1886.] i\E\V FOUND LAND AS A TIMBER COUNTRY. G39 



Eay on the Atlantic, or east coast of the island, to Cape Eay on the 

 north-east C(jast. This line will be a trunk, and traverse the entire 

 lengtli of the island, with a l)ranch to St. George on the north 

 coast ; and as it is only to be a link in rapid travel between Europe 

 and America, it will bring in men who will soon develop the timber 

 and other resources of Newfoundland. The distance from Liverpool 

 to Trinity Bay is about 1800 miles, and then rail to Cape Ray, and 

 from there a powerful ferry across the gulf to Cape Breton, and 

 again rail from there to all parts of the American continent, and 

 with this route in operation the timber of Newfoundland will soon 

 be in the market. There is now a line working between Fortune 

 Bay and St. John's, owned by a syndicate of American capitalists, 

 to whom the concession was given by the Newfoundland Govern- 

 ment ; but it is only tlie first step in the railway development that 

 is likely to take place in the near future, wliich will, in all 

 probability, facilitate a Newfoundland lumber trade, because, up to 

 the present, boating is the chief means of transit. To realize the 

 want of progress in the country, let us imagine England only 

 inhabited by 200,000 people, settled on the Cornish and Lancashire 

 coasts, without railways or roads, and engaged entirely in catching 

 and curing fish, and the only means of intercommunication being 

 small steamers or fishing schooners, then one can understand the 

 non-development of Newfoundland. Hitherto, Quebec has had the 

 inner track of the timber trade, and as it was a question of demand 

 and supply, the merchants of that city did everything in their power 

 to meet the requirements of their customers. They had their agents 

 in England, and the captains of the timber fleets were both trained 

 and induced to go for cargo to Quebec, with the result that New- 

 foundland, which is nearer to England, was neglected. But now 

 that the pine regions of Canada are yearly becoming more remote, 

 most of it at present coming down the Ottawa from the lake 

 country, and the divide between the waters flowing to the Atlantic 

 and those going north to the Hudson's Bay, no doubt the pine, 

 spruce, and birch forests on the shores of Eed Indian Lake and 

 Gander Lake in the interior of Newfoundland will receive attention. 

 The countries round the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, New 

 Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, even Maine and Massachusetts, 

 have plenty of timber of their own, and consequently there was no 

 local incentive to develop a Newfoundland lumber trade. It is true 

 that there are a few sawmills running, chiefly on the v.-est coast, 

 two or three being in the Bay of Islands, at the mouth of the 

 Humber. The principal use for those mills is making lumber for 

 the fisheries, very little of it being exported, notwithstanding the 

 excellent reputation of Newfoundland birch and white pine. One 



