sure as the sun shone, that railway, MR. MACKENZIE: There is no report in the possession of the Government other than what is embraced in substance in the report of Mr. Smith, embodied in the Public Works Report now before the House, and which states substantially all that Mr. Hunter has stated. Mr. Hunter has to make a detailed report, which he has not yet been able to complete, and he also proposes to prepare a map. It will be observed that his survey was scarcely a complete one; it was not to any extent an instrumental so much as an exploratory survey. He made an instrumental survey of a portion of the more difficult parts of the Pass, respecting which, it is stated, he found the grades would be somewhat difficult for a few miles; some sixty feet to the mile, I believe. It is impossible, therefore, to base any actual decision upon the information which Mr. Hunter has communicated. We knew very nearly as much before receiving Mr. Hunter's information as since, as Mr. Selwyn traversed this part of the country and gave a similar report; that is, that it would be possible to obtain, a route for a railroad ". by that river or so-called pass. All the information which the hon. member for Victoria has referred to,has been before the public and, of course, is known to the members of the Government as well as to other parties, and will, no doubt, exercise its proper influence on the Government in coming to a final determination as to the route which the railroad would take. But there is one point which neither of the two hon. gentlemen has mentioned and which constitutes a serious difficulty in the further consideration of the adoption of this route. In order to obtain an accurate knowledge of the route, which would have to taken from very near Livingstone all the way up to Fort George, a distance of 1,100 or 1,200 miles, it would be necessary to spend two years in further surveys of the country before the Government could be able to form an exact estimate of the difficulties to be overcome, and the expense to be borne in carrying the route in that direction. I have pointed out on previous occasions the political difficulties which are connected with locating the route. Were the Dominion Parliament and the Government at liberty to deal with the selection of the route purely on its merits. as a work of engineering and a work for the promotion of the settlement of the country, we would be placed in a much more favourable position for considering many of the suggestions which naturally arise in the course of an exploration of half a continent. But the hon. members from British Columbia and the British Columbia Government never ceased their importunities about the immediate commencement of the road, and the Dominion Government felt that it was necessary to commence the road as soon as it was possible to obtain the location in British Columbia itself. Acting, therefore, upon political considerations, unless there is an understanding arrived at with that Province for their assent to further delay in the prosecution of those surveys, it would become absolutely necessary to adopt the pass which is already known to be feasible, where the line has been fully located, and the matter in controversy, then, would be limited to the route to MR. ROSCOE said that if the Bute Inlet route was selected, the work of construction might proceed from that point to Fort George, while exploratory surveys might be made through the Pine River Pass, to determine whether the road should be brought by that route or not. be taken from Tête Jaune Cache, west- | Pass route should be the same as that ward, either to Bute Inlet, Dean Inlet on the Jasper Hou e Pass route or Burrard Inlet. This is the position then the mileage would be increased of the matter. Mr. Hunter made, no by the difference which is appadoubt, some valuable accessions to rent upon the measurement of the our knowledge of that country, map, namely, fifty miles. These are, but none that would have a generally speaking, the facts which material effect, particularly, owing to have to be considered in this connecthe political considerations to which tion. As soon as Mr. Hunter has his I have referred. He is at present extended report prepared and the map. preparing a map which will show ready, no time will be lost in submitthe general character of the coun- ting them to this House, as a matter of try by either of the two lines, course. It is of little use bringing up namely, that which has been located his hurried and temporary report, as it from Livingstone,-the point of diver is really all embraced in the informagence, if the Southern route (already tion which Mr. Smith has collected in located) was adopted-to Jasper House his general report, which is now before Pass; and the one which would tra- the House. verse the country crossing the North Saskatchewan about Fort a la Corne, and taking, as nearly as possible, a direct route by Slave Lake, about the centre of the country traversed by the Smoky River, between the Peace River and the mountains, thence in as straight a line as possible on the slope of the Rocky Mountains to the Pino River Pass." The hon. member for Cariboo (Mr. Thompson) who has moved for these papers, has stated that the distance is about the same, quoting Mr. Smith's report. Apparently, the distance is the same, but actually, it is not. The distance upon the map is, as nearly as possible, the same by both routes, but the distance depends a great deal upon the amount of curvature which would have to be undertaken in crossing some of the formidable valleys which would be reached in the neighbourhood. of Peace River, and any rough country which might be reached. I pointed out, a few evenings ago, that crossing one of the small rivers on the route proposed, south of Lake Manitoba in the North-West Territories, necessitated lengthening the line by nine miles, thus adding very materially to the curvature which would have to be overcome. So far as the engineers are able to ascertain, the distance by Pine River Pass to Fort George, the objective point common to both routes, is longer by about fifty miles. The cur vature, however, upon the already located route, brings the distance, as nearly as possible, to the same mileage as the Northern route. But, if the percentage of curvature on the Pine River MR. MACKENZIE: There is no doubt of that. If the Bute Inlet route on its own merits, taking the whole line, was considered the best, it might possibly be arranged, in that case, that the construction of the part west of Fort George might be proceeded with, and that part east of Fort George might be proceeded with as far as the surveys were concerned. SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD: Fort George is a common point? MR. MACKENZIE: Fort George is a common point both to the Pine River route and Bute Inlet route as now located; the precise point might not be precisely at Fort George, but within a short distance of it. There is a watershed to be overcome between Fraser River, immediately east of Fort George, and what may be called the summit waters of Peace River; or. to speak more precisely, the summit waters of Parsnip River, the great southern branch of Peace River, which joins the other branch before piercing the mountain range through which Peace river flows. We do not know very accurately, indeed, it is very imperfectly known, what difficulties might have to be overcome in obtaining a crossing over the The summit summit at that point. level is really far west of the Rocky | out agreement entered into by that Province. That fact need not be wondered at inasmuch as the people of British Columbia held the opinion that the contract had not been carried by Canada as agreed upon. Mention had been made of political considerations, but such considerations should have nothing to do with the carrying out of the terms. of the treaty with British Columbia and Canada, an engagement which had been solemnly entered into with that Province. It was not very creditable for any Government to make any such allusion as that political considerations should interfere with the performance of a just contract, one that British Columbia would never have entered into if it had foreseen the manner in which it would have been treated, and that, by its loyalty to Great Britain and confidence in Canada, it had been deprived of a railroad which the Americans were anxious to build through British Columbia to Alaska. The credit of the Pacific Province had, moreover, been affected by the action of the Dominion. Not only the British Columbia Government, but the members from that Province and the people whom they represented, felt sensitive in regard to the railroad question. In anticipation of the work of constructing the railway being carried forward in good faith, the Province expended large sums of money, and sent its own agent to Europe to induce immigration there, for they well knew that the Province possessed land well fitted to receive emigrants to cultivate the soil. The House had been told by the hon. the Premier that as soon as Mr. Hunter's report was prepared, it would be brought down; but there was MR. BUNSTER said the discussion nothing defin.te about that statement, had thrown some light on the intention and they did not know whether it of the Government, and they were now would be within one, two, or three promised two years more delay in the years. Such was not the proper manbuilding of the Canadian Pacific Rail- ner to treat hon. members who came way for the purpose of securing fur- to Parliament from long distances ther surveys. It was evident that the at the risk of their lives. The time provided in the terms of Union commencement of the work might for the construction of the road would be delayed until after the general elecbe exceeded by several years. The tion, and, on that ground, the people House had been informed by the hon. of British Columbia had cause for the Premier that the British Columbia | alarm. While he believed there were Government was pressing the Do- considerable political considerations minion Government to carry out the affecting the railroad question, he still 1 had faith in the people of Canada to believe they would have sufficient political honour to carry out their promises to British Columbia, and they would know whether such was the case when they went to the polls. If the British Columbia Government had not sufficient faith left to believe that the Dominion Government would yet carry out the terms of Union, it would petition the Imperial Government to sever the connection between the Province and Canada, and it would return to the old flag, not to the United States. British Columbia flourished under the old flag; the Imperial navy frequented its harbours, surveyed its coasts, and took a lively interest in the development of the resources of the country; but since the Province had joined Confederation, they would have declined in prosperity, except for its rich natural resources. Their confidence in the pledge of the Dominion Government to build the railroad had declined; their emigrants had been leaving their shores because the public lands were locked up, and, under those circumstances it was natural that men, who, like himself, had spent the best part of their lives in the Province, should feel aggrieved at the injus. tice done it. He hoped the Government would see proper to commence the construction of the Pacific Railway at once, and not longer allow the steel rails sent to British Columbia to remain there unlaid, and deteriorating. Let the Government commence at Bute Inlet and build eastward. He did not desire to infuence the Government in regard to the selection of a route, but he wished the work to be entered upon, so that the people who came to their shores, being desirous to return to the old flag, might do it with a little more confidence than at present. They received many immigrants from Australia as well as the old country, and many of those men who had invested money in lands in the hope that the national enterprise would be carried out had lost their savings through the work not being carried out as agreed upon. That was a gross injustice, and if the case were placed in proper hands, he thought the Government might be sued for breach of contract for the loss sustained by those parties. MR. THOMPSON (Cariboo) said the discussion had taken a wider scope than he expected when he brought forward the motion for those returns. The hon. the Premier had informed the House that Mr. Hunter's report was not yet sufficiently prepared to be submitted. IIe (Mr. Thompson) hoped, however, that, as Mr. Hunter was in the city, the report would be brought down to the House with as little delay as possible; indeed, it would be satisfactory to the First Minister himself, to have that report when he announced the railway policy of the Government. As had been stated by the junior member for Victoria, if the Bute Inlet route should be adopted, there would be no difficulty in proceeding with the work between that point and Fort George, whether any further explorations were made of the Pine River Pass or not. He hoped the hon. the First Minister would furnish the House with the information as soon as possible. MEAT IMPORTATIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES. MOTION FOR RETURN. MR. MCQUADE moved for returns of the value of meat, green, dried, cured or potted, imported into Canada from the United States, and the duty collected on such from 1st January, 1877, to 1st January, 1878. Motion agreed to. BETTER TRANSLATION OF THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT. MOTION FOR SELECT COMMITTEE. MR. FRÉCHETTE moved for a Select Committee to enquire as to the best means of securing a better French translation of of the British North America Act, 1867. He said he asked to be permitted to make a few remarks in French, with reference to this motion. At the opening of the present Session, he had heard the hon. member for Terrebonne make some very judicious observations with respect to the subject of the translation into French of the debates of the House; and, in this respect, he concurred with the hon. gentleman. He thought that if the country devoted a considerable sum of money towards securing the translation of these debates, this work ought to be done in the best possible manner. What was worthy of being done, was also worthy of being well done. He thought this English proverb---What was worth doing at all, was worth doing well-was a favourite one, he considered, with the French translators of the House, if he could judge of it by the efforts they made every day to effect the disappearance of those vicious expressions and those deplorable anglicisms which for a long time had existed in the official language in French. The motion, which he now proposed, had no reference whatever to politics. It was purely proposed from a literary, or rather lexicological point of view. Despite the well-meant exertions and undeniable ability and knowledge of the translators, there had slipped into the translations, not only of the debates of the House, but also into those of the public documents of this country, many faults of language, for they met every day with an almost insurmountable difficulty, and that was the official translation of the British North America Act of 1867. In the first place, he held that the French translators were not responsible for this translation; it was not theirs; and in the second place, he did not intend to accuse the author of this translation of ignorance with respect to the French language. This gentleman had probably sinned owing to too great national pride in translating "Dominion" by Puissance, and for the remainder, by too great a respect for the incorrect and vicious phrases which existed in the old Statutes. He believed that neither the respect which we ought to have for the science and knowledge of our ancestors, nor the legitimate ambition of desiring to see our country some day take rank among the great powers (Puissances) of Europe, were of a nature to pardon absurd boasting, which could not give to strangers a very fair idea of their notions of the French language of which the French-Canadians were so proud, and which, in the language used by one of their great poets, was one of the finest jewels in the heritage which had been transmitted to them by their ancestors. As to the propriety of the motion which he now made, he believed that he could establish it, at least in the eyes of the hon. members who spoke French, by citing a few of the vicious phrases and faults of language which were to be met with in the translation of the British North America Act. He did not speak for the moment of the translation of the word." Dominion" by the word Puissance; he would, at present, set this defect aside, and refer, in the first place, to Clause 10 in the provisions of this Act, with regard to the Governor-General The phrase " To the Governor-General for the time being of Canada, or other the Chief Executive Officer or Administrator for the time being,' -was thus translated: Gouverneur-Général du Canada, ou à tout autre chef exécutif ou administrateur pour le temps d'alors," in place of saying alors en exercice. This was a most vicious locution which should certainly be made to disappear in a careful translation. It would probably take up too much " Au |