The Hudson's Bay Route Supported. 513 



remember the truth of the statement made by my hon. friend, the 

 mover of' this resolution, that formerly the navigation of the River 

 St. Lawrence itself was considered as doubtful, uncertain, hazardous, 

 and unprofitable, commercially, almost as Hudson's Bay now is. 

 The idea prevailed, especially in England, that the river was practi- 

 cally not open for more than four months in the year. That idea 

 has been, by slow degrees, dissipated. The number of months for 

 navigation has increased, and the introduction of steam has rendered 

 the navigation more independent of casual obstructions from ice 

 than formerly, when the whole trade was conducted by sailing 

 vessels. I have no doubt it will be found, when the question is 

 worked out by experience with steam vessels, that the period during 

 which the Straits can be profitably navigated will be considerably 

 extended beyond the present idea. 



" My hon. friend, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, has had 

 this subject under his earnest consideration, and has obtained from 

 the Hudson's Bay Company log-books of the voyages made by their 

 vessels for a series of years, which he is now having collated and 

 examined carefully. From these log-books, most valuable informa- 

 tion will be obtained, which my hon. friend will place at the disposal 

 of the Committee, showing what the variations in the seasons are, 

 and whether in one year the navigation is open longer than another. 

 Thus some approximation may be obtained to the fact as to how 

 long, in an average number of years, the navigation can be considered 

 to be fairly open in a commercial sense. 



" The Government, I may say, has been pressed by several 

 gentlemen in this House, and by deputations, to consider the 

 propriety of sending at once a vessel to examine the Straits. One 

 deputation proposed that we should send a sailing vessel very early 

 this spring. That matter is now under the consideration of the 

 Government. But it is quite true, as my hon. friend the Minister 

 of Marine has stated, that the report of a casual vessel for one 

 season will not give sufficient evidence to be conclusive as to the 

 profitableness of the navigation of Hudson's Bay and Straits. It 

 would be necessary, I think, to have a steam vessel fitted out, as for 

 an Arctic voyage, and that would involve the necessity, I think, of 



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