DOMINION OF CANADA. 



269 



Parliament of 1884, the Government of Canada 

 advanced $30,000,000 to the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway, taking as security a mortgage on the 

 main line from Callander (east of Lake Nipis- 

 sing) westward. As the road for the first 

 thousand miles passes through an unproduc- 

 tive country the north shores of Lakes Huron 

 and Superior it is extremely doubtful if the 

 security is of any value. However, the section 

 from Lake of the Woods west to the mount- 

 ains will always be a productive part. The 

 Government of the day, that of the Conserva- 

 tives under the Eight Hon. Sir John A. Mac- 

 donald, was pledged to the early construction 

 of the road. The railway company was un- 

 able to raise the money in the American or 

 European markets on the bonds of the road, 

 consequently it was a question of bankruptcy 

 and failure for the company, and defeat for the 

 Government, or the grant for the money by 

 Parliament. After much lobbying, subsidizing 

 local roads in various provinces as baits, and 

 a great deal of manipulating in general, the 

 leaders of the Government secured the grant. 

 During the year the money was expended, and 

 an effort was made to float another loan in the 

 London market. Thus far this has failed, not- 

 withstanding the fact that the Canadian Pre- 

 mier paid a visit to Europe in company with 

 the president of the road, and advocated a 

 scheme of imperial and colonial federation, the 

 plan of which had been suggested by his oppo- 

 nent, Hon. E. Blake, many years before, in 

 what is known in Canadian annals as " Blake's 

 Aurora speech." The English capitalists wer^ 

 not convinced ; but the construction of the re- 

 maining portions of the road is being pushed 

 forward with increased vigor even in winter. 

 The parts of the road already constructed, es- 

 pecially in the Northwest, are of much service 

 to the country. The rates, too, are far from 

 being as exorbitant as are charged by any of 

 the Western roads of the United States. Be- 

 sides, the company offers every facility it can 

 to the settlers in importing stock, machinery, 

 etc., and in exporting the produce of the 

 soil. 



Farming in the Northwest. To test the suita- 

 bility for settlement of the far-west country, 

 traversed by the railway, "experimental 

 farms" were started last year. The result 

 has been that large tracts of land, selected at 

 random here and there along the line, have 

 yielded surprising returns. The Japanese cur- 

 rent, and its attendant warm winds, temper 

 the entire northern Pacific coast of America, 

 so that at Sitka Island, in Alaska, the ther- 

 mometer has fallen to zero (Fahr.) but four 

 times in the past forty-three years. The Rocky 

 Mountains in British Columbia are narrow, 

 varying in width from 300 miles at the north, 

 to about 500 at the south. The mountains in 

 the United States are much wider. Then 

 there are numerous passes, all less than 6,000 

 feet, and many as low as 2,600 feet in height, 

 in the mountains in British Columbia. Through 



and over these passes the warm winds from 

 the Pacific find their way, producing a climate 

 very suitable for all kinds of farming, such as 

 are conducted in Ontario Province or New 

 York State. There are no passes south of the 

 one traversed by the Northern Pacific Railway 

 in the United States less than 8,000 feet in 

 height. Another cause of the warmness of 

 the Canadian Northwest is found in the fact 

 that the warm currents of air, which in tem- 

 perate regions, of course, pass easterly toward 

 the poles from the equator, here ascend over 

 the mountains. The air becoming rarefied, 

 the heat is rendered latent, and on descending 

 to the plains becomes evolved. It is another 

 fact established by nature that in summer the 

 days are very long in those regions, while they 

 are correspondingly short in winter. The 

 farmers resident in settlements as far north as 

 the 60th parallel of latitude, toward the mount- 

 ains, say they seldom or never fail to harvest 

 good crops of wheat; and never miss any 

 others, such as oats, barley, potatoes, turnips, 

 cabbage, and peas. 



Industrial Depression. Industries of every class 

 were much depressed during 1884 in Canada. 

 This depression is, of course, general in other 

 countries, but intensity has been given to it in 

 Canada by the high protective duties, and by 

 the extreme cheapness of farm and agricultural 

 products in general. Crops of all descriptions 

 yielded large returns per acre, and the prices 

 were very low. Merchants have difficulty in 

 collecting outstanding accounts, the carrying- 

 trade is depressed, and business is very dull. 

 The December or Christmas trade this year 

 amounted to very little in any part of Canada. 

 Where expensive cards, jackets, caps, and pres- 

 ents of every description were indulged in dur- 

 ing former years, this year the cheaper gifts 

 and toys were sought out as mementos. The 

 sleighing, too, generally good throughout Can- 

 ada toward Christmas a fact which greatly 

 enlivens business was not good this year. 

 The general stagnation in business was re- 

 flected in lumbering and mining operations, as 

 well as in ship-building and fishing. In none 

 of these was the trade of 1884 equal to that of 

 some years immediately preceding. Owing to 

 there being no insolvency laws now in force in 

 Canada, it is difficult, if not impossible, to com- 

 pare the failures in business with those of for- 

 mer years ; but the number is very large, and 

 much in excess of preceding years. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of failures throughout the 

 Dominion during the year : 



