CANADIAN RAILWAYS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2141, 25 July 1907, Page 1

CANADIAN RAILWAYS

Half-a-eentnry ago Canada’s 3J million square miles wore looked on as mainly consisting of wild and almost impasable country. The possibility of a railway across its trackless wastes connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific would have been scented as a dream. Two such railways now exist, and a third is planned that will still further reduce the time for the journey from England to tbo Far East. All this space-anni-hilating arose out of a chance business transaction in a drapery establishment in St. Paul’s Churchyard. Olio summer day in 3850 n Canadian customer looked in. To his surprise the assistant who attended to him was his own cousin, whom he had last see l when he had left Scotland .some years before. The cousin needed little inducement to go to Canada to assist in running a drapery business in Montreal. They prospered. In a few years the cousins, then interested hi questions of transport, projected the Canadian Pacific railway. So well did they organise and direct the work of this enormous undertaking that the line was completed in six years less than the guaranteed time. The drapery assistant is now ] ( ord Mount-Stephen. His cousin is Lord Stratheoua. High Commissioner for the great Dominion that owes so much to both of them.