National Transcontinental Railway.

We are advised that it is estimated that 312 miles of track were laid during 1909 on the Eastern Division, and on various stretches between Moncton, N.B. and Winnipeg, making with the 249 miles laid to Dec. 31, 1908, a total of 561 miles, and leaving 1,244 miles to be laid to complete the division. The track laid during 1909 is distributed over the different contracts as follows:—Moncton westerly mileage 20 to 30, and mileage 53 to 56, 13 miles; Chipman, mileage 5 to 10 west, five miles; crossing of the Intercolonial Ry., 36 miles west from Moncton, to 13 miles easterly and to 14 miles westerly, 27 miles; from Québec-New Brunswick boundary easterly for 27 miles, and from mileage 61 to 64, three miles, making 30 miles; east of Québec bridge 16 miles have been laid between mileage 2.6 and 36; west of the same point 10 miles have been laid in the first 50 miles, 15 miles between the 50th and to the 158th mile; at the junction with the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Ry. nine miles of track have been laid easterly and 35 miles westerly; from mileage 8 east of the Ontario-Manitoba boundary to mileage 152 east, 144 miles.

Reply to questions in the House of Commons, Nov. 25, the Minister of Railways stated in regard to the delay in the completion of work by several of the contractors, that contracts provided for a forfeit of $5,000 for each calendar month of default; that no extensions of any of the contracts had been given, and that the enforcement of the penalty clause was a matter for consideration before final payments were made. On Dec. 9, the Minister said, only amount paid for terminals for the Railway was $2,187.50 a month paid to the Canadian Northern Ry., being the Government's proportion of rental for terminals at Winnipeg, under the agreement of Mar. 1, 1907. No estimate had been made of the total cost of the terminals required for the line.

Railways: N.T.Ry., T. & N.O.Ry.

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