trade tendencies of his predecessor, was to carry out the
great transcontinental railway project to which the country
had long been pledged. Some tentative railway building
in the west, undertaken by his Minister of Railways, Sir
Charles Tupper, only confirmed him in his belief that the
day for haphazard and piecemeal construction was over.

In 1879 Parliament placed at his disposal 1,000,000 acres
of land, but he was not able with that grant to arrange for
any complete scheme for the rapid construction of the rail-
way. In 1880, the Ministers again met the House, and met
it with the same policy of the year before, namely, to take
up in good faith the obligations that devolved upon them
through the acts of their predecessors. Although they had
not formulated the plan of carrying on the work by the
Government, they took up the work as they found it. But
the method was exasperating and, considered as a means to
an end, highly unsatisfactory. It was now clear that private
capitalists must be found who would take the whole burden
off the shoulders of the Government. Were there any such?
It soon appeared that there were: to some sanguine spirits,
at any rate, the great scheme was infinitely more attractive
in 1880 than it had been two years before.

In June, 1880, Sir John told his followers assembled at
a political rally:

I can say this, and the Minister of Finance, who is on the platform,
can corroborate my statement, if necessary, that there are capitalists
at this moment, who, knowing that there is a certain fortune to be made
out of the construction of the railway, are asking that the work be
handed over to them. They have said, "We will relieve you of all
anxiety, and the people of all apprehension of being taxed. We will
take the railway in hand, build it, and make fortunes out of it."
The Government at this moment has the offers so made under considera-
tion, so that there is no danger regarding the road.

It will be recalled that at the exciting close of the
memorable session of 1878 Sir John had twitted Mr. Donald
Smith with being closely concerned with the St. Paul and

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