot been realized, but
the government is now in a position to
announce that if a subsidy of $4,000 a
mile is given for the whole line from the
Coast to the Columbia the construction
of the road will be at onje begun. Wo
do not believe there is any difference of
opinion in the province as to the desira-
bility of giving effect to this plan. The
railway will be one of very great import-
ance. It will open a splendid eection
of country. It will add enormously to
the prosperity of those portions of the
southern part of the province where set-
tlors and miners are already estabUshed.
It will tie the Coast more closely than
e\er to the interior, open new markets
for our merchants and fanners, give an
iTTipetus to tlie settlement of a very valu-
able region and generally supply a new
artery for industrial life along four hun-
ditd miles of the fairest portion of Can-
ada. Surely for such a line of policy no
argument is needed.

\N ILL STAND INVESTIGATION.

The plan for the construction of a
railway from the Coast to Lake Teslin
is one that will stand the closest investi-
gation. If we argue for it more at length
than for the other enterprise, it is not
because its merits are less, but because
they are less und'erstood. One gre.it
beauty of the plan for the northern road
is that it illustrates the truth of what
Mr. Turner said in his speech yesterday
—that as we grow older we learn better
how to deal with enterprises of this na-
ture. At first the province thought the
best way to secure railways was to
give large land grants. Then it
decided to pledge its cre<lit in the way
of guaranteeing bonds. The next step
was that adopted last year, namely of
giving a definite amount out and out,
the connection of the province with the
undertaking to cease when the subsidy
bad been paid. This is the plan on
which the Ooast-Columbiu and the Bute-
Quesnelle road were subsidized. This
year's plan is that adopted in connection
with the northern railway, and is the
gieatest advance in railway subsidizing
that has been made in Canada. The
gcvernment gives a subsidy, which is not
payable until the road is in a position to
earn money, and immediately the road
begins to earn anything it begins to pay
back into the treasury the money which
it received It pays it back first in taxes
and next in a fixed per centage of its

f 7/. f ^

-i--

gross eaiiiings. If the road earns $1U0
the province will get $4, no matter how
much it costs to operate the line. It is
thus very clear, that, as the charge for
interest and sinking fund on the subsidy
is 4 per cent, when the earnings of the
read reach $4,000 a mile, that is the
gross earnings, remember, without tak-
ing into account the operating expenses
or any charges which the company may
be at for interest, the subsidy will cease
to be a charge upon the province. If
the gross earnings exceed $4,000 a mile
the provincial interest in the railway will
bo a source of revenue to the province.
P'our thousand dollare a mile is by no
means a large amount to put down for
the earnings of a railway through such
a country and leading to a region of
such inestimable wealth as the Yukon,
so we»are not surprised that the intend-
ing contractors have stipulated that they
shall be at liberty at any time to pay oft"
the subsidy so as to relieve the road from
this 4 per cent, charge. This arrange-
ment is a distinct advance upon all pre-
vious plans made in Canada for subsi-
dizing railways and we are sure will
commend itself to public opinion not only
within but outside of the province. The
other details of the agreement are im-
portant, such as the immediate construc-
tion of the wagon road, the immediate
beginning of work on both sections, the
government control of freight rates and
the selection of the ocean terminus by
the government. Taken all in all, we
think the most captious critics must od-
mit that the interests of the province
have been closely safeguared in the con-
trjict which the government proposes to
moke with Messrs. Mackenzie, Mann &
Co.

STRONG MEN.

The construction of this railway to the
North will be in the hands of men who
are strong financially and whose exper-
ience in railway work has been exten-
sive. Messrs. Mackenzie. Mann & Co.
are among the ablest railway constru'-
tors in America. They have a reputa-
tion for energy and business integrity
which renders their undertaking to do n
given piece of work a guarantee that it
will be done in the time and manner
specified; but in this instance they of-
fer a direct pledge of good faith in tho
shape of a deposit of .$73,000 for each
section of th'^ railway, or $150,000 in
all. It is, of course, their interest to
puFh the contract to completion at the
earliest possible day. The sooner the
Mork is done, the sooner it will earn
money, and so likewise the sooner it
will begin to repay the subsidy, which
is in point of fact more in the nature
of an advance than a gift, as is usually

the case with government contributions
to railway undertakings.

THE B^INANCIAL RESULTS.

Mr. Turner in his speech estimated
that the returns from the 4 per cent,
would amount to $50,000 a year. What
the revenue would be from the taxes on
the road is easily calculated. The value
per mile for assessment purposes is
fixed at $2,000 per mile, instead of $3,000
as is the case with broad gauge roads,
The mileage is 400 miles, which gives
$800,000 of taxable property. This at
three-fifths of one per cent., the rate
applying to the railway, will yield $4,800
a year. This brings the estimated re-
ceipts from the railway up to within
$10,000 of what will be needed to meet
the interest and sinking fund. To this
must be added the personal tax of $3
per capita, which each employee of the
road must pay, which, with the other
taxes derivable from the employees of
the road, will reduce the estimated cost
of this subsidy to the province to about
$8,000 a year from the outset and this
will be liable to reduction yearly there-
after, until, as has been said above, the
charge will be extinguished and the
railway be a source of clear gain to the
province, unless the company owning
it shall repay the subsidy. Is there any
reason to doubt such a result? We do
not believe there is. No one can under-
take to say what the resources of the
Yukon and Northern British Columbia
are, but there is suflicient evidence to
warrant legislation in aid of rail-
way construction in the manner contem-
plated. We know that more than a
quarter of a million square miles of ter-
ritory in Canada and a large area in
inferior Alaska will be tributary to this
railway, no matter how many other
lines may in the future be built to tap
these great interior gold fields. This
railway, coming to the Coast in a more
southerly latitude than any other pos-
sible route, following a course to the
north behind the Coast range, where the
snow fall is comparatively light, inter-
secting a region of great promise, afford-
ing access to a vast territory to the
En St and Northeast and reaching the
htad waters of the finest of the Yukon
tributaries, will be exceptionally well
situated to compete for traffic when
competition becomes possible. That the
northern gold fields will be permanent
is no longer a matter of doubt. For
these reasons we claim that the proposed
subsidy may properly be regarded as an
advance to the company constructing the
line of an amount not much more than
sufficient to pay the freight charges on
provisions and material used in construc-
tion, from Victoria or Vancouver to the

\w^^'^

scene of operations. This bargain is :in
exceptionally favorable one, especially
vhen we remember that in addition a
public wagon road li>() miles long is to
bo built by the company. As a business
arrangement the plan agreed upon wi'.l
stand the closest scrutiny.

A TEOPLES POLICY.

The great majority of the people of
British Columbia, without regard to lo-
cality or political sympathy, will endorse
the whole policy which finds expression
in the Loan bill. Those residents of
Kootenay, who are said to be hostile to
that portion of the measure which pro-
vides for the railway to the Yukon, will
surely see that the plan submitted to the
house is one to which they cannot re-
fvse their support. Surely the people of
that favored portion of British Columbia
will not be so utterly sectional as to
expect their representatives to withhold
their santion from this measure as an
entirety. Is there a shadow of doubt
that, if such a plan, as that for the Yu-
kon railway, were proposed for a line iu
any part of Kootenay, every voter in
that part of the country would hold up
bcth hands for it? Would they not say
at once that all the province is asked to
do in effect is to borrow the money and
let the railway pay the interest and
sinking fund? Will the people of the
LoAver Fraser justify their representa-
tives in blocking projects that will open
to the farmers of British Columbia the
best markets in America? We do not be-
lieve they will, any more than the people
of the Coast cities would support thei'
representatives in such a course. The
measure is in the hands of the house.
We look for its passage by n irood major-
ity, but would be more than gratified to
chronicle that it had met with unani-
mous support. Some days ago the Col-
onist appealed to Mr. Semlin, as leader
of the oppostion, to throw partizanship
to the winds for the occasion and join
bends tvith the government in carrying
through this great measure. He will re
sume the debate on Monday, and he has
the political opportunity of his life. He
can rise at one step to as high a pedestii
as ever was occupied by the leader of a
provincial opposition in Canada, by clos-
ing his speech with seconding the Pre-
niier's motion for the second reading of
the bill. He would lose nothing, but on
the contrary would gain immensely by
such a course. It would be a fitting cul-
mination to his political record. Next
Monday will be the beginning of the last
week of the last session of the present
parliament of British Coiumbia. Let it
be the beginning of a new era in the
hidtory of our imperial province. Let the
representatives of the people show the

world that, differ as they may on politi-
cal issues, they are as one on the great
question of provincial development, one
in their faith in the resources of British
Columbia, one in their determination
that the golden opportunity at hand shall
not slip by unimproved. Let both sides
of the house proclaim as with one voice:
Advance, British Columbia!

THE PREMIER'S SPEECH.
Proceeding to move the second read-
ing of the dill Hon. Mr. Turner said:
Mr. Speaker, as has already been stated
frequently this is a most important bill
—one of the most important that has
been brought into the house this session,
although there have been so many im-
portant bills before us this session look-
ing to the development of British Col-
umbia that I find it diflicult to say
which is the most important of the num-
ber Still it cannot be doubtfed that
this bill takes its place as the most im-
portant measure to be placed before the
house for consideration Owing to the
fact that the present rules of the house
do not make it necessary to reproduce
the sections which are to be amended
ihe bill is perhaps on the face of it a
little misleading to the general public
without an explanation. It might seem
at first sight as if it is proposed by this
bill to borrow $5,000,000; but as a fact
it is only to give power to borrow
$2,500,000 more than has already been
authorized by the bill which was passed
by the legislature last session and which
the present bill proposes to amend. In
the bill which passed the house last year
several very important lines which again
appear iu this present bill are provided
for. Those roads are the one from Pen-
tiction to Boundary creek, the road from
the coast to Penticton, and the road
from Bute inlet to Quesnelle, or 560
miles in all. Now it is proposed to raise
$2,500,000 more for the purpose of aid-
ing in the construction of 480 miles more
of railways. The most important part
of this is that intended to assist in build-
ing a railway from some point on the
coast of the province to Teslin lake.
That section of the province has been
so very prominently before the public
for the past year that it is almost un-
necessary for me to advert to it, but
from the opinions of those best qualified
to know and from the information set
out in the public press the general feel-
ing among the people of the province is
that for the development of British Co-
lumbia it is absolutely necessary to have
that extreme northern portion of the
province opened up by means of rail-

A BOLD. PROGRESSIVE POLICY.

It was by a bold, progressive policy
of aiding railways that has had the de-

Hirable effect of developing the Kootenay
and Okanagan country in the southern
part of tlie province and has brought
ahout such magnificent results. Now it
is proposed to go hundreds of miles
North to develop those sections which
had hitherto in a large measure lain dor-
mant. I feel sure that such a bold, pro-
Kiessive policy is acceptable to the prov-
ince. It is perhaps a large sum of monoy
but the government is encouraged in
bringing in the bill from the fact that
we know of the success attending the
railway works already assisted by the
province. It is really owing to the policy
of this government in subsidizing such
roads as the Columbia & Western, the
ShuBwap & Okanagan, the Kaslo i^
Slocan and ether lines that these lines
were built and the country opened up to
the extent that it is to-day. I do not be-
lieve that Kootenay would to-day be re-
turning one-quarter or even one-tenth of
revenue she is now doing if it had not
been for uudertakmg such enterprises,
for beyond a shadow of doubt those rail-
ways would not have been built so
speedily had it not been for government
assistance. There have been many opin-
ions as to the most advantageous meth-
od for subsidizing railways. Several
methods have be?n tried and these have
been modilied from time to time as ex-
perience and better knowledge of condi-
tions had indicated as desirable. At
Jtrtt little was known of the conditions
and results could not be reasonably anti-
cipated, but as time went on the province
gradually changed its policy until last
year, when the house hr.d adopted t.ho
plan of granting a subsidy of so much
per mile. There was an uncertainty
about the system of guaranteeing bonds
as to the exact amounts which the prov-
ince would have to pay and consequently
the government believed that the present
plan of a cash subsidy with participat-
ing benefits is the best method.

govehnment ownership.

Of course, there are people who advo-
cate state ownership of railways and a
great deal may be said in favor of that
policy as applied to certain countries. In
New Zealand I believe that this has been
to a certain extent successful, though
the blue books do not give all the de-
tails necessary to show that the success
has been as Ki'eat as claimed. Still
there can be no comparison between
New Zealand and British Columbia for
the conditions in the two countries are
so different. In New Zealand the popu-
lation is distributed evenly over the
whole country, and being a colony by it-
self and not a province the government
has control of the tariff revenues, an
advantage which British Columbia does

not possess. Having control of its tariff
and all other sources of revenue New
Zealand is in a position to which we can
never attain. It can not only vary its
tariff to meet its refjuirements but it
can control its railways absolutely. I will
not discuss whether the Dominion would
be wise or not to take over the railway
system of Canada, but I do say that
British Columbia as a province is not in
u position to undertake such a grave res-
ponsibility on its own behalf. In New
Zfaland, though it appears that many
lines do not pay, yet on the average and
by the big profits made on the lines run-
ning through the more thickly settled
portions of the colony the average return
is something like 3 l-3per cent, on the
expenditure. It is important to know
what rates are charged by the railways,
but the blue books do not show that.
However, reading the London Times I
observe that it is stated that although
New Zealand is a beautiful country and
comparatively prosperous its railways
afford the worst travelling accommoda-
tion in the world.

Not only is this accommodation indiff-
erent, but the trains are slow, starting
when they like and very uncertain as to
the time when they will arrive at their
destination. I do not know if this is a
faithful picture, but Max O'Rell testifies
to it. From this it is apparent that
the fact of government ownership of
railways paying in New Zealand does
not prove that it will pay here. There
the colony ia self-contained, so it does not
much matter how the trains run as
everyone is on an equal footing. Here
we are brought into competition with a
gigantic railway system that would
swamp roads ran under New Zealand
conditions.

THE BEST SYSTEM.

We think that the best system at pre-
sent to encourage railways is to give^
a definite sum as a subsidy. This rail-
way from the coast to Teslin lake will
open up the Omineca and Cassiar conn-
try, which from the information which
we have, promise to be as wealthy as
any portion of the province and may
possibly prove to be the wealthiest. With
the development which will be brought
ahout by a railway we will soon see a
very large number of settlers in those
districts — for even now people are going
in there fast and when r. railway is con-
structed there will be vastly increased
facilities for an in-flow of population.
We want to see the northern part of
the province increase in population in
the same degree as in the southern por-
tion and I feel sure that with railway
communication inaugurated and that es-
tablished we will have 50,000 or 60.000

people there in a very short time. It
has been said that this railway will bene-
fit the Dominion more than it will tho
province, and that the revenue from the
districts mil go largely to the Do-
minion. That is no reasonable argument
why it should not be constructed. lOvn
if two-thirds of the revenue went to
the Dominion and o!»e-third to the prov-
ince it would be foolish for the provin;e
to do nothing. 'J'he proper argument is
that the road will benefit British Colum-
bia, that it will develop the resources
of Omineca and Cassiar, that it will be
of benefit to the towns and cities of the
Ooast, and that it will contribute ma-
terially to the prosperity of the whole of
the province. It will open up a mining
section of wonderful possibilities. It
will open up the Skeena valley and the
lands beyond, where agriculture :iud
stock raising can be carried on. It will
benefit the farmers on the Fraser valley
and the Coast districts, for it will open
up to them larger markets and improved
prices for their produce. We all know
what beneficial influences the lines in
the Kootenay country have had and how
the Okanagan district has grown and
developed from the enlargement of the
mining interests through the advent of
railways. This line is the one which will
largely carry the people going into tho
Yukon and besides that pass through a
country that will attract people to stop
and settle or prospect. Even if all the
people at first do pass through to the
Yukon they will have broun^t in large
sums of money which will be distributed
throughout the province and then when
the reaction sets in and the people begin
to return, the important works going on
ii. the northern portion of the province
will give employment to many and will
induce many more to settle there adding
their quota to the wealth and population
of British Columbia, and aiding as well
in discovering new mines and develop-
ing fresh resources.

OTHER LINES OP RAILWAY.

The other new railroad provided for In
the bill is that from Robson to Boundary
creek, approximately a distance of **0
miles. Th^re is already a line which has
n charter and a land grant for that por-
tion o? the road, but it is proposed to
modify this arrangement so that the land
grant will be changed into a money sub-
sidy. Of course, any line that takes up
the money subsidy loses the land subsidy.
This line, giving as it does connection
v.'ith Penticton, will be of very great
importance to the province by giving a
connection with the Shuswap & Okan-
agan and making that part of a through
system of railway. The guarantee of
this road is at present a heavy tax on

the province and if it only pays th'it
the new road will pay very well. It wdl
open up new outlets for the Okanagan
and be very advantageous to the countr>'.
I have not yet referred to the arrange-
ments proposed for carrying out these
great works. The fact is tiiat tho line
between Robson and Penticton will be
going on very shortly and will bo un-
der way before August. The other por-
tion from Penticton to Boundary in an-
other mouth. The building of the line to
the North is the one that presents the
greatest difficulty. We had many inter-
views with railway men on the subject
and finally were enabled to come to an
understanding on all points. The con-
tractors are ready to agree to build a
wagon road immediately over the section
from the Stikine to Teslin lake and to
have it finished within three months,
that any work done by the province and
any expenditure by the government on
the road will be assumed by the contrac-
tors; that the work on both sections of
the railway will begin before June 1;
that the northern section will be finished
by August, 1899, and that the southern
section shall be completed two and a
half years after the selection of an ocean
port. The contractors wijl be paid $4,0O>
a mile subsidy only upon the completion
of each section and when the railway is
running and not before. This railway
will return to the government 4 per cent,
on the gross earnings of the line.
Mr. Williams— Gross?

FOUR PER CENT. OF THE GROSS
RECEIPTS.

Hon. Mr. Turner — Yes, gross, not
net, and besides, as soon as it is com-
pleted the railway is taxable at the rate
of .^2,000 a mile. This subsidy of $4,000
a mile is not to exceed $1,000,000 and
will cost the province $64,000 a year.
The 4 per cent, on the gross receipts of
the railway added to the tax on the
road will give the province $50,000 a
year, so the difTerence the province will
have to pay will be very small. In ad-
dition to these considerations there must
be taken into consideration the taxation
arising out of the development and set-
tlement of the district which now yields
very little revenue. Within three years
the revenue will be $20,000 or $30,000
from this source alone. It is to be re-
membered, too, that there is a term by
which the contractors are to put up $75,-
000 security to the satisfaction of the
Lieutenant-Governor-in-council for the
construction :f the line. The fact that
the northern section is to be finished by
August. 1899, uieans that this year a
part of the road— fifty miles— will be
ready this autumn and so reduce the dis-
tance to be travelled by trail materially.

The riiilway will open up the very ini-
ptrtant district of the Skeena river us
well and also give communication with
the great district of Omineca, one of the
richest mineral districts on the conti-
nent. Consequently, this great work
will recoup the province in a very few
years for the outlay. British Columbia
has been the boldest of any province of
the Dominion in undertaking develop-
ment works and in its railway policy and
this means that by its progressiveness
and enterprise over 1,000 miles of rail-
way in British Columbia are due. I will
now read the terms which Mackenzie &
Mann are prepared to accept.

THE TERMS.

Victoria, B. C, April 30, 1898.
The Hon. J. H. Turner, Premier:

Dear Sir:— Referring to my communica-
tion to you of the 18th Inst., re Teslin
railway. My undoratiinding of the matter
Is that on April 201h the terms therein set
out were discussed and amended to further
meet the governmcMit's demands, and that
the proposition verbally accepted by the
government now stands as follows:

The railway to be a through narrow
gauge line from Teslin Lake to an ocean
port In British Columbia.

The port to be selpoted Jointly by the
Provincial and Dominion governments.

The railway to be divided Into two sec-
tions.

The northern section from the Stlklne
River to Teslin Lake.

The southern section from the Stlklne to
the ocean port.

Work to be commenced simultaneously on
both sections at the Stlklne before June
Ist next.

Northern section to be finished by August
31st, 1898.

Southern section to be flnlshcd within two
and a half years after selection of ocean
port.

Government to grant cash subsidy of 94.-
000 per mile for both sections.
Payable upon completion of each section.
The railway to be assessed at $2,000 per
mile when completed.

The government to recehe 4 per cent, of
the gross receipts of the railway.

The railway company to have the op-
tion of repaying at any time the total sub-
sidy.

We to Immediately construct, for the pur-
poKcs of th(? rallway( a wagon road over the
northern section along the looated line of
railway.

The wagon road to be free to the public
for transportation puri^oses during the con-
struction of the railway.

We to toke over and assume all expendi-
ture In respect of any such wagon road
under construction by the government at
date of contract with us.

Security for the due performance of the
whole work to be given to the satisfaction
of the Lleatenant-Governor in Council In
the sum of $76,000 for each section forth-
with upon the execution of the contract.
Tvith reference to the modifications of the

above terms suggested \erbally by the gov-
ernment to-day, 1 may say that I am will-
ing to accede to the following:

1st. The subsidy to be jJ4,000 per mile
from Teslin Lake to an ocena port In
British ('olumbia, to be nominated by the
Lieutenant-Governor In Council and the
Governor-General In Council, such subsidy
not to exc3ed the aggregate sum of 81,-
600,000.

2nd. The Lieutenant-Governor In Coimcll
to have supervision of the construction of
the wagon road, also of the railway rates,
which two matters shall be mutually ad-
justed and agreed upon before the execu-
tion of the contract.

I beg to say that my firm are prepared
forthwith, upon the granting to them of
the said subsidy, to execute a contract upon
the above terms, so modified, with provis-
ion therein for the full and satisfactory
equipment and operation of the railway.
I beg to remain.

Yours faithfully,

LEWIS LTTKK.^,
For Mackenzie, Mann vt (jo.

AN OCEAN TERMINUS.

Mr. Cotton asked why the ocean port
had to be designated by the Dominion
as well as the Province.

Hon. Mr. Turner — It is important
that the terminus of the railway on salt
water be declared a port and it is only
the Dominion who have the right to say
where a port of entry shall be. Conse-
quently it would have to be a place ac-
cessible to steamers. Some people have
imagined that a uorthern port would in-
jure the southern ports of British Co-
lumbia. This was evidently said without
much thought, for I think the southern
part of British Columbia is quite capable
of taking care of itself. If we only had
one or two ports on the Coast we would
never amount to much. These other
reads mentioned in the bill were in the
bill last year. The Vancouver, Victoria
and Eastern is already under subsidy
and there is reason to believe that the
Chilliwack section will be built this
year. I have not had time to preparv?
a speech on this important bill as my
time has been so fully occupied; but
so large and important a subject is
worthy of greater effort and greater
than I could bring to bear on it. It
does not, I am proud to say, require
great eloquence. It speaks for itself.
The advantages of the bill and the ar-
rangements to which it gives effect are
so evident that they may be readily un-
derstood, and plainly stated as suiBcient-
ly convincing without the aid of ora-
tory. However, if gentlemen so desire
I am quite willing that the debate be
adjourned till Monday.

Mr. Semlin moved the adjournment of
the debate, which was agreed to.