Grand Trunk Railway of Canada : address to the bond and stock holders, with introduction and appendix, including the celebrated pamphlet 'A few reasons why the Grand Trunk Railway does not pay', and a letter to Thomas Baring, Esq., M.P. / by Joseph Nelson.

up the question of advocating an Imperial guarantee for the amount of 3,000,000 sterling for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, and which I carried to a successful conclusion in 1863, and Mr. Gladstone did me the honour to inform a prominent member of the House of Commons that it was the result of workwhich I performed-which led the Government to agree to recommend Parliament to give the guarantee as based upon the Treasury minute of 1863." Confederation (in the words of Lord Durham) without the Intercolonial Railway was practically impossible ; with it, would be absolutely necessary."The construction of the Inter- colonial Railway, therefore, having been secured by me, all other questions of Confederation were simply matters of detail.It took the Provinces some time, however, to arrange these matters of detail, but in 1867 they were so far completed that they sent delegates to England who took up the railway at the point to which I had brought it, and the whole measure was passed through Parliament " as a matter of course."Then commenced a prolific distribution of honours by the Crown, in the form of Baronetcies, Knighthoods, K.C.B.'s, and C.B.'s, to certain English and Canadian gentlemen, for services rendered to " Confederation and the Intercolonial Railway."And in Canada the patronage was carried to such an extent that the two men who caused the downfall of the Commercial Bank of Canada-viz., G. J. Brydges andC.S. Ross-were rewarded by one being made a Commissioner and the other Secretary and Treasurer to the Intercolonial Railway.But I, who had devoted five years of the best portion of my life and expended £10,000 in carrying the Intercolonial Railway guarantee to a successful conclusion, have been refused even a hearing, because, in the words of three members of the Government, I have " ventured to tell the truth about the Grand Trunk Railway."But fortunately I do not stand alone as the victim of ingratitude, for the Chairman of the Intercolonial Railway Commissioners, addressing a public meeting in Canada on the 18th day of January last, an- nounced the following as their policy towards the manufac- turers and working-classes of England, who had just lent Canada £3,000,000 wherewith to build the railway :u He would venture to say for his brother commissioners as for himself that their only object was to build the cheapest and best road, and he would mention one item in which the determination they had come to would effect a large saving of expense-viz., by building their bridges of wood instead of iron.• man in London which I marked " private and confidential/ showing how in one matter alone-viz., that of contracts a sura of not less than £60,000 a year could be saved to the Grand Trunk Company in Canada.That letter, by some improper means, was laid hold of by the Grand Trunk officials in London, and by them transmitted to Mr. Brydges, shortly after the Grand Trunk meeting in April, 1868.On the 19th of May I went to Montreal for the special purpose of laying before Mr. Brydges some charges of alleged gross irregularity by the Grand Trunk officials.I was desired to repeat the statement in the presence of Mr. Hickson, and I did so.I was then told by Mr. Brydges that an action for libel would be commenced against me, and to my surprise he produced my private and confidential letter to the gentleman in London, and upon the strength of it charged me with getting up the opposition in London which had so nearly deprived him of office.He and Mr. Hickson then requested that I would put

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