Federal Relations of the North-West. 455 



disallowed by the Governor-in-Council, and the people of Manitoba 

 began to take alarm. Thus matters went on until 1883, when owing 

 to bad harvests, the exhorbitant rates charged on the Canadian 

 Pacific, and the arbitrary rules of that road, together with the 

 persistency of the Federal Government in refusing the demands of 

 Manitoba, the people became greatly agitated, and a general move- 

 ment was commenced which at one time gave signs of serious results. 

 Matters which had hitherto been left entirely in the hands of the 

 Provincial Legislature were now taken into consideration by the 

 people themselves. The Local Government prepared and presented 

 to the Federal Cabinet a full exposition of Manitoba's case, and 

 submitted certain demands on behalf of the Province. Meanwhile 

 the farmers were summoned into convention at Winnipeg. They 

 responded from all parts of the Province and the gathering was a 

 large and very influential one. They organized the " Manitoba and 

 North-West Farmers' Union," passed a series of resolutions, and sent 

 a delegation to Ottawa to present their demands to the Central 

 Government. 



The farmers complained that they had been induced by the 

 representations of the Dominion Government to settle in the country, 

 which they had done under great difficulties and considerable 

 expense. " They had," they said, " hopefully faced the hardships of 

 isolation and of a rigorous climate, and had been and were still will- 

 ing to contend manfully with the natural disadvantages of their 

 new location." These sentiments were somewhat flavoured with 

 party feeling, but there was much force in them, for they added : 

 " Now, however, that we have for the first time a surplus of grain, 

 we have discovered that the prices we obtain are not sufficient to 

 cover the cost of production, and that we are face to face with the 

 fact that, notwithstanding all our labour and outlay, we can barely 

 subsist." This truth was owing to a damaged harvest and to incom- 

 plete arrangements of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to 

 move the crop. The present year has shown us that the farmers 

 were wrong in these statements. 



" In addition to these things," they said, " we find ourselves 

 weighted down by the excessive charges of a railway monopoly, 



