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SU PPLE? lie Railway Contact. The Government Bar- gain Unfolded. Great Speech of Slr Charles Tupper. Complete Vindication of i hiss Policy; A PROFITABLE ARRANGEMENT rot ml COUNTRY. $26 000,? 00 CHEAPER THIN THE MACKENZIE SCHEME. The Past History of the En- terprlee. ITS PROMISES FOR THE FUTURBl every gentleman on the other side of the House ; therefore I think I may say the policy of Parliament, not the policy of any one party, was distincly affirmed in the reso- lutions placed upon the journal in 1871. Well, sir, in 1872 it became necessary to state in distinct terms what aid the Government proposed under the authority of that resolu- tion to offer for the construction of the rail- way. The journals of 1872 will show that Parliament, by a deliberate vote and by a very large majority, placed at the service of the Government $30,000,000 in money and 50,000,000 acres of land for the construction of the main line, and an additional amount of 20,000 acres of land per mile for the Pem- bina Branch of 85 miles, and of 25,000 acres of land per mile for the Nepigon branch of that line. Sir, I may remind the House that it was expected, as may possibly prove to be the case yet, that the line of the Canada Pacific Railway from Nipissing west- ward wonld run to the north of Lake Nepigon, and provision was therefore made for a branch by a vote of 25,000 acres of land per mile for 120 miles, to secure connection between Lake Superior and the main line. How, sir, these terms became the subject or very considerable discussion in this House and out of it, and the Gov- ernment having been sustained by a majority placing at their disposal that amount of money and that amount of land to secure the construction of the Canada Pacific Railway, and the term of Parliament having expired, Parliament was dissolved and the country appealed to, and, sir, after that ques- tion was placed before the country a very sufficient working majority was returned to lsupport the Government, and confirm the Sir Cass. Torres. moved the House into committee of supply upon the railway reso- lutions. ' Hon. Mr. BLAKE thought the Ministerial statement should be made before the House and not in committee. Sir CHAS. Turpsu said that if there was room for fuller discussion, it would be had when in committee. The Houso then resolved itself into com- millcc, Mr. Kirkpatrick in the, chair. Sir Cues. Torresâ€"Mr. ‘Chairman,â€"It affords me very much pleasure to rise for the ‘purpose of submitting a motion to this House in ,relation to the most important question that has ever engaged the attention of this Parliament, a mo ion which submits for the pproval of this ouse the means by .Which the great national workâ€"411a Canada EPacific midwayâ€"+3119“ be completed and ‘cporated hereaflfsr iii a, Way thpt has more .thnn once oblaih‘l the approval of this illogise, and the sanction of the people of this country, and uan terms more favorable than on y that have ever previously been ofi'eredto the House. I shpll be obliged, Mr: Chairman, to ask the indulgcjnce of the House while at some length I flaeebefore it the grounds upon which I, affirm tight this resolution em- bodies the policy of the Parliament of Canadn, as expressed more than one occa- sion, and thfit these resolutions present terms for the consideration of this Parâ€" liument for the completion of this work, more favorable than any previOusly sub- millcd; and, sir, I have the less hosi- tation in asking the indulgence of the Home, because I ask it mainly for the pur- pose ofropeating to the House statements ,mz‘rlo by gentlemen of much greater ability thin myself, and occupying positions in this .chsc and country 15600116 to no other. But ifor what took place here yesterday I would have felt warranted in expressing the epi- nion that the resolutions, grave and impor- tant as. they are, would receive the unani- ‘mous consent of this Parliament. Hon. Mr. BLAKEâ€"Hear, hear. Sir CHARLES Turnsâ€"I would, I say, have been warranted in arriving at that conclu- sion but for the very significent indications that were made from the other Side of the House, because these resolutions only ask hon. gentlemen on both sides of the House to alilrm a position to which they have again and again, as public men, committed themâ€" selves. THE EARLY POLICY 0' “I GOVERNMEN} I need not remind the Hone that when my Right Hon. friend the leader of the ‘Government occupied in 1871 the sameposi- ,tion which he now occupies, the policy of constructing a great line of Canadian Pacific railway, that would connect the two great :oceans, which form the eastern and western lboundaries of the Dominion of Canada, re- ,ceived the approval of this House; not only ,diil the policy of accomplishing that great gyverk receive the endorsetlon of a large ma- 1réority lg the Parliament of this country, but _;1 specific terms the means by which that york should be accomplished were embodied “' the form of a rose utlon and submitted in the consideration 1' E , ament. It was eyed by the late lament, Sir George Ger- ier, “ That the railway Iliad to in the ad- :re s to Her 'sty coming a... union ' it flish Coluén is with adopted by u er“ nose on sturday . el A rllin t should‘jjc constructed all“ 96:“: p v33 enterpri snd'not by the no 1‘ ‘ um. egg-.1, nigh that the public to given to secure t at undertaking should consist of pch liberal grants or land and such subsidy __ money or other aid not 11 pruning .5; the industry and resources 01 ' a Danni. 1” the Parliamept of M ‘ here- d ‘ ermine.” \ J p. r. BLAKEâ€"‘That VIth fist brought down. bir Cass. Turnsâ€"’1'th ecolutien, and it was nore strdn‘ 1y that the w Evolve an norms in the ' " lug rate of taxolion. I was undertlse in session that the resolution I had in ' ban was the or- g) nal motion as oanled. e hon. gentleman fem. agree with me that it embodies the [mode in which the road should be construct- ,fied. Now, sir, although hon. gentlemen in ,the House, __a1though the two great parties re- ;presented in this House my entertain difâ€" ferences of opinion as to the construction of ,the railWay, and the means that may be Eadequate to its accomplishment, the lHouse was unaulmqps in that, be- cause hon. gentlemen then representing the Opposition in this House supported a reso- ; gtion introduced as an amendment to ours ,_~ hief‘Justice Dorion, declaring that the road ,should be constructed 1n no other way, add- :mg to the resolution the words “ and not I otherwise,” the object of which was to make ‘ ,it impossible for any Government to secure ,the construction of the road in any other1 ,mode than through the agency of a private i Pompany aided by a grant oflands and money. l ‘And while the resolution moved by Sir George l ,Cartier, declaring that the work should be i constructed in that way, received the support of every gentleman on this side ofthe House, l the still stronger affirmation moved by Mr. % Dorion, that the work should he done in no ~ "harry, received, I bellow, the support of ‘r’hon. gentleman will see l policy which the House had adopted, both as to the mode in which the work we to be constructed, and as to the public money and public lands which the Government were anâ€" thorized to use for the purpose of securing the construction of this work. Well, sir, under the authority of this House, in 1872, and under the authority - of the people ' of this country, confirming what the House had done, the Gov- ernment entered into a contract with a num- ber of gentlemen who subsequently selected Sir Hugh Allan as the president of the Company, for the purpose of constructing the Canada Pacific Railway on the terms that I have now mentioned to the House. TEE CAUII 0’ m mar )‘AILURE, That gentleman, with some of his associates. (I need not at this period remind the House that that Company embraced a number of the most able, leading and in- fluential men in this country financially and commercially) proceeded to England, at that time, at all events, the great money market of the world; I might almost say that it was then the only money market in the world. They proceeded to England and exhausted every means in their power to obtain the support of the financial men, in such a way as to enable them to carry that contract to completion. If my recollection does not fail me, the hon. leader of the late Government on more than one occasion expressed the hope that it would be successful. He always expressed his strong conviction that the means were altogether inadequate to secure the object in view, but I think that on more than one occasion he expressed his patriotic hope that these gentlemen would succeed in obtaining the capital required upon these terms. But, sir, they did not succeed, as everybody knows. After having exhausted every efiert in their power they were obliged to return and surrender the charter under which they received authority to endeavor to obtain money for the construction of the great work. Well, sir,a very unpleasant result followed, and the then Government of this country met with alike defeat. The means placed at their disposal to secure the con- struction of the great work which these gen- tlemen had in hand having proved inade- quate, the Government also uccumbed to the pressure from the hon. gentlemen opposite. It is not a pleasant topic, and I will not dwell any longer upon it than is absolutely necessary to introduce the Administration which followed us, ably led by the hon. member for Lambton. Now, sir, I have said on more than one occasion that, in my judgment, inasmuch as the only authority which Parliament had given for the construction of the Canada Pacific Pailway requires it should be done by a private company, aided by a grant of land and money, and inasmuch as in the resolution embodying that statement, as the hon. leader of the Opposition has correctly reminded me, is em- bodied that it should not increase the ex- isting rate of taxation, and, inasmuch as the Finance Minister of the Govcmmcnt at once announced to Parliament the fact that there was a great impending deficiency between the revenue and expenditure, and it therefore became apparent that no progress could be made except in contravention of both these propositions,I have said before, and I repeat now, that in my judgment the hon. leader of the then Government would have been war- ranted in stating that he was obliged to leave the question of the construction 0f the Can- ada Pacific Railway in abeyance. The pres- ent hon. leader of the Opposition has difi'ered with me on that point, as occasionally weare compelled to differ on matters which are submitted for the consideration of this House, am” am free to confess that, although I do not hold so strongly as the present leader of the Opposition opinions as to the duty which devolved upon the hon. member for Lambton as leader of the Government of 1874, that the opinions he formed, the policy he adopted, and the statements he made in and out of this House as to his position regarding the construction of the Canadian PacificQ Railâ€" way were eminently patriotic, to the great credit of that hon. gentleman. run M’xsnzm POLICY. Bus, sir. he did commit himself in the most formal and authentic manner to the con- struction, notwithstanding the difficulty which had occurred; notwithstanding the apparently insuperable difficulties which presented themsalves, the hon. gentleman went to his constituentsâ€"I will not say he went to his constituentsâ€"he appealed to all Canada; be appealed to the people of this country in the most formal manner in which it is possible for a First Minister to state his policy, and that wrs by a manifesto over his own Signature. The House will perhaps al- low me to draw attention to some very im- portant statements contained in the mani- festo. The hon. gentleman said “-we must meet the difficulty imposed on Canada by the reckless arrangement of the late Gov- ernment with reference to the Pacific Railâ€" way, under which they pledged the hand and resources of the country to the commenceâ€" ment of that gigantic work in July, 1873 and to its completion by July, 1881." The firm the term Imuemnmmm‘mus “reckless arrangement” is confined and limited. This strong expression is limitrd by the hon. gentleman to the short time which we had allowed ourselves for tie construction of the work, and not the Work itself, The hon. gentleman further fairs: ‘Thst contract has already been broken; over amillicn dollars has now been sport in surveys, and no particular line has yet been located; the bargain, as we always said, is incapable of literal fulfilment. We must make arrangements with British Columbia for such a relaxation of the terms as will give time for the completion of the surveys and subsequent prosecution of the work with such speed as the resources of the country would permit of, and without too largely increasing the burden of taxation upon the people.” ‘ Hon. Mr. Murmursâ€"Hes” hear] Sir Cues. Turnsâ€"Hear, hear. The non. l gentleman went on to say that “they must, in i the meantime obtain some means of commu- i nication across the continent, and it would be i their policy to unite the enormous stretches of magnificent water communication with lines of railway to the Rocky Mountains, thus avoiding for the present the construc- tion of 1,300 miles of railway, costing from . sixty to eighty millions of dollars, and ren- , daring the resources of the country available for the prosecution of these links; they 1 should endeavour to make these great works i auxiliary to the promotion of immigration on a an extensive scale, and to the settlement and ‘ development of these rich and fertile terri- ‘ tories on which our hopes for tho fu- ture of Canada are so Now, sir, I am sure that the House 1 will excuse me for placing before them in i the strong, and emphatic and eloquent terms of the leader of that Government, the opin- 1 ion be entertained as to what was incumbent upon the Administration, and what was 5 likely to be attained by pursuing that ; course. Then, sir, the hon. gentleman, in a a speech at Sarnia, followed up the policy i here foreshadowed still more strongly, still i more emphatically, than he had done in his manifesto. He said -. “ You are aware that during the discussion on the bill I object- ed to the provisions as to the buildâ€" ing of the railway within‘ , ten years,” (nearly three years of that time had been then exhausted,) “and to being bound by a contract to finish it within seven years and three months; it was essential for the settlement, for the purpose of opening up the districts, where we have great riches undeveloped.” I pre. sume that he was referring to the undoubt- edly rich mineral districts of British Columbia. “Without that communica- ion great development cannot take place. It will be the duty of the Adminis- tration, in the first place, to secure the oppor- tunity for communication from Lake Supc. rior to the Rocky Mountains, and at the same time (and this speaks for itself), and thence to the Pacific Ocean and the western slope. If we wishto make these regions accessibleâ€"that is British Co- lumbia. and the Northwest territoryâ€"we must effect this communication.” 1 do not think it requires any argument to show that the hon. gentleman proposed to construct .1. road, in British Columbia.~ and one on the prairie en this side, and that there would be no difleulty in ~the construction of the com-- mlnicating sections. He says: “It will be necessary to complete our great natural highway across the continent, and I think it will be the duty, as it will be the desire of the Government to develop any plan by which these results can be accomplished." Now, sir, there are other means of obtain. ing the policy of an Administration besides the expression of the leading mem- bers of that Administration, and one is the authentic declaration of the organ of the Administration. If my hon. arena: the leader of the Opposition will not permit me to construe the language of the then leader of the Government, perhaps he will not object if I show him what construction the organ ofthe Government placed upon the words of their leader. 1 read in an editorial in the Toronto Globe newspaper that it had been asserted “that Mr. Mackenzie’s cabinet have abandoned the Canadian Pacific Railway. Nothing can be further from. the truth. Mr. Mackenziels speech at Semis. intimated distinctly what was the course which he proposed topursue,and sub- sequent statements have all explained and developed the ideas then suggested: There is no question as to whether the Pacific Railway will be built or not. That ques- tion has been settled irrevocably in the af- firmative, and there is no statesman in Cana- da who would commit himself to any nega- tive on such a point. on this all are agreed. Canvass the Dominion over and two things will be proved as settled points. One is that the railway must be built at as early 3 pe« riod as possible, and that everything that can reasonably help that railroad to a completion must be done and given. These two points are emphatically endorsed by ( lthe new Ministers, and : entirely removed from the region of controversy.” Now, sir, I have shown not only that the House affirmed that we should have a Pacific Railway, but I have shown that the Government that suc‘ ceeded that of my Right Hon; friend comâ€" mitted themselves in the fullest and most complete manner not only to the construc- tion of that great work, but to its construction as rapidly as it was possible within the means of the country. The hon. gentleman himself, on the floor of this House, stated “Let me say, so far as the work is concerned, that I have always been an advocate of the construction of a railway across this conti- nent, but I have never believed that it was within our means to carry it out in anything like the period of time to which the hon. gentleman bound Parliament and the coun- try. Now, I think that the work ought to be prosecuted in the most vigorous form, but time is an important element.” I have given the House some of the extra-parliamentary utterances of the hon. gentleman, and I pro- pose now to invite its attention to some still more formal and distinct statcmcns of policy , in regard to the important question, state- i ments made in the capacity of Prime Minis- 5 ter of. the country and on the floor of Parlia- men largely fixed." , TB! OBLIGATIONS 0' THE COUNTRY. In 1874, the hon. gentleman introduced r a bill .for the purpose of providing for the con 1 structlou of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and in the course of a very able and exhaus- tive speech, he placed very fully on record the opinions which he held, and which cm- bodied the opinions of the Government at that time. He stated, as will be seen by re- ference to Hansard of May the 12th, 1874. that “the duty wasimposed upon Parliament of providing a great scheme of carrying out the obligations imposed upon us by the sol- emn action of Parliament in this matter. The? sing and the shores of the Pacific, and 30,000 original scheme was one that I pgpos t at“; f. ‘ as may seem within our reach to accom- 1 out, in spirit, if not in letter, the serious I legal terms are exact. We are bound, within 1 the east, to the Pacific coast on the west. l There are moral obligations as well as legal l obligations. - prosecution of the work which we were to Pembina, and 20,000 acres per mile of land, and $10,000 per mile and 20,000 acres per mile for the Georgian Bay branch of 120 miles long, and also to give the further sum of 4 per cent. interest for twenty-five years upon such sum as might be found necessary, in order to secure the construction of the work. Now the hon. gentleman, the leader of the late Government, stated frankly to the House at the outset that the terms previous'ly provid- ed in 1872, and embodied in the contract made with the Allan companyin 1873, were utterly inadequate, and that it was necessary to the good faith of the country, and that its honor and Interests demanded, that the railway should he proceeded with. He asked and obtained from Parliament a large addition to the means that had been previously passed by Parliament for the construction of the work. In 1875, after having a year‘s experi- ence, he came to the House and said :â€"-“ We only let the grading upon this line (Pembina branch), because we thought it advisable, while proceeding thus far, not to proceed any farther until we could get a general contract let tor the entire line, where we propose to build it now, which would cover all the more expensive parts of construction. For the same reason we are only letting the grading and bridging from Fort William to Sheban- dowan, and the same from Rat Portage to Red River.” Again it will be seen that the hon. gentleman puts forward as his policy and the policy of the Parliament of 1874, as it had been the policy of the Parliament of 1871 and 1872, that the work should be prosecuted by the agency of a private com- pany, aided by a grant of money and land. As I have already stated, the subject was made a matter, in 187 5, of REFERENCE TO LORD CARNARVON, l and he proposed that $2,000,000, and not $1,500,000, should be the minimum expenâ€" diture on railway work within the Province from the date at which the surveys are suf- ficiently complete to enable that amount to be expended on construction. In naming this amount His Lordship understood, in the language of the memorandum, “That, it being alike the interest and the wish of the Dominion Government to urge on with all speed the completion of the works now to be undertaken, the annual expenditure will be as much in excess of the minimum of $2,000,000 as in any year may be found practicable; lastly, that on or before the 31st of December, 1890, the rail- way shall be completad and opefl- for traffic from the Pacific seaboard to a point at the western end of Lake Superior, at which it will fall into connection with ex- isting lines of railway through a portion of the United States, and also. with the naviga- tion on Canadian waters." These terms, sir, it is true, included a considerable extension of the time within which the road was origi-’ nally to have been completed, but they fixed a definite and distinct limit within which a large portion of the Pacific Railway should be constructed and put in operation. The hon. gentleman himself in referring to those terms used this language :-~ “ We shall always endeavor to proceed with the work as fast as the circumstances of the country (circumstances yet to be de- veloped) will enable us to do, so as to obtain as soon as possible complete railway com- munication wifli ire Pacific Proviuee. low soon that time may come I cannot predict, but I have no reason to deubt that we shall be able to keep our obligation to British 00- lumbia as now amended without seriously interfering with the march of prosperity.” (Laughton) That is, that by 1890, the hon. gentleman hoped to complete the work, “ without seriously interfering with the march of prosperity.” I am glad, notwithstanding the difficulties which the hon. gentleman en- countered, to be able to submit to his con- sideration the means by which we are to do that to which he pledged himself and pledged the honor and faith of his Government and his party, so far as the leader of a great party can pledge that party, to the accomplish- ment of a great national undertaking. But, sir, I am glad to be able to give not only the authority of the leader of the late Govern- ment, but that of the honorable and learned gentleman who is leader of Her Majesty’s constitutional opposition at the present mo- ment. my mind, then seemed impracticable within the time that was proposed, and impractic- able also within the means proposed to be used to accomplish it.” I wish to invite the attention of the House to the formal de- t'lm‘niion made on the floor of Parliament by the late Prime Minister, that the means llrt Parliament had placed at the dis- ,~< 21 ‘of the Government of their predecessors, $30,000,000 in money and 50,000,000 acres of land, were utterly inadequate to secure the construction of the work. Then the hon. gentleman continues :â€"“ I have not changed that opi- nion, but being placed here in the Govern- ment I am bound to endeavour, to the ut- most of my ability, to devise such means plish, in spirit if not in letter, the obliga- tions imposed upon us by the treaty of union, for it was a treaty of union with British 00- lumbia.” I am sure that British Columbia will be very glad to be again reminded that the leader of the Opposition maintained that this was an absolute treaty of union with British Columbia. Then he continues :-- “ We had to undertake to vindicate the good faith of the country and do something which would enable this Parliament to carry undertaking of building this railway as far as the shores of British Columbia. The a specified time, to construct a road to con- nect with the railway system of Ontario on We thought in the first place, after having had time to consider what should be done, that the best course to pur- suo in the meantime would be to confer with the local Government of British Columbia, and to endeavor to ascertain from them if any means could be arranged whereby an ‘ extension of time could be procured for the bound to undertake. With that view a gen- tleman was sent as representative of this Government to that province, and in the course of his negotiations with the local Government it became apparent, as it had been apparent in this House from the re- marks of several members from the Island of Vancouver, that it was an exceedingly im- portant matter in their estimation that the road should be commenced at once at Esqui- rnault and traverse the Island to that point where the crossing of the Narrows was ulti- mately to be. I for one was quite willing, if the local Government were disposed to make some terms for the extension of time, to un- dertake the construction of the Island por- tion as rapidly as possible, but if it became apparent that the local authorities were de- termined to adhere rigidly to the terms of union and demand the whole terms and nothing less, this House and Domin- ion of )anada, I was and am strongly of opinion, would on their part con- «mle to them the terms “and nothing more. ’Proceeding upon the belief that this \x'Ao a. fair representation of the opinions of vim: coumry which had to pay for the con- struction of this enormous work, we instruct- ed Mr. Edgar, who was appointed to repre- sent the Government in the matter, to say that the Government would be prepared to undertake immediately the commencement of the work upon the Island, traversing it northward in the direction of the point of crossing, prosecute the surveys on the main- land, construct a passable road along the ridge, erect a telegraph line along the road, and as soon as the work could be placed under contract, we would expend a million and a half a year within the province. I do not know whether the offer will be ac- cepted \ior not, and in the mean- time it is absolutely necessary that the Government should have authority to proceed with the commencement of the works in such a way as they should think will meet with the acceptation of the coun- try generally and the reasonable people in British Columbia." Now, I need not remind the House that this question was made the subject of reference by British Columbia to the Imperial Government, and Lord Carnar- von submitted for the consideration of this Government his view of what should be done. That was that not less than $2,000,.- 000 in addition to the railway on Van- couver Islandâ€"the telegraph line, tho Waggon road and all these other considerw tionsâ€"should be extended annually by the Government within the Province of British THE PEOPLI’H APPROVAL 0' CONSTRUCTION. That hon. gentleman is reported in the Howard of March 5, 1875, to have used Columbia. When the hon. gentleman these wordszâ€"“The general policy of the submitted his resolution in 1874, as lib? 001111"? “P011 “1' “lbth 0f 13116 PaCifiC I am now submitting my resolutions, Rabi-lay W“ 'P‘e‘d b°f0r° 131118 countl'y he said:_.uwe propose in these re- anteriortothe late generalelectlon and prac- tically and fairly stated.” I have to read to the House the words in which the Premier of that day, as the hon. gentleman said, “practically and fairly,” stated his policy, and I quite agree that it was so stated. The hon. member for South Durham continued: â€"“ In some of the minor details of that policy the hon. member for Cumbeer has indicated more or less of change, but the broad features of that policy were, as I have said, plainly stated to this country anterior to the late general election. The verdict of the country was taken upon it, and the result was a decided acceptance of it. It is not re- versible by H. We have no mandate to re- verse it. Upon the most enlarged consider. ation of Wrights of members of Parliament, I cannot oeoeelve that we could have the right at all to listen to the appeal of the hon. member for Cumberland and to enter into a consideration whether that pong, upon which the country’s opinion was ask and taken, and which opinion we were sent here to enforce, should be altogether re- versed. I do not consider it would be wise for an instant to consider any such proposi- tion. I do not believe that any other policy in its general efi'ects than that which was so proposed and so accepted is at all feasible." Now, sis-,1 ventured to say at the outset of my remarks, that we had the means of show- ing to the House not only that Parliament, on both these great ocuasions, had distinctly declared the policy of constructing the Canada Pacific Railway, but that the people, as stated by the present leader of the Opposition, had given an affirmative to that proposition, and had, as that hon. gentleman averred, put it without the power of this Parliament to change that policy. I must remind the House that the circumshnces of the country were very dif- ferent in 1875 from the circumstances of the country at the time at which the previous Governth undertook the construction of the Canada Pacific Railway,but, notwithstaud- ing that changed condition of circumstances, notwithstanding that the hon. gentleman’s Finance Minister was compelled to come to Parliament year after year and ask permis- sion to increase largely the taxation of the country, in order to meet the ordinary ex- penditure, notwithstanding all this, the hon. gentleman held that the honor and good faith of the country were pledged to the con- struction of this great work, and he came to {mix Elissa are asked the authority of Pa:â€" solutions to ask the House to agree to these general propositions. In the first place we have to ask the house for complete power to proceed with the construction of the road under the terms of the union with British Columbia, because we cannot throw off that obligation except with the consent of the contracting parties, and we are therefore bound to make all the provisions that the House can enable us to make to endeavor to carry out in the spirit, and as far as we can in the letter, the obligation imposed on us by law. The British Columbia section will, of course, have to be proceeded with as fast as we can do it, for it is essential to keep faith with the spirit and as far as possible with the letter of the agreement. I attribute a very great deal of importance in- deed to being able to throw in settlers to all parts of the country and fill it with population, which is the only thing which can give ultimately commercial value to the road or prosperity to the country. It will be observed, sir, that in the resolutions, as I have mentioned, the Government provide for the submission of these contracts to Parlia- ment; they provide also that in case we re- ceive no proposals for the building of what are called the sections in the bill, that is of the four great divisions, the Government takes power to issue proposals to build the road by direct Government a ency.” The hon. gentleman said that t e Canadian Pacific was only to be built by direct gov- ernment agency in the event ')f there being no proposals, and of there being a failure in carrying out the policy of Parliament that it should be done by private enterprise, aided by a grant of money and lands. In 1875 the hon. gentleman having had an opportunity of considering the proposals which were in- troduced in his bill, to which I shall invite the attention of the House more specificallyat a later period, obtained authority from this House to go on with the immediateconstruc- tion of the railway by the direct agency of the Government, for he could not obtain it in any other way. THE LIBERAL (50"an TIRES. Having obtained power from the House to give not only $10,000 of money per mile for every mile between Lake Nipis- Ineres of land per mile but also to give $10,000 in cairn per mile for t “e exams; at mules m; I were in a sufficiently advanced state, to in; ‘ vite tenders for the construction of such por- liament for the prosecution of his scheme. In IINA‘I'IOI nl 1370. In 1876, after longer experience. after haying found that’ the financial difficulties of the country had certainly not decreased, the hon. gentleman was still undlsmayed, for in 1876, from the hi h and authoritative position of a Prime inister submitting the policy of his Government to the country, after full and deliberate consideration, he enunciated the following views :â€"-“We have felt from the first that while it was utterly impossible to implement to the letter the engagements entered into by our predecessors, the good faith of the country demanded that the Ad- ministration should do everything that was reasonable and in their power to carry out the pledges made to British Columbia; if not the entire obligation, at least such parts of it as seemed to be within their power and most conducive to the welfare of the whole Dominion, as well as to satisfy all reasonable men in the Province of British Columbia, which Province has fancied itself entitled to complain of apparent want of good faith in carrying out these obligations. In endeavoring to accomplish this result, we have had serious difiiculties to contend with, to which I will shortly allude. The Act of 1874 prescribes that the Government may build the road on contract in the ordinary way, or it may be built on the terms set forth in section 8, which provides that the Government may pay $10,000 in money, and grant 20,000 acres of land per mile, with four per cent for 26 years Upon any additional amount in the tenders, to a company to con-1 struct portions of the line. The intention of the Government was, as soon as the surveys tions of the work as in the judgment of Pan liament it might be considered desirable to go on with, and that in the meantime the money that has been spent in grading should be held to be a part of the $10,000 a mile rc-o ferredto in section 8. Whether the Govern- ment would be in a position the coming sea: son to have contracts obtained and submitted. to Parliament for the whole line at its next session, is perhaps problematical.” So that the hon. gentleman in 1876 not only con- templated going on steadily with the pro- secution of the work or very important sections of the work, but he had it in con- templation to invite tenders for the construc- tion of the whole Canadian Pacific Railway on terms which, as I shall show more speci- fically hereafter, were largely in excess ofany authority we ever obtained from Parliament, and terms that, as I have said before, be himâ€" self held, and I suppose, conscientiously held, to be utterly inadequate. The hon. gentle- man went on to say : “If we are able to commence the work of construction this coming year in British Columbia, these rails will be required. It may be said to be im- possible to commence the construction of the road in British Columbia without having rails on the spot.” And in that I concur with the hon. gentleman. Hon. Mr. Mxoxsszmâ€"Jl‘he concurrence comes very late. Sir Csxs. Turnsâ€"The hon. gentleman will not, I think, find any ground for making that statement. I think he will, pas-nape, allow no to state that they would have been equally useful, if they had not lain quite so long in British Columbia. The hon. gentleman continued: “ There are five thousand tons in British Columbia, and if we erred in sending them there. we have simply erred in our earnest desire to show the po(.- ple of British Columbia that we are desirous of keeping faith with them, that our speeches were not more empty promises, and that we were resolved to place ourselves in a position they could not misunderstand.” Well, sir, in 1877, after another year’s experience, the hon. gentleman again stated the policy that still was the policy of his Administration in re- furence to this work. He said: “The late Administration in enterin into the agreement for bringing Brit sh Columbia into the confederation, had an express obli- gation as to the building of the railway across the continent from Lake N ipisslng on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, within a specified number of years. When the present Adminstration acceded to power, they felt that this, like all treaty obligations, was one which imposed upon them certain duties of administration and government which they had no right to neglect, and that they were bound to carry the scheme practi- cally into eflect to the extent that I ha n- dicated. The whole effort of the Adminis- tration from that day to this has been directed to the accomplishment of this object in the way that would seem to be most practical and most available, con- sidering the difficulties to be encountered and the cost to be incurred. ' ' ' The Railway Act of 1874 provides that 20,000 acres of land should be given absolutely as part consideration for the contract, and $10,- 000 per mile of actual cash, the land to be subject to certain regulations as totwo-thirds of it which are provided for in the Act, and that tenderers should be invited to state the additional sum, it any, upon which a guarâ€" antee of 4 per cent should be given by the Dominion for 25 years afterwards. ' ' ' I mentioned last year, in introducing this item to the Committee Supply, that we had then advertised, or pro osed to advertise I forget which, in Englis and Canadian pa.â€" pers, that we hoped, about January, 1877, to be able to advertise for tenders and to supply complete profiles of the line. ' 0 ' I think, quite early in July, or ear- lier. I think it must have been in June. At all events, we desired to send that adverâ€" tisement to the public in order that it might invite intending contractors to visit the country for themselves. I was personally satisfied that an examination of the prairie countries, if not the country east of the prai- ries to Lake Superior, would show to intend- ing contractors, in the first place, that there was a large quantity of good land, and, in the second place, that the physical ditficul- ties to be overcome were not'so serious as people might reasonable anticipate to exist in the centre of the Continents I do not think the advertisement produced very much of that particular result. Some parties, I believe, have visited the country; the agents of some. English companies have visited Ottawa ', some have visited. the agency of the Government in London, with a view to examine the plans and profiles, and the Railway Act under which the con- tracts will be let ; but the season was an un- favorable one in- consequence of the difllcul- ties attending. railway enterprise all through the world, and can perhaps, be fairly con- sidered as one not very fortunate for issuing or proposing the prospectus of a huge enter- prise like this, in a comparatively unknown country, or I might say a wholly unknown country. The Government were notable, as I stated, to have the profiles all ready in January. They in sections a were, , m .4... completed, to the Railway Office in London. They have been on exhibition in the Railway Ofiico here for many months, and the whole of the profiles from Lake Bupo- rlor to the Western Ocean is, I presume, either completed or very near it, at the present moment; that is, taking the tWo routes already completed through British Columbia. The Government pro osed, us soon as these are entirely complete , to have advertisements issued, calling for ofl‘ers, giving ample time, so that tenders that are received may be received shortly before the opening of Parliament at its next session, in order that Parliament may have an opportu- nity of deciding upon whatever scheme may be then proposed by the Government under the ofl'ers to be received." So that, down to 1878 the House will see the hon. gentleman still remained true to the obligation of the rapid construction of the Canada Pacific Railway, and of its constrtmtlon by the land and money. sors reams oolmr'n'ln so cossrsuorxos. In 1878, the last occasion on which the hon. gentleman, with the authority of the Prime Minister, discussed the question; he said :â€" “There can be no question of this: that it was in itself a desirable object to obtain rail- Way communication from one end of the Do- minion to the other, traversing the continent from east to west ; so far as the desirability of obtaining such a connection may be con~ corned, there can be no real dinerence of opinion betwoen any two parties in this country or amongst any class of our popula- tion.” Be first I am very glad, on this im- portant Occasion, in submitting resolutions of such magnitude for the consideration of this House to have the authority of the leader of the late Government, after years of close and careful examination of this question, given to the House and the country, that it was a matter not only of vital importance to the countr but upon which both parties were agree not only in this House, but out side of it. In 1878 the hon. gentleman also said :â€"â€"«“I have to say, in conclusion. that ‘nothing has given myself and the Govern- ment v: re concern than the matters con- nected w c the Pacific Railway have given. ‘ c a alive to this consideration : That it is of mud, importance to the country that this road should be built as soon as the country is able to do it Without imposing burdens upon the present rate-payers, which would be intolerable.” I quite agree with the hon. gentleman in that statement, and I am proud to be able to stand here to-day and ofi'er for the hon. gentleman’s considerations, and I trust, after full consideration, his support, a proposition that will secure to this country the construction of that which he has declared to be not only a matter of honor, to which the country was bound, but a matter of the deepest necessity to the development of this country, upon terms that will notimpose any intolerable burden on the rate-payers. Hon. Mr. Maonzmlâ€"J shall consider it by-and-bye. Sir Cuas. Turnsâ€"The hon. gentleman continued :--“ On the other hand, it is toler- ably evident that the wealth of the country will be much more rapidly increased if we are able to throw a large population into those hitherto deserted plains which contain so much land It for habitation, and which have been wholly unproductive in the commercial interests of our country.” Again, I invite the hon. gentleman’s atten- tion to the obligation that rests upon him to support a plan by which what he de- signates “deserted plains” may become the abode of an industrious population, not only furnishing a comfortable living to themselves and their families, but increasing greatly the national wealth of Canada, and upon terms which come quite within those which he has approved as offering no obstacle to the progress of this work. The non. gentleman added: H And so with regard to this Western and more gigantic work, a work which cannot be estimated un- less we have given some thought to it, such is its magnitude; a road which is four times the length of the Grand Trunk from Montreal to Sarnia, which is "five times the length of the road from Edinburgh to London, which traverses our whole territory. Nothing can possibly on coed the importance that is to be attached to the building of such a gigantic work, either as regards the ultimate prcsperity of the country or its bearing upon our several rela« tions to each other in the united Provinces.” It requires no comment of mine, sir, to cause a statement from such an authentic source to carry conviction to the mind of every hon. gentleman present as to the obligation that rests upon all parties, both in this House and out or it, to realise what the hon. gentleman has indicated could be realised by the con- struction of this work. That, sir, as I have said before, was, the hon. gentleman thinks no doubt unfortunately for the country, the last occasion on which it became his duty to speak with the authority of the First Minis- ter of Canada in relation to this great question. But, as the hon. gentleman stated, the question of construction, the question of the steady prosecution and completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway was not an issue that went to the country at the last elections. That had been submitted on' two occasions by two First Ministers, representing both the great parties of the country, and on both oc- casions had received the affirmation of a very large majority of the people. TE] CHANG. OF ADMINISTRATION. But,-as is well knowu,a change of Adminis- tration took place in 1878, and the hon.gentle man was again called upon to deal with the question. He had that test of patriotism applied to him which is involved in considen ing a policy from the Opposition benches as well as from the Government benches, and I will read to the House the remarks which the hon. gentleman, as leader of the Opposi- tion, made to this House, after the change of Government in 1879. He said: “We recognize the obligations resting upon us as Canadians, and, while I assert, in the most positive manner, that nothing. could" have been done by any Ad- ministration during our terns ofoflice that we did not do, or try to do, in ordcrtoac- complish, or. realise those expectations which were generated by the Government of hon. gentlemen opposite, in their admission of British Columbia into the Confederacy, I sayr at the same time, that we endeavoured, not merely to keep the national obligations, but we ventured, to a great extent, our own political existence as administrators; we riskedE our political position for the sake of carryingout to completion, in the best way possible, the course which hon. gentle- man opposite had promised” should be taken." The hon. gentleman al- so declarcd after his five years’ term of office had ended, that nothing that had however dcs ecu in thepower 0 th\ in} try 9f which- sa the; fit was his but!) to H‘s, wheel: léft ridden? agency of a private company and grant of