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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 NORIfi SIIORH RAILWAY Differences hetzvccu ihr CJmi.i- 1{\(.ini.:kk. and the Pri-sidknt oJ the Companw 'f CONTAINING I. LETTKBsyrov// the C/iiet Kmiiiuar to tin Si r ro- tary and Board of Dinictor,^. rvsiKcti'tHi ///< com^mnceinent of L((jal !*rocA.fd{n(is aifaiuHl the President. Dated April \4th. \,ith and 20tA 1875. II. Communication front the Chief Hnainrer to the Board of Directors, requestinn ti> he relieveel, (ire. Dated Aprit 7. 1875. HI. KfisoiUTioNb adejpted />// the Hoard of Dlnr. tors, aeeedimj to the reffuest of the Chief Engineer, JJated Apr it b. 181 o, li.',. ^i IV. Keplv of the Chief Ene/ineer to the lioani of Directors, in anstver to the Charges and Allegeitions made bg the President; with fv, Appendices. Bated Apr it SOth, IHl,'). \ Remarks of the Engineer in Chief npon tht Charges made bg the President ; niUi a„ Appendix. Dated Dec, 1, lh7l. ;''! :;(1 iif i.li -t-ii i < I- "^0 X. -M NORTH SHORE RAH^VAV. THE CHIEF ENGINEER AGAINST THE PEESIDENT. Letter lo l/ic Secretary t^hii'g notice cf Proceectiiiii's. oFFTcr OF Tin-: KN(n\KErj in niiEF. Qiu'bec, April 14th 1875. Me. Secretary, I consider it to W. mv dniy to inform the lioard of Directors, that I am about to commence lei>al ])ro- ceeding's against Col. AVm. Khodes, the President of the Company, for defamation of character, growing out of charges and insinuations which have been put in eircuhi- lion by him, to the effect ihat I h.td a pecuniary interest in the contract with the Chicago Contracting Conipairy for the construction and equipment of the road ; and also that I have attempted to force the present Contractor to provide for and recognize that interest. I have given the most y///r/?/^/////Vc/ denial to these charges, on all in-oper occasions : and have, \\\h)\i one occasion called the attention of the President to the matter in the presence of the Board, upon which occasion he stated distinctly that he had never regarded it as of sullicient IS'' l!H ■:>'. 8 i I 2 NORTH SlIOKE RAILWAY. importance to bring it before the Board ; notwithstanding all which, the Tresident has persistently continued to re-iterate these charges, in a still more aggravated form. The only alternative remaining to me therefore, is to aflbrd him the earliest opportunity to make his charges good, in a Court of Justice. I have been induced to take this course for the reason, that it would probaldy be much more acceptable to the Board, as it certainly is to myself, than it would be to have a long and weary investigation vilkin /he Board, respecting matters which are entirely foreign from the immediate and more direct interests of the Kailway Com- pany. I have the honor to remain, Mr. Secretary, Your Obedient Servant, S. SKYMOITR, A. II. Yemret, Chief Engine.-r. Secretary N. S. Ky. Co. Quebec. Further letter to the Secretary. OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF. Quebec, April l«th, 1875. Mr. Secretary, Ileferring to my letter of yesterday, in which I informed you that " I was about to commence legal pro- ceedings against the President of the Company for defama- tion of character, " &c., it has occured to me that, under all the circumstances connected with the case, it might be- T' M CIIIKF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 3 considered duo to the lioard of Directors, that 1 sliould state with more i)articuhirity than was stated in that letter, the reasons whieh have induced ine to tako tliis course at the present time. It will be remembered that in the Fall of 1874, the President, placed in the hands of the Board, a voluminous correspondence, in which I was charged with neglect of duty, to such an extent, that the President had lost his confidence both in myself, and in the organization of my staff. The Contractor had also filed a voluminous correspon- dence with the Board, in which I was charged with embarrassing him in the execution of the work. And intimati'?g very distinctly, that he should abandon the contract unless an entire change was effected in the lilngineer De])artment. The Government had also appointed an Inspecting J'higiui'er, Avho had reported that the work already done, did not come up to the requircnnents of a first-class road. The charges of the President had been referred to the Executive Committee ; and I had placed ri the hands of the Chairman of that Committee, my defence. The chargts of the Contractor had been fully answered ; TN'hich answers were read before the Board, and placed on hie in your ofhce, I had also prepared answers to all the objections made by the Government Engineer, respecting the character of the work, &:c , which were read before the Board. It had come to my knowledge that the President had spoken very freely and publicly about his want of confi- dence in my administration of the office of Chief Engi- it )n m 4 NORTH STIORE RAILWAY. neor ; and that he had calh'd tho particnhir attoiiiion of the Govoriimont liliigineer to the dolective work upon the line. Also that he had given ext*'n.sive currency to a conversa- tion which he had had with one of the nK^mlxrs of the Chicago Contracting Company, to the eilect that I had a pecuniary interest in the original contract ; and that the present Contractor had only to recognize that interest, in order to settle all of his dillicidties with nie. 1 had called particular atti-ntion to these facts, in my defense against the President's charges ; and had made an unfjualilit'd denial of having any pecuniary interest in the Contrncl : " And begged that the authority upon w hich the belief is based might be placed before^ the Board of Directors at once, with a view to a most rigid and thorough investigation." In relation to all Avhich, reference is respect- fully made to my letter to you of the 10th inst., transmit- ting my defense and the corresponden(H' relating thereto. Th*^ Crovernment having refused, on account of the representations made by its Engineer, to advance any more money of the Company ; and the internal compHcations growing out of the diflerences between the President and the Contractor, on the one hand, and the Chief Engineer on the other, havint>' reached such a point as to demand a speedy and eflectual solution, it was agreed by all parties that these matters should be submitted to Mr. Sandford Fleming for his counsel and advice. This movement iinally resulted in the adoption, by the Board of Directors, on March 15th, 1875, of the report of its Special Committee having the matter in charge ; which action of the Board, was fully concurred in by the aovern- ment, the President, the Contractor, and the Chief Engineer. — — :.-^_.^, ^i.. fv-f^n-^r ■'VT '"•■■ffi^^'V-"'" ■ Vi^ikVOTivnp Uy 'iiM"il U^Vnfp^^PRIIPII^p^pipi CHIEF EXOIXEEIl VERSTM PRESIDENT. 5 The President also irnulc a public aniiounoemeni oi» Th»» oYoning- of the ITth March, to tlie elleet t'uat iill the dilferent mem- bers of the Board, by showing to them his letters from Chicago, for the purpose of getting them committed to his policy, either of having me suspended from office until he could i)rove his case; or of having me summarily dismissed in disgrace from the service of the Company, Ho long- as the President conlined his ellbrts to the mem- b<'rs of the Board of Dn-ectors, I felt no particular anxiety respecting the result ; for I knew^ that I would not be condemned without a fair and impartial investigation. But I learned subsequently, and from perfectly reliable sourct*s, that, in his zeal to destroy my private character and professional reputation, which are my only capital in this world, and the only legacy that I can, at my m m^^ 6 NORTH SHORE RAIIiW.^V. p«M'iod ol' lil'o, liope to leave to my liimily, he had boon r(iually iiidusirious in pul)liNhing- his chargos and allcgd- tions to the ouhulc wor/d, who coidd not hv cxpi^cted to form thi; same just and unbiassed opinion oi" th«'ir triith- luhn^ss or ialsity ns the members of the Board with whom I had been so kmg and so intimately associated; and to Avhom 1 feel so deeply grateiul for the expressions ol' their past and continued conlideiice, which are contained iu ihe Resolutions adopted by the IJoard on the Hth instant. It has always appeared to me that the facts, which have since become so generally known, respecting the secret Irnnsier of th" contract Avithout my knowledge ; also the subsequent t'lforls of the original Contractors to keep me in ignorance of the transfer; and my later endorsements of the present Contractor ; to say nothing" of my still later and unwearied efforts, almost single handed and alone, to pre- serve the integrity of the original contract and specifica- tions against the attacks of outside parties, with a view only of saving to the Compa)iy and the Contractor a large and us(>less expenditure in the construction of the lioad, would in due time serve as a sufficient protection against, and answer to these false and malicious charges. But it seems that the President has " cared lor none of these things " ; and that from the first inception of the idea of my complicity in the original contract, he has followed it, and still seems determined to follow it with the most relentless pertinacity, until he shall succeed in driving me trom the road and the country in disgrace. The conviction has therefore forced itself upon my mind, as stated in v^j letter to you of yesterday, that : " The only alternative remaining to me, is to afford the President the CHIKF ENly the necessity which seenia to impel me to take this course, duvino- the present somewhat critical period in the Company's allairs ; yet T feel the i^reatest coniidence that, unless the parti(\s upon whose evidenc*' the President apparently relies to suhstantiate hif- charj^es, are prepared to add ihc crim(^ of the grossest p^rjurij, to that of the niosf unvuurauliible rons/nr(iri/, in order to accomplish my ruin in this life, [ shall hope for a lull vindication of my cha- racter at an early day. The President alone has the power to render this pro- ceeding unnecessary, by a complete and unequivocal withdrawal of theses charges and alli^g-ations, in such a maimer as to undo, so far as may now be possible, the injury which they have already, and are still liable to cause me. In wliich caso I should expect, as a further act of justice and good faith on his part, that he would place at my disposal such letters, or other stutements as he may have received from any of the members of the late Chicago Contracting Company, or any others parties, as will aid me in obtaining that Justice from them, which it will be the main object of my life to secure. I beg to renu 'n, Mr. Secretary, ^ Your Obt. Servant, S. SEYMOUR, A. 11. Yerret, Esq., Chief Engineer. Secretary, N. S. Ry. Co. I '1^ -a ■'li« HI Qttebec. !l ! TilE CHIEF ENGINEER r TO THK BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ^^oirnisnoRi: j^vn.wAr. OFFICE OF THE K^oiXKER IN CHIEF Quobec, April 20th, 187o. GrENTLEMEN, Undorstauding that the President ha. called a special ™eet.n,orthe Board, fo. to-.o^ovv, the 2,st instant 1 he r'T f "7'"'""' '" ^-'^""^ ""«""«- between ♦hePn.,dont and the Chief Engineer, I have deemed" PM^er to prepare and place before yon the fo.iown.g ^>la,>a>or, s^^le,:,e,a, in addition to my holers to th! Secretary of the 14th and ,5th instant, which I presnne are to b« placed before you by the President, as the oZl -hich has ,nd„ced bin. to call this special meeting About lour years ago, I „.as induced, primarily through the sol,c.tat.o„s .nd representations of Colone WiZm Rhodes^ who was then a Director, and is now the Pres den^ of the North Shore Kailwny Company, to break ht "o" Jarge and Ittcrative practice, as Genera. ConsX 2 I 'iii till ii NORTH SlIvORE RAILWAY. Engineor in the City of New- York ; and to lend my name and inllaence, and also to devote a portion of my time, in an effort to resuscitate this "Road, and place its affairs in a position whore they would attract the attention of Kailway men and Capitalists, to such an extent as would induce thera to undertake its construction. I therefore accepted the appointment of Consulting Engineer, in July, 1871 ; and afterwards accepted the appointment as " Acting Chief Engineer, " until the Com- pany should be in a conditio!! to appoint a permanent Chief Engineer. "With the exception of a small portion of the first year of my engagement, my entire time has since been devoted to the interests ol' this Company ; and I have only to refer to the successive stages in the slow but steady progress of its developement, up to the present time, and to my direct agency in connection with the enterprise, as evidencing my faithfulness to the trusts that were confided to me by the Compi'ny. On the 7th instant, I requested the Board of Directors to relieve me from the further performance of the duties of " ArtiHi^ Chief E/ig-ffier,'" from and after the close of the present monrh, which request was granted by Resolution adopted on the 8th instant. A copy of my letter, together with the Ivesolution of the Board in response, are appended hereto for convenient reference. During the period of time above referred to, there have been many changes in the constitution of the Board of Di- rectors ; only about one-third of the present Board of eighteen members, having been in the Board at the time of my first conn.'ction with the road, ajuong whom ie CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 'm Colonel Rhodes, who was elected President of the Com- pany in the summer of 1873. Everything has worked harmoniously between the President and myself, until near the close of the working season of 1874, when he conceived the idea that it was his duty, as Chairman of the Board, to examint^ and criticise the details of the work upon the line, in order, as he alleged, to enable him conscientiously to affix his signature to the Bonds of the Conii)auy. His mind had also, become impregnated, about tli(i same time, with the idea that I had, daring all this time, and without his knowledge and consenr, been serving the Company in the ^///«/ capacity of Engineer and Contractor ; which to his mind, was entirely, and very justly incon- sistent with the idea that my apparent devotion to the Company's interests was sincere and desinterested. This idea seems to have become his guiding star, and the medium throagh which all my past and subsequent acts in connection with the administration of the Engineer Department, have presented themselves to his mind ; and T have therefore felt called upon to refer to them here, as {♦ffbrding an intelligent key to the charges and allegations which he has felt called upon to make during the past few months, and which, if not retracted, it is my present pur- pose to afford him the fullest opportunity to substantiate in a Court of Justice. It has been a matter of very serious consideration with me, as to how far it was my duty, in view of my present relations to the Railway Company, to consent to become a living sacrifice, and to entail a perpetual disgraiic upon my family, for the purp..se of gratifying this peculiar and • -'"I m i'i ■ '''51 * if ■%j; NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. I ll \ h \ W' entirely unfounded theory of the President ; and the con- clusion has finally forced itself upon my mind, that there is but one course which my honor and self respect will allow me to pursue. ,., If, in pursuing this course, I shall fail to establish the fact, that the President has made these charges ; or that, if made, they have resulted in serious injury to my private character and professional reputation, which to me are dearer than life, the President will remain uninjured ; and my character will be fully vindicated. If I shall establish the fact that these charges have been made to my injury, and the President shall fail to prove their truth, my character will still remain unimpaired. If, on the other hand, the President shall prove, to the satisfaction of the Court vind the Public, that his oharges and allegations are founded in truth, the President will still remain uninjured, and, at the same time, he will enjoy the pleasing consciousness of having exposed a ^ross Impostor ; while, as stated in my recent " Report upon the Situation'' ; " it will clearly be my duty to place my resigna- tion in the hands of the Company, and to leave the country in disgrace. " i o ....... Even the last of the above contingencies will be far more acceptable to myself, than the alternative of remaining longer in the questionable position in which the President has placed me, and which he seems determined to compel me to occupy. ^ ^ .. ; At the same time I fail entirely lo see why the course which I propose to pursue, can possibly result in any in- justice, or unmerited injury to the President. There is no profession, the successful prosecution of CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. which depends so jvf,lh) and entireli/ upon an estabHshed reputation for honest 1/ and fair deahng, as that of a Civil Engineer. AVhen I cast my lot with the good people of Canada, and the citizens of Quebec, I brought with ine a character and reputation entirely untarnished in that respect ; and I cannot passively consent to have it wrenched from me, at least without an earnest and decided eflbrt to be saved from such an unmerited disgrace The less important question, as to when, or how soon this effort shall be made, is still under advisement ; and in de- ciding upon it, I shall do so w^ith a due regard to the interests of the Company ; and to my own oiiicial relations to the road ; unless the President, in the mean time, shall take such a course as to render any further proceedings on my part unnecessary. I should also state, in this connection, that in any further proceedings I may feel called upon to take in this matter, it will be quite important to consider another niost vital question, as connected with this entire case, to w^it : Whether, in the course which the President of the Company has taken, he has acted in his official capacitij ; and with the knowledge and approval of the Board of Directors ; thus entitling himself to its protection. Or whether he has acted only in his private capacity ; and without the knowledge and approval of the Board, thus forfeiting all right to its protection ; and rendering himself personally amenable only to the laws of his Country, . _ -^ - , If he has been acting in his official capacity ; and with the sole view of pu*-* Tying the atmosphere which surrounds the Enterprise, thus placing the responsibility of his acts :W i ill ■•I 'I 1 1 si a . NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. upon the Board of Directors, it would appear to be eminently proper that he should lay before the BoaT*d a detailed r "port of his proceedings ; and all the correspon- dence connected therewith ; in which case, before final action is taken by the Board, I should expect, as an act of justice and fair dealing, to be furnished with copies thereof, in order that I may prepare an intelligent defence ; and thus be placed, at least upon an equal footing with him, in a matter concerning which 1 am so directly and A'itallv interested. It is also proper that I should state, that it has been representi'd to mo that my recent request to be relieved from the furthiu- performance of the duties of Chief Engineer; and the subsequent adoption of the Resolutions relating thereto, by the Board of Directors, were regarded at the time as a compromise between the President and myself, of the differences growing out of his public defa- mation of my character. I solemnly disclaim any such knowledge or intention on my own part ; or of having authorized any one to make such an arrangement in my behalf. I should regard a compromise of this nature, unless it involved a complete retraction on the part of the President, as a virtual confession of my guilt ; and therefore as being far more damaging to my professional character and reputation, than any of the charges and insinuations that the President has promulgated against me ; and I cannot believe thai the Boavd vrould willingly place me in such a false position. T _ ^ On the contrary, I have ventured to believe that I would have, at least, the moral support of the Board, in any CHIEr ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 7 legitimate effort that I might make to cleanse my character iromthe foul stain which the President has cast upon it before the public ; and thus to render myself still more worthy of the confidence of the Eoard, which it has always been my pride and privilege to enjoy. I have the honor to remain, Cxentlemen, Your obedient servant, ISILAS SEYMOUR, Consulting, and acting Chief Engineer. To THE Honorable THE L^;aR1) of DlKECTOJlS OF THE Noinii Shoke Kaiiavay Co. ij i ian ^ NORTH SIIOR]' RAILW.W. h i'. COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHIEF ENGINEEB, TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, REQUESTING TO BE RELIEVED, &c., &c. » i ■ ii iff 'if. Office of the Engineer in Chief, Quebec, April 7th, 1875. CrENTLEMEN, Referring to my -appointment as Consulting Engi- noer of the North Shore Railway," which was tendered to me ])y the President of the Company and a Committee of the Board of Directors, in New-York, on July 13, 1871, and duly confirmed by the Board on the 22nd of the same' month, as per letter from the Tresident, under date of July 24, 1871; referring also to another letter from the President, of the same date, in which it was stated that : •' Inasmuch as the Company are not yet in a position to appoint a permanent Chief Engineer, you are requested to assume, for the present, the duties of Acting Chief Engi- neer, in addition to your duties of Consulting Engineer," etc, I have the honor respectfully to request, that I may be relieved from the further performance of the duties of Acting Chief Engineer, from and after the close of the pres- ent month. I have long felt a strong desire to be relieved from the HI ; ! i;- '^ II I NOIITII SIIOEE RAITAVAY. I! ' I • •! performance of these duties ; but the eomplications of the Company with various parties, some of which have seemed to involve my own professional character and reputation, have appeared to render it inqierative upon me to remain at my post, until theso complications were harmonized. This having now been accomplished, apparently to the satisfaction of all parties, I am induced to make the above request at the present time, for the reason that w^e are now on the A'erge of another working season, during which it it is confidently hoped and expected that the work will be prosecuted with vigor ; and therefore, as stated in my letter to the Secretary of the 29ih ultimo, "it will very soon be necessary to make an entire reorganir^ation of the Engineering Staff, both as to numbers and rates of com- pensation," all of which will necessarily involve a very large increase in the duties and responsibilies to be met and performed by the executive head of the Engineer Departement. It was very w^ell understood, at the time of my accept- ing the appointment of Consulting Engineer, that I would be required to devote only a portion of my time to the affairs of this Company ; and also that my duties would be more of an advisory than of an executive nature ; other- wise I could not, consistently with my own interests, and other engagemenls, have consented to accept the position. But either the good or ill-will of events, have seemed to irresistibly lead, or force me, from one step to another, until, since the date of the contract, three years ago, I have found myself devoting my entire time, and the best ener- gies of my body and mind to the interests of the Company ;: and consequently, I find that my former business relations — < ■ »- . J tn MMM NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. 3 ill Now-York, and elsewhere, have become almost entirely severed. In looking back, hewover, over the period of time during" which I have had the honor of beint^ connected witli the road, it"" is a most pleasing' reflection, that it has slowly emerg(Hl from the almost C/een engaged upon the road a year, and is entirely lamiliar with the details of the work. He has also, under my general direction, prepared all the working plans and specifications for the different structures. He has had a very large professional experience, both in Canada and in the United States. I have always found him thoroughly honest, capable and industrious ; and have therefore no hesitation in endorsing him as being fully competent to fill the position, at least during any interim that may occur. ' Altor thanking the Hoard, and every one of its Members, including the 8»'cretary, for the uniform kindness and con- sideration which have been extended to me on all occa- sions : T have the honor to remain, Grentlemen, Your obedient servant, SILAS SEYMOUR, Consulting, and Acting Chief Engineer. To THE Honorable THK Board OF Directors OF THE North Shore Railway Co-atpany. I \ NORTH SHORE RAITAVAY. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE BOARD. 5 Office of the North Shore Railway Co. Quebec, 9th April, 1875. At a meetin2: of the Board of Dire lors of the North- Shore Railway Co,, held yesterday, the 8th instant, the fol- lowing Resolution was adopted : R('so/vf:d. — That, whereas a eonimunication has just been received from Gen. Silas Seymour, Consulting, and Acting Chief Engineer of this Company, in which he requests to be relieved from the further performance of the duties of Acting Chi«'f Engineer, from and after thf close of the pre,- sent iiionth ; and whereas : The reasons for making this reossible; said Com- mittee to consist of the Mayor of Quebec, Ilonorable's Robertson and Grarneau, and Messrs Thomson and J. G-. Ross." The special Committee met on the evening of the same day, and after appointing a Chairman, allowed the Presi- dent to make a verbal statement of his charges, and refer- ence to such proofs as he relied upon to sustain them. After which the Committee adjourned until Monday, the 26th April, with the understanding that the President would then present his entire case in writing. M M m ^ 'ii i- ii ^ iit^ m. Jtmu m2 'i.'y*'**)"." ! ^'^^iiw'iiiiWiiPiwiWfTWt CHIEF ENGINEER VEIISUS PRESIDENT. f Having, after considerable delay, been favored by the Committee, with the papers in the case, the Chief Engi- neer, in endeavoring to defend himself a^^ainst the charg^'es and allegations of the President, desires first to thank the Board of Directors for having so promptly referred the matter to a special Committee for investigation ; and also to thank the Committee for having placed in his hands the written statement of the President containing these charges ; together with the documents upon which he relies to establish their truth ; and thus affording him the first opportunity which he has ever had, to openly refute them, at least, so far as it can now be done before an extra-judicial Tribunal. • H w. 1^ I, Ijl lIlM !!i ' m ! I lii! 1!! I ,i\.i* '\ KEVIEW OF THE PEESIDENT'S STATEMENT. From the written statement of the President, it appears that ho re-iterates his charges of complicity in the contract, to the fullest extent ; and that he relics upon letters and statements, received from the diiferent members of the late Chicago Contracting Company, and their former Cashier, who is also the Cashier of the present Contractor ; and also upon the corroborative evidence furnished in connection with the original negotiation of the contract ; and its sub- sequent administration by the Chief Engineer ; and his re- lations and intercourse, both in respect of the original Contractors, and the present Contractor, as affording evidence sufficient to substantiate his charges to the satis- faction of the Special Committee, and the Board of Direc- tors. Referring to the President's statement concerning " the great intimacy and apparent friendship, which existed between myself and the Chicago Contracting Firm ; " I will remark, that this intimacy and friendship commenced with Messrs. Smith and Dunlap, many years before the date of the contract ; and I will freely admit that they continued in a manner every way consistent with our subsequent re- lations under the contract, until the secret sale and trans- fer of this contract, on January 12, 1874. CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 1 1 As to the effect of this former friendship upon the Com- pany's interests, during the negotiation of the contract, it is proper to remark, that Col. lihodes was a prominent and active member of the Committee of Directors, which had this matter in charge : and that while the balance of the Committee and myself, were using our utmost endeavors to keep the contract price within the present sum of seven million dollars. Col. Tlhodes persisted in advocating a much larger sum ; until linding that neither a majority of the Committee nor myself, would yield the point, he wrote an indignant letter to the President of the Comx)any, and threatened to leave New York the next morning, unless the Committee yielded to his views. With reference to the effect of this intimacy and friend- ship upon the Company's interests, while the contract re mained in the hands of the Chicago Contracting Company ; I beg leave to refer to the well known facts, that it had been almost solely thiough my representations that they had undertaken the contract ; and therefore I felt, in honor and good faith, bound to afibrd them all the assistance in my power, consistent with my position as Chief Engineer of the Company, to enable them to carry it out success- fully, particularly so long as they kept faith with the Com- pany by complying with the conditions of tbe contract ; and also with the negotiating Committee and myself, with reference to the amount of their own means which they w^ould invest in the Enterprise. Upon their hesitating to do this ; and believing that the interests of the Railway Company required it, I even w^ent to Europe at their request, and without any extra compensation, in order to aid them in their premature efforts to place the Bonds. I ] m' [\ M 'h t [;: ( i I ( ! I I ; I 1 ii! Ml t ;l ! I ! i NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. ihen retnrned here, and procured from the Railway Com- pany a large concession of stock, in order to place it with the Bonds ; and thus, as was supposed at the time, place their financial arrangements beyond the reach of any possible contingency. All this was done openly, and with the knowledge and approval of the Railway Company. The efforts to place the Bonds having failed ; and finding that the parties still seemed inclined to await the course of future events before proceeding with the work, I addres- sed a letter to the Chicago Contracting Company, on the 29th July, 1873, which will be found appended hereto ; and to which I beg leave to refer as showing the view^s which I then entertained respecting their obligations to keep faith with all parties, by proceeding promptly with the work. This api);}al however had no effect, except to obtain from them an assurance that they would immediately assess themselves to the extent of a half million dollars, and go on with the work ; but the season wore away, and nothing was done. . In December 1873, Smith and Dunlap, came to Quebec ; and assured me that their financial arrangements, were so far completed as to secure their success, provided the •' Quebec Railway Aid Act," which w^as then in contem- plation by the G-overnment, became a law. Their frequent and somewhat mysterious conferences with the Attorney Greneral, seemed to confirm this impres- sion ; and my confidence in their good faith, and in the finat success of the enterprise, had never been greater than it ■was up to the evening of the 14th January 1874, when I CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRPISIDENT. m'<\ was told, under an injunction of secrecy, that the contract had actually been sold and transferred to the Hon. Thomas McGreevy, on the 12th January, for a consideration of $225, OOu ; and that Smith and Dunlap had come to Quebec for that especial purpose. This most extraordinary and unjustifiable duplicity finally culminated in Dunlap's letter to mo from Montreal, dated the 16th January, a copy of which is appended hereto ; and the fact of my '* not even acknovvledgini»' or replying to" it promptly, and in a l)usiness way, is now referred to by the President, as an additional evidence of my guilt. The Chief Engineer therefore respectfully submits, that, in view of all the circumstances j^receding, attending, and following this transfer of the contract, some of whi'^'h will be more fully referred to hereai'ter, he was fully justified in withdrawing his friendship and confidence from these Parties ; and in openly denouncing them to the President and Board of Directors, and to the whole world, as men who had forfeited all claims to the confidence of the Kail way Company, the public, and himself. The first i^ublic expression of his feelings respecting the transfer of the Contract, was embodied by the Chief Engineer, in his " Report upon the Quebec Railway Aid Act of 1874." under date of Feb. 5, 1874 ; an extract from which is appended hereto, to which particular reference is invited, in connection with this case, as expressive of the views which he then entertained respecting both the original and present Contractors. With reference to the remark made by the President that, while in England " he took no part in any business ?;;• I 'I I'll ►U ' :| I ! II ii I 1-1 1 h ."! I NORTtt SHORE RilLI^ Ay. '•'■'■ ■' of the Railway ; " I beg to append hereto, copies of some letters and extracts, which I received from him during his- absence, as showing his unabated interest in matters which were going on here, as well as in the final success of the- Enterprise. With reference to the allusion made by the President to the " courae of conduct " pursued by the Chief Engineer " towards Mr. Prince, one of the American party " ; and the subsequent and secret Championship by the President of the cause of the injured Cashier of the Contractors, a» against the Engineer in Chief of the Railway Company, it is not proposed to make any reference, or remark, in this place. With reference to the oflTicial inspection of the line by the President and Directors ; and the subsequent personal inspection on foot and alone, by the President, in order, as he stated to me afterwards, to satisfy himself of the fact of my complicity mi the original Contract ; together with the correspondence resulting therefrom, I beg leave to refer the Committee to the accompanying printed pamphlet, en- titled : " Remarks of the Chief Engineer upon charges made by the President." Dated December 1st, 1874. These " Remarks " were placed in the hands of the Chairman of the Executive Committee, to whom the matter had been referred by the Board of Directors, on Dec. 9th, 1874. If the pamphlet w^as delayed in reaching the Board, until the 10th of the following April, as stated by the President, I _ presume that the Chairman will be able to make very satis- factory exx)lanations to the Committee, and also to the Board. I am quite certain, however,that he will do me the justice to say that I never showed the least hesitation in having, but ■Mf~' CHIEF KNOINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. rather an anxiety to have the whole subject brought to the notice of the Board, at any time when, in his opinion, the interests of the Company woukl be promoted tht^reby. I desire to remark however, in passing, thai ihe tlieory upon which that defense of the Engineering organization was based, has since been confirmed to a remarkable degree. With reference to the allusion made in the President's statement, to the effect: " that a personal inspection of the line was made from a sense of duty, and to satisl'y the Pre- sident on the propriety of appending his name to a very large quantity of Railway Bonds, which it was proposed to sell amongst his friends in Europe," it will only be re- marked, that inasmuch as these thirty year bonds were, in all human probability, destined to be in existence some fifteen years after the termination of the President's natural life ; and therefore, that his descendants might possibly inherit any odium that would hereafter attach to them, this extraordinary precaution, on the part of the President, must be regarded as very commendable, paiticidarly when it is assumed that his friends in Yorkshire, Enghind, were to make so large an investment in them. Wi+h reference to the President's statement : " that it be- came more and more apparent to him, from the reports of the (lovernment and Corporation Engineers, that there was something rndicallywronfi; in the Engineering Department,' I beg leave respectfully to refer to the annexed letter which I addressed to the Secretary, on the 12th April, 1875, transmitting a "■Historical Revieiv of the Government Standard,'' together with the documents therein par- ticularly referred to, which show jconclusively that every- 1 ^Ht t \ M ! i it !i{ i llM! ii ) ii ill i; m NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. thing had })eeii radicaUif right and consistent in the Eni^ineer Department, IVom the negotiation and date of the original Contract, up to the present time. It is proper to state however, that my letter to the Secre- tary, above referred to, has never been allowed by the President to be laid before the Board ; and that the Secretury has not been permitted to distribute the "Histo- rical review of the Government Standard," therewith transmitted, and as therein requested, to the Provincial Government, the City Council of Quebec, and to the different members of the Board, with a view, as therein stated, to future concurrent action by all parties interested in the speedy and proper completion of the Roiul. With reference to the President's statement, " that he called upon the Chief Engineer to explain and remove the unfavorable impression left upon his mind, both by Mr. Keith's statement, as well as by recent lleports; " I have to remark, that the President never, to my knowledge, called upon me for any such purpose. On the contrary, I look an occasion when he honored me with a call upon an entirely different subject, to draw his attention to what I had heard of his saying to Directors and outsides parties, respecting the statements r ,ide by Mr. Keith ; upon v^hich he seemed somewhat emb;'uassed ; but finally admitted the fact, and stated, A'ery frankly, that his inspection of the line on foot ; and his subsequent course toward myself and the Engineering staff, had been inspired by Keith's statement, and with a particular view of finding something tangible upon the line, that would confirm, the charge. I asked him if he had succeeded in finding anything of the kind ; and he replied that he had found nothing except ^iP of ;ept CIIIRF ENGINEER VKUSUSi PRESIDENT. 11 the low j^rados upon Section 6, which ho thouglit were more favorable to the Chicago Contruiiting" Coiuptiiiy, than the grades, as arranged upon other i>arts of the line, were for Mr, McGrccvy. Upon my asking him whether he had discovered any change, either in the i)rolile8 or grades, since the contract had been in Mr. McOreevy's hands except such as would save unnecessary expense to the Contractor, he replied to the effect : " thnt he did not understand the ups and downx oT my profiles at all ; and that he could only judge of the matter by what he saw upon the line." t took occasion, during that conversati(>n, which is the only one I ever had with him upon this subject, except in the presence of the Board, to make the most un(j[ualified denial of K<'ith's charge ; and he left me, as I then sup- posed, with a firm conviction that it had no foundation in fact. It seems howcA'er, from his present statement, that his mind has never been quite at ease upon the subject, from the fact that he " has never been able to understand why it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Chief Engi- neer of the North Shore Ji.ailway, to an action in the United States to receive Commissions on any Contracts made by this Company", &c. This remark refers to the closing paragraph in a letter (which the President appends to his Statement,) which I had addressed to Mr. Dunlap in Jan- uary last, asking him to contradict the Statement made by Keith ; and is as follows : " My cousin, M. T. Seymour, thinks he has a just claim against your party for services as Agent, in procuring the Contract. I did not consent that he should commence legul proceedings in the matter, |l||pi.i ;i V ! t; * it. rtfi 11 I i 1 m w I iiMsiif I i \\\m\ ■Ml ^ NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. '' until after 1 was informed of Mr. Keith's Statement above referred to ; but I have since told him to do as he pleased." Desiring that there may be no further misapprehension respecting this matter, I will state, as I have stated before on all proper occasions, that my Cousin wis the sole Agent through whom I was put in communication with these parties ; and that they, as he claims, having failed to comply with an agreement with him, by which he was to be benefitted by the Contract ; and having sold the Con- tract for a large bonus, without having tendered him any satisfaction, he proposed to take legal proceedings against them. Inasmuch as I would necessarily be the main witness in the case ; and not desiring to become embarrassed with frequent attendance as a witness, in the United-States, during my official connection with the road, I prevailed upon him to postpone it for the time being. But when I heard of the foul slan- der promulgated by Keith, i at once wrote to my Cousin, that I would withdraw my objection, and that he could take his own course in the matter. And, as is my custom in all such matters, I frankly stated the fact to Dunlap, so that he could be governed accordingly. It seems, however, that even this slight circumstance has, in the mind of the President, become magnified into the most conclusive evidence of my guilt. And also, that this fact, in connection with the letters which he, together with with his friend, the Cashier of the Contractor, have recent- ly received from Dunlap and Keith, " All tend to show that the loose screio is to he looked for in the Engineering Department^ if) I CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. la It is quite true, as stated so eloquently in the closing peroration of the President, that other, and I think much more important issues, as atfeeting the true interests of the Company, have intervened, to divert the attention of the Board to such an extent, that this one great idea of the President's mind, seems to have been lost sight of by every one but himself, until within a few weeks past. But I deny emphatically, that these side-issues have been raised by the Chief Engineer, as the President states, " to envelope the whole subject with mystery, and so gain time, and cause delay. " On the contrary, I claim that these " side-ii'.oues " were thrust upon the Company, and upon the Chief Engineer, entirely though thj agency of the President himself, by his improper interference with matters upon the line which did not pertain to his office ; and by his promptings to the Grovernment Engineer, as well as his Reports to the Board, respecting the character and details of the work, of all which he could not, from the nature of things, be a competent judge. The labor of defending my Department, as well as the integrity of the original contract, from these attacks, was therefore very justly and necessarily thrown upon my own shoulders ; and as to the degree of success with which this duty to the Company, as well as to myself, has been performed, almost single handed and alone, (the full results of which can only be determined hereafter) I am not ashamed to refer to the " Volumes which have been written,'^ and which are so sneeringly alluded to in the statement of the President. It will also be remembered that, while laboring day and night, -n the performance of this, as it now seems, It.'! J 1 ' m^ mm\^ ! .Ji - 1 Bmn I' liii , ,' NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. ■;- v thankless duty to the Company, I did not lose sight of that other duty to myself, of vindicating my character, at least before the Board of Directors, from the slanderous insinuations of the President; and that I therefore deman- ded of him, in the presence of the Board, that> in case he had mentioned this slander to Mr. Fleming", I shouk^ claim the right to be heard in the matter by Mr. Fleming, before^ his report upon the existing differences should be submitted to the company. It seems, however, that the President, during all thes6 side issues, has never lost scent of his real ^aine ; and that at this late day, after having informed the Board, " that he did not regard Keith's statement as of svifRcient importaj -^e to call their attention to it. " And after having stait d publicly, " that all differences had been amicably adjusted." And after having, within a few weeks, approved of the adoption of a resolution, by the Board, /////// rndorsing the Chief Engineer, he has at last arrived at the conclusion as- stated by him : '• that Colonel Rhodes and General ^ei/mjur^ cannot hold their relative Offices and ivork together.''^ Under ordinary ciicumstances, an intimation of this kind, from the Chairman of the Board of Directors, whose Ser- vant I am, should be regarded as a sufficient intimation, to place my resignation at his disposal; but unfortunately in this case, the President has placed it out of my power to do so, without its being regarded as a full confession of my guilt ; and I am therefore reluctantly compelled, in justice to my own character and reputation, to join issue with him before his own Board ; and also before the Courts, in order to purge my character from the foul stain which he has deliberateiy cast upon it. CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT 15 Learingnow the further consideration of the President's statement, I will proceed more directly with my own defense against the charges therein contained, of collusion orcomphcity with the members of the Chicago Contracting Company, to defraud the Railway Company. In doing this, I will first call attention to the character of the Parties upon whose written and verbal statements he relies to substantiate his charges ; and then submit such further points and considerations, to the Committee as may appear to have a direct bearing upon the case i lihi %p I ' : ! •i , Mm mil: <* ', J.,y ..jV^ 7 '-T-P* ir i 1 ,;; si'; 1 !:: r;. i 1 ' ill ' ? 1 li 1 ^! }i:i 11 i! 1 ■' Pi f ' 1 ■r ■'>:*:';■ r^-'.;r'; STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER Respecting the partiei, upon whose tetters and statementsr ' . the President relies to stibsta7itiate his chm^ges res- pectifiq the cc nplicity of the Chief Engineer in the Contract. •- W Perry H. Smith and George L. Dunlap. With reference to Hmifk and Dunlap, it is very well known that they accumulated large fortunes each, while joint managers of the Chicago and North Western Rail- way, of which, during a long period. Smith was first Yice President and principal Executive officer, and Dunlap General jVianager. Th«^ Chief Engineer therefore felt quite willing that they should invest a portion of their surplus earnings in the promolion of the construction of the North Shore Railway. They and their associates were fully and honorably pledged to invest at least one million dollars in work upon the road, '^efore placing the securities of the Company upon the market ; instead of which, both Smith andDunhip left for Europe within three months after sign- ing the contract, and before commencing the work of con- struction to any extent ; and spent a year in hawking the Company's bonds through the money markets of Europe I CHIEF ENOINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 17 then, failirg to sell the bonds, they returned to this country and sold th« contract to Hon. Thos. McGreevy for a laro-e bonus, without the consent of the Railway Company or the knowledge of the Chief Engineer ; and left the coun'try with the plunder in their pockets, and a lie in thiir mouths, as evidenced by the letter written from Montreal by IJunlap co the Chief Engineer, four duys after the transfer. %^^^' ^^f%\ u ''iflf! Samuel L. Keith. 'I With reference to Keilh, it is proposed io show, "tliar when he was first introduced to the C^hief llliigineer, by M.T.Seymour in Chicago, he represented that lie was a retired Contractor with a large fortune ; and abundantly able, in connection with his proposed associates, to furnish ' all the means required to secure the immediate construc- tion of the road ; whereas, it was afterwards Ibu-id that he was substantially a bankrupt at the time, and expected to recuperate his fortune out of this contract. Also that he borrowed some money from a Chicago bank, to keep up his interest, which he afterwards refused to pay ; and the President or Cashier was obliged to come to Quebec and make the best settlement he could, by takin- " cats and dogs " for a portion of the debt ; whih Keith was holding Mr. McGreevy's paper, or its proceeds, in his pocket, for his share of the investment and bonus. Also that Smith and Bunlap, in December, 1873, represented to the Chief Engineer that Keith had deceived them grossly as to his means ; that they had been obliged to advance money for him continually ; that they had already reduced his inte- \A%w^\ ti! 1 ,i tn 0' !l 18 18 NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. rest ; and that unless he gave good security for the future, they should throw him over-board entirely. » It will be shown further, thut a few weeks after the transfer of the contract, Keith called upon the Chief Engineer, for the purpose of exonerating himself from any blame in the matter, upon the ground that the thing had been closed, by Smith and Dunlap, without his knowledge and consent; and that thny had coinp.^led him to sign the transfer with them. He also stated that they had not divid<'d with him fairly ; they keeping nearly all the bonus to themselves, and only paying him ba'-k his ad- vances ; but if ht3 ever should meet them in Chic .go, he would (j^el even with them. The Chief Engineer told him that he felt disgraced and humiliated before the Railway Com- pany, and the people of Canada, for ever having brou;^ht the parties into Canada, and endorsing them as men of character and integrity ; and that he hoped this would be the last he would ever see or hear of any of the party ; upon which Keith left abruptly, swearing that he would also i^et even with the Chief Engineer, before he left Canada ; which threat was afterwards repeated to several other persons in Quebec. It will also be shown, that Keith afterwards sold at auction and private sale, and pocketed the proceeds of a large amount of property and plant, which had been pur- chased for Tlailway purposes; all of which, really and in good faith, were transferred with the contract. It will also be shown that Keith, during his stay in Quebec, after the transfer of the contract, and his efforts to pick the bones of the decaying carcase of the Chicago Contracting Company, spent most of his time in obtaining CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 19 oil 111 at if a [)ur- 1 in in ts to ;o nms infoTmation from the Contractor's offico, respecting the sub-letting of the -ork ; and in forming combinations to obUin an interest in some of the sub-contracts ; and also in magnifying the difTiculty and expense of doing the work, to parties who were not in his ring ; until, jail'iig in these efforts, as he supposed and alleged, through the agency of the Chief Engineer ; and learning also that the Chief Engineer had denounced him openly for selling property that did not belong to him, he finally left Quebec in disgust, on the 12th October, 1874, without having yet got "'even wilh flic Chief Er/'^uieer." Fortunately, how- ever, he happen''d to meet the Prv .,ident and Vice-l'resi- deut of the l\:iil\v;iy Company, on llu; boat to Montreal . and therefore, feeling quite sure that he could pl;u'.e tht; boundary line of the Province, if not of the 1) miinion, between the Chief Engineer and himself, before the vile slander would reach his ears, he embraced the last opi)or- tunity to inllict a most cowardly, but as he undoubtedly supposed 'd fafnf slab at the heart of th'.' Chief Engineer, by concocting the story, VA'hich it seems to have been the main object of the President's subsequent olli'ial acts, respecting the Chief Engineer, to substantiate and render effectual lor accomplishing his ruin. John T. Pimnce, Junior, Cashier. ^ AVith reference to Prince, I hardly know what to say that \^'ill do him full justice. He seems to have been the prime mover, and Chief Con- spirilor in the affair, for the purpose, as he openly alleges, of " retaliating'" against the Chief Engineer for some sup- posed wrong, or under- handed injury ; which he admits m :}i .'!■! i! -i! 1 !i tl'! !! i^ Hit Hi 20 NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. has resulted to his advantage, so far as his present em- ployer is concerned. But nevertheless, to use the exceed- ingly happy expression, so often used by his friend Keith, he is determined "/o get even vnlh the Chief Engineer'" by ^' retalialionr .i >.'*'.> . •; :,i . ' V ■ • I had often heard of the *' Cashier's'^ playful threats " to drive all the Seymour's out of Quebec '" ; and 1 have once or twice had occasion to refer to him in my oliicial commu- nications with the Company and the Contractor ; but I utterly disclaim ever having done so underhanded///., or for the purpos;^ of doing him unmerited injury. In fact, the first of these communications was addressed directly to himself, calling his attention to a slight discre- pancy, (only $1,322.61), in two certified statements which he had returned to me, of the expenditures of the Chicago Contracting Company, during the month of November 1873. ,■ :, , The next of those communications was also oJiciaJ, but I think with himself verbally,when I merely remarked, that! thought he did very wrong to allow Keith to sell, without protest, the horses, buck-board, and other property, which he had return L»d to me over his own signature, as expendi- tures upon the road ; and which he knew had been em" braced in my monthly estimates, and therefore belonged to his present employer ; to all of which he blandly replied " that the vouchers had all been sent to Chicago, and therefore it was qinte impossible for him to tell anything about it " The next of these communications was also o^aa/ , and addressed openly to the Contractor, to the effect : "that the imperious and overbearing style adopted by the *7» -? «.;*■: X -^f-f^- ■ - ".^ -*,*r: ■■:*.*.-;i5-=rTx_^- ; CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 21 n^ Cashier, in his intercourse and correspondonco with mem- bers of the Engineering Staff, has become exceedingly offensive; and if persisted in, I shall feel compelled, for the proper protection of my sub-ordinates, to issue an order prohibiting any member of the Start" from holdin*^ further official intercourse or correspondence with him, upon matters connected with the Road." The next communication was also ol/iciaf, and addressed to the Contractor, in which his attention was called to a little discrepancy, (only |21,014.07), between a certified statement of expenditures which had been furnished to me by his Cashier, upon which to base my progress esti- mates, and the footings of the vouchers which were after- wards furnished to me, for the same purpose*, from the Contractor's office ; upon which occasion I merely remarked that: "A result of this kind, as a matter of course, has a tendency to destroy all confidence in any statement of this nature which may hereafter emanate from that source. " Upon being furnished, subsequently, with a copy of a complaining letter which the cashier had addressed to the Contractor upon the subject, from which the following is an extract : " he (the Chief Engineer) appears to be unsa- tisfied still, as I am informed he has lately brought the matter to the notice of the Board of Directors (referring to the letter from which the above extract is taken, a copy of which had been filed with the Secretary) and complains to them that I am still in the employ of the Contractor, " I hastened to embody the following certificate, in a com- munication which I had the honor of addressing to the Board of Directors, on the 13th Feb., 1875, which I trust, ii'^-i ,i ■■ ''■■(! 1 : I! ni 4 wmm in ! '-'id ilr kill <, III I' ill I ! I 22 NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. J %:. when the facts come to the Cashier's knowledge, will fully satisfy his sensitive mind upon that subject : " I desire also to put the mind of the Cashier at rest, at once and forever, respecting all apprehensions he may entertain in relation to my personal " unsatisfaction," or " complaints to the Company, ' so far as his relations with either myself or the Railway Company are concerned, by certifying most unequivoralhj that T regard him as most peculiarly fitted, in every respect, for the performance of the very arduous and responsible duties which have been assigned to him, in the Construction and Financial Departments of the Road. " The above recommendation, when taken in connection with the important foct, as stated in his letter to the Presidentof the 31st March, 1875, as follows : " but lindin,^ that the statements made by Gen. Seymour were having if anything a contrary effect on Mr. McGreevy from what he intended, I withheld the information, not wishing to injure him," should certainly induce the Cashier to refrain from any further " retaliation^ unless he has become satis- fied that the course which he has taken in this matter, will raise him still higher in the estimation of his present lilmployer. . , , , ' - t rr 'IS. lv. — .-& - f'-«- V 4 ''i ■. . 1 1' j'i. ./ ■- '•, 'V 1 J POINTS SUBMITTED BY THE CHIEF ENGINEER. J^W the consideration of the Special Committee, in answer to the charges respecting- his complicity in the contract. ' 1st. That inasmuch as the President fii'st received information respecting the supposed complicity of the Chief Engineer in the contract, on the 12th October, 1874, directly from Samuel L. Keith, whom he knew to be a member of the Chicaco Contracting Company, it was his duty, if he believed in the truth of the information, to cal the immediate attention of the Chief Eno-ineer to the fact > and, if he did not exculpate himself fully, to suspend him at once, and report the case to the Board of Directors. ' 2nd. That inasmuch as the President did not do this ; but on the contrary, has continued his official relations and intercourse with the Chief Engineer, upon the same terms as he had done before receiving this information ; and that, some months afterwards, he informed the Chief Engineer in the presence of the Board, substantially: "that he did not regard the matter as of sufficient importance to justify him in bringing it to the notice of the Board ; and that it probably never would have been brought to the notice of the Board, if he, the Chief Engineer had not then openly called attention to it ; " and subsequently, on the 17th March last, the President having made a public decla- I i ' >i II i i\ 11 t : • 1 Mm 1 iiii- "i ■ : : ! Hi! 11 l^'ifci!' i r: «iij*i'- ;i! I in 24 NORTH 8H0RE RAILWAY. ration, before nearly two hundred people, to the effect : ♦' that all dilliculties had been satisfactorily arranged, and that we were now on the eve of a new departure," &c- And still later, on the 8th of April, 1875, having given his lull and open concurrence to a Resolution adopted by the Board of Din'ctors, in which the long and faithful devotion of the Chief Engineer to the interests of the Company is fully endorsed ; and the confidence of the Board in his future faithfulness to the interests of the lload, fully declared. And inasmuch as the Chief Engineer is not charged by the President, in his present statement, with having committed any act, since the date of the aboA^e mentioned acts and declarations of the President, which can justly be regarded as forfeiting his claim upon the Comj^any ibr its conlinited confidence, it is submitted that neither the Committee, nor the Board, have any just grounds for taking further proceedings in the matter. 3rd. That, inasmuch as the original verbal statement made by Keith, is (juite as direct and reliable as any written statements which he or his associates have since made, the President has no more grounds for believing in the truth of these statements now, than he had on the 12th October last ; and therefore, having condoned or dis- regarded the original statement, he has now no right,, either in justice or equity, to ask the Board to take any action in the matter. 4th. That there is nothing, either in the President's state- ment, or in his correspondence with Keith, to show that his late efforts to establish the truth of his charges, have been conducted in his official capacity as the President of the Company. On the contrary, Keith's letter of March CHIEF ENfUNEEK VERSUS PRESIDENT. 25 Ifl!'! 20th, 1875, in which r(»feronce is mado to : •* yonr letter oncloscd in one from Mr. Prince," is luldressed to : " Col. \Vm, Khodes, Quobi'C, il/// (hnr Colonel^''' i'roni winch th« infercMico i8 conclusivo that it was a privite rorres/iortflene. Otherwiac tlie letter wliieh Keith had received from " Col. Wm. Rhodes," and Keith's reply thereto, should have passed throug-h the hands of the Secretary, and become matters of record in the Company's Odice. The same remark will apjdy to the letters from Prince to the President ; and the copies of letters received l)y Prince from Diinlap, which were en- closed to the President for his i)rivate information and guidance ; all of which should have l)een depoMled with the Secretary, and thus rendered accessible to the Direc- tors at least, if not to the Chief ]!]nuine(»r, whose proper standing- witli the Company \,as so much endang-ered by them. It is therefore submitt(»d that these facts i>lace the Pre- sident ouhide of the Company's interference and i^rotectioii; and that they should be regarded as suliicient to justify the Board in refusing " iKirlicipalion in Ihe respo/isibi/id'es the Preauli'nl haa ani^irmed'" in his statement. 5th. That a careful analysis of the President's statement and the letters su))mitted by him in support of his case, will show that each of the parties has a special motive for pressing and confirming these charges against the Chief Engineer at the present time, as for instance . Prince, openly avows his motive to be ^'retaliation " for pre- vious supposed or real injuries. _„:..„-,-*-, -^ Keith, shows very clearly that he also has a grievance to redress, and that he is still determined " to get even with the Chief Engineer r ., , ,. ,-< fiilill sf I < tli Hi ill!-!' '4 tn in count ction with the fact, above stated, of their direct interest in the result ; and also in view of the course which they have already taken in this matter, the conclusion would seem to be quite justifiable, that at least a very large margin should be allowed for any statement which some of them might make under oath, in this particular case. --^— — ^- _. .4^- "--^^-'-- ''-■^'■'' '-^'-- Tth. That the laws under which we live, and upon which we mast rely in the last entreme, for protection against unjustifiable conspiracies, and slanderouci assaults CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 27 e. be is; )ve ill this -ble, for ider ipon ition. Lults of this nature, declare to the effect ; " that every person should be regarded as innocfnt, until he is proved to be gu'.lti/.'^ It was upon the justice of this principle that the Chief Engineer relied, when he determined to alford the Presi lent an opportunity to prove the truth of his public cha'^es and alletrations in a Court of .Tustic^e : and also when he wrote to the Secretary on the loth April, 1875 ; " That unless the parties upon whom the President relies to substantiate his chargvis, are pr»»pared to aid th.^ crime of t!i ' i^ro^^cat perj iiri/ to ^hat of the mo^f iiuwan'tiiitd'tle conspu'ficij, in order to accomplish my ruin in this life, I shaU hope for a full vindication of ray chiracter at an early day." It is th.'refore su})m'tted, that tlu; special Cominiltee HUcJ the l>oard of Directors, should be guided by the same juit principle, in any further action that may be taken in this matter. 8th. Tliat th(^ President having determined, tliat before bei ig called upon to respond to his charges in a court ot .Tu>tiv-e, wh're statements can be made only under the so/cni//itj/ of on ootJi, he will iirst have an investigation by the Board oC Directors, .where oa/li^ ore hiti/linissih/e ; and where the pro!>able facts can be determined only by means of the verbal or written statements of interested and irres- ])onsible parties, together with such con urgent circum- slaiees as may appear to have a direct or remo'e bearing upon the case ; it is therefore submitted, that the counter statements and denials of the Chief Engineer, together with such attendant circumstances and probabilities as may appear to have an equally direct or remote bearing upon the cate, should be regarded as having, at least, iqua] m 5 i 111 Jl Jii ' Ij i (ii Ilfl :' ' If 1 r 28 NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. weight and importance with the Committee, and the Board of Directors. »• » ■ ' v , . , 9th. That the following propositions are therefore res- pectfully submitted by the Chief Engineer, as showing that all the attendant circumstances, and probabilities in the case, are decidedly against the truth of the charges of the President. ,,--., ,..,,. ., . „ ,,, It is n -^t alleged in any of the letters produced by the PresidiMit, that the Chief Engineer had ever spoken to Keith, directly upon this subject ; bni the whole case seems to depend upon what Keith sa/js that Smith and Danlap • ither ham said, or promise tosaij hereafter, upon ihe sn\ject. Having made it a rule of my life, never to have any complications of this nature with Contractors, is it at all probable that I would depart from this rule iii the present case, for the paltry, and even contingent consideration of fifty thousand dollars, a portion of which, as Smith is sup- posed to be prepared to state, was to ])e e:^pended in a house, and tlie remainder was to support myself and family for life ; particularly when a kind I'rovidence had already secured to my family a house and hox^e that is worth at least half the amount that it is alleged was to be my share of the profits in the Contract ? Having a salary tixed at six thousand dollars per year, as Consulting Engineer of the road, at the date of the con- tract, is it at all probable that the Contractors would have then consented to my receiving ten thousand dollars per year as Chief Engineer, after that date, (more than double the salary then being received by any Engineer in Canada) if it had been previously understood and agreed that I was to have a direct, or even a contingent interest in the finan- cial result of the contract ? wM CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 29^^ Dunlap having, in London, during- the month of May 1873, while referring to the extra risk and expense at- tending my then and probable future visits to Europe, for the solebenelit of the Contractors, informed me that himself and Smith had always intended that I would make as much out of the contract as either of them ; and upon my declining to entertain such an idea, saying further, that from the positions which I had held, it was my own fault that I was not rich enough to buy out both himsidf and Smith, and that I deserved to remain poor so long ^s I entertained such ridiculous notions ; and then afterwards repeating to a mutual friend, the substance of his couA'er- sation wdth me, is it at all probable that he would have made these statements, if the agreement with which I am now charged had existed ? Having requested Dunlap to purchase for me a watch in Europe, which he did, and sent to me in the Fall of 1872, is it at all likely, that, upon his r^ ur'i from Europe, in 1873, he would have directed ^is Cashier to charge me, and credit himself with the aui iiil whirli he did, •■>' ' cheerfully paid, if he had then undi - ood that T was a partner with him in the contract ? Having upon the sale of the contract, represented to ,ie present Contractor the arrangement which hatl b en made with me as to salary; and obtaining his assurance that the arrangement would be carried out in good faith - his part ; is it at all likely that Smith and Dunlap w< i have neglected to mention the more important arrrangement as to my pecuniary interest in the contract ; or that, if they had done so, the present Contractor would have failed to <5all my attention to the latter understanding, when he did i i I, .4 i! ■ !■!! liii'- 1 ; li! vM\ M ; • fit ' \ m !iii , i' I 'flii i' ill ■ if 30 NORTH SHORE BAILWAY. to the first, if it had previously been understood that I had such an interest? Having' secretly sold the contract for a bonus of from. seventy-live thousand to one hundred thorfsand dollars,. without my knowledge and consent ; and having' left the Country with the proceeds in their i)Ockets, without even then or thereafter olFering to share the plunder with me,. is it at all probable thaty^-.s^ and honorable men would haA'e- tri^ated even a silent parlner in this manner ; and then, worse than all, come back upon him and attempt to ruin his cliaracter and professional reputation, by charging him with the very act, which, if committed, they must admit,. and others must infer, was the sole means of securing to them the contract, and the bonus which they received for it ?' Thv'y having done all this; is it at all probable, that if the charge were tiue, I would proceed at once to incur the hatred and displeasure of their Cashier, l)unlax)'s- brotlier-iii-law, wlio must have been in their secrets; or that I wovild embrac ' ilie first opportunity to denounce their partner Keith, (who happened to be the only one within my r<'acli,) for the perlidy of himself, and partners, who had deceive! both the public, the Railway Company a id myself with reference to their real intentions to construct ihe Koad; and also for liis own dishonesty in selling propc'ty that belonged to the present Contractor; and, all this, if he held me at his mercy, and had the po^^er at any time to expose me; and is it not quite un. aceounta!)le that he did not threaten me with this exposure on the spot, and thus prevent me from denouncing him further; and also from intercepting his fu' ire plans con- cerning the Road ? -'Jii, ^vi-ti .*4fctJV CHIEF ENGINEER VERSUS PRESIDENT. 31 Or is it at all probable, thnt, upon my first heariuii- of tlie verbal statement made upon the Boat, by Keith to the President, I would have alluded to the matter iai my defense against the President's charges, under date of December 1st, 1874: " with a view to a most rigid and thorough investi- gation" ; or that I would have had the assurance to write to Dunlap, on the 18th January, 1875, asking him to contradict the statement made bv Keith ; or that a month later, thinking that the President might have mentioned the matter to Mr. Fleming, I would have had the audacity to call his attention to the subject before the Board ; or that, after having been, as I thi^i supposed, reliably informed of the contents of Danlap's letters to Prince, which had found their way into the hands of the Pres- ident, who was busily publishing their contents to the world, I would have w^ritten Dunlap a threatening letter, on the 3rd April, 1875, to the effect : " that, unless you undo this foul wrong at once, by retracting your false and malicious statements, if time, health, and means are gra- ciously spared to me, and So sure as there is a God above, I will follow you to yo/nr death-bed if necessary, in order to obtain justice, and w«^i%paration" ; or that, even sinc^ all this, I would have openly charged the Prt'sident with the wrongs which he was inllicting upon me ; and declared to the Company which I was serving, my determination to commence legal proceedings against its President, unless he retracted his false charges, and made me every repara- tion in his power ? Does all this look like the work of a Traitorand Hypocrite ? Does it not rather convey to the mind the idea of an innocent and injured man^ who, after struggling for w^eary months 1; Iji ill ^1 !,. i! It ■ ) if' 32 NOllTH SHORE RAILWAY. , ' i i ,1! Hi; il V- % ''\^H \ !'■ i i.'j .ill I lit ,L, IM against the insidious attacks of a revengeful foo ; and feeling conscious that the ground upon which he stands is daily crumbling from under his feet, by reason of the secret undermining and machinations, carried on under the eye, and with the approval of the President of the Company, whoso duty, in his high position, would appear to be to defend and protect, rather than to cruah and ruin him, strikes boldly and fearlessly, although perhaps unwisely, out at his cowardly adversary, at the first moment when he can sieze anything real or tangible, at which to aim his blows ; and who, in the consciousness of his own innocence and integrity, openly demands that his calum- niators shall meet him, upon equal terms, in a Court of Justice, where something more than secret whispering-; and insinuations ; or even gratuitous and open verbal and written statements are required, before a man's private character and professional reputation shall become a sacri- fice to their envy, hatred or revenge ? It is therefore submitted, in conclusion, that the entire case presents the appearance of a moat fo/t I Conspiracy, in which Prince, Dunlap, and Smith while endeavoring to avoid all personal responsibility, are making cats-paws of Col. Rhodes and Keith, merely for the purpose of promoting their own selfish purposes ; and that Col. Rhodes, upon finding himself caught in the snaie, suddenly desires to assume the character of Pr sident, and thus throw the entire re- sponsibility of his acts upon the Kailway Company. 3 J J ' I re- THE CHIEF ENGINEER SUBMITS THE CASE. Referring to the present Contractor, for any information he may give, respecting the eflbrts of the Chief Engineer to obtain his check for FiJ'tf/ thousand dollars, or any other sum. Referring also, to his letters upon this subject, to the Secre- tary, of the 14th and 15th April, and to the Board of Directors, of the 20th April, 1875, which are now in the hands of the Committee, the Chief Engineer is prepared, ^vith the foregoing remarks, to leave the case in the hands of the Special Committee, and the Board of Directors, so far as this investigation is concerned. In doing this, he is fully conscious of the claims which the President has upon the Board of which he is Chair- man, for its protection and support, as against a surbordi- nate Officer of the Company. But nevertheless, the feeling of entire consciousness in his own past and present integrity to the Company, and all its interests ; and the further conviction that " llirice armed is he lahose cause is Just,''' impel him to place the utmost con- fidence in the result, so far as it can be afiected by the calm and deliberate judgment of the Board of Directors, after the most strict and impartial investigation. All of which is most respectfully submitted, SILAS SEYMOUR, Chief Engineer. To THE Special Committee, AND THE Board of Diuectors of the North Shore Railway Company. Quebec, 30th April, 1875. i I 111 v\ it) i '.;■■ I ' ' ■ 1 .1 ill' I ' '\ r ,\\ \ •:i.l \i pli ,;5 14 ' i I !!■ Ui I'i ili I' ill " ' 3 i ill! ■> X %■ j;:cl\>,r,lk •',t;H, , --•^4 " '••i-' APPENDICES TO THE CHIEF ENGINEER'S REPLY TO THE CHARGES MADE BY THE PRESIDENT. I. Lotter from the Chi(^f Engineer to the Chicago Contracting Company, dated July 29, 1873.... II. Letter from Geo. L. Dunlap to the Chief Engineer dated -Montreal, June 16, l874 III. Extract from "Report of the Chief Engineer, upon the Quebec Railway Aid Act of 1874,'' dated Feb. 5, 1874 IV. Letters from the President while in Europe, to the Chief Engineer V. Letter from the Chief Engineer to the Secretary, transmitting - Historical Review of the Gov- ernment Standard," dated April 12, 1875 ill iii (f, i '•! if;|i;!Mj \\AU !1. I ' fl iii i it (. li I* m I "J I r ■i ( I tl i; tf •T r APPENDIX N"i 1. Letter from the Chic/ Em^ineer, to the Chicago Con tracting C \uHpa ny. NORTH SHORE RAILWAY ii :h \\ It 1 1 ! ; 11 : \i ■ ,!• , OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF, Quebec, July 20th 1873. Gentlemen I am informed by your Mr. Perry H. Smith and Oeorge L. Dunlap, who have recently returned from London, England, that owin"- to their failure in procuring the necessary means with which to prosecute the work, by a negotiation of the Bonds in London, it will be necessary to allow the present w^orking season to pass over, without doing any thing in the way of construction. Before fully and irrevocably determining upon such a course, I desire to call your very serious attention to certain facts and considerations, which in my opinion should have a controlling influence upon the decision of the question as to your future policy. By the 'terms of the supplemental contract recently executed, you have undertaken : 1st. To complete and equip the Main Line, so far as to permit of its being opened for business, by the running of one or more daily trains between the Cities of Quebec and Montreal, within the year 1874. 2nd. To fully complete and equip the afosesaid Main !i ^ a tf I II i iii ! m T 'i I III 'i 1 1 f ill 2 APPENDIX No. 1. L'\]u\ ill accordauco with tho terms aiul coiulitions ol' the orii^inal contract, on or hclbrc Scptciuln'r Ist 1875, and, 8r(l, To I'lilly coniplct*' and ('((iiip the Main Line, on or hel'ort' l)<'(;('nil)t'r 1st 1875; and the J*iKvs IJrancli, on or belorc May 1st 187 7. Ilavini;' liad, as you arc aware, a somewhat lar«>ce and varied experienc<^ in drivini^ work of this kind to com- pletion, (iiia/Kst fime, as it were, I deem I my duty to point out certain reasons, wliich to my mind are perlectly con- clusive, as showing" the physical imi)ra(;tieal)ility ol'aceom- plishinLT the lirst, and in all prohahiiity the second ol' these underlakinns, within any reasonal)le limits as to cost, without the exi)enditur«' of a considerable amount of money during' the [>resent year. 1. Tin; riiji-ht of way should be so far secured, as to prevent any (hday in taking- possession of any portion of the line, on or bi'lbn* the comnKMU ement of the workinj^ season of 1ST4. otherwise the work will be liable to serious detentions from litii^ations, «Ste. 2. The work of graduation is comparatively light for most of the distance, and can be comi)leted within from two to four months from the time of its commencement, with an adequate force of men and teams ; but there are, in all, some eight or ten mil -s of grading, which should be got well under way during the present working season, in order to secure its completion in time to lay the track over it during the Fall of 1874. 3. The timber and stone required in piling and crib- bing for the deep water bridge foundations, should be all delivered upon the ground before the close of navigation this year; and these foundations should all be i)ut in and well s 'cured, before the ice leaves the streams next Sirring ; otherwise it will be very dilficult and expensive, if not impossible to get them ready for the masonry in time to secure its completion as soon as it will be required for raising the superstructure of the bridges. 4. The stone quarries should all to be opened during the present season, and a good supply of stone delivered upon the ground at each locality where masonry is required, in time to commence laying as early as practicable next year ; otherwise the masonry cannot be completed in time for the raising of the superstructure of the large- bridges, as soon as the track should be laid over them. "'h'v APPENDIX No. 1, 9 5. Tho tiin})or r«»qniro(l Tor all hridnfos, should ho rou- fractod lor oarly dnrini»' tho piostnit stMsoii, in ordor thni it may ho miiuuriictinod, and doJivorcMl upon llio uroiind a8 oarly as j)ossihl(\ or \vhoii(»vor it may howanlod. diiriiijj the iiext season ; olhorwiso it will he very dillicvilt, il' not impossible io procure it. 6. The cross ties should all be contrachHl for early durini>- the comini^ h'all ; otherwise it will he very dilli- cult, as well as expensive, to secure their delivery upon the liiu^ as soon as wanted. AVithout enterin«>- into a close calculation, 1 would estimate that about Jive hundred thousand dollars should be expended in the manner above indicated, between this date, and the lirst of May next, in order to ensure success. If you can raise the necessary means to enable you to comply substantially with the foregoino- conditions, 1 should feel great conlidence in your getting' the track laid in good working order, between Quebec and Mon- treal, during the working season of 1874; and also in the full comjdetion of the Main Line, a(;cording to contract, on or before the 1st September, 1875, provided always, that you can command the ri'quisite amount of skilled and common labor, to accomplish the work. On the other hand, unless you can accomjdish as much as this, during the present year, I do not see the way" chvir for your completing the w^ork within the time or times specilled in your contract. And even w^ith the expenditure above indicated, if compelled to be made late during the present season ; and the balance of the work required to be driven under every conceiveable disadvan- tage, during the w^orking season of 1874, I conceive that the w^ork and materials will cost a very large per-centage over and above what they would have cost, if the work could have been prosecuted in the ordinary way, during the present year. When I left London, on the 14th of May last, for the pur- pose of presenting to the Iiailway Company, a statement of your difficulties, and applying in your behalf for a further concession of Three Million dollars of Capital Stock, to be placed with the bonds, it w^as distinctly understood, both by yourself, and by the parties who had agreed to form a syndicate which w^ould supply the money for constructing the Road, that, if the concession was '■ I'll' .1. 'r iMil ll'lj' m ft w f' ! ( i : tliiil; I 1 ; ' ; 1 i i! i 1! !;,i:| li' I !li!ii|i i ■ I \ - 4 APPENDIX No. ], granted by the Company, the work would be resumed im- mediately, and carried forward witho"it interruption to completion ; and I was authorized, by letter from these parties, and by a cable received from your Mr. Dunlap. to give the most positive assurances to the Board of Direc- tors to that effect. Furthermore, 1 have every reason to believe that with- out this assurance, tlic conc(\^sion could not have been ob- tained ; and your failure to resume the work, and the faib^re of the parties in London to provide the necessary means for its prosecution, have therefore placed me in a very awkward position, not only in my relatir-ns to the Ilailway Company, but also to the Provincial Government^ to the City Authorities of Quebec, and to the general public, all of whom, placed the most implicit faith in my assurances, and favored your application accordingly. In order to give you ample time to complete the track of the Miin Line, 1 extended the time several months longer than the time speciflf 1 in the form of ^Supplemental Con- tract prepai I in Londoii ; but in doing so, I anticipated that you would require all the working months of this and the coming year, to enable you to do the work economi- cally, and within my estimate of its cost, li /ou are to lose the present season entirely, and are forced to crowd cJl the work that should be done in two seasons into one, you will not only be compelled to add a very large per-centage to my estimate of the cost ; but will, in all probability, fail -entirely in carrying oat your en- gagements with ti:e Uailway Company. 1 his failure on your part, as you must be aware, will not only prove a great loss and disappointment to the Railway 'Company, but your own reputation, both as individuals, and as a Contracting Company, besides a very large per- centage in the actual cost of the work, are in my opinion, entirely dcjiendent upon your expending a sutficient amount, during the piesent year, to secure beyond any contingency the completion of your contract within the time, and a^coraing to the ccnditions, therein specified. Indulging the hope that the foregoing view of the ^ase, when carefully considered, will induce you to leave no means untried to accomplish an object so desirable as the keeping of your faith with the Euilway Company and the APPENDIX No. 1. 5 Publi ■ at large, by succpssfiiUy carrying out a great work, the completion of which we all have so much at heart. I have the honor to remain, Gentlemen, Your Obt. Servt., (Signed), SILAS SEYMOUR, Eng. in Chief To THE Chicago Contracting Company. M ^ i \h' \ , Ml. I ii J t urti I. m i , •!f, \§mv fifilf I — APPENDIX N" 2. Letter from (ieo. L. Dutitap to the Chief Engineer. Montreal, January 16, 1S74. Dear Genekal, "We find matters here quite satisfactory indeed, as you have very often remarked, they cannot be in abetter shape. 1 wanted to advise with you yesterday upon a matter, but felt so perfectly assured in my own mind that the sub- ject would have met with your com])lete approval, that I omitted to do so. Both Mr. Smith and myself feel much better about the North Shore Enterprise now than ever before, since we think we can plainly see that the plans now abo .t matured will result in the early completion of the road, and the Government vdeserve commendation for their sagacious concessions. Believing* that all things will conspire for good. I am, my dear General, Very truly. (Signed,) GEO. L. DUNLAP Gen. S. Seymour, Chief Engineer North Shore Railway, Quebec. APPENDIX N () • ) ILxlract from the " Report of the Chief limrinecr upon the Quebec Railivay Aid Act of iSj^^' Dated Feb. 5, iSj.f. " TRANSFER OF THE CONTRACT " It may be expected that, before closing* this report, some allusion will he made to the transfer, which it is understood has recently been made of the existing contract to the Hon Thomar McGreevy, of this City ; whicii contract was executed in good faith, by the Railway Com- pany, on the r)th April, 18<2, with Messrs Perry H. Smith, Samuel L. Keith and Ueorge L. Dunlap, all of Chicago, Illinois, and doing business here in the name otthe Chicago Contracting Company. Inasmuch as neither the Railway Company, nor any of its officers, have as yet been favored with a notice of this transfer, or an intimation as to its conditions, I can only assume that when the matter is brought properly before the Jjoard of Directors, it will receive such careful consi- deration and action, as will be calculated to promote the best interests of the Railway Company. Having been chielly instrumental in bringing about the negotiation of a contract wdth theses parties ; and therefore being very Justly held responsible to a certain extent, both by the Railway Company and the Public, for its being carried out in good faith on their part, I may be per- mitted to say, that it is a source of great satisfaction to me personally to know, that, except the general loss of more than a year's time in the completion of the road, the Rail- Hli jf i 1 ;]1 'Ti ili. I! Hi, ism h I ^s i'\ 1 f* 1 1 ,» (I m J|l .■:ii! • fill ' W m 1 f 2 APPENDIX No. 3. way Company has sustained no pecuniary loss by the de- linquency of these Contractors ; and that the result of the contract thus far has been, an expenditure on their part of about $200,000 a portion of which has gone to re-imburse the Company for the most of its former expenditures, and to pay its current expenses ; and the most of the balance has been legitimately expended in paying for right of way, grading and engineering, all of which may be made available^ in the further prosecution of the work. I may also state further, and with equal frankness, that in my opinion it will be quite fortunate for the Railway Company, if it shall be found that the contract has fallen into the hands of Mr McGreevy, whosename, reputation and acknowledged financial ability, will undoubtedly prove to be a source of great additional strength to the Enterprise. The fact that Mr McCrreevy, has already assumed the contri\ct, would seem to indicate that he feels entire confi- dence in his ability to carry out, either the present contract, or such a modiiicati':u thereof as the company may consis- tently sanction ; and therefore, while in the one case you have had American Contractors, whose sympathies, and interests were very naturally quite foreign to those of your own Grovernment and people ; and whose principal object as they have already demonstrated, was to make as much money out of the contra(tt as possible, and take it with them out of the Province ; in the other case, you will have an entirely responsible Canadian Contractor, whose sym- pathies and interests will necessarily b(Mn full accord with your own Clovernment and people ; and whose profits, if he should be so fortunate as to realize any from the con- tract, will but add so much to the wealth of the City and Province of Quebec. It has for a long time been quite apparent, that, not only the Railway Company, but also the Grovernment and people of Canada, were becoming more and more dissa- tisfied with the great want of energy and financial strength manifested by these American Contractors, in the prosecu- tion of the work ; and I would therefore expect that a change of this kind, at the present time, would be regarded with great favor, by all parties interested in a speedy re- sumption of work, and an early completion of the road. '* if If III h APPENDIX W 4. Letters from the President, while in Europe, to the Chief Engineer. Extract of letter dated, Birnam Woods, Dunheld, General S. Seymour, Perthshire, Quebec, Scotland, Canada. 2fitb July, 1874. My dear General, I received a short note some time ago from you, report- ing a continuation of the discussion at Quebec, as to the party who were to embark their money, and take chances in the construction of the Railway. From all I can learn of investments in England, there appear to be so many favorable opportunities of placing money any where and every where, and at all rates of interest, that it will be very difficult to engage any Capitalists in our favour, unless we bait very high; our security is a Railway which will have to be completed hereafter out of its income, and some lands of no real value, except for its timber, which is not yet in our possession. The Railway in the first instance will have to be built out of the funds of our Contractor and his two Allies the Province and the City of Quebec, and if any or all of these interests mistrust each other, then we shall stick. There is of course no object to be gained by Mr. McGrreevy exhausting his means, and so losing the advan- tage of being a rich man, as he will only place himself at i, . 1^ I', ' II 1 ;l 43 IH i:. =1 2 APPENDIX No. 4. tlie mercy of a public who have already shown the estimar tioii they place on such services as those of Mr. Russell. This market is full of Canadian securities, I note, the Grand Trunk offer $300,000 permanent five per cent at A Quebec party also want i:200,000, .£100,000 cash to enable them to ship butchers meat to Eng-land, w^hich they state can be purchased at a Canadian Tort for $0, and shipped for 1 penny per lb. to Liverpool, viz. : 4d. per lb., they wanted me to be a party to this concern, but I de- clined because butchers meat of first quality costs now in Quebec and Montreal $10 the cwt. and I do not know why jC100,OuO is wanted. jGoOOO worth of meat shipped to l..iverpool and sold for cash on its arrival could be all done on ordinary bank credit of sixty days. I mention this scheme as it is one of Mr. Hobertson's to benelit the Townships; and illustrates what a parcel of fools Canadians think the English to be, totally forgetting' that the English Commissariat know what has been paid for beef to be issued to the troops in Canada for the last, iifty years." Yours faithfully, (Signed,) W. RHODES. T/ie Prcsidoit to the Chief Engineer. Extract of letter dated, Kiswick, Westmoreland, England, 4th August, 1874 My dear General, I have your letter relating to you Engineering difficulty with the Contractor, and I note that an expenditure on his part is still progressing. It ought to be our policy to get as much money as possible out of the private funds of the Contractor, spent on the w^orks, and to involve the Govern- ^.1 r APPENDIX No. 4. 3 ment both in the management, as well as in the construc- tion of the road. I am of opinion that by next session, the Grovernment will have a new Railway policy similar to that of India, viz.: to build our Railways out of funds raised from their own Government sources, and construct first the lines, that offer every prospect of paying something considerable towards working expenses. As we are working, our Contractor intends to build an inferior line in the first place, use up our rails in ballasting, and leave us to contend with a series of linancial diflicul- ties, caused by our acceptance of a work, which will require large annual repairs for many years, before it may be considered a first class road, and the construction account closed. If Mr. McGrreevy sells his Bonds well, he will make a road in proportion to his prolils, l)ut as I notice such Rail- way securiti<'s as Pa. Central are sold here at 46 (^50) and will at that pay eleven per cent interest, I do not think his prospect of selling Railway Bonds good ; and I dont believe he has made any but very moderate financial arrangements in England. Consequently, Mr. McGreevy may contemplate the necessity of passing all kinds of infe- rior work in satisfaction of his contract. I have no letters from Mr. McOreevy requesting me to call upon the so called London Agents, and as I have no business in London of my own, I do not propose to go to Town. If Mr, McG-reevy can be induced to make a good show of work this Autumn a great point will be gained." .... fX Yours faithfully, (Signed,) W. RHODES. - t i'Si , Jsl Ii h; APPEXDIX .N*' f). Letter from the Chief lingirieer to the Secretary, trans- Diittino- " flistorical Revieio of the (iovernnunt Standard. " NORTH ^\\K)\IV. RAILWAY. OFFICE THE OF KNGl^EEU IN CIIIEP^ Quebec, April i 2th, 1875 Ml?. Secretary, You will please find herewith, thirty printed copies of of a "Historical Review of the Government Standard" which I have recently prepared for the use of the Com- pany. It was my intention that this document should be placed before the lionrd of Directors, at its last monthly meetiufr held on the 8th instant ; and previous to my letter of the 7th instant, in which I request to be relieved from the further i)erlormance of the duties ol' Acting Chief Engineer ; but the delay in printing prevented this from being done. I would therefore respectfully request that copies of it be sent to the different members of the Board,and also to the Provincial Government, and the City Council of Quebec, in order that some intelligent and decisive action may be taken upon the subject at the next meeting of the Board. Assuming that the conclusions arrived at in this docu ment are based upon facts, and sound reasoning, as I bel jve they are, it would seem to be clearly the duty, I'lij. i^it ■lit ■ 1 . is .-I • 1 '■ in ii'l III f I ^11 1/^ \i: 2 APPENDIX No. 5, as woll as tlio interest of Ihe Company, to nrii^o upon the Govcrnnn'nt the justice and expe- " l!]niiinecrs Reports on location," dated Oct. 10, 187-2 ; «ept. 11, 1873; and Oct. 0, 1873. 4th. In a printed " Ivcport of the Chief I']ii<;-ineer upon the Quebec Railway aid Act of 1 j74," dattul Feb. 5, 1874. 5th. In a i)amphlet containing-, " Views of the Eni»-ineer in Chief respecting his powers, duties and responsibilities," dated July 10, 1874. 6th. In a pamphlet containing '• Views of the Chief Engi- neer respecting his })owers uiub'r the contract to change the liiu', grades and plans, during construction," dated January 30, 1875. 7th. h\ a " Report of the Chief Engineer upon th«' Situ- ation." with seven ap]>endices, dated March 4, 1875. 8th. In a printed " Historical Review of the (rovern- ment Standard, by the Engiiu'er in Chief," (now transmit- ted,) dated April 6, 1875. A reference to the above documents will ^how, that my own views as to the clearly expressed requirements, of the contract; and the character or class of road originally con- templated, and now^ being executed under it, are now" and always have been in full accord with the views of Mr. Walter Shanly, and other practical Railway men, both in this Country, and in the United-States, upon the same sub jects. "While at the same time it is equally manifest that these views differ in some important particulars, from the views entertained by another class of Engineers, " irlmse financial experiences, as stated by Mr. Shanly,) have /nen icholly in ('overnment pastures^ It remains therefore for the Railway Company, the Provincial Government, and the City of Quebec, to decide as to which of these theories they will adhere in their future policy respecting this road. To my own mind it is quite clear, that if the theory . ; I •; !]:■ i !i li. f ' 4 APPENDIX No. 5. which I have always advocated had beted and fully adhered to, it is very- questionable whether, under its present organization, the road will ever be built at all. I have the honor to remain, Mr. Secretary, Your obt. servt. II m\ 1: Ht H liiti ' 11 (Signed], S. SEYMOUK, Chief Engineer. A. II. Ykkkp:!', Esq., Secretary N. S. II. Co., Quebec. n » I iiill 1 I NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. REMARKS OF THK CHIEF ENGINEER M , - 1 "UPON THK CHARCIKS MADE I!Y I'HE PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY IN RELATION TO THE INEFFICIENCY OF THE ENGINEER DEPARTMENT, AND THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE WORK. o-HKc iHvM ! : ;!; I. STATEMENT OF CHARGES. The first charges made by the President, are contained in his report of a tour of inspection, in Company with several of the Directors, on the 16th, ITth and 18th of September, 1874, over the line of the road from Quebec to Three Rivers. This report was submitted to the Board of Directors at their monthly meeting, held in October last, from which the following are extracts : " There are no works bearing a finished character, except the fences ; these I am sorry to say, reflect very little credit on our Engineering Department, whose business it is to supervise and report specially upon the character and quality of work under 'Construction, and reject such as is not in accordance with the contract. " And again : *' I am sorry, also, to report !l. i? ! t: 'i ill if ' -I iT! iliii fi llii iiili 2 E EM ARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. that I did not lind our ]^]ngiiiee:iiig arrangements to be such as I expected. The ofhcers appeared to me to be defi- cient in energy, as well as in a knowledge of what the country can afford in Ihe construction of the Kailway." And again : " Unless we imi)rove our organization, we shall noL fully realize the imblic expectation, viz : that th North Shore Railway will be a lirst-class work." The second charge is contained in the President's letter to the Chief Engineer, under date of October 20, 1874, from which the following is an extract : *' I could gain no evidence of the Residencies having been inspected utall, or at r''gular periods, by the oflicers at the heads of those dei)urtments, consec[uently, tlu re are many works nea'lected, and others constructed in a manner which shews great ignorance or neglect in the persons conu'^cted with such works." The third charge is contained in the President's letter to the Chief-Engineer, under date of November 0, 1874, from which the following is an extract : " I regret exceedingly that I do not find myself in a position to give praise to the Engineering Staff, as rej^re- sented bv yourself and your Chief Officers ; but as I hold that the Directors become ultimately responsible for the manner in which the moneys of the Company are expc^nded, they would be grossly neglecting their duty, if they main- tained in their service, officers who are not in the full enjoyment of their conPidenco. I have, therefore, given my opinion of the position with a full knowledge of the respon- sibilities I assume as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and as one of the elected Directors of the shareholders of the Company." I' l\ STATEMENT OF CIIAEGES, 3 The fourth charge is contained in the Report su])mitted by the President to the Board oi' Directors, at their monthly meeting, held in November, 1874, respecting his personal inspection oi' the entire line ; from which the following is an extract : " I have requested our Chief-Engineer to attend to certain works which ought to be looked after this year, .such as burning brush, erecting farm crossings, &c. I have also ax:)plied for copies of such specifications as may have been furnished the Contractor, as a guide to the construction of the minor works in the afferent Parishes, such as fences gates, crossings, cattle guards, as many of these, I am sorry to say, are not considered first-class in country places ; and most of them will have to be restored in a very few years." '• A correspondance with the Engiiieer Department is now laid before you." In addition to the foregoing charges of a somewhat general nature, the President's field notes, which were made luring his walking inspection of the line, abound in more specific charges of the following nature : " Brush to be burnt " — " Dumping on stump tliree feet high being very bad work" — " Brush lo be burnt" — " Fences very uneven and generally bad, gates equally so," &c., tSj;c., for all which reference is respectfully made to said field notes. Inasmuch as the correspondence above referred to, and the reports made by the President directly to the Board, contain all the foregoing charges, together with th»^ Presi- deni'H conclusions thereon, it will be seen that the President has been pleased to place the entire matter in the hands of the directors ; and that in doing so, he has taken care to jire-judge the case, by placing upon the records of the Company, in advance of any investigation or decision on m jH^r i'-ii' ! t: li *! I 1 r,«i'i'» It^ 4'. ll 4 JIEMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. the part of the Board of Directors, his clearly implied opinion, that neither the Engineer in Chief, nor his subor- dinates are entitled to the full confidence of the Board. II. GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASE. Without commenting in this place, upon the extraordi- nary course taken by the President ; and after remarking, that this is the first time, during a somewhat long, and varied professonial experience, that I have been called upon to defend eithov myself, or my subordinates from charges of this natiue, ^vill proceed to give such a general view of the case, and of the correspondence referred to, as in my opinion, the facts and circumstances connected there- with will clearly warrant. In order to understand the subject fulb^ it is necessary to refer, in the first instance, to the tour of inspection, wnich was made over the line, l)y the President and several of the Directors, on the 16th, 17th and IHth of the month of September last. Upon this occasion, while halting a short time at the St. Augustine road crossing, for the purposo ofgivingthe Directors an opportunity of examining the work, the Pre- sident remarked " that the farm l\(IU es lu the neighborhood appeared to be oonipdRod almost entirely ofiedai, while the Railway fences were composed of Inferior materials." Mr. John Lludsay, l]('«jrleTit Engineer, who happened to be standing near, rc^ lied in sul)shiin« " IImiI ihn fnnn fenepn were quite old, and lliatcefbiT hiid become very Huarca 111 this vicinity during ilu^ past fifty years." I had been honored with a scat in the carringe occupied by the President and Vice-President of tho Company ; and H|»Mi| proceeding o/iwardu^, (lie Pre«iflent called the utten- m GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASE. 5 tion of the Vice-President, and myself, to the remark which had been made by Mr. Lindsay, respecting- the fencing ; and stated, that he talked much move like a contractor, than like an Engineer in the service of the Company. As we X)roceeded onwards, towards Three Rivers, the President's mind seemed to be occupied almost entirely with the sub- ject of fencing; and he did not fail to call our attention to every new cedar rail or picket, w^hich he happened to notice in the farm fences along the road, for the purpose of demonstrating the fallacy of Mr. Lindsay's remark ; and at the same time, to prove that he w'as not a proper person to be employed by the Company. It is therefore, to this unfortunate remark of Mr. Lind- say, that I attribute the commencement of the President's hostility to him. And, I also attribute the present want of confidence, on the part of the President, towards the Chief Engineer, to be cliargea])le mainly to the fact, that I at- tempted to shield Mr. Lindsay, to some extent, from tlie President's displeasure, instead of discharging him at once from, the ser\ ice *>f the Company. While halting the same night, at Pont-Rouge, it so happejied that Mr. Alexander Hart, called upon the Pre- sident and nij'self to pay his respects ; and T introduced him to the President as a fence Inspector, who had been appointed at tlie request of the Contractor, to look after his fencing ; and I remark* d, at the same time, that Mr. Hart had thus far devoted much more of his time to the other business of the Contractor, than to the fencing ; to Avhich Mr. Hart assented ; but also, remarked " th.it he had seen enough of the fencing to satisfy him, that it was a better fence than the generality of Kaihvays in the United-lStates were fenced with." "Which remark, I saw^ at once, had m m I* :vi i ♦ I I ( 1 . ! ! m m l'*!iC 1 1 m I :i m I i: 6 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGliS'EER. produced the same eflect upon the President's mind with rei'erence to Mr. Hart, that had previously been produced with rei'erence to Mr. Lindsay. During the same evening ; and also on several other occasions during the trip, I explained both to the President and Vice-President, the history of the fence cj[uestion from the beginning up to the present time ; and assured them that none if it had been accepted ; and that only such a proportion of it would bert'turned in my estimate, as should be found to come fully up to the true spirit and meaning of the contract. Another circumstance occurred during this trip of the Directors, which I have since come to believe has exercised a very important iniiuence upon the mind of the President, with reference to the want of ability and energy, c:i the part of both the Chief, and Resident Engineers. "When the Board of Directors decided to make this tour of inspection, I was directed by the President, to sec that arrangements were made along the line for proper accom- modations. And also, that the party should reach Three Ivivers on Friday evening, September 18th, so that they could return io Quebec, in time for the meeting of the Board, which had been adjourned to Saturday, the 19th September. I had accordingly prepared a " Time Table No. 1, " for the trip, giving the times of arrival at, and departure from the different points upon the line, with a view of passing through the country by daylight ; and of reaching Three Rivers at the time designated. Several copies of these time tables had been prepared and distributed among the Directors ; a}id it was fully understood, that they were approved ; ainl that it was my business to see that the programme was carried out. Mm GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASE. *'!h I had allowed, as I supposed, siifFicient iime lor the Directors to obtain a very good general idea of the character and capabilities of the country ; and also of the ]iosiiion of the line of Kailroad, as it could be pointed out from the contiguous roads over Avhich we were to travel. And I was also careful to allow a considerable extra time for n mori' critical examination of Tviver crossings, mechanical structures, station grounds and otlirr important points, which I supposed would vei'v naturally be found i^articu- larly interesting to the Directors ; bul more than this I knew that it would be quite impossil)h3 to accomplisli, during the limited time allowed to tln^ present trip. T also found, after starting from Qut'bec, that most of the ca'-rianr-es were much too heavv and cumbersome to ])ass safely over some of the rough roads, running nearest tlu^ line ; and therefore, that it would he necessary to omit some points which 1 had hoped to visit. It becaine quite evident, however, during the v-'coud and third davs of the trip thai the Pr idtiit eiiiircly mis- consfrued mv efforts to avoid iceidentsan; vexauous deh'vs, and thus to it?ep pa.e^' with the timo-table ; and tliat hi' attributed rh- m. sob-Iy to a d«'tt'iniiiiat.ion on my part, t(» a,]h>w himNrlf :;nd tL^^ Dir ■iMors !i»sct> as littb' ;is possible, Oi the work \i^>.>n tho road. It was also quit- ap]);n-('nt, that these im]ir(>ssions d' ih*' Pioiilent were being con- stantly sti'i^ngth.ncd by 'hi' representa! lis ol" Mr. K. 11. Mc(jre('vy, a brother of iIh- Contractcr, in whose behalf he had hron invited to a<'';o!...pan\' th- Directors. This feeling had reaclit 1 buch a ]''.nii . that upon our arrival at St. Anniets. in tli*- 'vening ot the second day, the Presidiuit and M^ McGreevy entered into anagi-'ement to walk over the balance of the li.ie to riiro^e-liivers, a dis- 8 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. , r |! , 5 ' 1 i 1 H ! 1 1 1 w ^! i, p :\ 5: ; i ii it|ii;, t J .' 1 i I . 1 i' ■:! tance of twenty-four miles, during the following day ; but upon the following day, it was noticed that the i^roposed walk wa' continually being cut short, until at last it resulted in a w^alk by the President and Mr. McGrreevy, accom- panied by the Resident Engineer, over the last nine miles of the distance, in the afternoon, during a drenching rain storm ; while the Vice-President and ])alance of the Direc- tors, accomi)anied by the Chief Engineer, drove to and walked over the heavy work, east of the St. Maurice Eiver, which was, in reality, the only work of any importance then in progress, between St. Annes, and Three-Rivers. After forwarding the Directors across the ferry to the Hotel, at Three-Rivers, I remained upon the bank of the St. Maurice, at the point of Railway crossing, between two and three hours, for the purpose of rejoining the Pre- sident when he arrived ; and of giving him any information or explanation that he might desire, respecting the work. After which I drove with him to Three-Rivers, where we arrived too late to make an inspection of the line through that City, which I had felt a strong desire to do, parti- cularly as the important question of station grounds was liable to be brought before the Board of Directors at any time. III. RESULTS OF THE DIRECTORS TRIP. I have considered it important to aive the foregoing hasty sketch of the President's trip o\ tx the line with the Directors, in order to show the principal reasons for his unfavorable impressions with reference to the efficiency of the Engineering Department, and the character of the M RESULTS OF THE DIRECTORS TRIP. 9 lug he work; which impression;: we, e undoubtedly tho moving cause for his subsequent inspection of the line on loot which has given rise to the somewhat voluminous corres- pondence which he has thought proper to place before the Board of Directors. It should also be remarked, with reference to the Presi- dent's Keport of this trip, that upon its being read to the Board of Directors by the President, I was very properly sum- moned before the Board, and given an opportunity to read the Keport ; and also to make such explanations as I might think proper,with reference to the charges therein contained. I explained quite briefly, and as I then supposed, satisfac- torily to the Board, the state of the fencing question, and one or two other matters to which the President had called my attention while passing over the line. And also, the reasons why I had felt it to be my duty to hurry the Directors over the line, without giving them an opportunity to see more of the work. In doing this, however, I must beg leave to state, that I felt every confidence that the President, when he should take his proposed walking trip over the line, would give some person connected with the Engineering Department, upon which he had so summarily passed judgment, at least an opportunity of passing over the line with him ; and of explaining, upon the spot, any matters to which he might think proper to call their attention ; and that his mind would thus become relieved from the anxiety, which he had so frankly expressed in his report to the Board, respecting the dangers to which the Company would become exposed, unless the Engineer- ing organization should be improved. But it seems that in this, as I then supposed very reasonable expectation, I was doomed to be dissappointed, as will more fully appear Ill I l^-l vk I H, \ ■ i ■\i oses ; so that it hapj)ened to be particularly inconvenient, just at that time, for any one connected with the Engineer Department, to accompany the President over the line. IV. THE president's INSPECTION ON FOOT. Referring now directly to the correspondence, it will be seen that, on the 8th October, the President gave me official notice of his proposed trip; and requested me "to give such instructions to my Resident Engineers as would place him in a position to haA'e the advantage of such recent knowledge as might be in their possession." Although the wording of this portion of the President's letter seemed to be somewhat vague and ambiguous, I did not hesitate to construe it as meaning that he did not expect me to accompany him upon his trip ; but that he did expect THE PRESIDENTS INSPECTION ON FOOT. 11 the Resident Eimiiieers to do so ; and I therefore, imme- diately enclosed a copy of his letter to each of the Resident Engineers, with instructions to meet the President at the times and places designated by him " with all the plans, profiles and maps necessary to ailbrd him a full knowledge of the work in all its details ; "and also " to accompany him over their respective Residencies." It will be seen by referring again to ilie President's letter of the 8th October, that he proposed " to proceed to Mont- real on Monday (Oct. 12th) and on Tuesday, examine the line of Railway, between that City and the r)Out-de-lisle, continuing his journey the next day, AYednesday, via Industrie, to Three Rivers, where he hoped to arrive on Friday. On Saturday he proposed to leave on foot for Quebec, over the whole line of Railway, walking about twenty-five miles per day." This part of his programme seemed to be so very clear and explicit, that 1 could not entertain a doubt as to its real meaning ; nor that Mr. Chandler, Resident Engineer at Montreal, would meet the President on the arrival of the boat, on Tuesday morning, and accompany him to Three Rivers ; that Mr. Ilamlin, Resident Engineer at Three Rivers, would meet him on Saturday morning, and accompany him over his Residency ; and that Mr. Lindsay, Resident Engineer at Quebec, would meet him at Grondine, the west end of hisResidency, either on the following Sunday or Monday, and accompany him over his Residency to the City of Quebec. And I therefore, ventured to indulge in a feeling of great con- fidence that, upon the President's return over the line to Quebec, his mind would be more at ease with reference to the character of the work; and also, that his prejudices i I ! i mm \ i; !i 5 ii m 12 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. respecting some members of the Staff would either be entirely removec^ or materially modified. Having thus given the President's programme, or as it may very properly be s'.yled " Time Table No. 2," I will pro- ceed to state, as concisely as possible, the manner in which he adhered to it during the entire trip, as I have gathered the facts from himself, and from the reports of the Resident Engineers ; and also as they came under my own personal observation. It appears, that the President left Quebec at the time appointed, Monday, 12th October ; and that he met Mr, Chandler at Montreal, on Tuesday morning, whence they proceeded together on Tuesday, vii\ llont-de-Lisle to.Tolic^tte; without however meeting with such a reception as the Presi- dent hivl a right to expect; and further, that as they passed through L'Assomption on the way, the President telegraph- ed to Mr. 11. H. McG-reevy, at Quebec, that he should probably reach Three Rivers on the evening of the fol- lowing day, Wednesday. On Wednesday they drove from Joliette directly to Three Rivers. On Thursday he walked from Three Rivers to St. Anne. On Friday he walked most of the distance from St. Anne to Pont-Rouge. And on Saturday he walked from Pont-Rouge to his home, near Quebec. It further appears that he gave no notice of his change of programme to any one connected with the Engineer Department, although it does appear that he considered it important to notify Mr. McGreevy ; and that he kept his movements over the entire portion of the line under con- struction, so entirely secret that even the hotel proprietor, at Three Rivers, supposed that he had left by boat on Wednes- day night, for Quebec ; and neither the Resident or Assistant THE PRESIDENTS INSPECTION ON FOOT. 13 it is Engineer, nor the Inspectors, West of Pont-Ronge, knew of his passing ov(m* their portions of the line, until the same eA'ening or the following day. Mr. Ilamliii, Tlesident Engineer at Three Rivers, came to Quehec on Wednesday morning, to bring his rej^ort of schedule quantities ^o my Ollice ; and to make such explanations respecting them as might be required, intend- ing to return to Three Rivers in lime to accompany the President over his Residency on the following kSaturday On Thursday morning, he \vas informed by Mr. Farmer, of Three Rivers, who had just reached Quebec by boat, that the Prei.ident and Mr. ChandbM- were at Three Rivers the previous (AVednesdayl evening. Mr. Hamlin, at my suggestion, telegraphed immediately to his Assistant, at Three Rivers, requesting him to ascertain and report the facts; and was answered that anying me to Batiscan by boat that evening, during which I informed him that the President, as I supposed, was then in or near ■^ Ai •^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■1.25 fi^ ha ^ 1^ u 1.8 1^ V] iSi. ^» /? ^; ^ %, # //, ">>■ 'W o ^. 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 W[:r>T MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716) 872-4503 ?V ^ INSPECTION ON FOOT. 15 d either by the President or myself. It was also arranged that he should telegraph n^ethe following day at Portneuf. I drove from Batiscan to St. Annes the same ei'ening ; and, after examining the work at that point with the Inspector on the following morning ; and also, obtaining from him such information as I desired respecting the Batiscan foundations, I drove to Portneuf on Friday for dinner. On reaching Portneuf, I met Mr. Lindsay, who had just arrived from the East, on his way to meet the President at the west end of his Ilesidency. After giving Mr. Lindsay such information as I hud received respecting the President's movements; and inform- ing him that my information was not of such a character as to justify any change in my previous instructions, I started Eastward. Before reaching Portneuf Bridge, how- ever, a despatch was forwarded to me from the Portneuf Telegraph Office, of which the following is a copy : " Three Rivers, Oct. 16, 1874. G-eneral Sfymoui?, Portneuf. The President left early yesterda}^ morning for Quebec, on foot. L. B. HAMLIN. " The above, it will be observed, was the only authentic information that I had received respecting the President's movements, since he left Quebec, on the previous Monday. And although his change of programme had not aifccted my own movements in the slightest degree, yet it is quite evident that it had kept the Resident Engineers from their legitimate w^ork during at least two days. Upon arriving at Pont-Rouge, on Friday evening, I sent a messenger back to Portneuf, with a note to Mr. Lindsay, .jii, ■' J'' >■ •Ci Li nn I; ;! ' :: '■^ ii'fi i %' r ^1 16 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. ! calling his attention to the masonry at th^ Bridge; and enclosed a copy of Mr. Hamlin's despatch, so that he could regulate his li'.> ■•lu.ents accordingly. The President reached Pont-Rouge, at about seven o'clock on Friday evening, having, as he informed me, walked over the entire line from St. Anne, since morning, except six or seven of the last miles, when it became too dark to follow the line Upon my asking him why he had not notified some one of his change of plan, he replied that he had telegraphed to Mr. H. 11. McGreevy, from L'Assomption, that he would probably reach Three Rivers on Wednesday night, so as to start over the line on Thursday, instead of Saturday morning, as he had originally intended. I then told him that I regretted exceedingly that he had not informed either myself, or the Resident Engineers of the change in time, so as to have allowed them to accom- pany him over the line, and to explain upon the ground anything that he might consider amiss ; to which he replied that it was of no consequence as he could accomplish his object quite as well without them. I then asked him if he w^ould not allow Mr. Temple, w^ho happened to be present in the room, to accompany him, on Saturday, over the balance of his sub-division, or even to Quebec if he desired; to which he replied, that he preferred not to be bothered with any Engineers, as they would only be in his way ; that he had found no dilUculty thus far in finding the line, except that in some cases the station and section stakes had been removed ; and that he much preferred going through the balance of the line under construction, as he had com- menced, entirely alone. During the evening, he read to me several extracts from -..■.-\i- '^1 ih3 to ith he ept ;en Ithe )m- tom THE l'REi^TDK\T!5 TNSPErTTOX *)X EOOT. n Lis ri'U^ ^'{>tf\c. riO;i!iiii>- ])virH;iy>:iily to tho uiisalisnicforv^ Btate oi' tiio clearing- juid !]niLl,iii.:, ioncing', sjxnl ));iiiks, &c., all of which, I 'jiideavored to explain to him, were yet in an unfinished state, and had not be<'n accepted I'roni : u. ".._. -. .■• . , !:] fi i!' xi. _ < ■ 1' ■ -o' m 11 1 !;f ill 2i KKMARKS OF TIIK CIIIEr KXCHXiiEIi. VI. DKKKNCK OF THK UKSIDKNT KNOINKKUS. Itel'erring, in the lirst instance, to the charges preferred against the Kosident Engineers, it will be observed that the letters and iield notes of the President, clearly charge Ihese l']ngineers with having neglected to exercise a proper degree of personal supervision over their work ; and that, •' consequently, much of the work done, and materials used, are of an inferior or improper character " when considered in c(mnection with the requirements of the contract ; the items particularly specified being fencing, clearing and grubbing, road and farm-crossings, and the waste material from earth cuttings. Speaking first in behalf of Mr. Lindsay, Engineer in charge of the 1st. Kesidency, extending forty miles west- ward from Quebec, I will state, that he has had a very extensive professional experience upon some o^ the most thoroughly constructed Railways in Canada, and in the United States, And that during the six years previous to iiis appointment upon this Ivoad, on the 1st of April, 1874, he occupied the position of Division or Kesident Engineer in charge of some of the most difRcult work upon the Intercolonial Railway. Mr. Lindsay's appointment was urged upon me by several of the Directors in person, as well as by the Contractor ; and his testimonials are of the highest and most satisfactory character. The wcrk of construction upon the 1st Residency, had been partially resumed hy the present Contractor, before Mr. Lindsay, who was then engaged in re-locating^ the line upon +he 2nd Residency, could tcke it fully in charge ; and since he was signed to the full charge of the 1st Residency, on the 15th June last, his time has necessari' ♦-: DEFENCE OF THE RESIDENT ENGINEERS. boen v.'ry much occupied in surveying, undproparin-the necessary plans, profiles, and estimates, of the nume'rous line, within and near the City of Quebec, preparatory to their submission, by the Chief Engineer, to the Board of Directors. But even with these extra duties to perform, I have every reason to believe that he has always found time to give the work of construction, upon his lie«idency, all the p. rsonal care and supervision that it required. He had three intellio..nt Assistants, in charge of sub-divisions of about thirteen miles each, who were constantly upon the line ; and with whom he was in almost daily communication either by letter, telegraph, or in person ; and when I have' had occasion to inspect any portion of his work with him, I have always found him fully posted as to all the details' of the work ; and, as a matter which I have regarded as of the utmost importance, T have never failed to find him thoroughly honest and impregnable, as against the most constant and persistent efforts on the part of thi. Contractor, and his agents,or sub-contractors, to force upon the Company a character of work and materials, w^hich were very far below the standard required by the contract and speci- fications. Entertaining, as I most sincerely do, the forv goin- con- victions with reference to Mr. Lindsay, and the faithful manner in which he has performed his duties to the Com- pany, I trust that, \N hatever the consequences may be to myself, I shall be pardoned by the Board of Directors, for declining to join the President in a personal crusade against Mr. Lindsay ; either on account of his thoughtless and uncalled for remark, respecting the present comparative Bcarcity of cedar timber along the line of the Railway • or I ;. CI i m UEMAEKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER on account Oi his more recent offence, of being accidentally seen by the President, on one occasion, v/hile he was driving in the evening with his wife and children npon the St. Lewis Road, when, in the opinion of the President, he should have been upon his work. I have to state, further, with reference to Mr. Lindsay's case, that I must regard his reply to the President's charges, contained in his letter to me, of October 24 th, and embodied in the correspondence no'v under consideration, 'as being entirely complete and unanswerable, so far as the main facts are concerned, with the exception, perhaps, of an un- important misci^nstruction of the text of the President's field notes, respecting the quolity of masonry at the Port- neuf Bridge. Finding, however, that the President, in his notice of this reply, was pleased to stigmatize it as being " inaccurate, coarse and imperlinent^'' I considered it to be my duty to transmit to Mr. Lindsay a coj)y of the President's letter of the 9th November, in which the above, as well as several other equally offensive passages occur, in order that he might, if he wished to do so, furnish me with a reply which it weald be proper to place, with the other correspondence before the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors ; ai]d I have taken pleasure in placing with the Se retary, a copy of my letter to Mr. Lindsay, enclosing a copy of the President's last letter, and his very temperate and well con- sidered reply thereto ; and also, as requested by Mr. Lindsay, a copy of his report to me upon the subject of Fencing, under date of October 7, 1874; an examination of which will show the exact condition of this much vexed question, so far as Mr. Lindsay's official action was concerned. ■DEFENCE OF THE IlESIDENT ENGINEERS. 2r Inasmuch as the President has been pleased to state, in his letter of the 9th November, " that the only reply that I can accept as satisfactory is that of the Officer in charge of No. 2. Residency " ; it seems to be quite unnecessary for me to say anything, in this place, with reference to the charges made against Mr. Hamlin, the Engineer in charge of that Residency ; which charges are contained in the pre- vious letters and field notes, received by me from the Pre- sident ; and embodied in the correspondence. I must beg leave to state, however, in justice to this most faithful and valuable Officer, that, although his appointment, on the 15th June last, was made by me solely at the request, or rather the dictation, of Mr. Robert II. McGreevy, upon whose work, on the Intercolonial Railway Mr. Hamlin had previously been engaged as a Division Engineer for the Grovernment, and afterwards by the Contractor ; and that although from this somewhat suspi- cious circumstance, a feeling of distrust would very naturally enter into my own mind, as I know it has in the minds of some of the Directors, with reference to the relations which might exist between the parties ; parti- cularly when I became more and more acquainted with Mr. R. H. McGrreevy's determination to ignore the position and authority of the Chief Engineer, and his subordinates upon the line ; yet notwithstanding all these adverse cir- cumstances, I am most happy in having an opportunity to bear my unqualified testimony to the ability, integrity, industry, and entiie devotion to the Company's interests, which have been manifested on the part of Mr. Hamlin, ever since his connection with ^he Road. I shal therefore consider it most unfortunate for the Company, if eiCier by xei^jon of the unfounded charges of the President, or is Hi 1 M I 1 I! ! i, ■I;;; ' i; I 'I ': n , ; !i U\ 'Hi '1i 28 REMARKS OF THS CHIEF ENGINEER. the disappointed expectations of Mr. R. H. McGrreevy, his Fervices should be lost to the Company before the final completion of that portion of the road upon which he is now employed VII. DEFENCE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. Having thus, although quite inadequately, performed a most pleasing duty, as well as an act of justice to the Resident Engineers, whose good name and professional reputation have been assailed by the President of the Rail- way Company, to whose best interests I sincerely believe them to be so entirely devoted ; and upon whose verdict, in the case now before its Board of Directors,depends so largely^ if not entirely, their future profisssional success in life, as well as the welfare and happiness of their families ; it now becomes my more unpleasant, but equally imperative duty, in view of the same professional, as well as personal considerations, to speak of the charges, either expressed or implied, which are contained in the reports made by the President to the Board of Directors ; and in his letters, which are embodied in the correspondence now under consideration, so far as they relate personally to myself; and to the manner in which I have performed tho impor- tant and responsible duties pertaining to the Office of Engineer in Chief of %e North Shore Raihi^ay, since my appointment, on July 24th, 1871 In view of the fact, that but a small minority of the eighteen Members composing the present Board of Direc- tors, are at all familiar with the circumstances under which I first became connected with this Road, I propose, as a matter of history, as well as in self defence, to refer in the first instance, quite briefly, and without intentional egotism. IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 29 til I to some of the more important events which preceded, as well as followed, my appointment as Chief Engineer. In the month of September, 1870, Mr. T. C. Durant, of New-York, with whom, as Vice-President and General Manager of the Union Pacific Railroad, I had heen asso- ciated as Consulting Engineer, during its entire construc- tion, invited me to accompany him to Montreal, Three- Rivers and Quebec, for the purpose of looking into and obtaining information respecting the merits of the North Shore Railway and Piles Branch, together with the land grants which had been appropriated by the Government in aid of the enterx^rise. After spending several days in the aboTe investigation, accompanied by Mr. AVillis Russell, Mr. P. B. Yanasse and others, we returned to New- York with a very high appre- ciation of the value and imx>ortance of the undertaking. During the following Spring, I was called apon, at my office in New- York, by Col. AVm. Rhodes, Director, and Mr. Dunn, Treasurer of the North Shore Railway Company, who informed me that they had been r(^quested by the Bora'd of Directors, to see me with reference to takinsr charge of the road as Chief Engineer ; and, if my engage- ments would not permit of my doing so, to ask me to recommend a competent Engineer for the position. Col. Rhodes called upon me once or twice afterwards, upon the same business. In the month of May 1871, I again visited Quebec in the interest of Dr. Durant, for the purpose of satisfying both him and myself, as to whether there was 8uffici3nt vitality in the entreprise to justify us in taking hold of it at that time ; after spending several days here, I informed the President, Col. Rhodes, Mr, Russell, and such others of the ! I ! i '' 1 1 i ;:i i: I '! ■ Hi- If i ■ 80 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. Directors as I happened to meet, that if they would come to New-York with proper data and authority, I thought they might close an arrangement with Dr. Durant, for constructing the road. On the 8th July, 1871, a Committee of Directors com- posed of the President, Hon. Jos. Cauchon, and Messrs. Irvine, Ilhodes, Hussell and Taschereau, Directors, visited New-York with the maps and profiles of the line ; and on the 13th, closed an arrangement with Dr. Du-rant, by which he was to furnish the moans required for making a new survey of the road. It was also arranged that I should come here and direct the surveys in behalf of the Railway Company. On the 20th July, Dr. Durant ii^formed me, in New-York, that he could not keep his engagement with the North Shore Railway Committee ; and advised me not to come to Canada. I started, however, on the same evening for Quebec, in accordance with my agreement, arriving here on Saturday, July 23, 1871. The President and Directors were very much disap- pointed and disheartened \\]}on my notifying them of Dr. Durant's decision ; but requested me to drive over the line, and inform them whether I could aid them in procuring the necessary means for constructing the road. Upon returning to Quebec, after examining the capabil- ities and resources of the country, I informed the Presi- dent and Directors, that if they could raise the means among themselves for a re-survey of the line, so that I could have reliable data upon which to base an estimate and report, I had no doubt that I could induce some of my friends, whom I knew to possess the necessary experience and capital, to undertake the construction of the road ; il IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 31 provided the Company would appropriate for that purpose, its land grant, the one million dollars of City subscrip- tion, and the one million dollars of Municipal subscriptions which the Directors felt quite sure of obtaining from th.i Counties and Parishes along the line. The members of ^he New- York Committee accordingly met in Quebec, on the 28th July, and agreed to raise live thousand dollars among themselves, towards defraying the expenses of the survey ; and also authorized me to open negotiations with responsible parties, for the construction of the road ; and also, to re-survey the line. Which action, as I have always regarded it, was the important and decisive step which finally resulted in placing the construction of the road beyond the reach of any ordinary contingency. After spending some days with the President, Dr. Ross and Mr. Russell, in visiting the counties w^est of Three Rivers, with a view of creating some enthusiasm about the road, T went to Chicago for the purpose of meeting son:e parties from Wisconsin, with whom I had already openet' a correspondence with reference to constructing the road. Failing to meet these parties according to appointment, I was induced, entirely through the instrumentality of my cousin, M. T. Seymour, who was then living in Chicago, to open a negotiation with Messrs. P. H. Smith, George' L. Dunlap and Samuel L. Keith, of Chicago ; which resulted in a proposition on their part, to construct and equip the road upon the basis above referred to ; which proposition was afterwards accepted by the Railway Company. _ ,__ _^:_ A complete survey was also made of the line, during the Summer and Fall of 1871, with a view, mainly, of indudng the Counties and Parishes along the line, to subscribe to ■if - i- '. M -I ■ i' \ , !■ ;. ' ' ! ll mmmmmm 82 , FEMARKS OF THE CHIEf' ENGINEER. the Stock of the Company; but owing to a defection in the County of Cham plain, the entire subscription failed ; and it was therefore thought for a time, that there was no further present hope for the road. During' the following February, however, I succeeded in bringing the parties together again in New York, for the purpose of renewing the negotiations upon the then dimi- nished basis of the Company's assets ; which negotiations terminated in a renewed agreement on the 13th .of Febru- ary ; and the signing of a final contract by the parties, at Quebec, on April 5, 1872. ' ' -■' It may also be proper to mention, in this connection, that during the negotiation of this contract, my salary as Chief Engineer, which had not been previously decided upon, became the subject of discussion between the Con- tractors, the Committee and myself; and it was then fully agreed and understood, that it was to be fixed at ten thousand dollars per annum, exclusive of travelling and incidental expenses, during the construction of the Road. It was very well known to the Contractors, that during the previous several years, I had been receiving compen- sation for my professional services, in the United States, quite equal to that amount per annum ; and they therefore expressed themselves as being quite pleased as well as surprised, that I was vdlling to sever my business connec- tions in the States, and to accept so moderate a salary, particularly when the important services which I had rendered to themselves, as well as to the Railway Com- pany, were taken into consideration. During the year 1872, the entire line was re-surveyed, and located with reference solely to obtaining the best Engineering route "of which the capabilities of the coun- ;/ ' fi^ IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 33 t;es, )re as lec- Lad to- led, est la- try would reasonably admit " as provided for in the con- tract. ,.;■.''..«.;: ,.A '-■ f '.■ -;,-^ .4 ■■•,'■",-;. ," r, ,■ ■ The work of construction was also commenced from the City of Quebec, westward, and several miles of grading completed. In the meantime I had prepared full detailed reports, respecting the probable cost and future earnings of the road ; and also, of the value of the Company's land grant, with a view of enabling the Contractors to place the securities of the Company upon the market at the proper time. Two of the Contractors, Messrs. Dunlap and Smith, sailed for Europe, on July 20, 1872, for the purpose of placing the«e securities upon the market ; and remained there until the summer of 1873. At their request, I left Quebec on the 28th February, 1873, with full Maps, Pro- files, Reports and Estimates of the line ; and joined them in Jjondon on the 13th of the following March. I remained in London until the 14th of May, and then returned to Quebec, for the purpose of obtaining an important modification of the contract, on the part of the Railway Company. I arrived here on the 25th May ; and on the 7th of June, cabled to the Contractors in London, that the Company had acceded to the modification of the Contract. The work of construction was not resumed by the Con- tractors in 1873, although some Engineering was done, at difterent points upon the line, with a view of improving the previous location. :.i.^„- On the 12th of January, 1874, the contract was trans- ferred to Hon. Thomas McG-reevy, of Quebec, for a very large bonus over and above past expenditures ; and it ii f I; i' ;• 1' 84 BGHABKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER H was distinctly understood and agreed at the time, that na change was to be made in the Engineering organization, in consequence of this transfer. ■* 1'.- :\fiiOU' ^jii'i" The transfer of the contract was afterwards duly recog" nized by the Railway Company ; and a supplemental con- tract was entered into with Mr. McGreevy, on the 21st of February 1873, in which was embodied the provisions of the " Railway Aid Act " ; which had, in the meantime, been enacted by the Provincial Government. . r * v/ ' After placing the administration of his contract in the hands of his brother, the lion. Thomas McGrreevy left for Europe, on the evening of the same day, 21st February ; and he returned to Quebec on 2nd of May following ; having, as he then informed me, completed all the financial arrange- ments necessary for a vigorous prosecution of the work. -> • The principal events which have occurred since the return of the Contractor, f^om Europe, and which may be regarded as having a bearing upon this case, are so fresh in the minds of most of the present Directors, that I deem it entirely unnecessary to refer to them at any length, in this com- munication. ■■'■' "**'■:•■' ■:•r''•*•■'~-^ " ■''?^'"- '■'^•■K'- ♦' '■-' ' ---^-j.^ v,,:,..^..,,^-., ,„. „.^ ^^^., ,...<■.,,,,-■■ > It will be sufficient to state, generally, that the work of construction has progressed very slowly and unsatisfac- torily, between Quebec and Three Rivers ; and that a con- stant warfare has been waged by the Contractor, against the Engineering Department, with a view of obtaining the control of the appointments, as well as of the salaries of the Engineering Staff ; and thus to enable him to execute the work in such a manner as might best promote his own interests. While, on the part of the Chief Engineer, an equally vigorous resistance has been made against these- efforts of the Contractor, with a view of securing a proper I* IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. SS •k execution of the work, in accordance with the provisions of the contract. This, to me most unpleasant controversy, has at times reached such a point, that I have been compelled to call upon the Board of Directors for protection ; and I am happy to state, that thus far they have endorsed and sustained my course in this matter, I am also equally happy in the belief, that up to the date of the President's Iteport to the Board, respecting his tour of inspection over the line with the Directors, in September last, my unremitted efforts to promote the best interests of the Company, in whatever position I may have been placed, were fully appreciated and approved by the Company ; and that, ai least up to that time, I was in the enjoyment of the full confidence of every Member of the . Board of Directors, as well as of the President himself. It would almost appear, that having reached this point in my defence with so clear and satisfactory a record, I might safely leave my case in the hands of the Directors ; but, most unfortunately, I am here met, face to face, with these most damaging charges and insinuations of the Pre- sident ; which if not refuted, or satisfactorily explained, must necessarily destroy my future usefulness to the Com- pany ; and at the same time cast a blot upon my character •and professional reputation, which are dearer to me than life itself ; and which it has been the work of a lifetime to .establish, l,., ;«'■;.. rii.. :f.,v.v.. -. .v.. . -■, /..,->- ^ ^-' <, It therefore becomes my duty to refer again to the writ- ten statements and field notes, upon which the President fleems to have rested his case. In doing this I must beg leave to submit, with all due -Xespect to the President, that even if his charges can ii I V i: ■i; P P 1 iJ_^, I'' S6 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER ,1 i 1 m all be shown to be based upon facts, they still appear to be so trivial and unimportant in their character particularly when compared with the magnitude of the results which he proposes to accomplish, that it seems almost like trifling with a very serious subject, to refer to them in a manner that would be considered at all appro- priate to the occasion. . >; In fact, T have come to regard them very much in the light with which the President would undoubtedly regard my own statements and field notes, in case I should, during his absence, make an inspection of his fruit farm, winter garden and piggery, in the management of all which he has been so deservedly successful ; and in all the details of which I am but a simple novice. ' ' The President however never seems to tire of exhibiting these statements and field notes of his, to all sorts of per- sons, at all sorts of times. I hear of his discussing their merits with Mr. R. H. McGrreevy ; I hear his Brother refer- ring to them triumphantly in public places ; and he even goes so far as to give the Government Engineer, upon whose report the Contractor depends for one third of his monthly estimates ; the benefit of their perusal as a guide to him in his inspection of the work, in behalf of the Government. As to whether this extraordinary course, on the part of the President, is entirely consistent with his position ; and also with the fact that the correspondence had previously been placed, by himself, in the hands of the Board of Directors ; and by them referred to the Excutive Com- mittee for examination and report, is a matter for the Board to consider, irrespective of any remarks that I might think proper to make upon the subject. r 1 ii IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 87 The President seems to have entirel y' lost sij^ht ofthe fact that the contract gives the Chief Engineer power, and makes it his duty " to reject or condemn, at any stage or condition of the work, all workmanship or mattMials which, in his opinion, may be imperfect or unsuitable," and that it also provides that : " the Contractor shall correct or replace the same to the entire satisfaction of the Engineer. " It will be observed however, that the President has not charged the Chief Enginer either with accepting,or including in the Contractor's estimates, any work or materials that are not in conformity with the provisions of the contract. The nearest approach that he has made to this charge, will be found in his letter of the 9th November, when he requests me to send into his office, " a specification of the works that the Company have paid for under the heading : ♦' Fences and Gates, cash value, |2,947.50. " The only requirement contained in the contract with reference to the above item, is the following : " A good and substantial fence, to be composed of durable material, must be constructed along the boundary line of the Company's lands, upon both sides of the Kailway, throughout its en- tire length ; and convenient gates must be inserted when- ever required for farm crossings, or other purposes." Believing that the character of the fencing which had been constructed by the Contractor, at the time of pre- paring and certifying to the estimate referred to by the President, did not come up to the requirements of the contract ; and being, as I supposed, fully sustained in this belief by the openly expressed opinion of the President himself, I included in that estimate only one half of the amount which he had constructed, and allowed him nothing for the materials which he had on hand. I mmmmmmmm 38 REMARKS OF THE CHIEK ENCIINEER For furth«^r information respecting the matter of fencing, I beg reKpectriilly to refer to a letter which I had the honor of addressing to the Secretary of the Company, upon that subject, under date of April 10, 1874 ; and also to tho report of the Resident Engineer u^wn the same subject, hereinbefore referred to. With reference to the very severe and sarcastic allusion contained in the President's letter of the 9th November, respecting his " finding the Company in possession of two lines of Railway on Residency No. 2, whilst the one upon which the works are built, is not the line we have paid for ; this ])lunder is ont; of the Engineers," &c., &c. ; I have to remaik, that this case was brought to my special notice in the month of August last, upon being referred to me by the Secretary, enclosing the complaint made by several of the inhabitants of St. Anne^ with reference to the loss of their timber, &c. At the monthly meeting of the Board, held in September, I made a verbal report upon the subject ; and also read to the Board a report which I had received from the Resident Engineer upon the same subject ; all of which I understood at the time to be perfectly satisfactory to the Board of Directors ; and I therefore consider it quite out of place to onle upon the subject again, except to state, what I am f'a -red to demonstrate, that the change in the line abov erred to, has resulted largely to the benefit of the Contractor, as well as to the Railway Company. With reference to the conclusion arrived at by the Pre- sident, in his letter of 9th November : " That the line has never been thoroughly inspected by its Chief Engineer, '* I have to state, that I have never yet made an inspection of the line that will at all compare with the one so recently ilHi 1 IN Ills OWN DEFENCE. 89 Jnade by tho PreNidont, oithor in the mnTiual Inbor involved in its execution, or in the results which it was evidently intended to accomplish. Either myself, or my Chief Assistant, hav« however, visited and inspected every portion of the work in progress several times during the past season ; and I have made it a special duty to visit personally, either once or twice during each month, every work of importance along the entire line, between Quebec and Three Rivers. If I have not made these inspections so oft«'n, and so thoroughly, as vhe President w^ould seen to indicate it was my duty to do, I beg to assure the Directors that it was not for the want of a desire to do so on my part ; because I have always regarded it as l>y far the most pleasing, as well as interesting branch of my professional duty, to supervise and watch the progress of work under con- struction ; and if other and more pressing duties would permit, I w^ould much prefer spending my entire time upon the line, than to spend it in any other manner con- nected with the various duties pertaining to my office. Inasmuch as many of the Directors, among whom I w^ll also include the President, are quite familiar wath the manner in which my time has been spent, during the past season, I will venture to leave this charge in their hands, without further comment. The President has labored very hard, in several of his lettersj to establish the fact, or at least to convey the impression, that I have discriminated against the present Contractor in the arrangement of the grades upon the line ; and he has made frequent reference to the " low grade on section five," as arranged for the Chicago Contracting Com- pany ; and compared it with other grades upon the line as 40 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER arranged for the present Contractor, in order to confirm this charge. It seems to me that this most cniel and calumnious charge, has been sufficiently refuted in my written explanations to the President, as well a in the reply of Mr. Lindsay, llesi- dent Engineer. But as the President, in his last letter of November 9th, seems to persist in requiring further explanations upon this particular subject, I can only appeal to iny Chief Assistant, and Residen': Engineers, as to whether I have not carefully and invariably stu- died the true interests of the present Contractor ; both as regards earth- works, and mechanical structures, in every case where it could be done with safety to the work ; and the Contractor himself, or even his Brother, R. H. McGreevy, must, if they have any regard for the truth, bear me witness, that I have never failed to consider any case of the kind, which has been brought to my notice ; and to decide as favorably to the interests of the Contractor, as the circumstances of the case would justify. With reference to the question of " farm and road crossings, cattle guards," &c., referred to in the President's letters and field notes, I have only to say that no finished and permanent cattle-guards, nor crossings, have yet been, constructed upon the line ; and consequently, the ones which he saw are probably designed only to serve a tem- porary purpose. "With reference to " spoil banks, " " brush," " st^imps, " &c., &c., which the President found scattered in such pro- fusion, and in all sorts of improper places along the line, I can only offer in explanation what has been so well said \ '. IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 41 by the Resident Engineers ; whicii is in substance, that the Contractor and his agents, have in many cases refused to cjmp]y with the instructions of the Engineers with reference to these items ; but that sufficient quantities have been retained from his Estimates to guarantee the proper performance of the work, before it is accepted and paid for by the Company, Having thus noticed, as I believe, all of the specifications referred lo in the President's charges, I desire to call attention to the important fact, that none of ihes(^ specifi- cations refer to work or materials, the imperfections in which, if any, may not be remedied at any time before the acceptance of the Railway by the Company ; and that no objections are made to more important works, the imper- fections in which it would be impossible, either to point out, or to remedy hereafter It should also be borne in mind, in this connection, that the contract being for a " lump sum, " as it is called, the Contractor cannot consistently bo required to perform any particular portion of his work, at any specified timCj pro- vided the entire work is completed in the manner and within the time specified in the contract ; and therefore, the Engineer can only endeavor to see, that when the work is done, it is properly done. It is also important to mention, in connection with this entire case, that the present Contractor, when he purchased the contract from the Chicago Contracting Company, "^yidently supposed that he was also purchasing the full control of the Egnineering Department, if not of the Rail- way Company itself In pursuance of th's idea, his E ^ e t t tiub - oontraot» w 4H<»h BVflB for f rtiipirifr ih rmifrh thf^ flTitir ft e ou rit v of Po rtnttuf ■ 42 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER ftiid nearly if not all of his later sub-contracts provide, that the work is to conform to the directions of his own Engi- neers, instead of those of the Railway Company ; and the work and material are in some cases provided to be of a very difierent character from those specified in his contract with the Railway Company. It IS also very well known, that Mr. R. H. McG-reevy has repeateadly told his Sub-Contraotors and foremen, not to pay any attention to the directions of my Assistants ; but to do the work as he directed ; otherwise he would not be responsible for the payment of their estimates. The result oi this has been that the siib-contractor has endeavored, in the first instance, to slight his work as, much as possible ; and when he found that this kind of work would not be accepted ; and that his prices would not cover the expenses of such work as was required by the Chief Engineer, and his Staff; he has, as a general rule, abandoned it in an unfinished state, such as the President happened to find it in, during his recent inspection of the line ; and in several instances these deluded sub-con- tractors, have finished their unfortunate career in the Jail ; while their unsuspecting creditors along the line, are sufi^ering most seriously from their defalcations. A further result of this idea of the principal Contractor has been, that he has absolutely refused to pay the mem- bers of the Engineering Staff, the rates that are allowed for similar services r.pon other Canadian Railways, now in progresc , and has never yielded his right, not only to dictate the appointments ; but to control the salaries and incidental expenses of all members of the staff*. In con sequence this mistaken economy, J have already lost the services of one of my most valuable Assistants ; and several '1 1 IN HIS OWN DEFENCE. 43 ; I of the others will undoubtedly leave, before the resumption of work next season. I have, as before stated, felt it to be my duty to resist this construction of the contract, by every justifiable means at my command ; and in doing so I have, as a matter of course, incurred the ill-will of the Contractor, and of every one connected with his Department; while, I am sorry to say, the Board of Directors, instead of coming promptly to the rescue, have seen fit to postpone decisive action from month to month, upon the ContracLor's yielding a reluctant consent to pay the monthly pay-rolls of the staff, at these reduced rates ; until finally, on the 2(3th ultimo, I received an official notice from the Secretary, informing me, by order of the President : " that it is the opinion of the Board that the Engineer in Chief possesses all the neces- sary powers for the control of the Engineering Department, and that he is held personally responsible for the due ad- ministration of his office." It will be observed however, that the above notice was not communicated to me by the President, until it suited his purpose to fasten upon the shoulders of the Engineer in Chief, the responsibility of all the bad work and mate- rials which he claims to have discovered ; as well as all the delinquencies of the Engineering Staff, and of the sub- contractors, upon the line. While the result of this state of things has been most uni^leasant to myself personally, it has also undoubtedly had the effect to impress upon the minds of the Resident and Assistant Engineers, that I had not acted in good faith towards them ; and also that their services and respon- bibilities were not duly appreciated, either by the Railway "Company, or by the Contractor. 44 UEMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER These Engineers were all employed with the distinct understanding, as exj^resscd in the Regulations, that their, rates of pay would be made to conform to the rates adopted upon other first class Railways in Canada ; but the Con- tractor has, as before stated, absolutely refused to pay those rates ; although he has very well known that the Engineering force employed upon the line under con- struction, has always been much smaller, comparatively speaking, than upon any other similarly situated work in Canada. As an evidence of this, I will state for the infor- mation of the Board, that upon the Northern Colonization Railway, the monthly expenses of the field staff are i$27.15 per mile ; while upon this road, when fully organized, they will be only $21.87| per month per mile. As to whether this state of things has had a tendency to strengthen the hands of the Chief Engineer, in his efiorts to elevate his staff' to that standard of efficiency, which the President seems to have been so greatly disappointed in not finding upon the line ; and for which, as stated in the above letter from the Secretary, "he is held personally responsible," I will leave for the Dirctors to determine. As an evidence that the Contractor still persists in his right to control the Engineering Department ; and also that the President of the Railway Company, notwithstanding the above notice, still recognizes that right, I beg leave to append hereto, for the information of the Committee and the Board of Directors, a correspondence which has irf- cently taken place between the Contractor, the Secretary by order of President, and myself, with reference to an entire disbandment of the Staff", on and after the 1st of December instant. Having, however, at this late day, received the above IN HIS OWN DEEENCE. 45 ^^e official notice, wliich I am bound to assume, reflects the views of the Board of Directors ; and havinjr, as will be seen from the correspondence above referred to, terminated all appointments in the Staff, afti^r the close of the present year ; I now, for the first time, feel that I shall have the fuil support of the Board of Directors, in making such a reorganization of the Staff, after that date, as the then con- dition of the work, and all the cirfumstances of the case may seem to justify ; and for which I shall then, if per- mitted to do so, be fully pn^pared to meet and assume all the responsibilities. My own " views respecting the pow»'r.s, duties, and re- sponsibilities of the Engineer in Chief "have already been presented to the Board of Directors, at some length ; and it will therefore be supererogatory for me to refer to them again, except to request, that before taking final action in the case now under consideration, the Board will be pleased to give these views such attention as the impor- tance of the subject ; and its intimate connection with the principles involved in the present case, may seem to demand. I have only to remark, in conclusion, that, from the facts already developed, 1 am thoroughly convinced that there is a perfect understanding between the President and the Contractor, as to the uitimaie result which both have determined to accomplish, by means of the present con- troversy, to wit : the breaking down of the present En- gineering organization upon the Road ; although, as before stated, they are each endeavoring to accomplish this result from directly opposite points of attack. And further, that when this result shall have been accomplished, they .1 I- j ■;» M" i>«» i 46 REMARKS OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER will unite h\ a recommendation to the Board, for a re-organi- zatiou of the Department, upon a basis that shall be more in accordance with the views of the President ; and with the interests of the Contractor. It is therefore upon this theory of the case, that I have proceeded with my defence ; but if the Directors shall find that these convictions have no real foundation in fact ; I trust that, not only the Board, but that the President and the Contractor will pardon much that I have said, that otherwise would very justly be regarded as entirely irre- levant to the case. ' If however, it shall be found, either upon the present investigation of the case, or from the results which may speedly follow, that my convictions are well founded ; it will then be full time for the Board of Directors, representing as they do, the respective interests of the Grovernment, the City of Quebec, and the holders of the Stock and Debentures of the Railway Company, to consider, whether the object jointly sought to be accom- plished by the President, who certainly can have no pecu- niary interest in the question ; and by tJie Contractor, who evidently has a very large pecuniary interest in the question, will, if accomplished, best subserve the interests o^ their Constituencies, in securing to them, and to the Country at large, a first-class Railivay ; such as is fully provided, and most liberally paid for, under the provisions of the present contract. Whatever may be the final action of the Board of Directors :ipon this, perhaps the most important question that ever ; IS, or ever will come before it, I beg to assure the Board, that I shall still entertain a feeling of perfect consciousness* vL having at least endeavored, to the best of my ability IN HIS OWN DEFENCE, 47 and judgment, to perform my whole duty to the Railway Company, to the Contractor and to the Public, during the entire time in which I have had the honor of holding the position which I now occupy. Since writing the foregoing, I have received informa- tion, from a source which I do not feel at liberty to dis- regard, to the effect, that the President really believes that I had a pecuniary intereet in the results of the original contract under the Chicago Contracting Company ; and that my apparent hostility to the present Contractor, grows out of the fact that he has thus far refused to recognize that interest ; ulso, that this belief, on the part of the President, is the real key to his present opposition to me. If this be so, while I appreciate to the fullest extent the justice of the President's want of confidence in me, if this belief is well founded; I can but regret excee- dingly that it did not suit his purpose to place me in a position to refute this most false and malicious accusation, instead of giving it that whispered and mysterious currency which is always so dangerously fatal to the victim of such a charge. As it is, however, I can only give the most unqualified denial of its truth ; and beg that the authority upon which the belief is based, may be placed before the Board of Directors at once, with a view to a most riffid and thorough investigation. All of which is most respecfully submitted, for the consideration of the Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors. SILAS SEYMOUR, Engineer in Chief. Dated Quebec, December, ], 1874. APPENDIX. Containing the correspondence referred to on page ^^ respecting the reduction of the Engineering Staff on \st December, 18'/^. SECRETARY TO THE CHTEF ENGINEER. OFFICE OF THE NORTiI SHORE RAILWAY COMPANY, Quoboe, 24th Novoiubor, 1874. GENERAL S. SRYMOUR, Chief Engineer, North Shore Railway. Sir, I have hoen instructed to trnnsniit yon herewith, the copy of a letter addressed to day by the North Shore Ilailway Contractor, to the President of the Company, and to request you will please report without delay on its contents. I have the honor to bo, Sir, Your most obedient servant, (Signed), A. ir. YERRET, Secretary, CONTRACTOR TO THE PRESIDENT. Quebec, 24 November, 1874. CoL. Wm. EIIODES, _,,__ President N. S. R. Co. Dear Sir, ^-.-,i...---.--.^x_^ ^ ^,.__x ..__., ._,_:_. :_...,^-_. As the w^orking season on the line of Railway has terminated, and I am desirous to be relievtd of all unnecessary expense, I wish you to see that all the Engineering Str.tf are notified that after Ist ;.r 2 APPENDIX. prox. tljoir norvicos will bu dinponHcd with, and thoroby .save a conwidcrublo outlay. Tho only exception 1 would make to this notification would he, one RcKideiit Engineer from Three llivern to (Quebec, one draughtsman at (^"^'j^'t;. If by any means they arc kept on after tho 1st ]>rox, 1 hope 1 will not bo called on for tho payment of their salaries. I remain yours, Very truly, (Signed), Rout. II. McGREEVY, For the Contractor. CHIEF ENGINEER TO THE SECRETARY. NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF. Quebec, November 25, 1874. Dear Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of tho 24th instant, enclosing a communication of the same date, addressed by tho Contractor to the President oi tho Company, in which tho President is requested as follows : '' to see that all tho Engineering Staft' are notified that after 1st Proximo, their services will bo dispensed with, and tlioroby save a considerable outlay. The only exception I would make to this notification would be one Resi- dent Engineer from Three Rivers to Quebec, one draughtsman at Quebec," &c. I am also requested to report without delay upon the contents of the Contractors letter. The only report which I can consistently make upon tho contents of this letter, at the present time, is that I consider it entirely out of place for tho Contractor to address such a letter to the President ; and further, that if this were not the case, it is entirely impracticable to comply with its requirements at the present timf>. I will state, however, for the information of the President, that under the j:legulations of the Engineer Department, a copy of which is on file, both in your office, and in that of the Contractor, " the services of any member of the Staff may bo dispensed with upon his being given one months notice." Notice was accordingly given, at tlie close of last month, by APPENDIX. 8 which the field SlafT. hotwcoii Qiiolx'O and Throe Rivers, will bo materially renchioed at the close of ihe ])reseiit moiitli. Upon beiii<^ informed by the President, wlio for some time j)ast 80omH to have become the chosen medium of the Contractor for com- municating with the l']n<^ineer r)e|>artmcnt, that the letter tiio Contractor is to be rei;;arded as sullicieuL notice of an entire sus- pension of all work upon, or in connection with the line between Quebec and Tliree Hivers, during any considerable length of time; and that he does not intend to procure the rii^ht of way, nor to com- mence the work of construction west of Three Rivers, durinj^ tlio early ])art of the reason of 1875 ; and also that he will not rccjuiro any monthly or progress estimates dui'ing the coming Winter, I will at once give the requisite notice to the remaining members of the Engineering Slatf, so as to bo prepared, at the close of the coming month, and the present year, to reduce the Statl' to the lowest limits to which the interests of the Railway ('ompany, and the then circumstances of the case will reasonabl\- admit. In this connection, I beg leave to state further, tliat having received ofiicial notice from 30U, under instructions from the President, " that it is the opinion of the Board that the iMigineer in Chief jiossesses all the necessary ])0\vers for the control of the Engineering Department ; and that ho is hehl personally respon- sible for the due administration of his Office, " 1 Khali in the future, as I have in the ])ast, consider it to be quite as much in the lino of my dut}^ to meet the just expectations of the Board of Directors, as well as of the Contractor, with reference to the most economical organization of the Staff of which the circumstances will admit, during the ditVerent stages of the work in progress, as it is to use my best endeavors to see that the Itoad is constructed by the Contractor in accordance with the true spirit and meaning of the contract ; and also, that I feel quite prepared to meet all the responsibilities connected with both branches of my duty, to the full satisfaction of tho Board of Directors; provided always, that I am left free to use my own desinterested judgment and discretioa with reference to all matters connected with the '* due adminis- tration of my office, "for which I am to be held "personally responsible. I have the honor to remain, Mr. Secretary', Your Obedient Servcnt, (Signed), S. SEYMOUR, Engineer in Chief A. H. YERRET, Esq., Secretary North Shore Railway Co., "v . -, vc : Quebec, APrENDIX. CHIEF ENGINEER TO THE SECRfcTART. I I r' N01?Tn SlIOllE I^\TLWAY. OFFICE OP THE EN«»INEEU IN CHIEF. Quobec, Novombor 27th., 1874. Dear Sir, licferrin*^ to my loiter to you of Ibo 25!h instnnt, rcHpceting the reduction ol'lbi! Kn/^ineeriiig SlafV, to which no response lias as yet Iteeii received from the rresicksnt ; and ti»;diiig that tho inonthly notice ol'disehar;L;e re(jiiired by the JJeguhitioris, muHt bo forvvaided to the l^esich-nt I'^n^inccrs to-day, in order to render it fully effective on the IHst ])»'cember next ; 1 lie^ to infoi'm you that 1 have this ihiy loi-\varded to Alcssrs. IJiidsay and Jlamlin, Kesident Iviginoers, each a communication, of which the enclosed is u copy. A ; iniihir notice was sent to Mr. Chandler, Resident Engineer at Montreal, several tlays since. llo])ini;- that the course which I have taken in this matter, will moot with the upi)roval of the I'resident and tho Contractor. I have tho honor to remain, Mr. Sec re tar}'. Your very truly, ' (Signed), S. SEYMOUE, Engineer in Chief. A. II. VEIliJET, Esq., Secretary North Shore Kail way Co., Quebec. CHIEF ENQINEER TO THE RESIDENT ENGINEERS. Is^ORTir SHORE RAILWAY. ^^ - OFFICE OF THE ENGINE .JR IN CHIEF. Quebec, November 27, 1874. Dear Sir, It becomes my duty to inform you, that it has pleased the President of the Railway Company to instruct tho Secretary, to transmit to the Chief Engineer, a cop}' of a letter, addressed on the 24th instant, by the North Shore Railway Contractor, to tho President of tho Company, from which the following is an extract : *' I wish you to sec that all the Engineering Staff aro notified that after 1st prox, their services will bo dispensed with. " APPENDIX. Ffoliii^ jm t'HiiiOKt dcKiio lo nuel tlio just <'X|)0(lJiti()ns ol'lhe IJiiihviiv ('j)any, Jiml of;lie C'cJiiliactoi, i>y rt'iluciri^ flic cxpi'ii- sos of tlio Sliill {o its l(l^v<.'^t jUJK ticiililc liniiis during' tin- ((iiniiig winter inonllis, it liicdiiu'h in}' Iu'IIht duty to ^ivo you notiii', uh re(|uii«.'d liy the JJigiihitioiiK, tluit aitei" tlio clo.-e ot the inoiith ol' December next, y< ur i*er\ icch. iiixler your j>rcheiit iij)|)ointnu nt, will tcriuinnlc ; and I ■will tliaid< you to extend this notice in nro])er Ibrni, to every ])er>on eonnecled with the fStafl U]jon the licsideney under your charge. In giving the ahove notice at the |»re.'-eiit time, howevei", I reserve the right to retain in the f-ervice of tlie Comjjany, after the elohe ol" j'eeeml.e •, such incmlrrs of the ])i'csent Statf, as lljc then condition of the vvork, and the cireumstances of tho eano may seem to recjuire. In view of the present partial suspension of woric upon the liiio, on account of the inclemency of the weather; and ol' the })iohabi- lity that much of tho work will remain in a wtato of suHj)en80 during the next four or five months ; and also in view of tlie fact, that the estimate for tlie ]>res( iit month, may he the last one that you may bo called ujion to make of the vvork done and of materials delivered, and ready for ilelivery upon your Jicsidency ; it becomes my further tluty to call your particular attention to the im])or- tance of having every item composing this estimate, measured and computed with tho greatest precision and accuracy; also, that the quantities returned by you of work done, materials delivered, &c., should embrace only such as come fully uj) to the requirements of tlie contract and specifications ; and also, ihat the estimate of materials delivered and re^dy for delivery, should embrace only such as have actually been |)aid for by, and are now in possession of the principal Contractor, or hi« autliorized agcTils, to such an extent, that upon being included in the monthly or jirogress estimates pi-epared in this office, and paid by the EaiUvay Coin- |)any, they will be quite sure of being eventually piaced in the vvork for which they were designed. In cases of doubt in relation to any of the foregoing points, you will please enter the (luestionablo items in your suj)plemental estimate, with full explanatory remarks; so that the question may be decided here, before the next progress estimate is certified bj^ the Ctiief Engineer, and laid before the Board of Directors. Your very truly, : . __._^^,__- (Signed), S. SEYMOUR, - ' ' ' Engineer in Chief. To JOHN LINDSAY & L. B. HAMLIN, Resident Engineers, North Shore Railway.