IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 m 111^ 1^ IIIIM m I.I 12.2 2.0 1.25 1-4 111.6 t" /y w <9»/ Al Vi /. W d #m. '/ s Photographic Sciences Corporation ^■: -b ^ \ # \\ ^\^ 6^ ^V^ % V ^^%<^ ## 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ^^- L

. . ■,". ., jf- — - -• . ■ " FA CI f j m IIL If "AI 1 1 ilOJll i /' BRITISH COLUMBIA. ;\ >.;■ JV. / ,:,;^ -■ /'■--I'/JW';' 7 J '.:■■■ i '-v, ' ir".- ,.;>.v,-'V'.; r: /r> '^: "'V V .J r'-^r'. '• , '^ ^s. ••■ -. ' .-'^'>-''- \' i ^)' ?■,•'.'■ :i"^ -^I^- .V ..■ ; . \ :-?\ ■ i;* Jo I III' Ifo'i. Sri/if/ur.-t Hill/ Ml mill rs of tin' I/niisr i>f Cniiiinniis : — As tlic iiii|i()rt:ni( (jiicstioii of Piu-ilic Itiiilway lumtc in I'.iiiisli C()liiiiil)ia is likely tn uc(mi|i\- tli<( ;ittentie|'ai(iueiit on tjie siiWject. 'I he mail '■'^ dexoid of 'l'o|.ouraphy aiiu; r.ird Inlet, provided it was iu;t thought advisahhi to make furtluM' suiacvs of a northern line through the Peace River ( 'ouuti-v to Port Sim|ison ; and Mr. Fleming after iwii'wiiig the two Routes, comes to this cou- ch ision : — •'UiKMi rnrcfully vicwiiiu- tlu'ciiniiu^ciuii fiuturcs^if cacli route, raid \vci,:;ln'ii;^' ev(ay connncrciiil cousicii ration. 1 jiiii I'orerd to tlit- roiulir-ioii that, it tli'si alouc arc to LidvtTii ;i stluctioii. if a dirisioii camiot Ik- postjiuLcd until tiutlK r e.xaini- nations be made, if the constnictiou of the Railway iinist be at onee proccedud with, the line to Vaia oiiver Isliind should, for tin pvcsent, by rcjeet'd. and that, the (lovenimetit should select tli(j routo by tlu' Uivfis Tlionip.'^on and Fiaser to Bunard hdct." In accordance witli this lecouimendiition, made after eight years of survey, conducted hy most aide engineers, Mt a cost, in the aggregate, of neatly three millions of dollais, I am informed that the lute Govern- ment, liy Order in Council, decided to adoj^t the Praser River Route, toiniiiiiitin^' at r.uiTaid Tiilct, and c-allcil for tomlcrs foru socUoii 1 --Tj niilcK ill IciiLjtli, from Yale to S.ivaiia F(!riy. ] i)rcsiiiiic, after iiiaturc (joiisi.lfratioii, llicv found that tin' cost of siirvc.vstliat woald »><• ic(|uin'd to jdacc tin' Nortlicni Iloutciu aiiositioii to iiiak(! a coiniMrisoii of distance, f^radcs, and cost wLtii tlin Fraser River Route, wouM lie so euorniMus, and the chances of tind.n<,' a practicabU" line so remote , that it was tliou,>fht unadvisatih? to prosecute tlieni, aUliouuh Mr. Fu-niinLT slated in his ivport : — " If, tlicrrfi'iv. lliis unrtlirni line is In \,v scrimisly roii^idcnMl, it is indispcM- Siiblc Hat a tliornii-lisnrv.'V 1m' iiiiulc of it. Witli onr |ncseiit khowicd-v. it will l)cnii\\i-f toii(l(.|it it as the louie fur the Uailwiiy and to dclniiiiiic on procfcdiiij,' witlicniistnictinii, williout (li.taMnii-- full and iriii|.lclr infmiiiatioii ici^ardint;- it.. Mv own opinion is in favor of ^aiidn;; iidnitantion, and if the (iovi rniM.'iit OidortiiJM this view, I l>.r Imvc to siiu-c t that dining; the prcs -nt yciira eonliini- Ons exiiioration ln' niiid.' from I'orl Simpson, custwanis, to a point of junction witli the loLiited line in tli.' neiKld.orhood of Lake \Vinne|)e-oosis." My own impression is tliut the Government a(K)pteil a wise course in aliandoninijfiuther survtsys in that northern country, and in refusing; to entertain the advice of Mr. Marcus Smitli to commence woik on a Route, inforiUHtion altout which was so meagre, and whicli led to a term nus, th(^ disadvantage^ of which, as against Hurrard Tnh't, in- creased when connected with a i)oint nearly 300 miles north ot Yellow Head Pass. From explorations! Iiave myself made in the cou' try west of the Bocky Mountains for the Local Government of British Columhia, and tJirough whicli a line to reach Fort Simpson must ])a.ss, I am convinced that mnny seasons must lie spent in surveys before an inteilig"nt com- parison can he made with other routes, and, I btslicve, with a very poor chance of ultimately obtaining a practicable line. The arjiuments in favor of the adoi)tion of the Fraser River Route, with Burrard Inlet as the terniiiuis, and which led to a thorough location survey of that line being made, have turned out to be unniis takably correct, as bhe facts and figures in the report of Mr. Sandford Fleming of 187iS jirove. The [ilans and jjrofiles shew a saving in distance of 300 miles over the Bute Inlet Route ; gi'udes greatly superior, as will be seen by referrin'T to the map, two summits on the Bute Inlet Route having to be crossed at an altitude of 3,505 ft. and 3,010 ft., Ijoth within a few feet as high as the Rocky Mountain sunnnio ; the amount of , as compared v^'ith l>nte Inlet Itoiite, is so groat tint it is estIn»atiMl tiiab a (le.lnetion of at h-ast 12 per (-(Mit. shonhl he made on the cost of all. "Works on this lloute liclow foiination l"\el. I*y no other ronte ejin the (Janadian Pacific Raihvay he expected to draw tralHc from Piij^et tSo\md, Washington, or Oregon Territ iry, or to divide with (Jalifarniu. the Toiuists' travel, which is a large sonrce of revenne to the Am-.M-ican lines. In reference to the Marhor of Bnrrard Inlet, at which the line, as adopted hy th«f late Government, terminates, tlwi'e appears to l)e a gi'eat n)isconception in some (juarters as to its extent and capahilities, and althoniih the pr('fe ence has been given to it l>y a larger majority of the l>est naval anthorities, I see, in some newspipers, that K'lfpiimalt is referred to as the best Harl)or on the coast north of San Francisco. I have conseqnently prepared a sketch shewing- the relative sizes of Escpiimalt and Bnrrai'd Inlet Harhoi-s. I5y refening to th(i map it will he seen that 15ui-rai'd [i.let is, in superficial ai-ea, twenty-five times the size of Ksipiim alt, with g od anchoi-age almost all t>vM' it, and could give a dockage of a.ho\it fifteen miles at a light cost, by bringing the line of Ilailwiy along tht; south shiae of the Inlet from Port Moody to Coal Harbor ; in fact if we are ever to have a terminus on our coast 'hat is to command a comaierce such a> we have a rig ir to expect, it ca.unot be dune at Es(iuimalt, /or there in no room. Some objections have also been made fo the navigation to reach Burrard Inlet and Pmte Iidet, and Mr. Marcus Smith states in his repott ot las year: " A list is before me of over sixty marine disasters that have occurred in these waters within a few years." The following is an extract on the (juestiou of the navigation to Burrard Inlet sent me by Mr. Hugh Nelson, formeidy M.P. for New Westminster, one of the members of the Moody Milling Co., Burraril Iidet. A ])crnsal of it will shew that the navigation to that Inlet will compare favoi'ably with any port in the world. Mr. Nrlsoii sIiouM 111' ;i yoixl mil liorily on lliis siiUjcct, liaviiiij '■(•sided al l>uiiiiid liil>'l i'ov tlir lust, liftcni ycais, and 'k-imi dii'ectly iiitcicstcd ill its sliijiping ; ModDYviM.i:. FKnuiiAitY "til, IST'.i. Mv Dkaii I»i;\viinky— I am just in inciiit d' y;piii> of llic 8tli ,)iinimry, iiiid nm Mirry ti) suy, in ic|(ly, tiiat I iiiii iiiiiiMf Id s( ml ynii full list of vcssiU tlin' liavo ■visited rairniril Inlet (or car^icifs of iiimlici- tor forcijiti ports. I liiivr tried a inimlier of times to ;;ct I lie vessels sent away liv the |l:istiii;;s .Mill ('(P., anil tliey have either not ke|)t ii r. cdrd or are not imlined to he coniiiimiii alive, aiel until the time of ClarUson'K ii|i|Miiiiiinenl to the ( 'ii>tonis here, no record was kept liv this department. I ilo. iiowever. .send ymi a li.>t of all the vessels that Irivo visited our own mill up to the present ilate. with their reejstereil tonnage. For IIk' tirst few years the toiiiia.ee is ( losely apprtiximale. a.^ we only kept ji list of tlio names of the" vessels and the aiiioinil oi IiiiiiIm r inkm hy them, and as there wero only a few vessels prior to ISCS, I imliide. in the niiinlier and toiiiiMp' tor tin. t year, not only what jiropeily helonus to it, Imt also tho.se, of the preeedine threu VI ars : — 1808... isd'.t 1870 . . . 3(5 ... 14 ... 1 y ... 17 ... 2:-! ... 18 22 ... 29 25 ;{ V esscls. . . . .4 21,(1(11) |.",.Oni) . . . . lO.IMIO Kc f,ris eied u u (; A i. (i Tons. ]87l ]s72 .i 12.11(10 „ II.IIOO 1873 ,^ It! 0(10 1874 .. 1. i:i .")0(i 1870 . .( 1 ."i.lIdO 187G (( 1 7 (i(M) 1877. . . . 1. IP .".0(1 JS78 187!). . . . " IP. 1155 :!, 103 25(1 171.718 lli'ir. Tons. Ships. ^lakine in all 250 .sliips wit h an average re.eistered totiiiafre of ahout 087 tons . Ill aiidition to these, there have lieeii. of coiirs ■. a larjie imniber of coastiiia .seliooners. steamers, &e., &e. Out ot this lar^'-e niimlier of ships the only ve.ssid that was lost in I'.ritish Coliimhia waters was the hanpir •■ Itosalia." in ISOS. and slu- was cast adrift while in tow of the steamer •• Isahei,'' without time hiiviiiL; lieeii f^iveii her to set a sail, and was coiiseipietitly hlowii ashore on Di.seovery Island. The only vessel lost on voyatre to the mill, in British ("olumhia waters, was the haripie '• Liinaldlo,' in Royal Roads, otf Ksiiiiimalt llarhor, Mown a'^horc from her aehora.ui' almost at the same spot as the Iludsons Bay liaKpie " Lady J.amson '' went asl'oie. after heinu wrecked on Scrape's Rocks, sit entrance to Ksqiiinialt Jlarhor. 'J'he only otln r vissel leaving; unv mill that received daniaees iieeessitatinji^ the f|ischar;ie of .my portion of her eavico was the barque '= Ruhy." that al.so went a-^hore in Royal Roads, and had to be taken into Ksipii- inalt. a })ortion of her car;^o disdiarged, and receive repairs. Not a sini^le vessel of any tonnaye 'ver rec ei vcd damaire either cominu: in thronj^h the narrows or f^oinj^ont, necessitating repaiisto theexteiit of one hundred dollars, and yet these narrows are represented as the,i::reat biii au Ti, , -m Imd'or. 1 tliiiik siich u .slul-iiiciil (i-i til"' )'(in';;<'iii^^ will inovc tiir iiiilriiflif'ilTV-< ■'I' tiii« sIuimIi T. ' (Sinned) II. NKI-SON. AiK.tlici' iKlviiiitu.ye t(t tlic FiKsci- Koiitf is tliMt it womM 1m' MU illl mil I'dulc, and ii,'uiiinild n|» :i port and virtually lalosition of Holmes' Ifarhoi' can he seen, and it will he evident that without a canal cut throUj,di a neck of land, the dista ici; from the ocean to reach it wdl not be niui'h less than to ibi/rard Inlet, hut 1 hav(! the best authority for stating that a canal is impracticable, and was never seriously contemplated by any one, anil 1 fear our Actiui,' Engineer-in Chief must have b"eu hoaxed by .some interested individual, as he apjiears to attiich muJi importance to it. Some enter[)rising Americans did, at three ditleient points on Puget Sound, lay olf bogus town sites, and endeavored to sell lots at what they oalh^l the Northern Pacific Terminus. One was laid off at f lolmijs' Harbor, and to the uninformed, the scheme of cutting a canal looked very feasible on the map, but the whole thing was nothing but a swintlling operation, got up foi' the purpose of taking in the public. 6 I mvsclf woiil'l iiiit (ilijccf t() sec ;i comiiM'tiiiii iiimlc witli the r.iil- W'iiy .systrin of WiiHliiiiijtoii iiiid Oi'i^ifoM 'I ci I'itnrit'H. Tlic inifciv Iimh always Imcii on iliis side of tlic I >iiiiiiiii(iii iIimI tlinc wmiM Im' n want of IimmI tiiillic (»ii llic I'acitic Hailway. Tliis (•((imcitiDii wmiiM i;if itly assist, IIS ill tliat |Kirti(ular, \\>\- [ coiitt'inl tliat tlic ail\aiitat,'<'s of oiir route Would lii' siuli as to coniiiiaiid a lai<,'t' aiiHuiiit of tli( tiMiiscoiiti- iiciilal tiallic of tlic ailjoiiiiiii; tcnitorifs of the I'liitiMl States, excn if tlie Nortiieni Pueitic was eoiistnieted. I>iit tli('r(* are very strou;; reasons for licjicviiiir tliat the Norllirrn Pucifio will not lie ex^ ided in a coiitiinioiis line to tlie I'acitic. Tlio lijirrenncHs of the coiinti-y west of rhe point to which the last contract is let, the ditliculties of tin; work as it a|»|>roa(,'lies the Pacific, the hi^li summits to be crossed. necesHitatiiii^ very heavy ijrades, the coiisti-iiction of ii lim^ from ()jj;den to Porthind, on the t'olnn)l>ia, l»y the I'nioii Pacific, which will secur(! the transcontinental tiallic that the N'ortlu'rii Pacific expected to get, are among a few of the ohstacles in its way. I'here are other aigiinients which should not We overlooked in favour of our line — Customs IJegulations, Bonding Fees, and other com- plications cons<'(juent on passing Mirough a foreign counti-y — and the lust and not least, the advantage we have in distance on our line, it being 100 miles in ou»' favour Irom the Pacitic to Like iSuperioi. This alone slnadd give us almost a monopoly of the tratlic. 2nd. The military asj)ect. This oitjt^ctioii lieed" hut a ])assing remark. Naval and military authorities are ahnost unanintous in consid'^ring it of slight impoitauce, for they con'^cMid that '' il»e coii'.try that holds naval superiority in thf Straits of Fuca will control the commerce." There can be no doubt about that ; and unless we have it we can no more tlo business at Esc^uiinalt than we c:'n at Burrard Inlet. Since writing tli2 above, I have noticed in the New Westminster P'/ciJic Herald a "ery able article on this suliject, and api)eni nil lli«' InlatnT contiilMitors to lite »liisciiHsiuii, viz., tliiit Ks«|iiiiiialt imis/ l.c tlir tfiinimis. in ..nl.T. as (lie)? nr-iiif, to .uivf tli<' Caiiadi.in Paritir a fliaiac to cuiiiiK'tf suiCfSHt'uUy witli AiiM'iicaii tiaiiH-ohtim'iital lines. N«tw, w.- think it. mav Itf statcil as a |iiiP|>osiiiun vs lii»h will ailiiiit. of no tlis|aitc. that llir s/,i>r/rst lin<>, in tli..,r uoali<'an mile? I'arlh.T; 111. if ihe liiie were canicil tlii.-iinh \<\ riiie Uiver Pass, fully 'Jno niilivs jnoic than hv wiiv of r.iiniud Inlet. , ■ i i Jt is rMiKiit that cv- n wm- the wi.lc ( haiuielsat tin' \alihs Islamls l.ri advantage in liiiic or enst to an oidniarv tiavcllcf. It passcii-t is fnaii K-(|niiiiali <<.iihl mmiiit no h.ialit from til.' < "xt(•ll^ilal of the Hull way to that plaei , it is ceitaiii that there woiilil he a loss sustained by carrying freiffht \>y tin; longer miite. This, coining from tlio Chief Knij;iiH'er, must he acknowledi^'ed to bu exceed iiiifly stroiiir testiiUwiiV in tavur of the Fraser Uotitt', in the matter of distance, proviiijf. as it docs, that Uy that route, pa,sseiiyers and friM.uht could most speedily perform the Journey. Now, considering the (|nestioii of cost, we turn again to the same report, and iind this : — 'J'he cost of exteiidiiiir tlie Railway to Ksi|iiiiiiait wtnihl t-really exceed that oftakin- it to Biniaid Inlet; there are no .siillieieiit data to form a proper isli- niate of thecost. But even by leaviu^^ a ^ap lear Valdes Islands of lifteen miles, and siilistittitiiis; a ferry for the enormoiisly costly hridjiinu at that locality, the excess w.iiild i.rohahly reach ;?ir).nno,0(iO or S'-'a.nO'i.dOO. 'J"he < psI of niaiii- teiiaiice woiilil he i;reat in proiKation, and the annual loss-es on working the «xtra milcayu would, under the iiectiliar circumstances, he serious. Turning now to Mr. II. J. Camhie's carefully studies! report, we find the cost of building the line to English Bay, llurrard Inlet^ estimated at .«;32,000,0()(), while the cost of tiie line to Estpiimalt i» set down at !i:;r)L',(K)0,C)t)0, icithont wlnit Mr. Fleming calls the " enor- mously costly bridging" of the Straits. We will, therefore, be well within the mark in estimating the cost of an all rail line to Esquimalt 8 (jukI ih» otlicr would li<> w'0(),(»()() a ycai', for interest and maiiitenanee ; and foi- what? In order (hat ]>assengers and freit^ht may have to travel loO or 200 miles iarther, and arrive at theii- d»'stinatiou one or two days later I And, as Mr, (-'amWif justly observes, rates for through trallic will l)e !:,'overned by eomitetin^ lines, and not liy mileaiL; country, for which purposes the Ftaser Koute is admittedly iiiKMpial'ed — W(> lind an enormous balance (»f advantages in favor of the line terminating at IJuriard Iidet. Into what is ealhnl the military aspect (A' the ((uestion,4iwe have not time to enter now. It can easily \>v. shown, howcvtir, tliat even her<; the Fraser lioute wdl compare w(dl with its rival. Suttiee it, j'or tlu.' jn-esent. to say tliat we have the authority of (ient^ral Sir Sellyy Smythe for trt^iting the nnlitary objections to th<^ Fraser Houte lightly : and, evtui if it wei-e othcrwis((, we liave the authority of a thousand years of gloi'ijus nnnnoi'liis for saying that tlu' IJritish Lion is little lilcly lo go sktdking up among north(M-n iceburgs, with his tail between his legs, scared by the shadowy possibility of futi.ro .ianger. '' ABLi: OK DisTAN('i:s from Summit of llocky Mountains to Pacitic Ocean Harbors. Comparative cost. Fiascr Itivcr iloutc to Port .Moody, Hiirrard Inlet, 4S1> niilos $31,000,000 « Jv\trii(li;l to t'ciul Hailior 501 '< Bate Inliit Route to J'^Miuimult, inchuiiiij,' 15 miles iVny irom l''n;dciii,k \iiii to Otter (Juvc 71)5 '' o'i.OOO.OOO > ;?, T :f ■• '-i>^ ■vV vgi<^r-(a^^i.:.,^yrs. V *-/^; F^' v-.ly"'. '-:'":■ f.:.': >. ■ '*\ : h ■' k ' i-'ls i""