"7f7da1b7-38e4-4235-b837-92840c672582"@en . "CONTENTdm"@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1560189"@en . "British Columbia Historical Books Collection"@en . "Burpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone), 1873-1946"@en . "2017-04-13"@en . "1915"@en . "\"Bibliography: p. 279-284.\" -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 177."@en . ""@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0347210/source.json"@en . "288 pages : photographs, illustrations ; 23 cm"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " SANDFORD FLEMING\nEMPIRE BUILDER\nBY\nLAWRENCE J. BURPEE\nHUMPHREY MILFORD\nOXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS\nLONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW\nNEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY\n1915\n ^\nPREFACE\nSome years ago, at the conclusion of a game of chess, Sir\nSandford Fleming told me that he had been repeatedly urged\nto prepare for publication his reminiscences of sixty odd\nyears in Canada. He did not feel equal to the task himself,\nbut said that if I thought a biography would be of sufficient\ninterest to justify the trouble, and would undertake it, he\nwould be glad to give all the necessary particulars. Thereafter as occasion offered we talked over various incidents in\nhis long and eventful life, and he placed in my hands a series\nof diaries running back to the year 1845, when he set out\nfrom Glasgow in the sailing ship Brilliant to seek his fortune\nin the New World. We were both rather busy with other\nmatters, and as a result the biography progressed very\nslowly, but it was finally completed a few weeks before his\ndeath. Sir Sandford had taken the keenest interest in the\ncompletion of each chapter, and I had hoped that he would\nlive to see the printed book. All references to him were\ntherefore put in the present tense. Now that it has become\nnecessary to add the irrevocable words that close the volume,\nit seems preferable to let the rest of the narrative stand as\nit was. Apart from all other considerations, I had rather\nthink of the kind old friend with whom I spent so many\ndelightful hours, and to whose wealth of human experience I feel so deeply indebted, as a living than a dead\npersonality.\nOttawa,\nSeptember, 1915.\nl!\n CHAP.\nI.\nII.\nIII.\nIV.\nV.\nVI.\nVII.\nVIII.\nIX.\nX.\nXL\nXII.\nXIII.\nXIV.\nXV.\nXVI.\nXVII.\nXVIII.\nXIX.\nXX.\nXXI.\nXXII.\nXXIII.\nCONTENTS\nA Voyage in a Sailing Ship\nMaking a Footing in the New World\nGenesis of the Royal Canadian Institute\nBuilding the Northern Railway\nPleading the Cause of the Red River\nColony\nThe Birth of the Intercolonial\nProblems of the Survey\nBuilding the Intercolonial\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway\nOcean to Ocean in 1872\nOver the Mountains by the Kicking Horse\nThe British Isles in 1876 .\nThe Pacific Cable ....\nA Diplomatic Mission to Honolulu\nThe All-Red Line ....\nAn Imperial Intelligence Service\nThe Standard Time Movement .\nA Trip to Venice in 1881 .\nQueen's University and the Chancellor\nAround the World in 1893-4\n'Build up Canada*\nAn Imperial Monument\nEventide\nBibliography\nIndex ....\nPAGE\n7\n20\n37\n47\n61\n72\n84\n96\n106\n120\n130\n140\n154\n167\n191\n201\n211\n225\n235\n251\n258\n271\n276\n279\n285\ntft\n I'\nCHAPTER I\nA VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\nSandford Fleming was by birth a Fifer ; that is to say\nhe first saw the light, January 7, 1827, in the ! Lang Toun *\nof Kirkcaldy, in the ancient Kingdom of Fife, the home of\nhis forefathers for many generations. You will remember\nwhat Andrew Fairservice says in Rob Roy, ' Kirkcaldy, the\nsell o't, is langer than ony town in England \ His father was\nAndrew Greig Fleming, and his mother Elizabeth Arnot.\nHe was named after his maternal grandfather Sandford\nArnot, and after an uncle of the same name, a Sanskrit\nscholar of some renown then living in India. His mother's\ngrandfather, one of the clan Cameron, fought at Culloden,\nand afterwards with seven others rowed Prince Charlie over\nto France. One of her uncles served under Wolfe at Quebec.\nFleming's earliest schooling was obtained at Kennoway,\nthe home of his grandmother, under a Mr. Bethune, who some\nyears later emigrated to Canada and became master of the\nHigh School in Montreal. Eventually he settled as a resident\nmissionary on the north shore of Lake Erie between Caledonia\nand Port Dover. At this same Kennoway school Dr. Allan\nPollok, one of the leaders of the Presbyterian Church in\nCanada, also commenced his education. Fleming's education was continued at the Kirkcaldy Burgh School, the\nsame of which Carlyle had been master some twenty years\nor so before. About the age of fourteen he became a pupil\nof the well-known Scottish engineer and surveyor John\nSang, with whom he remained until he left for Canada in\n1845. I !& ||\nOf his boyhood days in the ancient seaport of Kirkcaldy\nwe get random glimpses through the pages of a tattered\ndiary, the first of a long series continued to the present day.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 My present plan', he puts down in his diary, in a boyish\n 8\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nhand, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 is to write a sort of diary so that I can put there\nanything particular that happens or is of utility to recollect.'\nKirkcaldy was then pretty much what Carlyle found it\nin 1816, a long straggling town, picturesque in its way,\na characteristic bit of the Kingdom of Fife; filled with\na shrewd, hard-headed, and hard-working population ; the\nhome of many industries. Carlyle has made both place and\npeople immortal in his rough-hewn, compelling phrases :\nj The Kirkcaldy population were a pleasant honest kind of\nfellow mortals; something of quietly fruitful, of good Old-\nScotch in their works and ways ; more vernacular, peaceable,\nfixed, and almost genial, in their mode of life, than I had been\nused to in the Border home-land. Fife generally we liked.\nThose ancient little burghs and sea-villages, with their poor\nlittle havens/salt-pans', and weatherbeaten bits of Cyclopean\nbreakwaters and rude innocent machineries, are still kindly\nto me to think of; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Kirkcaldy itself had many looms,\nhad Baltic trade, Whale-fishery &c, and was a solidly\ndiligent, yet by no means a panting, purring, or in any way\ngambling \" Lang Toun \".' An ideal place, as some one else\nhas said, for the nurture of economists, and here at least\none world-famous economist was born and nurtured\u00E2\u0080\u0094Adam\nSmith, of the Wealth of Nations.\nBut there was a quality in the shrewd yet kindly atmosphere of this Scottish town that led to other things than the\ndry bones of political economy. It nurtured in the boy\nSandford Fleming that rare combination of gifts, the genius\nfor dreaming great dreams and the capacity for bringing\nthem to fruition. Here were planted the germs of mighty\nprojects, destined to be developed in the course of time under\nother and distant skies.\nTurning the pages of the old diary, one comes upon this\nextract copied from Poor Richard's Almanack, than which\nnothing could more surely reveal the character of the boy :\n' But dost thou love life ? Then do not squander time, for\nthat is the stuff life is made of. How much more than is\nnecessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting that the sleeping\nfox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough\n \u00E2\u0080\u00A2**\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00C2\u00BB*\u00C2\u00AB.\nA VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP 9\nin the grave. Sloth maketh all things difficult, but industry\nall easy ; and he that riseth late must trot all day and shall\nscarcely overtake his business at night; while laziness\ntravels so slow that poverty soon overtakes him.' Not to\nsquander time has been one of the guiding principles of\nSandford Fleming's life. It has made that life a full one in\nthe broadest and best sense of the term.\nAnd the boy in those far-off Kirkcaldy days was already\ntaking the lesson to heart. Under the guidance of one of\nthe best of teachers he was rapidly mastering the principles\nof his chosen profession. He had shown in school a strong\ntaste for mathematics, and threw himself into the study of\nengineering with an energy that scorned obstacles. His\ndays were passed in technical instruction in Mr. Sang's\noffice, and in gaining practical experience in harbour and\nwaterworks, as well as railway surveys, especially across\nFifeshire from Edinburgh to Perth and through the Carse of\nGowrie, from Perth to Dundee. Also he made prolonged\nexaminations of the southern uplands in connexion with the\nnew Edinburgh water-works. For recreation, he joined\na local chess club called the * Divan', and his diary for\nJanuary 1845 records the progress of a tournament for the\ncoveted rank of ' caliph', in which he won his way to the\nfinal stage and lost by a single game.\nUp to his eighteenth year he had not seen much of the\nworld beyond the heart of Scotland; embracing the group of\ncounties extending from Perth and Dundee in the north to\nLanark, Peebles, and Haddington in the south. He knew\nthoroughly, however, his own county, with its characteristic\nscenery, from the Ochil Hills to Loch Leven, the Lomonds to\nLargo Law and the East Neuk of Fife. He was familiar\nwith the ruined palaces of Dunfermline and Falkland, and\nthe manifold relics of other days between Queensferry and\nSt. Andrews. Many a summer holiday had he fished the\nLeven waters, river and loch; had become familiar with\nthe historical associations of Loch Leven castle perched on\nits rock in the middle of the lake, the ancient residence of\nScottish kings and the prison-house of the ill-fated Queen\n 10\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ni\nMary. Loch Leven, once the scene of stirring and romantic\nevents, is now better known as the arena of peaceful contests\nby the disciples of Izaak Walton.\nAs a schoolboy, Fleming had played on the same Kirkcaldy beach that Carlyle loved so well: ' The beach of\nKirkcaldy, in summer twilights, a mile of the smoothest\nsand, with one long wave coming on, gently, steadily, and\nbreaking in gradual explosion, into harmless melodious white,\nat your hand all the way (the break of it, rushing along\nlike a mane of foam, beautifully sounding and advancing');\nthe beach where Carlyle and his friend Edward Irving\nhad so often walked and communed together. Many\na summer's day too he spent in the beautiful dell of Kennoway, near his grandmother's home. At other times he\nmade excursions to Ravenscraig Castle and to Seafield,\nsketching the ruins of the old towers; to the quaint little\ntown of Kinghorn on the road to Burntisland ; to the ancient\ncastle of Fordel, with its stately beeches and gardens, its\nturrets and tapestries; to Dysart, and to the caves of\nWemyss.\nOccasionally too business or pleasure would take him to\nthe old town of Dunfermline, where he probably may have\nseen a much smaller boy named Andrew Carnegie, who was\ndestined to make a name for himself in the world. A familiar\nsight was the island of Inchkeith, in the middle of the Forth,\npretty much the same then as when Carlyle and Irving\nvisited it in Robie Greg's j poor green-painted, rickety\nyawl'; the same wonderful views across the water, ' Edinburgh with its towers, the great silver mirror of the Frith,\ngirt by such a framework of mountains, cities, rocks and\nfields and wavy landscape, on all hands'\u00E2\u0080\u0094a precious\nmemory to hold for other days.\nBut of all the scenes about Kirkcaldy, once familiar to\nSandford Fleming, nothing exceeds in loveliness the parks\nand gardens. The gardens of Dysart stretching from\nRavenscraig along the banks of the Forth and overlooking\nthe beautiful southern shore from the Bass Rock to Salisbury Craigs and Arthur's Seat are the pride of the people\nA\\n \nSandford Fleming in 1845\n A VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\nii\nof the ' Lang Toun'. Even more richly endowed with\nsweetness and quiet beauty is the Raith, immediately\nadjoining Kirkcaldy. There is only one Raith, and to those\nwho have known it the wide world may be searched in vain\nfor its equal. Every son and daughter of Kirkcaldy carries\nthrough life the memory of its charm, with its beautiful lake\nand waterfalls, its heather lodges, its gently swelling uplands,\nits magnificent trees of every variety, all combining to give\nto the Raith an air of perfect sylvan beauty.\nAn entry in the diary under date of January 13, 1845,\nmust be given in full, for the sake of the spirited description\nit contains of a little-known Scottish festival: f Auld Hansel\nMonday. Went down with others to Duravale to see Miss\nSimson's picture of the Slave Market at Constantinople, and\nthen returned to Haugh Mill. Next morning I entered the\nkitchen at six o'clock. Here is the master at the fire heating\nthe meal, and the mistress at the boiler stirring and boiling\nthe head of a fat ox. On a long row of tables are placed\nwooden cogs now filled with oatmeal, into which is poured\nthe water in which the head was boiled. The plowmen with\ntheir wives and children come in, upwards of forty of them,\nwith a noise of endless \" Fine days \", and \" Merrie Hansel\nMondays to ye % with the shaking of hands, &c. Now they\nare all seated on forms, benches and planks of wood. Silence\nreigns after the blessing is asked, except for the noise of the\nhorn spoons and the sloustering and snoring of the company.\nWhat a scene of happiness, scarcely to be imitated by the\npencil of Wilkie ! But this is not all. The beef is now\ncommenced upon, and crowned by the introduction of\nBacchus. The master begins, \" Here's a' yer healths an*\nmony a Hansel Monday may we see \". The bottle passes\nround the table, and the feast is never closed until the whole\nmay well say they are fou' and as thankfu'. The plowmen\nnow set out to visit their friends, and the farmer's sons and\nrelations get the guns ready for the field sports. They\ncommence at a favourite field; those that have guns take\ntheir station at regular intervals, the boys and others without\nguns filling in between. So they scour the fields one after\nJ\n &&*3^1*\u00C2\u00A3M&^-&\u00C2\u00A35K4#>^\n12\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nanother till two or three o'clock, when they return laden\nwith the products of the chase, chiefly hares, to a hearty\ndinner, intermixed with whisky toddy, and a general talk\nof the adventures of the day. Tea and more toddy follow\nlater, with songs, Scottish proverbs, cards, dice, recitations\nand divers games. The amusements are carried on to\na pretty late hour, when once more Hansel Monday ends.'\nIn this month of January 1845 the thoughts of the young\nman are constantly turned towards Canada. H January 7 he\nnotes in his diary: ' This is my birthday, and I am now\neighteen years of age. Went up with my father to Balbirnie\nto see Mr. Ellice (Edward Ellice, M.P.) about going to Canada.'\nA few days later he writes : h Got a pocket sextant, a present\nfrom Mr. Sang, on the thoughts of going to America.' By\ndint of hard work he had now qualified himself to practise\nhis profession as a civil engineer and surveyor, and had\nacquired not a little facility as a draughtsman. The prospects\nof employment in the old land were bright enough, especially\nas the railway system was at that time being inaugurated\nthroughout the United Kingdom, but, like many another\nyoungster, the spirit of adventure had got hold of him, and\nafter careful thought it was decided that he should try his\nfortune in the new world. His brother David had also\ndetermined to emigrate to Canada. On the 20th of April the\ndiary reads: ' Went to church twice, expecting it to be the\nlast time in Scotland'; and the following day the young\nman writes : ' David and I up about Kennoway taking farewell of our friends. My grandmother was a little affected,\nand with tears in her eyes she said, \" In danger I'll no' can\nhelp ye ony way, but I'll pray for ye.\" Robert and Sandford\nImrie, our cousins, came along to a cross-road near the\nMilton, and when parting dropped a letter into our hand,\nsaying \" Just to put in our pocket: it might be of use to us\nafterward \". It was addressed to S. & D. Fleming, enclosing\ntwo pound and two crown pieces. It certainly showed an\nuncommonly kind and feeling heart, and is ranked among\nthe incidents of my life which I will never forget. On\ncoming home, our Kirkcaldy friends were at supper, and the\n \nA VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\n13\nworkmen were drinking David's health with some money\nwhich he gave. Rodger Black gave us each a present, to\nDavid Gems from American Poets, and to me Gems from\nBritish Poets, and I got from my Uncle Alec a pocket\ncompass which also answers as a sun-dial.'.\nOn the morning of April 22, they were up at six making\ntheir final preparations. I After taking farewell of our friends,\nour mother, brothers and sisters, David and I, accompanied\nby our father to Glasgow, left Kirkcaldy perhaps for ever.\nWe crossed the Firth to Edinburgh, and left by the five\no'clock train for Glasgow.' The following day was spent in\nGlasgow, making final preparations for the long voyage by\nsailing ship to Quebec. In the year 1845 a voyage across\nthe Atlantic was not such a simple matter as it is to-day.\nSandford Fleming, who was to do so much to increase the\nmeans of communication, had to be satisfied with the\nleisurely speed of an old-fashioned sailing ship. We of this\ngeneration, who have become so accustomed to the marvels\nof luxury plying almost daily between the opposite shores of\nthe ocean, can hardly realize that the whole story of ocean\nnavigation by steam lies within the bounds of one man's\nlifetime. When Fleming crossed the Atlantic in 1845 the\ndawn of the era of ocean steamships had barely opened.\nThe Cunard Line had only recently been formed. It was\nthen known as the British and North American Royal Mail\nSteam Packet Company, and consisted of four side-wheel\nsteamers, mere pygmies beside the great Cunarders of to-day.\nIt is worth remembering that as this first line of ocean\nsteamers was organized by Sir Samuel Cunard, a Canadian,\nso the very first vessel to cross the Atlantic by steam power\nwas built in Canada, her hull in Quebec, her engines in\nMontreal, fed with Canadian coal, and navigated by a\nCanadian crew. The Royal William, for so she was named,\nsailed from Quebec as long ago as 1833, and made a successful\nthough not very rapid voyage by steam to London. After\nleaving Quebec, she coaled at Pictou, and steamed triumphantly into the Thames twenty-five days later.\nSeventy years ago, however, adventurous young men,\n 14\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ndetermined to carve a fortune in the new world, were content to find their way by such old-fashioned sailing ships as\nthose engaged in the timber trade. In such a ship passage\nhad been engaged by the young travellers. The original\npassenger's ticket used on the occasion is still extant, and is\nnot without interest as a relic of days when the sailing\nship was still the usual means of conveyance across the\nAtlantic. It reads : ' I engage that the parties herein\nnamed shall be provided with a passage to Quebec, in the\nship Brilliant, with not less than ten cubic feet for luggage,\nfor each statute adult, for the sum of \u00C2\u00A313 10s. including head-\nmoney, if any, at the place of landing, and every other\ncharge . . . Water and provisions, according to the annexed\nscale, will be supplied by the Ship, as required by law, and\nalso fires and suitable hearths for cooking. Utensils for\neating and drinking will be provided by passengers. Bedding\nwill be provided by passengers.' It is noted that the fare\nincludes free passage from Quebec to Montreal by river\nsteamer. Then follows the scale of water and provisions:\n' A supply of water daily, at the rate of three quarts for each\npassenger, and at convenient times, not less than two times\na week ; a supply of provisions after the rate of seven pounds\nof Bread, Biscuit, Flour, Oatmeal, or Rice per week. One-\nhalf at least of the supply shall consist of Bread or Biscuit,\nand that Potatoes may be employed (at Master's option) to\nthe extent of the remaining half of the supply, five pounds\nof the potatoes being computed as equal to one pound of the\nother articles above enumerated.'\nTo return to the diary: ' The Brilliant cleared out from\nthe Broomielaw about half-past one p.m. (April 24,1845.) It\nwas tugged down the river by a steamer, and we took farewell of my father, who followed to the end of the wharf and\ngave us three cheers.'\nIt was a fine spring day, the sun high in the heavens, and\nthe two young exiles, though their hearts were full, could\nenjoy the ever-changing scenery as they glided down the\nClyde. The towers and spires of Glasgow gradually disappeared in the distance; presently the travellers passed\n H\nA VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\n15\nDumbarton Castle; their vessel, piloted through such a mass\nof shipping as filled them with amazement, dropped down to\nGreenock, where a new pilot was taken on for the Firth of\nClyde. ' Night comes on before we reach the Irish Sea, and\nwe go to sleep for the first time on the deep. The steamer\nleaves us during the night.'\nThe following morning they are up at five, and on the deck\nexamining with keen interest all the details of their floating\nhome. The only land in sight is Ailsa Craig, due south, just\nvisible in the mist. Some hours later they get a glimpse of\nthe Mull of Kintyre to the north, and soon the last of Scotland\ndrops below the horizon. In the afternoon the wind freshens,\nall loose articles slide about the cabin, the trunks are made\nfast in the hold, and the women passengers retire to their\nberths. The entry in the diary under Saturday, April 26, is\nbrief but eloquent, ? Very sick. In bed most part of the day,\nand eat very little.' Sunday, still very sick in the forenoon,\nbut the wind moderates and the young travellers find life\nagain worth living. * In the evening we had a pleasant sail\nwith the vessel rocking majestically, although before we\nreally thought it was going down.' During the night a jar\nof treacle broke loose in the cabin, and the sticky contents\nwas spread about the floor.\nA day or two of fine weather brought most of the passengers\non deck, but the respite was only brief. A stiff westerly wind\nsent them below again.\nThe last days of April found the ship again in the grip of\nthe storm. ' Slept little or none all night,' reads the diary,\n' and we thought sometimes we were like to be pitched out\nof our berths. It was my turn to see about breakfast. Up\nearly therefore. Could not walk very well along the deck.\nGot nothing, as there was trouble with the cook. One of the\nsailors came to the rescue. Got back to the cabin wet. We\nwere all sitting on the trunks when the vessel took a great\nheave, the fastenings were loosened, and the trunks all slid\nto the opposite side of the cabin, some on their sides and\nothers topsy-turvy. Back they came with the ship, and to\nand from, some of us betwixt them and others on top. David\nJ\n i6\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nw\nhad been sitting on a box containing drinkables. In a short\ntime the contents were spilt over everything and the floor\nswimming. Much laughter followed. The trunks and other\nthings were secured with difficulty, and while we were at\nwork, in comes a fellow passenger saying the trunks in the\nhold had broken loose. We all go down and get them secured.\nThe cracking and creaking there are fearful. We get back\nto the cabin and go to bed.'\nThe good ship Brilliant had run into a north-west gale,\nwhich steadily increased in violence and lasted several days*\nShe had to change her course and run southerly under double-\nreefed topsails. Great waves swept across the deck. A wild\nnight followed, the ship creaking and groaning; ' it seemed\nas if the sea was closing over us. We slept none all night.\nNext day, the wind fell and our condition altered, though it\nseemed for the worse, as the heavy swelling seas caused by\nthe gale still remained, and the sails could no longer steady\nthe vessel. There being no wind the canvas simply flapped.\nThe ship rolled fearfully, and the cargo in the hold shifted\nfrom side to side. The cargo was partly iron bars, and we\ncould hear them rolling from side to side with the ship, and\npounding first on one side and again on the other. It did not\nseem possible that the ship could withstand such pounding\nmuch longer, and not knowing what might happen to us I felt\nthat I would like to send some word to my father, so I got\nout my writing-desk which he gave me before I left home,\nand wrote a letter explaining our situation and what seemed\nto be our prospects. I sealed the letter in a bottle and threw\nit into the sea, thinking it might be the last letter I should\nwrite, and that it might perhaps reach my father. We were\nthen far out at sea, possibly seven hundred miles from land,\nand had drifted four or five hundred miles southerly out of\nour course, from about the latitude of Glasgow to that of\nParis. Towards evening the heavy sea fell, and next morning\neverything had changed for the better. When we got on deck\nthe good ship, with her canvas spread to a favouring breeze,\nwas sailing tranquilly toward the west.'\nFor some time the voyage was made up of a monotonous\n I\nA VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\n17\nthough no doubt most welcome series of fine days with clear\nskies, comparatively smooth water and plain sailing. The\ndiary is a record of the trifling incidents that make up such\na voyage : a schooner is seen homeward bound ; a brig is\nsighted on the northern horizon; another sail is within\nspeaking distance for half a day. The brothers play chess\nduring the day, and join the other cabin passengers with\nsinging and dancing in the evening. May 11 they are becalmed, and the boys amuse themselves watching the antics\nof a shoal of porpoises, and fishing for sea-weed which from\nits appearance must have floated north from the Gulf of\nMexico ; two or three whales are seen blowing just above\nthe horizon, and another appears a few hundred yards from\nthe ship; nautili float past, ' looking queerly like large\nmice *.\nOn the 13th of May they are half-way between land and\nland, to the delight of the passengers. The following day\nbrought nasty weather again, the ship laboured hard, the\ntrunks again slid about the cabin and ' even the pillows had\nto be tied to the bed ', a quantity of pig-iron broke loose in\nthe hold, adding to the general confusion and filling the\npassengers with alarm. On the 18th they passed several\nlarge icebergs, and the following day were reported to have\nreached the Great Banks. ' A great many fishing schooners\nwere seen, with small boats floating about; towards evening\nit gets foggy, and while sitting in the cabin we hear a great\ncrying on deck : a large schooner lies at anchor, right ahead,\nnot having been seen in the fog until we were a couple of\nship's-lengths off; we would have struck her amidships if\nour course had not been immediately altered. That night\nwe sailed with two lookouts and had bells ringing continually.\nSome of the passengers took precautions against the ship's\nsinking during the night, such as sleeping with their clothes\non, pocketing their money, and having a bag of biscuits handy\nto throw into the small boats.'\n- May 22. It is now four weeks to-day since we left\nGlasgow. We began to wash a few handkerchiefs, and I had\njust gone on deck to put them out to dry, when greatly\nB\n i8\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nW\nsurprised I was to see hills on the horizon; they had been\nhid before by the mist. Every one crowded on deck, some\nnearly dancing for joy. I made a sketch. It was the south\ncoast of Newfoundland\u00E2\u0080\u0094the first I have seen of the new\nworld, the first glimpse of our adopted country.'\nThree days later they were called up to see St. Paul's Island\nin the early morning, and during the forenoon passed Bird\nRocks. The following morning they sighted Gasp6 shore\nand Anticosti. May 30, a pilot was taken on board, and\nJune 3 they came to anchor at Grosse Isle. [ The captain\nwent ashore with two cabin, two intermediate, and two\nsteerage passengers. I had not the good luck to get off, which\nwas rather disappointing as I wished to take sketches of the\nplace. They brought us bread baked on the island and\nbunches of flowers, and among them I was glad to see the\ndandelion, as it reminded me of the land we had left behind.\nThe numerous rocky islands covered with trees are most\nbeautiful with high hills in the background.'\nTwo days later they had reached their destination. ' Called\nup on deck to see Quebec about 5 a.m. Just then opposite\na waterfall (Montmorency). The river at Quebec was immensely crowded with vessels, and pilot boats were flying\nabout in every direction. The tin roofs of the houses and the\nspires of the churches were shining in the rays of the sun.\nWe packed our travelling things in the hope of getting away\nwith the five o'clock steamer to Montreal. Some of us went\nashore in a boat in the forenoon to see the town. Everything\nseemed strange, the steamers especially. Some were driven\nby horses, walking on deck, but the Montreal steamships were\nsplendid. Very happy to get our feet on terra firma once\nmore. We set off to see the ruins of a great fire which had\ntaken place a day or two before our arrival. It had an awful\nappearance; more than twenty acres of houses burned to\nthe ground ; nothing left but a forest of blackened chimneys,\nthe houses having been built chiefly of wood. The pavements\nof the streets being also of wood were destroyed with the\nhouses. The homeless inhabitants are living in churches and\nother large buildings, and subscriptions are being raised in\n A VOYAGE IN A SAILING SHIP\n19\nevery quarter for their relief.1 The people here are almost\nall French, and have, of course, a very foreign appearance\nto us. After looking about for some time we returned on\nboard to be in time for the Montreal steamer, but found we\ncould not get away untilthe next day, as the custom-house\nofficer had not yet come on board.'\nThe next forenoon, having still some time on their hands,\nthe brothers again went ashore and wandered through the\nold town. ' We saw the inside of a Roman Catholic chapel;\nit was indeed richly adorned and elaborately finished. We\nvisited the spot where General Wolfe fell, and saw where the\nbattle with General Montcalm was fought. Returning to\nthe Brilliant, we got our baggage removed to the steamer for\nMontreal. The custom-house officer was most reasonable,\nand only required that one trunk should be opened. We left\nour old ship and her crew with regret, having during the\nvoyage, which lasted from the 22nd of April to the 6th of June,\nin all forty-four days, made a pleasant society on board. We\nsaid good-bye to the officers, with whom we had cultivated\nagreeable relations, especially in connexion with the observations and calculations necessary to be made from day to day\nin the navigation of the ship.'\nA word or two may be added as to the fate of the letter\nthrown overboard in mid-Atlantic. Nearly seven months\nafter it was consigned to the waves, the father, after hearing\nof his son's safe arrival in Canada, received the following\nmessage from Appledore, Port of Bideford, Devonshire : * A\nbottle has been drifted on shore this day and been picked up\nby a poor fisherman. It contains a letter addressed to you.\nIt bears date, Atlantic Ocean, May ulto., and excites great\ncuriosity, having drifted about six hundred and thirty miles.\nThis letter may be of consequence, and it shall be preserved\nfor the owner.'\nThis ends the story, briefly told, of the voyage from the\nQyde to Quebec by sailing ship in 1845. So the boy Sandford\nFleming, after a passage of some six weeks, made his entry\ninto the new world.\n1 This was the great fire of May 28, 1845, which destroyed 1,600 houses\nand other buildings.\nB2\n CHAPTER II\nMAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD\nNearly a quarter of a century before the Royal William\ncrossed the Atlantic, the first Canadian steamboat navigated\nthe waters of the St. Lawrence. Built at Montreal in 1809,\ntwo years after Fulton had astonished the people of New York\nby steaming up the Hudson in the Clermont, the Accommodation was launched by John Molson and started on her maiden\ntrip to Quebec. The run was made in thirty-six hours, and\nthe venture proved so successful that Molson obtained a\nmonopoly for fifteen years, and in 1811 built a second steamboat, the Swiftsure. These pioneer vessels, which were the\npride of Montreal a hundred years ago, would appear ludicrously small and clumsy if one of them could be put beside\na palatial river steamer of the present day; and even in\n1845 rapid advances had been made in the size and equipment\nof the boats plying between Montreal and Quebec.\nCertainly to Sandford Fleming and his elder brother David,\nafter their long voyage on the sailing ship Brilliant, the steamboat Queen seemed a magnificent vessel of phenomenal speed.\nThe boys found room on the crowded deck, and watched as\nlong as daylight lasted the ever-changing panorama of the\nSt. Lawrence. For several miles above Quebec the river was\nfilled with sailing vessels taking on cargoes of lumber for the\nEuropean market. Then the city was left behind, and the\nboat steamed past cultivated fields with here and there the\ncomfortable home of an habitant. Presently a hamlet would\nappear on the river's bank, the neat white cottages of the\nvillagers clustering around the village church, for all the world\nlike a brood of chickens about the mother hen. Presently\nthe cultivated field would give place for a time to a bit of\ncomparatively wild, rocky scenery, with sombre forest in\nthe background. Finally, darkness closed down over the\nscene, and the two young emigrants made themselves as\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 21\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2*_^*-\ncomfortable as they could on deck, that being the only\naccommodation they could secure.\nThe following morning, June 7, they awoke a little stiff,\nbut the discomforts of the night were soon forgotten in the\nglorious scene that lay before them. It was a beautiful clear\nmorning, a typical Canadian midsummer morning; the\nriver was as smooth as glass, untouched even by a ripple,\nand the Queen was sailing through that most beautiful part\nof the St. Lawrence between Three Rivers and Montreal.\nThe travellers landed at Montreal about eight o'clock in the\nmorning.\nIn the Montreal of 1845 there was much to remind Fleming\nof the old French town of Quebec, but there was much also\nthat marked it as a town with different conditions and a\ndifferent future. The old narrow streets, relics of the French\nregime, still remained along the water-front, with many\ncurious old buildings that have since disappeared, but the\ncity was already expanding back towards St. Catherine Street\nand Sherbrooke, and on the water-front a substantial beginning had been made with the splendid system of docks which\nnow accommodates the commerce of half a continent.\nIt is difficult to realize the tremendous changes that have\ntaken place in Montreal and in the country of which it is\nstill the centre, since 1845. Montreal was then a city of\nabout sixty thousand, one-tenth of its present population;\nthe gigantic railway systems of the country were then represented by one little strip of track from Laprairie to St. John's,\nconnecting Montreal with the Champlain Valley, and even\nthis railway was shut down in winter ; merely a beginning\nhad been made with the St. Lawrence canals, upon which\nover one hundred millions have since been expended; the\nCornwall Canal had been completed three years before, but\nthe Williamsburg canals were only then in course of construction, and the enlarged Lachine Canal was not completed\nuntil 1848. The Allan Line and the great project of the\nVictoria Bridge were still in the womb of the future, and the\nmen who had visions of Montreal as a great ocean port were\nnot to see even a partial realization of their dream for some\n 22\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nyears to come. The removal of the seat of government to\nMontreal had given an impetus to this as to many other\nprojects affecting the welfare of the city and the country, but\nMontreal in the middle 'forties was only on the threshold of\nher era of expansion. She still retained, as a well-known\nwriter, Dr. S. E. Dawson, has said, much of her mediaeval\naspect. Few vestiges are now left of the old town, but many\nexisted in 1845. J A visit to St. Vincent Street and to St.\nAmabe Lane will give an idea of the narrow streets and\nsombre appearance that then characterized our present\nbright city. The streets were crowded, for it did not require\nmuch trade to crowd them, and the merchants lived over\ntheir warehouses, and their clerks oft-times lived with them.\nThe few residences above St. Catherine Street were like\nmanor houses among the fields which stretched down to\nDorchester Street. The old town was solidly packed, and\nit was only on the new streets like St. James, Craig, and\nMcGill that there were many gaps. If the city seemed sombre,\nthe people were gay and sociable. There was, besides the\nwestern trade, an important retail trade, and the city was\nenlivened then, and for many years after, by a large garrison\nof English troops, whose presence kept the town in touch\nwith English thought and manners and fashions. Their\nbugle-calls for the |assembly\" and other routine duties of\na soldier's life are now replaced by steam whistles which\nsummon or dismiss an army of thronging work-people. The\nrelations between the garrison and the city were always\nfriendly, and the parade at 11 a.m., or the trooping of the\ncolours, attracted many citizens to the Champ de Mars, then\nthe centre of the town, while the brilliant uniforms of the\nofficers enlivened the ball-rooms of the evening parties.'\nIt was such a town as this, through whose narrow old-world\nstreets the young travellers wandered in 1845.\nWhile the two brothers were still looking about them,\neagerly interested in the many novel features of life in the\nnew world, and a little uncertain as to what they had better\ndo next, they had the pleasure of a visit from their old schoolmaster, Mr. Bethune, of Kennoway, who came down to the\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 23\nsteamer with his wife. He had come out to Montreal from\nScotland some time before, and was now about to start for\nthe west, having undertaken the work of a missionary settler\nin the township of Walpole, on the north shore of Lake Erie.\nThe prospect of congenial company induced the boys to\nhasten their departure from Montreal; they all took passage\non a river steamer and made their way up the Ottawa River.\nAt that time the only route to Upper Canada lay by way of\nthe Ottawa River to Bytown, through the Rideau Lakes to\nKingston, and thence along Lake Ontario.\nThe improvement of navigation was then in it\u00C2\u00A7 infancy.\nSuch canals as there were, were only adapted to small shallow-\ndraught vessels, and the approaches had not been dredged.\nAs a consequence the little boat in which they were travelling,\nbeing deeply laden, stuck in the mud a little below Lachine\nand lay all night. It rained very heavily, and, there being no\ncabin, the passengers were again compelled to sleep on deck\nunder oil-cloths. The next day the vessel was taken up to\nthe locks, but as it was contrary to the law to go through\non Sunday, the boys took advantage of the opportunity to\nattend the Scotch church in Lachine.\nNecessary repairs to the steamer detained them at St.\nAnne's until Tuesday afternoon, when they were off again\nthrough the Lake of Two Mountains and into the wild scenery\nof the Ottawa. Here the author of the diary was introduced\nto the North American mosquito, and, like most travellers\non this continent, was sufficiently interested in its personality\nto record his impressions in his diary : ' Saw mosquitoes for\nthe first time. Got several bites on my hand. They are\nvery itchy, but if you do not scratch them they soon go away.\nIf you do ', he adds feelingly,' they swell very much. Some\npeople they do not sting, or at least they do not feel them.'\nThe steamer made occasional stops at infant settlements on\nthe river, and the lads enjoyed the luxury of sweet milk, but\nthey note that it is about twice as dear as in Scotland. On\nthe evening of the nth they reached the village of Carillon\nat the foot of the Long Sault Rapids. At Grenville they were\nagain delayed by difficulty in getting the steamer through\nI\n |i\u00C2\u00A7ilfSiK$Sli\u00C2\u00A78l\u00C2\u00A7asra\n24\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthe locks. This was her first trip, and she had been built\nwithout due regard to the width of the locks. As a consequence it became necessary to unship the paddle-boxes before\nshe could be passed through. After another night spent\non the river, the travellers reached Bytown at six a.m. on\nJune 14.\nLet us attempt to see the little settlement of Bytown as it\nappeared in 1845. As the steamer ploughed her way through\nthe dark waters of the Ottawa, the banks of the river below\nthe town gave little indication of the presence of man. The\nlow northern shore and the higher ground on the south side,\nrising to imposing cliffs, on which the city now stands, were\nstill for the most part clothed in the same primaeval forest\nthat Champlain had seen first of white men two hundred\nand thirty-two years before. Parkman's inimitable word-\npicture was as applicable to the river in 1845 as it was to\nthe scene that met the astonished gaze of Champlain in 1613.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 The still surface of the river was flecked with spots of foam;\nislets of froth floated by, tokens of some great convulsion.\nThen, on their left, the falling curtain of the Rideau shone\nlike silver betwixt its bordering woods, and in front, white as\na snowdrift, the cataracts of the Chaudiere barred their way.\nThey saw the unbridled river careering down its sheeted\nrocks, foaming in unfathomed chasms, wearying the solitude\nwith the hoarse outcry of its agony and rage.' Except that\nin 1845 a rustic mill stood above the Rideau Falls, and a graceful suspension bridge spanned the Chaudiere, Parkman's\ndescription was as applicable as ever. As the boat rounded\nNepean Point, however, and drew into the wharf, an entirely\ndifferent scene opened up before the travellers. Before them\nrose the massive tier of locks leading to the Rideau Canal,\nspanned above by the Sapper's Bridge. On the heights to\nthe right, now crowned by the splendid Gothic group of the\nHouses of Parliament, stood the barracks and stone hospital\nbuilt by Colonel By, and a few scattered public buildings and\nprivate dwellings could be seen among the trees on either\nside of the canal.\nWhile the boat made her leisurely way through the locks,\n '\u00C2\u00AB\u00E2\u0080\u00A2*\u00C2\u00BB\u00C2\u00BB\u00C2\u00BB..\nMAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 25\nthe writer of the diary explored the little town, which many\nyears afterwards was to become his home. Climbing the\nhill to Rideau Street, he crossed the Sapper's Bridge, and\nwandered down the road which skirted Barracks' Hill, and\neventually brought him to the bridge over the Chaudiere\nFalls. His brother took another course towards New Edinburgh, and looked up an old workman of their father's who\nhad come out to Bytown eleven years before and was now\nin comfortable circumstances. He was not in at the time,\nand they had to get back to the boat which all this time had\nbeen making her leisurely way through the locks and was now\ndischarging cargo at the canal basin. Before she left, however, the old man was seen coming along the banks of the\ncanal, dressed in honour of the occasion in his Sunday clothes,\na dress coat with brass buttons and a white cravat. They\ntold him all the news of Kirkcaldy and Kennoway, and in\nreturn learned from him a great deal about life in Canada.\n' As we walked back with him to the bridge,' says the diary,\n' I happened to be a few feet behind, and to my astonishment\nsaw smoke coining from the tails of his coat. I rushed forward with a shout of warning. The old man turned quickly,\ncaught sight of the trail of smoke he was leaving behind, and\nsnatched out of his pocket a huge bandanna handkerchief\nand a venerable pipe. He had been smoking, it appeared, on\nhis way down to the canal, and when he caught sight of us on\nthe boat had hastily thrust the pipe into his pocket without\nremembering to empty it. The bandanna handkerchief\nmade material for a tidy little bonfire, which was just discovered in time to save the tails of his Sunday coat.'\nThe long and rather tedious journey through the canal and\nthe Rideau Lakes to Kingston was made without incident,\nbeyond meeting another old Kirkcaldy man who had come\nout from Scotland thirty years before and was now lockmaster\nat Smith's Falls. ' Kingston', says the diary, ' is a pretty\nconsiderable town, wide streets and well laid out. There are\nsome good public buildings, more especially the market-house,\nwhich is a large and fine building in the form of a T with\ncolonnade and pillars in front supporting a dome and clock-\ni\n 26\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ntower. There are some good churches, one a new Gothic\nstructure, and a large plain college.' This was Fleming's\nfirst glimpse of Queen's College, of which he was many years\nlater to become Chancellor.\nThe same evening they took passage on the Princess Royal,\nbound for Toronto, accompanied by several of their acquaintance from the Brilliant, who had come on ahead to Kingston.\nThe Princess Royal was crowded with emigrants, chiefly\nIrish, an advance guard of the great exodus of 1847. At\nCobourg they took leave of their friends, who were going on\nto Toronto, and turned north to their destination, Peterboro.\n'Cobourg', says the diary,' is a nice little town, and apparently\nthriving very well.' The lads were struck with the curious\nresemblance that this town, some seven hundred or eight\nhundred miles inland, bore to a seaport, and the novel\nexperience of a Hmitless horizon on these inland waters.\nA Peterboro farmer returning from Cobourg furnished\na convenient means of transport. The luggage was tumbled\ninto his wagon, and off they started. The first few miles\nwere over a rough road, nothing much more than a track\nthrough the bush. Then they struck the corduroy road\nfrom Port Hope to Rice Lake. The elder, ambitious to\ndrive the wagon over this pioneer highway, so different\nfrom the carefully-built roads of the old land, managed to\nget into a deep rut and was pitched headlong into the ditch.\nThis experience satisfied him for the time, and he was glad\nto hand the reins over to the farmer, more accustomed to\nthe eccentricities of Upper Canadian roads. They arrived\nat Peterboro about sun-down, where they had a warm welcome from their kinsman, Dr. Hutcheson, one of the pioneer\nsettlers of the county of Peterboro. The journey from\nQuebec to Peterboro, which can now be made in ten hours,\ntook them over eleven days !\nPeterboro did not impress Fleming very favourably when\nhe got his first sight of the town. i It looks rather a poor\nlittle place, the stumps of trees still in the middle of the\nstreets, a wooden house here and there, with a few good\nvillas with verandahs in the suburbs.' But he was to make\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 27\nhis home here for several years, and many associations were\nto make the place dear to him. Indeed, a good night's rest\nand a bright sun the following morning had already made\nPeterboro more interesting and attractive. ' Went out with\nthe doctor to see the town,' he says. ' There are some good\nshops, and a large court-house and cells which we went\nthrough. There were one debtor, a man and wife condemned for burning a house, and a lunatic here, this being\nthe prison for the whole district of Colbourne. The place\nlooks very well down about the river, which is more than half\nthe size of the Clyde at Glasgow. A small steamer plies\nbetween Peterboro and Rice Lake. Part of this town is on\nthe other side of the river, which is crossed by a wooden\nbridge. It contains about two thousand inhabitants.'\nThe following day Sandford and David drove out to Mud\nLake with Dr. Hutcheson, calling at different farm-houses\nwhere the doctor had patients. For several miles from\nPeterboro the land was cleared and good farms under cultivation ; the houses were only log shacks, but the farmers\nappeared to be prosperous. A visit was paid to an Indian\nvillage at Mud Lake, and the young Scotch lads were for the\nfirst time brought face to face with a live Indian chief in the\nperson of Peter Noggy.\nAbout two months were spent very pleasantly in the\nlittle town on the banks of the Ottonabee; not idle days by\nany means. The lads had been brought up in a community\nthat abhorred idleness, and there were innumerable opportunities of usefulness about the home of the good doctor.\nStill they found time for fishing excursions, picnics, and\nrambles about the country, in which they discovered many\nfamiliar acquaintances among the birds and flowers of the\nCanadian woods, and many too which were altogether unfamiliar.\nCongenial friends were also found among the families of\nPeterboro, including members of the talented Strickland\nfamily, Catherine Parr Traill, her sister, Susanna Moody, and\ntheir brother, Major Strickland. Here, by the picturesque\nwaters of the Ottonabee and in the neighbouring woods,\n SANDFORD FLEMING\nMrs. Traill gathered and put into shape the material for her\ndelightful books, some reflecting the now vanished conditions\nof the pioneer settlements, and the lives of the true-hearted\nmen and women, branches many of them of the best old\nEnglish stock, who laid the foundations of the great province of Ontario ; and others interpreting with rare insight\nand sympathy the life histories of the inhabitants of these\nCanadian woods and streams. Here too about this time\nSandford first met a charming young girl, the daughter of\nSheriff Hall, who some ten years afterwards was to become\nhis wife.\nEarly in August the two lads left for Toronto, to seek\ntheir fortune. They drove to Port Hope, where they took\nthe steamer for Toronto. Port Hope in 1845 was ' a nice\nthriving little town, finely situated between two hills, well\ncovered with trees, and among the trees many beautiful little\ncottages. A considerable stream runs through the town,\nwith good falls for the mills situated there. This place may\nbe said to be like a Scotch town, but the houses being\npainted white, and some of them tastefully built, it looks even\nmuch better', which was praise indeed for a young man\nfresh from Scotland.\nThey left Port Hope at seven a.m., and after calling at\nseveral intermediate ports reached Toronto at one o'clock in\nthe afternoon. Toronto was then a town of less than twenty\nthousand people, with several enormously long and very\nill-paved streets. A number of important public buildings\nhad lately been completed or were in course of erection,\nincluding several fine churches. The old Market House was\nstill standing, and over it were the rooms of the Athenaeum,\nafterwards amalgamated with the Canadian Institute. The\nofficials of King's College, now the University of Toronto,\noccupied part of the old Parliament Buildings. The city\nwas lighted with gas, and water-works had already been\nestablished from the bay to the city. Steamboats connected\nToronto with Kingston, Hamilton, Niagara, Queenston, and\nRochester; stages carried passengers east and west over\nexceedingly rough road ; omnibuses ran regularly out Yonge\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 29\nStreet, which extended forty miles north into the country,\npassing through Richmond Hill, Thornhill, and other villages;\nand every hour from the market-place to Yorkville; a horse\nferry-boat also connected the city with the island.\nIn 1845 the Kingston steamer landed at Brown's Wharf,\nnear the foot of Church Street. To any one famihar with\nToronto the changes that have taken place within the lifetime of Fleming are indeed marvellous. Practically the city\nwas confined in 1845 to the area between Peter Street on the\nwest and Parliament Street on the east. Queen Street was\nnot open west of Sherbourne, where it was shut in by the\nMoss Park grounds of the Hon. William Allan, father of the\nlate Senator Allan. The whole space between Queen and\nBloor Streets, now a mile and a quarter of almost solid\nbuildings, was then mostly in farms with a few straggling\nbuildings up Yonge Street for perhaps half a mile north of\nQueen Street. ? One incident may serve to give an idea of the\nenormous strides taken by Toronto since Fleming first set foot\non its streets nearly seventy years ago, an incident the particulars of which were related to him by one of the parties to\nthe transaction. Andrew Sanderson, a farmer in the township\nof York, took a load of hay one autumn to Toronto to sell\nin the open market. Finding no sale, and unwilling to take\nthe load back with him over very heavy roads, he offered it\nto the proprietor of Elgin's Hotel on Yonge Street on very\neasy terms. The latter, however, could ill spare the cash, and\nafter some bargaining he offered Sanderson in payment for\nthe load of hay the vacant lot on the north-east corner of\nKing and Yonge Streets, which Sanderson reluctantly\naccepted. That particular lot was sold not long ago for\na million and a quarter dollars.\nAfter a night in the ' Edinburgh Castle' tavern, a comfortable room was obtained at a boarding-house on East Queen\nStreet, directly opposite what is now Jarvis Street, which did\nnot then exist. David was fortunate in obtaining work\nimmediately, but Sandford was not so successful. Day after\nday his journal is a record of hope deferred. He called on\nSir Allan MacNab and other notabilities with letters of\n\u00C2\u00A3i\nSB\n 30\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nintroduction, but, though politely received, he found little\nor no prospect of employment as an engineer or surveyor.\nThe Canada Company's surveys were completed, and there\nwas nothing to hope for in that direction ; Mr. (afterwards\nSir) Casimer Gzowski could offer no work in the Department\nof Roads and Harbours, in fact he threw cold water over the\nambitious hopes of the young engineer; told him there was\nnothing in the province ; that the great works were nearly\nall finished, funds exhausted, that they were paying off men\ninstead of taking them on, that indeed he thought it a very\nbad country for professional men, and wound up by advising\nhim to return to Scotland, advice which Sandford decided\nto put aside until every avenue of success in the new world\nhad been explored.\nFinally, seeing little prospect of employment in Toronto\nfor a time at least, he decided to go to Hamilton, partly to\nsee what prospect there might be of work in that town, and\npartly to look up his friends of the Brilliant. Surveyors\nand engineers seemed to be as little in demand there as in\nToronto, but he was fortunate in finding Mr. Bethune and\nseveral others of the Brilliant passengers, with whom he\nspent a pleasant evening.\nAs Mr. Bethune was leaving the next day with his family\nto take up his farm, Sandford decided to accompany him.\n' We went along the Port Dover road,' says the diary. ' It\nis planked to that place, a distance of thirty-six miles from\nHamilton. We passed the village of Caledonia on the Grand\nRiver. A steamer runs from this place to Port Maitland on\nLake Erie. We saw a good many flour- and saw-mills. We\nrolled along this smooth road almost like a floor, halting at\nseveral taverns and other places until we came to Mr. Secord's\ntavern, twenty-four miles from Hamilton, and then we\nwalked about two miles through the bush until we came to\nMr. Bethune's clearing.'\nHere Fleming had his first experience of colonial life under\nabsolutely pioneer conditions\u00E2\u0080\u0094the new settler with little\nother asset than his stout heart attacking the tremendous task\nof carving a home out of the wilderness. Mr. Bethune's\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 31\nfarm consisted of a two-hundred-acre lot, a few acres of\npartially cleared land, the rest being bush. A primitive log\nhouse had been put up without so far even a chimney. That\nthe young Scotch lad, however, saw nothing discouraging in\nthe outlook of a pioneer farmer is clear from the fact that at\nthis time he seriously contemplated buying a farm himself,\nand even went the length of examining one that happened\nto be for sale, and making inquiries as to possible terms of\npurchase. A sudden call to Hamilton on urgent business\nbrought this project to an untimely end, fortunately for his\nadopted country. He might have made a successful farmer,\nbut Canada would have lost perhaps her greatest engineer.\nOne little incident may appropriately close this phase of\nthe young man's career, and the story cannot better be told\nthan in his own words. * I was anxious', he says, f to find\nsome way of helping my old schoolmaster, who, although he\nhad no doubt found occasion to thrash me more than once,\nhad endeared himself to me by many kindnesses. As his\nlog house lacked a fireplace and chimney, I made up my mind\nto supply these defects. I had discovered that a quarry could\nbe opened some little distance away, and with the aid of a\npair of oxen and a sled or stone-boat, gradually managed to\ncut out and haul to the house sufficient stone for the purpose.\nMr. Bethune's little girl, Isabella, a child of about three\nyears, had become my stanch friend, and took great delight\nin driving back and forth behind the great lumbering oxen.\nMany interesting conversations we had, wee Easie and I, as\nwe got out the stone and hauled it to the site of the chimney.\nI One evening I remember her mother came to me worrying\nbecause the child was restless and feverish, and nothing\nwould do but she must sleep in my bed. With many apologies\nMrs. Bethune asked if she might be put there until she fell\nasleep. But when I saw her curly little head on the pillow\nI could not bear to have her disturbed, and when I turned in\nfor the night the wee one cuddled down beside me contentedly,\nand so we remained until the next morning's sun summoned\nus to our pleasant labours at the quarry.\n* One day a message came from Hamilton that Dr. Hutcheson,\n\t\n SANDFORD FLEMING\nmy first and best friend in Canada, was seriously ill, not\nexpected to live, and wished earnestly to see me. I had to\nleave at a moment's notice. Fortunately Dr. Hutcheson's\nillness proved less serious than had been anticipated, and in\na few days he was well enough to be taken back to Peterboro.1\nOne thing and another, however, made it impossible for me\nto revisit my dear friends near Lake Erie, and it was not until\nnineteen years after, when professional business brought me\nwithin half a day's journey of the place, that I found the\nopportunity to revisit the scene of the pleasant days of 1845.\n' I reached Jarvis, a village which had grown up meanwhile not far from the old farm, and put up at the inn. After\nsupper I asked the landlady if she knew of a family in the\nneighbourhood of the name of Bethune. | Oh yes,\" she said,\n\" the old gentleman is dead, but the daughter is still living\nhere. She married a Mr. Cowan, who keeps a general store\ndown the road.\" I found the place without difficulty. The\ninterior was the usual country store, filled with all sorts of\nmiscellaneous articles. On one side a door, then ajar, led into\nthe living-room. On entering the store I found a young man\nin charge, and asked him if Mrs. Cowan was at home. The\nwords were no sooner out of my mouth than I heard a woman's\nvoice from the inside room crying \" There he is !' and before\nI could take breath a handsome young woman rushed out\nand threw her arms around my neck, much to the confusion\nof myself and the young man behind the counter. This was\nmy little Isabella of nineteen years before, whose memory of\nher old companion had been vivid enough to recognize him\nafter all these years merely by the tones of his voice.'\nBut to return to Peterboro and the year 1845. Putting\naside for the time all thoughts of Toronto, Fleming obtained\ntemporary employment as a draughtsman with a Peterboro\nsurveyor, Richard Birdsall. This occupied him until February\n1846, when he conceived the idea of making a survey of the\ntown and publishing the plan. He had now entered his\n1 Dr. Hutcheson died in July 1847, from typhus contracted as a result\nof his devoted and unselfish work among the suffering Irish immigrants\nat Montreal.\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 33\ntwentieth year. The survey was duly completed, and then\nthe question of lithographing the plan had to be faced. At\nthat time there were few, if any, lithographers in Canada ;\ncertainly none in Upper Canada. Sandford had learned the\nart in Scotland, and determined to do the work himself. He\nwent up to Toronto, obtained the necessary stones, and in\ndue time the plan was completed. A survey and plan of the\nNewcastle District were carried out the same year ; and in\n1847 Cobourg was added to the list.\nRealizing the advantage of securing from the Government\na commission as a provincial land surveyor, he articled himself to Stoughton Dennis, of Weston, and in due time obtained\nthe certificate then required by the law. Armed with this\ndocument he set forth for Montreal, then the seat of government, in the late winter of 1849. The journey was long and\ntedious. From Peterboro to Kingston the journey was made\nby stage. At Kingston the traveller caught the first boat to\nMontreal, in company with a number of legislators on their\nway to the meeting of Parliament. The monotony of the\njourney was broken, or possibly increased, by the steamer\nbecoming icebound in the St. Lawrence, and remaining there\nfor the better part of a day.\nAt Montreal the young man presented himself for examination to that fine old gentleman, then Commissioner of Lands,\nAndrew Russel, passed the ordeal without misadventure, and\nobtained his commission from Lord Elgin on the very day of\nthe famous riot over the Rebellion Losses Bill.\nThe Bill had been passed on April 25, 1849, and, after\nanxious consideration, the Governor-General had come to\nthe conclusion that he had no justifiable alternative but to\ngive his assent. Returning from the legislative building,\nLord Elgin was surrounded by an angry mob who hooted him\nand pelted his carriage with rotten eggs. In the evening the\nmob, now grown to formidable proportions, gathered in the\nChamp de Mars, where inflammatory speeches were delivered,\nand when feeling had been worked up to fever pitch, some one\ncried,' Burn the Parliament building.' The mob immediately\ntook up the cry, and rushed off to wreak vengeance on the\nc\nil\n4\n 54\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nempty building. Sandford Fleming had been an interested\nspectator of the wild scene on the Champ de Mars, and now\nfollowed the angry crowd to watch the sequel. Down the dark\nnarrow streets surged the mob, their excited faces lighted\nfitfully by the torches that many of them carried.\nThe legislative building was J a two-story brick structure\noccupying the site of the old St. Anne's Market. The building\nhas long since disappeared, and the ground it stood on is now\nYouville Square. It was built as a market, but was not then\noccupied as such, having been leased by the Government for\nlegislative purposes. On the ground floor were the Government offices, while upstairs, at the head of a broad staircase,\nand leading off a wide passage, were two halls, one that of the\nLegislative Assembly, and the other that of the Legislative\nCouncil.'\nThe octogenarian Montreal notary, Mr. W. F. Lighthall,\nwhose recollections supply the above description of the legislative building as it was in 1849, adds the following graphic\nlittle picture of the opening of Parliament in this eventful\nyear : f Soon it was announced that the Governor-General\nhad arrived, from his official residence Monklands, on Mount\nRoyal. He entered the Legislative Council and opened\nParliament. The Speaker of the House and Black Rod\nrushed in with the mace, and we pressed in behind. Lord\nElgin read the speech from the Throne, back of which hung\nthe large oil painting of the young Queen Victoria, which\nlater was rescued from the building when it was burning/\nThis latter incident brings us back to Sandford Fleming,\nwho was left following the angry mob to the legislative\nbuilding. ' When they reached the building,' he says, * they\ntore up the planks of the sidewalk and dashed them through\nthe lower windows. Lights were then applied to piles of\nparliamentary papers inside, by throwing in the torches.\nThe fire spread rapidly, and I could see that before long it\nwould reach the library. Having spent several delightful\ndays there examining old and rare books, I felt that the least\nI could do was to try to save some of them. I gained an\nentrance, but found that the fire had already taken possession\n MAKING A FOOTING IN THE NEW WORLD 35\nof the library, and it was impossible to do anything there.\nTurning to the legislative hall, I saw the Queen's picture and\ndetermined to make at least an effort to save it. Three\nother men joined me, but we found it no easy task. The\nportrait was in a massive gilt frame, firmly bolted to the wall.\nAt last, by putting our shoulders underneath and exerting\nour united strength we managed to loosen the fastenings,\nand finally the frame came down with a crash. Finding the\nframe too heavy to handle, we removed the canvas on its\nstretching frame, and the four of us carried it out of the\nbuilding, a shoulder under each corner. We were only just\nin time, for as we climbed slowly down the stairs the flames\nwere roaring overhead and we had to stoop low to prevent\nthe picture being scorched. The picture was removed to a\nplace of safety, and some years after was brought to Ottawa.\nIt hangs to-day in the Senate. It was the work of John\nPartridge, as appears by the following entry in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly under date March 23, 1848:\n'' On motion of Sir Allan MacNab, seconded by Mr. Drummond.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Ordered that the Clerk of this House be directed to write\nto John Partridge, Esq., portrait painter to Her Majesty the\nQueen, requesting him to forward the likeness of Her Majesty\npainted for this House.\" I remember reading in a Montreal\nnewspaper, a few days after the fire, a lively account of the\nincident, in which, among other things, it was said that \" the\nQueen's picture was carried off by four scoundrels \". At the\ntime I knew nothing of the identity of my companions\nin rascality, but many years afterwards I learned that one\nof them had been Colonel Wiley, formerly Chief of Police.\nAnother was an employe of Parliament, an Eastern Townships man, whose name was, I think, McGillivray ; and the\nthird was an uncle of A. H. Todd, of the Library of Parliament. All three are now dead. It may be worth mentioning\nthat a copy of the picture was made after the fire by Mr.\nBerthon, and presented by the late Senator G. W. Allan to\nthe city of Toronto for the city hall.\nI After the rescue of the Queen's picture, I returned to the\nlegislative chamber to see if something else might not be\nC2\n 36\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nsaved from the fire, but found nothing of value which one\nman could handle. I did, however, carry out the gilded\ncrown which had rested on a cushion over the picture. It\nwas, of course, of no particular value except as a relic of the\nold legislative building, but it was new and bright with gold-\nleaf, and attracted attention as I carried it in my arms through\nthe crowd on St. Paul Street. Several times I was threatened\nwith arrest, but I explained that I was simply saving the\ncrown from destruction, and that any person who had\na better right to it than I would find it in my room at\nMack's Hotel. I afterwards took it in a tea chest to Toronto,\nwhere it remained in my possession for some years. What\nsubsequently became of it I do not know. Possibly it\nfound its way into some Toronto museum.'\n '\nToronto in 1848\nFrom an engraving by Fleming\n\u00C2\u00ABf: 1\n ^%i\nCHAPTER III\nGENESIS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN INSTITUTE\nAmong the many important projects with which Fleming\nhas been associated, none has, perhaps, given him more\nsatisfaction than the founding of the Canadian Institute,\ncreated the Royal Canadian Institute by His Majesty in 1914.\nWhen he returned from Montreal in the spring of 1849,\nequipped with all the necessary documentary authority to\npractise his profession in Canada, he had already determined\nto make Toronto his head-quarters. His was not, however,\nthe nature to rest satisfied with a mere bread-and-butter\nexistence. His vision even then reached beyond the practical\ndetails of his daily work. In June of the same year he, with \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nseveral other land surveyors, civil engineers, and architects,\npractising in and around Toronto, met together in the office\nof Kivas Tully, near the corner of King and Yonge Streets,\nto organize a society for the mutual improvement of its\nmembers and the advancement of their allied professions.\nThis society began its existence as a professional association,\nbut the men who were behind it were too broad-rninded to be\nsatisfied with so narrow a field, and in 1851, when a royal\ncharter was obtained, the society became known as the\nCanadian Institute, in the words of the Act of Incorporation,\n' A Society for the encouragement and general advancement\nof the Physical Sciences, the Arts and the Manufactures m\nthis part of our dominions.'\nBefore this stage had been reached, however, the society\nhad suffered the vicissitudes of most such bodies. The\noriginal meeting was held on June 20, 1849, the anniversary\nof the Queen's coronation, but in spite of this happy coincidence the society experienced anything but \ Queen's\nweather'. The preliminary meeting was adjourned from\nmonth to month, little being accomplished, and the waning\ninterest of the members made painfully evident by the rapidly\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0asa\njp!\n 38\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ndiminishing attendance. Finally, in February, 1850, only\ntwo men attended the meeting, Sandford Fleming and F. F.\nPassmore. There was in Sandford Fleming's make-up, however, something more than enthusiasm. He was not born\nnorth of the Tweed without inheriting a share of the national\ntenacity. He had set his heart on organizing this society,\nand organized it should be though he had to do it single-\nhanded.\nAfter much silence and long waiting, in vain, for the other\nmembers to appear, Fleming addressed his colleague in these\nwords, \ This looks bad. We must, however, proceed, as the\nsaying is, to make a spoon or spoil the horn. Let one of us\ntake the chair, and the other act as secretary.' So it was\nagreed, and dispensing in the emergency with a quorum, the\ntwo young men passed a series of resolutions, with complete\nunanimity. No amendments were offered, and time was\nnot wasted in long discussion. Those present deemed it an\nunnecessary formality to have movers and seconders to the\nmotions submitted. As appears by the original minute-book,\nthe meeting simply ' Resolved ' this and that. One resolution adopted and formally placed on the records had far-\nreaching results. It reads : ' That the members of the\nCanadian Institute do after this date meet once a week, on\neach Saturday, at 7 o'clock p.m., in the hall of the Mechanics\nInstitute.' The resolutions were printed in circular form and\nsent to all interested. The Society was galvanized into life.\nThe meeting held the week following was well attended, and\nthe discussions on various subjects were continued for several\nhours. The weekly Saturday meeting of the Canadian\nInstitute, inaugurated by these two daring young enthusiasts in February 1850, has been regularly maintained for\nover sixty years !\nThe Canadian Institute, having been at last put in motion,\nwas not permitted to stand still. At the meeting of November 16, 1850, Sandford Fleming submitted the prospectus\nof a proposed periodical, designed to be the official organ of\nthe Institute. It was to be known as The Canadian Journal,\nand was to become the medium of publication of the society's\n GENESIS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN INSTITUTE 39\ntransactions. In the language of the prospectus, it was\n- intended to minister to the wants and promote the interests\nof a young yet enterprising and rapidly advancing people,\nand to fill up a blank in Canadian literature, the existence of\nwhich has been deeply regretted, and has of late been most\nseriously felt by artisans, manufacturers, and the public\ngenerally throughout the province'. The prospectus was\napproved, and the first number of the Journal appeared,\nafter some little delay, in 1852. A change in the title of the\nJournal, in 1856, is significant. From 1852 to 1855 it was\nknown as The Canadian Journal, a Repertory of Industry,\nScience, and Art, the title being changed the following year\nto The Canadian Journal of Science, Literature, and History.\nThe aims of the society, at first largely utilitarian, were\nbecoming more purely intellectual and scientific, and this\nwas altogether desirable. The people of Canada are even\nto-day much too deeply engrossed in practical affairs, in the\nmerely bread-and-butter side of life. Literature for its own\nsake, or science for its own sake, make but a small appeal to\ntheir sympathies. ' Does it pay ? ' is the touchstone, rather\nthan ' Is it worthy ? ' If this is so to-day it was doubly true\nin the middle of the last century, when the very circumstances\nof life in Canada, the stress and strain of pioneer conditions,\nthe constant pressure of merely keeping alive, left very little\nroom for interests that were not altogether practical. And\nyet it was as important then as it is now, and always will be,\nthat men should be reminded that life has something higher\nand nobler than eating and drinking, clothing and shelter.\nTo some extent at least, the Canadian Institute furnished\na reminder.\nThere is, however, a utilitarianism that is unselfish, philanthropic in the larger sense, making for the greatest good of\nthe greatest number. This sort of idealized utilitarianism\nhas been one of the most active factors in Sandford Fleming's\ncareer. It marked his character as a young man ; it will be\nrevealed in many incidents of his later life. It is the natural\nand inevitable expression of his personality, for he is essentially a man of broad sympathies; a man of big, unselfish\n 4\u00C2\u00B0\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n:.\nideas ; a practical and far-sighted patriot. He has always\nstood a little in advance of his times. He is a dreamer, but\nnot a visionary. His dreams have always been practical and\npossible. He has had the courage to think independently,\nto preach great reforms, and he has had the patience to\neducate public opinion to the support of his projects. He\nhas lived to see his dreams come true, simply because he\nwould not rest until they had come true. He has had to meet\non the one side the determined opposition of selfish interests,\nand on the other the much more formidable obstacle of public\napathy or indifference, but in the end he has proved that even\none man, with a good cause, and a thorough belief in both\nthe cause and himself, must win.\nFleming's interest in his professional work as an engineer\nwas always sincere and whole-hearted. It was much more\nto him than a means of livelihood. He loved it for its own\nsake. He gloried in the problems it presented, the hard\nwork it entailed, its difficulties and dangers, its repulses and\nfinal victories. But even in his busiest years, when every\nhour of the day had its strenuous and exacting duties, he\nmanaged somehow to find time for other and larger plans ;\nand when the time at last came when he felt free to retire from\nactive professional life, it was simply to throw his tireless\nenergies into those other channels.\nHis interest in the Canadian Institute was an early manifestation of this attitude. It would not have been like him\nto rest content with the successful launching of the society.\nFor more than half a century he has identified himself with\nthe life of the Institute, and in innumerable ways contributed\nto its success. The published transactions of the society\nreveal at least one form of his interests, and at the same time\nthrow not a little light on the bent of his mind. To the early\nvolumes he contributes papers on such subjects as the preservation and improvement of Toronto Harbour. Some years\nlater we find him introducing a subject to which he was to\nreturn again and again, both here and in many other periodicals, that of * uniform standard time ', and the adoption of\na prime meridian. More will be said about this in another\n GENESIS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN INSTITUTE 41\nchapter. It is perhaps sufficient here to note the fact that\nwhile his first article on the subject in the transactions of the\nInstitute appeared as long ago as 1879, he was still hammering away at the same reform in the transactions for 1894.\nIn 1893 he takes up the question of electoral representation,\nand the rectification of Parliament; and in that and the\nfollowing year we find him contributing a series of historical\nand other articles, on such subjects as ocean steam navigation, early steamboats, postage stamps and colour blindness,\nand historical pictures.\nMany years ago Lieutenant Robinson, a retired British\nofficer, found in one of the walls of the old French fort at\nAnnapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, a stone inscription dated\n1606. Lieutenant Robinson gave it to Thomas Chandler\nHaliburton, the author of Sam Slick, the Clockmaker, who\nhanded it over to his son, R. G. Haliburton. Fleming, always\non the lookout for material that would be interesting and\nuseful to the Canadian Institute, secured the stone from\nMr. Haliburton, and deposited it in the museum of the\nInstitute.\nOf the Institute itself, a few words may be said. The\ngranting' of a royal charter, in 1851, gave it an assured\nstanding, and encouraged its members to embark on broader\nseas. Union with the Toronto Athenaeum, in 1855, not\nonly strengthened the membership but gave the nucleus\nof a library that has since become one of the strongest\nscientific reference libraries in the country. Some years\nlater the Institute, which had hitherto been in temporary\nquarters, moved into its own commodious building. In\n1863 a medical section was formed; and about the same\ntime an entomological section. In 1885 the Natural History\nSociety joined the Institute, bringing a valuable museum,\nand taking up the work of the biological section. The following year five new sections were added, architectural, photographic, philological, historical, and geological and mining ;\nalso an ornithological subsection of the biological section.\nArchaeological work was taken up in 1887, and a splendid\narchaeological museum founded ; and in 1888 a sociological\n-\n 42\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ncommittee was formed, which carried out a series of inquiries\ninto the social and political systems of the Indians of the\nCanadian north-west. Some of the sections named later\nbranched off as independent societies, but the original stimulus came from the parent organization. As already mentioned,\nthe Institute was, in 1914, honoured by His Majesty the King,\non the recommendation of His Royal Highness the Duke of\nConnaught, with the title of f Royal'.\nThe Royal Canadian Institute has counted among its\nmembers many of the most eminent scholars, scientists, and\nstatesmen of the country\u00E2\u0080\u0094men of more than national reputation. The character and standing of the society may be\njudged from the fact that it has been able to elect to its\npresidency such men as Sir William Logan, Sir John Henry\nLefroy, Chief Justice Robinson, William Henry Draper,\nSir Daniel Wilson, and Sir Oliver Mowat. When the Institute celebrated, in 1899, the completion of the first half-\ncentury of its existence, a celebration in which Sandford\nFleming took an active part, it must have given him peculiar\nsatisfaction to realize that the seed sown in 1849 nacl grown\ninto a great and vigorous tree. One may fittingly quote the\nconcluding words of his account, prepared for the occasion,\nof the early days of the Institute :\nThe ' writer vividly recalls', he said, ' the words and acts\nof the earnest well-wishers of literary and scientific progress,\nwith whom he had the happiness to co-operate in establishing\nthe foundations of this society. It is indeed a high privilege,\nat the dawn of a new half-century, to be permitted to allude\nto them and pay respectful tribute to their memory. He\nfeels that he cannot better conclude this brief sketch than\nin the words of one who may be regarded as perhaps the\ngreatest benefactor of the Canadian Institute, the late General\nSir Henry Lefroy: \" This society has a dignified, an honourable, and a patriotic object before it; the field is wide and\nready for the harvest, if the labourers are still few; and if\nmuch of that knowledge, contingent upon a thousand advantages never as yet brought within our reach, which alone can\ntruly appreciate or encourage their exertions, is at a low\n GENESIS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN INSTITUTE 43\npoint among us, let us not doubt that it will gain ground\nwith rapidity, and receive new impulses and new rewards\nfrom every endeavour we make to carry into effect the objects\nof our incorporation.\" To-day the objects before us are not\nless dignified, not less honourable, not less patriotic than\nwhen these words were spoken on January 8,1853. The field\nis wider, the harvest more advanced, the labourers more\nnumerous\u00E2\u0080\u0094every advantage has been increased and multiplied during long years of patient progress. The Canadian\nInstitute unquestionably stands on better vantage-ground\nthan it did half a century ago. From this new starting-point\nare we not encouraged to look forward to greater and greater\nusefulness ? May we not anticipate a career in harmony with\nthe progress of Canada in education, in material advancement, and in every phase of prosperity ? '\nAnd at the semi-centennial meeting, speaking after the\nEarl of Minto, Governor-General of Canada, Fleming once\nmore emphasized the importance of the work accomplished\nby the Institute, and to be accomplished, f We recognize ',\nhe said, ? that every society such as this is a human agency\nemployed to shape and develop movements for the common\ngood. On this pleasant planet we find everywhere a field for\nsuch agencies. Each individual member of such societies\nis an agent. He is given an opportunity of co-operating with\nhis fellow members in investigations, in acquiring information, or in assisting in disseminating knowledge obtained.\nIn one way or another every right-minded person, by becoming a member, can extend a helping hand in promoting the\ngeneral advantage. Members of the Canadian Institute have\naccepted the opportunity offered them, and we come to\nrecognize that their united efforts have been crowned with\na full measure of success.\nThis society, as its name implies, is neither sectional nor\nlocal; it occupies a wide sphere of activity and usefulness.\nOne of its functions has been to encourage workers in all parts\nof Canada, however remote, to induce them to bring forward\nthe result of their investigations, and, when of sufficient\nimportance, to publish them.\nH\n 44\nSANDFORD FLEMING For half a century the Institute has diligently followed\nits broad, elevated, and patriotic aims. Its published proceedings have regularly found their way to kindred societies\nin every civilized country, and by being placed in the great\npublic libraries of the world they are made accessible to all\npeoples. Inquiry into the published proceedings goes to\nshow that the society has given much attention to questions\nof public concern, and by its successful efforts in extending\nthe domain of knowledge, it has been the means by which\ngreat benefits have been conferred upon the scientific and\ngeneral public, both within and without the Dominion.\\nAlluding to the fact that he attended the meeting as the\nofficial representative of Queen's University\u00E2\u0080\u0094of which he\nhad been chancellor since 1880\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fleming reminded his\nhearers that he was there not only as the official head of\na Canadian college, but also as one of the pioneers of the\nInstitute. ' It is my happiness, as an early member of the\nCanadian Institute, to bear testimony to the progress made\nand the benefits which have resulted from the work which\nhas been achieved.\n' This is the fiftieth annual meeting. There are not many\nwho can look back with me through the heat and haze of\nfifty Canadian summers and the snows of fifty Canadian\nwinters to the beginning of this society in the year 1849.\nThe first annual meeting was held on Saturday evening,\nDecember 7, 1850. At that date, the close of the first year\nof the society's existence, the membership counted sixty-\nfour persons. Eight of these early members are still alive,\nand of the eight who survive, I am delighted to find in this\nassembly three who took an active part in founding the\nCanadian Institute so many years ago. I rejoice again to\nmeet at an annual meeting of the Institute my old-time\nco-workers, Kivas Tully and Thomas Ridout, both so closely\nidentified with its early days. It will suffice if I mention\nthat in the office of Mr. Tully the Canadian Institute was\ncradled, and it was to Mr. Ridout we were under great\nobligations in connexion with the securing of the royal\ncharter.' Since these words were spoken both Kivas\n GENESIS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN INSTITUTE 45\nTully and Thomas Ridout have passed over to the great\nmajority.\nj I am afraid *, he continued,' that I can only feebly and\nimperfectly put in words the feeling of genuine thankfulness\nwe experience in being permitted to see realized the very\nsanguine expectations we long ago formed. It is a matter of\nprofound satisfaction to find our society, after fifty swiftly-\npassing years, so prosperous; to see rallying round it so\nmany distinguished men, and to be privileged to bear witness\nto its development and progress in the presence of the representative of our Most Gracious Sovereign the Queen.\n' It is fitting that the society should celebrate the beginning of a new half-century of useful work. It is proper that\nits members should take a retrospective glance at the past,\nin order the better to pursue their useful and elevated aims.\nTo-night we may be said to be taking stock. We are reckoning up the net result of the work in which the busy members\nof the Institute have been engaged for fifty years.'\nAfter making a plea for the establishment of a public\nmuseum, and a gallery of historical paintings, in connexion\nwith the Institute, and referring to the part the Institute\nhad taken in the movement for a simplification of the system\nof reckoning time, he concluded :\n' The name which your society bears, the articles of your\ncharter, indicate the widest range of subjects for discussion ;\nthey suggest the cultivation of the spirit of investigation in\norder that additions to knowledge may be made to the common stock; they invite research in every field ; they admit\nof the initiation of desirable movements in matters of general\nconcern. The publications which have been widely circulated by the Institute, the hundreds of foreign societies\nwhich regularly send their proceedings in exchange, are\nmemorable evidences that the Canadian Institute has done\nmuch to make known the good name of our country.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 Young members, this is no ordinary occasion. Entering\non a new half-century, let me remind you that you are the\nheirs of fifty years of useful effort. It is for you to keep alive\nthe lighted torch and pass it on to those who may come after\n 46\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nyou. It is for you to bequeath to another generation a\nrecord of work well done.\n' In order that Canada may take her place worthily among\nthe nations making up the British Empire, it is for you to\nsee that she contributes a generous share of all that is best\nin letters, in science, and in art. ^ On you is now placed\na responsibility which I feel sure you will find pleasant to\nbear. It rests with you to do all in your power to foster\nand promote, as the years roll onward, every agency which\nhas for its object the advancement of our country and\nour race.'\nIt is not at all too much to say that of the success achieved\nby the Royal Canadian Institute, a very material proportion\nis due directly or indirectly to the personality and influence\nof Fleming. At a meeting of the Institute held January 12,\n1907, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :\nc Resolved, That the members of the Canadian Institute,\nbearing in mind the invaluable services rendered to the\nInstitute during all the years from its foundation to the\npresent time by Sir Sandford Fleming, K.C.M.G., LL.D.,\nand recognizing the important results of his labours as an\nengineer in connexion with the Intercolonial and Canadian\nPacific and other railways, and also in the promotion of\nall-round-the-world cable telegraphs and in many other\nways advancing the interests of the British Empire, congratulate him on his reaching his eightieth birthday, and on the\nextraordinary measure of health and strength which he\nenjoys in advanced years, and express the hope that he may\nyet have many more years of unalloyed happiness in store.'\nSH>\n CHAPTER IV\nBUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY\nThree years after the founding of the Canadian Institute\nFleming joined the staff of the Ontario, Simcoe, and Huron\nRailroad, afterwards known as the Northern Railway. He\nremained ten years with this railway, first as assistant\nengineer, and from 1855 to 1863 as chief engineer. Though\ncomparatively uneventful, these were vitally important\nyears to the young engineer. He was passing from young\nmanhood to maturity, passing through the formative period\nof a man's life, and as the imaginative side found expression\nin the creation of the Canadian Institute, the practical\nengineer threw himself heart and soul into the novel problems of a pioneer railway, gaining thereby experience and\nbreadth of vision for the infinitely larger engineering problems that awaited him in the future.\nBefore describing briefly the period of his employment\nwith the Northern Railway, however, a few words may be\nsaid as to his life in and about Toronto, from 1849, when\nhe returned from Montreal with his commission as a land\nsurveyor in his pocket, to 1852 when he joined the staff of the\nrailway. His moderate success with the plans of Peterboro and Cobourg encouraged him to complete a more\nambitious survey of the city of Toronto, which had been\ncommenced by Mr. J. Stoughton Dennis. A pupil of the\nlatter, Mr. Charles Unwin, became associated with him in\nthe undertaking. Mr. Unwin was afterwards appointed city\nsurveyor of Toronto, which office he continued to fill for\nover half a century. Between them they completed the task,\nMr. Unwin measuring ' every house in the then city', and\nFleming plotting the notes and engraving the map on stone.\nOne must see this plan to get any idea of the patience and\nskill required to carry out such a minute piece of engraving.\n 48\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n* i\nThe scale was twelve chains or 792 feet to the inch,\nand every detail was worked out with absolute accuracy,\nthough much of the effect of the work was lost by reason of\nthe extremely reduced scale on which the publishers decided\nto have the plan plotted.\nHaving completed the plan of Toronto, Fleming found\nleisure for an elaborate survey of Toronto Harbour and\nthe adjacent shores of Lake Ontario. With characteristic\npatience and thoroughness he went out in a boat day after\nday for many weeks, taking soundings of every foot of the\nharbour, and embodied the results of his labours in an\nelaborate plan, the scientific value of which is appreciated\nto-day, though it was not at the time. From these data,\nand a careful study of the geology of the surrounding district,\nhe drew certain important conclusions as to the formation\nof the harbour and the means that should be adopted for its\npreservation and improvement, and these he made public\nin a series of carefully thought-out papers.\nHe was engaged for some months in carrying out surveys\nand plans for the Royal Engineers of properties controlled\nby the Imperial authorities in the neighbourhood of Toronto ;\nand spent a winter in nautical surveys on Lake Huron, from\nthe Christian Islands to Penetanguishene and Matchadash\nBay. This latter work was done for a projected railway\nknown as the St. Lawrence and Lake Huron, the principal\nobject being to secure a satisfactory terminus for the road.\nFleming discovered in what was then known as Hog Bay,\nand which he renamed Victoria Harbour, an ideal railway\nterminus. Although the then projected railway came to\nnaught, his judgement has been confirmed, sixty years afterwards, by the selection of this very harbour by the officers\nof the Canadian Pacific Railway as the terminus of one of\ntheir new branches. The name has once more been changed,\nand henceforth it will be known as Port McNicholl in honour\nof the general manager of the railway. On the shores of\nthis splendid natural harbour, on the 7th of January, 1851,\nSandford Fleming spent his twenty-fourth birthday, sleeping\nat night in two or three feet of snow, with no tent, and the\n BUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY\n49\nthermometer registering 140 below zero, his companions\na dozen Indians and half-breeds.\nOne other incident of this period of the young man's life\ndeserves to be mentioned. In an old scrap-book at \ Winter-\nholme,' Fleming's home in Ottawa, is preserved a curious\nlittle relic of his industry as an artist and engraver sixty odd\nyears ago. It is the faded proof of a Canadian postage-\nstamp, and beneath it is this note : ' This is the first proof\nfrom the copperplate of the first postage-stamp issued in\nCanada, designed by Fleming for the Postmaster-General,\nthe Honourable James Morris, dated Toronto, February\n1851.' \u00C2\u00A7 flj |.\nThis same year 1851, which saw Fleming about to enter\nupon his first important undertaking as a railway engineer,\nwas a notable one in the history of railway development in\nCanada. In that year Lord and Lady Elgin broke ground at\nToronto for the first Ontario railway\u00E2\u0080\u0094the Ontario, Simcoe,\nand Huron; in the same year an act was passed by the\nCanadian Legislature providing for the construction of\na main trunk line through the two Canadas ; the Canadian\nRailway Committee had under consideration a bill for the\nconstruction of a railway through British North America to\nthe Pacific Ocean ; the battle royal of the gauges was fought\nbefore the same Committee ; and delegates from the British\nNorth American provinces went to England to arrange for\nthe construction of the Intercolonial Railway. As the late\nGeorge Johnson concisely puts it in his Alphabet of First\nThings in Canada, * Thus in 1851 began the movement\nwhich has resulted in the Dominion possessing (a) a general\nsystem of railways numbering (in 1897) 136 ; (b) the Grand\nTrunk Railway system, by the amalgamation of twenty-five\nof these ; (c) the Canadian Government Railway system ;\n(d) the Canadian Pacific Railway system, in which are consolidated twenty-two railways ; ie) seventy-six other separate railway organizations, formed by consolidations of eighty-\nnine railways.'\nBefore returning to Fleming's connexion with the Northern\nRailway, it may not be out of place to say a few words here\nD\n 50\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nas to the beginnings of the railway movement in what\nis now Canada. * The agitation for railways in British\nNorth America', says George Johnson, * began almost as\nsoon as the success of George Stephenson's railway was\nassured. One of the earliest efforts was made in St. Andrews,\nNew Brunswick, in 1827, two years after George Stephenson\nhad completed the first railway in England. In 1828 John\nWilson convened a public meeting in St. Andrews to discuss\nthe question of a railway to Quebec. Four years later Henry\nFairbairn, writing in the United Service Journal, turned the\nattention of the British public to the necessity of a railway\nsystem for British North America. He said, \" I propose\nfirst to form a railway for wagons from Quebec to the\nharbour of St. Andrews, upon the Bay of Fundy\u00E2\u0080\u0094a route\nwhich will convey the trade of the St. Lawrence in a single\nday to the Atlantic waters.\" In consequence of his efforts\nan association was formed by the inhabitants of St. Andrews;\nexplorations were made and reports submitted. In December 1835, a deputation went to Quebec to bring the question\nto the attention of the sister province. Resolutions favourable to the undertaking were adopted in the same month\nby both Houses of the Lower Canadian Legislature. The\nCommittees of Trade in Quebec and Montreal appointed\nspecial committees to act in concert with the delegation.\nIn January 1836 a delegation went to England, carrying\nwith them a petition to the King. The Nova Scotian Legislature passed a resolution similar to that passed by the\nLower Canadian Legislature, and the Legislature of New\nBrunswick passed an act incorporating the St. Andrews and\nQuebec Railway Company. The Imperial Government made\na grant of $50,000 to be expended in the exploration and\nsurvey of the proposed line of railway from Quebec to\nSt. Andrews. This survey was placed under the control of\nCaptain Yule of the Royal Engineers, and work was begun\non July 23, 1836. At that time the country through\nwhich Captain Yule prosecuted the surveys was held to be\nwholly British territory. In 1837, however, the United States\nGovernment made objections to the route proposed, on the\n BUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY 51\nground that they claimed part of the territory. Notification of the fact was given to the Governor-General of Canada\nand to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, and\norders were given by the British authorities to stop work\nuntil the boundary line was settled/\nIn the meantime a less ambitious railway project had\nnot only been mooted but made an accomplished fact in\nLower Canada, now the province of Quebec. A charter had\nbeen obtained in 1832 from the provincial legislature for\na railway from Laprairie on the St. Lawrence River, to St.\nJohn's on the Richelieu, under the name of the Champlain\nand St. Lawrence Railway. The work was pushed forward,\nand on July 23,1836, the first passenger railway in Canada\nwas formally opened by the Governor-General, Lord Gosford.\nThe first train consisted of four cars, and they were drawn\nby horses, the locomotive ordered for the railway having\nproved refractory.\nSome further particulars of this first Canadian railway\nare given in Prout's Railways of Canada. * The rails', he\nsays, ' were of wood with flat bars of iron spiked on them,\nand from the tendency of this class of rail to curl or bend\nupward as the wheels passed over it, it became known as\nthe \" snake rail \". From this awkward peculiarity it often\nhappened that the rails came into contact with the body of\nthe cars or other rolling stock, in which case both fared\nbadly. The first locomotive used on the line was sent from\nEurope, accompanied by an engineer who, for some unexplained reason, had it caged and secreted from public view.\nThe trial trip was made by moonlight in the presence of\na few interested parties, and it is not described as a success,.\nSeveral attempts were made to get the \"Kitten\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094for such\nwas the nickname applied to this pioneer locomotive\u00E2\u0080\u0094to\nrun to St. John's, but in vain; the engine proved refractory,\nand horses were substituted for it. It is related, however,\nthat a practical engineer being called in from the United\nStates, the engine which was thought to be hopelessly unmanageable, was pronounced in good order, requiring only\n\" plenty of wood and water \". This opinion proved correct,\nD2\n 52\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nfor after a little practice the \" extraordinary \" speed of\ntwenty miles an hour was attained/\nThe Ontario, Simcoe, and Huron was, as has already been\nsaid, the first railway opened in the province of Ontario.\nThe preliminary work on the road had been undertaken by\nan American engineer, H. C. Seymour. In August 1852 the\nengineering staff was re-organized, and Frederick Cumberland,\na man combining engineering skill with rare business and\norganizing ability, became chief engineer, with Alfred Brunei\nand Sandford Fleming as his assistants. The first section of\nthe road from Toronto to Aurora, thirty miles, was opened\nto the public on May 16,1853 ; the next section to Bradford,\non June 13th of the same year ; the line was completed to\nBarrie on October nth ; and before the end of the following\nyear to Collingwood on Georgian Bay. The line had already\nbeen located from Toronto to Barrie before Cumberland\nbecame chief engineer, and the work of construction was\nwell under way, but it was found necessary to revise much.\nof this work so as to make it more permanent and sub*\nstantial, and from Barrie to the shores of Georgian Bay the\nroute had not yet been decided. It was on this new section\nof the road that Sandford Fleming was for the most part\nengaged in 1852. Five separate routes were surveyed\nfrom Barrie: north-east to Penetanguishene; north-east to\nVictoria Bay; north and north-west to Nottawasaga; west\nand north to Nottawasaga; and west and north-west to\nCollingwood. Finally the last route was decided upon as the\nbest from an engineering and commercial standpoint.\nCollingwood has been mentioned as the terminus of the\nroute selected for the railway, but as a matter of fact no such\nplace existed in 1852. A few years before a small settlement\nhad sprung up on the shores of Georgian Bay, named\nHurontario, after the pioneer road known as Hurontario\nStreet. The place selected as the terminus of the Ontario,\nSimcoe, and Huron Railway was a little west of this, and\nwas then known as Hen-and-Chickens, on account of the\nnumber of small islands that studded the shore. When\nCumberland, Fleming, E. C. Hancock, Sheriff B. W. Smith,\n \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^ite*.\nBUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY\nand others interested in the proposed terminus, came over\nto the bay in 1852, they were met by several residents\nof the neighbourhood, and after going over the ground very\ncarefully, the Hen-and-Chickens was found to be the most\nsatisfactory point for the terminus and for the town that was\nto be.\nA local chronicler says that * while stopping at a rock\nwhich peered above the deep snow on the shores of the\nharbour, the discussion turned to the name of the new town.\nMr. Cumberland suggested Victoria in honour of the Queen ;\nothers thought it well to retain the existing name of Hen-\nand-Chickens ; while Mr. D. E. Buist offered the name of\nCollingwood, already borne by a neighbouring township.\nThe latter name was accepted as the most suitable/ Thereupon the infant town of Collingwood was christened with\na bottle of wine. In honour of the occasion, Mr. Stephens,\na well-to-do farmer of Nottawasaga, gave a dinner to the\ndirectors and engineers of the railway, and a number of the\nprominent settlers of the district, nearly all of whom were\nHighlanders. A great dish of haggis stood at one end of the\ntable, and behind it sat Captain Hancock, looking rather bewildered . As he was about to carve the mysterious dish, some\none at the other end of the board cried out, ' What is that\nyou have, Hancock?' 'Don't know/ replied Hancock, 'but\nit looks to me like a bran mash/ One can picture the indignation of the Highlanders. That the Sassenach should\nbe ignorant of the greatest of Highland dishes was bad\nenough, but that he should dare to compare it to the vulgar\nmess fed to cattle was wellnigh intolerable.\nA portion of the summer of 1852 had been spent in completing a Une of levels from Toronto north to Barrie. The\nwork was somewhat tedious, the weather unusually hot, and\nthe engineers perennially thirsty. On one occasion, says\nFleming, they came to a primitive tavern at Penetanguishene\nkept by one Jeffery. Cumberland and he went in, found the\nproprietor, and asked what he could give them to drink.\nJeffery produced a decanter of what seemed to be whisky,\nand a couple of glasses. The tired travellers sat down\n11\n 54\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nexpectantly. The proprietor chatted amiably of the weather..\nAt length Cumberland's thirst got the bettei of his patience.\n' Where's the water ? ' he cried. ' Oh ! * replied Jeffery,\n' I'll fetch some from the pump if you wish, but you won't\nneed much, for I've watered it twice already.'\nAn even more disastrous attempt to quench their thirst\nis associated with the township of York, a few miles north\nof Toronto. Plodding along with their instruments, under\na grilling sun, the engineers came in sight of an inviting-\nlooking farm-house. The idea occurred to them simultaneously that a glass of cool milk would at the moment fulfil all\ntheir earthly desires. The hospitable goodwife invited them\nin, showed them into her best room, and went off for a jug of\nmilk. Cumberland and Fleming sat down in the grateful shade\nof the darkened room and waited. Presently the goodwife\nreturned with a brimming jug of cool, refreshing milk.\nShe put down the jug and went to a corner cupboard for\nglasses. It is well to repeat here that the blinds were down\nto keep out the glare of the sun. The glasses were brought\nforth, and the milk poured into them. The parched engineers smiled gratefully at their hostess and lifted the\nglasses to their lips. One never paused until the last drop\nhad disappeared. The other got half through, and then\nhalted irresolutely. He was still thirsty, but there was\na mysterious metallic rattle at the bottom of his glass. He\ntook it over to the window, held it up to the light, set it down\nhastily, and retreated in disorder from the farm-house. The\nold lady had poured his milk into the glass in which she kept\nher Sunday teeth!\nLittle incidents like these served to lighten the monotony\nof the surveys between Toronto and Barrie. This was\na comparatively settled country, and the work presented no\nserious difficulties so far as travelling was concerned. From\nBarrie to Collingwood the conditions were very different.\nThe route lay through an unopened district, with no roads,\nand heavy going\u00E2\u0080\u0094brush, rock, and swamp. However, the\nsurveys were pushed ahead, and by the summer of 1854\ntrains were running to Barrie and the track laid on to\n \u00C2\u00AB***.\nBUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY 55\nNottawasaga. About this time Fleming had important\nbusiness to attend to at Collingwood, which demanded\nimmediate attention. He took the train from Toronto to\nBarrie, and rode on a construction engine to the end of rails\nthen near Nottawasaga Bridge. From there he pushed on\nthrough broken country to Collingwood, a few miles on horseback, and the rest of the way on foot.\nOn his return journey, on reaching Nottawasaga he found\nthat the engine had returned to Barrie, and that he had very\nlittle time to get there before the one daily train left for\nToronto. It was imperative that he should not lose a day.\nThere was nothing for it, however, but to march over the\nties to Barrie, and four miles an hour was about as much as\nany man could accomplish on such a road. He started off\nat his best speed, and was making fairly good progress with\nhis eyes glued to the ties. Suddenly a shadow fell across\nthe track before him, and he looked up hastily to see a huge\nbear sitting complacently on his haunches between the rails,\nnot twenty paces ahead. What was to be done ? Impassable swamp lay on either hand. The bear showed no\nsigns of moving; seemed in fact to be very comfortable\nwhere she was ; and only mildly interested in the man. So\nthey faced each other, the bear and the man; the bear in\nperfect good humour, but determined to maintain the status\nquo; the man, thinking of that waiting train at Barrie,\nglared at the bear with rapidly rising indignation. Finally\nit boiled over, and, reckless of consequences, he rushed at\nthe bear, waving his only weapon, an old-fashioned umbrella,\nand yelling at the top of his voice. The bear stood his\nground for a moment, and then ignominiously fled into the\nswamp. Fleming lost no time in idle reflections as to how it\nall happened, or more idle curiosity as to the second thoughts\nof the bear. He redoubled his speed over the ties, and caught\nthe train at Barrie as it was pulling out of the station.\nThe railway was finally completed from Toronto to Collingwood, and proved a valuable asset to that part of the\nprovince. It subsequently fell into difficulties for a time,\nbut as its vicissitudes form no part of the life of Sandford\n4 *\n 56\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nFleming, they need not be enlarged upon here. Eventually\nit became a portion of the Grand Trunk system. Meanwhile\nin 1855 Fleming succeeded Cumberland as chief engineer,\nand remained in that position until the close of 1862, when\nhe finally retired. The following testimonial, dated January\n1, 1863, which was accompanied by a collection of signed\nphotographs of all the principal officers and employees of\nthe railway, illustrates the cordial relationship that existed\nbetween the chief engineer and his colleagues and subordinates :\n' Presented to Sandford Fleming, Esq., C.E., by the officers,\nemployees and contractors engaged in the construction and\nlate restoration of the Northern Railway of Canada, as\na token of their respect and admiration for his public character as an engineer, and of their highest esteem and regard\nfor his private worth as a friend/\nIn acknowledging the testimonial and the good wishes of\nhis friends and associates on the railway, Fleming said:\n' I need scarcely allude to the cause of my retirement from\nthe position of chief engineer to the Company. You all\nknow that I have finished my work, and that such an office\nas it was my privilege to fill is now no longer required. It is\none of the misfortunes of the profession to which I am proud\nto belong that our business is to make and not to enjoy ; we\nno sooner make a rough place smooth than we must move\nto another and fresh field, leaving others to enjoy what we\nhave accomplished. We are, however, satisfied that it should\nbe so; we take pleasure in having work to do, and a pride in\nit after it is done.' In taking leave of the staff, he handed\nover to them two relics of the road, which though of no intrinsic value might be worth preserving. The first is a portion of the first sod turned by the Countess of Elgin on\nWednesday, October 15,1851, in front of the old Parliament\nbuildings in Toronto ; and the second, a piece of the christening bottle used when Collingwood Harbour was named on\nFriday, January 14, 1853.\nThe year that saw his promotion to the position of chief\nengineer, was marked by a more important event in the life\n BUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY 57\nof Fleming. It has been mentioned in an earlier chapter\nthat among the young friends who helped to make life pleasant\nfor him at Peterboro was the daughter of Sheriff Hall.\nFriendship had ripened into a warmer sentiment, and on\nJanuary 3,1855, Ann Jean Hall became the wife of Sandford\nFleming.\nAn incident of this period of Fleming's life may be briefly\nmentioned, as illustrating another side of his character. In\n1861, when the 10th Royals were organized at Toronto, he\nwas offered a captaincy, but found at first some difficulty in\nsecuring recruits. His company was still under strength,\nin fact very much so, when word came that Colonel Wiley\nwas expected from Quebec to inspect the regiment. Here\nwas a pretty kettle of fish. Whatever his fellow officers\nmight do, Captain Fleming at least was determined that\nsomething better than a skeleton company must be forth-\ncorning before the inspecting officer appeared on the scene.\nBut Colonel Wiley was due in a very few days. Ordinary\nmethods of recruiting were out of the question. This was\na desperate situation, and required a desperate remedy.\nPutting all other duties aside, the zealous officer made\na personal canvass of every home and workshop in the\nneighbourhood containing an able-bodied man. Getting\neach man up in a corner, he appealed directly to his local\npride and patriotism. He would listen to no excuses. This\nwas a case where Canada, where Toronto, where their own\npeculiar corner of Toronto, expected every man to do his\nduty. His eloquence and enthusiasm carried the day. There\nwas scarcely an available man that had not been enrolled\nin Fleming's company; and when the fateful day arrived,\nthe proud captain was able to muster some seventy odd men,\nwhere hitherto there had been scarcely more than a baker's\ndozen. The other officers, having been less industrious, or\nperhaps less ingenious in their methods, glanced with envious\namazement from their own handful to the crowded ranks\nof Fleming's company. But more was yet to come. One\nof the new recruits, filled with enthusiasm at such a brave\nshowing, suggested to the captain that a fife and drum band\n 58\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nwould lend eclat to the company. He himself could play\nthe flute, and he undertook to provide a drummer if the\ncaptain would stand the price of a drum. The captain could\nand did. When therefore the ioth Royals mustered for\ndrill in the new drill shed, Captain Fleming proudly marched\nhis men around the other companies to the music of a fife\nand drum band, which made up in energy what it lacked\nin numbers. It deserves to be commemorated as the first\nvolunteer band in the Canadian militia.\nThe previous year, in connexion with the visit of the then\nPrince of Wales, Fleming had proposed the creation of what\nwas known as the Prince's Walk, on the bank above the\nesplanade on Front Street, between Bay and Brock Streets,\nthe walk to be a mile long, with a double row of trees, walnut\nand poplar alternating with spruce. Bishop Strachan,\nSheriff Jarvis, and other prominent citizens of Toronto,\nplanted the first trees opposite Bishop Strachan's house.\nThe Colonist, in an editorial commending the project, suggested facetiously that \u00E2\u0096\u00A0 if the fashions in ladies' dresses do\nnot alter this coming summer from what they were last,\nthen twenty feet is hardly of sufficient dimensions for the\nWalk'. J |\nOne further incident may be recorded as belonging to this\nperiod of the young man's life. * I was subpoenaed', he says,\n' as a witness in a water-power case at Brockville. The\nlitigants were Coleman and Macdonald: the latter, father of\nCharles Macdonald who designed the Poughkeepsie Bridge.\nThere were some twenty-eight witnesses. The first one called\ntook an entire day. Thinking with dismay that at that rate\nthe trial might last twenty-eight days, and very anxious to\nget home, I set about finding some shorter road to a settlement. At dinner at the hotel that night I asked my neighbour, who seemed good-natured and communicative, if he\nknew anything about the case.\n'\" I regret to say that I do,\" he replied. \" I am one of the\nprincipals. My name is Coleman.\"\n' It appeared from further conversation that he and his\nopponent had formerly been great friends, but that both\n Ih.\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00C2\u00AB**\u00C2\u00AB&\nBUILDING THE NORTHERN RAILWAY\n59\nthey and their families had been estranged by reason of\nthis wretched dispute.\n' I asked him if he was anxious to see the case settled\nwithout further litigation.\n' Indeed I am,\" said he. 11 would give a great deal if\nit could be arranged.\"\nWill you come and talk it over in my room at\n8 o'clock ?\" I asked. He promised to do so, and that much\nbeing settled, I went off to make the acquaintance of the\nother party to the quarrel, Macdonald. Him I found also\nanxious to reach a settlement, thoroughly tired of the whole\nbusiness, but inclined to throw the blame on Coleman, with\nwhom he seemed very indignant. Finally he also agreed to\ncome to my room at 8 o'clock to talk the matter over. I\nwas careful not to let either know that I had approached\nthe other.\n' At 8 o'clock sharp, Coleman arrived at my room. I\nplaced him where he could not be seen from the door. We\nchatted for a few minutes, when there was another knock.\nI opened the door, let Macdonald in, and immediately locked\nthe door and put the key in my pocket. Then I turned to\nthe two men, and gravely introduced one to the other.\nBoth were, of course, indignant with me, but in view of the\nlocked door, they decided to make the best of the situation.\nI trembled for a moment or two as to the success of my not\naltogether unselfish efforts as a peacemaker, but the atmosphere gradually became less frigid, and we dropped into\na reasonably friendly conversation.\n' Then when the time seemed ripe, I unlocked the door,\nsent a waiter for whisky toddy and biscuits, and we talked\nover the vexed question in dispute. As an unprejudiced\noutsider I was able to make some suggestions as a basis for\nsettlement, and finally sat down and wrote out an agreement,\nwhich, after I had read it to them, both men signed, with\nI think a sigh of relief. Some one suggested the need of\nseals. Lacking the proper material, we used what we had\nwithin reach, and made fairly presentable seals out of chewed\nbiscuit. Then, after a final round of toddy, we parted for\n .-\"S&r\n60\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthe night. I told them I was tired, and would sleep late\nthe next morning. Coleman and Macdonald both promised\nto show the agreement to their respective counsel in the\nmorning. By the way, the former was represented by\nA. N. Richards, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of British\nColumbia, and the latter by S. H. Blake.\n'The following morning I was aroused by an agitated\nknock on my door, and found Coleman outside. * The fat's\nin the fire!\" he cried. \" My lawyer says the agreement\nwon't do at all.\" Presently Macdonald arrives with a similar\nstory from his learned counsel.\n\\" Tut, tut!\" I said,\" of course the lawyers will have none\nof it. No doubt from their point of view it's a most irregular and improper proceeding. But take the agreement\ninto court, both of you, and read it to the judge, telling him\nthat it is satisfactory to both of you, and that neither of you\ncare to continue the case at his own expense.\" They did so,\nand the matter was settled in five minutes. The settlement\nwas left in the hands of a board of arbitrators consisting of\ntwo hydraulic engineers and an umpire.\n' Later in the morning I made my way to the station, with\nColeman on one arm and Macdonald on the other, a pro*\ncession of thirty or forty witnesses and others following.\nBlake and Richards, who evidently regarded me as an\nimpudent interloper, stood coldly aloof. As the train was\nabout to start, Coleman put in my hand a letter which\nturned out to be a very kind acknowledgement of appreciation and a handsome cheque from each\u00E2\u0080\u0094my first and last\nfee as an amateur lawyer.'\n Sandford Fleming in i860\n CHAPTER V\nPLEADING THE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER\nf3| COLONY I\nIn 1863, the year that he severed his connexion with the\nNorthern Railway, Fleming was asked on behalf of the\npeople of the Red River Colony to present to the Canadian\nand Imperial Governments a memorial praying for the\nestablishment of means of communication between the\neastern provinces and British Columbia, by way of Lake\nSuperior, the Red River Country, and the Saskatchewan.\nAt that time he had not visited the Red River Colony,\nbut for some years had been a warm advocate of the policy\nof building a railway across British North America from the\nAtlantic to the Pacific, and as a preliminary measure the\nprovision of a road from Lake Superior to the Red River\nColony and the mountains. In 1858 he had published\na lecture on the subject, and in 1862 had gone into the\nmatter more fully in his ' Practical Observations on the Construction of a Continuous Line of Railway from Canada to\nthe Pacific Ocean on British Territory,' published as an\nappendix to Henry Youle Hind's Sketch of an Overland Route\nto British Columbia.\nFleming's interest in the transportation problem was\nknown to James Ross and William Coldwell, proprietors of\nthe Nor* Wester, then the only newspaper in the colony.\nRoss and Coldwell were closely identified with the movement\nfor connecting Red River Colony with the eastern provinces\nby an all-British route, and when the people were casting\nabout for some one to bring their views to the attention of\nthe Colonial and Imperial Governments, they at once suggested Fleming.\nThe Memorial was drawn up, approved at a public meeting,\nand sent to Fleming in January 1863. Because of its bearing\nen the later history of Canadian transcontinental railways,\n 62\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nwith which he was to be so closely identified, it is worth\nwhile to give the document in full:\n' The people of the Red River Settlement hereby desire\nbriefly to set forth their views and wishes in reference to the\nproposed opening up of the road from Canada to British\nColumbia through the Red River and Saskatchewan region,\nand the establishing of a telegraphic line along the same.\n' The people of Red River have long earnestly desired to\nsee the Lake Superior route opened up for commerce and\nemigration, and they rejoice to hear of the proposal to open\nup a road and establish a line of telegraphic communication\nthrough the interior to British Columbia, entirely within\nBritish territory, believing that such works would greatly\nbenefit this country, while subserving at the same time both\nCanadian and Imperial interests.\n$ With reference to that section of the country lying\nbetween this settlement and Lake Superior, it is respectfully\nsubmitted that the difficulties to be encountered in opening\nup an easy communication are entirely overrated.\n' It is true that this route, for reasons which need not here\nbe alluded to, has of late years been neglected; yet when the\nfact is generally known that this was the regular route by\nwhich the North-West Fur Company imported and exported\nheavy cargoes for more than a quarter of a century, and\nwhich the Hudson Bay Company have used more or less\nfor nearly three-quarters of a century, it must be granted\nthat the natural difficulties cannot be so great as they are\ncommonly reported to be.\n? We, the people of this settlement, are so anxious to have\na proper outlet in this direction that we are quite prepared\nourselves to undertake at our own expense the opening of\na road from this settlement to Lake of the Woods, a distance\nof ninety or a hundred miles, if England or Canada will\nguarantee the opening of the section from Lake of the Woods\nto Lake Superior.\n' From our intimate knowledge of the country lying between this place and the Rocky Mountains, we consider the\nproject of a road in that direction perfectly practicable at\nam\n THE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER COLONY 63\na comparatively small outlay. At all times during the\nsummer season, loaded carts go from this place to Carlton,\nFort Pitt, and Edmonton, on the Upper Saskatchewan;\nand last summer a party of Canadians, about two hundred\nin number (en route to British Columbia), passed over the\nsame road, and went with their vehicles to the very base of\nthe Rocky Mountains; clearly showing that along the\nwhole way there are, even at present, no insuperable obstacles to the passage of carts and wagons. And if, in its\npresent natural unimproved state, the road is usable, it\nmust be evident that only a comparatively small outlay will\nbe requisite to make it all that could be desired.\n' The whole country through which the proposed road\nwould run, almost from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, is remarkably level. The surface of this vast region\nis, generally speaking, like the ocean surface in a calm, and\nbesides being so remarkably level, it is, for the most part, free\nfrom those heavy forests which, in Canada and elsewhere,\ncause such delay and expense in road-making. We believe\nthat a railway could be here laid at a cheaper rate than in\nmost countries.\n' Having thus cursorily alluded to the practicability of\nthe road, on which point our local knowledge and experience\nought to give our views some weight, and while admitting\nthe intense interest and satisfaction with which we view the\nprospect of a work fraught with so much good to us politically, socially, and commercially, we might be allowed to\npoint out very briefly the views we entertain regarding its\nimportance to England and Canada alike.\n* Canada would derive great benefit from the Overland\ncarrying trade, which would spring up immediately on the\nestablishment of this route, and the constantly growing\ntraffic of this district and British Columbia would thereafter\nbe an ever-increasing source of profit.\n' Besides this, it may reasonably be presumed that the\npeople of Central British America, present and prospective,\nwould prove permanent and liberal customers in the markets of England and Canada. Be it remembered, moreover\nill I\nHi\n1\ny\n raarara^H\n64\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthat a vast fur business is carried on in this country, and\nthat, toward the Rocky Mountains, gold has been discovered\nin many quarters. Besides gold there are iron, lead, coal,\npetroleum, and other minerals which, together with the rich\nfur trade, would prove a source of great wealth, not only to\nthis country but to Canada ; and although the colonization\nand settlement of the vast area of cultivable land would\nsomewhat curtail the territorial limits of the fur business,\nstill, the millions of acres north of the fertile tract will, in\nall probability, remain a rich fur country for centuries to\ncome.\n' This is the most natural highway by which commerce\nand general business with the East could be carried on. It\nwould be also the most expeditious. And as a result of\nsuch commerce and traffic along this route, Central British\nAmerica would rapidly fill up with an industrious loyal\npeople ; and thus, from Vancouver's Island to Nova Scotia,\nGreat Britain would have an unbroken series of colonies,\na grand confederation of loyal and flourishing provinces,\nskirting the whole United States frontier, and commanding\nat once the Atlantic and the Pacific. In this connexion we\nfeel bound to observe that American influence is rapidly\ngaining ground here; and, if action is long delayed, very\nunpleasant complications may arise. Thus both politically\nand commercially the opening up of this country, and the\nmaking through it of a national highway, would immensely\nsubserve Imperial interests, and contribute to the stability\nand glorious prestige of the British Empire.\n* These views the people of Red River desire most respectfully to present for the consideration of the British and\nCanadian Governments ; and they earnestly hope that this,\nyear may witness the formal commencement of operations\nwith a view to a telegraphic line, and a road from Lake\nSuperior to this settlement, if not through the whole extent\nof country from Canada to British Columbia.'\nIt will have been seen that the people of the Red River\nsettlement wanted a road built from Lake Superior to the\nRed River, as part of a larger project\u00E2\u0080\u0094a road from Lake\n u\nTHE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER COLONY 65\nSuperior to British Columbia ; and they evidently regarded\nthis latter road as the preliminary step toward a line of\nrailway, or a combined rail and water route, that would\neventually traverse British North America from ocean to\nocean. This transcontinental railway scheme was one that\nhad already engaged the attention of several far-sighted men,\nmen of big ideas, men who like Sandford Fleming possessed\nthat rare combination of common sense and imagination\nthat has been the driving force behind all great public\nenterprises. The average man could find in such a project,\nat such a time, nothing short of madness ; and the enthusiast\nwho urged it was branded as a crank. The former, with his\neyes close to the ground, saw only a number of scattered and\nstruggling colonies, east and west, with an immense wilderness between, practically umnhabited and, as he believed,\nuninhabitable. The idea of building a railway, or even a\nroad, through such a country did not seem to him worthy\nof serious consideration. The man of ideas looked into the\nfuture, saw these isolated communities linked together with\na chain of steel, and the uninhabited wilderness part of a\ncontinental dominion peopled from sea to sea. Because\nFleming was a man of big ideas, with a firm faith in the\ndestiny of his country, he threw himself whole-heartedly\ninto the project which meant so much to the people of the\nRed River settlement.\nHe first brought the Memorial to the attention of the\nCanadian Government, of which John Sandfield Macdonald\nwas then premier. In forwarding the Memorial, he supported\nit with an elaborate statement of his own views on the subject.\n! The opening up of a means of easy communication between\nLake Superior and Red River', he said, \u00C2\u00A7 might fairly be\nadvocated as an act of simple justice to our fellow subjects\nin that remote settlement, who have been practically exiled\nfrom civilization for more than two generations ; who have\nendured hardships of no ordinary description in contending\nwith many difficulties whilst endeavouring on those vast\nplains to cultivate the soil and earn a laborious livelihood;\nand who, if they have not increased so rapidly in numbers\nE\n 66\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nand importance as other colonists in settlements favoured by\nnature and good government, have at least succeeded in\nestablishing an important nucleus for further colonization.'\nElsewhere he gives an interesting account of the struggling\nlittle colony as it appeared in 1863 : ' The community of\nsettlers at Red River, isolated in many respects from, and,\nuntil lately, unnoticed by the rest of the world, is now exciting no small degree of attention. The people of Red River\nremained tranquil in their solitude so long as the vast areas\nto the south of the international boundary line were as wild\nand unoccupied as the plains which surround them on all\nsides. The progress of their republican neighbours in opening and organizing new territories has, however, awakened\nthem to a knowledge of their true condition. They have\nbeen silent witnesses of the march of colonization westward\nfrom Lake Michigan across the states of Wisconsin and\nMinnesota to Dakota; they have seen an industrious\npopulation reckoned by hundreds of thousands introduced\nalmost alongside of them, whilst their own settlement scarcely\nincreases in numbers ; they know that there is nothing in\ntheir own soil and climate to keep them from advancing;\nthey are satisfied with the richness of the one and the salubrity of the other; but they cannot help feeling mortified\nat the strong contrast between the satisfactory progress of\ntheir neighbours, and the absence of prosperity with themselves. Justly or unjustly, they attribute their backward\ncondition to the sway of the Hudson Bay Fur Company,\nand they clamour in a way that cannot be misunderstood,\nagainst a further continuance of a rule which they appear to\nbelieve is the chief hindrance to their progress.\nI The settlement was first formed half a century ago by\nimmigrants from the old country; the population now consists of British-born subjects and their descendants ; they\nlive and have always lived on British territory, but they are\nnot yet literally a British colony. They know that they are\nsubjects of the Queen, and this is their pride ; they desire to\nbe recognized at the Colonial Office, and this is their ambition ; they wish to have a voice which, as British subjects,\n THE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER COLONY 67\nthey claim they have a right to possess, in the management\nof local affairs. Had they the powers and privilege of an\nordinary Township Council, they feel that they could do\na great deal towards improving their condition and moulding\ntheir destinies; but this they have not, and this is their\ngrievance and mortification. Whilst their own settlement is\nof fifty years' standing, they see Minnesota and Dakota,\nwhose boundaries sweep past at the short distance of sixty\nor seventy miles, States only of yesterday but already\nenfranchised.\n\ Practically, too, the people of Red River settlement are\nat present cut off from all intercourse with the mother\ncountry except through a foreign state. The old route by\nwhich they had access fifty years ago has, for want of\na small expenditure to keep it open, fallen into disuse; no\nwonder then that they grumble at the seeming indifference\nof the parent land.'\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 However valuable the possession of a road from Canada\nto British Columbia might be considered', he continued,\n\ simply as a means of intercourse between these two countries, it is obvious that their great distance apart would be\nan insuperable obstacle to its construction, were it not for\nthe favourable character of the intervening territory of\nwhich the Red River district forms a portion.' He then\nproceeded to describe the character of the soil and climate\nof the prairie country, and its adaptability for colonization\nand settlement, marshalling the evidence of those who had\nfirst-hand knowledge of the country, such as the scientific\nofficers of the Palliser expedition and the Hind and Dawson\nsurveys. It is interesting to note the positive statement\nof Lorin Blodget, the American climatologist, made half\na century ago, upon purely scientific data, that S the basin\nof the Winnipeg is the seat of the greatest average wheat\nproduct on this continent, and probably in the world'.\nBlodget's prediction, laughed at in his own day, has since\nbeen amply justified.\nIn considering the formidable problem of connecting the\nAtlantic and Pacific colonies of British North America by\nE2\n 68\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nmeans of a system of transportation, Fleming brought forward an ingenious scheme which he had first advocated\nsome eight years before, a scheme which he believed would\ncombine efficiency and economy to a larger extent than any\nother plan. The guiding principle of this scheme was that\nmeans of transportation should be neither too far in advance\nof population nor on the other hand lag too far behind;\nbut that it should advance and develop with the population\nit was designed to serve. And this principle involved the\nidea that means of transportation should follow lines of\nevolution, from the pioneer road or trail to the steam railway;\nthe simple, rough pioneer road alone actually to precede the\nsettler, while more elaborate and expensive means of transportation were to be developed gradually and systematically\nto keep pace with the needs of a growing population. There\nwas, however, one exception to the evolutionary principle: the\ntelegraph was not to wait for the railway, but was to be built\nat the very beginning, with the territorial or pioneer road.\nApplying this ingenious scheme to the continental field\nunder consideration, Fleming proposed that, in the first\nplace, careful surveys should be made to ascertain the most\npracticable and satisfactory route from ocean to ocean.\nThen a simple territorial road should be built along this\nroute, and a continuous line of telegraph constructed to\nconnect the existing eastern system with British Columbia,\nthe wooded districts to be cleared to a width of two chains\nalong the road to safeguard the telegraph line. The next\nstage would be to convert the territorial road to one passable\nfor wheeled vehicles. In the course of a few years this\nimproved highway would be transformed into a macadamized\nroad of the best description. The final stage of progress\nwould be the building of a railway on the line thus in a great\nmeasure prepared for it.\nThis was the plan which Fleming proposed as the most\npracticable and economical means of meeting the legitimate\ndemands of the people of the Red River settlement for\ntransportation facilities, and at the same time laying the\nfoundations of a transcontinental railway. Whether or\n-\u00E2\u0080\u0094\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n THE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER COLONY\nnot it would have been a wiser plan than that ultimately\nadopted to meet the peculiar political and other needs of\nBritish North America may be a debatable point. At the\nsame time it may be pointed out that the first transcontinental railway across Canada, the Canadian Pacific Railway,\nwas not commenced until the year 1881; and it is quite\nconceivable that, had Fleming's scheme been adopted in\n1863, a territorial road at once constructed across the con-\nnentinent with a telegraph line, followed in a few years by\nwagon and macadamized roads, and ultimately by the\nrailway, settlement would have flowed into the West years\nbefore the tide actually turned in that direction, the cost\nof the railway would have been enormously reduced, and\nthe two rebellions in the North-West might have been\navoided altogether. Certainly the scheme, applied to any\nlocality, would have been much more logical and economical\nthan the haphazard plan almost invariably adopted in the\neastern provinces, of building pioneer roads in one direction,\nreplacing these after a time by macadamized roads following\na different route, and finally abandoning these for a railway\nlaid upon a third route.\n' I can scarcely hope', concludes Fleming, ' that the plan\nof gradual development herein advocated will satisfy the\nprecipitate or the impatient,\u00E2\u0080\u0094those, in fact, who would urge\nthe immediate construction of the road, regardless or ignorant of the cost and the burdens it might in consequence entail\non the country ; yet there are many who, remembering the\ntortoise in the fable, will perceive that a slow yet certain\nmovement will accomplish the desired end with as much\ncertainty and perhaps more satisfactorily than if the work\nwas undertaken with the most sanguine hopes of speedy\nachievement. It is very doubtful, however, if any one will\non reflection assert that there is really a choice of methods,\nthat is to say, a fast and a slow one. The line of artificial\nhighway proposed to be constructed extends over not less\nthan forty-five degrees of longitude, equal to one-eighth of\nthe length of a circle of latitude passing entirely around the\nglobe; the undertaking therefore becomes one of no ordinary\n -\u00E2\u0080\u00A24&y.*g#5&\u00C2\u00AB>-\nS#>&3raSfeitJ\"'!\nBB\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nmagnitude, and when in connexion with it half a continent\nhas to be redeemed in part at least from a state of wild\nnature, some considerable length of time must necessarily\nbe occupied in the process. Even if it should take a quarter\nof a century, it would be equal to an average construction\nof one hundred miles of railway a year, as well as the annual\nintroduction of one hundred thousand emigrants. And,\nafter all, a quarter of a century is but a brief period in the\nhistory of a country; half that length of time has already\nelapsed since the railways of Canada were first commenced,\nand yet many are of opinion that it would have been better,\nin some respects, had only one-half the extent of existing\nlines been yet constructed. As the character of the work\nis so colossal, and the condition of the country such as to\ndebar the idea of undertaking the construction of a railway\nthrough it in the usual way and as an ordinary commercial\nenterprise, I am emboldened to think that such a scheme\nas I have endeavoured to sketch might form the basis of\na system possessing many recommendations, and which it\nis confidently believed might be advantageously adopted in\nany attempt to establish a great leading highway through\nthe vast unoccupied territory between the settlements of\nCanada and British Columbia.'\nHaving brought the memorial of the people of the Red\nRiver settlement to the attention of the Government of John\nSandfield Macdonald, and supported it by his own carefully\nthought-out proposals; and having also, by request, submitted the whole matter to the Governor-General, Lord\nMonck; Fleming, in accordance with his promise to the\npetitioners, sailed for England to lay the scheme before the\nImperial Government.\nThe Duke of Newcastle was then Colonial Secretary, and\nwhen the matter was brought to his attention he at once\nsent for Fleming. The latter called at the hotel where the\nDuke of Newcastle had his apartments, and finding a flunkey\nin gorgeous livery in the hall, supposed him to be one of the\nservants of the Colonial Minister, and asked if the Duke\nwas at home.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n SSSSSSShS I ^B\nTHE CAUSE OF THE RED RIVER COLONY 71\nf Which duke ? * demanded the resplendent being, in a\nlofty voice. ' My duke is in Norway.'\nFleming meekly explained that he sought the Duke of\nNewcastle, and that he had not thought that dukes were\nquite so plentiful. The haughty representative of the\nabsent duke condescended to point the way to the apartments of the Duke of Newcastle, and after encountering\nanother overpowering doorkeeper, Fleming finally managed to have his card sent in. Somewhat to his surprise,\nfor he was now prepared for any sort of a rebuff, he was\nat once admitted, and found himself in the presence of a\nquiet, unassuming gentleman, who welcomed him cordially,\nand listened with sympathetic attention to all that he\nhad to say in regard to the Red River colonists and their\nplea for transportation facilities. In his questions and\ncomments, both in reference to this and to other matters\nin Canada, the duke revealed himself as a keen and intelligent\nstudent of public affairs. He had made good use of his\ntime while travelling through Canada with the Prince of\nWales three years before, and since his return had kept in\nclose touch with the progress of events on the other side of\nthe Atlantic.\nIn so far as its immediate object was concerned, Fleming's\nmission to England bore no direct fruit. It was after all\nrather a matter for the Canadian than the Imperial Government, and the Canadian Government was not yet alive to\nthe vital importance of transportation facilities in the\ndevelopment of that wonderful hinterland beyond the Great\nLakes. Indirectly, however, this mission had results of\nfar-reaching importance, involving both the transportation\nproblem in Canada, and also Fleming's own life. It is not\ntoo much to say that the visit to the Duke of Newcastle\nwas the turning-point in his career. How this came about\nwill be seen in the next chapter.\n CHAPTER VI\nTHE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL\nFleming returned to Canada in 1863 on the then famous\nsteamship Great Eastern sailing for New York. Most of the\npassengers were citizens of the United States, and as the\nFourth of July found them in mid-ocean it was decided to\ncelebrate the day in as imposing a fashion as the circumstances would permit. The principal event was a procession\naround the decks, in which all the passengers were to take\npart. Knowing that Fleming was a British subject, the\norganizers of the parade came to him and suggested that it\nwould be a graceful act if he would agree to carry the United\nStates flag at the head of the procession.\n' I was at the moment', he says, \ in conversation with\na very agreeable gentleman, an American, whose acquaintance I had made in London. On the spur of the moment\nI turned to the deputation and said I should be delighted to\ncarry the flag they referred to or any flag, provided my\nfriend would agree to support me by carrying the British\nflag, and that we would march at the head of the procession.\nIt was so agreed, and I went off to one of the ship's officers\nand arranged with him that my friend was to be equipped\nwith the very largest British flag available, while I was to\nhave the smallest American flag on the ship.\nJj The flags were kept out of sight until the procession was\nabout to start on its triumphant march, and then off we\nwent with the steward's brass band in front, my companion\n(who was a true sportsman) almost buried under the folds\nof seven yards of Union Jack, while I marched beside him\nwaving a diminutive edition of the Stars and Stripes about\nthe size of a pocket-handkerchief.\nf Some twenty years afterwards I happened to be in St.\nPaul, Minnesota, and was delighted to find my friend of the\nGreat Eastern once more in the person of the mayor of that\nMM\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL\n73\ncity. He was kind enough to invite a number of friends to\nmeet me at dinner, when he told them, much to their enjoyment, the story of our Fourth of July celebration in mid-\nocean/\nFleming had not long arrived at his home in Toronto\nbefore he received an urgent message from the Premier,\nJohn Sandfield Macdonald, to come down to Quebec, then\nthe seat of government. Arrived there, he was informed by\nMr. Macdonald that, in accordance with an arrangement\nmade with the Imperial and other Governments concerned,\nit had been decided to carry out at once preUminary surveys\nfor the proposed Intercolonial Railway between Quebec\nand the maritime colonies of New Brunswick and Nova\nScotia. The surveys were to be entrusted to a commission\nof three engineers, one appointed by the united provinces of\nUpper Canada and Quebec, one jointly by Nova Scotia and\nNew Brunswick, and the third by the Imperial Government.\nMr. Macdonald added that he (Fleming) was the nominee of\nCanada.\nNo sooner was this decision communicated to the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick than Dr. Tupper\nrepresenting the former and Mr. Tilley representing the\nlatter agreed that Fleming should also be their nominee.\nThe Imperial Government was informed of the joint appointment, and in October 1863 the following dispatch was\nreceived by the Governor-General from the Duke of Newcastle : ' The character of Mr. Sandford Fleming ... is so\nunexceptionable... that I am quite ready to avail myself of\nhis services as the representative of the Imperial Government. Your Lordship will accordingly be pleased to appoint\nMr. Fleming at once to the situation. It is agreeable to me\nto feel that by selecting Mr. Fleming as the combined representative of Her Majesty's Government and of the North\nAmerican Provinces specially interested in this important\nsubject much delay has been avoided, and that the wishes of\nyour Government for the immediate commencement of the\nsurvey have, so far as this appointment is concerned, been\ncomplied with.'\n1\n 74\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n&*\nAs the result therefore of a combination of circumstances,\nfortunate alike for the Governments interested and for the\nengineer who was to carry out this very important work,\nFleming combined in his own person the commission entrusted with the survey of a route for the Intercolonial\nRailway.\nBefore describing the progress of this undertaking, it may\nbe well to give a brief account of the movement for the construction of a railway to connect Nova Scotia and New\nBrunswick with what was known as the Province of Canada,\nor rather, before 1841, as the Provinces of Upper and Lower\nCanada. According to the late George Johnson, for many\nyears Dominion Statistician, the movement dates back to the\nyear 1827, when in the little town of St. Andrews, New\nBrunswick, the project of a railway from that place to the\ncity of Quebec was first mooted. The first passenger railway\nin the world, the Stockton and Darlington line, built by\nGeorge Stephenson, had been opened two years before, and\nthe railway fever had crossed the Atlantic and among other\ncommunities had taken possession of this ambitious town\non the Bay of Fundy. But the fever did not run very high,\nor perhaps the time was not ripe for its development. It is\nrecorded that a public meeting was called in St. Andrews by\none John Wilson, in 1828, to discuss the question, and then\nnothing more is heard of a railway until 1832, when Henry\nFairbairn revived the project in an article in the United\nService Journal.\n' I propose', he said, ' first to form a railway for wagons,\nfrom Quebec to the harbour*of St. Andrews upon the Bay\nof Fundy, a work which will convey the whole trade of the\nSt. Lawrence in a single day to the Atlantic waters.... Thus\nthe timber, provisions, ashes, and other exports of the Provinces may be brought to the Atlantic not only with more\nspeed, regularity, and security than by the River St. Lawrence, but with the grand additional advantage of a navigation open at all seasons of the year ; the harbour of St.\nAndrews being capacious, deep, and never closed in the\nwinter season, whilst the St. Lawrence is unnavigable from\n\u00C2\u00A3\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL\n75\nice from the month of November to May. . . . Another great\nline of railways may be formed from Halifax through Nova\nScotia to St. John in the Province of New Brunswick, and\nthence into the United States, joining the railways which\nare fast spreading through that country This railway will\nnot only bring to the Atlantic the lumber, provisions, metal,\nand other exports of the provinces, but from the situation\nof the harbour of Halifax ... it will doubtless command the\nwhole stream of passengers, mails, and light articles of commerce passing into the British possessions and to the United\nStates and every part of the continent of America/\nMr. Fairbairn then proceeded to set forth, with remarkable\nprevision, the vital importance of railways to the development of the North American continent.\nI Indeed,' he said, % if the difficulties and expense of constructing these works in our North American colonies were\ntenfold greater, an imperative necessity would exist for their\nadoption, if it is desired by the Government of this country\nto maintain an equality of commercial advantages with the\nneighbouring United States. For the splendid advantages of\nthe railway system are well understood in that country, where\ngreat navigable rivers are about to be superseded by railways of vast magnitude reaching over hundreds of miles. . . .\nIndeed, in no other country will the results of the railway\nsystem be so extensive as in the United States, for it will\narmihilate their only disadvantage, inland distance from the\nsea ; and it will effect the work of centuries to connect, consolidate, and strengthen that giant territory, lying beneath\nall climates and spreading over a quarter of the globe. If\nthen we would contend with these advantages in our North\nAmerican Provinces, it is only by similar works that we can\nbring to the Atlantic the agricultural exports of the Colonies,\nand secure the stream of emigration, which otherwise with\nthe f acflity of inland transportation will be rapidly diverted\nto the western regions of the United States/\nThis article reawakened the dormant interest of St.\nAndrews; a meeting was called in October 1835, at which\nresolutions advocating a line of railway between St. Andrews\n *\n76\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nand Quebec were unanimously carried; the support of\nthe Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, Sir Archibald\nCampbell, was sought and obtained; a deputation was sent to\nQuebec, where resolutions favourable to the undertaking were\nadopted in December by both Houses of the Legislature;\nand early in the following year negotiations were opened with\nthe Imperial Government with the view of securing financial\nassistance. In March 1836, the House of Assembly of Nova\nScotia endorsed the project; and the same month a Bill\npassed the Legislature of New Brunswick incorporating the\n1 St. Andrews and Quebec Railroad Company'. Meantime\nthe feasibility of the proposed railway had been established\nby an exploration of the route designed to be followed ; and\na grant of \u00C2\u00A310,000 was obtained from the Home Government\nfor a more careful survey. This work was entrusted to\nCaptain Yule, R.E., whose report was entirely favourable.\nEverything seemed to be moving smoothly,when the whole\nproject was brought to a standstill by the opposition of the\nUnited States Government, on whose behalf representations\nwere made to the British Government to the effect that the\nproposed railway would run through disputed territory. As\na result of these representations orders were received from\nEngland to discontinue all proceedings for the construction\nof the railway until the points in dispute had been settled.\nThese points involved the boundary between New Brunswick\nand Maine, and it took several years to bring them to a final\nsettlement. Unfortunately, when the Ashburton Treaty was\nsigned in 1842 it was found that the country west of the\nSt. John River through which Captain Yule had made his\nrailway survey in 1837 nao^ been ceded to the United States,\nand the project was therefore indefinitely postponed.\nThe Ashburton Treaty had driven a wedge of foreign territory into the heart of the country lying between New Brunswick and Canada; a direct fine of railway between St.\nAndrews, or even St. John, and the city of Quebec, was no\nlonger possible. It became necessary to consider other routes,\nand about 1845 a project was set on foot for a line between\nHalifax and Quebec. This scheme at once gained substantial*\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL\n77\nsupport on both sides of the Atlantic, among others who were\ninduced to take an interest in it being Sir Richard Broun,\nwho was endeavouring to organize a colonization company\nin connexion with the revival of the rights of the Baronetage\nof Nova Scotia, and who was also interested in the ambitious\nproject of a continuous fine of steam navigation and railways\nthrough British North America to connect Great Britain with\nJapan, China, and India.\nSeveral routes were proposed for the railway. One followed\nthe line of a suggested military road from Halifax by way of\nTruro, the bend of the Petitcodiac, Boiestown, Grand Falls\nand Lake Temiscouata. Another, starting from Canso,\njoined the first-mentioned fine at Truro. A third, starting\nat Halifax, ran to Annapolis, with a line of steamers across\nthe Bay of Fundy from Annapolis to St. John, and then proceeded up the St. John River to Fredericton and Boiestown.\nAnd a fourth, taking the last-mentioned route to Fredericton,\nfollowed the west bank of the St. John River to Grand Falls.\nLord Falkland, then Governor of Nova Scotia, urged upon\nthe British Government the desirability of testing the practicability of the scheme and deterrnining the best route by\nmeans of an accurate survey, to be carried out by competent\nmilitary and civil engineers. As the result of these representations Mr. Gladstone gave instructions, in June 1846, to\nCaptain Pipon and Lieutenant Henderson, of the Royal\nEngineers, to survey three lines : (1) From Halifax to some\nport on the Bay of Fundy whence steamer connexion could\nbe made to St. John, thence to Fredericton and Grand Falls,\nthence by way of Lake Temiscouata to the mouth of the\nRivi&re du Loup, and thence by the south bank of the St.\nLawrence to Levis opposite Quebec. (2) From Halifax to\nthe bend of the Petitcodiac, thence in a practically direct line\nto Grand Falls, and thence as before described to the St.\nLawrence. (3) From Halifax to the bend of the Petitcodiac,\nthence keeping to the north-west of Newcastle and Chaleur\nBay, or its vicinity, to the St. Lawrence.\nAs a result of these surveys, in the course of which Major\nRobinson of the Royal Engineers replaced Captain Pipon,\n vmsqmm\n7\n8\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n'i\nwho was drowned in the Restigouche in an attempt to save\nthe life of a boy in his party, a report was submitted in\nAugust 1848 recommending a route from Halifax to Truro\npassing over the Cobequid Mountains, thence by the gulf\nshore to the Miramichi River which would be crossed at the\nhead of tide, thence proceeding by the Nipissiguit River to\nChaleur Bay and along the coast to the mouth of the Meta-\npedia, proceeding up the valley of the Metapedia to the\nvicinity of the St. Lawrence, and thence along the south\nshore to Riviere du Loup and Levis. The estimate for the\nfine was, in round numbers, \u00C2\u00A35,000,000.\nThis report of Major Robinson gave a renewed impetus to\nthe project. It was discussed and approved in the various\nprovincial legislatures, and an earnest effort was made to\ninduce the Home Government to grant financial aid, the\nunited resources of the three provinces being insufficient to\ncarry through a work of such proportions. The demands on\nthe Imperial treasury were, however, too numerous and\npressing in 1849 to admit of any measure being submitted to\nParliament for the aid required.\nThe project therefore remained stationary for a time, but\nit was widely discussed in the newspapers and was the subject\nof a number of pamphlets, notably that of Major Carmichael-\nSmyth in 1849, in which was advocated the utilization of the\nsurplus labour of the United Kingdom in the construction\nnot merely of a railway from Halifax to Quebec but of one\nfrom Halifax to the Pacific coast.\nIn 1851, through the eloquent plea of Joseph Howe, the\nPremier of Nova Scotia, the British Government seemed\nat last awake to the Imperial importance of the proposed\nrailway. The Colonial Secretary in a letter to Howe laid\nstress on the ' strong sense entertained by the British\nGovernment of the extreme importance, not only to the\nColonies directly interested but to the Empire at large, of\nproviding for the construction of a railway by which a line\nof communication may be established on British territory\nbetween the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and\nCanada'. The Imperial Government was now prepared\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL 79\nto guarantee the interest on the cost of construction, but\nanother difficulty appeared. New Brunswick and Nova\nScotia were not merely interested in the project of a railway\nfrom Halifax to Quebec, but they were also interested in\none from Halifax through St. John to Portland, Maine;\nindeed, New Brunswick had already promised substantial\nfinancial support to the latter fine. They asked that the\nImperial guarantee should cover this line also, from Halifax\nto the international boundary ; but the Colonial Secretary\nreplied that it would be impossible to ask Parliament to\npledge the credit of the United Kingdom for any object\nwhich was not of importance to the Empire as a whole.\nIt is impracticable here to trace the rather intricate history\nof the Intercolonial Railway project throughout the next\ndecade. It will be sufficient to say that as the Provincial\nLegislatures and the Imperial Government found it impossible to reach common ground, the former determined to go\nahead at their own expense with the construction of such\nrailways as were most urgently required. In this, however,\nthe three provinces, Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova\nScotia, acted quite independently, without any unity of plan.\nThe result was that while between 1852 and 1862 many miles\nof railway were built the general project of the Intercolonial\nwas by no means correspondingly advanced. Finally the\nprovinces once more entered into negotiations with the Home\nGovernment, and it was eventually agreed that the Imperial\nParliament should be asked to guarantee a loan of \u00C2\u00A33,000,000\nfor the Intercolonial Railway subject to certain stipulations,\namong others that as a preliminary step surveys should be\ncarried out and the line proposed to be followed submitted to\nand approved by Her Majesty's Government. These are the\nsurveys which, as already mentioned, the British and Colonial\nGovernments agreed to entrust to Sandford Fleming.\nEarly in 1864 he left Quebec for Riviere du Loup, at that\ntime the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway, to commence\nin the depth of winter a reconnaissance of the country. His\ntask was to carry a survey south-easterly from Riviere du\nLoup through two hundred miles of broken, elevated country,\n 8o\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ncovered by a dense forest, destitute of settlements or roads,\nto the existing railway connecting St. John and Shediac,\na small town on the Straits of Northumberland. From\nMoncton, on this line, the second section of the survey would\nrun to Truro, the then terminus of the Nova Scotia Railway,\nthrough the Cobequid Mountains. The Chief Engineer and\nhis assistants had to travel on snow-shoes through this wilderness, and what could not be carried on dog-sleds had to be\nborne on men's backs. Provisions, instruments, and equipment, everything in fact, had to be transported in this\nprimitive fashion, and what was not absolutely indispensable\nwas of necessity left behind. Spartan simplicity marked the\nlives of those engaged on the Intercolonial surveys. Reading\nbetween the brief lines of his diary, jotted down hastily at\nthe end of a hard day's travel, one gets some idea of the\ncircumstances under which Sandford Fleming pushed this\nsurvey through from the St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia. Some\nthrifty official at Quebec had provisioned the parties with\ncanned meat left over from the Crimea. Many a time the\nsurveyors must have wished that it had been providentially\nsunk in the Black Sea. Fortunately the country sometimes\nafforded fish and small game, with an occasional moose, to\nbreak the monotony of the dubious rations of the army\ncontractors.\nThe first Sunday was spent at Riviere du Loup, and the\nChief Engineer with most of his assistants went to the little\nEpiscopal Church and listened to an edifying sermon. When\nit came to the usual time for a collection, the worthy old\nrector, seeing an unusual number of people in the pews,\nbeckoned to his churchwardens and retired with them behind\na screen, which did duty for the vestry. The rector was\nsomewhat deaf, and the conversation was therefore quite\naudible to the waiting congregation, which consisted principally of the members of the survey party. It appeared that\nthe collection was not an invariable feature of the services in\nthis little church, being regarded apparently by the regular\nattendants as largely a work of supererogation, but on the\npresent occasion the rector made it clear that it might be\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL 81\nproper to give the strangers an opportunity of helping along\nthe good work of the parish. The wardens were dubious,\nbut the rector somewhat insistent. Finally one of the wardens\nthrust his head around the screen and had a good look at\nFleming and his men. Red flannel shirts, homespun trousers,\nand rough boots ! One glance was enough. His expression\nwould have told them at once that they had been examined\nand found wanting, but his audible whisper to the rector put\nthe matter beyond all possible doubt. There was no collection\nthat day.\nFrom Riviere du Loup Fleming made his way to St. Flavie,\nfamiliar to present-day travellers on the Intercolonial as the\nwelcome point at which the dining-car is taken on the train.\nFrom here he walked on snowshoes to Lake Metapedia, with\none Alexander Fraser of Pictou. They had small dog-sleds\nto carry their supplies drawn by three faithful dogs, Gasp6,\nBruce, and Wallace, Fleming's companions on many a long\njourney. A hard day's travel brought them to the north end\nof Lake Metapedia, but a supper of trout and partridge, with\na smoke and a chat afterward with an old Scotch settler,\nmade up for much discomfort. The next day they arrived\nat the forks of the Metapedia.\n| Left at 7 o'clock,' says the diary, ' after breakfast on\nmoose muffle and pancakes. Beautiful sunny morning.\nDown valley of Metapedia. Sleigh broke down; left it\nbehind. Arrived at Evans' shanty at noon; travelled n\nmiles. Evans' shanty say 20 by 15, walls 3 feet high. Contains family, a horse (the first we have seen since Metis),\ncocks, hens, and everything living about the establishment;\nhome-made furniture, and a spinning wheel. On to mouth of\nMetapedia, over difficult ground. Journey to-day 33 miles/\nAnother day brought them to Dalhousie, where the night\nwas spent with David Saddler, a surveyor. Saddler had been\nthrough the terrible Miramichi fire of 1825 and could still\nrecall the days of horror when whole districts were swept\nclean of every living thing. For him, however, tfte fire had\nnot been wholly disastrous. Fortune had enabled him to\nsave from drowning a young woman who, with others of her\n'f\n 82\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nfamily, had fled to the river as a last refuge. In good time\nshe became his wife, and took her place at his, own fireside.\nFrom Dalhousie the Chief Engineer drove to Bathurst and\nNewcastle, where he received a letter in connexion with the\nsurvey from Dr. Tupper, the Provincial Secretary of Nova\nScotia. From Newcastle he travelled over to Fredericton to\ndiscuss the New Brunswick portion of the work with the\nPremier, S. L. Tilley. At the hotel in Fredericton he found\nan invitation from the Governor, Arthur Hamilton Gordon\n(afterward Lord Stanmore), to dine at Government House.\nHaving nothing to wear but his grey homespun suit and red\nflannel shirt\u00E2\u0080\u0094the same that had so unfavourably impressed\nthe churchwarden at Riviere du Loup\u00E2\u0080\u0094he begged to be\nexcused. The Governor, however, would not hear of it, and\nurged him to come just as he was. ' You can imagine', says\nFleming, I the sensation I made when I entered the drawing-\nroom at Government House, filled with ladies in wonderful\ntoilets and officers in full dress uniform. However, I was\ngiven a charming companion to take in to dinner, and enjoyed myself immensely.'\nIn Fredericton, then, as now, the capital of New Brunswick,\nthe Chief Engineer had an opportunity of going over his plans\nwith the members of the local government, and completing\nhis arrangements for the various parties in the field.\nWhile there he had a visit one morning from a young man\nwho introduced himself as Lord Haddo, and asked to be\nallowed to accompany one of the survey parties through the\nTobique mountains. ' I immediately discouraged the idea,'\nsays Fleming,' pointing out to him that in travelling through\nsuch difficult and inaccessible country all provisions and\nsupplies must be carried on men's backs, and that it would be\nimpossible to take a traveller or sportsman with the party.\n' \" But,\" he replied at once,\" you misunderstand me. I am\nlooking for work, not for game. Look at these hands,\" he\nsaid, holding them out to me. \" You can see they are hard\nas nails. I have j ust come in from a lumberman's camp where\nI have been working and earning $14 a month and my board.\nI would be glad to get work on your survey, and I can serve\nIl4\n THE BIRTH OF THE INTERCOLONIAL\n83\nas an axeman as well as any other fellow.\" | Oh,\" I said,\n\" that is quite a different matter. If you are in earnest I can\nfind you a place with one of the parties.\" I gave him a letter\nto one of the engineers, Mr. Tremaine, who was leaving\nFredericton next morning. The same evening I left for\nQuebec by the way I had come.\n11 returned to New Brunswick by rail to Boston and the\nEnglish mail steamer to Halifax. When I landed from the\nBoston steamer I was surprised to find Lord Haddo on the\ndock embarking for Liverpool. \" Hullo ! \" I said, \" what\nare you doing here. I thought you were at the present\nmoment working as an axeman on the survey in the Tobique\nmountains.\"\n' I expected to be there,\" he said, \" but the very day\nyou left Fredericton the English mail arrived, and I learned\nof the death of my father, and must return at once to Scotland.\" His father was the Earl of Aberdeen, and my young\nfriend of the horny hands and the capacity for hard work\nhad now succeeded to the title.\n' He was a man of strong and original views, anxious to\nfeel that he could make his own way in the world apart from\nthe accident of birth, and anxious too to gain first-hand\nknowledge of the conditions that other men had to face in the\nnew world.\n1 About a year after succeeding to the title he came out to\nNew Brunswick again, and from there made his way to\nGloucester, on the New England coast, where he joined the\ncrew of a whaling-ship bound for the South Seas. From the\nday he sailed out of Gloucester harbour nothing was ever\nheard of him or of the ship and crew. The present Earl of\nAberdeen, for some years Governor-General of Canada,\nwas a younger brother of the man who went down in the\nGloucester whaler/\nF2\ni\n1\n CHAPTER VII\n$\nPROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\nThe survey for the Intercolonial was divided into two\nsections, one extending south-easterly from the St. John-\nShediac Railway then in operation to the town of Truro, at\nthat time the terminus of the Nova Scotia Railway ; and the\nother north-westerly from the St. John-Shediac line to\nRiviere du Loup.\nBy the opening of spring in 1864 a large staff of surveyors\nwas engaged at various points between Rivi&re du Loup and\nTruro, and before the close of that year the country had been\npretty well explored, and more than, one practicable line\nestablished. In fact the report of the survey, made in\nFebruary 1865, outlined no less than fifteen different routes,\ndivided into three groups: Frontier, Central, and Bay\nChaleur. The first, covering three several routes, ran close\nto the international boundary between New Brunswick and\nMaine. The second, including nine routes, traversed the\ncentral portion of New Brunswick. The third, embracing\nthree routes, followed the Gulf side of the province. The\ndistances, between Riviere du Loup and St. John, ranged all\nthe way from 301 to 486 miles ; and between Riviere du Loup\nand Halifax, from 496 to 616 miles.\nAs the result of these surveys Fleming recommended one\nof the routes touching Chaleur Bay, which was subsequently\nadopted by the Government. In his historical sketch of the\nIntercolonial, published some years later, he reveals the same\nbreadth of view that has marked his treatment of all the\ngreat national projects with which he has been connected.\n1 The Bay Chaleur', he says,' is not only nearly a hundred\nand fifty miles nearer than Halifax to Liverpool, but at the\nsame time it is two hundred and sixty-six miles nearer Montreal than Halifax is. Consequently the selection of a port on\nthe Bay Chaleur for ocean steamers would shorten the whole\ndistance between Montreal and Liverpool fully four hundred\n PROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\nmiles. Even between Liverpool and New York, one hundred\nand sixty miles would be saved by commencing the ocean\npassage at the Bay Chaleur/ The day may yet come when\nSandford Fleming's idea of a great ocean port on the Bay\nChaleur will be an accomplished fact; or in place of it, we\nmay see the fruition of the still more daring project, which he\nalso put forth at this time.\n' The consideration', he says, * of the shortest lines between\nAmerica and Europe with reference more particularly to the\nconveyance of passengers and mails, pointed to the extension\nof the railway system across Newfoundland. The theory was\nadvanced that there already existed, or that in all probability\nthere soon would be, sufficient traffic to sustain a daily line\nof ocean steamers across the Atlantic. The idea of including\nNewfoundland in the scheme of intercommunication, and\nmaking a railway there, a continuation, as it were, of the Intercolonial line, with the prospect of the Island becoming part of\nthe Federal Union, may have appeared to be visionary. But\nnevertheless some advance has been made in that direction.\nIn the ten years which have elapsed (since Confederation),\nNewfoundland has been awakened by the spirit of progress,\nand she more thoroughly understands the importance of her\ngeographical position. Last year the interior of the Island,\nscarcely before trodden by the white man, and full of natural\nresources, was passed over by a large staff of engineers sent\nby her Government to examine the practicability of a railway\nfrom the extreme east to the extreme west. Another decade\nmay record results such as the chronicler of to-day records of\nwhat has been effected by the Dominion in the last ten years.'\nIn his report on the Intercolonial Surveys, made in 1865,\neleven years before the above was written, Fleming had outlined his scheme for a Short Ocean Passage.\n' Newfoundland, a large island off the mainland of North\nAmerica, and Ireland, an island off the European coast,\nresemble each other in being similar outlying portions of\nthe continents to which they respectively belong. Possibly\nthey may have a more important similarity and relationship,\nthrough the remarkable geographical position which they\n 86\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nhold, the one to the other, and to the great centres of population and commerce in Europe and America\n'A glance at the chart of the Atlantic will show that between\nIreland and Newfoundland the ocean can be spanned by the\nshortest line Were it possible to introduce the locomotive\ninto Newfoundland and establish steam communication\nbetween it and the cities of America, a route would be created\nfrom continent to continent having the ocean passage reduced\nto a minimum. . . .\n' The track of steamers from the British coast to New\nYork, and to all points north of New York, passes Ireland and\nNewfoundland, either to the north or to the south ; the most\nusual course, however, is to the south of both islands.\nVessels bound westerly make for Cape Race on the southeasterly coast of Newfoundland; whilst those bound easterly\nmake Cape Clear on the south-westerly angle of Ireland.\nNot far from Cape Race is the Harbour of St. John's, and\nnear Cape Clear is the Harbour of Valentia ; the one is the\nmost easterly port of America, the other the most westerly\nport of Europe. They are distant from each other about\n1,640 miles.'\nAn essential link in this scheme for a Short Ocean Passage\nwas a line of railway from St. John's to St. George's Bay or\nPort au Port, on the Gulf side of the island. From thence,\nsteamers would run to Shippigan, at the entrance to the\nBay Chaleur, where a spur from the Intercolonial would give\nconnexion with the railway systems of America. Such a\ncombined rail and water route would, Fleming established,\nland passengers from London in New York in 171 hours,\nor a little over seven days. This was based on a speed of\n40 miles an hour on the British railways, 30 miles an hour on\nrailways in America, and 16J miles an hour for the ocean\npassage. That was a reasonable estimate in 1865. To-day\nthe same route would of course offer a very much quicker\npassage. In 1865 the mean average of all passages between\nLiverpool and Southampton and New York ranged from\n11 days up to 13 days, 9 hours. The advantages in favour of\nthe proposed Newfoundland route are obvious.\n PROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\n87\nThe Short Ocean Passage was advocated particularly for\nthe accommodation of mails and passengers. 'At the present\ntime (1865) ocean steamers generally carry both freight and\npassengers, and in this respect they are like what are termed\n\" mixed trains \" on railways. These mixed trains are employed to serve localities where there is not sufficient passenger\nand freight traffic to justify the running of separate trains.\n' On railways doing a large business, the traffic is properly\nclassified ; fast trains are run to carry passengers and mails\nonly, whilst slow trains are used to convey heavy freight.\nA similar classification of ocean traffic may be suggested.\nFreight will naturally goby the cheapest mode of conveyance,\nwhile passengers and mails will seek the speediest.\n* It is well known that the shape of a steamship, other\nthings being equal, governs her speed. The shape again\ndepends upon the load she may be constructed to carry : if\nthe ship is required only for mails and passengers and such\nvoyages as require but a small quantity of fuel, she may be\nconstructed on a model both sharp and light, and thus be\ncapable of running more rapidly than if built to carry heavy\nand bulky loads. A steamship for heavy loads may be compared to a dray-horse, whilst one made specially for passengers\nand rapid transit may resemble a race-horse, and like the\nlatter, the less weight carried the more speed will be made.\nI If these views are correct, it is clear that the speed of ocean\nsteamships might be considerably increased when constructed\nfor a special purpose/ The modern ' ocean greyhound',\nbuilt for mails and passengers, is a remarkable justification\nof Sandford Flerning's prediction made half a century ago.\nOn the point of safety, he shrewdly observes that ' the\nportion of a voyage between New York and Liverpool which\nseamen least fear is that from Ireland to Newfoundland.\nIt is well known that the most dangerous part of the whole\nvoyage is along the American coast between New York and\nCape Race, where thick fogs so frequently prevail; this\ncoast fine is about 1,000 miles in length, and it has been the\nscene of the larger number of the disasters which have\noccurred. ... The route which favours increased security from\n 8\u00C2\u00A7\u00C2\u00A7\u00C2\u00A7a\nEC&3J9B&&GS\n88\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nsea-risks, and which is the shortest in point of time, must\neventually become the cheapest, and in consequence the\nmost frequented.. . .\n' If, as it has been shown, this route would reduce the time\nbetween London and New York some three or four days, and\nbring Toronto one-third nearer Liverpool (in time) than New\nYork is now ; if it would give the merchant in Chicago his\nEnglish letters four or five days earlier than he has ever yet\nreceived them ; if it be possible by this proposed route to\nlift the mails in London and lay them down in New Orleans\nin less time than they have ever yet reached New York, then\nit surely possesses advantages which must eventually establish it, not simply as an Intercolonial, but rather as an\nIntercontinental line of communication.\n' These are purely commercial considerations, and however\nimportant they may be as such, the statesman will readily\nperceive, in the project, advantages of another kind. It may\nbe of some consequence to extend to Newfoundland, as well\nas to the other provinces of British America, the benefits of\nrapid intercommunication. It will probably accord with\nImperial policy to foster the shipping of the Gulf, and to\nencourage the building up of such a fleet of swift steamers as\na daily line across the ocean would require. It must surely\nbe important to the Empire to secure in perpetuity the control\nof the great highway between the two continents. It must be\nequally her policy to develop the resources and promote the\nprosperity of these Colonies\u00E2\u0080\u0094and to bind more closely, by\nties of mutual benefit, the friendly relationship which happily\nexists between the people on both sides of the Atlantic.'\nIt may be noted here that Fleming was so convinced of the\npublic advantages of his scheme, and particularly of one of\nthe principal links\u00E2\u0080\u0094a railway across Newfoundland\u00E2\u0080\u0094that\nat his personal expense he employed a party of engineers to\nmake a survey of the route between St. John's and the Gulf\ncoast of the island. The route then surveyed was practically\nthat afterwards adopted for the existing railway.\nIt is singular enough that, with the almost feverish desire\nfor quick transatlantic passages in the present age, and the\n PROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY 89\npopularity with many travellers of a route which reduces\nthe ocean trip to a minimum, this route advocated by a\nCanadian engineer half a century ago has not yet been\nadopted. There is some reason for believing, however, that\nbefore many years have gone by, it will be possible to take\na quick train from Montreal, or New York, to St. John's, Newfoundland, and at St. John's or some other point board an\nocean greyhound for the nearest port on the Irish coast\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nthus practically realizing Fleming's dream of a Short Ocean\nPassage.\nBut to return to the Intercolonial. While the surveys\nwere in progress, in 1864, a political movement of long\nstanding, and far-reaching importance, was rapidly coming\nto a head. In September of that year representatives of\nNova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island,\nmet in Charlottetown, to enter into negotiations for the\nunion of the Maritime Provinces. To this conference came\neight members of the Government of the then Province of\nCanada, with instructions to urge the larger scheme of a\nconfederation of British North America. The men of the\nupper provinces took the meeting by storm, and it was\ndecided to hold an interprovincial conference at Quebec in\nOctober. To this convention came such prominent leaders\nas John A. Macdonald, Charles Tupper, George Brown,\nThomas D'Arcy McGee, Leonard Tilley, A. T. Gait, Oliver\nMowat, George E. Cartier, and Etienne Tache; the famous\nSeventy-Two Resolutions were adopted; the resolutions\nwere submitted to and received the approval of the Imperial\nGovernment; they were sanctioned by the provincial legislatures ; the London conference met in 1866 and drafted the\nBritish North America Act, which was passed by the Imperial\nParliament the following year; and on July 1, 1867, the\nnew Dominion of Canada became an accomplished fact.\nThe sixty-eighth Resolution, adopted at Quebec, provided\nthat ' the general Government shall secure, without delay,\nthe completion of the Intercolonial Railway from River du\nLoup, through New Brunswick, to Truro in Nova Scotia ';\nand on April 12, 1867, the Imperial Parliament passed a Bill\n 90 SANDFORD FLEMING\nentitled, ' An Act for authorizing a guarantee of interest on\na loan to be raised by Canada, towards the construction of\na railway connecting Quebec and Halifax.' Under the Bill\nthe funds for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway\nwere provided, to the extent of \u00C2\u00A33,000,000 sterling.\nAn incident in the history of Confederation which has\nnever yet seen the light, and which is not without interest\nand significance, is the visit to St. John and Halifax of\na party of Canadian legislators, in the summer of 1864,\nprevious to the Charlottetown convention. This momentous\nvisit was suggested by Fleming, and mainly due to his\npersonal efforts. The story of the incident cannot be better\ntold than in his own words.\n' One of the men', he says, ' whose friendship I valued\nmost highly was Thomas D'Arcy McGee. He was then\nMinister of Agriculture in the short-lived Tache-Macdonald\nadministration, and occupied the same position in the succeeding coalition ministry, up to the date of Confederation.\nI had many opportunities of meeting him in Quebec, which\nwas then the seat of government, and we had long and interesting conversations on matters that were then occupying\nmen's minds. He was a warm advocate of Confederation,\nand also took a deep interest in the projected Intercolonial\nrailway.\n' I remember one evening we were discussing the political\nsituation in the Lower Provinces, and the attitude of the\npeople there toward the scheme for a general union of\nBritish North America. He could not understand, and was\nsomewhat impatient with, the indifference of many people\nin Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to a project which\nappealed not only to his judgement, but also, by its very\nmagnitude, to his quick Celtic imagination.\n'\"It seems to me \", I said, \" that the great obstacle in the\nway of union is the fact that the people of the upper and\nlower provinces do not know one another, that they are in\nfact absolute strangers. I have been for some time moving\nfrom place to place in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,\nand I know that there is as much ignorance there as to this'\nglf\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 ^~\n PROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\n9i\n< tt\nt tt-\nprovince and its people as if it were the antipodes ; and I am\nnot sure that the majority of the people here are any better\noff in their knowledge or lack of knowledge of the Maritime\nProvinces. There is, as you know, very little communication, and practically no commerce, between Canada and\nNova Scotia and New Brunswick. The business relations of\nthe latter are far more with Boston and New York than with\nQuebec and Montreal. You who are inland know nothing\nof the people down by the sea, and they know nothing of\nyou. How can there be much sympathy or enthusiasm for\nunion under such circumstances ? '\nI believe you are right,\" he said.\nTf \", I continued,\" you want to bring them around to your\nviews, you must go down amongst them and rub shoulders\nwith them, talk with them, eat and drink with them. There\nis nothing like the brotherhood of knife and fork. Take\nsome of your best men with you, and particularly take\nrepresentatives of the press.\"\n' \" That is a good idea,\" said McGee, \" but how can it be\nmanaged ? \"\n' \" I am going down in a few days,\" I replied, \" and believe\nI can arrange it. If I send you a telegram, will you do the\nrest?\" I I \u00C2\u00A7\n' \" With all my heart,\" said he.\n\ When I arrived in Halifax I saw Dr. Tupper, told him\nfrankly of my talk with McGee and of the hopes we both\nentertained as to the happy results that might follow a social\ngathering of a number of representative men from the different colonies. \" Now,\" said I, \" the Canadian Parliament\nwill rise in a few days. Could you not send an invitation to\nthe Speaker, conveying to the members of the House an\ninvitation to visit Nova Scotia ? \"\n' \" I heartily agree with everything you have said,\" he\nreplied. \" I have no doubt that such a visit would result\nin a better understanding, and help along the movement\ntoward the confederation of all the provinces ; but I do not\nquite see how it can be arranged, at the present moment.\nWe must have some excuse for the invitation. If we were\n^\n 92\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nturning the sod of a new railway, or laying the foundation\nof a new building, it would be a simple matter to send an\ninvitation to the legislature in Quebec to come down and\ntake part in the ceremonies, but there is no such occasion at\npresent, and I think the matter will have to stand for a\nwhile.\" | f:\n' I was disappointed, but not discouraged. If Nova\nScotia would not take the matter in hand, there was still\nNew Brunswick. That night I left for St. John, and arriving\nthere, hunted up the only man I knew, a well-known local\nengineer. I told him what I had in mind. \" I want someone in authority here to telegraph an invitation to Quebec\nto come down and visit St. John. How can it be managed ? \"\n'\" Easiest thing in the world,\" he replied cheerily.\n\" Come with me and we will see the president of the Board\nof Trade!\" j ' f\n' The latter took the matter up with enthusiasm, and a\ntelegram was sent the same day, on behalf of the Board of\nTrade, to the members of the Canadian Legislature, to pay\na visit to St. John as soon as the House rose. I immediately\nsent a private telegram to D'Arcy McGee, asking him to see\nthat the matter was not neglected.\n' The following day I returned to Halifax, and told Dr.\nTupper what had been done in St. John.\n' \" Oh,\" he said, \" that entirely changes the situation.\nNow we can of course invite them to extend their visit to\nHalifax. I will have the president of the Board of Trade\nsend a similar invitation.\"\n' He was as good as his word, the invitation was sent, and,\nlargely through D'Arcy McGee's influence and enthusiasm,\na large and representative group of Canadian statesmen\nvisited St. John and Halifax, where they were royally\nreceived. The Canadian representatives, and their hosts\nof the Maritime Provinces, found that they had much more\nin common than they had ever before imagined,\u00E2\u0080\u0094the press\nwas well represented\u00E2\u0080\u0094and this social visit eventually had\nnot a little to do with the successful outcome of the negotiations for Confederation.'\n I*\n3^88\nPROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\n93\nAt the beginning of this chapter, something was said as to\nthe three routes, or rather three groups of routes, surveyed\nfor the Intercolonial through New Brunswick; and the\nfinal selection of one touching the Bay Chaleur. This\nquestion of the routes, and the economic, miHtary, and\npolitical considerations that governed the choice, occupied\nmost of Sandford Fleming's attention at this time, and\nbecame the subject-matter of several voluminous reports.\nBecause of this, and the light it throws upon the peculiarly\nroundabout course of the Intercolonial, it may be well to\ngive a brief account of the circumstances, as they are described\nby Fleming in his Historical Sketch of the Intercolonial.\n' The location of the line', he says, * being necessarily\nconfined to British territory, it was forced to make a considerable detour, to avoid entering the State of Maine. Had\nno national considerations presented themselves, or had the\nboundary been laid down according to the Treaty of 1783,\nor even in accordance with the settlement proposed, and,\nto some extent, pressed by the United States some years\nprior to the Ashburton Treaty, there would have been no\ndifficulty in securing a direct, eligible route.\n1 The railway would in this case, in all probability, have\nfollowed the general course of the route surveyed by Captain\nYule in 1837, as ^ar as the neighbourhood of the river\nSt. John Owing to certain political influences Captain Yule\nwas bound by his instructions to pass to the north of Mars\nHill. Thus his line was deflected out of the direct course to\nthe seaboard ; and it is highly probable that untrammelled\nhe would have followed a shorter route.\nc It is evident from an inspection of the map, and from the\nnatural features of the country, that lines of railway might\nhave been projected so as to bring Montreal within 380 miles\nof St. Andrews, 415 miles of St. John, and 650 miles of Halifax ; and that the distance from Quebec to St. Andrews\nneed not have exceeded 250 miles\u00E2\u0080\u009467 miles less than to\nPortland. Fredericton, the seat of local government, would\nhave been on the main line to Halifax, and distant from\nMontreal about 370 miles ; and these lines, moreover, would\n \u00C2\u00BB\n94\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nhave been wholly within the limits of the Dominion, had the\ninternational boundary been traced according to the true\nspirit and intent of the Treaty of 1783. The distance\nbetween Montreal and Halifax might thus have been\nlessened nearly 200 miles. St. Andrews would have taken\nthe place of Portland as the winter terminus of the Grand\nTrunk Railway, and would have commanded, together with\nSt. John, a traffic now cut off from both places, and centred\nat a foreign port. . . .\n' If, under such circumstances, an Intercolonial line to\nconnect the cities of the Maritime Provinces with those\nof the St. Lawrence had been constructed, the building\nof 250 miles of railway representing an expenditure of\n$10,000,000 would have been unnecessary. Great as this\nsaving would have been, the economy in working it and in\nmaintenance would have been more important. The direct\nline would also have attracted certain branches of traffic\nwhich by the longer route must either be carried at a loss\nor be repelled. These considerations render the difference\nin favour of the direct line incalculable, and cause the more\nregret that the treaty made by Lord Ashburton, which ceded\nBritish territory equal in size to two of the smaller States\nof the Union, rendered such a direct line through British\nterritory for ever impossible/\nThe contest at first was mainly between the Frontier\nroute and the Gulf or Northern route. It soon became\napparent, however, that military considerations put the\nformer out of the running, and the decision narrowed down\nto the Central and Northern routes. The only argument\nof any weight advanced on behalf of the Central route was\nthat it would secure a larger amount of through freight to\nSt. John as a shipping port. On the other hand, it was\nurged that the Central route had nothing in its favour which\nthe Northern route had not, and that the latter possessed\nmany special advantages over the Central and every other\nroute. It would pass through much well-settled country\nincluding several important towns and villages; would\ntraverse many outlets by which lumber was brought down\n PROBLEMS OF THE SURVEY\n95\nfrom the interior ; a considerable trade in grain and manufactures was to be anticipated; and the fishing industry\nwould be encouraged. But behind every other consideration was the governing factor of national defence. The\nNorthern route' would undoubtedly fulfil the national object\nfor which the scheme was first originated\u00E2\u0080\u0094the creation of\na safe military road not open to sudden assault either by\nland or sea'. Finally the Chief Engineer, after examining\nthe arguments advanced in favour of each route, placed on\nrecord his opinion that beyond a doubt the line by the Bay\nChaleur was the route to be adopted.\nA minor controversy was also carried on for some time as\nto the route the railway should follow in Nova Scotia, but\nin this case the considerations were merely those of convenience and of serving the interests of certain mining\ndistricts near the Cobequid mountains. Six routes were\nexamined and reported upon, and it was finally decided\nby the Chief Engineer that the one crossing the Cobequid\nmountains by the pass at Folly Lake and descending the\nnorthern slope of the hills to Amherst would best accommodate all interests, 'having primary regard to general interests'. Moved by certain local interests, however, the\nGovernment adopted a combination of this and another\nroute.\n1 Thus', says Fleming, ' the controversy was ended; and\nhence arose that gigantic and conspicuous sweep which the\nrailway traveller will observe on the southern flank of the\nCobequid mountains, where the line describes nearly half\na complete circle. So marked is this feature in the location\nthat the popular voice has applied to it the term, \"The\nGrecian Bend,\" which possibly may be retained so long as\nthe railway endures/\n CHAPTER VIII\nBUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\nFleming had taken his family to Halifax in 1864, when\nhe assumed charge of the Intercolonial surveys, and he made\nhis home there for the next five years. In 1869 the need of\nkeeping in closer touch with the Government induced him\nto move to Ottawa, where he built ' Winterholme'. The\ndelightful summer climate of Halifax, however, had captivated him, and before moving to Ottawa he had purchased\nfrom Samuel Cunard and others an ideally situated property\non the North-west Arm. Here he built himself a summer\nhome, ' The Dingle,' and here year after year when he could\ndo so he escaped for a time from the stress of work and found\nrest and solace beside the waters of the Atlantic. From\ntime to time he added to the property, and many years afterward reduced it again so that he might present a portion\nto Halifax as a public park and provide a site for the Memorial Tower dedicated by the Duke of Connaught in 1913.\nBut this is getting too far ahead.\nWhile the location surveys for the Intercolonial were still\nin progress in 1868, the Canadian Government directed the\nChief Engineer to prepare plans and specifications for the construction of the railway. These were submitted to the Privy\nCouncil in November of that year, and with some minor\namendments were adopted. Tenders were immediately called\nfor the work. About the same time the Government appointed four Commissioners to assume the management of\nthe railway.\nAt the first meeting between the Commissioners and their\nchief executive officer a sharp divergence of opinion appeared.\nFleming had recommended that all the bridges along the\nline of railway should be of iron. The Commissioners were\nresolved that they should be of wood. The Chief Engineer,\n BUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\n97\n1\nalso, had recommended that the work of construction of the\nrailway should be by measurement and price, as a schedule\ncontract. The Commissioners, on the other hand, were\npersuaded that each section should be let at a bulk sum for\nthe whole, and not by a schedule of prices, and insisted on\nputting this plan before the Government. Their view was that\nthe contractor for each section should be held to complete the\nwork for the amount of his tender, without advance of price\nfor increase of work, or any deduction for diminution thereof.\nFleming contended that ' the knowledge of the work\nrequired on any section was insufficient to admit of letting\nthe work for a bulk sum ; that no contractor could exactly\nunderstand the extent of the obligation which he was assuming ; and that contracts let on this system, as matters\nthen were, would certainly end unsatisfactorily ; and that\ndifficulties would arise to perplex the engineers, the Commissioners, and finally, the Government. He also pointed\nout that all contracts should only be let on known data, but\nthat if it were deemed advisable to commence construction\nbefore the measurements were completed, and the exact\nquantities established, the principle of measurement and\nschedule price should be adopted. A contractor would then\nperfectly understand that he would only be paid at the\nprices in his tender for all the work which he performed,\nand for that only/ The Commissioners were sustained by\nthe Government, but the result justified the contention of\nthe Chief Engineer. ' Before the expiration of twelve\nmonths, five out of the seven contracts had to be annulled\nand relet at a large advance.'\nThe p battle of the bridges', as it has been called, had\na somewhat different conclusion. ' The position', says\nFleming, ' was one of difficulty. The Chief Engineer was\ndesirous of avoiding all cause of difference with the Commissioners, but his deliberate opinion was on record. The\nground assumed by him had not been lightly taken, and the\nmore the subject was considered by him, the more convinced\nhe felt of the correctness of the principles of construction\nwhich he had advocated. No argument, however, which he\nG\n n Q BWJlB{tW^8fTQB\n98\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ncould advance, appeared to have the least weight with the\nCommissioners. They had determined to make certain\nchanges ; that the recommendations of the Chief Engineer\nshould be set aside; and that iron should not be used, but\nthat timber should take its place/\nFleming put the case before the Premier, Sir John Macdonald ; the Commissioners submitted their side ; and the\nnet result was that the latter were sustained. Five bridges,\nhowever, were exempted from the timber principle. The\nfollowing year, 1870, the Chief Engineer returned to the\nattack with characteristic Scottish pertinacity. He submitted, for Parliament, an elaborate statement, embodying\nthe arguments in favour of iron bridges, the cost, and the\nultimate economy. The Commissioners held to their\nformer opinion ; that is to say, the majority did ; one came\nover to the Chief Engineer's side. Their decision in favour\nof wooden bridges was again approved by the Privy Council.\nIn July Fleming wrote a further letter to the Premier, and\nin August to the Commissioners. One of them, Mr. Brydges,\nreplied in a communication to the Privy Council, disputing\nthe figures of the Chief Engineer and arguing that the fear\nof wooden bridges catching fire was groundless. The Chief\nEngineer rejoined by proving conclusively the accuracy of\nhis figures, and by citing two distinct cases of wooden bridges\non the Grand Trunk Railway, under the management of\nMr. Brydges, having been destroyed by fire within a few\nweeks of the date of his letter. The Commissioners finally\nsurrendered at discretion, agreeing that all bridges over\nsixty feet span should be of iron. Even this, however, did\nnot quite satisfy the Chief Engineer. He persisted in his\nefforts to have every bridge on the Intercolonial, down to the\nsmallest span of twenty-four feet, made of iron ; and at last\nan Order in Council was passed, in May 1871, to have them\nso constructed. ' With the exception', dryly remarks\nFleming, ' of three structures, built of wood by direction of\nthe Commissioners, against the protest of the Chief Engineer,\nall the bridge spans, of whatever width, throughout the line,\nhave the superstructure of iron/\n1 *\n ^Eg^^S\nBUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\n99\nToo much space may seem to have been given to a dispute\nover technicalities, but the incident is iUuminating as to\nthe qualities in Fleming that made for success. Time and\nagain, throughout his long life, he has had to face a situation\nin which his own deliberate judgement has been opposed\neither by those who happened to be bis official superiors, or\nby that unwieldy master which we call the public. Once\nfirmly convinced that he was right, however, he never surrendered ; and in most cases he won out, though the battle\nmight be long and stubbornly contested. It may be worth\nnoting, too, that the building of railways was still in its\ninfancy in 1870 ; that the Chief Engineer of the Intercolonial\nwas somewhat in advance of his times; and that his views\nhave since been completely vindicated.\nBut while devoting most of his time and thought to the\ngigantic task of building the Intercolonial, and thereby\nbinding together the scattered provinces of British North\nAmerica, Fleming was too broad a man to allow even this\nimportant work to absorb all of his energies. He still\nmaintained his interest in the Canadian Institute ; and even\nfound time to join the militia. It will be remembered that\nin 1861 he had been instrumental in organizing the 10th\nRoyals in Toronto. Five years later, while living in\nHalifax, the threatened Fenian raid from the State of\nMaine caused some apprehension, and Fleming immediately\nvolunteered as a private in one of the regiments. The men\nwere called out, and reviewed by Sir Hastings Doyle, at\nHalifax, but the threatened invasion petered out, and the\nChief Engineer laid down his rifle for more peaceful pursuits.\nIn 1864 Fleming had been appointed Chief Railway\nEngineer by the Government of Nova Scotia, and among\nother projects in the province he was charged with the\nbuilding of a line of railway from Truro to Pictou. The\npolicy of the Government, of constructing the road by\na system of small contracts, did not work well, and toward\nthe end of 1865 the Government in desperation appealed to\nFleming to complete the undertaking, offering him a free\nhand as to the method. Legal and official difficulties arose,\nG2\n |Si^\u00C2\u00A7^^^\n100\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nhowever. Among others, it appeared that the provincial\nstatute prescribed that the railway should be built under\ncontract. The Government was at its wits' end. It was of\nthe utmost importance that the line should be completed\nby the end of May 1867, and the only man who seemed\ncompetent to undertake it was the Chief Engineer. Finally,\nFleming was sent for, and asked if he would consent to resign\nhis office and carry out under contract what he had so far\naccomplished as the official engineer. This was an entirely\nnovel proposition, and one that demanded careful thought.\nConsiderable capital would be required ; the work involved\nwas difficult, presenting a number of serious problems ; and\nthe date fixed for completion left very little time within\nwhich to carry it out. However, Sandford Fleming was\nequal to the task, and entered into a contract with the\nGovernment to build the railway within the specified time,\nfor a specific sum, which sum by the way was $100,000 less\nthan the original estimate made and submitted by himself\nthe previous year as Chief Engineer.\nHis mettle in this new role of contractor was severely\ntested. With not much more than a year to complete the\nwork, favourable weather and other conditions were of\nsupreme importance. Unfortunately the summer of 1866\nwas ' unparalleled in this province for rain '. Also Fleming\nhad certain very definite notions as to how a railway should\"\nbe built, and now that the opportunity was thrust upon him,\nand the responsibility rested upon his own shoulders, he\ndetermined to construct a road that would be a credit both\nto himself and the province.\nIt is perhaps unnecessary to say that, having undertaken\na public work, and conscientiously striving to do it worthily,\nFleming was bitterly assailed both in the legislature and in\nthe newspapers of Nova Scotia, his motives, his honesty, his\nmethods, the character of his work, all being called in question. With wise self-control, he made no answer to his critics\nuntil May 31, 1867. That was the day appointed for the\ncompletion of the Pictou Railway, and on that very day, in\nspite of all difficulties and handicaps, the railway was opened\nI\n BUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\nIOI\nfor public use. On that same day, also, Fleming issued his\nfirst and only reply to his critics, in the form of a pamphlet,\ncontaining letters and reports, written by engineers of international reputation, who had personally inspected the railway, and gave their opinions thereon in unmistakable\nterms. The work, which the local critics had damned root\nand branch, is described by the engineers as ' the finest half-\nhundred miles of railway in British North America '.\nIn the late autumn of 1866, Fleming was invited to dine\nwith the Governor, Sir William Fenwick Williams. Admiral\nHope and several of his officers were also of the party. After\ndinner, the Governor expressed a wish to see a new steam\nshovel at work on the railway near Halifax. It was a very\nstormy day, with a horrible mixture of snow and rain, and\nthe Governor with some of the officers presently found discretion the better part of valour. But the admiral was\ngame. ' I'm going, any way ', said he. So off they started,\nthe admiral and his officers enveloped in oilskins. In spite\nof these, they were all soaked to the skin, but thoroughly\nenjoyed themselves nevertheless. Lawson, the engineer in\ncharge of the work, had donned his best suit in honour of\nthe occasion, and when it came to the question of providing\nsomething dry for Admiral Hope to wear back to Halifax,\nnothing remained but Lawson's second-best trousers, which\nit appears were much too short. However, he managed to\nget into them, and the interesting spectacle was furnished\nof Her Majesty's chief naval officer on the North American\nstation travelling to the provincial capital in a shabby pair\nof high-lows and an oilskin jacket.\nAbout this time, or perhaps a year or two later, Fleming\nfell victim to the delights of salmon fishing on the Resti-\ngouche. In 1868 he leased thirty miles of the river, and had\nit all to himself for the next ten years. When the burden\nof things threatened to become intolerable, and the season\nadmitted, he would jump on a train, drive up to his camp\non the Restigouche, and forget all cares and worries in the\ntingling hope of a 25-pounder.\nMeantime, he was busily engaged pushing to completion\n 102\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthe construction of the Intercolonial. The work did not\nproceed without more than one set-back; in fact every year\nbrought its grist of difficulties ; but these were in the main\npurely technical problems, which would not properly find\na place in a book of this nature, and the story of which has\nalready been very fully told in Fleming's own history of\nThe Intercolonial. It may not, however, be inappropriate\nto complete this chapter in his life by repeating the concluding words in his sketch of the great national railway, to\nthe surveying and building of which he devoted so many\nyears of his life.\n' The Intercolonial Railway', he says,' owes its existence to\nthe creation of the Dominion, although it may be said that\nneither could have been consummated without the other.\nOne of the first efforts of united British America has been\nthe establishment of this line of communication, to make\nintercourse possible between the Provinces. It is the railway which brings the Maritime Provinces into connexion\nwith Central Canada. At each extremity of the wilderness\nhitherto unoccupied except by the hunter or the Indian,\nand never traversed without difficulty, were found separate\ncommunities, each with the sentiment that all had interests\nin common; all equally belonged to the outer Empire of\nGreat Britain ; all were identified with her glories and\ngreatness ; all had been devoted to her in the hour of trial;\nyet all were denied means of intercommunication, and were\nunable to unite for a common purpose. There is no longer\nan unpenetrated wilderness to bar the hope of realizing all\nthe benefits of union. The Provinces are now brought into\ndaily connexion and association, possessing identity of\npolitical life, with institutions extending equal justice to\nall, covered with the ample flag of the Empire, and with\nadvantages which are unrivalled. If we but prove true to\nourselves, our future prosperity is assured....\n' The railway will give easy access to many of the scenes\nof the long struggle between France and Britain for the\nmastery of the Northern Continent, terminated by the\ntriumph of Wolfe at Quebec. The record of many of these\n BUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\nevents is still imperfectly written. The naval engagement\non the Bay Chaleur, the fierce contests around the now\ngrass-grown Forts of Lawrence, Beausejour, and Moncton,\nare seldom heard of, but the scenes of these conflicts are\nnow made accessible; and some future historian may, by\nthe inspiration of viewing the ground, be induced to perpetuate the events. The expulsion of the Acadians from\ntheir homes, which, Wolfe declared, ' added nothing to the\nrenown of the King's arms ', we may wish to forget. The\never-memorable Miramichi fire, half a century ago, still\nremembered, might well be entombed in similar oblivion ;\nbut the tale is to be told, and to be remembered.\ni More than three centuries ago, Jacques Cartier, coasting\nby New Brunswick, landed on its shores, to abandon them\nfor an exploration of the great river, with which his memory\nis for ever connected. At a still earlier date fishermen from\nthe Basque Provinces left their Biscayan homes to enrich\ntheir country by the oil and ivory of the walrus, which in\nvast herds frequented the Bay Chaleur and the St. Lawrence,\nin those early days. Pushing investigation still farther back,\nwe meet the Indians, who held the country as a possession\nfrom nature. We ask the remnants of this once fierce and\nnumerous race, and we ask the ethnologist, equally in vain,\nwhence they came, and from what stock they descended.\nThe district traversed by the railway is full of suggestive\nassociations, and cannot fail to awaken the attention and\ninterest of inquiring minds.\n* During the past forty years many public men, conspicuous\nin the Councils of the several Provinces, have been identified\nwith this railway. Of late years another class, less prominent\nbut more numerous, have been the direct and immediate\ninstruments in bringing the work to its present completion.\nAll may feel an honest pride in this connexion, whatever\npart they played. Some may have toiled for renown :\nothers have patiently and silently laboured for duty or for\nbread.\n; The traveller, who is borne onwards, moving in an hour\na distance which would have taken weeks to traverse through\n BS\n104\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthe tangled forests, scarcely casts a thought on the thousands\nof the sons of labour, who toiled so many days and years\nin making smooth his path. Prominent in the list are those\nwho explored the forest, who traced the line, and who directed\nthe work to its completion. Their professional brotherhood\nand official relationship with the writer suggests to him the\nduty of placing their names permanently on record.' (This\nhe did in the Appendix to his book.)\n' It appears, from the account of Jacques Carrier's first\nvoyage, that on the 1st July, 1534, at a point between the\nBay Chaleur and Miramichi, he first planted his foot on the\nnew continent.\n' On the 1st July, 1761, the great Indian Chief, Argimault,\nwhose race had long warred against the British settlers, met\nthe authorities at Halifax, and terminated the Indian wars\nby declaring perpetual submission to Great Britain, and with\ngreat solemnity buried the hatchet for ever.\n' The Dominion came into being exactly 333 years after\nthe bold navigator of St. Malo landed on the shores of Acadia,\nand the anniversary of its birth in the present year marks\nanother important epoch in the history of the country. On\nthis day, July 1, 1876, may be chronicled the completion of\nthe Intercolonial Railway, and the full consummation of the\nunion of the British Provinces in North America.'\nTo appreciate the foregoing, one must stand with Sandford\nFleming on the 1st July, 1876, and look back with him some\nthirteen years to the day on which he and his devoted little\nband of engineers started out into the wilderness to survey\na route for the Intercolonial; follow upward through the\nyears the history of the work, the obstacles that had to be,\nand therefore were, overcome, the difficulties and discouragements that continually taxed the resources and patience of\nthe Chief and his assistants ; the completion of the surveys,\nand the selection of a route; the building of the railway\nitself, with an entirely new set of problems to solve and\nimpediments to patiently overcome; finally the conclusion of the whole work. No one but Fleming himself\ncan ever know the whole inner history of the Intercolonial,\nI\n BUILDING THE INTERCOLONIAL\n105\nor how much of his own unconquerable personality went into\nthe work and made possible its successful completion. But\nknowing as much as we do, knowing what it meant to the\nscattered provinces of Canada in 1876 to find the distance\nbetween them reduced from weeks to hours, and knowing the\ntremendous effect of the Intercolonial upon the subsequent\nhistory of the Dominion, we can readily enough stand beside\nFleming on the 1st July, 1876, and, looking upon the completed work, say that it was good.\nIn submitting his final report to the Honourable Alexander\nMackenzie, at that time Prime Minister and also Minister of\nPublic Works, Fleming said : ' In placing this volume before\nyou, I feel that I am performing the last act of duty in the\noffice I have long held, and that I am separating myself from\na work to the prosecution of which, with many friends and\nfellow-labourers, I have devoted for many years the best\nenergies of my life. A connexion of this kind is not broken\nwithout an effort; but any personal considerations must disappear in view of the completion of a work which realizes the\nnational aspirations of half a century, by bringing within\na few hours the old fortress of Halifax and the older citadel\nof Quebec, and which must form an important section of the\nrailway destined ere long to extend from east to west through\nthe entire Dominion/\n L\nCHAPTER IX ,\nTHE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nWhen in 1876 Fleming submitted his final report on the\nIntercolonial Railway, which took the form of the very\ninteresting historical sketch referred to in preceding chapters,\nhe had already been engaged for five years on an even more\nimportant project.\nIn 1871 he was offered the position of Engineer-in-Chief\nof the Canadian Pacific Railway. He hesitated to accept\nthe appointment, feeling that the responsibilities of the\nIntercolonial were enough for one man to assume, but finally\nreluctantly consented on the Government representing it to\nhim as a matter of public duty. The situation was unusual.\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway, a gigantic undertaking viewed\neven from the standpoint of to-day, was in 1871 a project\nwithout a parallel, or anything approaching a parallel, in\nthe development of transportation facilities. When one\nplaces oneself in the Canada of 1871 with its sparse population\nand undeveloped resources, it is impossible not to admire the\nsplendid courage of the public men who launched the first\ntranscontinental railway. With such a task to be carried\nthrough, it is not to be wondered at that the Government of\nthe day turned to the one Canadian engineer big and broad\nand experienced enough to handle it successfully, and that\nthey would not take a denial.\nFrom 1871, therefore, to 1880, Fleming was engaged in\ndirecting a series of careful surveys for the line of the Canadian\nPacific Railway, and to some extent in building the road.\nFor five years he filled the dual positions of Chief Engineer of\nthe Intercolonial and of the Canadian Pacific, and for a portion of that time he was also Chief Engineer of the Newfoundland Railway. No man without his extraordinary mental\nand physical vigour could have borne the tremendous strain.\nL !. '\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\n107\nThe task was herculean. The building of the Intercolonial\nwas itself a work of sufficient magnitude, and it must be\nremembered that this man brought to every undertaking\na conscientious care that extended to every detail. Yet at\nthe same time he was planning and personally supervising\nthe gigantic undertaking of a railway from the Atlantic to\nthe Pacific, the first transcontinental road in North America,\nand at that time by all odds the most formidable railway\nproject in the world. The work involved surveys through\nthe extremely difficult country north of Lake Superior,\namong the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and\nthrough that veritable sea of mountains that constitutes so\nmuch of the great province of British Columbia. The results\nof these surveys must eventually be brought together, and\na route selected for the railway that would under all the\ncircumstances be most advantageous to the country.\nThe railway during the period that Fleming was associated\nwith it was a national project; to all intents and purposes\nit was an extension of the Intercolonial to the Pacific Ocean,\ndesigned to link the newly-created provinces of Manitoba\nand British Columbia to the rest of the Dominion, to create\na channel of communication east and west, to open up to\nsettlement the vast fertile areas of the western plains, to\nstimulate trade and industry, and to lead to the rapid\ndevelopment of the entire country. To the individual\nprovinces it would be a vital factor in their material advancement. To the Dominion it would be a national asset of\ninestimable importance. To the Empire it would become\nan important link in the chain of communication between\nthe mother country and her far-flung dependencies.\nThe project appealed to Fleming as a great and intricate\nengineering problem; but even more so as a matter of\nnational and imperial significance. He was then, as he has\nalways been, what maybe described as a practical imperialist.\nHe has dreamed dreams and formulated projects that were\nsometimes in advance of his times, but his dreams have never\nbeen impractical, and his projects have always been based\non a firm foundation of common-sense. Thev have looked\nii\n\u00C2\u00BB\nj\n \nSANDFORD FLEMING\nalways to the knitting together of the scattered members of\na world-wide empire by creating and improving the means of\ncommunication ; and they have had behind them the conviction that as the greatest obstacle in the way of imperial\nconsolidation is the ignorance on the part of each community\nof the fife and environment and outlook of all the others,\nevery breach in that wall of ignorance, every advance in the\nmeans of communication, must inevitably make for better\nunderstanding, closer fellowship and the only lasting form\nof imperial federation.\nThe project of a transportation route across British North\nAmerica from ocean to ocean was the dream of far-sighted\nmen for the better part of a century before its realization.\nThe late George Johnson, in his interesting notes on the\nCanadian Pacific Railway, in First Things in Canada,\nreminds us that Alexander Mackenzie, the dauntless explorer\nwho made the first overland journey to the Pacific in 1793,\nproposed' to open and establish a commercial communication\nthrough the continent of North America between the\nAtlantic and Pacific Oceans '; that McTaggart, an engineer\nconnected with the building of the Rideau Canal in 1829,\nhad advocated the opening up of a water communication\nfrom Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg, thence by the\nSaskatchewan to the mountains, and by the Columbia to the\nPacific; that Sir Richard Bonnycastle prophesied in 1846,\n' We shall yet place an iron belt from the Atlantic to the\nPacific, a railway from Halifax to Nootka Sound'; that\nMajor Carmichael-Smyth had three years later published\na pamphlet attempting to demonstrate the practicability of\na railway from Halifax to the mouth of the Fraser; and\nthat in 1851 Joseph Howe said, at a public meeting in\nHalifax, ' I believe that many in this room will live to hear\nthe whistle of the steam engine in the passes of the Rocky\nMountains, and to make the journey from Halifax to the\nPacific in five or six days/ He might have added that\nten years later Thomas D'Arcy McGee, contemplating\nthe Victoria Bridge from the summit of Mount Royal,\nwas inspired to predict the day that would see railway\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\n109\ntrains crossing this bridge on their way to the Pacific.\nThese are but a few of many writers and public speakers\nwho at one time or another advocated the establishment of a line of communication through British territory\nfrom the Atlantic to the Pacific. Sometimes the project\ncontemplated merely a wagon road; sometimes a system\nof water communication, or a water route with connecting\nportages, a combined water and rail route, finally an all-rail\nroute from ocean to ocean.\nInevitably there were never wanting those who, for one\nreason or another, scouted the idea as impracticable or ridiculous. Probably the most serious of these opponents of the\nscheme was Captain Palliser, whose views both as a man of\nscientific attainments and because of his personal knowledge\nof much of the country to be traversed seemed entitled\nto particular consideration. In his Report to the British\nGovernment (1863) he concludes : r The knowledge of the\ncountry on the whole would never lead me to advise a line\nof communication from Canada across the continent to the\nPacific exclusively through British territory. The time has\nfor ever gone by for effecting such an object, and the unfortunate choice of an astronomical boundary line has completely isolated the central American possessions of Great\nBritain from Canada in the east, and also almost debarred\nthem from any eligible access from the Pacific coast on the\nwest.' The sequel proved, as it has so often done, that even\nthe most eminent authorities may sometimes go astray in\ntheir deductions.\nA year earlier Henry Youle Hind had published his Overland Route to British Columbia, and supported his own\ncontentions as to the feasibility of the project by the inclusion\nof a carefully thought-out paper by Fleming, * Practical\nObservations on the Construction of a Continuous Line of\nRailway from Canada to the Pacific Ocean on British Territory I to which reference has already been made. This\npamphlet was more or less instrumental in inducing the\npeople of the Red River settlement, who were deeply concerned in the establishment of such a railway or other means\n no\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nof communication, to ask Fleming to represent their interests\nbefore the Canadian and British Governments. His efforts\nto meet their wishes have already been described in another\nchapter. Although they led to no immediate results, so far\nas the people of Red River were concerned, they contributed\nto the appointment of Fleming as Chief Engineer of the Intercolonial Railway, and eventually, one may venture to say,\nto his selection as Engineer-in-Chief of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway.\nIn a lecture delivered as long ago as 1858 he had foreshadowed the very project upon which he was now engaged.\nReferring to the then proposed American railway to California, he said:\n' In the United States the Pacific Railway has been regarded\nfor more than ten years as the great practical problem. Two\nreasons have effectually prevented its being attempted.\nThese are, want of means, and the difficulty of settling\nupon its proper route. The people could not build it, the\nGovernment could not build it, and it could not be expected\nthat foreign capitalists would undertake it. To take up\n$100,000,000 of capital in the United States for any new\nundertaking would be simply impossible. The difficulties\nof routes are nearly as conclusive. No less than five have\nbeen proposed, and each in turn warmly urged, and yet all\nhave grave faults. The extreme Northern is pronounced to\nbe the best of all, so far as facility of execution is concerned,\nbut it is admitted that a still better route might be obtained\nthrough British America or north of the 49th parallel/\nOf such a route through British territory he says : ' A railway in British America from Fort William on Lake Superior\nto Fraser River would be about nineteen hundred miles in\nlength. For several hundred miles west of Lake Superior the\nline would traverse a fine country. It would cross the Red\nRiver of the North near the celebrated Selkirk Settlement,\nand would then proceed through a well-watered country by\nway of the Moose or Saskatchewan Rivers to the base of the\nRocky Mountains. This great range, which has an elevation\nof 10,000 feet in the 41st parallel of latitude, gradually falls\nKL\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nin\noff as we go north. It is probable that a pass at an elevation\nof not over 6,500 feet could be obtained beyond the sources\nof the Saskatchewan. After crossing the Rocky Mountains\nand the Columbia River, the coast range of mountains,\nanother lofty chain, would have to be passed. Throughout\nthe route there is abundance of coal, while there is no scarcity\nof water.\nr The growing necessity for the line of railway under notice\nwill unquestionably enlist English skill and English capital\nin its execution. The advantages which it would confer are\ntoo obvious to require pointing out. In going from Liverpool\nto Fraser River the continental route would save some\ntwenty days, the entire journey being made, as it would be,\nin seventeen days, while to go via Panama and San Francisco\nas at present occupies about forty days.\n'A Pacific Railway was until very lately considered, if considered at all, as a wild hallucination, but the time appears\nto be rapidly approaching when the great work will be undertaken in sober earnest. Before much time passes away the\nquestion of location will come up, and if we can judge rightly,\nEngland will not be disposed to father an undertaking of\nthis description on any soil but her own, nor will she rest\nsatisfied with a means of communication between the two\noceans which will be open only during the summer months.\nThe Pacific Railway cannot stop short at Lake Superior;\nwhatever difficulties may exist, the link between that lake\nand the Canadian system of railways must be completed.\nLet us take a map of North America and hastily glance at the\nlimits between which this magnificent work must be constructed. There is no difficulty in at once placing one's finger\non certain governing points. The northern bend of Lake\nSuperior is one, the French River east of Lake Huron is\nanother. Between these, points the most direct course will\nbe taken.\n; The construction of the Pacific Railway is a work of the\ngrandest magnitude and perhaps of universal importance.\nIn regarding such an enterprise we pass at once from the\nsphere of ordinary undertakings, for the Pacific Railway\nII\n I SS32SfifiBS&&\n112\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nwould surpass in every element of magnitude and cost, and\nprobably also in its physical difficulties and commercial\nresults, any work ever undertaken by man. It would be of\nfull two thousand miles length, through a country now uninhabited ; it would cross one of the great mountain ranges\nof the globe ; such a work could not be expected to be carried\nthrough for less than $100,000,000.\n' British capital will not be wanting on the maturing of a\nproperly devised scheme to extend in this channel the enterprise of British merchants, to bring nearer to England her\nEastern Empire, to secure to her the perpetuity of her dominion upon this continent, to tie with a band of iron the\ninterests and the affections of her subjects in Europe, Asia,\nand America, to colonize half a continent and to complete\nthe foundation of her Canadian Empire.'\nThe young Canadian nation was now undertaking, with\nrare courage and foresight, the gigantic task which Fleming\nhad proposed as an Imperial project in 1858.\nUnder the terms of union with British Columbia, the\nCanadian Government, in 1871, undertook to secure the\nconstruction of a railway connecting the new province with\nEastern Canada. The immediate result of this pledge was\nthe appointment of Fleming as Engineer-in-Chief of the\nCanadian Pacific Railway. The organization of survey\nparties was at once taken in hand, and before many months\nhad gone by these parties were at work toiling through the\nvast wilderness of the west, searching for practicable routes.\nAs already indicated, the most serious problems confronting\nthe Chief Engineer were presented by the rugged and almost\nunknown country north of Lake Superior, the formidable\nbarrier of the Rocky Mountains, and the wild jumble of\nmountains and valleys between the Rockies and the coast.\nIn his Report on the Canadian Pacific Railway for the\nyear 1877, Fleming says of that portion of the route lying\nbetween the Ottawa River and Fort Garry (Winnipeg): ' At\nthe beginning of the survey a large extent of this region was\nbut little less strange than the mountain region. No civilized\nman, so far as known, had ever passed from the valley of the\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nii\no\nUpper Ottawa through the intervening wilderness to Lake\nSuperior. The country east and west of Lake Nepigon was\nall but a terra incognita. It is true that the chain of lakes\nand streams from Thunder Bay to the Lake of the Woods and\nFort Garry, known as the Dawson Route, had been travelled,\nbut this route was circuitous and much out of the way of\na direct railway line.'\nSome idea of the problems that had to be met and overcome\nin the preliminary surveys through this country may be\ngained from the fact that eleven strong survey parties were\nfound necessary, the supplies for which had to be transported\nthrough an entirely roadless and sometimes exceedingly\nrough region. In fact, the difficulties encountered were so\nserious that, in spite of the utmost diligence, months had gone\nby before portions of the survey could be actually commenced.\nThe little already known of the country had led to the conclusion that it was impracticable for railway construction.\nAlong the north shore of Lake Superior it was known to be\nof an ' extremely rough and broken character ; precipitous\ngranite mountains, intersected by deep valleys, rising in all\ndirections, with elevations varying from 500 to 1,000 feet\nabove the level of the lake'. Parties were therefore sent\nnorth of Lake Nepigon, and it was found that the railway\nmight be constructed there without exceptionally heavy\nwork or gradients. But as this would involve a considerable\ndetour, further attempts were made to obtain a line along\nthe north shore of Lake Superior, and in 1874 this route was\nadopted, though it involved numerous tunnels and sharp\ncurves, the line following in many instances the shores of\ndeep indenting bays. Any one who has travelled along this\nportion of the Canadian Pacific Railway will realize the\ndifficulties that had to be encountered both in surveying the\nroute and building the railway.\nThe selection of a route through British Columbia involved\nthe examination of many possible lines. These narrowed\ndown to ten different routes projected from the Yellowhead\nPass, which had been selected as the most practicable road\nthrough the Rocky Mountains. Two of these terminated at\nH\n gSjgjgSgfl ffl&itfe\n114\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nPort Moody, on Burrard Inlet; one extended to Howe Sound;\ntwo ran to Waddington Harbour on Bute Inlet; one to Dean\nNorth Bentinck Arm; two terminated at Kamsquot on Dean\nInlet; one at Triumph Bay on Gardner Inlet; and the last\nat Port Essington.\nIn his 1878 Report, the Chief Engineer says : ' Upon carefully viewing the engineering features of each route, and\nweighing every commercial consideration, I am forced to the\nconclusion that, if these alone are to govern a selection, if a\ndecision cannot be postponed until further examinations be\nmade, if the construction of the railway must at once be proceeded with, the line to Vancouver Island (by way of Bute\nInlet) should for the present be rejected, and that the Government should select the route by the Rivers Thompson and\nFraser to Burrard Inlet/ And in his Report of the following\nyear, he confirms his previous recommendation; but, to meet\nthe strong opposition that had developed in British Columbia\nto the selection of the Burrard Inlet route, suggests that\nadditional explorations should be made and more complete\ninformation obtained with regard to the northern country.\nThese explorations were carried out, and the results communicated to the Government. On October 4, 1879, an\nOrder in Council was passed ratifying the adoption of the\nroute by way of the Yellowhead Pass to Burrard Inlet. The\nproject of a railway to Bute Inlet, and from there across\nthe Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island, which had been\nenthusiastically advocated by many people in British Columbia, was shelved for a time ; as well as the suggested line to\nPort Simpson through the northern part of the province. The\nlatter route is substantially that of the Grand Trunk Pacific\nRailway. The idea of bridging the Strait of Georgia has been\nrevived periodically since 1879, ano^ there is no reason to\ndoubt that before many years it will be possible to travel by\nrail from the mainland to Victoria.\nIn connexion with the selection of Burrard Inlet as the\nterminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, it is interesting to\nnote the elaborate report of Major-General Moody on the\nvarious routes through British Columbia, published as Appen-\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nii5\ndix 10 to the Report on the Canadian Pacific Railway for\n1880. General Moody unhesitatingly endorsed Fleming's\nselection of the route to Burrard Inlet, and, among other\nconsiderations, recommended it from a military point of\nview. ' Burrard Inlet', he says, ' is remarkably adapted by\nnature for secure defence against any force by sea. It is\nsecure from land attacks from the north, and the formation\nof the whole neighbourhood southwards to the frontier, and\nfor many miles eastward, is such that an approach from the\nfrontier would, under defence, be found all the way a peculiarly troublesome matter by an enemy.'\nWhile serious difficulties had to be overcome in locating\na line for the railway along the north shore of Lake Superior,\nand through the maze of mountain ranges and valleys in\nBritish Columbia,the real crux of the whole situation was the\ngateway through the Rocky Mountains, and to the solution\nof this serious problem the energies of Fleming and his capable\nstaff of engineers were directed for several years. Previous\nexplorations, dating back to the days of Alexander Mackenzie,\nhad established the existence of many passes through the\nmountains north of the present international boundary, from\nthe Kootenay in the south to the Peace in the north. Most\nof these were now examined by survey parties, the narratives\nof whose expeditions often furnish striking examples of pluck\nand endurance under exceedingly trying conditions. Finally\nthe Yellowhead Pass route was decided upon, leading from\nEdmonton west to the upper waters of the Athabaska, by\nthe Jasper Valley to Yellowhead Pass, thence down the Fraser\nto T&e Jaune Cache.\nThis was the situation in 1880, when Fleming finally\nsevered his connexion with the Canadian Pacific Railway\nsurveys. The line as then located extended from Fort William\n(eastward the route still remained in some doubt) to the Red\nRiver, which was crossed at Selkirk, with a branch to Winnipeg. West of Red River the original location north of Lake\nManitoba had been abandoned, and the line carried south\nof the lake, thence in a general north-westerly direction to\nBattleford and Edmonton. West of Yellowhead Pass the\nH2\n n6\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nroute descended the North Thompson to Kamloops, thence\ndown the Thompson and Fraser Rivers to the Pacific.\nBetween 1871 and 1880 the work had been carried on by\nthe Government of Canada as a national undertaking. In\nthe latter year, however, the great project was handed over\nto a private company, headed by George Stephen (now\nLord Mount Stephen) and Donald A. Smith (afterwards Lord\nStrathcona), and the route west of Red River was entirely\nchanged, the line selected running much nearer the boundary,\nand crossing the Rocky Mountains by the Kicking Horse\nPass.\nIn 1872, shortly after he had assumed control of the\nsurveys, Fleming made his first journey across the continent,\nby way of the Yellowhead Pass. In 1883, after he had\nsevered his connexion with the work, he again crossed from\nocean to ocean, this time by way of the Kicking Horse Pass.\nAn account of this journey, as well as of the earlier one,\nwill be given in subsequent chapters.\nIt will be convenient, however, to describe here the last\ndramatic incident in the building of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway\u00E2\u0080\u0094the driving of the last spike and the passage of\nthe first through train in 1885. Fleming was one of the\nchief actors in the historic episode, and tells the story.\n' On the evening of October 27, when the regular Winnipeg\ntrain left Montreal, a private car, the \" Saskatchewan,\" was\nattached, with the design of proceeding to Port Moody, at\nthat date the terminus, the new city of Vancouver having\nno existence. The car contained seven persons ; five came\nthe whole way from Montreal, one of them joined at Ottawa,\nand one on their way to Port Moody. . . . The train\nbeyond Calgary became a \" special\" and reached the\nwestern crossing of the Columbia in fifty-six hours after\nleaving Winnipeg. The gap, however, was not closed, the\nwork having been retarded by incessant rains, so the train\ncould not proceed farther. Early on the morning of the\n7th, the junction was verging to completion, and at 9 o'clock\nthe last rail was laid in its place. All that remained to\nfinish the work was to drive home one spike.\n Esi^^^n^Hsg\nM\nM\nH\nOT\n\nH\nH\no\nH\n>\nM\nQ\n THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nii'\n! By common consent, the duty of performing the task\nwas assigned to one of the four Directors present, the senior\nin years and influence, whose high character placed him in\nprominence\u00E2\u0080\u0094Sir Donald Alexander Smith. No one could\non such an occasion more worthily represent the company\nor more appropriately give the finishing blows which, in\na national sense, were to complete the gigantic undertaking.\n' Sir Donald Smith braced himself to the task, and he\nwielded the by no means light spike hammer with as good\na will as a professional tracklayer. The work was carried\non in silence. Nothing was heard but the reverberation of\nthe blows struck by him. It was no ordinary occasion, the\nscene was in every respect noteworthy, from the group\nwhich composed it and the circumstances which had brought\ntogether so many human beings in this spot in the heart of\nthe mountains, until recently an untracked solitude. Most\nof the engineers, with hundreds of workmen of all nationalities, who had been engaged in the mountains, were present.\nEvery one appeared to be deeply impressed by what was\ntaking place. The central figure in the group was somewhat\nmore than the representative of the railway company which\nhad achieved the triumph he was consummating. His\npresence recalled memories of the Mackenzies and Mc-\nTavishes, the Stuarts and McGillivrays, the Frasers, Finlay-\nsons, McLeods, and McLaughlins and their contemporaries,\nwho first penetrated the surrounding territory. From his\nyouth he had been connected with the company which for\nso long had carried on its operations successfully from Labrador to the Pacific, and from California to Alaska. To-day\nhe was the chief representative of that vast organization\nwhich, before the close of the last century, had sent out\npioneers to map out and occupy the unknown wilderness,\nand which, as a trading association, is in the third century\nof its existence. All present were more or less affected by\na formality which was the crowning effort of years of labour,\nintermingled with doubts and fears and oft renewed energy\nto overcome what at times appeared unsurmountable\nobstacles. Moreover, was it not the triumphal termination\n ISflBfl iim trifLr.\n118\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nof numberless failures, the successful solution of the frequently repeated attempts of the British people, ever since\nAmerica had been discovered, to find a new route to Asia ?\nTo what extent the thoughts of those present were turned\nto the past, must with that undemonstrative group remain\na secret with each individual person. This much may be\nsaid : to all, the scene was deeply impressive, and especially\nto the many hundreds of workmen, who from an early hour\nup to the last moment, had struggled to do their part, and\nwho were now mute lookers-on at the single individual\nactively engaged\u00E2\u0080\u0094at one who in his own person united the\npast with the present, the most prominent member of the\nancient company of \"Adventurers of England,\" as he was\nthe representative of the great Canadian Pacific Railway\nCompany.\n- The blows on the spike were repeated until it was driven\nhome. The silence, however, continued unbroken, and it\nmust be said that a more solemn ceremony has been witnessed with less solemnity. It seemed as if the act now\nperformed had worked a spell on all present. Each one\nappeared absorbed in his own reflections. The abstraction\nof mind, or silent emotion, or whatever it might be, was,\nhowever, of short duration. Suddenly a cheer spontaneously burst forth, and it was no ordinary cheer. The\nsubdued enthusiasm, the pent-up feelings of men familiar\nwith hard work, now found vent. Cheer upon cheer followed,\nas if it was difficult to satisfy the spirit which had been\naroused. Such a scene is conceivable on the field of hard-\nfought battle at the moment when victory is assured.\n' Not infrequently some matter-of-fact remark forms the\ntermination of the display of great emotion. As the shouts\nsubsided, and the exchange of congratulations were being\ngiven, a voice was heard in the most prosaic tones, as of\nconstant daily occurrence : \" All aboard for the Pacific.\"\nThe notice was quickly acted upon, and in a few minutes the\ntrain was in motion. It passed over the newly-laid rail,\nand amid renewed cheers sped on its way westward.\ni On the same night a telegram was sent to Ottawa and\n.', -:\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nJ\n \nTHE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\npublished in the eastern Canadian newspapers. It ran:\n\" The first train from Montreal is approaching Yale, within\na few hours of the Pacific coast. The last spike was driven\nthis morning by Hon. Donald A. Smith at Craigellachie,\nin Eagle Pass, some 340 miles from Port Moody. On\nreaching the coast our running time from Montreal, exclusive\nof stoppages, will be five days, averaging twenty-four miles\nper hour. Before long passenger trains may run over the\nrailway from Montreal to Vancouver in four days, and it\nwill be quite possible to travel on special occasions from\nLiverpool to the Pacific coast by the Canadian transcontinental Une in ten days. All are greatly pleased with the\nwork done. It is impossible to fully realize that enormous\nphysical and other difficulties have been overcome with\nsuch marvellous rapidity and with results so satisfactory.\"\nThe train arrived at Port Moody the following morning,\nNovember 8. On the succeeding morning the principal\nnewspapers in England published the substance of the above\ntelegram, with the additional important fact that the first\nthrough train from Montreal had actually arrived at the\ncoast.'\n mm\nCHAPTER X\nOCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\nIn the summer of 1872, Fleming, having carefully examined the reports of his engineers, thought it desirable to\nstudy with his own eyes the main features of the route that\nat least tentatively had been selected for the Canadian\nPacific Railway.\nLeaving Halifax about the beginning of July, he travelled\nto Montreal and Toronto, inspecting as he went the construction work on the Intercolonial, on which over 10,000\nmen were then employed. At Toronto he was joined by his\nson Frank, Dr. Moren of Halifax, John Macoun the botanist,\nand Rev. George M. Grant, whose entertaining account of\nthe expedition, Ocean to Ocean, is largely drawn upon in this\nchapter.\nFrom Toronto to Collingwood they travelled over the old\nNorthern Railway, upon which Fleming had had his first\nexperience in railway building in Canada. At Collingwood\na steamer was taken to Fort William. An incident of the\ntrip was the use on Sunday of a special service compiled\nthe previous year for the Canadian Pacific Railway Survey\nparties, at the request of the Chief Engineer, by a committee\nof three Ottawa clergymen, representing the Churches of\nRome, England, and Scotland. The steamer finally reached\nThunder Bay on July 22\u00E2\u0080\u0094five days from Collingwood.\nFrom Prince Arthur's Landing the party followed the\nDawson Route, by wagon and canoe, to Fort Garry. Here\nsaddle-horses were procured, with Red River carts for the\nbaggage, and the expedition set out over the great plains for\nthe mountains, travelling by way of Fort Ellice, Fort Carlton,\nand Edmonton. On the way they met or passed numbers\nof hunting or trading parties, traders going west and half-\nbreeds returning east with carts well-laden with buffalo-\n OCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\n121\nskins and dried meat. ' A number of Red River people club\ntogether in the spring and go west to hunt the buffalo.\nTheir united caravan is popularly called a \" brigade \", and\nvery picturesque is its appearance on the road or round the\ncamp-fire. The old men, the women, and little children are\nengaged on the expedition, and all help. The men ride\nand the women drive the carts. The children make the\nfires and do chores for the women. The men shoot buffalo ;\nthe women dry the meat and make it into pemmican/\nFrom Edmonton, the route lay over the Rocky Mountains.\nby way of the Yellowhead Pass. Fresh saddle-horses were\nobtained from the Hudson's Bay Company, and the carts\nwere abandoned for pack-horses accustomed to the peculiarities of mountain trails. A month out from Fort Garry they\nhad their first view of the mountains\u00E2\u0080\u0094the foot-hills between\nthe Athabaska and the McLeod. On the banks of the\nMcLeod a relic was found of the party of Canadian emigrants\nwho crossed the mountains in 1862, in the shape of a partly-\nobliterated record chalked on the side of a large spruce, and\nending with the significant words ' a hard road to travel'.\nSeptember 9 they reached the Athabaska, with the snow-\ncrowned summits of the Rockies in full view, though still\nsome fifty miles to the west and south-west.\nAt the camp that night a curious relic of early days came\nto light. ' While hacking with his axe at brush on the\ncamping-ground, just where our heads would He, Brown\nstruck something-metallic that blunted the edge of the axe.\nFeeling with his hand he drew out from near the root of\na young spruce tree an ancient sword bayonet, the brazen\nhilt and steel blade in excellent preservation, but the leather\nscabbard half eaten as if by the teeth of some animal. It\nseemed strange in this vast and silent forest wilderness thus\nto come upon a relic that told, probably, of the old days\nwhen the two rival fur companies armed their agents to the\nteeth, and when bloody contests often took place between\nthem/ The old sword in its rotting scabbard hangs to-day\non the walls of Fleming's home in Ottawa, among other\nmementoes of the far west.\n gOE\n99 B &\u00C2\u00A3b\u00C2\u00A3H9K\"\n122\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nAs they continued their journey to the west, the mountains loomed up ever more imposingly across their path,\nexcept ' where cleft in the centre down to their very feet\nby the chasm that the Athabaska long ago forced or found\nfor itself/ . The summits on the north side were serrated\n' as the teeth of a saw'. On the other ' the Roche a Myette,\nimmediately behind the first line, reared a great solid unbroken cube, two thousand feet high, a \" forehead bare \",\ntwenty times higher than Ben An's, and before and beyond\nit, away to the south and west, extended ranges with bold\nsummits and sides scooped deep, and conies far down,\nwhere formerly the wood buffalo and the elk, and now the\nmoose, bighorn, and bear find shelter.'\nThe trail presently brought them from higher ground\ndown to the valley of the Athabaska.. As this noble river\nwound through the dark green spruces, amid rose bushes\nand vetches, the' soft blue of the mountains gleamed through\neverywhere, and when the woods parted, the mighty column\nof Roche a Perdrix towered a mile above our heads, scuds of\nclouds kissing its snowy summit, and each plication and angle\nof the different strata up its giant sides was boldly and clearly\nrevealed. We were entering the magnificent jasper portals\nof the Rocky Mountains by a quiet path winding between\ngroves of trees and rich lawns like an English gentleman's\npark/\nFull of enthusiasm, the travellers pushed their way up the\nvalley, stopping to drink to the Queen from the clear ice-\ncold waters of Riviere de Violin, now known as Fiddle Creek,\nand famous in the west by reason of the extreme suddenness with which it is transformed from a modest, unassuming\nstream to a tempestuous torrent. With towering peaks\nabout them on every side, they ' could now sympathize with\nthe enthusiast who returned home after years of absence, and\nwhen asked what he had as an equivalent for so much lost\ntime, answered: \" I have seen the Rocky Mountains \"/\nThey were now beneath the towering front of Roche\na Myette, and recalled the fact that Dr. Hector, who explored the mountains thirteen or fourteen years earlier, had\n OCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\n12^\nclimbed 3,500 feet above the valley until stopped by a perpendicular wall that still towered two thousand feet above\nhim. It was said that the summit had once been reached by\na daring hunter, who gave his name to the peak.\nRoche a Myette, rising some 9,000 feet above sea-level,\nhardly ranks among the higher peaks of the Rockies, but its\npeculiar form and position lend it distinction. As one\ntravels west by the Grand Trunk Pacific its magnificent\nforehead dominates the landscape; and those who journeyed\nthis way before the advent of the railway had the peak in\nview for days, until they began to think that it was bewitched and that they would never win to its base.\nThe water in the Athabaska being too high for pack-\nhorses, it was decided to build a raft. On this the baggage\nwas safely taken across, and a short ride brought Fleming\nand his companions to Jasper House, fifteen days after\nleaving Edmonton. This old post, supposed to have been\nnamed after a fur-trader named Jasper Howse, had practically been abandoned by the Hudson's Bay Company. In\nDr. Hector's time the main building seems to have been\nsomewhat pretentious, as he describes it as ' constructed\nafter the Swiss style, with overhanging roofs and trelissed\nporticoes', but all that remained in 1872 were two log houses,\nthe largest propped up before and behind with rough shores,\nas if to prevent it being blown away into the river. To-day\nnot even these remain to bear witness to the departed glory\nof the once famous route of the fur-traders through the\nmountains.\n' Jasper House is one of the best possible places for seeing\nto advantage the mountains up and down the valley. It\nis situated on a pretty glade that slopes gently to the Athabaska, sufficiently large and open to command a view in\nevery direction. Roche a Myette, distant five or six miles, is\nhalf concealed by intervening heights and is here less conspicuous than elsewhere, even when seen from greater distances, but a gleam of sunlight brightens his great face and\nmakes even it look lightsome. A score of miles to the south\nthe Pyramid Rock gracefully uplifts its snowy face and\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n tlite'iTl'i H11B jr B' !9| BS9 ^B i- \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n..,,ate\nBBS\n124\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nshuts in the valley, the space between being filled by the\nmountains of Rocky River and the great shoulders of Roche\nJacques. Looking westerly is Suette (Roche de Smet), his\nrampart rising cold, stern, and grey above his furrowed sides.\nOther peaks overhang the valley to the north, and between\nthem deep wooded valleys are dark as night. Separated\nfrom these by the Snake Indian River, the true proportions\nof Roche a Bosche are seen for the first time. . . .\n' There is a wonderful combination of beauty about\nthese mountains. Great masses of boldly defined bare rock\nare united to the beauty that variety of form, colour, and\nvegetation give. A noble river with many tributaries each\ndefining a distinct range, and a beautiful lake ten miles\nlong, embosomed three thousand three hundred feet above\nthe sea, among mountains twice as high, offer innumerable\nscenes, seldom to be found within the same compass, to the\nartist/\nRounding Jasper Lake, and a smaller lake that lay beyond,\nin whose dark green waters the pine-clad ridges were wonderfully reflected, the trail led them through tangles of fallen\ntimber that made progress very slow for some time. These\nstretches of down timber, the result of great forest fires recent\nor remote, are the particular abomination of those who have\noccasion to travel over \"Rocky Mountain trails. In some\nplaces the trunks are piled one upon another to a height of\nten or fifteen feet, until even the marvellous sagacity of the\nwestern pony is at fault and his rider must laboriously cut\na way through with his axe.\n' At the end of Jasper Lake a strath from two to five miles\nwide, which may still be called the Jasper Valley, bends to\nthe south. Our first look up this valley showed new lines\nof mountains on both sides, closed at the head by a great\nmountain so white with snow that it looked like a sheet\nsuspended from the heavens.' They were told by their\nguide that this mountain was known as ' La montagne de la\ngrande traverse ', and that the road to the Columbia country\nby the formidable Athabaska Pass lay along its southeastern base, while their way would turn west up the valley\n OCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\n12'\nof the Myette. The great snow-crowned mountain was\nprobably that now known as Mount Geikie, one of the highest\nand most impressive peaks in this part of the Rockies.\nAbout the middle of September, the party passed the site\nof an old trading-post.of the North-West Company known as\nHenry House, and camped somewhere near the spot where\nthe infant town of Jasper is to-day springing up, on the\nGrand Trunk Pacific. Here two great routes through the\nmountains fork, one leading up the Athabaska to the pass of\nthe same name, and the other up the Myette to Yellowhead\nPass, or Leather Pass as it was formerly called. Then as\nnow it was a spot to charm the lover of mountain scenery,\nwith Pyramid Mountain, streaked and banded with red and\nyellow, green and black, on one side, and the pine-clad slopes\nof Goat Mountain on the other, while the glittering summits\nof Geikie, Hardisty, and other remote peaks filled the horizon.\nAs they were turning up the Myette, they met Walter\nMoberly, one of Fleming's principal assistants on the surveys.\nHe had travelled from the west to meet his chief, bringing\nwith him a trail-cutting party who were now at work some\ndistance up the pass. After a hard and tiresome pull up\nthrough the muskegs and fallen timber of the Myette, they\nfinally came in touch with the trail party a few miles east of\nthe summit of the pass, and for a time enjoyed much better\ngoing. I\nCamped at the summit of Yellowhead Pass, at an altitude\nof only 3,700 feet above the sea, and with the certainty that\nno formidable obstacles need be encountered between\nEdmonton and the western side of the main range, Fleming\nfelt that he had solved the greatest problem in connexion\nwith the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that\nthe successful completion of the great national project was\nnow assured. Those who were subsequently responsible for\nchanging the route through the mountains from the Yellowhead Pass to the Kicking Horse Pass, no doubt had what\nthey considered good and sound reasons for their choice, but\nthe fact remains that the route rejected by the Canadian\nPacific Railway has now been adopted by the Grand Trunk\n 120\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nPacific, and that, in spite of the expenditure by the former\nof millions of dollars on tunnels designed to reduce the grade,\nthe new transcontinental line will still possess a road through\nthe mountains considerably lower than that of its great rival.\nOn September 16th, Fleming and his party turned down\nthe western slope of Yellowhead Pass, and, a few minutes\nafter parting with the eastward-flowing Myette, heard the\nsound of a rivulet running in the opposite direction over\na red pebbly bottom. ' We had left the Myette flowing to\nthe Arctic Ocean, and now came upon this, the source of the\nFraser hurrying to the Pacific/ At the summit, Moberly had\nwelcomed them into British Columbia, and they all now\ngathered on the banks of the infant Fraser and drank from\nits waters to the Oueen and the Canadian Dominion.\nA few miles farther down they passed Yellowhead Lake, its\nwaters clear and sparkling on its firm pebbly beach; and\nafter a hard day's travel reached the western end of Moose\nLake. The following day brought them to the 1 Grand Fork\nof the Fraser', where a tributary that takes its rise in one\nof the glaciers at the foot of Mount Robson, joins the main\nstream. They camped here for a day to rest their horses,\nand in hopes of getting a view of the Giant of the Rockies,\nbut without success.\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Looking west down the valley of the Fraser, the narrow\npass suddenly filled with rolling billows of mist. On they\ncame, curling over the rocky stunmits, rolling down to the\nforests, enveloping everything in their fleecy mantles. Out\nof them came great gusts of wind that nearly blew away our\nfires and tents; and after the gusts, the rain in smart showers.\nOnce or twice the sun broke through, revealing the hill sides,\nall their autumn tints fresh and glistening after the rain,\nand the line of their summits near and bold against the sky;\nall except Robson's Peak which showed its huge shoulders\ncovered with masses of snow, but on whose high head masses\nof clouds ever rested.'\nThe following day brought the travellers to T6te Jaune\nCache, a spot long famous in the annals of the fur-trade.\nThe spot, as well as the mountain pass, are supposed to have\n OCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\n127\ntaken their name from a fair-haired trader or trapper who\nmany years before had journeyed to and fro through the\nmountains by this route,and had established his head-quarters\nat the Cache on the banks of the Fraser.\nHere the trail left the Fraser, and turned southerly to the\nNorth Thompson River. The route which Fleming had\ntaken through the mountains, and which he was now to follow\nto the North Thompson and ultimately to Kamloops and\nthe Fraser again, was the route provisionally selected for\nthe railway. Incidentally he was following practically in the\nfootsteps of Milton and Cheadle, who had travelled overland\nto the Pacific in 1863, and embodied the incidents of their\njourney in that most interesting book of western travel, the\nNorth-West Passage by Land.\nA few days later, while plodding along the trail, they were\nstartled by the sound of a bell. ' In a few minutes a solitary\ntraveller, walking beside his two laden horses, emerged from\nthe woods ahead. He turned out to be one John Glen,\na miner on his way to prospect for gold on hitherto untried\nmountains and sand-bars. Here was a specimen of Anglo-\nSaxon self-reliant individualism more striking than that\npictured by Quinet of the American settler, without priest\nor captain at his head, going out into the deep woods or\nvirgin lands of the new continent to find and found a home.\nJohn Glen calculated that there was as good gold in the\nmountains as had yet come out of them, and that he might\nstrike a new bar or gulch that would pan out as richly\nas Williams Creek, Cariboo ; so putting blankets and bacon,\nflour and frying-pan, shining pickaxe and shovel on his horses,\nand sticking revolver and knife in his waist, off he started\nfrom Kamloops to seek fresh fields and pastures new.\nNothing to him was lack of company or of newspapers ;\nshort days and approach of winter; seas of mountains and\ngrassless valleys, equally inhospitable; risk of sickness and\ncertainty of storms; slow and exhausting travel through\nmarsh and muskeg, across roaring mountain torrents and\nmiles of fallen timber ; lonely days and lonely nights ;\u00E2\u0080\u0094if\nhe found gold he would be repaid. Prospecting was his\nn\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0si\n 128\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nbusiness, and he went about it in simple matter-of-course\nstyle, as if he were doing business on change. John Glen\nwas to us a typical man, the modern missionary, the martyr\nfor gold, the advance guard of the army of material progress.\nAnd who will deny or make light of his virtue, his faith, such\nas it was ? His self-reliance was sublime. Compared to\nhis, how small the daring and pluck of even Milton and\nCheadle! God save thee, John Glen, and give thee thy\nreward !'\nThey were now travelling down the valley of the Thompson,\nand it was hard going. \u00E2\u0096\u00A0 It was constant up and down as if\nwe were riding over billows. Even where the ground was\nlow, the cradle hills were high enough to make the road undulating. The valley of the Thompson is very narrow for\na stream of its magnitude ; in fact it is a mountain gorge\nrather than a valley.' High wooded hills rose on either\nside, half-hiding, half-revealing ranges of glittering peaks.\n' The forest is of the grandest kind\u00E2\u0080\u0094not only the living\nbut the dead. Everywhere around lie the prostrate forms\nof old giants in every stage of decay, some of them six\nto eight feet through, and an hundred and fifty to two\nhundred feet in length. Scarcely half-hiding these are\nbroad-leaved plants and ferns in infinite variety, while the\nbranchless columnar shafts of more modern cedars tower far\nup among the dark branches of spruce and hemlock, dwarfing\nthe horse and his rider that creep along across their interlaced roots and the mouldering bones of their great predecessors/\nThe end of September brought Fleming and his party\nto Kamloops after a more or less eventful trip down the\nbanks of the Thompson, passing Grand Canyon and Hell's\nGate, where the waters of the river are forced raging and\nboiling through a gap not more than thirty feet wide. Here\nthey encountered one of the characteristic supply-trains on\nits way up to T\u00C2\u00A3te Jaune Cache\u00E2\u0080\u0094fifty-two mules led by a bell-\nhorse and driven by four or five men representing as many\ndifferent nationalities. ' Most of the mules were, with the\nexception of the long ears, wonderfully graceful creatures,\nWm\nM\h\n OCEAN TO OCEAN IN 1872\n129\nand though laden with an average weight of three hundred\npounds, stepped over rocks and roots firmly and lightly as if\ntheir loads were nothing/\nNot far from Kamloops a visit was paid to one of the winter\nhomes of the Siwash Indians. ' A deep and wide hole is dug\nin the ground, a strong pole with cross sticks like an upright\nladder stuck in the centre, and then the house is built up with\nlogs in conical form from the ground to near the top of the\npole, space enough being left for the smoke and the inmates\nto get out. Robinson Crusoe-like, instead of a door, they\nuse the ladder, and go in and out of the house during the\nwinter by the chimney. As this is an inconvenient mode of\negress they go out as seldom as possible; and as the dogs\nlive with the family, the filth that soon accumulates can\neasily be estimated, and so can the consequence, should one\nof them be attacked with fever or small-pox. They boast\nthat these houses are \" terrible warm \", and when the smoke\nand heat reach suffocation-point their simple remedy is to\nrush up the ladder into the air and roll themselves in the\nsnow for a few minutes. In spring they emerge from their\nhibernation into open or tent life ; and in the autumn they\ngenerally find it easier to build a new house or bottle to shut\nthemselves up in, than to clean out the old one.'\nFrom Kamloops^ Fleming had a comparatively easy journey\ndown to Lytton, at the junction of the Thompson and the\nFraser, thence to Yale by the famous road, hewn in places\nout of the face of the rock hundreds of feet above the bed of\nthe river; and from Yale down the river by steamer to New\nWestminster. A pleasant sail through the Straits of\nGeorgia, with a brief visit to Bute Inlet, brought the travellers to Vancouver Island and the pretty little city of Victoria\non the 9th October\u00E2\u0080\u0094a little over three months from the day\nthey left Halifax.\n CHAPTER XI\nOVER THE MOUNTAINS BY THE KICKING\nT| horse Jjpr.\nIn the summer of 1883, while in London, Fleming received\na cablegram from the president of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway Company, asking him to disentangle a peculiar\nsituation into which the railway had been brought through\nthe anxiety of the Company to hasten its construction. At\nthat time, although the rails were actually laid as far as\nCalgary at the eastern entrance to the mountains, there was\nas yet no certainty that the railway could be carried through\nby the southern route. In fact no white man had yet made\nhis way across the Selkirk Range from east to west anywhere near the line proposed for the Canadian Pacific\nRailway.\nBecause of his wide knowledge of the general situation in\nthe west, and of all the known routes through the mountains,\nthe Company naturally turned to Sandford Fleming to help\nthem out of the difficulty.\nHe returned to Canada, and after a conference with the\ndirectors of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal,\nstarted for the west, accompanied as on his former journey of\n1872 by his eldest son, and Dr. George M. Grant, who joined\nthe party at Winnipeg. Their route was by rail to Toronto\nand Collingwood, from there by boat to Port Arthur, and\nthence by the newly completed line of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway to Winnipeg. After making necessary arrangements\nthere, the journey was continued by rail to Calgary, the\ntemporary terminus of the road.\nFleming could not fail to be struck with the contrast\nbetween his present journey and that of 1872. ' When\nI crossed the continent eleven years ago,' he says, in his\nnarrative of the present expedition, ' before Winnipeg as\n OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY KICKING HORSE\n131\na city had even a name, I left Fort Garry on the 2nd August,\nand did not arrive in sight of the mountains until the 7th\nSeptember. In that journey we did not spare ourselves\nor our horses, for we made over the prairies an average of over\nforty miles a day. On the present occasion we left Winnipeg\non Monday morning, to come within sight of the mountains\non Wednesday afternoon. The first journey occupied thirty-\nsix days, and the last about fifty-six hours !'\nThe problem now before the travellers was whether or not\nthey could make their way across the two great ranges that\nlay between them and Kamloops, three hundred miles as the\ncrow flies, but much longer as they must travel, as the route\nlay through peculiarly difficult country.\nFinally it was decided to go forward, it being understood\nthat the country had been definitely explored as far at least\nas the summit of the Selkirks. Packers were secured, provisions purchased, and the party set out on their long journey.\nThey had, however, scarcely entered the main range before\ndisquieting news came from one of the resident engineers.\n' He had heard of no one having crossed the Selkirk Range.\nMajor Rogers had made several attempts to do so, but he\nhad only so far succeeded as to reach the summit, or one of\nthe summits, but had not penetrated entirely through the\nmountains on a connected line. No one was known to have\npassed over from where we stood by the route before us to\nKamloops ; not even an Indian, and it was questionable if it\nwere possible to find a route which could be followed/\nFleming had no desire to assume the position of an\noriginal explorer, with the prospect of toiling onward for\nmany days only to find himself in the end confronted by an\nabsolutely impassable obstacle. It was understood, however, that Major Rogers, who was in charge of exploratory\nwork for the railway in the mountains, was at the mouth of\nthe Kicking Horse, and a final decision whether to go forward\nor back to Calgary, and around to British Columbia through\nthe United States, was reserved until his opinion had been\nobtained as to the possibilities of the proposed route through\nthe mountains.\n1 2\n 13\n2\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nThe following day being Sunday was spent comfortably\nin the camp of the resident engineer. The weather was\nbrilliantly clear and invigorating, and all anxiety as to the\nfuture was for the time thrown aside. ' Those living in\ncities', says Fleming, 'can with difficulty understand the\neffect on the spirits and minds of men away from civilization\nof a bright, cheery Sunday. In all well-ordered expeditions\nSunday is a day of rest, and this view alone, denuded entirely\nof all religious feeling, which is to some extent dependent\non early education, creates a scene of quiet and repose not\nalways experienced to the same extent in civilized communities. To one bred like myself in the strict views of the\nPresbyterian Church, there is something more than this\nsentiment: it is as if you held it a privilege on these remote\nmountains to pay homage to the lessons of your youth,\nnot from the merely mechanical acceptance of them, but\nfrom a heartfelt sense of their truth. I have felt, on such\noccasions, a sense of peace and freedom from the carping\ncares of life I never could explain; but that the thought\nis not peculiar to myself many circumstances have shown.\nYou seem, as it were, at such times, only to commune with\nnature, and to be free from all that is false and meretricious\nin our civilization. You are beyond the struggles and petty\npersonalities of the world, and you feel how really and truly\nlife is better and happier as it is more simple/\nThe scene is a memorable one. They are encamped\nwithin the threshold of one of the gateways through the\nmountains. ' The sun lit up in warm colours the great mountains encircling the valley. We were surrounded by these\nmagnificent heights. Our camp was but a few miles distant\nfrom the valley, which leaves Bow River for the Vermilion\nPass. The atmosphere was not so clear as we could wish,\nand the distant peaks were invisible. We had, nevertheless,\na remarkable view of the towering battlements to the north,\nin themselves so lofty and so near to us, and the details so\nintricate that it would be impossible to portray them within\nthe limits of ordinary canvas.'\nTo this point they had been driven over a fairly good road,\nm\n \u00E2\u0096\u00A0m*\nOT\nW\nM\nM\nu\no\nw\no\nPL,\nz\nPi\nW\nH\nOT\nW\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0096\u00A0*#!\n OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY KICKING HORSE\n133\nbut, from now on, the trail must be followed on horseback, or\nprobably sometimes on foot. To harden themselves to the\nsaddle they therefore spent the latter part of the afternoon\nin riding up the valley about twelve miles, between mountains of the grandest description. ' To the south two heights\nof great prominence present themselves. They command\na view of the depression leading to the Vermilion Pass.\nOne of the peaks is crowned with perpetual snow, and is of\nstriking beauty. The other has a cubical form of summit.\nA third, at no great distance, is pyramidal, and so on in every\nconceivable variety these mountains tower above us. Westward we see Castle Mountain to our right. The resemblance\nto Cyclopean masonry has doubtless suggested the name,\nfor it is marked by huge masses of castellated-looking work,\nwith turreted flanks. After passing through a mile of burnt\npine wood at its base, we reach Spillman's camp where we\nstay for the night. The fires in the valley are extinguished,\nbut they are still running up the mountain side, and as night\ncomes on the flames gleam with a weird light. We soon\nwrapped ourselves in our blankets. Although with a certain\nsense of fatigue, I could not sleep. My thoughts reverted\nto the journey before us. Uncertainty seemed to increase\nas we advanced/\nThe next morning they continue their journey, following\nthe banks of the Bow River, still a fairly large stream.\nGreat peaks tower above them on every side. ' One is\ncrested like a huge camel's back ; one rises to a sharp cone;\na third has the appearance of an extinct volcano, and the\ncrumbhng edge of the crater reveals the glacier within.'\nA day or two later they reach the summit of the Kicking\nHorse Pass, and camp there. ' To-night we fall asleep on\nthe continental \" Divide \". Hitherto we have passed over\nground draining to the east. To-morrow we follow a stream\nflowing into the waters of the Pacific.'\nThey are up at half-past five, on a cold sharp morning, the\nhorses are packed, and they start down the western slope\ntoward the Columbia.\n' It was a rugged and broken path which we entered upon.\n 134\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nTo our right two conspicuous twin summits were standing\nout in the range. The water of the streams which we were\nfollowing was more heard than seen, for the trail exacted\nall our attention. Our horses were moving among sharp\nbroken granite rocks and fallen trees. In about half an\nhour we passed by the side of Summit Lake. The northern\nmountains were now concealed from view by a forest of\nspruce through which we were passing. To the south the\nlandscape is more magnificent than ever; a bold, rocky\nbluff rises thousands of feet directly in front of us, while\nmountains of great height, in groups, tower above it to the\nright and left. Some of them have crater-shaped peaks\nfilled with snow. Our progress is slow, and much interfered\nwith by the pack-horses getting continually off the trail and\nlosing part of their load.\n' We pass the second mountain lake, and about four miles\nfrom our morning camp we reach the third and largest lake,\nabout a mile in length. We cross the path of a great snow\nslide, an avalanche divided into two forks, one about fifty\nyards and the other about one hundred and fifty yards wide.\nThousands of trees, two and three feet in diameter, have been\nbroken into shreds by it, and roots, trunks, and branches, in\na tangled mass, have been swept away, and, with a multitude\nof boulders of all dimensions, hurled into the lake to form\na promontory of which three or four hundred feet still remain.\nTo the south, beyond the lake, the eye rests upon a mighty\nmountain, streaked by snow-filled crevices, and reflected\nin the bright, glassy lake, presenting to our eyes a most\nstriking picture. We cross the outlet by fording a stream\nsome forty feet wide and about sixteen inches in depth.\nI looked upon it with no little interest, for it is the stream we\nare to follow for some days. There is often a history lying\nbehind the nomenclature of these waters and peaks, and in\nthe present instance it is said that Dr. Hector, who accompanied the Palliser expedition, was kicked not far from this\nspot. The Indians have translated it Shawata^nowchata-\nwapta\u00E2\u0080\u0094Horse-Kicking River.'\nSo the journey runs day after day, the mountain trail\n ^\nOVER THE MOUNTAINS BY KICKING HORSE 135\nsometimes high up on the mountain side and again following\nthe gravel banks of the river. The morning's start is made\nin all kinds of weather, sometimes clear, oftener dull, and\nagain in drenching rain. One day they set out in the midst\nof a dense fog. ' The mist hung like a thick curtain, concealing everything not directly near the camp-fire. But we\nstart; the six pack-horses in front with their loads standing\nout from their backs, giving the creatures the appearance\nof so many dromedaries. Dave rides ahead with the bell-\nhorse, then the pack-horses follow, and the horsemen bring\nup the rear to see that none stray behind. Our journey this\nday was over exceedingly rough ground. We have to cross\ngorges so narrow that a biscuit might be thrown from the\nlast horse descending, to the bell-horse six hundred feet\nahead, ascending the opposite side. The fires have been\nrunning through the wood and are still burning; many of\nthe half-burnt trees have been blown down, probably by the\ngale of last night, obstructing the trail and making advance\nextremely difficult/\nThe road does not improve as they advance, and for mile\nafter mile it leads through burnt and fallen timber. ' Fortunately there was no wind. The air was still and quiet,\notherwise we would have ran the risk of blackened trunks\nfalling around us, possibly upon the animals or ourselves,\neven at the best seriously to have impeded our progress, if\nsuch a mischance did not make an advance impossible, until\nthe wind should moderate. We move forward down and\nup gorges hundreds of feet deep, amongst rocky masses,\nwhere the poor horses had to clamber as best they could\namid sharp points and deep crevices, running the constant\nrisk of a broken leg. The trail now takes another character.\nA series of precipices run sheer up from the boiling current\nto form a contracted canyon. A path has therefore been\ntraced along the hill side, ascending to the elevation of some\nseven or eight hundred feet. For a long distance not a\nvestige of vegetation is to be seen. On the steep acclivity\nour line of advance is narrow, so narrow that there is scarcely\na foothold; nevertheless we have to follow for some six\n \"-!*~a(|<\"'. 5\u00E2\u0084\u00A28\u00E2\u0084\u00A2n\nI36\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nmiles this thread of trail, which seemed to us by no means\nin excess of the requirements of the chamois and the mountain goat.\n' We cross clay, rock, and gravel slides at a giddy height.\nTo look down gives one an uncontrollable dizziness, to make\nthe head swim and the view unsteady, even with men of\ntried nerve. I do not think I can ever forget that terrible\nwalk; it was the greatest trial I ever experienced. We are\nfrom five to eight hundred feet high on a path of from ten to\nfifteen inches wide and at some points almost obliterated,\nwith slopes above and below us so Steep that a stone would\nroll into the torrent in the abyss below.'\nAbout three miles from the mouth of the Kicking Horse\nValley they meet Major Rogers, and continue down with him\nto his camp on the banks of the Columbia.\nFrom Major Rogers, Fleming learns to his immense relief\nthat he has discovered a pass through the Selkirks by way of\nBeaver River and the Illecellewaet, and that a pack trail\nhas been opened to the summit and a short way down the\nIllecellewaet. Beyond that point ' we have the wilderness\nin its native ruggedness, without a path for the human foot,\nwith the river and mountain gorges only as landmarks and\nguides'. They must descend the Illecellewaet to the second\ncrossing of the Columbia, and get through the Gold Range by\nway of Eagle Pass, and so to Kamloops on the North Thompson\u00E2\u0080\u0094and civilization once more.\nAfter a day's rest they are off again, accompanied by\nMajor Rogers for a portion of the journey. His nephew,\nAlbert Rogers, is to go through with them to Kamloops.\nThey descend the Columbia in a canoe to the mouth of\nBeaver River, where they are joined by the pack train, and\ncamp for the night.\nAt daybreak they are climbing up the Beaver Valley, over\na very rough trail, but thankful for small mercies, as they\nare coming to a point where there will be no trail whatever.\nThe following morning they reach the summit through a\nrugged mountain defile, and turn down the western slope,\nnoting for the first time the since famous Illecellewaet Glacier.\n OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY KICKING HORSE\n137\nTwenty-four miles from the summit they come to the end\nof the trail. It has been poor enough, but travelling over\nit is luxury to what lies before them.\n' Last night it rained hard, with thunder and lightning.\nThis morning everything is wet, and the trees are dripping in\nall directions; not a pleasant prospect for those who have\nto travel under them. There is, however, no halting in\na journey such as ours. Our horses have left us. They were\ndriven back to find pasture last night. The men must now\ncarry on their shoulders what we require, through an untrodden forest without path or trail of any kind. Clothing,\ntents, food and a few cooking utensils constitute what we\nhave to bring with us. Fortunately we can always find\nwater. It is a matter of some calculation and care putting\nthese articles into proper packs, but the task is finally\naccomplished. . . .\n' The walking is dreadful; we climb over and creep under\nfallen trees of great size, and the men soon show that they\nfeel the weight of their burdens. Their halts for rest are\nfrequent. It is hot work for us all. The dripping rain\nfrom the bush and branches saturate us from above. Tall\nferns sometimes reaching to the shoulder, and devil's clubs\nthrough which we had to crush our way, make us feel as if\ndragged through a horse-pond, and our perspiration is that\nof a Turkish bath. We meet with obstacles of every description. The devil's clubs may be numbered by millions, and\nthey are perpetually wounding us with their spikes against\nwhich we strike. We halt very frequently for rest. Our\nadvance is varied by ascending rocky slopes and slippery\nmasses, and again descending to a lower level. We wade\nthrough alder swamps and tread down skunk cabbage and\nthe prickly aralias, and so we continue until half-past four,\nwhen the tired-out men. are unable to go further. A halt\nbecomes necessary. We camp for the night on a high bank\noverlooking the Illecellewaet. . . . Our advance on a direct\nline we estimate at four miles/ Not much to show for a long\nand hard day's work!\nSunday is no longer a day of rest. Supplies are limited,\n 138\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nand they must push on or face the possibility of starvation.\nThe conditions are disheartening. ' We make little headway,\nand every tree, every leaf, is wet and casts off the rain. In\na short time we are as drenched as the f oliage. We have many\nfallen trees to climb over, and it is no slight matter to struggle\nover trees ten feet and upwards in diameter. We have rocks\nto ascend and descend ; we have a marsh to cross in which\nwe sink often to the middle. For half a mile we have waded,\nI will not say picked, our way to the opposite side, through\na channel filled with stagnant water, having an odour long\nto be remembered. Skunk cabbage is here indigenous, and\nis found in acres of stinking perfection. We clamber to the\nhigher ground, hoping to find an easier advance, and we come\nupon the trail of a cariboo, but it leads to the mountains.\nWe try another course, only to become entangled in a windfall of prostrate trees. The rain continues falling incessantly : the men, with heavy loads on their heads, made\nheavier by the water which has soaked into them, become\ncompletely disheartened, and at half-past two o'clock we\ndecide to camp. Our travelling to-day extended only over\nthree hours, we have not advanced above a mile and a half\nof actual distance, and we all suffer greatly from fatigue. I\nquestion if our three days' march has carried us further\nthan ten miles.'\nSo the journey goes day after day, with little relief from\nthe interminable succession of swamps, tangled underbrush,\nand fallen timber. At last they emerge from the canyon of\nthe Illecellewaet and reach the second crossing of the Columbia, with Eagle Pass directly opposite.\nHere supplies from Kamloops were to have met the party,\nbut to their disappointment and dismay there is no sign\nof the men. Only a few days' provisions remain, and the\njourney over the Gold Range is trailless and difficult. The\nfollowing morning, however, brings the missing men\u00E2\u0080\u0094but\nas if every conceivable obstacle were to be placed in their\nway, Fleming learns that instead of bringing the supplies\nwith them, they have cached them at a point five days\ndistant. Yet he can see, though grimly enough, the ridi-\n In the Heart of the Mountains\n OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY KICKING HORSE 139\nculous side of the situation. ' We were in the heart of a\ndesert and asked for bread. We did not even get a stone,\nbut we met five hungry Indians ready to devour the little\nstore we had brought with us/\nBy putting every one on very short rations and travelling\nby forced marches, they manage to reach the cached provisions. Their troubles are now over. With plenty of\nfood the remainder of the journey becomes a simple tramp\nthrough the forest. The trail presently brings them to\na good wagon road, and that to Shuswap Lake, where\na steamer is waiting to take them on to Kamloops.\n a\nCHAPTER XII\nTHE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\nIn July 1876, having been relieved of his duties in connexion with the surveys and construction of the Intercolonial, Sandford Fleming took a well-earned vacation.\nWith his wife and six children he sailed from Quebec on the\n16th of that month, and after a quick and pleasant passage\nlanded at Londonderry on the 23rd. A day was spent in\nvisiting the Giant's Causeway, another at Belfast and Lord\nDufferin's Irish estate Clandeboye, and then off by boat for\nGlasgow.\nAn attempt was made to see Loch Long and Loch Lomond,\nbut a depressingly persistent Scotch mist enveloped the\nwest coast, and their enthusiasm was but half-hearted. As\nthey waited in Glasgow, with what patience they could command, for some change in the weather, Sandford Fleming was\nreminded of his visit to the old town in 1863.\n' I was a passenger on the United Kingdom, due at Glasgow.\nShe had passed up the Clyde during the night, and arrived\nopposite the Broomielaw in the early morning.... I was impatient to get ashore, to touch the sacred ground of my\nnative land.' This was his first visit since he had left\nScotland in 1845. ' I arose that morning one of the first of\nthe passengers, before the stewards were visible. ... A boat\ncame to the side. I jumped into her and went ashore.\nI strolled along the quay. My foot was not literally on\nI my native heath \", but I enjoyed intensely the pleasure\nwe all feel in revisiting our native shores, and in being near\nthe scenes from which we have been long absent. Everything seemed so fresh and charming. I had no definite purpose in my wandering, but I was at home ; it was Scotland.\n' In my semi-reverie I was interrupted by a young voice\nin the purest Clydesdale Doric saying, \" Hae yer butes\n THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n141\nbrushed ? \" I looked down mechanically at my feet, and\nfound that the cabin bootblack of our vessel had neglected\nthis duty. . . . Moreover, it was the first word addressed to\nmyself, and I should have felt bound to accept the offer if\nit had been unnecessary in the fullest sense. I commenced\nconversation with the boy. He was very young. I summoned to my aid my best Scotch for the occasion. His\nname was Willie Gordon, and he told me his widowed mother\nwas a washerwoman, that he had a number of brothers and\nsisters younger than himself, that his earnings amounted to\nabout half a crown a week, and that between him and his\nmother they managed to earn ten shillings in that time.\n\" And how do you live, Willie ? \" I asked. \" Reel well \",\nhe replied with the cheeriest of voices.\n' \" And now, Willie,\" I said, when I had paid him his fee,\n\"it is many years since I have been here. I want to see\nthe places of greatest interest in Glasgow.\" \" Ou, sir,\" he\npromptly replied, \" ye shuld gang ta see Corbett's eat in\nhoose.\" \" Do you know the way there ? J I asked.\n' Fine, sir. I ken the way vary weel. I'll gang wi ye tae\nthe door,\" and his face looked even happier than before.\nI accepted his guidance, and, if my recollection is correct,\nthe place was in Jamaica Street. The boy walked by my\nside carrying his brushes and box, and chatted gaily of himself and his life. Apparently no prince could be happier.\n' We reached the renowned establishment he had named.\nIt was a species of home which a benevolent citizen had\ninstituted, on the same principle on which the coffee taverns\nare now established: to furnish an early hot cup of tea or\ncoffee to men going to work, to offer some other refreshment\nthan whisky and beer, to give a meal at cost price with all\nthe comfort possible, with cleanliness, good cheer, and airy\nrooms, warm in winter.\n' After some hesitation, and persuasion on my part, Willie\nshyly entered with me. The menu was on the wall. Porridge\nand milk one penny, large cup of coffee one penny, bread and\nbutter, thick, one penny, eggs and toast one penny, &c,\neverything one penny.... We were a little early even for that\n 142\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nestablishment, so Willie and I sat down. The buxom matron\ngave us some account of the place and its doings. The Duke\nof Argyle had dined with her a few days before. She told\nus the establishment was well patronized and prosperous.\n' The time soon came for our order, for we were the first\nto be served. I set forth what I required for myself, and\nthat was no light breakfast as I had a sea appetite sharpened\nby the early morning walk. I directed the attendant to\nbring the same order in double proportions for the boy, so\nthat we had a splendid dejeuner. My little companion was\nin ecstasies. Never was hospitality bestowed on a more\ngrateful recipient. He would not leave me, and he seemed\nbound to make a morning of it, and from time to time\ngraciously volunteered, \" I'll tak ye ony gait, sir.\" His\ncustomers were forgotten, but I trust he did not suffer from\nhis devotion to me, for I did my best to remedy his neglect\nof professional duty. He followed me from place to place,\ncarrying the implements of his day's work, and he seemed\nanxious to do something for the trifling kindness I had shown\nhim and the few pence I had paid for his breakfast.\n' But I was more than compensated by the pleasure I myself received. I listened to all he said with fresh interest,\nfor he was open, earnest, honest and simple-minded. He was\ndeeply attached to his mother, and was evidently proud to be\nable to add to her slender earnings, which were just enough\nto keep her and her family from want. He certainly seemed\ndetermined to do all in his power to make her comfortable.\n' He never lost sight of me till I left by the eleven o'clock\ntrain, and my last remembrance of Glasgow, as the train\nmoved out, was seeing Willie waving his brushes and boot-\nbox enthusiastically in the air. I often wonder what Willie's\nfate is. He appeared to me to be of the material to succeed\nin life. In Canada he certainly would have worked his way\nup. I never heard of him again, but I certainly shall not\nbe greatly astonished to hear of Sir William Gordon, distinguished Lord Provost of Glasgow.'\nBut to return to the party of 1876. Defying the weather,\nthey are off for Oban where they spend Sunday. St. Columba\n\l\\n THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n14a\nChurch offers significant evidence of the prevailing conditions,\nin a rack for umbrellas at the end of each pew, and provision\nfor waterproofs at the back of the church. ' It rained', says\nSandford Fleming's journal,' without intermission the whole\nday/ The following morning it is still coming down in\ntorrents. ' The kind landlord of the inn does his best for us\nby keeping his barometer fixed at set fair, but without result.'\nSome of the party manage to visit the ruined castles of\nDunstaffnage and Dunolly, and are reminded of the story\nof the Stone of Destiny.\nThe next day they take a small steamer to Iona and Staff a.\nAs the boat threads her way through the somewhat intricate\nentrance to the Sound of Iona, they get their first glimpse\nof the venerable cathedral. They land in large boats, and\nare welcomed by a number of small girls with shells and other\nodds and ends to sell. Iona is about three miles long by one\nbroad, much of it bare rock, with no trees of any kind. ' It\npossesses now no natural attractions that one can perceive,\nexcept solitude/\nThey were taken to see the ruins of the nunnery, and the\nchapel of St. Orain, the most ancient of all the buildings on\nthe island. Orain was one of the disciples of St. Columba.\nThen to the cathedral, with its associations of days long gone\nby. ' One cannot view these ruins of hoary antiquity without being impressed, and it somewhat grates on the ear to be\nobliged to hear the flat jest of some Yankee tourist.' Near\nby is the cross of St. Martin, and the tombs of the kings,\nwhere forty-two of the rulers of Scotland are said to lie\nburied, as well as several of the ancient Irish kings, and\neven some from Norway. Here, too, are the tombs of the\nMcLeans, once an all-powerful clan in this part of Scotland.\nMacbeth is supposed to be the last Scottish king buried in\nIona. The visitors are particularly impressed with the\npeculiar sharpness of the carvings and inscriptions, after\nhaving weathered the storms of centuries.\nFrom Iona they are carried over to the island of Staffa, to\nhave a look at Fingal's Cave. The island is uninhabited\nexcept by a few highland cattle. ' As we draw near to the\n 144\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ngreat cave we descend by steps from the top to the bottom\nof the cliff, and walk over a rough floor of broken basaltic\ncolumns. The prisms are generally larger than at the\nGiant's Causeway; here they will measure on an average\nfrom 2*3 to 3 feet across, while those at the Causeway are\nnot half that size. The latter, however, are more regular\nand embrace a larger proportion of perfect hexagons. The\ncolumns are of considerable height where exposed, probably\nover thirty feet, and in places much bent. The cave itself\nis probably seventy-five feet from the water-level to the roof,\nand the clear width fifty or sixty feet. The channel through\nwhich the sea surges is probably not over twenty feet wide.\nThe Cave of Fingal is not wonderful on account of its great\nsize\u00E2\u0080\u0094there are larger caves\u00E2\u0080\u0094but there is nothing like these\nwalls of columns ; and no cathedral has such music as the sea\nproduces in this temple of nature.\n' The contrast between Iona and Staffa is striking enough.\nIona takes us back to almost prehistoric times ; Staffa brings\nus face to face with the everlasting. There we had the\ncentury-long work of man ; here we see the indelible record\nof the great forces of nature, at work to-day as they were\ncountless ages ago.\n' As we return, Iona is visible for a time in the distance.\nWe can dimly see the old ruins, and with this exception the\neye traces the very outlines traced in Columba's time some\n1,300 years ago. The rocks are so hard that any changes\nthey may have undergone are practically inappreciable.'\nIt had been planned to engage an open wagonette to\ncarry the party through the Highlands, but the morning\nopening with a dense Scotch mist, ' if anything, worse than\nrain for wetting one through', the wagonette was abandoned\nin favour of a light omnibus, roomy enough to carry six or\nseven inside with the luggage on top. With no very grave\nregrets they take leave of the weeping western coast, and set\ntheir faces toward the sunny side of Scotland.\nThe rain follows them for a time, but they have opportunity\nto enjoy delightful glimpses of lofty mountains and deep\nglens, sparkling lakes, with here and there a ruined castle\nJ\n THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n145\nwhose romantic story is dear to the heart of every Scotchman. At Callander the rugged Highlands soften down to\nmodest braes. They rest at Stirling to have an opportunity\nof seeing the grand old castle, and the Church of the Grey\nFriars, where three hundred years before James VI had been\ncrowned, and John Knox had held forth. The following\nday they climb Abbey Craig, to see the Wallace Monument,\nand enjoy the wonderful view from the summit, castles and\nivy-covered ruins, the historic field of Bannockburn, and the\nrange of the Ochil Hills. From Stirling they take the train\nfor Sandford Fleming's boyhood home, Kirkcaldy.\nA day is spent in Edinburgh, then gay with flags and\nbanners in honour of the Queen who is making a state visit\nto the Scottish capital. They have a good view of the\nroyal procession from the windows of the National Bank of\nScotland; the small Canadians cheer, and are rewarded with\na gracious bow from Her Majesty.\nAfter a short visit to St. Andrews and Dundee, they turn\nto the south and reach London September 9th, having Sir\nJohn Rose, formerly Minister of Finance of Canada, as\na fellow passenger from Edinburgh. Leaving his family\nhere, Sandford Fleming, after visiting some friends near\nPortsmouth and at Torquay, took the train to Penzance and\nthen drove on to Land's End.\n'- At Penzance I find an old lumbering one-horse carriage\nwaiting for me. For some miles the road passes through an\navenue of beautiful old trees planted by the wayside, but\nfour or five miles bring us to a treeless district. For the\nremainder of the sixteen miles no vegetation larger than\na whin bush is to be seen. But the whins are turned to\naccount in a way that I have not heard of elsewhere. They\nnot only form the fences of the fields, but they are used for\nfuel. Each house or hut has its stack of whin carefully\nsecured for winter use, just as you see turf in Ireland and\npeat in Scotland. It seems to be the only fuel used in this\npart of England.\n' In due time, after an interesting drive through a bleak,\nunproductive-looking country, we reach Land's End. The\nK\n 146\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nIt\nhorse is placed in the last stable in England, and we find\nourselves in the last house in England, which is a small\nstone building, where it appears we can get a chop and a glass\nof Bass of the red pyramid brand, precisely the same as that\nwhich regaled our palates four years ago in the heart of the\nRocky Mountains.\n' Lunch for self and driver being ordered, I walked to the\nedge of the cliff and amused myself making some rude\nsketches of the end of England. First looking westerly\ntowards Canada, then southerly, then northerly across the\nworld of waters. Not a solitary object is to be seen except\nthe lighthouse perched on a rock due west, and the smoke of\na steamer on the southern horizon. Here is a place to rest,\naway from the busy world, but perhaps the extreme silence\nand repose of Land's End would soon become more irksome\nthan the clangour of busy London.\n' Returning to the little inn I found lunch ready, and to\nmy surprise another gentleman partaking of similar refreshment in the little room into which I was shown. Land's End\nis but thinly populated and has but few visitors in the late\nautumn, so I was pleased to see some one with whom I could\nexchange words. Forgetting the reticence of Englishmen who\nhave not been introduced, I on the impulse of the moment\nbroke through all rules and addressed my new friend cheerily\nas I entered the room, \" Rather raw to-day.\"\n' To this advance there was no response whatever. He\nwent on with his knife and fork, ignoring my presence and\nexistence. There was nothing left but to do likewise, and\nthere at Land's End, away from civilized England, at a place\nalmost as solitary and dreary as the North Pole, two men\nmet and dined together at the same table in absolute silence.\n' In due time the meal was over, the bill paid, the horse\nin the carriage, and the return journey commenced. We\nhad not proceeded more than half a mile when we passed\nmy dining companion. Curiosity led me to inquire if the\ndriver happened to know who he was. I was promptly\ninformed, \" Oh, that is a deaf and dumb gentleman who\nstays here.\" '\n '\"''\"fff t.ijB'ii I\nTHE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n147\nChristmas was spent quietly in London with his family,\na cable conveying best wishes from the staff of the Canadian\nPacific Railway adding to the happiness of the occasion.\nGlancing in the newspapers a few days later, Fleming was\nagreeably surprised to see his own name in the list of New\nYear's honours, for a C.M.G.\nMatters in connexion with the transcontinental railway\nrequiring his presence in Ottawa, he sailed from Liverpool\non the Polynesian. An incident of the voyage was a gale in\nmid-ocean which tested the seaworthiness of the big ship.\n' Dressed in the dark and went on deck', one reads in his\njournal. ' The barometer was very low, the sea raging and\ntossing the huge ship about at its wild will, the waves\noccasionally washing across the decks, the vessel rolling until\nher upper decks touched the water, and the barometer\nswinging in the companion way some forty degrees to one\nside of the perpendicular. Sometimes heavy rain squalls\nwould sweep by, between which the nearly full moon would\nbreak forth throwing a flood of light across the wild turmoil\nof waters through which we were slowly fighting our way/\nSoon after his return to Ottawa, Fleming was given\na complimentary dinner by the members of his staff. In\nresponding to his own toast as the guest of the evening, he\npaid a warm tribute to the engineers who had been associated\nwith him in surveys and construction work on the Canadian\nPacific Railway.\nI Those who know me best', he said, ' will in some degree\nappreciate my embarrassment in finding myself in this\nprominent position\u00E2\u0080\u0094they will fully understand the difficulty\nI labour under in endeavouring to express even faintly, how\nmuch I feel this mark of kindness and attention. Engineers,\nas you all know, are not as a rule gifted with many words.\nMen so gifted generally aim at achieving renown in some\nother sphere\u00E2\u0080\u0094the pulpit, the press, the bar, perhaps the\nbench is open to them ; some may even venture on the sea\nof politics ; they may dream of reaching some day or other\na pinnacle of honour and power such as that now occupied by\none distinguished man, whom, I am proud to see at this table.\nK2\n 148\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nThey would not, indeed they could not, all succeed were they\never so richly endowed\u00E2\u0080\u0094one in four millions or so, might\npossibly rise to a position approaching that level. Silent\nmen, such as we are, can have no such ambition; they cannot\nhope for profit or place in law, they cannot look for fame in\nthe press or the pulpit, and, above all things, they must\nkeep clear of politics. Engineers must plod on in a distinct\nsphere of their own, dealing less with words and more with\ndeeds, less with men than with matter; nature in her wild\nstate presents difficulties for them to overcome. It is the\nbusiness of their life to do battle against these difficulties and\nmake smooth the path on which others are to tread. It is\ntheir privilege to stand between these two great forces,\ncapital and labour, and by acting justly at all times between\nthe employer and the employed, they may hope to command\nthe respect of those above them equally with those under\nthem. Gentlemen, many of us, indeed most of us, were\ngathered together about a year ago, but some, then here, are\nnot here now. I, for one, regret their absence; we greatly\nmiss their kindly countenances around the table, maybe hope\nthat on some future happy reunion, when they have finished\ntheir work or obtained a respite from their labours, in the\nwilds beyond Lake Superior, they and we may see each other.\nSome, I see to-night, who were not present with us twelve\nmonths ago. They were then far away on the plains, in the\nwoods, or in the mountains, doing their share of work, and\nwell have they done it. If affords me the greatest possible\npleasure to see them back in civilization once more. None\nhave earned all the comforts and enjoyments of a brief sojourn\nwith their friends more than they have. All England the\nother day gave a hearty British welcome to some of her sons\nwho attempted to reach the North Pole. Glad was I to join\nin their cheers and rejoicings; these brave British sailors\nhad earned them all. Those I now refer to, seated at this\ntable and some others who are not here, endured, I venture\nto say, hardships and deprivations scarcely less severe than\nmany of the members of the Polar Expedition. Our men,\nhowever, did something more than the Arctic travellers.\n..\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0ti\n THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876 149\nTrue, our engineers came back, some with scurvy, some with\nconstitutions more or less shaken ; but they returned with\nthe great satisfaction of having accomplished, and most\nsatisfactorily accomplished, the tasks they were sent to\nperform. Let me, therefore, ask those whom I had the great\npleasure of meeting in this room a year ago, to join me in\ntendering a warm welcome to those who were then absent.\nMy friend quite near me knows how much interested I am\nin the whole staff, how much I value them individually.\nHe knows, and you all know, that I am not given to paying\ncompliments when they are not deserved, but I am bound to\nacknowledge that at no time in Canada, perhaps at no time\nanywhere, was there ever such a staff of engineers in the\nservice of any country. They have had long years of special\ntraining for their several duties. They are inured almost like\nIndians to the hardships which the geographical, climatic,\nand other conditions of the country require them occasionally\nto encounter, and I feel that I am justified in saying they are\nlargely endowed with an enthusiasm which helps men to\naccomplish great deeds. Such being the character of the\nstaff, I may be forgiven for entertaining feelings of pride in\nbeing connected with a body of men of this kind. Indeed,\nwe may all be pardoned for taking an honest pride in a creditable connexion of any sort with so gigantic a national undertaking as the Canadian Pacific Railway. I am not going to\nweary you by dilating on this theme ; I shall only add that\nI found not a few men in England who knew something of\nthe great country through which the railway is being constructed, and who take the greatest possible interest in the\nwork we have in hand. Six weeks ago this very evening it was\nmy good fortune to dine with some of these men. I had the\nfamous Dr. Cheadle on one side, and on the other the equally\ncelebrated Captain Palliser. These gentlemen never ceased\nto inquire about our doings, and they were beyond measure\nsurprised to learn that the iron horse had started on his march\nfrom Thunder Bay\u00E2\u0080\u0094that the telegraph, the harbinger of the\nrailway, was already at Edmonton. I have, however, reminded you that it is the business of engineers to act, and not\nm\n SANDFORD FLEMING\nto say much. I have already hinted that although we deal\nlargely with figures, they are not figures of speech. I think,\ntherefore, that I should act professionally and become\nsilent, leaving perhaps the best part of my speech unsaid.\nI must, however, again heartily thank you all for this\nmagnificent welcome home, and I must especially thank\nthe Honourable the Premier, as well as the other guests\nwhom I see here, for their kindness in coming to-night to\ntake part in a reunion which will long remain green in my\nmemory/\nTwo years later Fleming again found hrmself in the capital\nof the Empire, and in an interval of leisure went out to\nChelsea and called at 5 Cheyne Row, with a note of introduction to Carlyle. It had long been his desire to meet face\nto face the great prophet of the nineteenth century. While\nin Kirkcaldy he had spoken of this to Provost Swan, an old\nand intimate friend of Carlyle, and the Provost had gladly\ngiven him a letter of introduction.\nArrived at Cheyne Row, Fleming knocked at the door;\na young maid came, and he asked,' May I see Mr. Carlyle ? J\nwith a queer feeling that he should have asked for Tom\nCarlyle.\n11 will see,' she replied, I. but Mr. Carlyle seldom meets\nany one now but old friends.'\n' I am afraid I cannot claim entrance on that plea,' he said,\n' but perhaps you will take him this note.'\nHe was shown into a dingy little room. In a few moments\nthe maid returned and took him up to Carlyle's own room\u00E2\u0080\u0094\na large room, he noted, with many books about the walls, but\nonly one picture, that of Cromwell.\nCarlyle met him at the door with a friendly shake of the\nhand, and they talked for a time of their mutual friend the\nProvost, and of other men and things in Kirkcaldy.\n' When were you born ? ' he asked.\n' The same year', replied Fleming, ' that your friend\nEdward Irving came to preach in the parish church, and\nthere were so many people in the gallery that it nearly\ncollapsed and caused a panic/\n THE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n151\n' Ah, yes, I remember,' he said. ' That was one of the\nfinest men that ever lived; at least the best that I have\never known/ He spoke about Irving's fife in London and\nelsewhere. ' He went far wrong in the end, but he was a\ngreat and good man. You will find an account of him in\na book by a Mrs. Oliphant, the woman that writes novels.\nThere are a few good things in the book,' he added, with\na sly twinkle in his eye,' some of Irving's letters/\nThe conversation drifted to Canada, with many shrewd\nquestions and comments as to the conditions of life in the\nnew land. The recent death there of Carlyle's brother\nAlexander lent a personal note to the subject. The vast\npossibilities and human significance of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway appealed to him, and the political and social\nexperiments that were being worked out in this younger\nBritain beyond the seas.\n' At last', says Fleming,' I felt that I had occupied enough\nof his time, and prepared to make my farewell. As I got up\nto leave I told Mr. Carlyle how impossible it was to say what\npleasure it had given me to have the opportunity of talking\nto the author of Sartor Resartus. With that he grasped my\nhand and held it firmly for perhaps ten minutes, while with\nbrightening eyes he gave me an outline of the birth of the\ngreat classic. \" Do you know \", he said finally, \" it took\nme eight years to write that little book ? \" '\nA slight aftermath of the interview is found in the Descriptive Catalogue of the Carlyle's House Memorial Trust. Among\nthe books listed in the Back Dining-Room is the following :\n' Fleming, S. Report on the Canadian Pacific Railway,\n1877. Presentation copy.'\nBefore returning to Canada in 1878, Fleming paid a short\nvisit to Paris to see the great exhibition. Leaving his hotel\none morning, he met two gentlemen, one of whom he recognized as Sir John Rose. Rose turned to his companion and\nsaid,' Your Royal Highness, let me present to you my friend\nMr. Fleming.' The Prince of Wales chatted with him for\na moment, and they passed on. The next day Fleming\nreceived a note from the Prince's secretary to attend His\n SANDFORD FLEMING\nRoyal Highness at the opera that evening in his private\nbox.\nHe found his way to the royal box, and presently the\nPrince arrived and took an arm-chair in the middle of the box,\ninviting Fleming to sit beside him. He talked for some time\nabout Canada, showing himself remarkably well informed as\nto the course of current events, Fleming reminded him that\nhe had had the honour of travelling with him from Toronto\nto Collingwood in i860, and the Prince questioned him with\nevident interest as to the changes that had taken place in\nToronto during the past eighteen years.\nThe following day, Fleming again met the Prince on the\nstreets, walking alone with a friend. He evidently felt as\nsecure in Paris as in London.\nIn March of the following year, Fleming lost his father.\nAndrew Greig Fleming had followed his sons to Canada in\n1847, and since 1854 had made his home at Craigleigh, near\nCollingwood, with David, who it will be remembered had\ncome out in 1845. Of eight children, three sons survived at\nthat time: Sandford and David, and Alexander, who had\nremained in Scotland.\nA note in the diary for 1879 *s suggestive of Fleming's\nmanifold interests and activities. Under date of July 9, it\nreads : ' At sea [on way to England], busy correcting proofs\nof Short Daily Prayers for Busy Households/\nThe diary for 1880 furnishes random glimpses of the hardworking engineer resting for a week or two on the banks of\nthe Metapedia.\n' July 11. Salmon fishing on the Metapedia. Dined with\nGeorge Stephen [now Lord Mount Stephen] and Lord\nElphinstone.\n' 12. Prince Leopold and Princess Louise arrived\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nguests of the Stephens\u00E2\u0080\u0094our camp directly opposite theirs\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nGeorge M. Grant also arrived\u00E2\u0080\u0094we had a splendid bonfire.\n' 13. Preparing for canoe trip down Metapedia. Prince\nLeopold and the Princess sent word they would like to see\nus. Had few minutes with them before starting in our three\ncanoes.\nv. 1\n &*m*\nTHE BRITISH ISLES IN 1876\n153\n414. Lunch and dinner with Donald A. Smith [afterward\nLord Strathcona] who lives in Peter Grant's old house.\nArranging for a start up the Restigouche.\n' 15. Left Metapedia with canoes and Indians. Lunched\nwith Duke of Beaufort, an enthusiastic sportsman. Frank\nlanded a twenty-five pound salmon. I lost one in gaffing\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nalmost hooked another\u00E2\u0080\u0094finally landed two\u00E2\u0080\u0094very tired.'\nMtr\u00C2\u00AB\n CHAPTER XIII\nTHE PACIFIC CABLE\nProbably none other of the great projects associated with\nthe name of Fleming more strikingly illustrates his sheer\ntenacity of purpose,\u00E2\u0080\u0094quiet, unostentatious, almost apologetic, but none the less compelling,\u00E2\u0080\u0094than the movement for\na British, state-owned cable across the Pacific. From 1879,\nwhen he first broached the subject in a letter to F. N. Gis-\nborne, Superintendent of the Telegraph and Signal Service\nof Canada, to 1902, when the cable was actually laid across\nthe Pacific from Vancouver Island to New Zealand and\nAustralia, he kept the matter alive not only in Canada but in\nEngland and Australasia; kept it alive, and moving, though\nthe forces arrayed against him, open and hidden, were\nenough to have daunted even a man of strong and untiring\npurpose.\nIt was, indeed, a long and uphill fight against tremendous\nodds. Fleming had to overcome first of all the apathy and\nindifference of the people of the great seK-governing colonies;\nthen the masterly inactivity of the British Government;\nfinally the active, resourceful, and powerful opposition of the\ngroup of wealthy cable companies which held a monopoly\nof the business between England and Australia, and, naturally enough, were loath to part with it. Nevertheless,\npatience and perseverance won, as they generally do when\nenlisted in a good cause, and backed by brains.\nIn 1879 Fleming wrote the following letter to F. N. Gis-\nborne:\n' The Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway\nwill, in all probability, be finally determined this year, and\nthe telegraph now erected from Lake Superior and carried\nalmost to the base of the Rocky Mountains will then be\nextended to tide water in British Columbia. In my last\n \"I****. *$,\nTHE PACIFIC CABLE 155\nreport laid before Parliament, I submitted the importance of\nconnecting Lake Superior with Ottawa, the seat of government, by telegraph. ... If these connexions are made, we\nshall have a complete overland telegraph from the Atlantic\nto the Pacific coast. It appears to me to follow that, as\na question of Imperial importance, the British possessions\nto the west of the Pacific Ocean should be connected by\nsubmarine cable with the Canadian line. Great Britain will\nthus be brought into direct communication with all the\ngreater colonies and dependencies without passing through\nforeign countries.'\n' A question of Imperial importance ';\u00E2\u0080\u0094that furnishes a\nkey to Fleming's point of view. No one who has followed\nhis life to this point can have failed to see that he has\nalways been a practical idealist; a man of big and broad ideas,\npossessing not only the courage to fight for those ideas, but\nalso the rarer capacity for methodically working out all the\npractical details. If genius consists in an infinite capacity\nfor taking pains, Sandford Fleming unquestionably possesses that kind of genius. This very matter of the Pacific\nCable involved technical problems that were not only\nintricate but to a large extent untried, and in which the\nopposing interests had marshalled on their side experts of\nworld-wide standing. With all his courage he could scarcely\nhave carried the movement to a successful conclusion, had\nhe not been prepared at every stage to meet, by the evidence\nof hard facts, the arguments advanced against the practicability of a Pacific Cable. So careful indeed was he to work\nout all the details of the project, that his estimates of cost,\ntraffic, and revenue, though differing widely from those\ncomputed by men employed in the cable business, were\nafterwards confirmed to an almost startling degree by the\nresults of the actual laying and operation of the Pacific Cable.\nFleming's outlook, as already indicated, has always been\nbroad. It has also been patriotic, not in the narrow sense\nof the provincial politician who bellows his loyalty and\nflaunts his flag in the face of his neighbour, but in the larger\nsense of one who would see his country leading the world\n 156\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nin the arts of peace and the bonds of human fellowship.\nThe question of the Pacific Cable appealed to him not merely\nas a practical project for the development of trade and commerce, but much more as a means of bringing together the\nscattered members of the British Empire, removing at one\nstroke the prejudices that are born of lack of knowledge of\nour brother's problems, and putting in their place the sympathy and sense of kinship that come with fuller understanding.\nIn his last report to the Government as Chief Engineer of\nthe Canadian Pacific Railway, dated April 1880, Fleming\nwent into the subject in detail, setting forth the practicability\nand cost of the proposed cable, and its vital importance to\nCanada, Australasia, and the Empire. He also prepared\na map, showing the route as then suggested. This map Sir\nJohn Macdonald took to England and discussed with Lord\nBeaconsfield. Both these great statesmen, it is said, were\nimpressed with the importance of the project from an Imperial standpoint. Being, however, shrewd politicians, as\nwell as great statesmen, they were not prepared to take the\nmatter up energetically in advance of public opinion.\nThe Canadian Government, however, with Fleming at\ntheir elbow, were not permitted to forget the project. The\ninformation that he had gathered for them they submitted\nto Parliament in 1880,1881, and 1882, but there were obstacles and difficulties in the way, and the representatives of\nthe people were slow to act. In 1885 the matter was again\npressed upon the attention of Sir John Macdonald, and in\nthis letter the direct route to New Zealand and Australia\nwas advocated. The earlier proposals had been for a route\nto Asia by way of the Aleutian Islands, and thence to\nAustralia, it being supposed that the nature of the bed of the\nocean made a more southerly course impracticable. More\ncomplete knowledge dispelled these objections, and the\nmanifest advantages of a direct route were impressed upon\nthe Prime Minister, who was at the same time urged to take\nthe matter up with the British and Colonial Governments.\nThe following year an Order in Council was passed recom-\n THE PACIFIC CABLE\n157\nmending that 'advantage be taken of the Indian and\nColonial Exhibition now being held in London, and the\npresence in that city of representatives from the colonies\ninterested, to obtain an expression of opinion on the project %\nboth from them and from the Imperial authorities. The\nHigh Commissioner for Canada was directed to ascertain\nand report what assistance the Colonies and the United\nKingdom would be prepared to give. Sandford Fleming\npromptly sailed for England to follow the matter up. The\nHigh Commissioner, Sir Charles Tupper, warmly entered\ninto his plans, but the result of their united efforts was not\nencouraging. The British Government threw cold water on\nthe scheme, and the representatives of Australia and New\nZealand could do nothing in the absence of explicit instructions from their respective Governments.\nIt was rather an unfortunate thing for the opponents of\nthe Pacific Cable, who were beginning to realize that they\nmight have to fight for their monopoly, that Fleming was\nnow free to give almost his entire attention to the project.\nHe had severed a few years before his last connexion with\nofficial life, and had the leisure as well as the desire to carry\nthe movement for an all-British cable to a successful conclusion. Not at all cast down by the cold reception his\nplans had met with in England, he returned to Canada more\ndeteirnined than ever to see the matter through. He had\nalready enlisted the powerful assistance of the Press, and by\nmeans of speeches, pamphlets, and personal correspondence,\nwas gradually spreading the leaven of the new idea throughout the Empire.\nThe Jubilee Conference of 1887 offered another opportunity of furthering the project, and particularly of getting\nin direct touch with the representatives of the Colonies.\nThe Colonial Secretary opened the way for a discussion of the\nPacific Cable by including in his circular calling the Conference, ' the promotion of commercial and social relations by\nthe development of our postal and telegraphic communications \ Canada appointed Sir Alexander Campbell and\nSandford Fleming as her representatives.\nn\n 158\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nBR 1*\nThe Conference opened in London on April 4, under the\npresidency of the Colonial Secretary, whose attitude toward\nthe Pacific Cable proved to be far from friendly. The\nEastern Telegraph system was also ably represented by its\nenergetic chairman Mr. Pender, whose opposition to the\nproposed cable was tacitly or openly endorsed by many of\nthe British officials. Mr. Pender argued that the scheme was\nimpracticable on physical grounds by reason of the extreme\ndepth of the Pacific Ocean. An official connected with the\ntelegraphs of Great Britain, who was attending the Conference in an advisory capacity, being asked his opinion on this\npoint, said he thought the depth went down in places to\n11,000 or 12,000 fathoms, that is to say about thirteen miles !\nIt was subsequently proved that he was about 8,000 or 9,000\nfathoms out in his calculations. Mr. Pender also argued\nthat the cable, even if capable of realization, would be a\nfinancial failure ; that his companies were prepared to offer\nas low a rate for cable service ; and that the scheme would\nin any event work great injustice to the existing lines.\nFleming now had the opportunity he had been waiting\nfor. He had all the facts at his finger's ends, and was able\nto make out a convincing case for the Pacific Cable from\nevery point of view. He touched first upon the larger\naspects of the question. ' If we resort', he said, ' to the\nagencies of steam and electricity, the people of Australasia\nand the people of Canada may, for all practical purposes,\nbecome neighbours. And why, it may be asked, should they\nnot be neighbours, as far as it is possible for art and science\nto make them ? Are they not one in language, in laws, and\nin loyalty ? Have they not substantially the same mission\nin the outer Empire, and would they not, as good neighbours\nsupporting each other, and with their energies directed to\na common cause, be of great advantage to each other ?\nWould they not, so united by friendly ties, add strength to\nthe power to which they owe a common and willing allegiance ? *\n'It is only necessary', he said again, ' to look at a telegraph map of the world to see how dependent on foreign\n THE PACIFIC CABLE 159\npowers Great Britain is at this moment for the security of its\ntelegraphic communication with Asia, Australia, and Africa.\nIn fact, it may be said that the telegraphic communication\nbetween the Home Government and every important\ndivision of the Empire, except Canada, is dependent on the\nfriendship (shall I say, protection?) of Turkey. Is not\nTurkey continually exposed to imminent danger from\nwithin ? Is she not in danger of failing a prey to covetous\nneighbours, whose friendship to England may be doubted ? '\nPointing out that Canada had opened the way to an all-\nBritish telegraphic communication by the completion of a\ntelegraph hne across the Dominion from the Atlantic to the\nPacific, and that messages had already passed between\nLondon and Vancouver, he went on to say, ' Were a cable\nlaid across the Pacific, from one British land to another, not\nonly would there be a communication with Australasia, but,\nby the cables of the Eastern Telegraph Company, India and\nAfrica would equally be in touch with the centre of the\nEmpire, without dependence on any line passing through\na foreign country/ While still in the middle of the fight\nfor a Pacific Cable, Fleming's vision was already springing\nout toward the broader project of an Imperial cable system\ngirdling the globe. That, however, will come up later.\nDealing with the objections of the Eastern Telegraph\nSystem, he refused to recognize their right to a monopoly of\nthe telegraph business with the East. ' This is not the first\ntime', he said, ' that a company or an individual has been\ncalled upon to relinquish a monopoly found to be inimical\nto the public welfare. Is it for a moment to be thought of\nthat Canada and Australia are never to hold direct telegraphic intercourse because a commercial company stands\nin the way ? Are commercial relations between two of the\nmost important divisions of the British family for ever to\nremain dormant in order that the profits of a company may\nbe maintained ? Are the vital interests of the British Empire\nto be neglected ? Is the permanent policy of England to be\nthwarted ? Is the peace of the world to be endangered at\nthe bidding of a joint stock company ? '\n^am*\n Ill\n*\nHI\n160\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nA paragraph in the speech of Sir Alexander Campbell\nbefore the Conference illustrates strikingly enough the\nattitude of the Admiralty toward the Pacific Cable project,\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094what has been called their masterly inactivity. ' Canada',\nhe said,' proposed two or three years ago to assist in a survey\n[of the proposed route of the Pacific Cable]. The difficulty\nwhich the Admiralty urged was that they had no vessel to\nspare, and, therefore, they could not do it. Canada had\nseveral vessels of her own, and she found a suitable one, the\nAlert, an excellent ship for the purpose, which she offered,\nand in that way she seemed to have answered completely\nthe difficulty raised by the Admiralty. Canada wrote over\nto the Admiralty telling them that she had a suitable vessel;\nand then they would not do it at all. Then we, and when\nI say we I mean Mr. Fleming and a friend of his, offered to\npay half the expense (about $90,000). Still the Admiralty\nwould not do it, and there the matter stopped/ The net\nresult of the Conference, so far as the Pacific Cable project\nwas concerned, was the adoption of the following resolution\nproposed by Sir Alexander Campbell: ' That the connexion\nof Canada with Australasia by direct submarine telegraph\nacross the Pacific is a project of high importance to the\nEmpire, and every doubt as to its practicability should\nwithout delay be set at rest by a thorough and exhaustive\nsurvey/\nAfter the Conference broke up, Fleming remained in\nLondon to see what could be accomplished with the Admiralty in the matter of a survey, but the Admiralty would do\nnothing. The whole project in fact seemed for a time to\nhave come to grief on this rock of the survey. Year after\nyear dragged by, with endless official correspondence, and\nvarious suggestions from Canada and Australia as to their\nGovernments sharing with the Imperial Government the\ncost of a survey, but all to no purpose. The inertia of the\nAdmiralty was phenomenal.\nIn the year 1893 Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of Trade and\nCommerce in the Government of Canada, sailed for Australia\non a special mission to promote trade between the two\n I $<^V VSiVi^KSftiC?\n***su\nTHE PACIFIC CABLE\n161\ncolonies. He was also to confer with the Australian Governments as to the Pacific Cable. At his own expense Fleming\naccompanied the Minister, as an unofficial delegate to further\nthe interests of the cable project.\nIn personal interviews with members of the Australian\nGovernments, and in public speeches in all the principal\ncities, the two delegates laboured earnestly to arouse the\npeople of the Island Continent to the importance of the\nproposed cable. Everywhere they were received with the\nutmost friendliness, and it became evident that popular\ninterest in the question was thoroughly aroused. Here, as\nin England, however, the open or secret opposition of the\nEastern Telegraph Company met them on every hand,\nand, no doubt through the same influence, the various\nAustralian Governments received from the Colonial Office,\nat the very time the Canadian delegates were urging the\nadoption of the scheme for a state-owned cable, two\nofficial documents carefully designed to discredit the whole\nscheme.\nThe whole situation suggested the desirability of a conference of delegates from the various colonies interested in\nthe Pacific Cable. The attitude of most of the Australian\nGovernments was now known to be sympathetic, but there\nwere serious difficulties that could only be satisfactorily\ndealt with at a general Conference. It was found impossible\nto arrange a meeting while the Canadian delegates were in\nAustralia, but an agreement was reached that it should take\nplace in Ottawa the following year. Accordingly, on the\nreturn of Mr. Bowell to Ottawa, and with the assent of the\nImperial authorities, the Canadian Government arranged\nfor a meeting of representatives of the various colonies in\nOttawa in 1894. In addition to the Australian and New\nZealand delegates, the Imperial Government and the Cape\nColony Government were also represented.\nThe whole question was discussed in all its bearings, and\nwith one or two exceptions the attitude of the delegates was\ndistinctly favourable to the scheme, but, in spite of the\neloquent and forcible appeal of Fleming, it seemed impossible\nm\n\u00C2\u00A3&sm?\n i f\n8 1\n\u00C2\u00A7l $\n162\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nto get away from the bugbear of a survey, or to make any\nreal progress until some way had been found of settling\nbeyond peradventure the moot point of the practicability of\nthe cable. At the last moment, however, one of the delegates unexpectedly suggested a simple way out of the difficulty. Why not call for tenders, he said, for the completion\nof the cable by the various routes proposed, and leave the\nmatter of surveys to the tenderers ? That would settle the\nwhole question of practicability within three months. The\neminent gentlemen who made up the Conference must have\nwondered why such a simple and practical solution had not\noccurred to them long before.\nA resolution was then adopted, which, taken with what\nhad gone before, went a long way toward a satisfactory\nsolution of the whole question. It was to the effect that\n' the Canadian Government be requested, after the rising of\nthis Conference, to make all necessary inquiries, and generally to take such steps as may be expedient, in order to\nascertain the cost of the proposed Pacific Cable, and promote\nthe estabHshment of the undertaking in accordance with the\nviews expressed in this Conference'.\nIt may be doubted if some of the delegates quite realized\nthe long step forward taken by the Ottawa Conference in\nadopting this resolution. Under other circumstances it\nmight have shared the usual fate of such resolutions, but the\nCanadian Minister in whose hands the matter was left was\nMackenzie Bowell, a warm supporter of the project, and the\nman who was actually entrusted with all the practical\ndetails was Sandford Fleming.\nNo sooner had the Conference closed than Fleming set\nto work upon the preparation of plans and specifications.\nWithin a month they were ready, and the Government of\nCanada had publicly invited tenders for a submarine cable\nacross the Pacific from British Columbia to Australia. The\nadvertisement appeared in August. By the first of November the tenders were in the hands of the Minister of Trade\nand Commerce, and were immediately handed over to\nFleming to be reported upon. Despite the gloomy pre-\n THE PACIFIC CABLE\n163\ndictions of the enemies of the cable, half a dozen or more\nof the great cable-laying companies had no hesitation in\ntendering for the work, the practicability of the scheme was\nat once established, and the cost was found to be six million\ndollars below the estimate of the authorities of the British\nPost Office. f J ||||\nThe inevitable result of this action by the Canadian\nGovernment was to transform the project from a more or less\ntheoretical question to one that was recognized as practical.\nIt rapidly gained friends throughout the Empire, and in\n1896 an Imperial Pacific Cable Committee was appointed\nto examine into and report upon the whole matter. The\nCommittee consisted of six members, two representing the\nHome Government, two representing Canada, and two from\nAustralasia. Fleming had been appointed one of Canada's\nrepresentatives, but preferred to take the position of expert\nadviser to the Committee, which gave him wider freedom in\nassembling and bringing forward the facts of the case. As\nsome one has suggested, he practically filled the position of\ncounsel for the cable project.\nThe Committee went into every detail with the utmost\ncare and thoroughness, and its estimates of cost and revenue\nwere very conservative. It reported that the project was\nquite practicable, favoured state-ownership, and recommended the route by way of Vancouver Island, Fanning\nIsland, Fiji, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand and Queensland. The favourable report of the Committee was a triumph for Fleming, whose long agitation for the cable now\nhad the support not only of the Imperial and Colonial\nstatesmen constituting the Committee, but also of a majority\nof the acknowledged authorities on the subject.\nThe Jubilee Conference of 1897 had before it the report of\nthe Pacific Cable Committee, but for reasons that have never\nbeen made very clear no definite action was taken. According to a statement made at the time, the scheme was left\nin mid-air. The sinister influence of the Eastern Telegraph\nCompany was still powerful. Fleming immediately addressed a vigorous protest to the Prime Minister of Canada,\nL2\n j>\nill\n164\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nSir Wilfrid Laurier, setting forth the facts as they appeared\nat that time, and concluding as follows :\n' Under these circumstances it is not improper to consider\nif there be any duty or obligation resting on us in Canada.\nThe Dominion is now looked up to as the elder brother in\nthe British family of kindred nationalities. If as Canadians\nwe have faith in our destiny as no inconsiderable element of\nthe great Empire, are we not called upon again to take the\ninitiative ? The Mother Country awaits a proposal. It\ncannot well come from disunited Australasia. If we are to\nbe brought within speaking distance of the kindred communities in the southern seas, the first impulse must come\nfrom ourselves. Shall the opportunity which circumstances\nhave presented be seized and another proof given to the\nworld that\" the Canadian Government and people are determined, in all ways, to promote Imperial unity \" ?'\nAlthough public opinion was now almost universally\nfavourable to the Pacific Cable project, the influence of its\nopponents, the great Eastern monopoly, was still powerful\nenough to stave off from year to year a final agreement\nbetween the self-governing colonies and the mother country.\nIn May 1899, Fleming published the following letter addressed\nto the British People :\n' Within the last few days it has been stated that the Home\nGovernment has not responded to the proposals of Canada,\nAustralia, and New Zealand respecting the establishment of\nthe Pacific Cable, in the way that the Governments and the\npeople of these countries had reason to expect, in consequence of which a feeling of disappointment and surprise\nis on all sides expressed.\n' It had been arranged that the Pacific Cable should be\nestablished as a national work, the Governments of Canada,\nAustralia, and New Zealand being joint partners with the\nImperial Government.\n' This arrangement has been slowly developed. It has\nbeen generally favoured by all the Governments for some\ntime. The Home Government has frequently been asked to\ntake the initiative in carrying it into effect, but the Colonial\nIk\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n THE PACIFIC CABLE\n165\nSecretary has always insisted that Canada and the Australasian colonies should take primary action by determining\nwhat proportion of the cost of the undertaking each would\nbe willing to contribute.\n' It has been a matter of much difficulty to reach an agreement on this point, and the difficulty has been enhanced by\nthe great mtei^ening distances, and the character of the\nmeans of communication, in consequence of which much\ndelay has arisen. At length, however, conclusions have been\narrived at. On the 20th of August last the Australasian\ncolonies finally agreed to contribute eight-eighteenths of the\ncost, and last month Canada finally undertook to contribute\nfive-eighteenths, making thirteen-eighteenths in all, thus\nleaving only five-eighteenths to be assumed by the Home\nGovernment.\n' It appears that the Home Government, although it has\nnot absolutely declined to enter into partnership and assume\nthe remaining five-eighteenths share of the HabiHty, has\nmerely offered to bear five-eighteenths of any loss of revenue\n(not exceeding \u00C2\u00A320,000) which may result from operating the\ncable, provided priority be given to Imperial Government\nmessages, and that they be transmitted at half ordinary\nrates.\n* As this proposal, at the eleventh hour, taken by itself,\ninvolves an entire change in the well-known plan upon which\nAustralia, New Zealand, and Canada have been proceeding\nin their negotiations for more than two years, and, moreover,\nis in itself of no value in securing the establishment of so\nimportant a national work, it is impossible to believe that it\nis the full or final judgement of Her Majesty's Government,\nfor the following reasons :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n' It would always be regarded as a recession on the part of\nthe Mother Country, from a common understanding with\nCanada, Australia, and New Zealand.\n' It would always be regarded as an attempt to retard the\nexpansion and cripple the commerce of the Empire in the\ninterests of a few rich monopolists.\n' It would always be regarded by the people of Canada,\n i66\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nAustralia, and New Zealand as an unjustifiable and discourteous act to them.\n' Its effect would be far-reaching, and its immediate effect\nwould be a fatal blow to the scheme for establishing a system\nof State-owned British cables encircling the globe.\n' It would be a very grave retrograde step in the Imperial\nmovement, which aims to draw closer the bonds between the\nMother Country and her daughter lands.'\nThis letter, with the announcement of the attitude of the\nImperial Government, produced a storm of protest throughout the Empire. The representatives of the self-governing\nColonies in London were instructed to make urgent representations to the Home authorities of the views of their\nrespective Governments. Leading newspapers of Canada,\nAustralia, New Zealand, and Great Britain, voiced the\ngeneral disappointment of the people. The Minister of\nPublic Works of Canada was sent to England as a special\nrepresentative to explain in person the views of the\nDominion Government.\nThe day before he landed, however, the Home Government\nyielded to the universal pressure, and in a generous and\ngraceful spirit not only agreed to support the Pacific Cable,\nbut went farther than either Canada or Australasia had asked\nor expected. So the long agitation for a state-owned British\ncable between Canada and Australasia was brought to\na satisfactory conclusion.\nIt only remains to say that the necessary steps were immediately taken to have the cable laid and to arrange the\ndetails of its administration, and on October 31, 1902, the\nfirst message was sent over the new Imperial line of communication, a greeting to the King from the people of the\nFiji Islands. The first message received in Canada was one\nof warm congratulation from the Prime Minister of New\nZealand to Sandford Fleming.\n CHAPTER XIV\nA DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU\nThe narrative of Fleming's long fight for the establishment\nof an all-British cable between Canada and Australasia\nwould not be complete without some account of his attempt\nto secure landing-places for the cable. It was peculiarly\nimportant that a suitable station should be secured midway\nbetween the two ends of the fine, to avoid the difficulties\nof laying and mamtaining an excessively long cable. In\nfact, it was believed at the time that the project would not\nbe feasible unless a landing-station could be secured in or\nnear the Hawaiian Islands. The writer has already told the\nstory of the Necker Island episode in the chapter ' Stepping\nStones in Mid-Pacific', in Annals and Aims of the Pacific\nCable. The substance of that chapter is reproduced here\nto complete the history of the laying of the Pacific Cable.\nThe Hawaiian group consists of eight islands, ranging\nin area from 50 to 3,000 square miles each, with a soil in\nmany parts of extraordinary fertility. The most eastern,\nand largest, island is named Hawaii. The others in their\norder are : Maui, Kahulaui, Lauai, Molokai, Oahu (on which\nthe capital, Honolulu, is situated), Kauai, and Niihau. The\ntwo latter are separated from the main group by open\nwater, at no point less than sixty-five miles in extent. Of\nall these islands Fleming considered that the most desirable\nfor the purposes of the cable would be either the most eastern,\nHawaii, or the most western, the twin islands Kauai and\nNiihau. The Hawaiians themselves would probably prefer\nto have it landed at Honolulu. Much though they desired\ncable communication, however, there was grave doubt if the\nHawaiian Government would be willing to surrender one of\nthese islands to England, and as there was a very strong\nfeeling, both in Australia and Canada, that the cable should\nland only upon British soil, it became desirable to cast about\nfor some unclaimed island in mid-Pacific.\n i68\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n*$\n: j\n11\n1\nIt immediately became apparent that the choice was very\nmeagre. A glance at the map will show how singularly\nbarren of islands is this portion of the ocean, outside of the\nHawaiian group. There was indeed Fanning Island, but\nFanning Island stood at such a distance from the Canadian\nstarting-point that the laying of the first link of the cable\nwould be both very difficult and very expensive; indeed,\nsome competent authorities insisted that it was an impossibility. Certainly, no such single length of cable had ever\nyet been laid the world over. While Fleming was, nevertheless, of opinion that the Fanning route was quite feasible, he\nyet thought it preferable, if at all possible, to secure a landing-\nplace more centrally located\u00E2\u0080\u0094one somewhere in the latitude\nof the Hawaiian group.\nAfter examining the Admiralty charts, and making careful\ninquiries, Fleming found that there was a small rocky island,\ncalled Necker, lying in latitude 230 35' north, longitude 1640\n39' west, about 240 miles westward of the Hawaiian group, or\nsomething over 400 miles west of Honolulu. This rocky\nislet lies on the shortest and most direct course from Vancouver Island to the northern coast of Queensland, passing\nApamana, in the Gilbert group, and San Christoval, in the\nSolomon group, both of these groups being British territory.\nVery little was known about the island, as no one had ever\nlanded upon it. What information there was had been\npublished chiefly to warn mariners from its inhospitable\nshores. Necker Island is, in fact, a mere rock, from one-\nhalf to three-quarters of a mile long and one thousand feet\nbroad, with an elevation at two points of 250 and 280 feet,\non the south-east. Not a single tree is to be found upon the\nisland, but there is stated to be abundant vegetation on the\nhigh land towards the summit. The shores rise steep as\na wall, and the sea breaks with fury at all points. The island\nwas discovered by La Perouse, on the 1st of November, 1786,\nbut was regarded as too insignificant for ownership.\nIn September 1893, as already stated, Mr. Mackenzie Bowell\nproceeded on a diplomatic mission to Australia, on behalf of\nthe Canadian Government, and Fleming accompanied him, at\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 169\nhis own expense, with the object of forwarding the Pacific\nCable project.\nWhile at Honolulu, en route for Australia, Fleming prepared a memorandum respecting Necker Island, which was\nforwarded to Ottawa by Mr. Bowell, and made the subject of\nan official dispatch from the Canadian Government to the\nHome Government, urging the immediate acquisition of\nNecker Island as a landing-place for the cable.\nA copy of this memorandum was at the same time left\nwith the British Minister at Honolulu, to be forwarded direct\nto the Foreign Office ; another copy was sent to the Admiralty ; and still another to Admiral Stevenson, commanding\non the North Pacific Station, so that he might be prepared\nfor any instructions the Admiralty should see fit to send.\nThis memorandum embodied such further particulars as\nFleming had been able to glean touching Necker Island.\nIt was uninhabited, possessed, in fact, no means of supporting\nfife, and was consequently useless to any nation, except for\nsuch a special purpose as a cable station. Its position is\ndescribed as ' singularly commanding, not only in respect of\na cable from Canada to Australia, but likewise to Japan and\nHong-Kong'. A mid-ocean station in this part of the Pacific,\nentirely removed from foreign influences, being of supreme\nimportance, and there being ' no certainty that one of the\nHawaiian Islands could be obtained', Fleming strongly\nrecommended that Necker Island should be formally taken\npossession of without delay in the name of Her Majesty.\nOn reaching Australia, Bowell placed the facts in relation\nto Necker Island before the Governments of New South\nWales, Victoria, and Queensland, and in October 1893, each\nof these Governments, convinced of the importance of\nacquiring such an admirably situated landing-place for the\ncable\u00E2\u0080\u0094one, too, that had never yet been taken possession of\nby any nation, and could be had for the mere trouble of\ntaking\u00E2\u0080\u0094sent instructions to their respective Agents-General\nin London to urge upon the Home Government the importance of taking immediate steps to secure the island.\nIn their interviews with the Governments of Queensland,\n 170\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nfit i\nNew South Wales, and Victoria, Bowell and Fleming learned\nwith deep regret that dispatches had quite recently been\nreceived from England, covering reports from officials in the\nAdmiralty and Post Office Department, the tone of which\nwas peculiarly antagonistic to the project of a Pacific Cable.\nIt so happened, however, that the very severity of the British\nofficial criticism turned to the advantage of the Canadians,\nfor the dispatches had laid stress upon the difficulty or impossibility of connecting Fanning Island with Vancouver\nby cable, and it was the more easy to convince the Australian\nministers of the vital necessity of securing Necker.\nAustralia having thus approved of the Canadian proposals,\nit only remained to persuade the Imperial Government. It\nbeing sufficiently apparent that nothing could be gained by\ncorrespondence, it was decided that Fleming should proceed\ndirect to England, and bring the importance of the project to\nthe personal attention of the Imperial Ministers. Fleming\naccordingly proceeded from Australia to England, first\nwriting the High Commissioner in London, informing him of\nthe state of affairs, and the desirability of pressing the Necker\nmatter upon the Home authorities.\nThe Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Ripon, sent\na dispatch to Ottawa in reply to the dispatch of the Canadian\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Government urging the speedy acquisition of Necker Island.\nThis reply is dated the 20th of December, 1893, and informs\nthe Dominion authorities that ' the Secretary of State for\nForeign Affairs will defer action in the matter, pending the\nestablishment of the Government of Hawaii upon a more\npermanent footing'. It will be remembered that the death\nof King Kamehameha had been followed by a revolution,\nin which the Queen was deposed, and a provisional Government established. The members of this Government were\nnearly all citizens of, and in active sympathy with, the United\nStates. The British Government, always anxious to avoid\nhurting the feelings of the United States, possibly felt that to\ntake possession of Necker Island might cause annoyance at\nWashington. At any rate, they evidently felt that it was\nnecessary to consult the Hawaiian Government in the matter\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 171\nthough on what grounds it is somewhat difficult to determine,\nas Necker Island did not belong, either politically or geographically, to the Hawaiian group. As Fleming very forcibly\nput it, ' Necker Island is an unoccupied and unclaimed spot\nin the middle of the Pacific Ocean, wholly unfit for settlement, and destitute of the means of supporting fife; it is\nvalueless to any nation as a strategic point; affords neither\na haven for ships nor a depot for commerce; is entirely\noutside the Hawaiian group of islands, and beyond the\nsphere of the Hawaiian Kingdom or state, being in fact as\ndistant from Honolulu as Washington is from Ottawa, and\ndouble the distance that London is from Paris.'\nFleming, however, knew nothing, until the following\nsummer, of this curious decision of the Imperial Government,\nand having arrived in London towards the end of December,\nat once saw the Canadian High Commissioner, and through\nhim arranged an interview between the Colonial Minister and\nthe Canadian and Australian representatives. After some\ndelays, Lord Ripon met the delegates, on January 12, 1894,\nthe following colonies being represented, in addition to\nCanada : New South Wales, New Zealand, Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania. During the interview, Fleming read and\nhanded to the Colonial Minister a memorandum setting forth\nthe particulars regarding Necker Island, and urging the vital\nimportance of securing it without delay as a mid-ocean\ntelegraph station.\nOn the 16th January, the High Commissioner, Sir Charles\nTupper, sent a report on this interview to Bowell. Lord\nRipon, he wrote, ' seemed to be much impressed with our\nrepresentations, and promised to place himself in communication with the Foreign Office with a view of ascertaining\nwhat action can be taken in the matter'. Apparently not\na word was said during the interview of his Lordship's remarkable dispatch of the 20th December, 1893, announcing\nthe singular decision of the Secretary of State for Foreign\nAffairs, to defer action in the matter of acquiring Necker\nIsland, ' pending the establishment of the Government of\nHawaii upon a more permanent footing'.\n 172\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nf /\nFleming returned to Canada, immediately after the interview, buoyed up with the confident hope that the British\nGovernment had at last been awakened to the vital importance of taking possession of Necker Island, and that the\nrequisite action would no longer be delayed.\nThe months of February, March, and April passed, but\nnothing could be learned in Ottawa, although frequent\ninquiries were made, as to any steps which had been taken\nby the Imperial authorities. Early in May, the Minister of\nTrade and Commerce cabled to Sir Charles Tupper to ascertain what had been done in the matter. The High Commissioner called at the Colonial Office, but no satisfactory\nreply could be obtained, and from what was learned it\nappeared that the matter was in exactly the same position\nas before the interview with the Marquess of Ripon. The\nForeign Minister, Lord Rosebery, had ' expressed his desire\nthat the Imperial Government should do anything possible\nin the premises; that Her Majesty's representatives at\nHonolulu had been requested to watch the matter closely ;\nbut he thought it undesirable, in view of the disturbed\nrelations in the Sandwich Islands, that any definite steps\nshould be taken for the present.'\nMonths passed, and although the importance of acquiring\nNecker Island at once had been repeatedly pressed upon\nthe attention of the Imperial authorities, both by Canada\nand the Australasian Colonies, the Home authorities had\napparently decided to forget the whole incident. The\nColonial Conference at Ottawa was fast approaching, when\nthe Pacific Cable matter would be threshed out in all its\nbearings, and the importance of Necker Island as a half-way\nhouse for the cable ventilated and made public, and it might\nthen be too late to take possession of it.\nFleming, feeling that no time was to be lost, and realizing\nthat nothing was to be hoped for from the Imperial Government in the matter, sought earnestly for some other solution\nof the difficulty. He talked the question over, confidentially,\nwith those interested in the project, but they could offer\nnothing helpful. Finally, a suggestion came to him, in\nsss\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0I\nI - -j\n \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\"\"**wTtk'\u00C2\u00ABMS,\nA DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 173\nconversation with a high military official, who had served\nin India and whom he met when travelling. Their talk\ndrifted to the Pacific Cable. Among other things, Fleming\nexplained the highly unsatisfactory state of the Necker\nproject. ' Ah!' dryly remarked the officer, *- the best thing\nto do in a matter of that kind, is to act first, and ask for leave\nafterwards/ His listener began to look interested. ' Perhaps \ continued the official, ' you have not heard how we\ngot the island of Perim ?' The French had an eye on it,\nand sent an admiral to hoist the tricolour. The admiral\nwent ashore at Port Aden, visited the British Resident, who\ndined him, and wined him, and presently learned the object of\nhis voyage. The British diplomat left the room for a moment\non pretext of a bottle of extra good wine, and incidentally\ngave orders that with all possible expedition men should be\nsent to Perim to hoist the British flag, and take possession of\nthe island in the name of Her Majesty. He then returned\nwith the wine, and astonished and delighted the admiral with\nthe charm of his conversation, the pungency of his wit, and\nthe excellent quality of his wine. The two made merry far\ninto the night. Next morning the French admiral took an\naffectionate farewell of the British Resident, and sailed over\nto Perim to fulfil the objects of nis mission. Arrived there,\nwhat was his amazement to find a flag already floating over\nthe island. It was not, however, the flag of France. ' That*,\nconcluded the military officer,' is what will have to be done.'\nFleming took the hint. What a British official had done\nat Perim, on his own responsibility, he could do at Necker.\nHe knew of a discreet man in Toronto\u00E2\u0080\u0094a retired naval\nofficer\u00E2\u0080\u0094who could safely be entrusted with a delicate\nmission. He sent for him, explained the circumstances in\nconnexion with Necker Island; that it had now become\na question of securing the island at once by a private coup, or\nlosing it altogether, and possibly putting an end to the project\nof connecting Australia with Canada by a direct cable. The\nnaval expert agreed to undertake the mission, his expenses,\nof course, to be borne by Fleming.\nThe latter then outlined his plan. The naval officer was\nJ\n -\u00C2\u00BB\n174\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nII14\nI s\n1\nKk i\njjlj.\nto proceed to Vancouver forthwith, where he would catch the\nfirst steamer for Honolulu. There he was to disembark, and\nthere the special service would practically commence. At\nHonolulu he was to procure a vessel to take him to the vicinity\nof ' an unoccupied rocky island, situated about latitude 230\n23' N. and longitude 1640 39' W/\u00E2\u0080\u0094in other words, the much-\ndiscussed Necker. Arrived at the island, he was to make\nan examination of the character of the shores, and ascertain\nthe best point or points for landing an electric submarine\ncable ; take such soundings in the immediate vicinity of the\nisland as would enable him to report on the approaches ;\nand make an approximate survey and sketch of the island.\nFinally, he was to ' leave behind him evidences of his visit';\nin other words, he was desired to emulate the example of\nthat enterprising official at Perim, plant a flag-staff, unfurl\nthe British flag, and take possession of the island in the name\nof Her Majesty the Queen. Being a British subject, and a\nretired officer of the British navy, there would be no question\nas to the legality of such a claim, provided the Imperial\nGovernment chose to recognize it.\nThe mission was one of more than ordinary difficulty.\nIt must be carried through with the utmost secrecy, and at\nthe same time with the utmost expedition. The time available was extremely limited. The Colonial Conference was\nto meet at Ottawa towards the end of June. It was already\nthe beginning of May, and Fleming considered it very\nimportant that the flag should float over Necker Island, and\nthat he should be satisfied of that fact when the Conference\nmet.\nThe naval officer returned to Toronto, and Fleming set\nhimself to a study of Pacific time-tables. It appeared that\na steamer, the Warrimoo, would leave Vancouver for Australia on the 16th May, and was due to arrive at Honolulu\non May 24. The steamer Arawa, which was booked to leave\nSydney on May 18, would be due at Honolulu on June 2,\nen route for Vancouver. There was no other steamer leaving\nHonolulu for the North American continent until June 23,\non which date the Australia was due to sail for San Francisco,\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 175\nreaching the latter place on June 30. It was evident that,\nif the report on Necker Island was to be in Fleming's hands\nby the middle of June, his agent must leave Vancouver by the\nWarrimoo on the 16th and return from Honolulu by the\nArawa. This would give him from the 24th May to the 2nd\nJune within which to accomplish his mission, a trifle over\na week; and during which time he must secure a vessel,\nwithout arousing the suspicions of the Hawaiian Government, steam to Necker Island, some 400 odd miles distant\nfrom Honolulu, effect a landing, which it must be remembered, had never before been accomplished, make a rough\nsurvey, take soundings, leave tangible evidence of his visit\nand its object, and be back in Honolulu in time to catch the\nArawa on the 2nd June.\nFleming, having got thus far, telegraphed to the naval\nexpert, on the 7th May, as follows :\n' Outgoing steamer due at point of departure for special\nservice May 24th. Return steamer due at same point\nJune 2nd. I find service must be performed within those\ndates. Can you undertake ? '\nThe reply came the same day, brief and to the point:\n' Yes, weather permitting, and if arrangements now understood carried out.'\nThe arrangements referred to contemplated the securing\nof a suitable vessel at Honolulu in advance of the naval\nofficer's arrival there, so that not a moment might be lost\nin proceeding to Necker Island. To this end Fleming sent\na telegram to San Francisco, to be forwarded to Honolulu\nby steamer leaving San Francisco on May 12. The telegram\nwould consequently anticipate the arrival of Fleming's\nagent at Honolulu by some five days. The message was\naddressed to a reliable firm at Honolulu, the members of\nwhich Fleming had met on his trip to Australia the previous\nyear, and they were asked to look out for ' a small seaworthy\nsteamer or other suitable craft, for a gentleman arriving by\nthe Warrimoo to make an excursion of a few hundred miles\naround the Hawaiian Islands, between the arrival of the\nWarrimoo and the sailing of the Arawa for Vancouver \\n 176\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nAll arrangements having been made, the naval officer\nleft Toronto on the 9th May, armed with explicit written\ninstructions, and caught the Warrimoo at Vancouver.\nHaving seen his lieutenant safely off upon this momentous\njourney, Fleming sat down and wrote a report to the Cana\ndian High Commissioner in London.\n* In view', he wrote, ' of the Conference to be held here\nnext month, I felt that the decisive moment had come, and\nnot a day to spare, and that circumstances appeared to\nthrow the duty of taking action upon myself, and that I\nshould at once set about it without counting the cost; I\nhave, therefore, on my own responsibility as a private\nindividual, and without the official knowledge of any one\nhere, arranged to place the British flag in the Queen's name\non this island in the Pacific, unoccupied and unclaimed by\nany maritime power. The gentleman I have sent left with\nmy private instructions two days ago. He is a British\nsubject, and was at one time in the British navy. ... I\nhave reason to believe the flag will float over Necker Island\nwithin the present month, and before the Conference meets\nI shall hope to learn that all has been satisfactorily accomplished. I believe the man I have selected is a discreet\nperson, who will keep his own counsel, and he is instructed\nto report only to me. By this course I think Necker Island\nwill pass under the British flag, without even my own name\nbeing known, and it will then rest with the British Government to see that it remains a British possession.\n' As the Home Government may hear of the proceeding\nbefore long through some other channel, and you have direct\nrelations with them, I think you should as soon as possible\nbe placed in possession of the facts. I do not propose, for\nthe present at least, to communicate them to any other\nperson/\nSir Charles Tupper took an early opportunity of communicating the substance of this important letter to the Imperial\nauthorities; and on the 31st May, Fleming received from\nhim the following cablegram :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n' Rosebery much annoyed at action. Will repudiate.\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 177\nFears will destroy good prospect of obtaining Necker.\nPrevent action becoming public, if possible.'\nThe following day (June 1) Fleming wrote the High Commissioner in further explanation of his action. He enclosed\na copy of his private instructions to the nautical expert,\nfrom which he thought it was clear that ' there were no\ngrounds for the fears expressed by Lord Rosebery'.\n' When I wrote you,' he continued, ' I considered it only\nnecessary to refer to one object of the expedition, that not\neven mentioned in my instructions, and only remotely\nalluded to in the words \" leave behind you evidences of your\nvisit\". The other object is to gain some knowledge of\nNecker Island. We scarcely know more than that it exists,\nand the movement for a British cable between Australia and\nCanada has obviously reached that stage when we should\nknow how far it may be suitable for a mid-ocean telegraph\nstation. It is manifestly important that this knowledge\nshould be obtained before the Conference meets, and it can\nonly be gained by an examination such as that undertaken.\nWith respect to either object, we all recognized that there\nwas, and is, a difficulty in having anything done by the\nGovernment. In consequence of this the duty seemed to\ndevolve upon some one outside of the Government to move\nin the matter, and it was necessary to do so at once. Rightly\nor wrongly, I assumed the sole responsibility. If wrongly,\nI must bear the whole blame, for although others privately\nknew, no one here disapproved of the action to be taken,\nand I took care that no one officially was cognizant of it.\nI deeply regret that anything was done which would cause\neven temporary annoyance in any quarter, and while all\ncensure must rest on me, I can only say that the action was\ntaken only to advance the public interest.'\nMeanwhile the naval officer was speeding south to Honolulu, where he landed on the 24th May. Fleming had a note\nfrom the naval officer announcing his arrival at Vancouver\nand departure therefrom ; and he presently received a fuller\nreport from Honolulu. The time for action had arrived,\nand the agent entrusted with the matter lost not a moment\nM\n Mil\n178\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nin prosecuting his delicate mission. He called as early as\npossible the following morning upon the merchant to whom\nFleming's telegram had been addressed, to present his letter\nof introduction, and ascertain what steps had been taken to\nprovide him with a suitable vessel for the Necker Island\nexpedition.\nThe senior member of the firm, who it appears was British\nVice-Consul at Honolulu, was not in town, but his partner\nreceived the naval officer, read his introductory letter, and\ntold him they had been somewhat at a loss to understand the\nmessage from Fleming, but supposed that the individual\nmentioned as being en route was simply bent on making\na pleasure excursion among the islands, to see the volcanoes,\n&c. Under this impression they had made inquiries, and\nhad the offer of two boats, the only craft available and\nsuitable for the purpose. One of these steamers, the Lehua,\nwas ready the same day that the Warrimoo arrived, and the\nother, the Iwalani, would be available to-day. The former,\nwhich was a small, slow boat, could be had for $100 a day,\nand the latter, a much better and faster steamer, for $250\na day, all found. Neither had been definitely engaged,\npending the arrival of the naval officer. It appeared also\nthat these rates only applied to a trip among the Hawaiian\nIslands.\nFinding matters thus, the naval officer deemed it necessary\nto explain that his objective point was beyond the Hawaiian\ngroup, and as this member of the firm was acting more or\nless as Assistant British Consul, he conceived it best to explain\nfully the purport of his mission. He did this, and showed\nhim as well Fleming's confidential instructions, and after\nreading these, the acting Consul laid before him a sketch\nof certain negotiations then pending between the British\nForeign Office and the Provisional Government of Hawaii.\nIt appeared that the British Government had already recognized, apparently quite gratuitously, the right of Hawaii to\nthe Island of Necker as an appanage of the Hawaiian Crown\nor Government, and had asked the Provisional Government\non what conditions they would allow Great Britain to have\nmk\nI1\u00E2\u0080\u0094:\u00E2\u0080\u0094iat--l-l>:\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 179\ncontrol of the island, for the purpose of landing a cable there.\nIt will be remembered in this connexion, that Hawaii had\nnever yet landed a man on Necker Island, or established\nthe remotest claim to it; that the island was uninhabitable,\nand commercially useless, except for such a purpose as a\ncable station ; that it possessed no strategic value as a naval\nbase, it being a mere rock, harbourless, and difficult and\nnext to impossible to land upon; that it lay hundreds of\nmiles outside the Hawaiian archipelago proper; that, in fact,\nHawaii had no legitimate claim to the island, either politically, commercially, geographically, or by right of possession\nAs the sequel will show, the Hawaiians themselves were not\nsatisfied that the}' had any claim to the island, which rested\nupon a secure basis, in international or any other law. As\na matter of fact, the only basis that has ever appeared for\nany such claim, is the somewhat sweeping and visionary\nscheme of King Kamehameha to include all the islands of the\nPacific in one magnificent, though perhaps a trifle unwieldy,\nocean empire, of which he would be a monarch. In pursuit\nof this laudable ambition, he sent a certain Captain Patey,\nin 1857, \u00C2\u00B0ff to the westward, with general instructions to\nexplore the Pacific and raise the flag of Hawaii over any\nislands or reefs that might turn up around the horizon. Patey\ndid so on several islands, but he merely saw Necker at some\ndistance, and we have his own report (now deposited in the\nGovernment Museum at Honolulu) to prove that he never\nset foot on the island. His report, which is accompanied by\na chart, is as follows :\n' Necker Island : Bears from Honolulu N.W. by N. f N.,\ndistant 403 miles. This is very precipitous\u00E2\u0080\u0094300 feet high,\none mile long, and half a mile wide. Its surface covered\nwith grass patches, but no possible landing could be effected\nfor boats, as the surf broke high all around the island. A\nbank of rocks and sand makes off south and west, extending\nfrom eight to ten miles. I found bottom at eighteen fathoms\ntwo miles off island, then bearing N.E/\nHowever, the Imperial Government were pleased to credit\nHawaii with the ownership of Necker Island, notwith-\nM2\n i8o\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n#\nstanding representations to the contrary, and had asked the\nProvisional Government to grant them permission to land\na cable. About April 12, the Provisional Government had\nsent a reply, through the British Consul, asking the requirements of the Imperial Government:\n1st. As to whether the proposed cable was to be a\nGovernment cable or a private company's ?\n2nd. How long would occupancy of the island be required\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094in perpetuity or not ?\n3rd. How soon would active steps be taken for cable\nconstruction and laying ?\nUp to that time (May 26) no reply had reached Honolulu\nfrom London.\nThis, then, was the condition of affairs which the naval\nofficer had to face. His instructions were no longer any\nguide to him, for they were conceived and given under the\nvery natural impression that the Home Government had\ndecided, for the present, at all events, to take no steps\ntowards acquiring Necker Island. In the face of Lord\nRipon's dispatch of the 20th December, 1893, and his\nexplicit caution to the colonial representatives who interviewed him in London, on the 12th January, 1894, that\n' they should all be extremely careful to avoid any public\nreference to the subject', it being most important that ' the\nwhole matter should be held to be strictly confidential,\ninasmuch as any reference to it by the newspapers of the day\nmight imperil the object they all had in view', it could\nhardly have been foreseen that the Imperial Government\nwould forthwith proceed to confide the scheme to the very\nones whom it was most essential to keep it from. The only\nsane interpretation that can be put upon the caution as to\nnewspaper publicity, is that if the scheme got into the newspapers, the Hawaiians would immediately forestall them,\nand take possession of the island. The Foreign Office\nadopted the more direct method of an official dispatch to the\nProvisional Government\u00E2\u0080\u0094a diplomatic stroke for which one\nsearches in vain for a parallel.\nFleming's agent immediately came to the conclusion that\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 181\nHer Majesty's Government, having made overtures directly\nto Hawaii for permission to occupy Necker Island, it would\nno longer be proper or expedient for him to pursue his private\nmission. The circumstances were entirely changed, and\nFleming's instructions became virtually as if they had never\nbeen written.\nThe agent abandoned all thought of visiting Necker Island,\nreturned to Canada on the Arawa, and reported all the\nfacts to Fleming, who fully approved of the course he had\nadopted.\nThe secret mission had been abandoned, but the last had\nnot been heard of Necker Island. The day after the arrival\nof the Warrimoo at Honolulu, the larger of the two vessels\nwhich had been selected for the use of the naval officer, the\nIwalani, was taken possession of by the Hawaiian Government, and the same afternoon she left for an unknown\ndestination.\nSuch an extraordinary circumstance naturally aroused\nmuch curiosity in the usually placid atmosphere of Honolulu.\nThe local newspapers indulged in the wildest speculations ;\nand the excitement grew intense when it was learned that\nH.M.S. Champion had followed the Iwalani, that the latter\nvessel had on board a member of the Provisional Government, and that she carried an exceptionally large crew. A\nslight clue to the mystery was obtained when it became\nknown that the Iwalani had taken on board at the last\nmoment a large flag-pole. Evidently the Provisional\nGovernment intended to take possession of some unoccupied\nisland, but where was the island; and why such anxious\nhaste to acquire it ? What, too, was the Champion's\ndestination ? Was she merely, as had been officially stated,\nout on target practice, or was her motive a more sinister one ?\nWas she, in fact, racing the Iwalani for possession of some\ncoveted island ?\nOne of the Honolulu newspapers announced the following\nmorning that the Iwalani was destined for Johnston Island,\nin latitude i6\u00C2\u00B0 15' N., longitude 1690 30' W., but this\nstatement was corrected by the same paper the next day.\n 182\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nIII *\nJohnston Island had, as a matter of fact, been taken possession\nof by th&Champion in 1892, as a possible landing-place for the\nPacific Cable, and had been restored to Hawaii, who claimed\nit (probably as a portion of King Kamehameha's Imperial\ndomain), on the understanding that England should have\nthe right to land a cable there, if it was desirable to do so.\nThe ownership seems to have been further complicated by\na United States claim, the Washington authorities holding,\nit is said, that Johnston Island was taken possession of, as\nlong ago as 1852, by one Captain Parker, an American\ncitizen. However this may be, the destination of the\nIwalani was not Johnston Island.\nThe same Honolulu newspaper was equally positive that\nthe Champion was also bound for Johnston Island, to take\npossession of it in the name of Her Britannic Majesty. They\nprofessed to have inside information on the point, and surely\nthey ought to have had the ' scoop', for they were indeed\nthe Government organ. However, as it subsequently turned\nout, the Champion was not bound for Johnston Island, or\nany other island, neither had her present voyage the remotest\nconnexion with that of the Iwalani. The rival newspaper,\ndrawing a bow at a venture, had given Necker Island as the\ndestination of the Iwalani, and so it proved to be. The\nHawaiian Government had, in fact, completely turned the\ntables on Fleming. They had, quite unconsciously, adopted\nthe very tactics he had contemplated, and were stealing\na march on him, as the British Resident had stolen a march\non the French admiral at Perim.\nThe Iwalani returned on the 30th May from her momentous journey. It appears from the captain's log that she\nleft Honolulu at 5.10 p.m. on May 25, and arrived off Necker\nIsland at 11 a.m. on the 27th. A boat was at once lowered,\nthe weather being favourable, and a party consisting of Hon.\nJ. A. King, Hawaiian Minister of the Interior, Captain\nFreeman of the Iwalani, one of his officers, and several\nsailors, were rowed ashore. After considerable difficulty,\nthe party were safely landed. A hard climb up a rugged\ncliff some 260 feet high was successfully accomplished, when\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 183\nHon. Mr. King hoisted the Hawaiian flag and read the following proclamation :\n' I, James A. King, Minister of the Interior of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, in pursuance\nof a commission granted to me by His Excellency Sanford\nB. Dole, President of the Provisional Government of the\nHawaiian Islands, do hereby, in the name of the Provisional\nGovernment of the Hawaiian Islands, take possession of this\nisland, known as Necker Island, as a part of the Hawaiian\nterritory ; the same lying within the Hawaiian Archipelago,\nin latitude 230 35' 18\" N., and longitude 1640 30' W., and\nhaving been claimed by the Hawaiian Government as Hawaiian territory since the year 1845, when an expedition\nunder Captain William Patey was sent to survey the island.\n' Done at Necker Island, this 27th day of May, in the year\nof our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four.'\nThus at last, the Hawaiians had established a genuine\nclaim to Necker Island, and had gained thereby what seemed\nat the time to be a secure hold on the Pacific Cable, sufficient\nto control the location of its landing-place in mid-Pacific.\nNecker Island, according to Captain Freeman's description,\nis a large lava rock. It was evidently inhabited at some\nremote period, square walls having been found standing\nabout 3 feet high, 3 feet wide, and from 30 to 40 feet long,\non the top of which were large flat stones, standing on end,\nand about two feet apart. It was at first thought that some\nshipwrecked crew had made a landing there, but after a\nsearch nothing could be found to indicate that such was the\ncase. Captain Freeman found several ancient images and\nidols in a good state of preservation, except for the injuries\nreceived by exposure to the weather. A number of these\nwere brought back to Honolulu, and may now be seen in the\nGovernment Museum.\nWe know now the Iwalani's destination; and it is also\nperfectly clear why she went there; but one point still\nremains to be elucidated\u00E2\u0080\u0094why the Provisional Government\nof Hawaii was in such a desperate hurry to take possession\nof Necker ? That after the application of the British\n 184\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nGovernment they had determined to seize the island is tolerably certain. The Provisional Government recognized that\nthey had no valid claim. To establish a claim they must\nland and take formal possession. Now, this barren rock, uninhabitable, and completely outside the sphere of Hawaiian\nactivities, was useless to them in itself. It is perfectly safe\nto say that, had the Pacific Cable project not given the island\na peculiar importance, Hawaii would never have taken the\ntrouble to take possession, unless, indeed, another Kame-\nhameha should arise, imbued with an equally wild scheme\nfor territorial aggrandizement. It was first made known to\nthem in or before the month of April 1894, by the dispatch\nalready referred to from the British Foreign Office, that it\nwas proposed to utilize Necker Island as a landing-place for\nthe Pacific Cable. Consequently, when Fleming's agent\narrived in Honolulu on the 24th May, the Provisional Government had known of the contemplated acquisition of the island\nfor about two months\u00E2\u0080\u0094though, of course, they had no idea\nof the Canadian plan to take possession of it off-hand. For\na couple of months past it had been open to Hawaii\nformally to annex the island at any time they chose to send\na vessel. Yet they had not done so up to the time of the\nnaval officer's visit. The natural assumption is, that they felt\nthere was no pressing hurry about the matter. The British\nGovernment were negotiating in their own leisurely fashion,\nand had already recognized Hawaii as the owner of the\nisland. Hawaii could send a vessel to take possession of\nNecker and raise the flag when the negotiations had reached\nsuch a stage as to make that step desirable.\nThis was the state of affairs when they learned, on the\narrival of the mail steamer, that a conference, to deal with\nthe cable matter, was about to meet in Ottawa. The\nHawaiian Government accordingly chartered a vessel, and\nsent her in hot haste to Necker, with a member of their own\nGovernment on board, to proclaim Hawaiian sovereignty\nover what one of the local newspapers not inaptly described\nas ' the little lava rock '.\nAlthough the Iwalani incident was exhaustively discussed\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 185\nat the time by the Honolulu newspapers, and the wildest\nspeculations were indulged in to account for the action\nof the Provisional Government, nothing was said that would\nindicate a knowledge of the actual presence in Honolulu at\nthe time of an agent sent expressly to take possession of\nthe island in the name of Her Majesty. It is not at all\nprobable that the Provisional Government had been informed of any particular plan to seize the island, but it is\ncertain that they had been told of the early meeting of the\nCable Conference, and warned, either deliberately or unintentionally, that there was danger of the island passing into\nBritish hands.\nNow the question arises: Where did the Hawaiian\nGovernment get their information ? The explanation forms\nan essential portion of the Necker Island story, but as it involves the reputation of a gentleman who was at the time\na Minister of the Crown, the regrettable incident is omitted\nfrom these pages.\nIt might have been supposed that the failure of his ingenious plan for securing Necker Island would deter Fleming\nfrom any further efforts in that direction. About the middle\nof August, however, he is again taking the matter up, as a\nresult of certain recommendations made during the Colonial\nConference at Ottawa, in the previous month. In a lengthy\ncommunication to Sir John Thompson, then Premier of\nCanada, he places before him a succinct account of the\nefforts which had been made (so far without success), since\nSeptember, 1893, to secure a station for landing the cable\nwhich would be at a less distance from Vancouver than\nFanning Island, the nearest British possession. He also urges\nthat the desired mid-station should still be sought for, and\nif possible secured before the date which had been fixed by\npublic advertisement for receiving tenders for establishing\nthe cable. He is of opinion that, although Hawaii was now\nin rightful possession of Necker Island, it was still open to\nGreat Britain to secure landing rights.\n: The Hawaiians can have no desire to see the cable laid\ndirect from Vancouver to Fanning Island, the nearest point\n i86\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nI\ncontrolled by Great Britain, as this route would deprive\nthem of the much-required benefits of telegraphic service.\nThere can be no doubt in my mind that if proper negotiations\nare entered into, as suggested by one of the resolutions of the\nColonial Conference, the Hawaiian Government will see the\nadvantage of making reasonable concessions. They may in\nfact be found willing to give up control of Necker Island, if,\non our part, we undertake to give them a branch cable to\nHonolulu/\nSo convinced was Fleming of the importance of securing\nNecker Island as a landing-place for the cable that he\nquestioned whether it might not even be expedient, if nothing\nbetter could be done, to lay the cable from Vancouver to\nHonolulu at once, provided the Hawaiian Government would\nagree to give up to the British Government entire control of\nNecker Island. The cable laid via Honolulu would be considered a commercial line, and as in a few years a second\ncable would be required, it could then be established on the\nNecker Island route as a purely national line of telegraphic\ncommunication.\nWhatever plan was ultimately adopted, Fleming urged\nthe immediate importance of entering into negotiations with\nthe Hawaiian Government and making the best possible\nterms with them. He felt satisfied that the most effective\nmeans of reaching a satisfactory arrangement with Hawaii\nwas to have a special commissioner sent to treat with them\ndirectly. As it was important to close the matter with the\nutmost possible dispatch, and delay would doubtless ensue if\na commissioner were sent out from England, Fleming suggested that the assent of the Home Government should be\nobtained to some person from Canada going to Honolulu as\na special commissioner. There being already a resident\nBritish Minister at Honolulu, the Canadian commissioner\ncould be associated with him in the negotiations. Fleming\nconcluded by suggesting that, if possible, Mr. Bowell, who\nwas fully conversant with the Pacific Cable project, should be\nsent as Canadian commissioner.\nThese suggestions were at once considered by the Canadian\n A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 187\nGovernment, and it was decided to send a commissioner to\nHonolulu, with the approval of the Home authorities. It\nwas found impossible for Bowell to leave Canada at that time,\nand Fleming was consequently asked to accept the duty\nhimself, which he consented to do.\nOn the 10th September a communication was sent to the\nPresident of the Hawaiian Republic, notifying him that\nFleming had been appointed a special commissioner to\nproceed to Honolulu for the purpose of submitting to the\nHawaiian Government certain matters in relation to the\nPacific Cable project. The Secretary of State for the Colonies\nhad also decided to send Mr. W. H. Mercer, of the Imperial\nColonial Office, to take part in the negotiations for obtaining\nneutral landing-ground for the proposed cable on one of the\nislands of the Hawaiian archipelago.\nMercer arrived in Ottawa on September 18th, and on the\nfollowing day he and Fleming left for Honolulu, which they\nreached on the 6th of October. The President of the Republic,\nMr. Dole, and the Attorney-General, Mr. Smith, were absent\nfrom Honolulu during the period of their visit; but the\ncommissioners had frequent conferences with other members\nof the Hawaiian Government, the ForeignMinister and Acting\nPresident, Mr. Hatch; the Minister of Finance, Mr. Damon;\nand the Minister of the Interior, Hon. J. A. King.\nWhile making inquiries in various quarters, as to possible\nlanding-places for the cable, Fleming gained some information of an uninhabited island\u00E2\u0080\u0094Wihoa or Bird Island\u00E2\u0080\u0094150\nmiles nearer Honolulu than Necker Island, which he deemed\nit expedient to visit. On reaching the island a landing was\neffected, and Fleming satisfied himself that while Bird Island\ndid not in all respects present the conditions desirable in\na mid-ocean station for \u00C2\u00A3he proposed telegraph, it nevertheless\noffered certain advantages, and he recommended that a\nfurther and more thorough examination should be made.\nAfter considerable negotiation, a draft agreement was\ndrawn up, under which the Hawaiian Government agreed,\nsubject to certain conditions and stipulations, to lease to the\nBritish Government either Necker Island, French Frigate\nm\n i88\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nShoal, or Bird Island, or some other uninhabited island\nwithin their jurisdiction, whichever of them the British\nGovernment might select, for the purposes of the Pacific\nCable.\nIt was noted, however, that the Hawaiian Government\nwere debarred by their Reciprocity Treaty with the United\nStates, from leasing or otherwise disposing of their lands, or\nfrom granting any special privileges to any foreign Government, and it therefore became necessary for the Hawaiian\nGovernment to obtain the sanction of the United States\nGovernment as a condition precedent to the granting of\nthe proposed lease. They undertook to bring the proposed\narrangement to the notice of the Washington Government at\nan early date, with a view to ascertaining whether the United\nStates would waive the prohibitory clauses of the Reciprocity\nTreaty, so far as the proposed agreement in relation to the\nPacific Cable was concerned.\nThe Hawaiian Government further agreed, in the event of\nthe consent of the United States being obtained, to bring\nbefore their legislature a proposal for an annual subsidy of\n\u00C2\u00A37,000 to the Pacific Cable. The British Government, or\nthe lessees of the cable, on their part, agreed to lay a branch\ncable from the leased island to Honolulu, so as to connect\nthat place telegraphically with all points on the main cable ;\nto accept telegraphic messages from Honolulu at special\nspecified rates ; not to fortify the island or use it as a naval\nstation; and to surrender it to Hawaii in the event of the\ncable being finally and permanently abandoned at any time.\nThe Hawaiian Government also suggested, as an alternative\nproposition, that in lieu of a subsidy, the British Government should accept the absolute sovereignty of Necker or\nsuch other uriinhabited island as might be selected. The\ncommissioners, however, were debarred by their instructions\nfrom considering this proposal, but promised to submit it to\nthe British and Canadian Governments.\nThe negotiations having been carried as far as was\npossible, pending the decision of the United States for or\nagainst the proposed agreement, the commissioners returned\n -*Mm&\nA DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO HONOLULU 189\nand reported to their respective Governments, and the\nHawaiian Ministers, pursuant to their promise, submitted the\nsuggested agreement for the approval of the United States\nGovernment. In due course the matter came before the\nUnited States Senate, where it was finally disposed of by an\nadverse vote. Necker Island thenceforth dropped out of\nsight so far as the Pacific Cable was concerned.\nBefore finally dismissing Necker Island, however, it may\nbe desirable, to complete the historical survey, to describe\nvery briefly the several routes which depended upon that\nisland. The shortest of all these routes, and one of the first\nsuggested, was from Vancouver Island to Necker ; thence to\nApamana Island, in the Gilbert group; thence to San\nChristoval, in the Solomon group; and, finally, to a point\nat or near Port Denison, Queensland, Australia. This route\ndid not include New Zealand, the proposal being to utilize\nthe existing cable from Port Jackson to New Zealand.\nAnother route, after leaving Necker Island, ran to an\nisland several degrees to the south-east of Apamana. There\nit branched, one section running to San Christoval, and\nthence to Australia; the other turning south to Fiji and\nthence to New Zealand. A third route suggested was from\nNecker direct to Fiji; and from Fiji to New Zealand.\nApamana, San Christoval, and Fiji are all British possessions.\nThe tenders which had been called for laying the proposed\ncable were received about the time that the United States\nSenate finally gave the quietus to the Necker Island project,\nand these tenders showed conclusively that it was perfectly\nfeasible to lay the cable, as originally proposed, by the\nFanning Island route. This route was consequently adopted.\nIt may perhaps be interesting to note, in this connexion,\nthat the cost of laying the cable by the longer route to\nFanning Island amounts to something like two and a quarter\nmillion dollars in excess of the cost via the Necker Island\nroute. Moreover, it will not be possible to send messages as\neffectively\u00E2\u0080\u0094that is to say, at the same rate of speed\u00E2\u0080\u0094by\nthe longer route now adopted. This represents the price that\nthe Empire has to pay for the failure to secure Necker\n 190\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nII\nIsland; a failure which, in the end, was certainly inevitable,\nbut at one time could have been avoided at the mere cost\nof dispatching a British warship to take formal possession\nof the island.\nFanning Island (30 51' N. lat., 1590 22' W. long.) is described in the Colonial Office List (1902) as a small atoll, nine\nmiles by four, covered with coco-nut trees; copra and guano\nbeing exported.\nFanning Island was annexed by Great Britain in March,\n1888, in view of the possibility of its being utilized in connexion with the projected cable. At the same time two other\nislands (Christmas and Penrhyn) were taken possession of for\nthe same purpose. Christmas Island (i\u00C2\u00B0 57' N. lat., 1570 27'\nW. long.) is an atoll ninety miles in circumference, barren,\nwith only brackish water. A trading firm collects mother-of-\npearl shells. Penrhyn Island (90 S. lat., 1580 3' long.) is also\na small atoll, thirty miles in circumference, partly covered\nwith coco-nut trees, and having a population of about 300.\nMother-of-pearl is exported. Suwarrow Island (130 13'\nS. lat., 1630 9' W. long.) was also annexed as a possible\nlanding-place for the Pacific Cable on the 22nd April, 1888.\nIt is now proposed that Suwarrow, Penrhyn, and one or two\nother small islands which were taken about the same time,\nshould be annexed to New Zealand. With the exception of\nFanning Island, none of these small atolls would be available\nfor the purposes of the Pacific Cable. How well they could\nhave been spared, and that barren little rock, Necker Island,\nannexed in their stead ! But it was not to be.\n sE\n*w?**SSWSfc.\nCHAPTER XV\nTHE ALL-RED LINE\nIn the preceding chapter some account has been given of\nthe movement for a British state-owned cable across the\nPacific from Canada to Australia and New Zealand, a movement initiated by Sandford Fleming and carried to a successful conclusion mainly through his efforts, after nearly\na quarter of a century of persistent agitation.\nLong before the triumph of the movement for a Pacific\nCable, Fleming's thoughts had turned to the larger scheme\nof a system of submarine cables and land telegraphs circling\nthe globe, touching only British territory, and owned by the\nEmpire. In fact it is altogether probable that from the\nbeginning of his agitation for the Pacific Cable he had the\nwider project in mind, waiting for a fitting opportunity to\nbring it forward. That opportunity came in 1898, when he\noutlined his scheme in a communication addressed to the\nSecretary of State for the Colonies, after the close of the\nJubilee Conference. Four years later he embodied the\nprincipal points in a Memorandum, prepared for the information of the members of the Coronation Conference, from\nwhich the following is taken :\n' At the Colonial Conference held in London in 1887 the\ndelegates discussed at some length various matters bearing\non the telegraphs of the Empire. Again in 1894, at the\nOttawa Conference, the discussions were renewed. At innumerable meetings of Chambers of Commerce, Empire\nLeagues, and other associations, the subject has again and\nagain been considered. In the interval which has elapsed,\nthe project of a British Empire telegraph service has been\nsteadily developing. Its outline was submitted in a communication to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated\nOctober 28,1898, and the main features of the scheme therein\n&\n~\u00C2\u00BB<9Wh*jA\n 192\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nset forth may be described as one unbroken chain of State-\nowned telegraphs around the globe, touching or traversing\nall the great British possessions so as to bring each of them\ninto direct electric touch with the mother country and with\neach other. In this manner Canada, New Zealand and Australia, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom would be\nbrought within the same electric circle. An essential feature\nof the scheme laid down is, that no part of the system should\ntouch foreign soil, and that the cables should each and all\navoid shallow seas, in proximity to any country likely at\nany time to prove unfriendly. The route of the telegraph\nwas more precisely described as extending from London to\nCanada, through Canada to Vancouver, from Vancouver\nto New Zealand and Australia, thence to Perth in Western\nAustralia, from Perth to South Africa, with a branch from\nCocos Island to India; from Capetown it was designed to\nextend to Bermuda, touching at St. Helena, Ascension, and\nBarbados; at Bermuda a choice of routes to England would\nbe opened for selections. It might cross the Atlantic direct\nor, as an alternative, extend northerly to a suitable point of\njunction with the State line between Canada and England.\n' Such a telegraph girdle of the globe would constitute\na means of connecting all His Majesty's great possessions,\nand nearly all the coaling stations, with each other and with\nthe Imperial centre in London. The sub-ocean connexions\nwould be deep-sea cables in the least vulnerable position, and\nit may be added that the system would possess an advantage\npeculiar to a globe-encircling line of telegraph ; each point\ntouched would be telegraphically connected with every other\npoint by two distinct routes, extending in opposite directions.\nThis feature possesses special value, and in practice would\nprove the best security against interruptions from whatever\ncause.\n' Since 1898, when the scheme was promulgated, progress\nhas been made in its development: (1) a State-owned cable\nfrom Canada to New Zealand and Australia is on the eve of\ncompletion, and (2) a cable has been laid across the Indian\nOcean from Australia to South Africa. The latter is, how-\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\"-mH\n aaB\u00C2\u00A3ljA\nTHE ALL-RED LINE\n193\never, a private undertaking, from which have sprung the\ncomplications which perplex the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia. On this point a brief explanation is\ncalled for.\n' It is well known that the telegraph companies have,\nfrom the first, placed themselves in opposition to the Imperial\ntelegraph scheme, and have employed every conceivable\nmeans to stifle the proposal to establish a Pacific Cable.\n' One main reason for their hostility to the Pacific Cable\nlies in the fact that it forms the most important section of\nthe larger proposal, and that the Canadian route is absolutely\nthe only route by which the globe may be girdled by a chain\nof all-British cables, the proposal to which they are so\nstrongly opposed. When it became known that the six\nGovernments concerned had resolved to establish the Pacific\nCable, the telegraph companies combined, and determined to\nadopt drastic measures in order to defeat the new State policy.\nThey saw plainly that a State-owned cable across the Pacific\nwould speedily lead to similar cables across the Indian and\nAtlantic Oceans.\n' Accordingly they arranged to preoccupy the ground by\nlaying a private cable on the precise route which had previously been projected in the Indian, and partly in the\nAtlantic, Ocean for the State-owned line. Moreover, they\nmade tempting overtures to the Governments of the Australian colonies, offering to reduce the burdensome telegraph\ncharges hitherto exacted, provided these Governments\ngranted them certain concessions ; which concessions it was\nbelieved would enable the combined companies to ruin the\ncommercial value of the Pacific Cable. There is likewise\nevidence to show that the cable combine took means to\ninvoke the powers of the press to influence public opinion in\ntheir favour. Unfortunately the then Government of New\nSouth Wales listened to the overtures, and granted what the\ncompanies asked for. .. .\n' It is not necessary to dwell on the enormous importance\nof having the globe girdled by an all-British State-owned\ntelegraph, as its advantages are self-evident. When the\nN\n.\nsgggjiggf\n 194\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nproposal was made known in December 1898, the British\nand Colonial press, with extraordinary unanimity, expressed\ngenerally the opinion that the advantages to result are incontrovertible ; that nothing would tend more to quicken\na sense of unity and solidarity throughout the Empire ; that\nat all times it would place it in the power of the Governments\nto regulate and moderate the rates for the transmission of\nmessages between all the countries served; that the immediate effect would be to facilitate intercourse and foster\ntrade, not only between the mother country and the colonies,\nbut between the colonies themselves.\n' One essential point to be insisted on is, that the Imperial\ntelegraph girdle must be absolutely State-controlled, in order\nthat the main fines of communication of the Empire be placed\nbeyond the possibility of interference by trusts and combines,\nthat is to say, that they shall remain inviolably British.\n' The expenditure involved would be considerable, but it\nis far outweighed by the incalculable benefit to result. The\noriginal estimate of expenditure required to establish such\na telegraph girdle around the globe was \u00C2\u00A35,000,000 to\n\u00C2\u00A36,000,000, but this included the Pacific Cable, which will\ncost close on \u00C2\u00A32,000,000. The Pacific Cable will shortly be\ncompleted. To provide and lay the remaining cables not far\nshort of \u00C2\u00A34,000,000 will be required. . . .\n' Our common object is the freest intercourse, and this\nobject can best be attained by linking together all the great\noutposts of the Empire, precisely as Canada, New Zealand,\nand Australia are now being brought into close relationship\nby means of the Pacific Cable. The Imperial telegraph\nsystem will embrace in its circuit round the globe three\ngreat oceans. Of these the Pacific will have its opposite\nshore telegraphically united in a few months. Then will\nremain the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to be traversed by\nnationalized cables. This, the crowning achievement, will\ncost, in round figures, \u00C2\u00A34,000,000, an insignificant expenditure\nof capital, in view of the immensely important results to be\nattained. It would do more for the Empire as a whole than\ntwenty times the amount, spent in any other way whatever.\nill\n THE ALL-RED LINE\n195\nIt would set at rest the difficulty which has been caused\nin Australia. It would place the telegraph service of the\nEmpire on a secure and satisfactory basis, and render\nalienation of the leading cables impossible. It would be\na fresh tie between all the great colonies and the mother land\nof great practical utility; it would rninimize transmission\ncharges, and prodigiously increase the volume of telegraphic\nintercourse; it would benefit trade, vitalize the spirit of\npatriotism, and strengthen the sentiments which constitute\nthe most enduring foundation on which the Empire of the\nfuture can be built up. The circumstances are such, and\nthe benefits so many and so great, that whatever the cost,\nthe pan-Britannic telegraph service should, as speedily as\npossible, be carried to completion.\nThe establishment of such a service would affect the\nexisting companies. The national telegraph encircling the\nglobe would become the main or trunk line of communication\nbetween the great self-governing portions of the Empire.\nThe existing private cables would, to a large extent, assume\nthe position of branches to the trunk line, and as such would\nfind employment in general and especially in international\ntraffic. The charges for transmission by the trunk line\nwould be lowered to a minimum, so as merely to cover cost\nof operating, interest and maintenance, and as a consequence\nthe business would be immensely increased. The companies\nwould gain by the increase, and likewise by the reduced\ncharges on the main line, as they would thus be supplied\nwith much profitable business for general dissemination.\nThe private cables were for the most part established\nwith commendable enterprise many years ago. They\nreceived generous Government assistance. They have done\nuseful pioneer work, and this work has already yielded to the\nenterprising investors rich returns. The time has come,\nhowever, when oircumstances demand a change. It has\nbecome a matter of public expediency that the State should\ncontrol an unbroken line of telegraph established for the\nsafety and well-being of the Empire. It is possible, therefore, that the companies may have to rest content with more\nN 2\ntf\n3at*\n 196\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nmoderate gains than hitherto, at least until there be a new\ndevelopment of business under the changed conditions.\nThat a development of telegraph business beyond all ordinary conception will result from the establishment of the\nImperial service there can be no doubt whatever.\n' In the event of a determination being reached to complete the Imperial telegraph service, before proceeding to lay\na State cable across the Indian Ocean, the companies should\nbe given the option to transfer, at a fair price, the private\ncable recently laid by them between Australia and South\nAfrica, and arrangements should likewise be made to connect\nthe Cape with the United Kingdom by a State-owned\ncable. These, with the Pacific Cable, will complete the\nglobe-encircling telegraph line, designed to link together the\ntrans-marine homelands of the British people on the five\ncontinents. It will prove an Imperial service in every sense.\nIt will greatly promote the commercial and industrial well-\nbeing of all the parts. It will strengthen their relationship,\nand enable the whole fabric the better to withstand any\nstress or strain which the future may bring.\n' There is a rapidly growing desire on the part of the\nBritish people, everywhere, to strengthen the ties and multiply the links which unite the mother nation with the daughter\nstates. This feeling of attachment prevails in Australia\nand New Zealand. It is especially marked in Canada, and\nthe writer feels himself warranted in expressing the foregoing views on behalf of Imperial-minded Canadians.\nTheir name is legion, and they are prompted only by one\nspirit. Their ardent desire is to join cordially and actively\nin building up the Empire on an enduring basis, that it may\nlong continue to confer benefits on the human race.'\nOn the successful completion of the Pacific Cable in October 1902, Sandford Fleming conceived the idea that the\nnew link might be utilized to furnish a striking illustration\nof the possibilities of a world-encircling telegraph line. On\nthe last day of October he handed in to the telegraph office\nat Ottawa the two following messages, addressed to the\nGovernor-General of Canada, Ottawa, one to be sent to the\n_J\n THE ALL-RED LINE\n197\nwestward around the globe,\u00E2\u0080\u0094the other, reversing the course,\neastward. The first read : ' Congratulations follow the sun\naround the globe via Australia, South Africa, and England on\ncompletion of the Pacific Cable, initiating new era of freest\nintercourse and cheap telegraph service throughout the\nEmpire.'\nThe second was as follows : ' Receive globe-encircling\nmessage via England, South Africa, Australia and Pacific\nCable congratulating Canada and the Empire on completion\nof first segment State-controlled electric girdle, the harbinger\nof incalculable advantages, national and general.'\nIn an interview on the completion of the Pacific Cable,\nFleming outlined his hopes for the future. ' The Pacific\nCable', he said,' is the first result of a co-partnership arrangement between the Australasian, the Canadian, and the Home\nGovernments, and in that respect alone is of great importance ; but it is as the initial section of a far greater project\nthat I regard it with intense interest. A careful study of\nthe question will satisfy any man that the Pacific Cable is\nthe only possible key to an Imperial postal cable service\nwith ramifications throughout every oversea British possession. In view of the larger project, the Pacific Cable should be\nregarded, not as a work completed, but as a great Imperial\nundertaking commenced. I make bold to think that circumstances already demand that every British Government\nshould seriously consider the expediency of extending, at no\ndistant day, a postal telegraph service to the whole Empire.\nI may add, that the postal telegraph service of the United\nKingdom is so nearly perfect that, unless something better\nmeanwhile be discovered, it may well be taken as the miniature model of the Imperial service of the future. . . .\n' Some time will elapse before the great ultimate objects\nwill be realized ; that is to say, the extension of the postal\ntelegraph service to every part of the Empire, but in the\ncommon interest, that comprehensive service should be\nsteadily kept in view. To me it appears to be necessary, as\na means of building up the new Empire in process of development, and likewise indispensable to its life and unity.\n 198\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nIn my judgement, it will not only be a direct means of promoting the welfare of our people, but indirectly prove an\neffective instrument in advancing the cause of civilization.\nIts general tendency will be to promote the peace and happiness of the human race. . . .\n' Much as I think that the extension of State telegraphy\nto every part of the Empire should never be lost sight of,\ncircumstances render it expedient to take one step at a time.\nThe first step has already been taken, and it is a long step\nin the proper direction, for the Pacific Cable is the foundation upon which the whole fabric may be reared. The next\nstep is to extend the State telegraph system from Australia\nacross the Indian Ocean, via Cocos Island, to India, and\nfrom Cocos Island to South Africa. This done, and assuming that the line from Vancouver to London is also brought\nunder State control, we shall have the United Kingdom,\nCanada, New Zealand, Australia, India, and South Africa\nbrought within instant touch of each other by a continuous\nline of telegraph under the direct control of the State.\n' The third step will be to establish a State-owned line of\ncables from South Africa to England, in order to complete\nthe girdle of the globe. Manifestly, a belt of such cables\nround the world, under the one control and management,\nwill have its peculiar advantage. Each point in the encircling chain will be in direct connexion with every other\npoint, by two routes extending in opposite directions, thus\ngiving a double connexion in each case, so that, in the event\nof an interruption on any single section, communications\nmay, nevertheless, be maintained.\n' It is true there are telegraphs already connecting the\nCape with London, but all these telegraphs are owned by\njoint stock companies, and for the most part they are laid\nin shallow seas, and thus rendered extremely vulnerable ;\nthey are likewise open to the further objection of touching\nat points not under the British flag. The proposal is to lay\nthe State cable in the deep waters of the Atlantic, by extending it from the Cape to England via St. Helena, Ascension,\nBarbados, and Bermuda. . . .\nI\n Odt-fBrnuL-\nTHE ALL-RED LINE\n199\n' Such a chain of cables would prove of unspeakable value\nin countless ways. It would enormously cheapen telegraphing to and from all points on the line of the electric girdle,\nand within range of its influence. It would link together the\nwidely-sundered British communities as nothing else could.\nAn endless globe-encircling Imperial telegraph would, like\nthe marriage ring, symbolize union, and above and beyond\nevery useful purpose in the activities of trade and amenities\nof life, its tendency would be to establish the unity and\nmaintain the indivisibility of the Empire.\nThe all-Red Line would, in some respects, resemble the\nspinal cord in the human body; it would prove to be the\ncerebro-spinal axis of our political system, and give origin\nthroughout its length to many lateral groups of nerves. This\ntrunk line of State cables around the globe would virtually\nbecome an annular Medulla Spinalis to the world-Empire,\nthrough which would freely pass the sensory impressions and\nthe motor impulses of the British people in every longitude.\n' It cannot be denied that in the establishment of a State-\nowned all-Red belt of telegraphs such as described, some disturbance would be caused to the existing private cable system.\nFrom Australia to South Africa and from South Africa to\nAscension, the belt line would cover practically the same\nground as that now occupied by the allied cable companies.\nFor this distance only would parallel cables be required, but\nif considered preferable for this distance the private cables\ncould be expropriated and a fair price paid for them. In\nthis event, the remaining cables, wherever they came in\ncontact with the trunk State line, would assume the position\nof branches, and, at the points of junction, they would be\nfed with telegraph traffic at the very lowest rates, for\ngeneral dissemination. Thus, it will be obvious that the\nall-Red globe-encircling belt may advantageously co-exist\nwith private lines ; that it would actually prove a feeder to\nthem, and give them scope for all reasonable profit. They,\non their part, would reciprocate by bringing traffic to the\ntrunk line.'\nIn 1907 the Council of the Ottawa Board of Trade, which\n,1\nissfei\n1 JLMi.ijKJ\n 200\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nhad for years interested itself in the project of British State-\nowned cables, presented an address to His Excellency Earl\nGrey, then Governor-General of Canada, setting forth the\nadvantages of such a system and praying that the subject be\nbrought to the attention of the several governments interested. In replying to the address, Earl Grey paid a warm\ntribute to the father of the movement:\n' For upwards of twenty-five years', he said, I Sir Sandford\nFleming has devoted his energies to the task of securing for\nGreat and Greater Britain the advantages of cheapened\ntelegraphic service. The bare recital of his efforts in this\ndirection almost suggests the missionary fervour of St. Paul.\nHe has without hope of personal gain visited five continents;\nhe has traversed all the great oceans, the Atlantic many\ntimes; he has given himself, his time, and his substance,\nungrudgingly and without stint to the service of the Empire,\nand in the realization of his hopes, which I trust is not far off,\nand in the general recognition that the life of Britons all the\nworld over will have been made the happier by his efforts,\nhe will find at the appointed time his well-merited reward.'\n CHAPTER XVI\nAN IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE\nThe record of Sandford Fleming's tireless advocacy of the\nscheme for a Pacific Cable, and the larger project of a world-\nencircling, State-owned British telegraphic system, would\nnot be complete without some statement of his views as to\nthe proposed Imperial Intelligence Service. To those who\nhave read these pages it must be needless to say that Fleming\nhas always been an Imperial Federationist, but his views as\nto the strengthening of the ties binding the various members\nof the Empire run in no narrow groove. He does not pin his\nfaith to any one specific formula, nor does he believe that\na movement of such magnitude can be hastened because\na few impatient enthusiasts would have it so. Imperial\nFederation, if it is to mean anything to the British Empire,\nmust necessarily be a thing of slow growth. To become\npermanent, it must have behind it the settled convictions\nof a majority of the people in each of the great British\ncommunities that such closer ties will make for their own\nbest interests. In any scheme of Imperial Federation that\ncan be evolved there must be a certain amount of give and\ntake, but it will always be necessary to recognize the fact\nthat the self-governing Dominions will never surrender the\nvital principle of autonomy.\nAs a means toward the ultimate achievement of Imperial\nFederation, Fleming conceived and advocated the idea of\na system of State-owned British cables, with all that such\na system would involve in bringing the peoples of the Empire\ninto closer and more intimate touch with one another and\nwith their respective interests. His views on the subject\nhave been set forth in various public and private documents,\nbut perhaps nowhere more clearly and fully than in his open\nletter to the Earl of Elgin, Secretary of State for the Colonies,\n9>\nWr\n 202\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nlit\nhi I\ndated January 26, 1906, from which the following is\ntaken:\n' More than a hundred and thirty years ago, the great and\ngifted Irishman, Edmund Burke, and the illustrious United\nEmpire Loyalist, Joseph Galloway, on opposite sides of the\nocean, each had visions of a mighty Empire ; more than fifty\nyears ago its organization was the dream of the great Canadian Joseph Howe; since then it has been the object of\nother great men of various races in various British communities, and in yearly increasing numbers.\n' No scheme of Imperial organization is likely, however,\nto be readily and generally acceptable unless and until some\neffective means be taken by and through which the people of\nevery portion of the Empire are made better acquainted\nthan at present with each other, and with all matters concerning their mutual well-being. This points directly to the\nfirst step which the circumstances of the case appear to\ndemand\u00E2\u0080\u0094the establishment of an adequate service for\ndisseminating useful knowledge throughout the Empire for\nthe mutual advantage of all. I am satisfied that such a\nservice, established under Imperial authority, and properly\norganized to accomplish the desired ends, would prove a\npowerful and effective educating influence. I believe there\nis nothing which would more speedily tend to bring about\nthe harmonious union of all British communities.\nI At present we have, it is true, the Imperial postal service;\nbut owing to distance and the time taken in transit, this\nservice is entirely inadequate. No satisfactory exchange of\nthought, or general discussion, can be carried on when it\nrequires two or three months to get a reply to any kind of\npostal communication. It may be said that delegates could\nbe sent from one country to another to make speeches and\ndeliver lectures ; but the audiences in all such cases would\nbe limited. The circumstances require not simply that\nlectures or post-prandial speeches be heard by a few on\nspecial occasions, but that the millions be reached frequently.\nThis, I am satisfied, is the first problem to be solved, unless\nthe consolidation of the Empire is to be indefinitely post-\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n AN IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE 203\nponed. That it can be solved, and most effectively, I have\nno doubt whatever, by utilizing the electric telegraph, and\nby combining its use with the daily and other journals in each\nBritish community. Through the co-operation of Cables\nand the Press we would come into the possession of the very\nbest medium for conveying selected intelligence to the\nmillions who read the newspapers, and whose children\nattend school. Immense good can be done through the\nschools in the British world in giving direction to our political destiny, but that subject cannot be dwelt upon here/\nAfter referring to the proposals of Sir Frederick Pollock\nand his associates for an Imperial organization, as summarized in an article in the Nineteenth Century in December\n1905, he goes on to outline his scheme for an Imperial\nIntelligence Service. \ In addition to a central board in\nthe British metropolis', he says, ' there should be local\nboards and agencies in each self-governing community,\nwhere desired information would be collected. It would be\nthe duty of each board to take proper means to arrange and\nedit the information for free transmission by cable to the\nother boards, and by them made available for simultaneous\npublication in the daily or weekly journals in all the great\ncities of the Empire. By this means the people of the\nwhole Empire would be brought into continuous touch.\nEach person on opening his daily newspaper would look into\nthe column or columns under the heading \" Empire Cable\nNews \" for the Imperial intelligence of the day, and would\nthere find a trustworthy record of the matters of most vital\nimportance and interest to every British community.\n' No argument is needed to point out the advantages which\nwould spring from such an agency. It is impossible to\nconceive any other means which would so speedily and so\neffectively enlighten the masses of the British people on all\nmatters which concern their common welfare. Even small\nportions of such Empire news regularly furnished daily in\nthe newspapers would be a thousand times better than the\nalmost entire absence of such intelligence which now generally obtains. It undoubtedly would have a powerful\n*L\n 204\nSANDFORD FLEMING\neducative influence, and the high political effect would be to\nfoster a broad Imperial patriotism. It would open to the\nintelligence of all our people, within the circle of the Empire\nCables, wider issues connected with the advancement and\ndevelopment of the Imperial fabric, and we are warranted\nin believing that it would stimulate the sense of common\ncitizenship, and, in time, lead to reciprocal affinity eventually\napproaching a general unity of ideas. The machinery of\na fully-equipped Intelligence Department once provided,\nwe may then with confidence assume that the better union\nand the collective prosperity of the British Empire \" may\nbe wisely left to develop in accordance with circumstances,\nand, as it were, of their own accord \".\n' I share very fully with every one with whom I have\nconferred, the opinion that satisfactory results must reasonably be expected to follow the establishment of a wisely\narranged Intelligence Department. The Imperial press\nservice suggested would tell its story and perform its functions not once, not intermittently, but daily throughout\nevery year. It would, like the continual dropping of water,\nproduce effective results. By means of this perennial flow\nwe may confidently hope to have the spirit and principles\nof the British Constitution in course of time pervading,\ninvigorating, vivifying the whole Empire, and it is firmly\nbelieved that such results would be accomplished more\nspeedily and more thoroughly in this way than by any other\nmeans. It is this spirit and these principles, inherited from\nthe centuries, which would beget that sympathy and affection which, although as light as the air we breathe, would\nconstitute the cohesive forces to bind together the Empire\nunder one flag and one sovereign as with bands of steel.\n' As an illustration of the great need of an Imperial Intelligence organization such as that which has been outlined,\nI may instance the following facts. A remarkable address\nwas delivered by the Honourable Alfred Deakin (now Prime\nMinister of Australia) on June 14,1905. It was published in\nMelbourne, by the Imperial Federation League of Victoria,\nin pamphlet form, but as far as I know not a single copy of\n KSSftdta*.\nAN IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE 205\nthe address in any form reached Ottawa until January 25,\n1906. On that day I read the address for the first time, and\nI unhesitatingly say that this very able and scholarly deliverance on a momentous question in which all citizens of the\nEmpire are as much interested as Australians, should have\nlong since been placed before every Canadian. The State\nCable which unites Canada with Australia lies idle at the\nbottom of the Pacific for more than twenty hours in each\ntwenty-four ; it has a complete staff of the very best operators in constant attendance, and it would add absolutely\nnothing to the working expenses of the undertaking to have\nthe cable usefully employed during some of its idle hours.\nThe address containing probably 10,000 words could easily\nhave been transmitted in one day, and still more easily by\ninstalments in several days, in any case without interfering\nwith ordinary cable business. This thoughtful utterance of\nan Imperial statesman of the first rank is precisely the kind\nof literature which a discerning officer of the proposed\nIntelligence Department would select for transmission by\ncable soon after its delivery, but it only reached Canada\nincidentally after seven months had elapsed.'\nIn an address before the United Empire Club of London,\nFleming went more at length into the question of the practicability and advantages of a comprehensive and authoritative Imperial news service furnished by cable, without cost,\nto newspapers in every part of the Empire. ' It has been\nsuggested', he says, ' that for high Imperial reasons the\nco-operation of the press should be sought. The press has\nmuch in its power to promote unity and progress ; its highest\nfunctions are to spread knowledge, enlighten the people, and\nmould their destiny. But the press must have freedom,\nand it should enjoy every advantage in perforating its\nbeneficent work which science can devise.\n' I have shown that the State-owned cable service, employed only half the day at a low tariff of charges, can be\nself-supporting. May we not fittingly inquire, is there no\nuseful purpose to which we can apply during the whole or\na portion of this other half-day this wonderful means of\nm\n\u00C2\u00BB\nm\n 206\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ncommunication established at the public cost for the public\nadvantage, in the sense of the free transmission of news\nunder proper restrictions ? I ask to what better purpose can\nthe cable be applied during some of its idle hours than in\nco-operation with a free press to promote general intercourse\nand benefit the British people ?\n' Before the days of telegraphy those who had emigrated\nto the colonies anxiously awaited the arrival of ships with\nthe mails, and on the ship's arrival they greedily devoured\nthe newspapers. The mail is now inadequate as a means\nof conveying news between places widely separated by the\nseas. It is an incident of modern civilization that the people\nwill not read old newspapers, however excellent they may be,\nat least not with the same avidity as cabled intelligence.\nThe reader of to-day must have news that is not old. Few\nin Canada and still fewer in New Zealand or Australia read\nthe London newspapers which for weeks have been buried\nin a mail bag. This age demands up-to-date news, and the\ndemand can I believe easily be met by affiliating the press\nunder proper arrangements with the cable service.\n* I venture to think that to organize an Imperial Intelligence Department such as has been indicated will come to be\nregarded as an eminently progressive movement. And I feel\nsatisfied that in conjunction with the world-girdling chain\nof State Cables there is no other conceivable agency which\nwould more speedily mould our great world-Empire into a\nliving reality.'\nIn July 1906, Fleming addressed the Eighty Club in\nLondon on the same subject, and subsequently replied to\ncertain criticisms that had been offered to his proposals.\n' The chief claim made for the proposal is,' he said, ' not\nso much that it may be regarded as a substitute for other\nschemes heretofore advanced having for their object the\nunification of the Empire, but that if any substantial progress is to be made in that direction, as it seems to me, the\npolicy suggested must take precedence of any such schemes;\nthat if it be pre-eminently necessary to have freer intercourse\nwith fuller and closer political, commercial, and social rela-\n AN IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE 207\ntions between the different States which go to make up the\nEmpire, there is no conceivable means by which these objects\ncan more easily and more naturally be achieved.\n' The proposal is not solely in the interests of these islands,\nvastly important as they are; it is not for the benefit of any\none class, or of any one section of the British people ; it is\nprojected in the interests of the entire Empire, and its object\nis to advance the concrete well-being of the British people\nthroughout the world. It is designed for the benefit of every\nBritain beyond the seas equally with the mother of them all.\nThe burden of the criticisms by the speakers was the fear\nthat in practice it would be no easy matter to arrange for the\nselection and transmission of news to be cabled from day to\nday or from week to week so as to give general satisfaction.\nAs this matter presents itself to my mind, the first thing\nnecessary is the appointment of a proper controlling authority and impartial tribunal. In my view the first consideration is an efficient and responsible Board of Control\nwith head-quarters in London, assisted by branch Boards in\nthe several oversea communities which have been referred\nto. I am satisfied that there would be no difficulty in each\ngovernment selecting a sufficient number of representative,\nindependent, public-spirited, moderate-minded men to act\nin an honorary capacity as members of an Imperial Intelligence Board in each capital city.\n' The chief duty of these Boards would be to direct the\npolicy to be followed, and to appoint a staff of paid officers,\nincluding a chief and assistant editor, to carry out that policy\nefficiently. The staff would be responsible to each respective Board. The number of such paid officers would depend\nupon the plan adopted, and this I shall presently allude to.\nWhatever the number, it would be no more difficult for the\nBoards of Control to obtain on satisfactory business terms\nmen equally able, equally faithful to their duties, as the\neditorial staffs employed by the great public journals, and\nwe all know how well the world is served through the press\nin this respect.\n' As the proposal is not an ordinary dividend-seeking\n 208\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nproject, but a great Intelligence Union with high Imperial\naims, it is undesirable and it is quite unnecessary to maintain\nhigh rates for the transmission of messages. Cheap cable\ntelegraphy must be recognized to be a powerful, indeed an\nindispensable, aid to Imperial consolidation. It is therefore\nfelt that the policy should be adopted of reducing progressively the charges on messages transmitted by the circle of\nEmpire Cables to rates which, while still leaving the service\nself-supporting, would be the lowest possible. It is capable\nof proof that if this policy be adopted two results will follow\nafter providing for actual working expenses: (i) For several\nhours daily the Board of Control will be enabled to transmit\nfree press messages for simultaneous publication in the\nUnited Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India,\nSouth Africa, and elsewhere. (2) The charges on ordinary\npaying traffic will steadily be lowered and will gradually\napproach a minimum. Under this policy we would have\npublic messages transmitted free or at a mere nominal rate,\nand if we apply the principle of a uniform charge for all\ndistances (as in Imperial penny-postage) there are the best\nreasons for anticipating a wonderful reduction in the rate for\nthe transmission of ordinary paying messages by the route\nof the great girdle of Imperial Cables. I can see no reason\nwhy the charge should not eventually be reduced to the\nuniform rate of a penny a letter, or sixpence a word, between\nthe mother country and each of the countries named, as well\nas reciprocally between any two of them. The immense\nadvantage of such a possible reduction will be readily\nappreciated when it is remembered that the present charge\nbetween Great Britain and Australia is three shillings per\nword, and at the time of the Colonial Coniference of 1887,\nwhen the Pacific Cable was first earnestly considered, the\ncommon charge was nine shillings a word.' Although he\nnowhere suggests such an idea, it is worth remembering that\nif to-day we have a cable rate very much less than it was in\n1887, with the prospect of still further reductions, we have\nmainly to thank Sandford Fleming.\n' With respect to the course to be followed by the con-\nI\n<*iK\n_JJ\n AN IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE 209\ntrolling Boards in carrying on the Intelligence Service,'\nhe continues, ' two general plans suggest themselves for\nconsideration.\nr The first plan\u00E2\u0080\u0094each Board to take means through an\nefficient staff of paid officers to collect information of general\ninterest desirable to be made known in distant parts. Such\ninformation, after being arranged and properly edited for\npublication, to be regularly transmitted by telegraph and\nmade available for the press throughout the Empire free of\ncharge.\n' The second or alternative plan is to leave the question of\nthe supply of news within the Empire in the hands of the\npress as at present, and to encourage and secure the transmission of a copious supply of desirable information by\nlowering the press charge to a merely nominal rate. I am\nreminded that this principle is already adopted in the United\nKingdom, where the press rate is reduced to less than one-\neighth of a penny per word (is. for 100 words) for any\ndistance. This reduction is made purely in the interest of\nthe general public, and it seems to me that the same principle\nmay with inestimable advantage be applied to the infinitely\nlarger area of the British Empire by means of the globe-\ngirdling Imperial Cable system.\n1 The second plan, if not so comprehensive as the first,\nwould, if adopted, indefinitely widen the present most restricted and meagre scope of the press cable service throughout the Empire. It would leave the question of the selection\nof news in the hands of those well fitted for the duty. By\npromoting emulation among representatives of the press it\nwould pave the way for a daily review in many instances of\nthe progress of events and occurrences in the sisterhood of\nBritish States, which would do more than any other agency\nto foster an intelligent intimacy, mould a broad public\nopinion, promote mutual sympathy, and present the Empire\nas a living reality to all.\nr The two plans have each distinct merits. While the\nfirst would best meet the needs of much of the outer Empire,\nthe second would probably better suit London and the\no\n 210\nSANDFORD FLEMING\npopulous colonial capitals. It would likewise, as it appears\nto me, remove every difficulty in respect to the selection of\nmatter to be transmitted for publication. I incline to the\nopinion that the merits of both suggestions should be secured\nby a combination of the two plans; but this is a point that\ncan be determined by a joint committee duly appointed, or\nby the Boards of Control when they come to be constituted.\n' The essential feature of the scheme', he concluded,' is to\nmake for that knowledge without which attempts to organize\nthe Empire may be fruitful of disaster if they in any way\ninterfere with that complete local autonomy so jealously\nprized. I apprehend it will be obvious to all that the scheme\nsubmitted, embraces the principle of inter-Imperial cooperation, and is designed to form in a very practical manner\na complete bond of union between the old land and all the\nnew lands ; that it is an instrument to enable us to ascertain\nwhat to avoid and what to accept; that its tendency must\nbe to reconcile the interests of the whole with the interests of\neach part, and to foster a oneness of sentiment, a unity of\nsympathy pre-eminently necessary to bring home the feeling\nto our people the world over that they are part of a great\npolitical organism whose chief mission is progress and peace.\nI venture to think that every patriotic man will recognize in\nsuch a co-operative bond of union and friendship, embracing\nthe widest geographical range, a powerful and peaceful\nmeans of giving shape and growth and solidarity to the\nmodern Empire.'\nft\n CHAPTER XVII\nTHE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\nOn the shelves of the library at ' Winterholme ' are three\nvery fat volumes, containing the documentary history of\nthe movement for Standard Time. The volumes consist of\nscores of pamphlets ranging in date from 1876 to 1896,\na large proportion of them by Sandford Fleming.\nFleming in one of his diaries tells how the need for a reform\nin the cumbersome system of time-reckoning was first\nbrought home to him. The story is a delightful example of\nthe way great movements grow out of trivial incidents. In\nJuly 1876 he had landed at Londonderry, on his way to\nScotland, to pay a visit to a friend near Sligo, somewhat\nremote from any railway. After consulting the Official\nIrish Travelling Guide he had determined on a route by\nwhich apparently he could reach his destination one day\nand return to Londonderry the night of the day following.\nThe journey was by railway to Enniskillen sixty miles,\nthence by public car to Manor Hamilton thirty miles, thence\nby private carriage to Killennumery eight miles. Next day\nhe proposed to leave in time to drive to Bandoran forty-two\nmiles, in order to catch a train which the Official Guide\nindicated would leave at 5.35 p.m., enabling him to reach\nLondonderry at 10 o'clock the same evening.\nThe traveller set out, reached the house of his friend\nthe first day without difficulty, and the following morning\nstarted in a conveyance specially engaged to take him to\nBandoran in time for the 5.35 p.m. train. Incidentally,\nFleming, finding horse and driver of the same leisurely race,\nand the chances of making his train somewhat uncertain,\npersuaded the driver to mend his pace not by abusing him,\nbut by praising his steed.\nThe experiment was entirely successful, and the traveller\nactually reached Bandoran at 5.10 p.m., with apparently\n02\n .12\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nft \u00E2\u0084\u00A2!\ntwenty minutes to spare. The station, however, was deserted,\nand no train anywhere in sight. After some difficulty the\nstation-master was discovered and appealed to for an\nexplanation. He asserted emphatically that there was no'\ntrain that night, and on being shown the Official Guide,\npointed triumphantly to his own printed time-table on the\noffice wall, which read 5.35 a.m. instead of 5.35 p.m.\nOne result of this trifling typographical error was that\nFleming had to remain at a dreary little station until the\nfollowing day, and as all the supposed connexions were upset\nby the error in time, he did not reach Londonderry until\n1.30 in the afternoon of the third day, losing sixteen and\na half hours, with a great deal of inconvenience to himself\nand others. Another and more important result was to\nconvince him that the prevailing method of measuring time\nwas cumbersome and antiquated. However well it may\nhave suited our forefathers of stage-coach days, it was not at\nall designed to meet the needs of an age of rapid transportation. With Fleming to see a problem was to seek a remedy,\nand he immediately set himself to study the whole question\nof the measurement of time. The solution of the original\nproblem was obviously the substitution of a twenty-four\nhour day for the system of dividing the day into two series\nof twelve hours. This led, however, to a much larger and\nmore complicated question\u00E2\u0080\u0094the adoption of a uniform\nsystem of time-reckoning, and a prime meridian common to\nall nations.\nBefore the close of 1876 Fleming had prepared a memoir\non the subject, which was immediately printed for private\ncirculation under the title ' Terrestrial Time'. It attracted\na good deal of attention among scientific men, particularly in\nAmerica, where the planning and building of great transcontinental railways was already making the question one\nof serious importance. The memoir was subsequently rewritten and expanded as a paper for the Canadian Institute,\nand published in the Proceedings for 1879.\nr The application of steam to locomotion by land and\nwater', says Fleming, in the 1876 memoir, 'has given an\n HESHK\nTHE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\n213\nenormous stimulus to progress throughout the world, and\nwith the electric telegraph as an auxiliary has somewhat\nrudely shaken customs and habits which have been handed\ndown to us from bygone centuries. We still cling, however,\nto the system of Chronometry inherited from a remote\nantiquity, notwithstanding difficulties and inconsequences\nwhich are constantly met in every part of the world, but\nwhich are so familiar to us that they are not regarded, or are\nsilently endured. ...\nTo illustrate the points of difficulty, let us first take the\ncase of a traveller in North America. He lands, let us say,\nat Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and starts on a railway journey\nthrough the eastern portions of Canada. His route is over\nthe Intercolonial and Grand Trunk lines. He stops at\nSt. John, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. At the\nbeginning of the journey he sets his watch by Halifax time.\nAs he reaches each place in succession, he finds a considerable variation in the clocks by which the trains are run, and\nhe discovers that at no two places is the same time used.\nBetween Halifax and Toronto he finds the railways employing no less than five different standards of time. If the\ntraveller remained at any one of the cities referred to he\nwould be obliged to alter his watch in order to avoid much\ninconvenience, and perhaps not a few disappointments and\nannoyances to Mmself and others. If, however, he should\nnot alter his watch, he would discover on reaching Toronto\nthat it was an hour and five minutes faster than the clocks\nand watches in that city.'\nFleming points out that ' in the United States' (and the\nsame argument would to-day apply equally to Canada), ' the\ninconvenience was even greater, . . . the difference in time\nbetween New York and San Francisco being nearly three\nhours and a half. Between these extreme points there are\nmany standards of time, each city of any importance having\nits own. The railway companies have to conform to this\nstate of things, and, as in Canada, are obliged to adopt local\nstandards. Hence the discrepancies in time which perplex\nthe traveller in moving from place to place.' The same\n1\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0..\n 214\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ndifficulty was of course experienced in Europe, the time\nemployed by the different railways changing constantly as\none travelled east or west.\n' Suppose', he says,' we take the case of a person travelling\nfrom London to India. He starts with Greenwich time, but\nhe scarcely leaves the shores of England when he finds his\nwatch no longer right. Paris time is used for the journey\nuntil that of Rome becomes the standard. At Brindisi there\nis another change. Up the Mediterranean ship's time is used.\nAt Alexandria Egyptian time is the standard. At Suez\nship's time is resumed, and continues with daily changes until\nIndia is reached. Arriving at Bombay, the traveller will\nfind two standards employed, local time and railway time,\nthe latter being that of Madras. If he has not altered his\nwatch since he left England he will find it some five hours\nslow; should he continue his journey to China it will have\nfallen eight hours behind.'\nThe memoir then goes into a discussion of the scientific\naspect of the subject, the three natural measures of time, the\nsolar, lunar, and sidereal days, which need not be repeated\nhere.\nThe historical side of the question is more generally\ninteresting. Fleming points out that ' in China and some\nother parts of the world no half-days are used. The Chinese\ndivide the day into twelve parts, each being equal to two\nhours of our time ; these they again divide into eight parts,\nthus subdividing the whole day into ninety-six equal parts.\nThe Italians, the Bohemians, and the Poles have a division\nof the day into twenty-four parts, numbered from the first\nto the twenty-fourth\u00E2\u0080\u0094from one o'clock to twenty-four\no'clock.\n' In Japan there are four principal points of division\u00E2\u0080\u0094at\nnoon, midnight, sunset, and sunrise\u00E2\u0080\u0094dividing the natural\nday into four variable parts. These four parts are divided\neach into three equal portions, together making twelve hours.\nEach hour is again divided into twelve parts, thus making\nin all one hundred and forty-four subdivisions of the day.\nThe six hours between sunrise and sunset differ in length\nJ\n S3 fe,-\nTHE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\n215\nday by day from the six hours between sunset and sunrise.\nDuring the summer the hours of the day are much longer\nthan those of the night, and shorter on the contrary in\nthe winter.\nThe division of that portion of the day during which the\nsun is above the horizon into twelve parts belongs to the\nremotest ages of antiquity. The division of the other\nportion, which embraces the period of darkness, into the\nsame number of parts, was introduced at Rome in the time\nof the Punic wars. The system of dividing the day by the\nrising and setting of the sun makes the hours indefinite\nperiods, as they continuously change with the seasons. Except at the equinoxes the hours of the night and day can\nnever be of equal length. Near the equator the variations\nare least; they increase with every degree of latitude until\nthe Arctic and Antarctic circles are reached, within which\na maximum is attained. Even in the latitude of Rome the\nlength of the hours of daylight and darkness under this\nsystem have an extreme difference of seventy-five minutes.\nThe day is reckoned to begin in China before midnight,\nthe first hour extending from 11.0 p.m. to 1.0 a.m. of our\nmode of reckoning. The Jews, Turks, Austrians, and others,\nwith some of the Italians, have begun their day at sunset.\nThe Arabians begin their day at noon, and in this respect\nthey resemble the astronomers and navigators of modern\nnations. It has been customary in Japan to adhere to the\npractice of the ancient Babylonians in beginning their day\nat sunrise.\nThe Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, Greeks, and other\nancient nations, began their day at sunrise, and had divisions\ncorresponding to morning, forenoon, mid-day, afternoon,\nevening, and night. The ancient, like the modern, Arabians,\nbegan their day at noon. The Chaldean astronomers\ndivided their day into sixty parts ; like the modern Chinese\nthey also had a division of the day into twelve hours. The\nancient Egyptians (probably 1000 B. c.) divided the day\nequally into day and night, and again subdivided each half\ninto twelve hours, numbered from one to twelve ; the night\nrSflKS-\n 2l6\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nwith them commenced six hours before and terminated six\nhours after midnight; the day began six hours before noon\nand lasted twelve hours, or until six hours after noon. . . .\n' From what has been set forth, it would appear that man\nhas reckoned the day to begin at sunrise, at sunset, at noon,\nat midnight, at one hour before midnight, at six hours before\nmidnight, and at six hours before noon; and that he has\ndivided it in a great variety of ways : ist, into two, four,\ntwelve, twenty-four, and one hundred and forty-four unequal\nparts; 2nd, into two, four, six, eight, twelve, twenty-four,\nforty-eight, sixty, and ninety-six equal parts, without including the small subdivisions of minutes and seconds. The\ncommon practice at present with most civilized nations is to\ndivide the day into two series of twelve hours each, a custom\nwhich corresponds very closely to that followed by the\nancient Egyptians long before the Christian era. Thus\nwhile we have made extraordinary advances in all the\narts and sciences and in their application to everyday\nlife, we find ourselves clinging to a conventional and inconvenient mode of computing time; one not materially\ndifferent from that practised by the Egyptians perhaps thirty\ncenturies ago/\nIn discussing reforms in the methods of computing time,\nFleming recognized at once that it would be much more\npracticable to so devise them that they could be engrafted on\nthe deep-rooted present system, than to attempt to establish an entirely new system. He therefore took as the unit-\nmeasure of time the artificial day known as the mean solar\nday, this unit to be divided into twenty-four equal parts,\nand these again into minutes and seconds by a standard\ntimekeeper or chronometer, hypothetically stationed at the\ncentre of the earth. In practice the standard might be\nstationed anywhere on the earth's surface, or there might be\nany number of standards, the telegraph affording the means\nof securing perfect synchronism all over the earth. It was\nproposed that the twenty-four divisions should be known by\nthe letters of the alphabet, that each should be assumed to\ncorrespond with a certain known meridian of longitude\n THE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\n217\nwhich would be known by the same letter, and that the\nmachinery of the standard instrument should be so arranged\nand regulated that the index or hour hand would point in\nsuccession to each of the twenty-four divisions as it became\nnoon at the corresponding meridian. The time indicated\nby these standard instruments was to be known as ' terrestrial ! or ' universal' time, to distinguish it from local or\nother time. The general application of this system, particularly to railway and steamship lines, would remove the\ndifficulties and inconveniences inseparable from the practice\nof regulating transportation by local time. In his memoir\nFleming also gave details of various methods by which\nwatches and clocks could without serious difficulty be made\nto indicate both terrestrial and local time.\nIt is pointed out that ' the scheme advocated would involve no great fundamental change. The ancient custom\nneed not be discontinued. It is merely suggested that it be\nimproved and that such modifications be introduced as are\nrendered necessary by the conditions of an age in which all\nportions of the habitable globe are being occupied by civilized\ncommunities, and brought into constant communication by\nsteamboat, railway, and electric telegraph.'\nHaving formulated his ideas, and put them into print,\nFleming proceeded with his usual energy and perseverance to\nbring them to the attention of the civilized world. As might\nbe expected it proved to be an uphill fight, for in such matters\nthe world is for the most part stolidly conservative. Spasmodic attempts had indeed been made at various times and\nplaces to establish something in the nature of standard time\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094for instance, as early as 1842 the distribution of accurate\nstandard time obtained by astronomical observations was\nfirst put into practice in Canada through the magnetic\nobservatory at Toronto\u00E2\u0080\u0094but no serious attempt had hitherto\nbeen made to establish a system common to the world.\nIn 1878 Fleming brought the subject to the attention of\nthe British Association for the Advancement of Science,\nfeeling, as he says, that this society ' having been established\nfor promoting the general welfare was the body above all\n1\nM\n^ra\nSS9B\n 2l8\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nothers to which any proposition having so universal an\napplication should be submitted.' He offered to submit\na paper, and his offer was formally accepted. The paper was\nprepared and an outline sent to the Secretary of the Association. Fleming was informed that it would come before the\nsection of Mathematics and Physical Science. Fleming went\nto Dublin, where the Association was meeting that year, and\nnotified the Secretary that he was prepared to read his paper\nwhenever called upon. He was put off from day to day.\nFinally he was informed that the Committee had decided his\npaper should be read on the 21st August. The meeting had\nopened on the 14th. The section closed its sessions on the\n20th. Fleming's paper, although ample notice had been\ngiven, was at the end of the list, and was coolly ignored.\n1 I attended the section', he says, ' until the meeting closed,\nbut no opportunity was given me to introduce it. There was\nstill another day, so I approached the Secretary and endeavoured to make some arrangement for its being read in\nthe morning. I was curtly told that the section would not\nmeet again, as all the papers but mine had been disposed of,\nand he took upon himself to add that the reading of my paper\nwas of little consequence. I deemed it my duty to bring\nthe circumstances under the notice of the President of the\nAssociation, but my letter did not receive the slightest\nattention/\nCommenting on the subject some years afterward, on his\nreturn from the Pacific coast, he says : ' It struck me as\na singular coincidence that among the first things that I read\nin the Chicago newspapers was the notice of a meeting of the\nrailway managers of the United States and Canada, to take\ndefinite action on the subject of regulating time, so unpleasantly disposed of in Dublin by the British Association,\nand that the Association itself was coming to Canada to learn\nthat the managers of one hundred thousand miles of railway,\ntravelled over by fifty millions of people on this continent,\nhad taken the first important step in the scheme of cosmopolitan time reckoning which, as an Association, it had\nofficially and offensively refused to entertain.' As a result of\n_2S6s\n THE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\n219\nthis meeting in Chicago, in October 1883, the Standard Hour\nsystem went into force throughout North America the following month. But this is anticipating a little. In the interval\nthe subject had been considered by various societies on both\nsides of the Atlantic, in a broader and more intelligent spirit\nthan that shown by the British Association.\nIn 1880 Dr. Daniel Wilson, president of the Canadian\nInstitute, in a memorandum on Cosmopolitan Time and\na Prime Meridian Common to all Nations, drew particular\nattention to Fleming's proposed solution of the question, and\nin commending the idea quoted a communication from the\nRoyal Society (of England) to the Governor-General of\nCanada, approving of the plan for a system of cosmopolitan\ntime as simple and well devised. Fleming had also advocated, as an essential condition of his scheme, the universal\nadoption of a prime meridian through the Pacific Ocean\nentirely avoiding the land of any nationality. He argued\nthat it would be much less difficult to secure the support of\nthe different nations for such a meridian than for one, such\nas that of Greenwich, running through territory of a particular\ncountry. The Royal Society felt that it would be difficult to\nobtain the concurrence of individual nations even in such an\nultra-national project, though admitting its manifest advantages. The Canadian Institute, the American Metro-\nlogical Society, and several national scientific bodies in\nEurope, after careful consideration of the proposal, gave it\nwhole-hearted support.\nDr. Wilson warmly recommended Fleming's scheme, and\nadded : ' He has submitted his views free from all local bias,\nand has aimed at the selection of an initial meridian and\ntime-zero which while awakening no national susceptibilities\nwould be generally acceptable to aH civilized nations. It is\nearnestly hoped that this attempt to deal with an acknowledged impediment, alike to international scientific operations\nand to the rapidly extending relations of trade and commerce, will be considered in a liberal spirit, and that civilized\nnations may be found not unwilling to concur in a proposal which offers a ready means of bringing into use some\nJ\ng-TssftS-*\nnae&sl\n m\n220\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nscientific system of reckoning time such as the age seems to\ndemand.'\nThrough the British Government, Fleming's proposals\nwere brought to the attention of the Imperial Academy of\nScience of St. Petersburg. They were favourably reported\nupon by the Russian astronomer, Otto Struve, and received\nthe support of the Academy.\nThe same year (1880) Fleming proposed to the American\nMetrological Society the organization of an International\nCommittee on Standard Time, and stated that the Canadian\nInstitute had already adopted a resolution to that end. The\nMetrological Society cordially agreed, and a joint committee\nof the two bodies was appointed. The next step was to\nappoint delegates from the two societies to the International\nGeographical Congress in Venice the following year.\nFleming attended the Congress as one of the delegates\nrepresenting the American and Canadian societies, and on\nSeptember 21st read a paper on the Adoption of a Prime\nMeridian, and proposed a series of resolutions. These were\nreferred to a special committee, and subsequently recommended to the favourable consideration of the Congress, and\nadopted. It was also resolved that, with the concurrrence\nof the Government of the United States, an International\nConference should be held in Washington in May 1883, to\ndeal further with the questions of the determination of\na common prime meridian, and a system of universal time\nreckoning.\nIn December 1881, at the suggestion of Fleming, the\nMetrological Society presented a memorial to the President\nof the United States, requesting him to call an International\nTime Convention in Washington in 1883. The matter came\nbefore Congress in 1882, and by joint resolution the President\nwas authorized to call the conference.\nMeantime Fleming had personally brought the matter to\nthe attention of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and\nthe American Society for the Advancement of Science, both of\nwhich bodies gave it favourable consideration, the former\nappointing a Special Committee on Standard Time of which\nOh\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^SI^^SSSI^SBSS^^^^Si^^^i^SS^^^^SSSS^SS^^BSSSSSSSSSS^S^^SSBBKB^^B^^^\nTHE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT 221\nFleming was made chairman. This committee sent out\na circular of questions to scientists, engineers, railway officials,\nand others more or less directly interested in the standard\ntime question, which made it clear that there was a widespread recognition of the importance and opportuneness of\nthe movement. The matter was also favourably considered\nby the Association for the Reform and Codification of the\nLaws of Nations, at the Cologne meeting in 1881, and in this\nand the following years by learned societies in England,\nFrance, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Russia, Belgium,\nand Switzerland. In October 1883, the International Geodetic\nAssociation met in Rome, and among other conclusions decisively expressed its opinion in favour of the adoption of\nthe meridian of Greenwich as the common zero of time\nlongitude.\nThe International Prime Meridian Conference actually\nmet in Washington in October 1884. I*1 tne official letter of\nthe Secretary of State of the United States, inviting the\nGovernments of other nations to send delegates to the Conference, it is pointed out that, ' in the absence of a common\nand accepted standard for the computation of time for other\nthan astronomical purposes, embarrassments are experienced\nin the ordinary affairs of modern commerce ; that this embarrassment is especially felt since the extension of telegraphic and railway communications has joined states and\ncontinents possessing independent and widely separated\nmeridional standards of time ; that the subject of a common\nmeridian has been for several years past discussed in this\ncountry and in Europe by commercial and scientific bodies,\nand the need of a general agreement upon a single standard\nrecognized; and that in recent European conferences especially, favour was shown to the suggestion that, as the\nUnited States possesses the greatest longitudinal extension\nof any country traversed by railway and telegraph lines, the\ninitiatory measures for holding an international convention\nto consider so important a subject should be taken by this\n(United States) Government.' It is added that the President\nof the United States is convinced of the good to flow eventually\n *'\nMi\n222\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nI\nfrom the adoption of a common time unit applicable throughout the globe.\nTwenty-five independent nations were represented at the\nConference, including practically all the countries of Europe,\nthe South American Republics, Japan, Mexico, and Liberia.\nThe Conference sat for about a month, discussing the question in all its bearings. At the outset Fleming submitted\na series of recommendations with explanatory remarks, which\nwere carefully considered. Other proposals were brought\nforward by the delegates of different nations. Finally the\nConference adopted the following Resolutions, by a practically unanimous vote :\n' I. That it is the opinion of this Congress that it is desirable\nto adopt a single prime meridian for all nations, in place of\nthe multiplicity of initial meridians which now exist.\n' II. That the Conference proposes to the Governments\nhere represented the adoption of the meridian passing\nthrough the centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude.\n' III. That from this meridian longitude shall be counted\nin two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus\nand west longitude minus.\n' IV. That the Conference proposes the adoption of a universal day for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or\nother standard time where desirable.\n\ V. That this universal day is to be a mean solar day ; is\nto begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of\nthe initial meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the\ncivil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted\nfrom zero up to twenty-four hours.\n' VI. That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon\nas may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days\nwill be arranged everywhere to begin at mean midnight.\n? VII. That the Conference expresses the hope that the\ntechnical studies designed to regulate and extend the application of the decimal system to the division of angular\nspace and of time shall be resumed so as to permit the ex-\n THE STANDARD TIME MOVEMENT\n223\ntension of this application to all cases in which it presents\nreal advantages.'\nIn the second Resolution, San Domingo alone voted in the\nnegative ; France and Brazil abstained from voting. In the\nfifth Resolution, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey voted\nin the negative. The principles embodied in the first and\nsixth Resolutions were adopted unanimously.\nOn January 1, 1885, the 24 o'clock system was adopted at\nthe Greenwich Observatory, the seat of control for all the\npublic clocks of Great Britain. As already mentioned, the\nrailways of the United States and Canada had adopted\nstandard time in October 1883. In a circular issued by the\nCanadian Pacific Railway in June 1886, the 24-hour system\nwas officially adopted for use on the company's lines.\nDespite the action of the Washington Conference, however,\nthe nations were slow to take action in the matter of the\nadoption of a prime meridian common to all. As Fleming had\nforeseen, national jealousies stood in the way of the general\nacceptance of Greenwich. Nevertheless, the agitation had\nbeen helpful in creating a recognition everywhere of the importance of agreeing upon a universal prime meridian, and\nsooner or later the efforts of Fleming and his associates all over\nthe world will bear fruit. Meantime, he was able to announce\nin a paper read before the Royal Society of Canada in 1890\nthat standard time had been adopted throughout North\nAmerica, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico,\nin Great Britain, Sweden, and Central Europe, and in the\nJapanese Empire. It was subsequently adopted in Australia.\nIn introducing a paper by Fleming on ' Universal or\nCosmic Time' the Canadian Institute paid the following\ntribute to the man who had laboured so long and faithfully\nin the interests of the movement:\n' To his own continued earnest and honourable labours in\nthe cause Mr. Fleming has made no reference. This omission\nthe Institute is constrained to notice in justice to Mr. Fleming\nand in justice to themselves. They may say what he has left\nunsaid, that his efforts have contributed in no small degree\nto the adoption of an initial Meridian common to all nations,\nI\n\u00C2\u00AB#?\n 224\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ni\nand that he has unquestionably been the initiator and principal agent in the movement for reform in Time-Reckoning\nand in the establishment of the Universal day. The Institute cannot, perhaps, better express the debt of gratitude\nwhich the civilized world owes to Mr. Sandford Fleming in\nthis connexion than by quoting from the accompanying paper\nfrom the pen of the distinguished Astronomer Royal of\nRussia, M. Otto Struve: \" It is through Mr. Fleming's\nindefatigable personal labours and writings that influential\nindividuals and Scientific Societies and Institutes in America\nand Europe have been won over to the cause.\" '\n CHAPTER XVIII\nA TRIP TO VENICE IN 1881\nIn the autumn of 1881 Fleming sailed for Europe, with his\ndaughter Minnie and a friend, with the particular object of\nattending the International Geographical Congress at Venice,\nat which he was to represent the Canadian Institute and the\nAmerican Metrological Society and to present a paper on\n' The Adoption of a Prime Meridian '.\nThey left Halifax on August 19th, taking the Intercolonial\nto Rimouski, where they caught the Sardinian. The voyage\nwas uneventful. They sighted the Irish coast on the 28th,\nwrapped in brilliant sunshine, and landed at Liverpool the\nnext day in a downpour of rain. Rain followed them all the\nway to London, and they learned to their dismay that it had\nbeen raining steadily for three weeks. However, the weather\ncleared after a day or two, and they were able to spend\na pleasant week shopping and sightseeing.\nOne afternoon Fleming had been out for a stroll and was\nreturning leisurely to his hotel. ' On the way back along\nPiccadilly,' he says in his manuscript journal, ' gazing into\na shop window, I was startled by a slap on the back. Turning round, there was Sir John Macdonald, who was in town,\nand staying, I learned, at our hotel. We walked back together, and went out shopping with the girls.' A party was\narranged the following day with Lady Macdonald to take the\nfamous coaching trip to Virginia Water. The sun shines\nbrightly; the good coach ' Old Times ' and the quaint inns\ngive an atmosphere of other days ; and the beautiful country\nalong the Thames is at its best.\nSeptember 7th, they are off for the Continent, by way of\nQueenboro' and Flushing. A brief stop in Rotterdam gives\nthem an opportunity to correct some of their popular impressions of Holland. ' We expected to see portly Dutch-\np\n 226\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nmen in picturesque costumes leisurely smoking long Dutch\npipes, but we were disappointed. They looked very much\nlike Englishmen outwardly, and seemed to be quick, shrewd,\nand very much alive.' The old town, however, with its\nquaint gabled houses, high and narrow and brightly painted,\nand the countless canals crowded with sturdily built Dutch\ncraft, left an impression worth remembering.\nTheir way lies through Arnheim, up the valley of the Rhine,\nwhose turbid waters suggest not quite complimentary comparisons with the clear and sparkling Restigouche, over the\nboundary and on to Cologne, where they have an amusing\nencounter with the German Customs. Their trunks have followed them, and must presently be examined at the railway\nstation. Solemn officials have to be interviewed, and many\nformidable looking documents signed. I At last the trunks\nwere dragged from their place of concealment. They were\ndouble corded and sealed with leaden seals. Six officers in\nuniform are assembled ; they are magnificently dressed and\nform a circle around the three small trunks. The keys are\nproduced, the Custom House seals are broken, the Imperial\ncords removed. The lids are opened in the presence of the\nstern officials. One of them gives the word of command, and\na subordinate raises the corner of one garment in each trunk\nand lays it down again. The ceremony is over, and the Imperial servants march off with unabated dignity.'\nThey leave Cologne, having duly visited and admired the\nwonderful cathedral, and continue their way up the Rhine.\nThe flat, rich farming country is left behind, and the railway\nruns between the river and steep, vine-clad slopes. On the\nother side are the Drachenfels, their rocky peaks crowned\nwith ruined castles. They cross the Moselle and have a clear\nview of the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, and the ancient town\nof Coblentz. The Rhine is now justifying its reputation, and\nis a very different river from that which they had followed\nlower down. ' We have rivers in Canada,' now admits the\njournal, 'such as the Metapedia, the Restigouche, and the\nSaguenay, with banks as lofty and rocky and varied, but\nthey are in a condition of nature, without cultivation, with-\nWilli\nI'M I\n-\u00C2\u00BB*-\n Mtfwmsiara**\nA TRIP TO VENICE IN 1881\n227\nout ruined castles and cathedrals which carry one back almost\nto the dawn of history.' They have a glimpse of Bingen,\nand finally leave the Rhine and follow the Maine to Frankfort,\nwhere they spend the night.\nAn early walk about the old town the following morning\nrevealed many things to interest the travellers, and particularly to remind them that this was the home of Goethe.\nIncidentally, in the window of an old book store in the marketplace, they found something to remind them of Canada\u00E2\u0080\u0094\na photograph of the Marquess of Lome (now Duke of Argyll)\nat that time Governor-General of the Dominion. Leaving\nFrankfort, the route was through a fine farming country,\nwhich reminded them of Quebec, the fields in small patches,\nwith long crooked furrows. The curious absence of fences,\nhowever, gave an unfamiliar touch to the scene. Wurzburg\nis passed, and they run down through Bavaria, with its vineyards and hop-gardens, the porches of the village stations\nfestooned from pillar to pillar with the Canadian creeper.\n' Why', exclaims the builder of Canadian railways, ' cannot\nour people at home show the same taste, at so little expense\nand trouble!' A few hours' run through an exceedingly\nattractive country, hill and dale richly timbered, brings them\nto the Danube, and finally to Munich, where they again\nspend the night and the following Sunday, which gives them\nan opportunity to roam through some of the famous picture\ngalleries.\nSoon after leaving Munich they approach the mountains,\nand as the train carries them into a narrow valley Fleming is\nreminded of the entrance to the Jasper Valley and his trip\nthrough the Rocky Mountains in 1872. Bold, rocky sentinels guard the passage here, just as Roche a Myette does\nin the Far West; but here cultivated fields and picturesque\nvillages take the place of the untouched wilderness of the\nRockies. The traveller is lost in amazement as he passes\nvillage after village strung like beads along the railway, in\na valley so narrow that the towering mountains rise on either\nside not more than a mile or two apart. ' What do the inhabitants do ? How do they live ? Does this narrow strip\nP2\n 228\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nof land really support them ? If so, what may we not look\nfor from the broad acres of Canada ? '\nInnsbruck reminds them that they are in the Tyrol, and\ntwo large snow ploughs standing beside the railway shops\nsuggest that Canada is not the only country with winter\nproblems. The engineer is interested in the substantial\ncharacter of this mountain railway, the heavy grades resembling portions of the mountain section of the Canadian\nPacific Railway. Again they rest for the night; this time at\nBotsen, still in the Tyrol. One of the bedrooms in the inn\nturns out to have been at some remote period the chapel of\nsome high ecclesiastic. The walls are covered with mural\npaintings, and in one is set a marble tablet surmounted by\nthe papal crown and an inscription.\nLeaving this quaint little mountain town, the way lies\ndown an exceedingly beautiful valley, lofty mountains\nrising tier above tier, and about them the varying tints of\nwoodland, vineyard, and maize field. 'The lifting clouds,\nthe scattered mists, the picturesque villages, the fertile flats,\nand vine-clad slopes, offer a wonderful panorama, one long\nto be remembered/\nAs they near the Italian boundary and the Plain of Lom-\nbardy, the character of the country and its inhabitants\nchanges. Towns and villages multiply. The houses look\nold and battered, and there is a noticeable lack of the tidiness\nand cleanness of the north. The vineyards are luxuriant,\nthe vines trained over high trelliswork, instead of in rows\nthree or four feet high, as in Germany. An hour or so later,\nwhen they have crossed into Italy, the vineyards change\nagain, the vines hanging in graceful festoons from tree to\ntree, the latter evidently planted in rows for the purpose.\nThe trees seem dwarfed and stunted, the greedy vines\nabsorbing all the nourishment from the soil.\nA wait of four or five hours between trains at Verona gives\nthe travellers an opportunity of seeing the splendid amphitheatre and other relics of old Roman days. This is Dickens's\n' Pleasant Verona, with its beautiful old palaces, and charming country in the distance, seen from terrace walks and\n\t\n A TRIP TO VENICE IN 1881\n229\nstately balustraded galleries; its Roman gates, still spanning\nthe fair street, and casting on the sunlight of to-day the\nshade of fifteen hundred years ago; its marble-fitted\nchurches, lofty towers, rich architecture, and quaint old\nquiet thoroughfares, where shouts of Montagues and Capu-\nlets once resounded ; its fast-rushing river, picturesque old\nbridge, great castle, waving cypresses, and prospect so\ndelightful and so cheerful'. The narrow streets remind the\ntravellers of those of the Lower Town in Quebec, but the\ninhabitants are not prepossessing, ' nothing but idle or\nhalf-idle people lounging about'.\nAt last they approach their destination. It is late, and\nin the darkness they discover that the train is running along\na narrow embankment with a wide expanse of water on each\nside; then\u00E2\u0080\u0094Venice ! They had telegraphed for rooms at\nthe Grand Hotel de l'Europe (all hotels are ' Grand' in\nVenice), and the commissionaire is waiting for them at the\nstation. I We are passed over to two gondoliers dressed in\nwhite and blue, who lead us through the crowd to a dazzling\nsight outside the building on the Grand Canal. Hundreds\nof gondolas are waiting to be engaged, their lights dancing in\nthe water about them. We take our seats and glide away\nwith many others, first along the Grand Canal and under\nthe bridge of the Rialto. Then we thread our way alongside\ncanals to shorten the distance, and again spring out into the\nGrand Canal, and so to our hotel, and a long night's sleep/\nThe following day the International Geographical Congress is opened in the Doge's Palace by the King and Queen,\nwith brilliant ceremonies. 'Each day', we read in the\njournal, ' Venice is thronged and excited by some new\ndisplay. One evening the Piazza di San Marco is illuminated\nby one hundred thousand small lamps ; the bands play, and\n60,000 or 70,000 people surge to and fro, cheering the young\nKing and Queen who appear at the window. Another day\nthere is a grand regatta of gondolas, with richly decorated\nbarges, the King and Queen taking part. One evening the\nGrand Canal is ifiuminated, and such a fairy scene would be\nimpossible anywhere else.' Much of Fleming's time is of\n\"WHWB?- !\n 230\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ncourse taken up with the meetings of the Congress, particularly those relating to the adoption of a Prime Meridian\ncommon to all nations. His own paper is well received,\nand in fact becomes the foundation of international action\nin this important matter, as described in another chapter.\nIn spite of his preoccupation with the Congress and its\ndoings, however, he and his companions manage to see at\nleast some of the memorable things in the wonderful old\ntown on the Adriatic, and as they wander about they feel,\nas so many have felt before them, the saddening influence\nof departed glories, memories that cling to her deserted\npiers and palaces, memories of a thousand years of triumphant grandeur, of commercial dominion, and the lordship\nof the seas.\nAfter a week or so in Venice, they leave for Rome by way\nof Florence, where they spend a day among the art treasures\nof the palace of the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Gazing at\nthe marvellous works in marble of the old masters, Fleming\nis reminded of Goldwin Smith's comment on his own inaugural address as Chancellor of Queen's College the previous\nyear, in which he had made a strong plea for good translations of the classics. ' Goldwin Smith', he says,' compared\ntranslations to plaster casts and Greek and Latin to the\noriginal marbles. Looking as I now do upon the original\nmarbles, I confess I cannot altogether accept the force of his\ncomparison. These marble figures are still beautiful, but\nthey are stained and discoloured, fractured and repaired.\nSome have been so carelessly patched that the glory of the\noriginal is almost lost. Surely the eye would be better\nsatisfied with a pure, stainless cast; not such casts as one\nbuys in the. streets, but reproductions by a master who\nwould bring out every line and feature of the original, and\nrestore it to its original beauty free from the hideous stains\nand fractures which the vicissitudes of time have unfortunately produced, and which it seems no mortal hand can\nremove.'\nSunday finds them in Rome, and after trying the Presbyterian Church outside the Porta del Popolo and the English\n-\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n tfi&SlMteiL fc\nA TRIP TO VENICE IN 1881\n231\nChurch in the same quarter, and finding them both closed,\nthey abandoned themselves to sight-seeing. They manage\nto see something of the Colosseum, and the Pantheon,' with\nthe sixteen huge granite columns of its portico, which the\nbattering of twenty centuries has failed to destroy \ The\nfollowing day is devoted to St. Peter's and the Vatican.\nAmong the wonderful frescoes in the Vatican, the journal\nmentions one of recent date commemorating the dogma of\nthe Immaculate Conception, and a smaller one in the same\nroom in memory of those who though opposing the dogma\nyielded to the voice of the majority. ' We fancied we\ndiscovered one face in the latter picture intended for the\nlate Archbishop Connolly of Halifax/ an old and much\nesteemed friend of Sandford Fleming. The Sistine Chapel\nis also visited, but Michael Angelo's frescoes are ' dull and\ndingy/ and Sandford Fleming frankly admits that he prefers\nsome of the more modern work.\n' We have still to visit the great library of the Vatican*\nand we enter and proceed along one gallery, the walls lined\nwith book-cases. We are about to see the central portion\nwhen we have to give way to no less a personage than the\nPope Mmself. The poor man, as is well known, is theoretically a prisoner in the Vatican, and only goes out to the\nVatican gardens to take exercise. He was now about to do\nso, and, having to pass through the library from his private\nrooms, we were requested to leave, it being customary to\nhave the way clear of strangers/\nLeaving the Vatican, and with a parting look at the\nglorious proportions of St. Peter's, they drive out to the\nCatacombs, and the Appian Way. The construction of the\nlatter merely as an engineering problem is found of peculiar\ninterest. The remainder of the day is given to the Forum\nand the wonderfully interesting ruins on and about the\nPalatine Hill.\nFour days in all are spent in Rome, time to get but passing\nglimpses of a few of the innumerable monuments of the past,\nbut filled with vivid impressions of the Ancient City\u00E2\u0080\u0094how\nancient they are reminded as they take the train for Naples,\n\u00C2\u00AB*\u00C2\u00A7?\u00C2\u00BB**\u00C2\u00BB-\n 232\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n*i\n1\n1!\nfor ' on a conspicuous place in the walls of the new railway\nstation is a sculptured representation of the old legend of\nRomulus and Remus, a she^wolf nursing two little boys'.\nA friend in Venice had recommended them to ' Mrs. Mac-\npherson's ' as the most comfortable hotel in Naples. To\nScottish ears the name was recommendation enough, and\nwhen they finally reach their destination, late at night, the\nman of the party, having no Italian, stands boldly on the\nrailway platform and calls the name of his countrywoman.\nIt brings an immediate response, and they drive through\nnarrow streets to the Hotel Britannique.\nBoth hotel and landlady live up to their reputation.\nEverything is thoroughly comfortable. From their room\nthe travellers have a delightful view over the Bay of Naples,\nwith Vesuvius in the distance and its waving plumes of\nsilvery cloud. Mrs. Macpherson turns out to be a Scotchwoman who early in life had married an Italian. Her husband is dead, and she has resumed her maiden name, perhaps\nwith a shrewd idea of its business value in catering to English-\nspeaking travellers. Her two comely daughters offer the\ncurious combination of Scotch features with Italian speech.\nAfter luncheon the day following his arrival in Naples,\nFleming takes the local train to a station near Pompeii,\nand drives over to the City of the Dead. After a glance\nthrough the museum, he finds more to interest him in the\nstreets and buildings. ' The streets are generally straight\nand narrow, from fifteen to twenty-five feet in width. They\nare invariably well paved with large blocks of hard lava.\nThey are bordered by paved side-paths and at the crossings\nlarge flat stepping-stones are placed, the openings between\nwide enough to admit the passage of wheeled carriages.\nThe deep ruts worn in the hard lava give one an idea of the\nonce busy life of this city of long ago. From thirty to forty\nstreets are opened up. Each one with its buildings is an\nintensely interesting study. Here one sees a court-house,\nthere a jail, a custom-house with weights and measures,\na bakehouse with several sets of granite mill-stones for\ngrinding the grain. The upper stone is hopper-shaped and\n A TRIP TO VENICE IN 1881\n233\nhas holes for inserting horizontal bars to turn it. Some of\nthe private dwellings had a central court surrounded by\nmarble pillars with a fountain in the centre. The ends of the\nleaden pipes for conveying the water were still visible. The\nwalls of some of the rooms were covered with frescoes and\nhad rich mosaic floors. Evidently they were the homes of\nmen of distinction in Pompeii.'\nThe next day is given to seeing as much as possible of\nNaples. A heavy rainstorm forces them to the dubious\nexpedient of a covered cab, I the worst of its kind, a hundred\ntimes worse than a London four-wheeler, with an odour of the\nmost peculiar offensiveness.' They stand this as long as\npossible, seeing what they may of the ' splendid and squalid\nQueen of the Mediterranean', as some one has called it.\nThen they return to their hotel, and Sandford Fleming\nwanders out alone, armed with waterproof and umbrella, to\nget some last impressions of the town; but the rain comes\ndown in torrents and he is finally driven back to shelter.\nAfter dinner they drive down to the dock and take the\nsteamer for Leghorn. The decks are crowded with deck\npassengers, huddled together wherever a little shelter might\nbe found from the driving rain. It is blowing a gale outside,\nand the boat remains in port until the morning. The clouds\nlift, the sun comes out, the water of the Mediterranean turns\nfrom a murky grey to a wonderful blue, and as they steam\nup the coast they get a magnificent view of Vesuvius in all\nhis majesty.\nLanding at Leghorn, they take the train for Pisa, getting\na glimpse of the leaning tower, and on to Genoa. ' This is\none of the most beautiful and interesting railway rides in the\nworld. Our course is along the edge of the Gulf of Genoa,\nthe Riviera di Levante. At one point the line runs along\nthe rocky beach, at another through a mountain spur. We\ntraverse innumerable tunnels, emerging from the darkness\ninto lovely valleys covered with groves of fig-trees and lemon-\ntrees, and vineyards occupying every available foot of the\nhill-sides. The views of coast and mountain are exquisitely\nbeautiful. Every opening has its little bay with picturesque\ni\ i\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2m-j&m-'-\n 234\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nm\nfishing-boats, its villages with quaint spires and venerable\nbuildings, and gardens fenced with hedges of aloes.'\nSunday is spent in Genoa, and after attending the Scotch\nChurch they enjoy a chat with the pastor, who turns out to be\nfrom Fifeshire. The beauties of the Riviera have rather\nspoiled them for a thorough appreciation of the famous\nchurches and palaces of Genoa. They cannot, however,\nescape the striking contrast between this proud city and her\nancient rival on the other side of the peninsula. Venice\nlives only in the past. Genoa boasts of an almost equally\nglorious past, but the spirit of her people still lives in her\ncrowded harbour and busy streets.\nLeaving Genoa, they spend part of a day in Turin, and\nthen on to Paris. ' Turin is laid out very much like an\nAmerican western town, in parallelograms. The buildings\nare modern in style and construction for the most part.\nI have no doubt there is an old town, as in Edinburgh, but\nwe did not see it/ Leaving Turin they cross the western\nend of the great Lombardy plain, traverse a richly cultivated\nvalley, and are in sight of the Alps. Several small tunnels\nlead at last to the Mont Cenis, with every detail of which\nthe engineer is deeply interested. ' A wonderful piece of\nwork !' he exclaims.\nEmerging from the tunnel after half an hour in the heart\nof the mountain, they are carried down through the wildest\nof mountain scenery, where every foot of soil is carefully\ncultivated by the frugal villagers for themselves and their\ngoats, down to Aix les Bains and its exquisite surroundings,\nand on to Macon, where they spend the night. In the morning they leave for Paris, where they meet old friends and rest\nfor a day or two. A few busy days in London, and once\nmore they are crossing the Atlantic. They return to Halifax\nby the Intercolonial after an absence of a little more than\ntwo months.\n\u00C2\u00ABr\n t5t> 1*\nCHAPTER XIX\nQUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR\nWhen the boy Sandford Fleming passed through Kingston\nin 1845, on his way to Peterboro', it could never have entered\nhis imagination that thirty-five years later he would return\nto the picturesque little town on Lake Ontario as Chancellor\nof Queen's University.\nIn 1845 Queen's was in its infancy, having been granted\na royal charter four years before. Work was commenced\nthe following year, 1842, in a frame building on the north\nside of Colborne Street. The year Fleming first saw Kingston, the college was housed in a series of stone buildings,\nformerly dwelling-houses, on William Street. Between 1845\nand 1880 the college suffered many vicissitudes, and it was\nnot until the Rev. George M. Grant became Principal, in 1877,\nthat Queen's began to take its proper place among the leading\neducational institutions of the country. It is an interesting\nfact that as long ago as 1839, when the fortunes of Queen's\nwere at a very low ebb, a meeting was held in Kingston\nlooking to the establishment of means for a liberal education\nof the youth of the province. At that meeting a resolution\nwas adopted appointing a committee to collect subscriptions,\nand the mover of the resolution was a young man just entering into public life, whose name was John A. Macdonald.\nTwo candidates were proposed for the office of Chancellor\nof Queen's University in 1880, Samuel Hume Blake and\nSandford Fleming. The latter proved to be the popular\ncandidate. Goldwin Smith's name had also been mentioned\nfor the Chancellorship, but it was found that he would be\nindisposed to accept, and therefore was not nominated\nFleming had for some time been interested in Queen's, but\nhis interest had been quickened from the time that his\nfriend Grant assumed the direction of the institution.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0< 1\nw*a\u00C2\u00BBr*\n 236\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nM\n,\nPrincipal Grant, with characteristic energy, had not allowed\nthe grass to grow under his feet. The year after his appointment he organized an endowment campaign for the university, in which he had the warm support of Fleming. In the\nlife of the late Principal, by his son, one finds the following\nnote : ' Rev. D. M. Gordon wrote from Ottawa that the\nsubscriptions for the chair of Physics would be headed by\ntwo gifts of five thousand dollars each. One of the givers\nwas Mr. Allan Gilmour. The name of the other benefactor\nwas kept secret for a time. He was Mr. Sandford Fleming,\nand it was largely through his influence that Mr. Gilmour\nhad made this considerable gift.'\nThat Principal Grant fully reciprocated Fleming's high\nopinion of his friend was made evident in many ways. At\nthe installation of the Chancellor in 1880, Grant made no\nsecret of his satisfaction. ' While he would,' he said, ' have\nwillingly accepted either candidate as Chancellor, he was\nextremely glad the decision had fallen on an old friend. He\nand Mr. Fleming had travelled together by sea and land,\nand he had learned to appreciate the rare qualities of his\ncharacter. He did not know of a better example to set\nbefore the youth in the institution, and hoped there would\nbe many students trained up to resemble him. There was\nno man living whom he would rather have at his back in\nan undertaking requiring patience, strength, and determination than the new Chancellor. It was not necessary to speak\nof his works. He had not only constructed a great railway,\nbut had written the story in a manner which redeemed the\ndry details and made the most indifferent finish the work\nafter he had commenced it. The history of the Intercolonial\nRailway was a prominent contribution to Canadian literature. Fleming's characteristics were loyalty, calm resolve,\ndevotion to truth, and boundless tolerance of opinion. The\nnew Chancellor was a man who could listen to every one, no\nmatter what his opinions might be. He believed that a man\nmight differ from him and yet be a thoroughly honest and\nable man. This was the kind of man for the head of a truly\nnational university.'\n*f\n'.\nKjjjfi\nHHftli\nE^SSST- :\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\n QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 237\nIn his first address as Chancellor, Fleming took occasion\nto sketch the history of Queen's University, and as the\ngrowth of this institution offers many points of interest it\nwill be worth while to reproduce that portion of his inaugural.\n' Queen's', he said, ' cannot lay claim to the hoary antiquity of the universities of the Old World; compared with\nthem it is but of yesterday. It has a brief record that may\nbe soon told. Less than half a century ago British North\nAmerica was almost destitute of seminaries of learning, and\nwholly without the means of superior education. The first\naction which we have to record, which eventually culminated\nin the establishment of the University of Queen's, was in\n1831. In that year the Synod in connexion with the Church\nof Scotland experienced the difficulty of obtaining ministers\nfrom the mother country ; and, convinced of the importance\nof raising up from among its own congregations young men\nproperly educated, memorialized the Government on the\nsubject. The Synod represented the deep interest the\nPresbyterian body took in the advancement of learning in\nCanada, and their most anxious desire to see a college established under such a charter as would render it generally\navailable, and would secure to it the confidence and support of all denominations of Christians and all classes of the\npeople. Year by year the most strenuous efforts were made\nto secure the great object aimed at, in connexion with what\nwas then known as the King's College endowment. Although\nin different parts of the province meetings were held, committees and delegations appointed, and reports prepared,\nall efforts proved fruitless. In 1839 the Synod, adhering to\nthe principle laid down by the mother Church from the\nearliest days\u00E2\u0080\u0094of maintaining a high standard of education\nfor the ministry\u00E2\u0080\u0094detennined that there should be no further\ndelay in making arrangements for the establishment of a\ncollege. Kingston, being centrally situated, was chosen,\nand influential men, both lay and clerical, set vigorously to\nwork to raise funds and to take other necessary means for\nfounding a collegiate establishment for the education of\n 238\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n*\nw\nyouth, and for the proper training of native ministers.\nAmong other steps taken, a document was prepared by\na committee of the Synod and widely circulated. The\nwords of this document, dated 9th October, 1839, show not\nonly what were the immediate wants and ultimate aims of\nthe founders of the college, but considering the limited\nresources and population of Canada in those days, they\ndisplay the courageous spirit as well as the enhghtened and\npatriotic sentiments with which those noble men were\nendowed.\n' In another document, to which wide circulation was\ngiven, it was explained that although the establishment of\nthe theological branch was then considered the most urgent,\nit was the desire and purpose of the founders to provide for\nand embrace a complete course of literary and scientific\neducation. It was further explained that the Committee\nwas pledged to raise $25,000 within six months as an endowment for one professor, and it was estimated that a total\nsubscription of from $120,000 to $160,000 would be necessary. The active promoters of the scheme looked for some\nassistance from the Public Treasury; and they expected\nthat the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland would\nendow a theological chair; but they relied mainly on private\ncontributions for the means of establishing and maintaining\nthe proposed seminary of learning.\n' The design of the founders was sufficiently comprehensive, but they were wise enough to know their poverty, and\nprudent enough not to undertake more than was practicable.\nIt was enough for them to originate an institution that,\nwhile making provision for present and actual needs, would\nadmit of indefinite enlargement and keep pace with the\ngrowth of the country. Their design was to erect at first\na humble superstructure sufficient for their most pressing\nwants, but to lay the substructure broad and deep, leaving\nto another generation the work of extending and completing\nthe edifice. By this prudent course they hoped to avoid\nthe indiscretion of outrunning the limited means at their\ncommand. They saw that the establishment and complete\nMk\n El\nQUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 239\nequipment of such a collegiate institution as the future\nmight demand was then beyond the wants, and still more\nbeyond the means, of a young and struggling community,\nand that without abandoning the idea they would act wisely\nin postponing the attempt to reach its complete fulfilment.\n' Legislative authority was sought, and early in 1840 the\nGovernor-General gave his assent to a Bill entitled \" An Act\nto establish a College by the name and style of ' The University at Kingston \"/ The year following, Her Majesty was\ngraciously pleased to grant a royal charter by which the\nname of \" Queen's \" was authorized to be used, and the style,\nrights, and privileges of a university were conferred.\n' The college was opened for the first time on the 7th of\nMarch, 1842, for half a session. For this purpose a small\nprivate house was hired, and two professors were engaged.\nOf the students who presented themselves for matriculation\nonly three passed the examination. The small number of\nyoung men prepared to matriculate revealed the fact that\neducation in Canada was then at an extremely low ebb,\nand it became necessary to open a junior class for those who\nfailed to matriculate.\nThis was not an auspicious commencement, but the\npromoters of the college had cause to rejoice that the long-\ncherished scheme which they had struggled to commence was\nassuming form, and that the actual beginning had been made.\nThey were in no way discouraged by the prospect which presented itself. They remembered, doubtless, that although\nsome of the ancient seats of learning in the Old World were\nfounded by popes and sovereigns and were richly endowed\nby Church and State, a few of the most famous universities\nhad a very humble origin, and were indebted for their subsequent progress to the fiberality of private individuals. They\nwould know that Edinburgh University began with only one\nprofessor, and that Cambridge\u00E2\u0080\u0094now with a cluster of eighteen\nor twenty colleges and halls\u00E2\u0080\u0094was established in the twelfth\ncentury and found shelter, it is said, in a farm outbuilding,\nunder the auspices of an abbot and three monks. The early\nfriends of Queen's had faith in the future, and they were\n Ml\n240\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nencouraged to hope that the Canadian college which they had\nfounded might some day\u00E2\u0080\u0094possibly far distant\u00E2\u0080\u0094resemble\nthose famous seats of learning as much in the splendour of\nits career as in the lowness of its origin.\n' The early years of the college were somewhat chequered.\nFor some time it was sustained by direct and almost annual\nappeals for support to the Kirk congregations throughout\nCanada. In 1854 the Summerhill property was purchased\nfor college buildings, involving further appeals to liquidate\nthe debt incurred. In 1867 the college was overtaken by\na series of trials peculiarly severe. Two-thirds of the endowment fund, invested in the Commercial Bank, were lost in\nthe failure of that institution, and about the same time the\nGovernment grant, which had been received for twenty-two\nyears, was withdrawn. It therefore became more necessary\nthan ever to fall back on private beneficence. In 1869 an\nappeal was made for $100,000. It met with hearty support in\nall parts of the country, and more than the* sum asked for\nwas subscribed. Prosperity dawned upon the institution, and\nin the next decade it made substantial progress. About two\nyears ago it was considered that the time had arrived to\nextend the usefulness of the university. As the endowment\nfund was considered inadequate to meet the increased expenditure which would follow, fresh efforts to extend the\nfund became necessary.\n' It was estimated that a new subscription of at least\n$150,000 Would be required. Every friend of Queen's knows\nthat Principal Grant undertook the task of personally visiting\nthe towns and cities of Canada and as many country districts as possible to explain the objects of the application,\nand to afford to those who might desire it an opportunity of\nassisting by their contributions. This last appeal was\neminently successful, and although the business of the\ncountry had been prostrated by financial depression, the\nsubscriptions amounted to the sum deemed necessary.\n' The college has undoubtedly during its brief career had\nmany trials, but it has been tenacious of life, and has proved\nitself superior to all adversity. It is now on a firm and\n SH\nQUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 241\nenduring foundation, and its success in the future may be\nconsidered assured. Other seats of learning may boast an\norigin far back in mediaeval and monastic times, they may\nreceive the fostering help of Church and State, or may have\ninherited princely endowments, but Queen's University may\njustly claim the distinction of resting on the support and\naffection of thousands of friends and benefactors, and they\nall believe it will prove worthy of their friendship/\nIn this same address as Chancellor, Fleming discussed in\na very interesting way the functions of a modern university.\nWe have known him hitherto as engineer, a builder of great\nnational works, a leader in Imperial undertakings. It is\ninstructive as to the breadth and diversity of his mind to find\nhim addressing an audience of college men, on a question that\nlay much more in their field than in his, and revealing a knowledge and grasp of the subject which held their attention\nthroughout.\n' There are', he said, ' many who hold that centralization\nin university education would be the most advantageous\narrangement; and, although much may be said on the other\nside, I confess that if it were attainable I would be inclined\nto favour the idea of a National University, with a great\ncentral college for literature, science, and every branch of\nnon-denominational learning, while there might be clustered\naround the secular college, as a common centre, theological\nhalls perfectly independent of each other, and under the\nmanagement and control of the religious bodies to which\nthey respectively belonged. I am inclined to think that if\nthe whole question had to be dealt with de novo, a symmetrical scheme of this kind would commend itself to general\nfavour. In such a case it would not be necessary for different\nreligious bodies to establish and maintain separate universities. They would only have to see to the efficiency of\ntheir theological halls, and to endow such special professorships as were deemed necessary by them for training their\nyouth for the ministry.\n' It would be practicable for students of every creed to\nunite in the secular departments and to attend the same\nQ\nm\n!\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0*>mm-\n 242\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nlectures in the central college. Thus, instead of having as\nmany universities as there are different denominations, we\nwould have the strength of all combined in one; which might,\nin consequence of the combination, be rendered as complete\nand efficient as it would be practicable to make it, and the\nwhole circle of the sciences and every branch of study of\na non-sectarian character might there be taught by the ablest\nmen of the day. Some such arrangement is what the\nfounders of Queen's contended for. Year after year they\nstruggled to combine the leading religious bodies in one\nNational University. Even six years after Queen's was\norganized a final but unsuccessful effort was made to unite\nwith \" King's \", now Toronto University, on a broad, comprehensive basis. It is therefore no fault of the early friends\nof this institution that the college system of the province is as\nwe now find it.\n' At this stage in the progress of Canada, however, we are\ncalled upon to accept not what we would wish but what we\nhave. It would be unwise and inexpedient to uproot the\ninstitutions which have grown out of the past condition of\nthings, or to contend for a theory which is obviously impracticable. Instead of struggling for what is beyond our\nreach, it is infinitely better to accept what we possess, to\nmake the most of what has been secured, and to look hopefully forward to that which is attainable.\nt The time has gone by for seriously discussing whether\nthere should be one university or several in Canada. It\nwould be a step backward to unsettle the public mind with\nregard to their permanency. Nothing can be more pernicious in horticultural pursuits than constantly disturbing\nplants at the period of their growth in order to examine their\nroots. So it is with seats of learning. They are of slow\ngrowth, and they take deep root amongst the institutions of\nthe country, and in the feelings and sentiments of the community. How would a proposal be received to break up\nOxford and Cambridge, with their forty-two colleges and\nhalls, and to substitute universities in every county in\nEngland ? Such a scheme may have substantial reasons to\nH\n QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 243\nsupport it, and, if everything had to be founded afresh,\nwould meet with many advocates; but Oxford and Cambridge\nare the growth of some eight centuries. They have played\nno unimportant part in the history of England, and are\nalmost as firmly established to-day as the august sovereign\non the throne.\nTurning to another portion of the British Isles, what\nwould be thought of a proposal to centralize collegiate\neducation in Scotland, and to abolish the old universities of\nSt. Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow\u00E2\u0080\u0094institutions which, with one exception, were established by Papal\nauthority and have flourished from a period anterior to\nthe Reformation, and within whose halls intellects have been\ntrained that have left their impress on the Empire ?\n' In this Dominion, as in the mother country, we must\nhold on to that which is good, and do our best to build up\nand give stability to those institutions which are calculated\nto advance the nappiness and prosperity of mankind. May\nwe cherish the idea that Queen's University is one of those\ninstitutions, and that it has an important mission to perform\non this broad continent during centuries which are to come.\n' This idea is pregnant with questions, and we are led to\nask ourselves : \" What is the proper work of Queen's, and\nhow should it be performed ? What should our country\nexpect of this university, and what does our time especially\nneed ? \" In attempting to answer these questions, I feel\nthat we are called upon to consider not simply what course\nof education has been pursued in other generations or in other\ncountries in order that we may follow it, but we are called\nupon to ascertain what is the best for Canada at this particular stage in her history.\n' At various times within the past hundred years university\neducation has been the subject of warm controversy, one\nparty contending that a certain course of study is absolutely\nnecessary, and another school urging that the importance of\nsome other branch of learning is paramount. By one it is\nclaimed that instruction should aim at exercising and training the mental faculties ; by another, at imparting positive\nQ2\n 244\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nand useful knowledge. It is held on one side that the ancient\nclassics are indispensable as a means of culture, and of the\nhighest value and importance as sources of information,\nthat their study best develops the intellectual faculties, and\nhas a strong humanizing tendency. On the other hand it is\ncontended that the language and literature of ancient Greece\nand Rome should, to a large extent, be superseded by the\nphysical sciences, and by other studies which, from a\nutilitarian point of view, may be deemed more practical.\nAs in other controversial questions which are discussed with\ngreat force, it may be that both sides are correct, and yet\nneither absolutely true under all circumstances. There may\nbe a half-way point where men may settle their differences ;\nor, possibly, a purely classical education may be the best for\none college or century or country, but not the most desirable\nunder all conditions.\n' Be that as it may, the question of university education\nhas been exhaustively discussed by some of the ablest scholars\nand educationalists, and if they have been unable to agree as\nto the course which would best meet the necessities of the age,\nit might be deemed presumption were a layman like myself\nto venture a positive opinion one way or the other. My own\ncrude views, which must be taken for what they are worth,\nare presented suggestively and diffidently, rough-hewn from\nthe mental quarry.\n' It will be conceded that the great object of education is\nthe development of the human faculties, by the operation\nof such influences as will subdue our evil natures, will\nstrengthen our best natures, and- will cultivate and enrich\nthe mind, so as to form the best possible individual characters.\nIts grand aim is to ennoble the propensities and tastes, to\nstrengthen the moral sense, and to fit man to discharge\nhis duties as an intelligent being, in the best manner of\nwhich he is capable in the land in which he lives, and in\nthe age in which God has given him fife. If this definition\nbe accepted, it is clear that the system of education to be\nfollowed at this institution should be that which best meets\nthe conditions laid down\u00E2\u0080\u0094that the University of Queen's,\n BS&9i^fi\nw\nQUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 245\nin order properly to perform its functions, and fulfil the\nhopes and expectations of its friends, must provide an opportunity for the Canadian youth to acquire a sound intellectual culture, and to enrich his mind with stores of thought,\nin order that he may be prepared well to perform his part in\nelevating the condition of his race, and in raising the character\nof his country in the scale of nations.'\nThe Chancellor sketched the history of education, and the\ncif cumstances which gave to the classics a pre-eminent place\nin the course of instruction. He suggested that, under the\npeculiarly complicated conditions of modern life, it was\na question if the benefits to be derived from a classical\neducation were worth the serious expenditure of youthful\nyears, years that could never be recalled.\n: The child born to-day ', he pointed out, ' in order to be\nabreast of the age in which he lives, has very much more to\nlearn than the man who lived one, two, or five centuries ago.\nWhile the empire of learning has been prodigiously extended,\nhuman life has not been prolonged, intellectual capacity\nhas not been enlarged, and the limited time which any individual can devote to college work has not been increased.\n' It appears to me self-evident that educational training\ncannot be the same under all circumstances, and that what\nmay be best at one period may require modifications as circumstances change and time rolls on. Although the thoughts\nof wise men among the ancients have been handed down to\nenrich the mind of the modern student, it must be borne in\nmind that great books have been written in more recent\ntimes, that human thought and life are spreading out in ever\nwidening circles, and that modern literature, science, and\nphilosophy present claims to a conspicuous place in any\ncourse of study; and it must be conceded that to become\nfamiliar with the highest efforts of the human intellect,\nmodern as well as ancient, is surely a main purpose of\na liberal education in the age in which we five.\nThe learned gentlemen who are called upon to determine\nthe course of study to be pursued at Canadian Universities\nwill recognize that this age and this country have strong\nN**r\n 246\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nutilitarian tendencies, that the people of Canada want no\nsuperficial training, no half education at the higher seminaries\nof learning\u00E2\u0080\u0094that they desire to have the education of their\nyouth as complete as possible. They expect university\nteaching to be made thorough, but they demand that the\nmeans placed at the disposal of the governors of the universities shall be applied to the best possible advantage, that\nhigh education shall be disseminated over the widest possible\narea, and that the time of those attending college shall in no\nway be wasted.\n' It will be borne in mind that this country is widely\ndifferent in some respects from the mother country\u00E2\u0080\u0094that we\nhave no class who five on inherited wealth as in England,\nwhere many young men attend college simply as a condition\nof their social standing, to spend pleasantly the educational\nyears of their early manhood; that in Canada there is but\nlittle accumulated wealth, that all are struggling to better\ntheir condition and to promote the general progress. Here\nall are children of activity, obliged to toil with head or hand,\nand the young men who attend college enter on a few years\nof earnest academic fife for the purpose of receiving mental\ndiscipline and the best possible preparation for the work that\nlies before them, either in the learned professions, in country\nlife, or in the various industrial pursuits which may be open\nfor them.\n* With all the facts, all the experience, and all the arguments on both sides, the question for consideration appears\nto reduce itself to this : What would the same time, and care,\nand educational energy now spent on classics effect if devoted\nto the systematic study of modern literature, the sciences,\nand the literature of every race which may be had in our\nordinary tongue, in the language which we speak and write\nand think ? My own reflections, however diffidently they\nmay be expressed, clearly point to a curriculum in which\nGreek and Latin will not predominate, in which these studies\nwill not be imperative, and in which they will be largely\ncurtailed of their exclusiveness, in order to place all important\nstudies on an equal footing.\n ate\n1\nQUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 247\n' My idea would be to restore to universities their original\ncharacter, and to carry out the old scheme of a university in\nits widest sense. It would not be necessary to sacrifice any\nstudy now enforced, but it would be expedient to place them\nin their proper position, to extend all desirable studies, and\nto arrange the curriculum so as to cramp and dwarf no man's\npowers by forcing them into grooves which they cannot\npossibly fit. On the contrary, the fullest opportunity should\nbe afforded for expanding the individual intellectual faculties\nin the direction in which nature intended they should grow.\nIndividuality is one of the great wants of our time, and if not\nthe sole, it should certainly be a chief, end of true education.\nDo we not, therefore, want a system which would bring out\ndistinctions of character, and the best mental and moral\npecuharities of our youth\u00E2\u0080\u0094a system which will give them, in\naddition to general culture, such solid attainments as will\nhave the very strongest tendency to make them moral, useful, and refined ? 1\nAfter an eloquent plea for the establishment of several\nnew chairs at the university, the Chancellor turned to the\nstudents. ' I cannot j he said, ' too strongly impress upon\nyou\u00E2\u0080\u0094students of Queen's University\u00E2\u0080\u0094that you should value\nhighly the privileges to which you are here admitted. The\nimportance of a sound college education is very great. True,\nthere are many instances of men prospering in life without\nthe benefits which flow from it, but these men are very\nheavily handicapped in the race. Occasional success proves\nnothing. Besides, it cannot be doubted that if men with\ncapacity and industry have made their way in the world\nagainst every obstacle, without a college education, they\nwould have accomplished more, and with much greater ease,\nhad they been blessed with all the advantages which you\nwill here enjoy. The education of men who have distinguished themselves in any way without university training\nhas been laboriously and in most cases imperfectly obtained\nthrough private study; and as exercise invariably strengthens\nthe faculties whether physical or mental, the very obstacles\nwhich they have overcome have been of service to them in\nWSBBS\n 248\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n1\nobtaining any degree of cultivation that they may have\nreached. But if you ask such men, they will tell you that their\npath to success would have been infinitely easier, and that\nthey would in all probability have occupied a much larger\nsphere of usefulness to mankind, if circumstances had\nfavoured them as they are now favouring you.\n' Let me advise you not to throw away or neglect your\ngrand opportunities. Do not trifle with your precious\ncollege days. You may not all win prizes or attract attention\nat examinations. The race is not always to the swift. Do\nnot be discouraged if your morning star does not shine\nbrightly. The shining may come later on in the day. Bring\nto bear on your work earnestness of purpose, self-reliance,\nperseverance, sobriety of speech and of behaviour, and you\nwill be certain to vanquish every difficulty. Be determined\nto spend your college days to some purpose, and you will\nsurely carry with you into the world treasures which no thief\ncan steal, and a fortune which no adversity can take from\nyou. You will be the indisputable owner of stores of\nthought and of happiness for all the days of your life. You\nwill be the possessor of a trained and cultivated intellect,\nready to do honour to the highest or the humblest calling,\nand able to leave your race and the world better than you\nfound them.'\nFleming is still Chancellor of Queen's University, having\nbeen elected again and again to the high office. In his various\naddresses at convocation he has touched upon a wide variety\nof subjects, and has managed to put into them all the same\nspirit of broad-mindedness, tolerance, and kindly sympathy.\nHis keen interest in the university, and all that it stands\nfor, has never slackened. In a characteristically unostentatious way he has helped the institution financially on\nmany occasions, and has always been ready and willing to\ngive his time and thought to any movement looking to its\nbetterment.\nIn April 1908 Queen's recognized his services to the\nUniversity and the nation by conferring upon him the degree\nof LL.D. He had already received the same distinction\n gg\nffiHHwffiBHSB\nSandford Fleming, Chancellor of Queen's\n QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AND THE CHANCELLOR 249\nfrom St. Andrew's University in 1884, and from Columbia\nUniversity in 1887. While upon the subject of honours, it\nmay be convenient to mention here the fact that, in recognition of his public services, he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1897.\nHe is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal\nGeographical Society, the Geological Society, the Royal\nHistorical Society, and the Victoria Institute, and a member\nof many historical, scientific, and engineering societies.\nAs Chancellor, Fleming has always been careful, while\nhelping the university in any way within his power, to avoid\ninterfering with the functions of the Principal. The framing\nof policy he left to the Principal, but in many ways, both\ninside and outside the university, he found it possible to be\nof very real service. His position and influence were of\nservice outside, and his personal dignity and kindliness made\nhim invaluable in smoothing over little difiiculties among the\nmembers of the staff. He probably had a good deal to do\nwith the choice of Dr. Gordon to succeed Principal Grant;\nand in this connexion a characteristic story is told by a member of the faculty. ' When Principal Grant died, and Sir\nSandford and I were discussing the question of his successor,\nI suggested the name of one of the staff. \" No,\" said the old\nman in his soft voice, \" when I was an engineer at the head\nof surveying parties, I always found that it did not pay to\nmake one of the gang head of the gang ! \" '\nFleming enjoyed the ceremonial part of his duties as\nChancellor, and was in his element on such occasions as the\nreception in 1901 to the Duke and Duchess of York (now the\nKing and Queen), and the conferring of an LL.D. upon Earl\nGrey in 1905. His simple kindliness and natural dignity\nlent a very real charm to such ceremonies.\nThe convocation of 1905, with the presence of Earl Grey,\nsuggested to the Chancellor an incident of his childhood,\nwhich may very well close this chapter. ' The passing of the\nReform Bill in August 1832', he said,' was followed by public\nrejoicings throughout the country. The glens and parks of\nmy native land had enthusiastic gatherings, in which all\nw\n Ill\nIf\n250\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nclasses and all ages participated. My oldest recollection is\nof one of these gatherings with feasting and much rejoicing,\nbands playing and flags flying. Thousands of children were\npresent, some of them, like myself, very young. A small\nflag was placed in my hands as we marched in procession,\nand again and again our shrill voices raised three cheers for\nEarl Grey, the great Prime Minister who had secured the\npassage of the measure, and the grandfather of His Excellency\nthe Governor-General. These joyous acclamations of more\nthan threescore and ten years ago made an impression so\nstrong that they seem even now to re-echo through my\nmemory. This was the first public function in which I had\nthe privilege of joining.'\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\n-u\n m\nggjSalalsllsSS\nCHAPTER XX\ny\nAROUND THE WORLD IN 1893-4\nThe critical state of the Pacific Cable negotiations in 1893\ninduced Fleming to make a voyage to Australia, to assist\nthe Minister of Trade and Commerce, the Hon. Mackenzie\nBowell, in furthering the project in the antipodes. His\ndaughter Minnie accompanied him.\nThey left Ottawa early in September for Vancouver,\nFleming studying with never-failing interest the extraordinary changes that were taking place in the west. ' I\nthought I recognized an old camping-ground at Rat Creek\n(now Burnside) of our journey in 1872, when we met a party\nof Sioux. This was then the most westerly settlement. Now\nfor miles on miles the steam thresher is gathering in the\ngrain and leaving mountains of straw out to the far horizon/\nA few days later they board the Warrimoo at Vancouver and\nare off on the long voyage to Australia.\nFor the first few days they experience cloudy and wet\nweather, but before long run into sunshine and warmth.\nCape Flattery, the last of the American continent, had been\nleft behind, and they will see no land again until they touch\nat Honolulu. ' The air is balmy, the breeze fans our faces\ngratefully, for we perceptibly feel that we are going south at\nthe rate of over 300 miles a day. There is nothing to look at\nbeyond the bulwarks of the ship but the white fleecy clouds\nwhich fleck the sky and the intensely blue water on every side,\nbroken only by the foam of the vessel as she plows her way\nonward. Even the gulls seem to have tired following us.\nSo we are a little world within ourselves, and we begin to find\namong the strangers who started with us from Vancouver\nmore than one pleasant companion.'\nA day or two later one reads in the journal,' We are enter-\n 252\nSANDFORD FLEMING\ning decidedly new seas, as flying-fish are discovered darting\nthrough the air a few feet above the water. The heat is\nperceptibly greater, but not uncomfortable/\nTwo weeks from the day they left Ottawa, the ship enters\nthe harbour of Honolulu. Native boys amuse them, while\nthey wait to land, by diving for silver. They call on Major\nWoodhouse, the British Resident, and on the deposed Queen.\n'We found her fully as dark as any of the natives, her\nmanners very graceful, natural, and dignified.|| She talked\nwith each of us for a few rninutes. I ventured to say that\nI had already had the satisfaction of seeing Her Majesty in\nWestminster Abbey in June 1887, which evidently gave her\npleasure.* Time is also found for a drive out to the Punch\nBowl, from which they have a splendid view of the interior\nof the island with its luxuriant tropical vegetation ; and for\na visit with the British Resident to the flagship Philadelphia\nof the United States squadron. They are off again a little\nafter sunset, ' the receding island and the sparkling lights of\nHonolulu slowly vanishing in the full moon \\nNo land again for ten days ; and nothing to be seen but\nflying-fish with an occasional shark or porpoise. About noon\non September 29th they cross the equator. ' Standing erect\none has no shadow whatever. The sun is vertical over our\nheads. Strange to say, we did not feel the heat to-day\nnearly as much as on many previous days.' Two days later\nthey cross the anti-prime meridian, and according to custom\ndrop a day out of the reckoning. It is Sunday, October 1st,\nand the next day will be Tuesday, October 3rd.\nThe Fiji Islands are passed, but at too great a distance to\nbe visible, and ten days after leaving Honolulu they are\nabreast of Walpole Island, near the eastern end of New\nCaledonia, treeless and uninhabited. A remark in the j ournal\nbrings home to one the vast loneliness of the Pacific, even in\nthis age of rapidly increasing ocean traffic. They had been\non the Pacific for three weeks, and in all that time have seen\nonly one vessel of any description, a full-rigged bark somewhere north of the Hawaiian Islands.\nExactly a month from the time they left Ottawa they are\n AROUND THE WORLD IN 1893-4 253\nsailing into Sydney Harbour. ' A glorious day, the water\nlike a silver mirror, albatross floating above the surface of\nthe sea, porpoises leaping like salmon ; then a bold headland,\nand we are steaming up the magnificent harbour, one of the\nfinest in the world, seven miles of it, with varied and picturesque shores, and before us the great new city of the\nsouthern seas/\nThe following day is spent in making official calls on the\nGovernor, the Premier and other members of his Cabinet, and\nin a drive around Centennial Park, 'as well laid out and\napparently larger than Regent's Park in London \ also the\nBotanical Gardens, with their unfamiliar but peculiarly\nbeautiful trees and shrubs, and the Art Gallery, where there\nare a number of fine European pictures and several excellent\nAustralian landscapes.\nSeveral days are spent at Sydney, discussing the Pacific\nCable with Sir George Dibbs, the Premier, the Hon. H. M.\nBarton, Attorney-General, and other members of the New\nSouth Wales Government. The former entertains them at\nhis beautiful home,' Emu Plains,' and the latter takes them\nfor a drive through miles of orange groves, ripe fruit and\nflowers on the same tree, and the air laden with perfume.\nA cable to Ottawa, at about $6.50 a word, furnishes a practical illustration of the advantages of a State-owned system.\nMonday morning they leave for Queensland, reach Newcastle at noon, an important mining town, cross the boundary\nthe following morning, and change to the narrow-gauge\nrailway of Queensland. ' We enter the Darling Downs, a\nmagnificent pastoral prairie-like country of immense extent,\nthe soil deep and black, like that of Manitoba. Great herds\nof cattle and sheep are seen on every side.' Another day\nbrings more sheep, occasional orange groves, a wild high\ncountry, called the Liverpool range, where they run through\nhalf a dozen tunnels, then miles of fine timber, where kangaroo\nare occasionally seen, and Brisbane in the evening, where they\nare met by the Premier, Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, and learn\nincidentally that it has been 101 in the shade during the day.\nA day is spent sailing about Moreton Bay as the guest of\n1\n 254\nSANDFORD FLEMING\n]\nthe Premier, with the Governor, Sir Henry Norman, and\na large party of representative men of the colony. The\nPremier publicly announces his support of the Pacific Cable\nproject, and authorizes the press to publish a special memorandum Fleming has prepared. Dinner at Government\nHouse, where they meet Sir Samuel Griffith, who had represented Queensland at the Colonial Conference in 1887. As\nthey are leaving the following morning for a trip to one of\nthe famous gold-mining stations, ' the morning papers are\nfull of the Pacific Cable, the general tone of the comments\nmost encouraging \ A special train takes them to Bunda-\nberg, through palms and immense fields of sugar-cane,\n' growing with great luxuriance in a rich volcanic soil'.\nA day or two later they return to Sydney, and leave for\nMelbourne.\nAt the station in Melbourne the traveller is greeted with\na cheerful cry, t How are you, Sandford ? ', and recognizes his\nold friend Peter Martin, whom he had last seen fifty-four years\nbefore in Kirkcaldy. They had kept up a correspondence\nfor a few years, but Fleming had to admit that he had been\na little tardy in replying to Martin's last letter, received\nthirty-nine years before. ' Peter and I went arm and arm\nalong the streets of Melbourne, and had much to say to each\nother of all that had taken place in the long years that had\npassed. It is curious to contrast our quick passage from\nVancouver with his voyage of 1839, when he took five months\nto sail from the British Isles to Australia.' Conferences\nfollow with the members of the Victoria Government about\ncable matters; they dine with the Governor, the Earl of\nHopetoun (afterward first Governor-General of the Commonwealth) ; and the following day Fleming addresses the\nChamber of Commerce on the Pacific Cable.\nFrom Melbourne a visit is paid to Adelaide, the capital of\nSouth Australia, where they are the guests of the Lieutenant-\nGovernor. Conferences with the ministry follow, and they\nreturn to Melbourne in time for the Australian Derby\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n100,000 people and tremendous enthusiasm\u00E2\u0080\u0094and back again\nto Adelaide, where, after a month in Australia, they sail for\nvm\nTnitor\u00C2\u00BBi\n AROUND THE WORLD IN 1893-4\n255\nEngland on the Britannia by way of Ceylon and the Red\nSea.\nUnder date of November 17, the journal contains the\nfollowing entry : ' Aroused from bed at 4.30 a.m. to see the\nSouthern Cross. I have looked for it in vain since we left\nHonolulu. It has happened in the early part of the night\nto be under the horizon. To-day I have seen the constellation in a clear sky, but fifteen minutes later would have been\ntoo late, as the sky became overcast. However, I have\nseen it before leaving the southern hemisphere, and I must\nconfess it is dlisappomting/ Three days later they once\nmore cross the equator,' quite warm, but a pleasant breeze';\nand two more days brings them within the breakwater at\nColombo. A day is spent on shore driving about in jinrickshas, visiting Buddhist temples, and shopping in the bazaar.\nWhen they return to the ship Fleming is pleased to find that\namong the new passengers is Henniker Heaton, whom he had\nmet in London.\nThe voyage across the North Indian Ocean is all that could\nbe desired. ' The ship glides forward through smooth\ntropical seas, a pleasant balmy breeze from the north-west,\nand with our light clothing we feel perfectly comfortable.\nGames of various kinds on deck under the shady canvas;\nand a dance in the evening which all seem to enjoy/\nOn the morning of St. Andrew's day they enter the\nharbour of Aden, with its bold rocky headlands jutting out\nto sea. The deck is soon crowded with Arab traders selling\nodds and ends, and, as at Honolulu, the water is crowded with\nnative boys diving for small coins,' and keeping dexterously\nout of the way of sharks'. A diversion is furnished on the\nway up the Red Sea by a down steamer crossing the bows\nof the Britannia during the night and narrowly escaping\na collision. In the morning they get a glimpse of the coast\nof Nubia and Abyssinia in the far distance, but for the most\npart they are out of sight of land.\nThe ship is held up for several hours at the first station\nin the Suez Canal. The Khedive is making a trip through\nto Suez, and must have the right of way. ' Barren sand on\n '56\nSANDFORD FLEMING\neither side running up to high hills on the horizon/ They\nland at Ismailia, bid farewell to the ship, and take the train\nto Cairo.\nAfter a day in sight-seeing, visiting the principal mosques\nand the bazaars, they take a river steamer up to Memphis\nand Sakkara. ' We land at a village, and are met by a\nswarm of Arabs with their little donkeys, who struggle for\npossession of each member of the party. So we drive to\nMemphis, and among its ruins try to reconstruct the magnificent city of long ago. On the way to Sakkara we pass on\none side a collection of primitive mud huts, and on the other\nthe colossal statue of Rameses II lying prone. A few miles\nbring us to the pyramid of Sakkara, and the burial-place of\nthe sacred bulls, an underground gallery with twenty-four\ngreat granite sarcophagi. With the everlasting cry of\n\" Backsheesh ! \" ringing in our ears we ride wearily back\nto our boat on the river, and return to Cairo.'\nThe next day is given to the Great Pyramid. They enjoy\nthe drive from Gizeh through the acacias, and are interested\nin the labourers in the fields digging with heavy hoes, and\nrude wooden ploughs pulled by oxen, and the solemn camels\nthat pass them on the road with their heavy loads of merchandise. Also they stand respectfully before the Sphinx,\nbut ask her no questions.\nThe afternoon train takes them to Alexandria, ' through\na wonderfully fertile land much like that of the Red River\ncountry*. The sun sets behind the pyramids, and a little\nafter dark they have reached their destination. The following morning they take one of the steamers of the French\nLine to Marseilles. Among the passengers is the son of an\nold Edinburgh acquaintance of half a century ago. The sea\nis rough, and after crossing the Pacific and Indian Oceans,\nthey have their worst experience in the Mediterranean Sea.\nThe next day or two are uneventful, with glimpses of Etna\nand Vesuvius, the north shore of Corsica, the romantic isle\nof Monte Cristo, and Elba, with its memories of Napoleon.\nThey pass the north cape of Corsica, and leave the island\nbehind, looking back in silent admiration at its snow-\nI*\n JtW\nsm&\nMm$8WMBB&s8BBm\nAROUND THE WORLD IN 1893-4\n257\ncovered peaks gleaming gloriously in the sunshine, with the\nblue sea all about.\nFrom Marseilles they travel to Bordeaux, and after resting\nfor a few days at a neighbouring watering-place, leave for\nParis and London, where several busy weeks are spent in\nfurthering the interests of the Pacific Cable. The last day\nof the year finds London ' black with fog and smoke, and\nwretchedly cold', but they go to hear Archdeacon Farrar.\nSir Charles Tupper arranges a meeting with the Colonial\nMinister, Lord Ripon, and Sydney Buxton, the Under-\nSecretary, and Cable matters are discussed to some little\npurpose. Another entry in the Journal mentions a board\nmeeting of the Hudson Bay Company, of which ancient fur-\ntrading corporation Fleming was a director for more than a\nquarter of a century. A note is prepared for Lord Ripon on\nNecker Island and the importance of securing it as a landing-\nplace for the Pacific Cable.\nJanuary 7, reads the Journal: ' My birthday. I am\nsixty-seven years of age to-day, well on to the allotted span\nof threescore and ten. Lunch with Lady Mount Stephen,\nand walk through St. James's Park, where we see children\nskating/\nA week later they sail from Liverpool on the Etruria for\nNew York, having a very rough passage with almost continuous gales. They return to Ottawa January 22, after an\nabsence of some four and a half months.\nR\n J\nCHAPTER XXI\n' BUILD UP CANADA'\nIn an address to the Canadian Club of Toronto, in February 1904, under the above title, Fleming not only reviewed\nthe progress of transportation in Canada, with which he had\nhimself been so intimately connected, but also, in the light\nof what had already been accomplished by the young\nDominion in the latter half of the nineteenth century, confidently laid down an even broader policy for the bigger and\nstronger Canada of the twentieth century.\nHe told his hearers that nearly half a century before, in\nthe town of Port Hope, he had discussed the same broad\nsubject of transportation. It is worth while to be reminded\noccasionally what gigantic strides have been taken in the\ndevelopment of lines of communication within that period.\n' Let me, in the first place,* he said, ' remind you that in\n1858 there was not throughout the whole extent of North or\nSouth America a single transcontinental railway ; that there\nwas scarcely a mile of railway in the United States west of\nthe Mississippi, and a very small mileage west of Chicago;\nthat the greater and by far the most valuable portion of what\nis now known as the Dominion of Canada was held as a vast\nhunting-ground by the Hudson Bay Company, and it was\nindeed fortunate that it was so held, as the present and\nfuture generations of Canadians will testify. At that date\nthe eight or ten provinces and territories west of the longitude\nof Lake Superior were not thought of. British Columbia\nitself was not even a Crown Colony. The city of Ottawa as\nthe capital of the Dominion was unknown. Winnipeg did\nnot then exist. Ten years later, there were only a few people\naround Fort Garry and along the banks of the river, chiefly\nScotch and French half-breeds, known as the Red River\nsettlers. Exclusive of pure Indians, there were probably\n11\n \nJ BUILD UP CANADA ' 259\nnot more than eight thousand people in the whole North-\nWest. The settlers were shut off from the outer world,\nexcept by such means of communication as that furnished\nby dog-trains in winter and canoes in summer, together with\nRed River carts. It is a remarkable fact that in 1868 the\ninhabitants of that country which now exports yearly tens\nof millions of bushels of wheat were nearing starvation for\nwant of it, owing to the devastation of a plague of grasshoppers. The Red River settlers gratefully received some\nthousands of bushels of grain purchased by the generous\nminded in the Eastern Canadian cities and transported in\ncarts across the plains from the nearest railway station, some\nfive hundred or six hundred miles south of what is now the\nmetropolis of Manitoba.\n' Long before this date the British North American provinces were not without pioneer builders. There were the\nfar-seeing men who projected and subsequently built the\nWelland Canal, the Rideau Canal, the St. Lawrence Canals,\nand designed the Trent Valley Canal. We must likewise\nbear in remembrance those who projected the Shubenacadie,\nthe Baie Verte and the two Georgian Bay Canals, one of the\nlatter projected to terminate at Toronto, the other to use\nthe River Ottawa. If all these projects have not become\naccomplished facts, we must nevertheless extend to those\nwho promoted them the credit which is due to their patriotic\nintentions. In 1858 there were striking illustrations of\nprogress within the Empire; in that year the first Atlantic\ncable was laid, and the Great Eastern was launched.\n* In 1858, too, the railway era had commenced in Canada.\nWe had in operation the line from Toronto to Collingwood,\nthe Grand Trunk in part and the Great Western in part.\nThere were several smaller railways extending northerly\nfrom Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence into a region rich\nin pine. In that day there were a few public-spirited,\nsanguine men who had the hardihood to peer through the\npine forests and the wooded wilderness of a thousand miles\nto Canada's richest heritage, the prairie region. Again their\nmental vision carried them across the rolling prairies another\nR2\nnugg\n 26o\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nthousand miles to gaze on the mountains with the setting\nsun and the ocean beyond them.\n' These daring\u00E2\u0080\u0094shall I say visionary ?\u00E2\u0080\u0094spirits did not\nthink Canada was destined to stop short at the Georgian Bay\nand the tier of counties lying eastward of Lake Simcoe.\nThere were dense forests to subdue. The Ottonabee, the\nTrent, the Ottawa and other rivers had abundance of water-\npower to prepare for exportation the timber then growing\nin the tributary forests. It required no seer to see that these\nforests would become exhausted, and that new fields and\nother sources of industry would have to be sought out. Precisely as we have to-day, there were men then who inscribed\non their banners the words % Build up Canada \", and visionary and impracticable as it seemed to many, they formed the\nresolution to carry their standard across the home of the\nbuffalo and the distant Rocky Mountains.\n' Here we have the inception of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway. To a large number of people it undoubtedly was\nregarded as an idle fancy, the dream of chimerical men never\nto be realized. The enormously large works involved were\nnot common at that stage in the history of engineering\nundertakings. The proposal to build a railway through\nuninhabited British North America, over one of the great\nmountain ranges of the globe, across a roadless continent,\nrespecting much of which nothing was known, when looked\nat soberly by the practical man presented to him a project\nwhich passed at a single leap from the plane of ordinary\nundertakings to the lofty sphere of enterprises of the grandest description. It surpassed in every element of magnitude\nand cost, and probably also in physical difficulties, any work\never previously undertaken by man.\n' But what were the purposes to be achieved ? Were they\nnot inestimably important ? Wonderful commercial results\ncould be counted on, and it was felt that the national, the\nimperial, advantages and possibilities were far beyond the\nconception of the most sanguine of far-seeing men. The\nundertaking would have an immediate effect in expanding\nCanada, then limited to two provinces in the valley of the\n >\u00C2\u00A5J9S\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0'''yrfflSC^S' :-.-.--T>*3rSC%Ri**j,\n' BUILD UP CANADA'\n261\nSt. Lawrence ; it would be of the greatest advantage to the\nmother country in opening up new channels for the enterprise of British merchants. The railway from the Atlantic\nto the Pacific when completed would bring nearer to England\nher Eastern Empire; it would unite with a new bond the\ninterests and the affections of the Queen's subjects in Europe,\nAsia, Australasia, and America; it would secure in perpetuity\nBritish dominion upon this continent; it would promote\nthe occupation and civilization of half a continent, and go\na long way to lay the foundation of what might be regarded\nas a Canadian Empire.\n' In erecting an ordinary house, or in carrying out any\nundertaking, every intelligent man sets before him a general\nplan. In building up a state precisely the same course\nshould be followed; and above all things the prudent, far-\nseeing state-builder will endeavour to secure the elements of\nstrength in the foundations and in the framework of the\nnational structure. In this respect let us see where we\nstand. We have certainly commenced on no insignificant\nscale. We have taken possession of the great inheritance\nwhich the mother country has generously passed over to our\nownership)\u00E2\u0080\u0094a vast inheritance fronting on three oceans.\nWe have assumed all the responsibilities of ownership and\noccupation. We have made a beginning towards its development ; among other things we have established a continuous line of railway from the most eastern to the most\nwestern province. This is a beginning, but it is far from\nbeing adequate. We all know that no edifice will remain\nerect on a single wall, that no tower will stand with but one\ncorner-stone. It is patent to every person that any structure\nwhatever, in order to stand the stress of time, must be given\na broad and sure foundation.\n' Taking our railway system as an index of our development, let us spread before us a railway map of the Dominion.\nWhat do we find ? Ontario east of Lake Huron, Quebec\nbordering the St. Lawrence, and in part New Brunswick\nand Nova Scotia are provided with a network of railways.\nManitoba, at least its southern half, is gridironed with rail-\nssBB\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A09\n 262\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nways, and railways are rapidly being extended westward.\nEast of Manitoba, however, as far as Lake Huron, indeed\nalmost to the River Ottawa, there is comparatively little to\nindicate progress. There is, in truth, absolutely nothing for\nhundreds of miles north of Lake Superior if we pass out of\nsight of the single track of the Canadian Pacific Railway.\nIn this one fact we have disclosed a remarkable circumstance\nwhich in my judgement demands serious and immediate\nattention.\n' The railway development in and beyond Manitoba is an\nindication of the rapid settlement of that portion of the\nDominion. Looking forward into the future, it is easy to\nsee that the population of the west will be rapidly increased.\nIt may indeed be regarded as a certainty that the time is not\nremote when there will be as many inhabitants west of Lake\nWinnipeg as east of Lake Superior. What then will follow,\nif meanwhile no sufficient effort be made to reclaim the vast\nintervening territory ? Obviously our people will be geographically divided. Within the limits of the Dominion\nthere will be two great groups distinctly separated by a vast\nunpopulated wilderness, constituting a dangerous area of\ncleavage. It is impossible to forecast the outcome of this\nseparation of the Canadian people. We are unwilling to\nthink that political separation will follow, but we must not\nhide our heads in the sand and remain in a fool's paradise.\nWe must look at facts, and we shall see that there is a grave\ndanger of a gradual alienation of the separated inhabitants,\nwith the possibility of some new political combination. We\nhave no means of foretelling what may come in another\ngeneration, but this we know, that mighty changes often\ncome suddenly. The physical link between the two widely\nsundered halves of the population would be exceedingly\nslender, even if the single railway line along the coast of the\nlake be double-tracked or quadrupled. We can imagine how\neasy it would be for a flotilla any day to render the railway\nuseless, or a filibustering organization to land any night at\na preconcerted hour and at a score of places destroy the line\nof communication. Such expeditions need not necessarily\n sAVhVQW6-?'\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 HH^HSB -\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n' BUILD UP CANADA'\n263\n1\nbe connected with the neighbouring Republic. The agents\nof any foreign unfriendly power would have little difficulty in\nsecretly arranging a sudden descent at a critical moment.\n' I have indicated in a few words that there is a vital\nproblem presented for solution, a problem which cannot\nwith safety be neglected. Ordinary foresight points out to\nus a real and a double danger. (1) Under certain circumstances the unity of the Dominion, it may be said, will practically hang on a thread. (2) If the unity of the Dorninion be\nleft insecure, the integrity of the Empire will be imperilled.\nI would ask, by way of illustration, how could the globe-\ngirdling British telegraphs be maintained if disjointed at\nLake Superior ? The nerves of the Empire can follow no\nroute across North or South America between the two\noceans except through united Canada. Again, how could\nBritish sailors be sent across the continent to man the\nPacific fleet if the continuity of the communication be\nbroken between the two oceans ? These mere random\nillustrations to show the jeopardy of our situation will\nsuffice, as in such a matter one is as good as a hundred.\n' Forewarned is forearmed. I have pointed out a great\nand unmistakable weakness. To substitute strength for\nweakness obviously is a matter which concerns our country\nto its inmost depths. A solution of this vital problem will\nbe found in the watch-words \" Build up Canada \".\n' For twenty degrees of longitude east of Manitoba and\nstretching far north of the latitude of Lake Superior there\nextends a vast territory respecting which comparatively\nlittle is known. In order to comprehend its extent let us\nlook at the map. Draw a line from the north-east angle\nof the Province of Saskatchewan (the old boundary) to the\nRiver Saguenay where it enters the St. Lawrence after\npassing the farming settlements around Lake St. John.\nWest of these settlements the line drawn is somewhere about\n1,100 miles in length. The line is generally parallel to the\nCanadian Pacific Railway between Manitoba and the River\nOttawa, and some 350 or 400 miles north thereof. Between\nthe two lines there is a space equal in area to more than four\n 264\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nProvinces of Manitoba. This space remains entirely in a\nstate of nature. It is almost unmapped, wholly unopened,\nwholly unsettled, wholly unoccupied, practically without\na white inhabitant.\nI It is not an ouriying tract, away from the body of the\nDominion. The map shows that much of it is in the geographical centre of our country and may be regarded as the\nbody itself. So far as known, its climate is not widely\ndifferent from that of other parts of Canada which have\nlong been settled. From recorded meteorological observations Moose Factory on its northern side and on the\nmargin of Hudson Bay has a winter and summer temperature much the same as Winnipeg, and the average snowfall\nis less than half that of Montreal or Quebec. It cannot be\ncompared in general fertility or readiness of access to the\nrich open prairie, yet the worst that can be said of this great\nregion is that it is a woodland wilderness. It would scarcely\nbe correct to speak of it as an inhospitable waste, for the\nsame may be said of all such lands in their natural condition and until opened up by railways and roads and made\navailable for human industry. In a country so extensive\nas this, a tract of virgin wild land more than double the\nsuperficial area of England, Ireland, and Scotland combined,\nwe may look for varied natural assets awaiting development.'\nAfter a brief reference to the agricultural, mineral and\nother resources of this northern region, he went on to say :\n' Looking forward but a few years the Dominion may come\nto possess in the hinterland of Ontario a new seaport. As is\nwell known, the northern boundary of this province reaches\nMoose Factory on the south coast of Hudson Bay, and it is\nworthy of note that the great seaman who discovered the\nCanadian Mediterranean which has always borne his name\nreached this quarter on Michaelmas Day in the year 1610.\nThe following day, having sailed round to the mouth of\nNottaway River, his small ship was laid up for the winter,\nand there remained from November 1 until the following\nJune. Perhaps Moose Factory may not be the best naval\n itr.\n* BUILD UP CANADA' 265\npoint on that great inland sea, but whatever point may be\nfavoured the new seaport would in some respects resemble\nArchangel. That Russian port is in a parallel of latitude\nthirteen and a half degrees (or more than 900 miles) farther\nnorth than Moose Factory. Archangel is a seaport of\nimportance, with a dockyard and a prosperous shipping\ntrade. Its population is not inferior to some of our Canadian\ncities, and before the founding of St. Petersburg it was long\nthe only seaport within the limits of Russia. Can any\nperson now living foretell what the only seaport of Ontario\nmay yet become ? ' (Ontario has since been given a much\nbetter port at the mouth of the Nelson River.)\n' In an address at the Guildhall, Mr. Chamberlain pointed\nout that one hundred and thirty years ago a great statesman\nof the neighbouring republic, Mr. Alexander Hamilton,\nbequeathed a precious legacy to his countrymen when he said\nto them, \" Learn to think Continentally.\" The late Secretary of State for the Colonies gave an equally precious\nmessage to those whom he addressed when he said, \" Learn\nto think Imperially.\" We in Canada will do well to take\nto heart both messages and learn to think at one and the\nsame time Continentally and Imperially. What, I ask,\nmight too soon follow if we remained inert in thought and\nsluggish in action ? What if we spurn the advice of both\nstatesmen and at this stage in our history remain basking in\nfancied security ? The grave matter I have touched upon\nis not a local question. It does not alone concern any one\ncity or any one province. It is a large question in which\nthe whole Dominion is profoundly interested. The citizens\nof Toronto, of Montreal, of Winnipeg, equally with the\ncitizens of Halifax, Quebec, and Vancouver should think of\nit Continentally and Imperially. If they so view it, I am\nsatisfied each and all will reach the conclusion that in the\nwhole range of the Dominion there is no question which\ndemands more wise and more patriotic consideration.\nBetween the Atlantic and the Pacific there is nothing more\nurgently needed than the opening up, the settlement and\nthe development, of that vast unpeopled wilderness to which\nim\n If * 1\n266\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nI have directed your attention. It is with the utmost\ndeference I submit, in the interests of the Canadian people,\nthat their representatives in Parliament will inadequately\ndischarge their responsibilities if they fail to adopt the most\neffective means of building up Canada where breadth and\nstrength and consolidation are wanting so conspicuously.'\nHe then outlined the railway plans of the Dominion\nGovernment and the Governments of Ontario and Quebec,\nand strongly urged the establishment at the earliest possible\nmoment of a second transcontinental railway across Canada\n' on the shortest line from Quebec to Port Simpson', which\nwould be by way of Norway House at the northern end of\nLake Winnipeg. In support of this route he offered the\nfollowing reasons:\n' (1) It will be universally recognized that it is not in the\npublic interests to have all the great lines of communication\nof the Dominion between the east and the west passing along\nthe immediate shore of Lake Superior. This admitted,\nevery argument applies, only in a less degree, against bringing all the through avenues of traffic so near the frontier\nas Winnipeg. Obviously our plans for the future should be\nformed so as to avoid the concentration of the whole traffic\nof the great North-West at any one point near the frontier.\nThe physical features of the country do not render it necessary, and such a course is manifestly undesirable in the\ninterests of Canadian commerce. Does not a large bulk of\nManitoba grain now find its way through the United States\nto be shipped from United States seaports ? According to\nreliable authority, six, eight, and ten millions of bushels\na year have been so shipped. Sir Thomas Shaughnessy\nstated to the Canadian Club that last year it reached nearly\nfifteen million bushels, and it may be expected that this\ntransfer from Canadian to United States channels will go on\nincreasing with the increase in the total yield.\n' (2) Winnipeg is the metropolis of Manitoba, but the\nfertile plains of Manitoba constitute but a fraction, perhaps\nnot an eighth, of the vast fertile area of the North-West.\nIf we add to Manitoba all the prairie country westward to\n\u00C2\u00AB\n is^nm^ Ml-\n' BUILD UP CANADA!\n267\nthe mountains and as far north as the Province of Saskatchewan, we have an extensive region which may properly be\nregarded as tributary to Winnipeg. There remains to be\nopened up by far the larger half of the productive North-\nWest. An inspection of the map will satisfy any one that\nunquestionably the northern half can best be served by the\nconstruction of a trunk railway on a northern route.\n\ (3) A railway built on the northern route would be the\nshortest line between the two oceans, besides being the most\ndirect for the products of the northern half of the prairie\nregion to the nearest Canadian shipping ports.\n1 (4) By establishing on the northern route a modern\nfirst-class railway devoid of gradients and every other\nhindrances to cheap transportation we would possess the\nmeans of carrying the products of the northern half of the\nprairie region to Canadian tidal ports at all seasons of the\nyear at less cost than by any other route whatever. The\nadvantages of the lake route have been much extolled.\nTransportation by water certainly has advantages under\ncertain circumstances, but it also has limitations due to\nclimatic and geographical conditions. In all probability\nthe country west of Winnipeg, and Winnipeg itself, will continue to enjoy during summer all the advantages which the\nlakes can yield, but there is a vast cultivable country farther\nnorth and west from which it is believed freight may be\ncarried to Quebec by railway on the northern route at less\ncost than by the lake route. Of course it will be understood\nthat this is conditional upon the line to be constructed being\nfree from such gradients as we find on ordinary Canadian\nrailways, a condition which can only be definitely determined by adequate surveys. Should such a favourable line\nbe established as is believed possible, I venture to state that,\nowing to the reduced total mileage, and still more owing to\nthe reduced gradients on the new line, grain may be carried\nto Quebec by the direct route at less cost than by the\nsouthern route, even if carried almost free of charge across\nthe lakes from Fort William to Depot Harbour, Owen Sound\nor Sarnia. This of course only applies to the half-year of\nfi\nmm\njiKSfSSB\nH^BS1\n 268\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nopen navigation; during the other half-year the northern\nroute would be without a rival worthy of the name.\n' (5) A railway constructed on the northern route would\nat all times and seasons be a reliable outlet from the granary\nof the Empire in the heart of Canada to tide-water. Moreover at Quebec in summer and at the open ports of the\nMaritime Provinces in winter the ships transporting produce\nto Great Britain would when necessary be placed under the\nexpress protection of the British fleet.\n' (6) Such a railway constructed between Quebec and the\nwestern prairies on the northern route would be a national\nhighway in every sense. Its immediate effect would be to\nbroaden the Dominion, to add strength where strength is\nso much needed, to establish many new centres of industry,\nand thus the country would steadily become populated and\nconsolidated. What is now a widespread wilderness would\nbe converted into one of the most important divisions of the\nDominion.\n' I have submitted to you in an imperfect fashion a sketch\nof some circumstances connected with the development of\nthe leading lines of intercommunication in the Dominion.\nAll that now belongs to the past; it may be regarded as\nthe pioneer and preliminary work in the evolution of a\nnation. We have now reached the beginning of a new\nchapter in our history when, with unabated interest in all\nthat concerns our welfare, new energy and fresh vitality are\ndemanded in the work of consolidation. I am not advocating any far-away project. I have felt it my duty to point\nout that there is a vast new and neglected field practically\nat our doors. By the progress of events Canada is now\nbrought face to face with a great threefold problem : (1) To\nreclaim an unpopulated wilderness of immense extent and\nof unknown value near the heart of the Dominion. (2) To\nestablish a second transcontinental railway on the shortest\npracticable route between the tide-water of the Atlantic and\nthe tide-water of the Pacific. (3) To construct the eastern\nhalf of the transcontinental railway as a national highway,\nan Imperial highway, to convey the products of our illimit-\n ' BUILD UP CANADA'\n269\nable wheat-fields to our own seaports for transportation to\nmarket at lower rates than by any other route. If such can\nbe accomplished, as I believe it can, I am satisfied that\nnothing else would so much make for national solidarity.\nNothing else would so much advance Canada and fit her to\ntake her permanent and proper place in the galaxy of British\nStates constituting the new Empire.\n' Those of us who have always had a living interest in the\nwelfare of our country will see from what I have submitted\nthat there are dangers to be guarded against, to which we\nshould not shut our eyes. All will recognize that we should\nbe on the alert, that we should take time by the forelock and\nseek to avert such dangers; that we should continually\nmake progress, but that our progress should be made in\nharmony with the dictates of prudence and common-sense.\n' In the words of our Finance Minister, there is abundant\nevidence to prove that \" the Canadian Government and\npeople are determined in all ways to promote Imperial unity \".\nI submit that we can materially promote the unity of the\nEmpire by discharging a duty very near us, a duty vital to\nour own permanency and prosperity. Many of us, perhaps\nall of us, have had from early days faith in the future of\nCanada. For my own part I am more convinced than ever\nthat through the powerful and peaceful influence by sea\nand land of the twin sisters of civilization, steam and electricity, rightly directed our future is assured.\n* We are proud to feel that our country is no small factor\nin the great British Empire of the twentieth century. We\nhave room and to spare in our wide domain for a large\naugmentation of our industrious, intelligent, and moral\npopulation, and we throw open our doors to all such as may\nbe prepared to face a somewhat rigorous climate and to\novercome difficulties in subduing the wilderness. To such\nas may join us in developing the resources which nature has\nso lavishly bestowed we gladly offer to share the fruits\nwhich will follow our joint labours.\n' Our aim is to make the Dominion compact, strong, and\nprosperous. Our design is to have one Canada from the\n 270\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nSt. Lawrence to the Pacific. Under the free institutions\nwhich we have inherited from the mother land, with a virile\npopulation which has sprung from the foremost European\nraces, united in this favoured land by common interests and\ncommon sentiments, we look forward to our destiny without\nfear and with much hope. We desire to make our country\na great northern nation, in family affinity with an Empire\nwhose noblest aspiration is peace and good-will to all the\nnations of the earth.\n' This is the high ideal we set before us in our strenuous\nefforts to build up Canada/\nH\n CHAPTER XXII\nAN IMPERIAL MONUMENT\nIn a debate in the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia, in\nthe session of 1908, we were reminded that one hundred and\nfifty years ago was held the first meeting of the legislative\nassembly of Nova Scotia, that the assembly has met annually\nfrom that day to this, and that next to the Mother of Parliaments it is therefore the most venerable body of its kind in\nthe British Empire\nThe significance of the fact appealed to Fleming's patriotism. Here was an opportunity of bringing home to Britons\nthe world over the priceless boon they enjoyed of self-\ngovernment. In a letter to the mayor of Halifax, early in\nMay 1908, he referred to the fact that ' the first house of\nrepresentatives of the people, who were elected under instructions from His Majesty the King, assembled in Halifax\non October 2, 1758, arrangements having been made by\nGovernor Lawrence, representing the King, the previous\nMay\u00E2\u0080\u0094this very month 150 years ago'. ' The fact alluded to',\nhe continued, ' is of great significance, and has an intimate\nrelationship to the development of the Empire. To-day\nrepresentative government, essentially an outgrowth of the\nlove of justice and liberty inherited from the races forming\nthe British people, reached its present stage through centuries of conflict dating back to the conquest of 1066. The\nspirit of representative government is inherited from England,\nand it is worthy of note that the first legislative assembly in\nthe Donunion\u00E2\u0080\u0094the first in the present Empire outside of\nEngland\u00E2\u0080\u0094was assembled under instructions from the British\nKing in Nova Scotia in 1758. After the lapse of a century\nand a half, when representative government is becoming\nco-extensive with civilization, is it not fitting that Nova\nScotians should in some marked manner denote an historical\nI\nsm\n 272\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nfact in which they are so much interested and directly\nassociated ? '\nA month later he took the matter up with the Lieutenant-\nGovernor of the province. ' The event', he says, * appears to\nhave been the beginning of a new order of things in colonial\nadministration. At this date we must recognize what it\nsignified, that it was actually the first step in the enfranchisement of the people in the oversea possessions of England,\nand that it may indeed be regarded in its essential principle\nas the foundation stone upon which has been steadily developing and is to-day being firmly built up in both hemispheres,\nthe British Empire of the centuries to come.\n' Nova Scotians may rightly claim the 150th anniversary\nof such an event as an occasion of which they may well be\nproud, and all must agree that it should be celebrated in\nsome becoming manner.' He then went on to suggest what\nseemed to him an appropriate memorial of the occasion\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nthe erection by popular subscription of a tower that would\nstand to all future generations as a tangible reminder of\ntheir inestimable heritage.\nIn addressing a public meeting in Halifax the same month,\nhe said :\n' The monumental edifice contemplated should in some\ndistinct manner indicate the purpose of its erection. It\nshould commend itself by the extreme simplicity, massive-\nness, and grandeur of its general outline; at the same time\nevery course of masonry should have its distinct meaning.\nThe whole structure might most fittingly, I think, take the\ngeneral form of an Italian tower. The foundation course\nwould testify to the beginning of representative government\nin the outer empire/ He went on to suggest an architectural\ntreatment of the upper portions of the tower that would\nappropriately illustrate the development of representative\ngovernment, and commemorate the great names associated\nwith its history.\nTo show his own interest in the project, he offered the\nfinest site on his property on the North-West Arm for such\na tower, or any other suitable monument that might be\n-HW\n AN IMPERIAL MONUMENT\n273\ndecided upon, and at the same time promised to convey to\nthe city of Halifax seventy or eighty acres of land surrounding the site, to be set apart as a public park.\nFurther consideration of the proposed memorial led to the\nconclusion that its significance would be enhanced by making\nit a national rather than a provincial monument. The\nmatter was therefore placed in the hands of the Canadian\nClub of Halifax, through whom contributions were invited\nfrom public bodies and individuals throughout the Dorninion.\nThe responses were so widespread and so generous that the\ncost of erecting the tower was amply provided for, and on\nthe one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the day upon\nwhich the first provincial assembly was opened in Halifax\nthe Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia laid the foundation-\nstone of the building.\nBefore the work was proceeded with, however, it was\nbrought to the attention of the Canadian Club that not only\nCanada but other parts of the Empire would be interested\nin the Memorial Tower, and it was decided to again broaden\nthe scope of the undertaking so that it might take the form\nnot merely of a provincial, or a Canadian, but of an Imperial\nmonument. Fleming had already been in communication\nwith some of the leading public men of Australia, New\nZealand, South Africa, and other parts of the Empire, all of\nwhom expressed the deepest interest in the project, and in\nJanuary 1910 a circular letter was addressed by the Canadian\nClub of Halifax to ' The Governments and People of New\nZealand, Australia, South Africa, and Canada', setting forth\nthe history and objects of the movement.\n'It will be apparent', says the circular, 'that there is\nnothing narrow or provincial in the earnest desire to obtain\nthe sympathy and co-operation of the sister states of the\nEmpire in the project of a Memorial Tower at Halifax. It\nwill be obvious that we are simply taking advantage of an\nexceptional opportunity, an opportunity which should not\nbe neglected, of enlisting our fellow-subjects beyond the seas\nin a common sentiment and a common purpose. If nothing\nelse resulted, the mere effort to bring them thus together,\n o\n74\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nwith the corresponding awakening of interest and sympathy,\nmust have an important and highly beneficial effect on our\nmutual citizenship. The character of the building itself, its\narchitectural design, or the amount of money to be expended\nupon it, are matters of comparatively minor importance.\nThe vital consideration is the spirit that lies behind the project. This building will commemorate one of the most significant events in history, it will tend towards a sympathetic\nunion of the far-flung members of the British Empire, and\nthus enhance a thousandfold the value of the memorial. In\nthe Halifax Tower will centre memories, hopes, and ambitions\nthat will gain significance and importance as the years roll on.\nIt will take its place not as a merely local or provincial\nmonument, or one whose appeal reaches only to the utmost\nboundaries of the Canadian Dominion, but as an embodiment of the spirit which animates the people of the Empire\nin both hemispheres, an attestation of the partnership of the\nsisterhood of nations all under one Crown.'\nAccompanying the letter is the following list of the twenty-\nfour autonomous communities within the circle of the British\nEmpire, with the year and place of the first Assembly in each\ncase :\ni. Nova Scotia ....\n2. Prince Edward Island .\n3. New Brunswick\n4. Newfoundland .\n5. Cape Colony ....\n6. New Zealand\n7. New South Wales .\n8. Victoria\t\n9. Tasmania ....\n10. South Australia .\n11. Quebec\t\n12. Dominion of Canada\n13. Ontario\t\n14. Manitoba ....\n15. British Columbia\n16. Queensland ....\nin 1758\nm\n1773\nin\n1786\nin\n1833\nin\n1853\nin\n1854\nin\n1855\nin\n1855\nin\n1856\nin\n1856\nin\n1867\nin\n1867\nin\n1867\nin\n1871\nin\n1872\nin\n1879\nat Halifax,\nat Charlottetown.\nat St. John,\nat St. John's,\nat Cape Town,\nat Auckland,\nat Sydney,\nat Melbourne,\nat Hobart.\nat Adelaide.\nat Quebec,\nat Ottawa,\nat Toronto,\nat Winnipeg\nat Victoria,\nat Brisbane.\n.>\nlas\n AN IMPERIAL MONUMENT\n275\n17. Western Australia ... in 1890 at Perth.\n18. Natal in 1893 at Pietermaritzburg.\n19. Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 at Melbourne.\n20. Alberta ... . . in 1906 at Edmonton.\n21. Saskatchewan .... in 1906 at Regina.\n22. Orange River .... in 1907 at Bloemfontein.\n23. Transvaal in 1907 at Pretoria.\n24. United South Africa . . in 1910 at Cape Town.\nThe responses to this appeal were as gratifying as in the\nformer case, and the Memorial Tower was rapidly brought to\ncompletion. On August 14, 1912, it was formally dedicated\non behalf of the people of the British Empire by His Royal\nHighness the Duke of Connaught, Governor-General of\nCanada. It stands as a perpetual monument to the liberties\nof the British race, and as a beacon to lead them onward.\n' We may rest assured', says Fleming, ' that the British\nEmpire, built up on the principles of freedom, justice, equal\nrights, and the self-government of all its autonomous parts,\nis not destined to pass away like the empires of history. The\nnew empire is inspired by a spirit unknown to the empires\nfounded on absolutism. It is a union of free and enlightened\ncommunities, dedicated to the cause of commerce, of civilization, and of peace; and who can doubt that such a great\npolitical organization is destined to endure ? Every improvement in transportation, in postal arrangements, and in\ntelegraphy by land and sea, is calculated to facilitate intercommunications and to foster friendships among kindred\npeople, and thus to perpetuate their attachment to the cradle\nof the British race, to the source of that unequalled constitution which is their highest inheritance.'\nS2\nKHsXSEJCfiniEIEK\n CHAPTER XXIII\nEVENTIDE\nIn the study at ' Winterholme ' is a desk piled high with\nbooks and papers, and beside the desk stands a little table\nkept scrupulously clear of everything but writing materials.\nWalls of books rise from floor to ceiling on every side, and\ntheir titles tell the tale of the life-work of the man whose\npersonality dominates the place\u00E2\u0080\u0094Reports on the Intercolonial and the Canadian Pacific Railway, volumes of pamphlets on the Pacific Cable and the Standard Time Movement, publications of the Canadian Institute, and material\non many subjects touching the welfare of Canada and the\nEmpire. With these are also many works of standard\nliterature, history, biography, travels, science, for the owner\nof this library is a man of catholic taste, a student and a wide\nreader as well as a man who has done things.\nBefore the little table he sits, writing to or answering\nletters from correspondents in every quarter of the globe,\nglancing through a magazine article or a pamphlet on some\nquestion of national or imperial policy, or perhaps making\nnotes for a contribution of his own to one or other of the\nvarious subjects which he has made peculiarly his own, and\nin which his interest is as keen and shrewd as it was twenty-\nfive or fifty years ago.\nHis manners are those of the old school, nor will he accept\nthe privilege of his years to dispense with any of the courtesies\nwhich he considers are due to his guest, be he an intimate\nfriend or the most casual of visitors. He may be in the\nmiddle of a letter or article when you are announced, but he\nrises immediately and welcomes you with a warm clasp of\nthe hand and a kindly smile. His tall figure is still erect,\nin spite of the burden of more than eighty-seven years, his\nface is full of character\u00E2\u0080\u0094one sees in it humour, kindliness, and\n EVENTIDE\n277\nstrength\u00E2\u0080\u0094and his finely-chiselled head with its crown of\nsilver hair, and its suggestion of moral and intellectual power,\nmakes a picture that one is not likely to forget. It matters\nlittle what subject you have come to see him about, you are\nsure of a friendly and patient hearing, and you can count, too,\non the benefit of a judgement that is broad and fearless,\nthough never hastily formed, that has seldom been at fault,\nand that has ripened in the light of long experience. When\nyou take leave of him the same perfect courtesy impels him\nto escort you to the threshold of his home, and you carry\naway with you the memory of a personality in which are\nmost rarely blended the elements of physical, mental, and\nmoral worth.\nIn this sketch of his life he has been described as an Empire\nBuilder, and the narrative of his career must be singularly\nat fault if it has not more than justified the title. Few men\nin the Old Land or the Dominions beyond the Seas have by\ntheir works more abundantly earned the name. It is close\non seventy years since Sandford Fleming first landed in\nCanada, with no other assets than his own brave heart and\nindomitable will. He came with a young man's ambition\nto make a place for himself in the New World. Looking\nback across these seventy years one finds that he did this\nand something more, something very considerably more.\nHis life has been one of action, of essentially constructive\neffort. The bent of his mind is both too practical and too\noptimistic to waste time on the destruction of other men's\nfailures. These can always safely be left to fall of their own\nweakness. Whether he is building a railway, or advocating\nsome measure of imperial importance, his plans have been\ninvariably carefully thought out, thorough and eminently\nworkable ; and they have been designed always to make for\nthe welfare of mankind.\nHis patriotism is none the less real because it is not narrow.\nHe has worked untiringly for the betterment of his own\npeople, for the strengthening of the ties binding together the\nscattered members of the British Empire ; but behind all his\nefforts was the firm conviction that a united empire was\n 278\nSANDFORD FLEMING\na step in the direction of world-peace, that every advance in\nsympathy and understanding among the peoples owning\nallegiance to the British flag foreshadowed a similar advance\ntoward their neighbours in other lands.\nHis philosophy cannot be better described than in these\nwords of his own, uttered on another occasion, but equally\nappropriate as a summing-up of his life's work :\n' I have often thought how grateful I am for my birth into\nthis marvellous world, and how anxious I have always been\nto justify it. I have dreamed my little dreams, I have\nplanned my little plans, and begrudged no effort to bring\nabout what I regarded as desirable results. I have always\nfelt that the humblest among us has it in his power to do\nsomething for his country by doing his duty, and that there\nis no better inheritance to leave his children than the knowledge that he has done so to the utmost of his ability.\n' It has been my great good fortune to have had my lot\ncast in this goodly land, and to have been associated with its\neducational and material prosperity. Nobody can deprive\nme of the satisfaction I feel in having had the opportunity\nand the will to strive for the advancement of Canada and the\ngood of the Empire. I am profoundly thankful for length of\ndays, for active, happy years, for friendships formed, and\nespecially for the memory of those dear souls who have\nenriched my own life while they remained on this side.'\nSandford Fleming died at Halifax, on Thursday morning,\nJuly 22, 1915.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094=-\n Railway Inventions : A New Mode of Propulsion. Toronto. 1847.\nRoute for the Grand Trunk Railway via Peterboro. Toronto. 1851.\nValley of the Nottawasaga. Canadian Journal. Toronto. 1852. pp.4.\nThe Editor's Shanty. Maclear's Magazine. Toronto. September,\n1853. PP- 6.\nRailway Termini and Pleasure Grounds. Canadian Journal. Toronto. 1853. pp. 3.\nToronto Harbour: its Formation\nJournal. Toronto. 1853. pp.\nPreservation and Improvement of\nJournal. Toronto. 1854. pp.\nNew Compound or Continuous Rail.\n1855. pp. 8.\nThe Geological Survey and Sir William Logan. Canadian Journal.\nToronto. 1856. pp. 7.\nPreliminary Report on the projected North-West Railway of Canada-\nToronto. 1857. pp. 86.\nValley of the Saugeen and North-West Railway. Toronto.\npp. 87.\nLecture on a Railway to the Pacific through British Territory.\nHope. 1858. pp. 10.\nThe Davenport Gravel Ridge. Canadian Journal. Toronto.\npp.8.\nPractical Observations on the Construction of a Continuous Line of\nRailway from Canada to the Pacific Ocean on British Territory.\nIn H. Y. Hind's Sketch of an Overland Route to British Columbia.\nToronto. 1862. pp. 38.\nMemorial of the People of Red River to the British and Canadian\nGovernments. Sessional Papers of Canada. 1863.\nA Great Territorial Road to British Columbia. Quebec.\nPP. 57-\nThe Oil Wells of Enniskillen. Canadian Journal. Toronto.\npp. 4.\nA National Railway from Quebec to Halifax. Toronto. 1863.\nReport on the Intercolonial Railway Exploratory Survey. Quebec.\n1865. pp. 160.\nThe Short Ocean Passage. In Report on the Intercolonial. 1865.\npp.8.\nOpening of the Pictou Railway. Halifax. 1867. pp. 28.\n 280\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nIntercolonial Railway. Letter to the Premier on the System of\nConstruction. Ottawa. 1869. pp. 19.\nShort Service for Sunday. Canadian Pacific Railway. Ottawa,\n1871. pp. 7.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Report and Exploratory Survey.\nOttawa. 1872. pp. 80.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Loss of Lives on Exploration. Ottawa.\n*873- PP- 10.\nOcean to Ocean. (By G. M. Grant.) Toronto. 1873. pp. 371.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Practical Suggestions. Ottawa. 1874.\nPP. 59-\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Report on Surveys and Explorations.\nOttawa. 1874. pp. 286.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. General Instructions to Engineering\nStaff. Ottawa. 1875. pp. 36.\nNorth Shore Railway. Report on Difficulties between Engineer and\nContractor. Ottawa. 1875. pp. 27.\nThe Intercolonial Railway. Genesis of the Bridges. Ottawa.\n1875. pp. 41.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Reply to Governor Morris. Route of\nRailway West of Keewatin. Ottawa. 1875. pp. 53.\nNewfoundland Railway. Report on Surveys. St. John's. 1876.\npp. 147.\nMemoir on Uniform Non-local Time. London. 1876. pp. 37.\nThe Intercolonial. An Historical Sketch: 1832-76. Montreal.\n1876. pp. 268.\nDescription of the Country between Lake Superior and the Pacific\nOcean on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Ottawa.\n1876.\nUniform Non-local Time. London. 1876. pp. 32.\nTerrestrial Time. London. 1876. pp. 37.\nReport on Surveys on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Ottawa.\n1877. pp. 431,\nShort Sunday Service for Travellers. Montreal. 1877. pp. 124.\nCanada and its Undeveloped Interior. Proceedings of Royal Colonial\nInstitute. London. 1878. pp. 55.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Report on Location and Harbours in\nthe Pacific. Ottawa. 1878. pp. 104.\nTemps terrestre. Paris. 1878. pp. 35.\nNorth Shore Railway. Report on Route Maskinonge to Montreal.\nOttawa. 1878. pp. 12.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Report on Progress. Ottawa. 1879.\npp. 142.\nChemin de fer canadien du Pacifique: 1877-9. Montreal. 1879.\npp. 608.\n BIBLIOGRAPHY\n281\nTime Reckoning and the Selection of a Prime Meridian. Toronto.\n1879. pp. 68.\nDaily Prayers for Busy Households. Montreal. 1879. pp. 70.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Memorandum to the Minister of Railways and Canals. Ottawa. 1880. pp. 17.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Report on Construction. Ottawa.\n1880. pp. 373.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Farewell Address to Staff. Ottawa.\n1880. pp. 7.\nReturn of Papers in connexion with the Withdrawal of Sandford\nFleming from the position of Engineer-in-Chief of the Canadian\nPacific Railway. Ottawa. 1881.\nChancellor's Inaugural Address. Queen's University. Queen's\nCollege Journal. Kingston. 1881. pp. 10.\nUniform Standard Time. Transactions of American Society of Civil\nEngineers. 1881. pp. 6.\nAdoption of a Prime Meridian. Address before the International\nCongress at Venice, Italy. London. 1881. pp. 15.\nCosmopolitan Scheme for Reckoning Time. Transactions of A meri-\ncan Metrological Society. New York. 1881. pp. 10.\nStandard Time for United States, Canada, and Mexico. Transactions of American Society of Civil Engineers. New York.\n1881. pp. 34.\nL'Adoption d'un maitre meridien international. Londres. 1881.\npp. 16.\nOn Uniform Standard Time for Railways, Telegraphs, and Civil\nPurposes generally. Transactions of American Society of Civil\nEngineers. New York. 1881. pp. 6.\nChancellor's Address, Queen's University. Queen's College Journal.\nKingston. 1882.\nReturn to an Address of the Senate of Canada. Correspondence\nrelating to a Submarine Telegraph between Canada and Asia.\n1882.\nMemorandum in reference to a Scheme for completing a great Inter-\ncolonial and Inter-continental Telegraph System, by establishing an Electric Cable across the Pacific Ocean. London. 1882.\nPP.25.\nStandard Time. Transactions of A merican Society of Civil Engineers.\nNew York. 1882.\nCanadian Pacific Railway. Review of the Report and Conclusion\nof the Royal Commission. Ottawa. 1882.\nLetter on Standard Time. Transactions of American Association\nfor Advancement of Science. 1882.\nStandard Time for the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Ottawa.\n1882. pp. 8.\n 282\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nStandard Time for the World. International Standard. Cleveland.\n1883. pp. 4.\nTime Reform and a Prime Meridian. Transactions of American\nMetrological Society. New York. 1883. pp. 5.\nStandard Time at the St. Paul Convention. Transactions of A meri-\ncan Society of Civil Engineers. 1883. pp. 7.\nRecommendations to the International Prime Meridian Conference\nat Washington. 1884. pp. 12.\nThe Time Reform Movement. Transactions of American Society of\nCivil Engineers. 1884. pp. 11.\nA Prime Meridian and Time Zero. International Prime Meridian\nConference. Washington. 1884. pp. 12.\nUniform Standard Time. Transactions of American Society of Civil\nEngineers. 1884.\nThe Prime Meridian Question. International Standard. Cleveland.\n1884. pp. 8.\nStandard Time at the Buffalo Convention. Transactions of A merican\nSociety of Civil Engineers. 1884. pp. 7,\nUniversal Time Reckoning. Transactions Canadian Institute.\nToronto. 1885. pp. 101.\nUniform Standard Time. Transactions of American Society of Civil\nEngineers. 1885. pp. 4.\nThe New Time Reckoning. Smithsonian Report. Washington.\ni88\u00C2\u00A7. pp. 22.\nTime Reckoning for the Twentieth Century. Transactions Royal\nSociety of Canada. Ottawa. 1886. pp. 13.\nDocuments in reference to the Establishment of Direct Telegraphic\nConnexion between Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Great\nBritain. London. 1886. pp. 28.\nDocuments in reference to the General Adoption of a Twenty-four\nHour Notation on the Railways of America. Ottawa. 1887.\npp. 49.\nTreatise on Time for the Use of Schools. Ottawa. 1888. pp. 26.\nChancellor's Address at Semi-centennial Jubilee of Queen's University. Queen's College Journal. 1889. pp. 3.\nTime Reckoning for the Twentieth Century. Ottawa. 1889. pp.22.\nThe Unit of Time. Transactions Royal Society of Canada. Ottawa.\n1890.\nThe Waterways of Canada. Proceedings International Congress on\nInland Navigation. Manchester. 1890. pp. 8.\nCable Service England to Australia. Letter to Fellow-Colonists.\nLondon. 1890. pp. 4.\nOur Old-fogy Methods of Measuring Time. Engineering. 1891. pp.15.\nA Universal Prime Meridian and Time Zero. Report of Department\nof Science and Art. London. 1891. pp. 17.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\n BIBLIOGRAPHY\n283\nNomenclature in Time-reckoning. Transactions Royal Society of\nCanada. 1891. pp. 7.\nFixing of a Standard of Time. Ottawa. 1891. pp. 36.\nDocuments relatifs a l'unification de l'heure. Ottawa. 1891. pp.31.\nParliamentary v. Party Government. Queen's College Journal.\n1891. pp. 16.\nReforms in Time-reckoning. Transactions Canadian Institute.\nToronto. 1891. pp. 15.\nElectoral representation. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto. 1892. pp. 17.\nAddress on fifth Installation as Chancellor of Queen's University.\nQueen's College Journal. 1892.\nA System of Direct Telegraphic Communication throughout\nthe Empire. Letter to Sir John Lubbock, Chairman of\nthe Associated Chambers of Commerce. London. 1892.\npp. 12.\nThe Rectification of Parliament. Transactions Canadian Institute.\nToronto. 1892. pp. 173.\nAddress at the Opening of the Medical Faculty, Queen's University.\nQueen's College Journal. 1892.\nThe General Adoption of the Twenty-four O'clock Notation on the\nRailways of America. 1892. pp. 21.\nOcean Steam Navigation. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto. 1892. pp. 10.\nEarly Steamboats. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto.\nPP. 4-\nPostage Stamps and Colour Blindness. Transactions Canadian\nInstitute. Toronto. 1892. pp. 2.\nA Memorable Epoch in Canadian History. Transactions Canadian\nInstitute. Toronto. 1893.\nHistorical Pictures. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto.\n1893. I\nA Change in the Astronomical Day. Transactions Astronomical and\nPhysical Society. Toronto. 1893.\nReturn to an Address of the House of Commons of Canada. Papers\nrelating to the proposed Commission to inquire into the most\nfeasible means of completing the Telegraphic System of the\nEmpire. Ottawa. 1892.\nMemorandum on the Pacific Cable addressed to the Australian\nGovernments. Ottawa. 1893. pp. 8.\nAddress to Chamber of Commerce of Melbourne giving reasons why\na Pan-Britannic Cable is necessary for the Empire at large.\nMelbourne. 1893.\nThe Mission to Australia. Papers relating to the Pacific Cable.\nOttawa. 1894. pp. 53.\n 284\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nUnification of the Astronomical Civil and Nautical Days. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto. 1894. pp. 9. Also in\nTransaction s A stronomical and Physical Society. Toronto. 1894.\nThe Pacific Cable. Statement for the Colonial Conference. Ottawa.\n1894. pp. 12.\nCanada's Ocean Highways. Proceedings Royal Colonial Institute.\nLondon. 1896.\nEarly Days of the Canadian Institute. Transactions Canadian Institute. Toronto. 1899. pp. 24.\nLetters and Remarks on the Pacific Cable and the All-British Cable\nSystem. Correspondence and Documents with reference to the\nPacific Cable. Ottawa. 1900.\nPost Office Reform in the Victoria Era, and the Development of\nan Imperial Cable Service. Proceedings Royal Society of Canada.\nOttawa. 1900.\nCanada and British Imperial Cables. Ottawa. 1900.\nDocuments relating to the Pacific Cable. Ottawa. 1901.\nPostal Cable Development. Empire Review. London. 1901.\nPostal Telegraph Service by Sea and Land. Ottawa. 1902.\nMemorandum on Pacific Cable, and Telegraph Service of the Empire.\nIn Coronation Conference Paper. London. 1902.\nAn Empire-girdling State-owned Telegraph Service. In The All Red\nLine. Ottawa. 1903. pp. 15.\nThe Meaning of the Pacific Cable. Queen's Quarterly. Kingston.\n1903.\nTransportation and its Development. The Globe. Toronto. July\n2, 1904.\nBuild Up Canada. Transactions Canadian Club. Toronto. 1904.\nThe Establishment of a Great Imperial Intelligence Union. Address\nbefore the Eighty Club. London. 1906.\nThe Establishment of an Imperial Intelligence Service and a System\nof Empire Cables. Ottawa. 1906. pp. 63.\nViews on the Establishment of an Imperial Intelligence Service\non a Comprehensive Scale. Ottawa. 1906. pp. 31.\nMemories of the Mountains. Canadian Alpine Journal. 1907.\nPp. 23.\nImperial Cable Service to Circle the Globe. Ottawa. 1907. pp. 26.\nNova Scotia and the Empire. Halifax. 1908.\nThe Metric System. Transactions Royal Society of Canada. Ottawa.\n1908. pp. 9.\nThe World-girdling Cable and its State-owned Atlantic Section.\nOttawa. 1909. pp. 8.\nThe Memorial Tower and the Beginning of the Empire. Halifax.\n1910. pp. 21.\nThe Empire-girdling Cable. Ottawa. 1911. pp. 9.\nSB\n INDEX\nAdmiralty, 160, 168\u00E2\u0080\u009470.\nAll-Red Line, 157, 159, 167, 191-\n200.\nApamana, 168, 189.\nAscension, 192, 198-9.\nAshburton Treaty, 76, 93-4.\nAthabaska, 115, 121-5.\nAustralia, 154-^9, 172-3, 177, 189-\n99, 204-8, 223, 251, 261.\nAustralian Governments, 161, 165,\n169-70, 197.\nBarbados, 192, 198.\nBarrie, 52\u00E2\u0080\u00945.\nBeaconsfield, Lord, 156.\nBermudas, 192, 198.\nBethune, Mr., 7, 22-3, 30-2.\nBird Island, 187-8.\nBlake, S. H., 60, 235.\nBowell, Sir Mackenzie, 160\u00E2\u0080\u00942, 168-\n71, 186-7, 251.\nBrisbane, 253, 274.\nBritish Association, 217-19.\nBritish Columbia, 61-7, 70, 107-9,\n112-15, 126, 131, 154, 162, 258,\n274.\nBrunei, Alfred, 52.\nBurrard Inlet, 114-15.\nBute Inlet, 114, 129.\nBuxton, Lord, 257.\nBytown, 23-5.\nCable Telegraphs, world-encircling,\n46, 159, 199, 208, 263; State-\nowned, 166, 191-3, 253.\nCampbell, Sir Alexander, 157, 160.\nCanada, Dominion of, 89,94, 102-7,\n126, 258, 262-5, 268-9, 273-4;\nProvinces of (Upper and Lower),\n23, 26, 50, 51, 70, 73-4, 78-9, 89-\n91, 102-5, 26o.\nCanadian Club, 258, 266, 273.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Governments, 49\u00E2\u0080\u009450, 65, 71, 76-\n9, 84, 91-2, 96-100, 106, 110-16,\n156, 160-6, 169-70, 188, 197,\n266.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Institute, 28, 37-46,99, 212,219,\n223-5, 284.\nCanadian Journal, 38-9.\nCanadian Pacific Railway, 46-9, 78,\n106-20, 125, 130, 147-51, 154-6,\n223, 228, 260-3, 280-1.\nCanals, 21, 259.\nCape Town, 192, 274-5.\nCarlyle, 7-8, 10, 150-1.\nCarmichael-Smyth, Major, 78, 108.\nCartier, G. E., 89.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094, Jacques, 103-4.\nChaleur Bay, 77-8, 84-6, 93, 95,\n103-4.\nChamberlain, Joseph, 265.\nCharlottetown, 89, 90, 274.\nCheadle, W. B., 127-8, 149.\nChicago, 88, 218-19, 258.\nClassical studies, 230, 245\u00E2\u0080\u00946.\nCobequid Mountains, 78, 80, 95.\nCobourg, 26, 33, 47.\nCocos Island, 192, 198.\nCollingwood, 52-6,120,130,152,259.\nCologne, 221, 226.\nColombo, 255.\nColonial Office, 66, 78-9, 157-8,\n161, 164-5, I7\u00C2\u00B0\u00C2\u00BB J72> l&7* I9\u00C2\u00B0-I\u00C2\u00BB\n201.\nColumbia country, 124; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 River,\n108, in, 116, 133, 136, 138; \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nUniversity, 249.\nConfederation, 85, 89-92,102,104.\nConferences, Colonial, 157-60,162-3,\n172,174,176-7,185,191,208, 254.\nConnaught, Duke of, 42, 96, 275.\nConnolly, Archbishop, 231.\nCumberland, F., 52-4, 56.\nDawson, G. M., 67; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Route, 113,\n120 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094, S. E., 22.\nDeakin, Hon. Alfred, 204-5.\nDennis, J. Stoughton, 33, 47.\nDickens, 228-9.\nDoyle, Sir Charles Hastings, 99.\nEagle Pass, 119, 136, 138.\nEastern Telegraph Co., 158-64.\nEdmonton, 63, 115, 120-5, x49> 275.\nEdward VII, 58, 71, 151-2, 166.\nEgypt, 214, 255-6.\nEighty Club, 206.\nElgin, Lord and Lady, 33-4, 49, 56\n201.\nEllice, Edward, 12.\nEmpire, British, see Imperialism.\nErie, Lake, 7, 23, 30-2.\nFairbairn, H., 50, 74-5.\nFalkland, Lord, 77.\nFanning Island, 163, 168, 170, i8\u00C2\u00AB;,\n189.\nFiji, 163, 166, 189, 252.\n*****s\u00C2\u00AE0P?f\n 286\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nFingal's Cave, 143-4.\nFleming, Andrew Greig, 7, 152.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094, David, 12-15, 2\u00C2\u00B0\u00C2\u00BB 22-7, 29, 152.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094, Frank, 120, 130, 153.\nFleming, Sandford, ancestry, 7 ;\nbirth, 7 ; becomes engineer, 9 ;\ngoes to Canada, 12-18 ; at Peterboro, as draughtsman, 32 ; articles himself to a land-surveyor,\n33 ; at Toronto, 36; helps to\nfound Canadian Institute, 37 ;\non staff of Northern Railway, 47 ;\nchief engineer, 56 ; marriage, 57 ;\ncaptain in militia, 57\u00E2\u0080\u00948 ; pleads\ncause of Red River Colony, 61-\n71 ; surveys for Intercolonial\nRailway, 73-95 ; chief engineer,\n80-99 J advocates Short Ocean\nPassage, 84-9; promotes confederation of Canada, 89-92;\nremoves to Ottawa, 96; contracts for Pictou Railway, 100 ;\nengineer-in-chief of C. P. R., 106 ;\nchief engineer of Newfoundland\nRailway, 106; surveys for C.P.R.,\n107-39, 147-50 ; tours in British\nIsles, 140-7, 150-2, 211-12; advocates Pacific Cable, 154-90,\n251-7; attempts to secure Necker\nIsland, 167-90; advocates the\n* All-Red Line ', 191-200 ; proposes tnperial Intelligence Service, 201-10; advocates Standard Time movement, 211-25 ;\ntrip to Europe, 225-34; Chancellor of Queen's University, 235 ;\nvoyage to Australia, 251-5 ; to\nEngland, 255-7 ; inaugurates the\nHalifax (N. S.) Memorial Tower,\n271-5 ; character and aims, 276-\n8 ; death, 278.\nForeign Office, 169-71, 178, 180,\n184.\nFort Garry, 112-13, 120-21, 131,\n258.\nFort William, no, 115, 120, 267.\nFraser River, 110-11,114-16,126-9.\nFredericton, 77, 82-3, 93.\nFundy, Bay of, 50, 74, 77.\nGalloway, Joseph, 202.\nGenoa, 233-4.\nGeorge V, H.M., 37, 249.\nGeorgia, Straits of, 114, 129.\nGeorgian Bay, 52, 259-60.\nGermany, 221, 226-8.\nGiant's Causeway, 140, 144.\nGilmour, Allan, 236.\nGisborne, F. N., 154.\nGladstone, W. E., 77.\nGlasgow, 13-14, 140-2.\nGordon, Very Rev. D, M. 236, 249.\nGordon, Willie, 140-2.\nGovernments, Colonial, 156, 160-2,\n164, 166, 169, 193, 197. See also\nCanadian Governments.\nGrand Trunk Railway, 49, 56, 79,\n94, 98, 114, 123-6, 259, 279.\nGrant, Rev. G. M., 120, 130, 152,\n235-6, 240, 249.\nGrecian Bend, The, 95.\nGreenwich, 214, 219, 221-3.\nGrey, Earl, 200, 249, 250.\nGriffith, Sir Samuel, 254.\nGzowski, Sir Casimer, 30.\nHalifax (N. S.), 75-9, 83-4, 90-6,\n99, 104-5, Io8\u00C2\u00BB I2o. I29\u00C2\u00BB 213, 225,\n231, 234, 265, 271-5, 278.\nHancock, E. C, 52-3.\nHawaiian Islands, 167-71, 175,\n178-89, 252.\nHeaton, Sir John Henniker, 255.\nHector, Dr., 122-3, x34.\nHind, H. Y., 61, 67, 109.\nHolland, 225-6.\nHonolulu, 167-88, 251-2, 255.\nHopetoun, Earl of, 254.\nHowe, Joseph, 78, 108, 202.\nHudson Bay, 264.\nHudson Bay Co., 62, 66, 121, 257-8.\nHuron, Lake, 48, in, 261-2.\nHutcheson, Dr., 26-7, 31-2.\nIllecellewaet, 136-8.\nImperial Government, 50, 70-9, 89,\n154, 156, 159-66, 169-76,179-81,\n186-8, 197, 220.\nImperial Intelligence Service, 201-\n10, 284.\nImperialism:\nBritish Empire, 102, 107, 158-9,\n189, 191, 196, 271-2, 275.\nFleming's Imperialism, 46,107-8,\n155-6, 200, 201, 241, 265, 277.\nImperial policy, 88.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 projects, 112, 260, 268-73.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 unity, 164, 166, 194-6, 199-210,\n261, 263, 269-77.\nIndian Ocean, 192-8, 255.\nIndians, North American, 27, 42,\n49, 103-4, 129-31, 134, 139, 251,\n258.\nIntercolonial Railway, 46, 49, 72-\n107, no, 120, 225, 234-6, 280.\nIona, 143-4.\nIreland, 85-9, 140, 211-12, 225.\nIrving, Edward, 10, 150-1.\nItaly, 214-15, 221, 228-34.\nJapan, 77, 169, 214-15, 222-3.\nJasper, 125 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 House, 123; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Lake,\n124; \u00E2\u0080\u0094Valley, 115, 124, 227.\nJohnson, George, 49-50, 74, 108.\ni\u00C2\u00BB\n INDEX\n287\nKamehameha, King, 170,179,182-4.\nKamloops, 116, 127-31, 136, 138-9.\nKennoway, 7, 12, 22, 25.\nKicking Horse Pass, 116, 125, 131-\n9; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 River, 134; \u00E2\u0080\u0094Valley,\n136.\nKing, Hon. J. A., 182-3, J87.\nKing's College, 28, 237, 242.\nKingston, 23-9, 33, 235-9.\nKirkcaldy, 7-11, 25, 145, 150-1,\n254.\nLaprairie, 21, 51.\nLaurier, Sir Wilfrid, 163-4.\nLefroy, Sir J. H., 42-3.\nLeopold, Prince, 152.\nLiverpool, 83-8, in, 119, 147, 225,\n257.\nLondon, England, 88, 147, 157, 160,\n192, 198, 205, 209, 225, 257.\nLondonderry, 140, 211-12.\nLouise, Princess, 152.\nMacdonald, Sir John, 89, 98, 156,\n225, 235.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 John Sandfield, 65, 70, 73.\nMcGee, T. D'A., 89-92, 108.\nMcllwraith, Sir T., 253.\nMackenzie, Alexander (1822-92),\n105.\nMackenzie, Sir Alexander (1755 ?\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1820), 108, 115, 117.\nMcLeod, 117; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 River, 121.\nMacNab, Sir Allan, 29, 35.\nMacoun, John, 120.\nMaine, 76, 79, 84, 93, 99.\nManitoba, 107,115,253,259-66,274.\nMary, Queen, 249.\nMelbourne, 204, 254, 274-5.\nMemorial Tower, Halifax, 96, 271-5.\nMercer, SirW. H., 187.\nMeridian, see Prime Meridian.\nMetapedia, 78, 81, 152-3, 226.\nMetrological Society, American,\n219\u00E2\u0080\u009420, 225.\nMilitary considerations, 93-5, 115,\n262-3.\nMilitia, Canadian, 57-8, 99.\nMilton, Viscount, 127-8.\nMinto, Earl of, 43.\nMiramichi, 104; fire, 81, 103; \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nRiver, 78.\nMonck, Lord, 70, 73.\nMontreal, 7,18-23, 33-7,50, 84, 89-\n94, 108, 116, 119-20, 130, 264-5.\nMoody, Major-Gen., 114-15.\nMoose Factory, 264-5 '* \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Lake,\n126; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 River, no.\nMoren, Dr., 120.\nMount Stephen, Lord and Lady,\n116, 152,257.\nMowat, Sir O., 42, 89.\nNaples, 231-3.\nNecker Island, 167-90, 257.\nNew Brunswick, 50-1, 73-9, 82-4,\n89-93, 102-3, 261, 268, 274.\nNew South Wales, 169-71, 193, 253,\n274.\nNew York, 85-91, 213, 257.\nNew Zealand, 154-7, 161-6, 171,\n189-98, 206-8, 273-4.\nNewcastle, Duke of, 70, 71, 73.\nNewfoundland, 18, 85-8, 106, 274.\nNorman, Sir Henry, 254.\nNorth Thompson River, 116, 127,\n136.\nNorthern Railway, 47-61, 120.\nNorthern Route, 267-8.\nNottawasaga, 52-5, 279.\nNova Scotia, 50, 64, 73-84, 89-95,\n99-102, 261, 268, 271-4, 284. '\nOntario, Lake, 23, 48, 235, 259;\nProvince of, 28, 49, 52, 261, 264-\n6, 274.\nOntario, Simcoe, and Huron Railway, 47, 49, 52.\nOttawa, 35, 49, 96, 116, 147, 155,\n187,196,199, 205,253, 257-8,274;\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Conference, 16: , 172-4, 177,\n185-6, 191; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 River, 23,112-13,\n259-63.\nOttonabee, 27, 260.\nPacific Ocean, 174, 179, 219, 252 ;\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Cable, 154-91. 193, 196-7,\n251-4, 257, 281-4 ; Pacific Cable\nCommittee, Imperial, 163. See\nalso Canadian Pacific Railway.\nPalhser Expedition, 67,109,134,149.\nPan-Britannic Telegraph Service,\n194-8, 201, 209, 283-4.\nParis, 151-2, 234.\nPassmore, F. F., 38.\nPatey, Captain, 179, 183.\nPender, Sir John, 158.\nPenetanguishene, 48, 52-3.\nPerth (W. A.), 192, 275.\nPeterboro, 26-7, 32-3, 47, 235.\nPictou, 13, 81 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Railway, 99,\n100, 279.\nPipon, Captain, 77-8.\nPollock, Sir F., 203.\nPompeii, 232-3.\nPort Hope, 26, 28, 258.\nPort Moody, 114, 116, 119.\nPort Simpson, 114, 266.\nPortland (Maine), 79, 93-4.\nPost Office, British, 163, 170, 284.\nPostal Service, 197, 202, 208.\nPresbyterianism, 23, 132, 230, 234,\n237-8, 240.\nPrime Meridian, 212, 219-23, 225,\n230, 252.\n 288\nSANDFORD FLEMING\nQuebec, 7, 18, 20, 21, 26,^50, 73-4,\n76-80, 83, 89-93, 102, 105, 229,\n264-8, 274; Province of, 51, 227,\n261, 266, 274.\nQueen's College, 26; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 University,\n\" 44, 235-50.\nQueensland, 163, 168-71, 189, 253-\n\" 4, 274.\nRed River Colony, 60-71, 109-10,\n115-16, 120-1, 256, 258-9, 279.\nReligious services, 12, 23, 120, 132,\n152, 230, 234, 257.\nRestigouche, 78, 101, 153, 226.\nRice Lake, 26-7.\nRichards, A. N., 60.\nRideau Canal, 24, 108, 259; \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nFalls, 24 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Lakes, 23, 25.\nRidout, Thomas, 44-5.\nRiot at Montreal, 33.\nRipon, Lord, 170-2, 180, 257.\nRiviere du Loup, 77-82, 84, 89.\nRobinson, Major, 78.\nRoche a Myette, 122-6, 227.\nRocky Mountains, 62-4, 107-116,\n121-6, 154, 227, 260, 284; \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nRiver, 124.\nRogers, Major, 131, 136.\nRome, 214-15, 221, 230-31.\nRose, Sir John, 145, 151.\nRosebery, Lord, 170-2, 176-7.\nRoyal Society, 219.\nRussel, Andrew, 33.\nSaguenay, 226, 263.\nSt. Andrews (New Brunswick), 50,\n74-6, 93-4.\nSt. Andrews University, 249.\nSt. Helena, 192, 198.\nSt. John (N. B.), 75-80, 84, 90-4,\n274.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 River, 76-7, 93.\nSt. John's (NF.), 86, 88-9, 274.\nSt. John's (Quebec), 21, 51.\nSt. Lawrence, River, 20-1, 33, 48,\n50, 51, 74, 77-8o, 94, 259-63, 270.\nSalmon and other Fishing, 9, 101,\n152-3.\nSang, John, 7, 9, 12.\nSaskatchewan, 61-3, 108-11, 263,\n267, 275.\nSelkirk, 115 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094Range, 130-1, 136;\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Settlement, no.\nShaughnessy, Sir T., 266.\nShediac, 80, 84.\nShort Ocean Passage, 84-9.\nSmith, Goldwin, 230, 235.\nSouth Africa, 192, 197-9, 2\u00C2\u00B08, 273.\nStaffa, 143-4.\nStandard Time movement, 40, 211-\n25, 280-4. See also Prime Meridian, Time-Reckoning.\nStanmore, Lord, 82.\nStrathcona, Lord, 116-19, 153.\nStruve, Otto, 220, 224.\nSuez Canal, 214, 255-6.\nSuperior, Lake, 61-5, 107-15, 148,\n154-5, 258, 262-3, 266.\nSydney (N. S. W.), 174, 253-4, 274.\nTache, Sir Etienne, 89-90.\nTelegraphs, 68-9, 149, 154-5, i58-9\u00C2\u00BB\n191\u00E2\u0080\u00945,263. See also Cable, Pacific\nCable.\nT\u00C2\u00A7te Jaune Cache, 115, 126-8.\nThompson, Sir J., 185.\nThompson River, 114 ; 116,128-9.\nSee North Thompson R.\nThunder Bay, 113, 120, 149.\nTilley, S.L., 73, 82, 89.\nTime-Reckoning, 211-24, 280-4.\nTodd, A. H., 35.\nToronto, 26-9, 33, 35~7\u00C2\u00BB 40-i, 47~9,\n52-8, 99, 120, 130, 152, 173-6,\n213, 217, 258-9, 274, 279 ; Univ.\nof \u00E2\u0080\u0094 , 242.\nTranscontinental Railway, 68-9,73,\n119, 147, 212, 268.\nTruro (N. S.), 77-8, 84, 89, 99.\nTully, Kivas, 37, 44-5.\nTupper, Sir C, 73, 82, 89-92, 157,\n170-2, 176-7, 257.\nTurin, 234.\nTurkey, 159,215,223.\nUnited Empire Club, 205.\nUnited States of America, 50-1,64-\n7, 72-6, 93-4, no, 131, 159, 170,\n182, 188-9, 213, 219-23, 252,\n258, 263, 266.\nVancouver, 64, 114-16, 119, 129,\n154,159, 163,168-70, 174-7, i85,\n189, 192, 198, 251, 254, 265.\nVenice, 220, 225, 229.\nVerona, 228-9.\nVictoria (Australia), 169-71,204,274.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 (B. C), 48, 52-3, 114, 129, 274.\nVictoria, Queen, 34-7, 45, 53, 66,\n122, 126, 145, 169, 239.\nWalpole, 23; \u00E2\u0080\u0094Island, 252.\nWashington, 170-1,182,188, 220-3,\nWiley, Col., 35, 57.\nWilson, Sir Daniel, 42, 219-20 ; \u00E2\u0080\u0094,\nJohn, 50, 74.\nWinnipeg, 67, 112, n5-16, 130-1,\n258, 264-7, 274J Lake \u00E2\u0080\u0094, 108,\n262, 266.\nYellowhead Lake, 126;\n113-16, 121, 125-6.\nYule, Captain, 50, 76, 93.\nPass,\n Issued by ALEX. G. GILKISON, 98, Miller Street, Glasgow, Licensed Passenger Broker.\nReferred to in the 19th Section of the Passengers' Act*\nPASSENGERS' CONTRACT TICKET.\nN.B.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Any one receiving money from, or in respect of, any Passenger about leaving the United Kingdom for any place in North America,\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0without using this Form, and correctly filling up the blanks therein, and signing it with his name in full, will be liable to a penalty not\nexceeding \u00C2\u00A310 for each such Passenger.\nSHIP-\n'A\nto sail from\n/\nAsCfw <3L^\u00C2\u00AB>xS\t\non the\nO^^\n\u00C2\u00A3r?~*<~~e^/\t /f*CQ tons register burthen,\nor Q/^eJlLj* JP]\t\nday\nof ^fa^l, It/fS\nNames.\n/\nv\nAges.\n^\u00C2\u00A3*J2M^\n^^i\u00E2\u0082\u00AC>-^tAJe^S\nEqual\nto Statute\nAdults.\nK/SVZ**^\u00C2\u00A3jt,\n^L\nR be\nengage that the parties hei'^in named\n^vided with a aioowftffgg^passage^to\nr9-f& in the Ship\nZJUSL\n>r luggage, for S\nthe plae2 of\nwith not less than Ten cubic feet for luj\neach statute adult for the sum of \u00C2\u00A3\nincluding head-money, if any, at the plae^\nlanding, and every other charge; and k*-^\nhereby acknowledge to have received jtfie sum of\n\u00C2\u00A3/& / "Includes index.

Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977799093"@en . "Books"@en . "HE2808.2.F54 B87 1915"@en . "I-1622"@en . "10.14288/1.0347210"@en . "English"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "London : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Edinburgh : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Glasgow : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "New York : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Toronto : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Melbourne : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Bombay : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press"@en . "Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact\u00A0digital.initiatives@ubc.ca."@en . "Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HE2808.2.F54 B87 1915"@en . "Fleming, Sandford, 1827-1915"@en . "Railroads--Canada"@en . "Sandford Fleming, empire builder"@en . "Text"@en .