THE KLONDYKE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11113, 14 May 1898, Page 2

THE KLONDYKE.

o RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. A LARGE UNDEKTAKING. (From Odk Own Correspondent.)

Ottawa, March 11,

Parliament has been in session for five weeks, and daring nil that timo nothing else than Klondyke matters have been talked about. A clause in tho Address, referring to the need for transportation facilities in that district, was debated for a week, and than came tha bill for t'ae construction of a railway connecting the waters of the Pacifio with t'ae inland navigation leading in the goldfielda. A'l other business was laid aside foe1 the diedussion of this measure, and it was only at daylight this morning tbat the second reading was carried '5n the | House. As this proposed railway is a thiug of j considerablfl importaiice, since 6ver it the commerce of tha Yukon country taunt practically pass, it may not be amiss ifl & few words to outline it* character. At the present time anyone desiring to reaoh the goldfield* musfc cither take a very long* roundabout journey hi order td ascend tho Yukon Ri?sr t emptying into the Polar Sea, 01? cnt across the Pacific coast through one of three or four mountain passss, and then Bail down to Dawson City Ihrdligil a chain of lakes and rivers that are navigable for boata of light draught. It is about 900 mites from Vancouver to the first of these passes, and the journey through tho mountains cavers a distance of from 100 to 175 miles befote inland waters are reached. Through these passes all supplies must now bs carried, ehitfly on the backs of Indian packer*, making the process both tedious and difficult. Moreover, daring the winter season tho passes are closed. ThO3B who attempt to make the journey on snow shots do SO at enottnous riekis, and many lives have already been daerificed during the past few month's. When ib Was kuowh that; many thousands of rahierd would be going into the Yukon country this year, the Government realised that * railway through one1 of the mountain passes Was ati absolute necessity. They saw that if the fctatiSFbrtatiOn facilities wereiibt sidequateytbe people ba the gdlflflelds would be ili great dangerof starvation, There Was ftlßci tho important consideration of preserving lav and order, Which would turn vary largely- upori quidk means of communication with tho centre of Governttetit. Tha chief popular rfiasdn, however, had referenda in) tfadp. Seattle and Sau ! Francisco wore Making deijlcfratG efforts to supply trade on the American side of the'line, | and if Catiadians were to have whab properly belonged to them, it Wks Been that the cdto- | mevcial highway id sfad out 6f the Yukon must be through Canadian territory. Th« situation was in the nature of an emergency ( demanding immediate arid energetic action. The Government decided to build & railway. It is proposed that tho railway shall start frbni Glenbra, on tlte Stikine itiver, and ran for ; a distance of 160 miles, to Teslirt Lake, which lake connects with navigablo. streams emptying Into the Yukon ftiwsri 16 *iil be observed, on glancing at the map, that the Stikine River is about 850 miles north of Vancouver. It ii a largo riverY and isi navisrttble fot vessels of medium draught for about 150 miles inland. Glenora is 120 miles from the coast, and it is at that point that the railway will have its southern tetminuß. tfnder the contranr, V?hifeh the GoTernmeht entered ihtb on tha 25th January last* Messed Mackenzie and Mann are to build a uai*ow"gauga railway from Gienora to Teaiin Liikfi, and have it retidy for traffic by ike Ist September next. This h really a _ gigantic undertaking, and if it is carried Out will bo a feat in coflsiructioa withoub parallel. Of course, the1 character of the road will have to be very mrtch improved after the Ist September ; but if the lino is opeu for traffls on the Ist September, this will leava two months for the transport of supplies before the inland waters are frozen up. During thoße two months it is expected tbat .provisions can. be carried intcJ the Yukon country for the jiexs winter. But the transport by water from Ttelin Luke tioDawßon Oity is a serious things ttio jonrnfty being 600 miles in length, wifeL several interruptions to navigation as shallow points iv the river. Boats are now being constructed in large numbers for this work, and ib is hoped that the enormous diffiVulttes'connected with the feeding of probably 100,000 people in the Yukon country nest winter will b& met in (his way. It U, however, a big problem, having exceedingly serious aspects. It would be a'praciical impos.•■ibility to meet the food wants of tbat number of people if it were Hot that ho one is a'lowiSd to enter the country now tilth kss than 10001b of supplies. Hundreds of bright mit'.dfc **« iitsbively at work on the supply problem, quite apart from Goyernmet)t measures, and the .hope ,of gain will probably tempt many into extraordinary schemes for meeting the needs of the mining populafcioa. Tho consideration to be given tbe contractors for building the railway is wlioliy a land grant. 'Phev are to receive £5,000 acres per mile, or 3,750,000 seres in all, subject to important! coudicion* as to splsotioii. They will require to expeud about 5,000, OOOdol id order'to earn this Isnd subsidy, and it has been upon this phase of the bargain that P.vllsmeflt has centred its attention during the past'inonth. Oti orifihaud it is asserted that the land graiit is excessive, inasmuch as it fi)*y yield A large number of exceedingly rich gold claims. On tbe other hand it is asserted by friends of the Government that the contractors take very largo risks in the matter, inasftiUch as they may not be able to make selfCtiobg that will yield,a lftr?e retarn. Moreover, while tin contractors are building" the railway thousands of .prospectors will be spread over the country, having (he first chance" ,for election. Under auy pircum.itaneeß the road w»i urgently neede), and tho contractors would not take a smaller subvention. It is aleo sifinificAnt; that during all tbe long debute no ohe has oorrie forward with an alternative offer, do that it may be taken for granted that no one else in prepared to build tbe live for a lower consideration. No one can say whether the. contractors will make well or not out of tbe transaction, since it »M turns unon tho gold which may be found in the land. You poople in.New Zealand know bow uhcort«i" *s pUeif mining. Coincident with th ! rii»oUß<iioti oF thM railway measure has atioou * iicriou-t .international question. Alwh ia a United States territory, and the mouth of the IStikme River is inside the American boundary. Uodfir 'the'-Wasfiington Treaty the Stikioe is one of ths rivers up nnd down which Americans and . Canadians erjoy I equal rights of navigation. It; is in; precisely the 1 same situation as the SS. Lawrence,.respecting the use of which by' Americans no question arißes. But tb.9 Ainetican people ara nelfish. When iiiis Yukon excitement broke out. and i the prospect-, of millions of d-.'llars of profitable j trade wan clearly in view, they wished to hiive the lion's share of that buoiue»s. ■ They could not bear to see the benefit siboruiiig to Canada. But they were helple6snn strictly lfipal ground*. The (roldSalds were in Canada, and if Amerioan supplies were brought in they would have to pay customs duty. The proposition to build the railway above referred to afforded them a chatice to show their teeth, aud they have doon fo in a rather discreditable way. Iti direct violation of tbe Washington Treaty, they iOsiat by statute enactment upon refu«ing to allow Canadian goods iopa»s into the Stikine Biver fre3 of duty, unless Canada inaksß important I concessions to Amerioan miners aud removes certain embirgoes upou Amerioau fishermen on the Atlantic cuast. Tbis is a demnhil of a most indefensible character, although exceedingly characteristic of our grtvtdy neighbours. If I do uoi utterly misunderstand the temper of tha Canadian people, they will stand firmly on their treaty rights, to 'the extent of asking Imperial support in t.hr»t position. Tfce Americans ought to be satisfied, with the fact I hat four-fifths of all the gold taken from the Klondyke has gono into tho United States. | Tho sitaatipu at Skagvray fend Fort Wrangel, j the two chief points at which miners start ' through the mountain passes, has had no parallel in the history of gold movements. For two months hundreds and. thousands of men, each carrying the requisite quantity of supplies, have been makiDg their w«.» northward, so as to be among the first to get to the goldflelds. The passes have been closed and are not yet opened; co that between 15,000 and 20,000 eager and impatient men are now at the two points named. The house accommodation is not unfficient for a fiffih of that number, and the others are crowded ] into tents and such temporary structures as csn bs erected. . Gambling is rampant, supplies are i at enormous" rates, and many are wasting the substance which they intended for the diggings. To make matters worse, exposure has brought on severe form it of eicktieos and the death rate ha* been appalliag. Medical care is wholly insufficient, although doctors and nurses are being sent up ijnder Government auspices. Every day adds to tho congestion, as boats small and Urge bring fresh numbers to tbe camp. In the very nature of things many will be unable to get their supplies carried through ■ the pass, notwithstanding the fact that every- j thing is on a co-operaiive lmio — each one helping the other as far as possible. The Government regard tho condition of affairs as exceedingly grave, but feel powetleas to afford a remedy until the proposed railway is completed. Authentic information from Dawson City ha 3 only reached the capital two or three times since last December. The latest news does not, how- j ever, afford a very accurate idea of the success | of the winter operations. As you may know, the miners carry on their digging by melting i the frozsn earth with fires built; in the hole, and i the dirt thus thrown to the surface immediately freezes solid. They cannot carry on sluicing or j washing until spring. Work goes on steadily, but it is not until warm weather that results can be measnred. Experimental washings tako placa from time to time, and if tho gross yield comes at all near the prospects which many have in this way brought to view it will be enormous. The uther day tho Mounted .Police . came upon two bodies in one of the '

1 mountain pasfles ( and upon them was found 160,000d0l in gold and certificates. Manifestly these poor fellows, having made their pile, were impatient to got back to their friends, and perished in the effort. As soon as the passes are open it is expected that the i stream of lucky diggers will begin to fiowsouthi ward, and if they should bring down large quantities of gold I really expect to sac the world go Klondyke crazy. In the meantime supplies continue to briog famine prices. An adventurous drover, who ntarted last fall to drive a herd of cattle to the Klondyfce by one of the overland routes from the north-west, has just returned. He cleared 30,000d0l over and above his losses by death among the animals, having sold the beef at an average of 4s per pound. In this Connection I hope I may dot seem insistent if I say again that the meatpackers of New Zealand are stone blind unless they see in this Yukori movement an exceptional opportunity for large proGfcs and much business. ■ The Government U arranging to send a military expedition into the Yukon country. This will involve an enormous expense; bub it seetns to be imperatively necessary. International difficulties may arisa at any moment, and apart from this the preservation of law and order demaads the preseuca of au adequate armed force. The Safe carriage'of vast quantities of gold can only ba assured by such a measure. Moreover, the Govsrnment is not insensible to the national pr«sfcigo which will arise from the proper administration of what will unquestionably be the largest and richest goldfleld in the history of the world. Among 100,000 men fn search of riches there is no. telling what might occur or. what impulse would need to be checked. The presence of a force of red coats will inspire a sense of safety that cannot fail to be of value. Great interest has been shown in the awarding of dredging licenses. The Government has thus fat reserved this beds of till Streams and lakes in the Yukon country, but they are now open to those who are willing to pay the tea demanded; That fee is lOOdol per mile for a two-years' license, and lOOdol per mile for each ysar thereafter. Tbis-rs in addition to the annual charge of lOdol per auuuua for a frea miner's right. Up to this time over 100,000dol has been paid in for dredging lioariaes, and huudreds of applications remain to be dealt with. These liceiißfea may be. very valuable, and fortunes have already bet* made by those who have Sold them out to English feud American syndicate*. Oae ifeab who obtained 2| miles on ths Stewart River for 250d0l sold it to the Rothschilds for 175,000d01. It should be explained that one individual cannot obtain a privilege fur more, than 10 mileu, but largo intareßts have been acquired by applicants joining together. The extent to which miners are' flocking to the Klondyko country may be inferred from •the fact that last week the Government agent 3 at Vancouver and Vlotoria issued licenses to 8300 men in two days. Notwithstanding this large revenue, the expense upon the Government is even greater. They have not been able to make ends meet. This, they hope to do by the income from the Sale of alternate mining claims still held' iv reserve, and respecting which no policy has jet been- decided upoo. Should thfi diKgthjys prove to be as exbenSiva and as valuable as estimated, it is probable that a considerable Surplus will eventually accrue to the public treasury. Leaving aside this all-absorbing Klondyke topio, it may be said that the Canadian winter is Uow practically over. . The snow-fall dtlriog the month of February was* unusually heavy, and, as I bava explained in previous letter?, this is a distinct advantage to the country. It makes lumbering operations easy, and helps mauy other interests. Thei railroads alone suffer, since traffic is nometimes blocked and heavy expen»ea incurred iti clearing the linod. This is not an nnmiiid evil, in that it affords employment to a large stiff of men. Since the first of this month the weather h*S been particularly mild, and the) production of maple sugar and iriaple raolasSes—two distinctive Canadian luxuries—has gone on uudgr favourable conditions. The Ontario ekouions took place on the Ist inst.t and resulted in the return of the Hardy Government by a small majority, A Liberal Adaiinistrafcioa' Jifes held Ontario for 25 consecutive years. One of the reault3 of the Contest was the extinction of the patron or farmers' element. In tlie last Legislature they held 16 out of the 94-. seats. They are practically rural Socialists, and their downfall in due to the readiness with which they'lent themselves to purely party alliances. The foroigu tradu of Canada continues to go upward in !a*)is nnd baitods. The increase aggregates 32 000,000aol for the first seven months of the fiscal yaarj more thaii two-tbirds of which had relation to frxporls. While nil branches of the outgoing trade seemed to have been graKtly Btirnulated. during thn past two years, the principal grow.th has been (ionnectod with agricultural product?: I cannot find that the cattie trade has been profitable for a, number of ytaM, and quite, recently the losses were heavy on tha part- of shippers ; yet the volume rtf business does not; appear to be d'minisLing. - r The war talk just now curreat haa given fresh zest to the question of help fi'om C<uixda in.case the....mother country. should ime.d* it. ThH Cdnadian fornfS havo beetl provided with superioi' rlflas dnring the p'asii two years, Riid in mauy respects tbn militia has been put on a basis vyhiih would render it capable of rendering prtisnpt serviße in nn enierfeency. Ifc is s'utCerely hoped thai; serious trouble mill not grow out t>? the present condition of affairs ; but if war should bresk out the helping hand which Canada would be able id giro t6 Great Britain would not be an uoiinjiortant factor in the struggle, . Archbishop Clearyj of Kingston, is dead. He was a man of great learning and zeal, but his influence during thfl past few yn&rs had done much to ambittpr Bhctat'ian F.trife. Hi? last p»stoval edict, declaring ili^to be a gravo eiu on the part of a Crtfchnlic to attend the wedding of a Protestant friend, was bue of the fiaost unpopular of his injunctions.