Federal Relations of the North-West. 463 



to Ottawa, and that a committee composed of Mr. Speaker and of such 

 members of this House as are members of the Executive Council be 

 appointed to draft an address in conformity with the foregoing resolutions." 

 It was further resolved that the delegates appointed by the above 

 resolution " be empowered and instructed to receive and answer any further 

 communications on the subject, and should no modification to the terms 

 be offered by the Federal Government in supplement of the claims as pro- 

 posed, then the committee be instructed to prepare for submission to the 

 House at its next session a full statement of the Province's case before its 

 submission to England as adopted by the House on March 17th." 



Thus matters stand. The federal relations of Manitoba are still 

 unsettled, but there is a prospect, that during the coming session of 

 the Dominion House, a re-adjustment will be arrived at, acceptable 

 to the Province and creditable to Canada. The question of the 

 Hudson's Bay route has, of late, entered quite extensively into the 

 negotiations between the two Governments, and, now that there is 

 sufficient evidence of the practicability of that proposed line of com- 

 munication to warrant the construction of a railway from Manitoba 

 to Hudson's Bay, it will unquestionably occupy more attention in 

 the future. With a view to impressing the importance of the 

 subject upon the Manitoba Premier, the writer addressed the follow- 

 ing open letter to the Hon. Mr. Norquay, recently: — 



Hon. John Norquay, Premier of Manitoba, Ottawa : 



Sir, — I am informed that you are now visiting the capital for the 

 purpose of re-opening negotiations with the Federal Government in regard 

 to a readjustment of the terms between Manitoba and the Dominion ; and 

 I take the opportunity to address to you a few words, by way of an open 

 letter, urging that any such settlement ought to include, as one of it prin- 

 cipal terms, the undertaking on the part of the National Government that 

 a railway and steamboat line between Manitoba and England, via Hudson 

 Bay, shall be established and open for traffic within a certain reasonable 

 date. I venture upon this liberty without hesitation because I know you 

 to be a warm advocate of the proposed Hudson's Bay route ; and I, moreover, 

 justify my action by the fact that I have recently returned from a trip to 

 Churchill with the Hudson's Bay Expedition, upon which I obtained much 

 valuable information calculated to establish beyond question the complete 

 practicability of the navigation of Hudson's Bay and Strait. 



I submit that the Dominion Government should assume the responsi- 



