The Allan Line & St. John

In addition to these, however, the opening up of the Parry Sound route has increased shipment from the port of Montréal enormously, & these can still further be increased if the Canada Atlantic Ry. secures an entry into the port of Montréal or a direct connection with the Intercolonial Ry. to that port. You may judge of the vast benefit of this route by the facts which I shall allude to later on. The Canada Atlantic Ry. has brought to Montréal this season, the first year in which they have been doing business, between eight & ten million bushels of grain, & about 46,000 tons of package freight. Such a connection is invaluable, & there is no reason why the port of St. John in the winter should not, to a large extent at any rate, reap the benefit of this connection, if the facilities for getting into Montréal are accorded to Mr. Booth's railway. In addition to their large elevators at Depot Harbor & Coteau, they will undoubtedly erect a large elevator at Montréal, & these would all serve as storage for grain, which would be exported by the maritime ports in winter, & would thereby increase the traffic over these routes to an enormous extent.

Glancing at the map of Canada, we see that there are 3 main arteries for the carriage of western wheat to the east, viz.: the G.T.R., the C.P.R., & the Canada Atlantic. Turning to the two latter lines of railways referred to by me, viz., the C.P.R. & the C.A.R., the interest of these two roads lies in the development of the maritime ports. The C.P.R. has a direct connection with St. John & Halifax. The C.A.R. may also be given a direct connection with these ports by means of the I.C.R. The C.A.R. takes its enormous freight from the wheat fields of the western states, as also other products, which must necessarily find their way to the eastern markets in the winter months.

Via maritime ports navigation on the lakes is open at least for a month longer than the St. Lawrence route. Wheat & other freight can be landed at Parry Sound by water, for a month or more after navigation has closed at Montréal. This, with a proper elevator system would enable the C.A.R. to store at Parry Sound & other points along its lines, enormous quantities of grain, which, with proper connections to the lower provinces, would find their way to the markets of the east via maritime ports. This would be a trade in excess of what is now coming to the maritime ports via the C.P.R. The freight carried by the C.A.R. this summer was diverted from Buffalo & went to Montréal. What it has done in the last 12 months for Montréal may, in perhaps a lesser degree, easily be done for St. John & Halifax. It is for the people of the lower provinces to be alive to their own interests, & to encourage by every means possible, the building up of their ports. They should be able during the winter months to control the greater part of the Canadian freight & a large proportion of the freight originating in the western states carried by the Canadian lines.

 .. 

Mr. Blair, the Minister of Railways, in the course of a speech said he hoped soon to have the Canada Atlantic Ry. connected with the sea, & as a result he believed the maritime ports of St. John & Halifax would be benefited & the trade of Canada increased.

 .. 

Railways: C.A.Ry., C.P.Ry., G.T.Ry., I.C.Ry.

Results