. Sandford Fleming remained engineer-in-chief for the building
as well as for the survey. Tenders were submitted for the construction
of the whole road, but the government decided to award the contract in
small sections. The road was not completed as speedily as had been
expected. Difficulties arose, expected and unexpected--cuttings in
heavy rock, sliding clay banks, extensive swamps, lack of rock bottom
for heavy bridges. Contractor after contractor found that he had
underestimated the task, and went bankrupt or threw up the contract.
Sometimes the contract was relet, sometimes the government completed it
by day work. At last, on July 1, 1876, nine years after Confederation,
the five hundred miles between Truro and Riviere du Loup were opened
for traffic throughout. In the meantime the Dominion had taken over
the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island government
roads. In 1876 there were in all 950 miles of railway under the
control of the Dominion government, as against 4268 miles of private
lines.

[1] Ontario in 1871 offered subsidies ranging from two to four thousand
dollars a mile for colonization roads to the north; Quebec in 1869
offered money and later land; New Brunswick in 1864 gave $10,000 a mile
to various roads, besides taking $300,000 in stock in the European;
while Nova Scotia aided the Annapolis extension. Municipal aid was
even more lavish in proportion: Toronto gave $350,000 to the Toronto,
Grey and Bruce, $150,000 to the Nipissing road, $100,000 to the
Northern, and $350,000 to the Credit Valley. Hamilton backed the
Hamilton and North-Western by $200,000, London gave the London, Huron
and Bruce $150,000, and generous Kingston gave to the Kingston and
Pembroke over $300,000. Counties like Elgin and Simcoe, Grey, and
Frontenac offered from $150,000 to $300,000, while from townships alone
the Wellington, Grey and Bruce received $680,000. Montreal and Quebec
each helped the North Shore by a gift of a million dollars; Ottawa
county's $200,000 and the parish of Canrobert's $1000 were equally
sought; while to a lesser degree the Maritime Provinces showed the same
tendency.

{109}

CHAPTER VII

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC--BEGINNINGS

Across Continent in 1841--Early Stages--The Survey--The Allan
Project--Mackenzie's Policy--Macdonald's Policy

On March 3, 1841, Sir George Simpson, governor-in-chief of the Hudson's
Bay Company's domains, left London on a journey round t