d yet to be built.
Western Extension, as the line to the Maine border was called, had only
been commenced; Eastern Extension, from the Shediac line towards
Halifax, was in the same condition; in fact, the total mileage of the
railways in New Brunswick did not exceed two hundred miles, and these
lines were isolated and formed no part of any complete system. New
Brunswick now has three separate lines of railway leading to Quebec and
Montreal; it is connected with the great railway systems of the
continent; there is no county in the province which has not a line of
railway traversing it; and the mileage has risen from less than two
hundred to more than fourteen hundred.

Mr. Tilley realized that the time had come when the communities which
form the British provinces of North America must either become
politically connected or else fall, one by one, beneath the influence of
the United States. After confederation had been brought about between
Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, enough was seen in the conduct of
American statesmen towards Prince Edward Island to show that their
design was to try to create a separate interest in this colony apart
from the general interest of Canada. The acceptance of the scheme of
confederation by Prince Edward Island, at a comparatively early period,
put an end to the plots in that quarter; but in the case of Newfoundland
the same thing has been repeated, and an attempt was made by American
statesmen to cause the people of that island to believe that their
interests and those of Canada are not identical, and that they would be
specially favoured by the United States if they held aloof from the
great Dominion. The attitude of the people and congress of the United
States towards Canada has not been marked, for the most part, by any
great friendliness. They saw in confederation an arrangement that was
likely to prevent this country from ever becoming absorbed by their
own, and they believed that by creating difficulties for us with respect
to the tariff and other matters, and limiting the area of our commercial
relations, they could put such pressure upon Canada as would compel our
people to unite with them. This scheme has failed because it was based
on a misconception of the spirit of our people; but who will say that it
would not have succeeded if the several provinces which now form the
confederation had been disunited and inharmonious in their relations and
had pursued different lines o