Canadian Pacific Railway to Vancouver and the Gisborne insulator in the Northwest Territory

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Dominion Government Telegraph Service. — The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway Co.'s telegraph system to Vancouver, В. С., superseded the necessity or advisability of maintaining the parallel lines heretofore maintained by the Dominion Govt in that Province and although, as predicted in Mr. Gisborne's report of 1879-80, the Govt lines had progressed from an annual deficit of $40,000, to a surplus revenue of $2,000, it was evident, that in competition with the Canadian Pacific R. R. Co.'s lines there must have ensued an annual lost to the Govt of $2,000. It was, therefore, deemed expedient to dispose of such parallel lines to the Co. and accordingly a transfer was made, of the telegraphic connection between Kamloops, via Ashcroft, New Westminster and the Point Grey cable, via Nanaimo, to Victoria, for value received; — the Govt retaining the maintenance of the line northward from Ashcroft to Barkerville in the Cariboo district.

In the N. W. Territory, a new line was constructed, upon tamarac poles, from Edmonton, via Fort Saskatchewan, and another from Victoria to Saddle Lake, north of the North Saskatchewan river upon the Gisborne iron poles, (fully described in the A. R. of 1885,) from Battleford, towards Fort Pitt, whence, during 1887, connection will be made with Saddle Lake, thus completing a first class line, equipped with Gisborne's porcelaine insulators and No. 6 galvanized iron wire, of less than eight ohms resistance per mile, between Battleford and Edmonton, a distance 300-1/2 miles. Upon completion of this new route the old and rotten poplar-poled line, upon the abandoned Canadian Pacific Railway line, via Edmonton (South of the North Saskatchewan river) and the Yellow Head pass will be finally dispensed with. It may be interesting here to state that the 30 miles of experimental iron-poled line north of Battleford, withstood the winter storms of 1885-86 admirably and thus fully established the advantage of a line so constructed, as to be proof against prairie fires, rot and fuel-requiring travellers and freighters. In the Maritime Provinces a new line was extended from Mabou to Cheticamp, Cape Breton, 63 miles, and in the Province of Quebec, the north shore of the St. Lawrence line was further extended, 45 miles eastward, from Moisie River towards Mingan.

The several Govt submarine cables worked continuously throughout 1885, without requiring repair, to Anticosti, the Magdalens Islands, Bird Rock, and numerous other islands, greatly to the advantage of their inhabitants and to the shipping interests of the Dominion.

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