Item
Beacon
Jan 5, 1893
John Nicholas, patriarch of the Indian camp at Indian Point, St. Andrews, thinks Mr. Beverly, of Saint John, a "very bad injun." John took a bundle of fancy baskets to Saint John Christmas time to sell, and was doing a nice trade, when he says Mr. Beverly told the police authorities he was an "Eastport injun," and he was bounced out of the market. A licence fee of $20 was demanded from him, but instead of paying it John visited his friend, Sir Leonard Tilley, who promptly vouched for him as a Canadian thoroughbred. He succeeded in getting restored to his former status in the city market, but he lost a good day's sale. His loss was Mr. Beverley's gain, and that's what makes the latter such a "bad injun" in John's eyes.
Beacon
Jan 12, 1893
Fast Atlantic Service
President Van Horne has Evidently Been Looking into the Matter
Toronto, Jan.6.
[Fast steamship line to use Halifax in winter and Quebec in summer]
President Van Horne's speech at the Board of Trade last evening was devoted exclusively to the fast steamship service and is causing almost as much stir as the ministerial utterances. Four years ago, he said the CPR established, experimentally, on the Pacific, between Canada and Japan and China, a line composed of old fashioned Atlantic steamers, something like the best of those now engaged in the Canadian Atlantic trade. They were as good as any on the Pacific, but not good enough to divert travel from the long-established channels, and they lost money, but the company did not abandon the enterprise because of that. We built new ships of our own and fine ones—ships equal to any afloat in their character and appointments, and faster than any on the Pacific, and they at once took the trade and made money. (cheers) That, I hold, is the way to do business. That is what Canada should do on the Atlantic. We encountered the usual croakers. We were told that the people would not go to such a faraway place as Vancouver to take ship for Japan and China, just as we are told they will not go to Halifax, but they did and very soon we carried as many on each of our steamers as we carried by two or three of those on the old route. Can we turn a large proportion of the trans-Atlantic travel through Canada? I say yes, without doubt. (cheers) The distance from Quebec to Holyhead is 2,580 miles, and with steamships of the speed of the Teutonic or City of Paris the time will be made in five days and five hours, the time from Holyhead to London is less than six hours, and allowing an hour for transfer, the time from the wharf at Quebec to Euston Station in London will be made in five days and twelve hours and only three days and eleven hours of this time will be in the Atlantic. (cheers) While the time from Sandy Hood to Queenstown is sometimes made in five days and a half, the time from the wharf in New York to the railway station in London is hardly ever made in less than seven days, so seldom that seven days may be taken as the best working result that way. Let two passengers start from London on Wednesday at 12 o'clock, noon one by the fastest New York steamship, and the other by an equally fast Canadian steamship. The one will reach New York at the best at 7 o'clock the following Wednesday morning, local time; the other will have reached Quebec at 7 o'clock Monday evening, local time. The New York passenger may reach Montreal at 7:30 Thursday morning. The passenger by the Canadian line will reach Montreal at midnight Monday or Toronto 10 o'clock Tuesday morning, two whole days ahead of the New York man. The Canadian passenger will reach Chicago at 11:30 Tuesday night, while the New York man cannot reach there before 9:30 Thursday morning. (Loud cheers) It is no idle boast that such a Canadian line could take passengers at London and deliver him in Chicago before the New York line could land him at the wharf in New York. Indeed, we have a margin of ten hours, and the statement might be made to apply to Cincinnati, St. Louis, St. Paul and Minneapolis. A Boston messenger may reach his home thirty-two hours, quicker by way of Quebec than by New York, and the passenger by the Canadian line will reach New York itself at seven o'clock Tuesday morning, twenty-four hours ahead of the quickest direct line to New York. And this will be the minimum saving of time to Philadelphia, Washington, and all points in the United States, and as we come northward our advantage becomes greater. In the winter our advantage by the way of Halifax would be ten hours less, but our saving in time would still be great enough to take the business. (Loud cheers) It is only necessary to provide an attractive service, both by land and sea, to make railway and steamship service fit together perfectly, to make sure of the business. There are no difficulties of navigation that cannot readily be overcome, a few more lights, a few more signals and a few whistling buoys at the entrance to the Straits of Belle Isle.
A Permanent Winter Port
Like many other ocean steamships, the steamers of the Beaver Line have been compelled to lay up for the winter, owing to dullness of trade. This fact ought to enforce upon the minds of the Company the great importance of having a permanent winter port of their own in Canada. When business was good and freights plentiful, it was doubtless an easy matter for vessels of the class of the Beaver Line to obtain paying cargoes at any port in the US that they might choose to go to, but when trade became slack and cargoes few, the bulk of the business at such ports was bound to be done by the subsidized lines. These lines are compelled to run and will do their utmost to make their trips pay, even if they have to carry freight at rate that an unsubsidized boat could not touch.
Had the Beaver Line a permanent port of their own in Canada they would be much better off, as they would be able to do their winter business through much the same channels that they use in summer. Instead of their freight having to follow them long distances over American railways and American territory to an expensive port, it could be carried over Canadian railway at a lesser rate, and more quickly. Then as the permanent headquarters of the line became known whatever trade there was would naturally be diverted thither knowing that it would here find an outlet. The company y would be able also to do their business more cheaply and would in consequence be in a position to make better terms for their patrons. With a permanent port of their own they would be encouraged to develop that port and attract trade towards it, knowing that they were building up business for themselves and not for some other company to step in and enjoy a year or two after.
If they chose St. Andrews, and that they are seriously considering its selection there is no doubt, they could, owing to the short railway haul, make of it almost an outport of Montreal. The office machinery used in the carrying on of the summer business of the line, might for this reason be largely used in the winter. And in other respects, a great savings might be made. As to the natural advantages of the port, the Company are so well acquainted with them now, that it is needless to refer to them.
Concerning Japan
"Japan As We Saw It." This the title of an intensely interesting work from the pen of Mr. Robert S. Gardiner, of Boston. The nature of the contents of this unique volume—which, by the way, is gotten up in most artistic style—is fully described by the title. The author has aimed to provide something of a practical nature, something that would be useful as handbook for those who desire to visit Japan or who may desire to acquaint themselves with Japanese character and customs, and he has undoubtedly succeeded in his aim. Nor has literary effect been forgotten. In succinct form, the author describes from personal experiences the cost of Japanese trip, the modes of travel, the methods of living as travellers, the habits and peculiarities of the Japanese people, their financial systems and many other things that a traveller to Japan ought to know before he starts upon his journey. The narrative is most interesting throughout. There are in the vicinity of one hundred illustrations printed in the most beautiful manner from photographs taken en route. The appendix of the work gives the value of Japanese money, distances, cloth measure, land measure, steamship rate, and a list of numerals and phrases in Japanese (with English synonyms) likely to be used by the traveller. Accompanying the volume is a large map of Japan, corrected to date, and with plans of some of the leading cities. The illustrations on the cover are after the Japanese style. The book comes from the press of the Rand Avery Supply Company, Boston, and it certainly does them and the author credit.
The first phosphate schooner of the season, the "Lady Ellen," Capt. Britt, arrived in the harbor on Sunday. She was taken to her discharging berth at the railway wharf on Monday, but the storm compelled her to seek anchorage in the harbor again. She began discharging yesterday.
The Beaver Line
Capt. Howard Campbell, commodore of the Beaver Line fleet, sends the editor of the Beacon a letter by last English mail, in which he says that the steamers of the line are laid up for the winter, owing to the dullness of the trade. In the concluding portion of his letter, he says: "I shall do everything in my power to promote the interest of St. Andrews. I firmly believe that it will yet become the leading winter port of the Dominion, in spite of the opposition from which it is now suffering." Capt. Campbell wishes all his fellow townsmen "all the compliments of the season and a very many of them." The General Manager of the Line, Mr. Murray, had not reached Liverpool when the letter was penned Dec. 27.
Beacon
Jan 19/1893
The Winter Port
On Friday last, our esteemed contemporary, the Saint John Telegraph, suddenly awoke to the fact that there was an active agitation on foot to make St. Andrews the winter port of the Beaver Line, and, if possible, the winter port of Canada. Our contemporary is evidently seriously alarmed at the advances that the champions of St. Andrews have made in that direction, and fears have been awakened in its venerable breast that even with the tremendous influence the city of Saint John (with its thirty thousand or more inhabitants, its numerous and powerful daily and weekly papers, its influential board of trade and city council, its Conservative representatives and its commercial prestige) can bring to bear upon the matter. The little town of St. Andrews, with less than twelve hundred people, but one weekly paper and with only the advantages which nature has provided it with, is about to snatch from its grasp the plum it has for so many years been striving in vain to get into its mouth. The Telegraph ought to be honest enough to admit that the advantages of St. Andrews as a port over Saint John must be very great when it can accomplish even what it has done in the direction of a winter port. That these advantages have been well known to our Saint John contemporary in the past we have not the slightest doubt, but it has chosen to ignore them and has laughed us to scorn when we declared that someday St. Andrews would awake from is lethargy and take its proper place among the leading ports of the Atlantic. We can assure our contemporary that the race is not always to the swift, nor is the battle to the strong.
The Telegraph calls upon the board of trade and city council to "ward off the danger while there is yet time." This summons to arms sounds well from a journal which for weeks past has been fighting tooth and nail to bring about the transfer of the Intercolonial Railway and thus give to Halifax trade which Saint John should enjoy. Not content with its efforts to destroy the trade of Saint John it now shows the "cloven hoof" towards St. Andrews. Under these circumstances we do not think that the Telegraph's call to arms will produce any serious results. At all events, we are not greatly concerned over its.
The Telegraph remarks in an affrighted tone that "if St. Andrews is to be the winter port of Canada, Saint John cannot be, even though it is entitled to the place." Will our contemporary please inform us where Saint John's prior to title to the "winter port" comes from or comes in? Or will it inform us why the port of St. Andrews is not as much entitled to the "winter port" as the port of Saint John is? It is true that the people of Saint John have spent a great deal of money to make their port available for ocean traffic, while the people of St. Andrews have spent very little. Yet this fact does not give them any better title to the "winter port" than St. Andrews. In spending so much money, the people of Saint John have simply been trying to supply by art that which Nature has failed to supply them with, and which Nature has endowed St. Andrews abundantly with. We do not desire to say anything disparaging of the port of Saint John, for several reasons. One of these is because of the love and veneration we entertain for that city. Another reason is that we are anxious to see Saint John built up as an ocean port, feeling satisfied in our own mind that if Saint John with its numerous disabilities, can attract ocean commerce, St. Andrews, with its vastly superior natural advantage, must also in a very short time rise to prominence. This however does not appear to be the feeling of the Saint John newspaper we have referred to. It does not want to see St. Andrews prosper, because it fears that such prosperity might be at the expense of Saint John. This does not exhibit a very magnanimous or patriot sprit.
There would seem to be a hidden sneer in the Telegraph's remark "that though we have not grown or moved very rapidly in Saint John, this port has managed to keep the lead of St. Andrews." They laugh best who laugh last. Saint John has managed to keep the lead of St. Andrews principally because its situation on the mouth of a great river gave it special advantages as a shipbuilding center and a port of shipment for New Brunswick deals and lumber. While those two industries grew and prospered Saint John made rapid strides as a port and as an industrial and commercial centre. But it does not require a great deal of shrewdness to see that the conditions for carrying on a large ocean steamship service and for doing the winter as well as summer shipping business of Canada are more favourable at St. Andrews than at Saint John. The ocean competition of the present day requires that not an hour be lost unnecessarily on an ocean voyage. This fact was recently voiced by President Van Horne in his Toronto speech. The port that will permit of deep draft ocean steamships promptly entering or departing at all times of tide will be the port that will be patronized, and not the port where vessels may have to lie at anchor five or six hours before they can reach their berth or leave it. The port easiest reached by sea, and the port nearest by rail to the commercial centre of the Dominion, is bound to be the favourite port with Canadian steamship companies, other things being about equal. Again, cheapness is a great desideratum in an ocean port. The port, where charges are high, and where labor is expensive, must always be at a disadvantage when brought into competition with a port capable of being maintained cheaply.
It is a consideration of such facts as these that leads us to believe that St. Andrews is a better port for ocean traffic than Saint John, and that has prompted us to champion its cause so actively.
Notwithstanding the enterprise that the people of Saint John have shown in improving their harbor and fitting it for doing an ocean steamship business, we cannot see anything to justify the hope that it will ever be able to do the winter shipping business of Canada, except what may be required to be done in light draft vessels. In this view we are sustained by the opinions of others who ought to be in a position to know what the requirements of a winter port for large vessels should be. Again, the fact that the CPR are spending very little, if any, money of their own in developing Saint John seems to us very strong proof that the heads of that railway do not regard Saint John 's chances very hopefully.
We do not blame any Saint John paper for doing for that port what the Beacon has been trying to do for St. Andrews. Yet if Saint John possesses disabilities that debar it from successfully competing for the winter port, we submit that it would be more patriotic, and more beneficial, from a business point of view (because the merchants of Saint John will be greatly benefited by business prosperity in St. Andrews) if the newspapers of Saint John would turn their attention towards fighting the battles and urging the claims of this port. It would be infinitely more beneficial to them and to Canada generally to have the winter port of Canada at St. Andrews than at Portland or Boston. And would it not be better for Saint John that St. Andrews should be the winter port of Canada than that it should go to Halifax?
Beacon
Jan 19, 1893
Sudden Death
Elizabeth McLean, an aged maiden lady, was found dead on the floor of her house on Sunday last. She and her brother, Wallace McLean, had lived together for years. During the life of their parents, they had been in affluent circumstances, but of late years they have been dependent upon the charity of their friends, and whatever assistance the Poor Commissioners saw fit to give them. Miss McLean's death is believed to have been due to paralysis.
Beacon
Jan 26/1893
F'ton Globe takes sides with St. Andrews over winter port debate. Halifax to be considered.
Beacon
Feb 2, 1893
Some of the CPR Plans
Mr. Shaughnessy, of the CPR, was here in connection with the works of his company, who intended shortly to construct the first elevator in Quebec on the Louise embankment, and if they obtain control of the Intercolonial Railway, will also establish a railway ferry between Quebec and Levis. Mr. Shaughnessy says it entirely depends upon the amount of the federal subsidy whether his company will undertake a fast transatlantic steamship service.
Beacon
Feb 16, 1893
On Thursday last, Mr. R. S. Gardiner signed the contract for the erection of his summer cottage, near the Algonquin. Contractors Stevenson and McKenzie, of St. Stephen, will enter upon their work in a few days.
The Need of Winter Port
There can be no two opinions respecting the need of a winter port for Canada on Canadian soil. The want of a properly equipped and suitable port has deprived Canada of a great deal of business during the past few years, to say nothing of the injury to her prestige. It has been the means of compelling the Allan and Dominion lines of steamers, both of which are heavily subsidized by the Canadian government, to do their winter shipping business through Portland, Maine, thereby developing that port at the expense of Canada. It has been the means of compelling the only representative Canadian line of steamers that we have—the Beaver Line—to lay up their boats during the whole of this winter, entailing great loss to the owners, besides curtailing to a great extent our winter shipments. And in many other respects it has been a great loss to Canada. Yet there was no need of it. Had the government of the day done its duty, Canada would not now be resting under the stigma that she is without a suitable winter port. Two years ago the Dominion government were memorialized to aid in the development of St. Andrews as a winter port. Strong reasons were advanced why from a national standpoint, the work should be done. But the government refused to grant a single dollar, and as the people of the port were not in a position to provide the necessary works themselves, nothing was done. Meanwhile, Canadian steamers have been going hither and thither in the winter season looking for a chance to do business. The Beaver Line of steamers experimented at Portland, Maine, but they found that port unsatisfactory. Then they determined upon testing Boston, but after the first trip this winter they were convinced that it was even worse than Portland, Maine, and very reluctantly they were compelled to lay up. Had the government listened to the memorial from St. Andrews, and placed this port in order, the Beaver Line steamers, instead of lying idle at their wharves in Liverpool, would now be making their usual trips to Canada, and the country would not have suffered the loss that it has.
It is not too late yet for the government to remedy the mistake they made two years ago. The harbor of St. Andrews is still here. It still possesses all the magnificent advantages for ocean traffic that it did two years ago. Despite the fact that the present winter has not been excelled in the annals of the country for severity, the port is still open and free to be entered by the largest steamer afloat, while Portland, Boston, New York and all the other Atlantic harbors have either been sealed with or greatly handicapped by ice. The Beaver Line company are still eager to utilize this port, and if the necessary steps are taken this session of parliament, the port can be put in order for business next winter.
We hope the representative of Charlotte will not forget to urge the matter upon the House this session. It's not a local matter, entirely. It affects the honor and welfare of all Canada and should not be cast lightly aside.
Members of Parliament who read this article—and we hope most of them will read it—may ask what special advantages St. Andrews possesses as a winter port. The story is an old one to most of the Beacon readers, but some may see it this week who have never seen it before. for their benefit, and as briefly as possible, we will reiterate its chief advantages.
First, the port of St. Andrews is the nearest Canadian port of the Atlantic to Montreal and the North-West, being forty miles nearer Montreal than the port of Saint John, and nearly three hundred miles nearer than Halifax. It is fifty miles nearer the ocean than Saint John and sixty miles nearer Great Britain than Portland, Maine. This nearness to the business heart of Canada will tend greatly to reduce the cost of freight, by making the railway haul shorter. It also obviates the tolls at the cantilever bridge, Saint John.
Second, it is a commodious port, with an abundant depth of water for the largest vessel afloat; well sheltered, and with excellent opportunities for erecting deep water wharves at little cost. Admiral Owen, who made a survey of the port for the Imperial government, has said of it that "there is no port within my knowledge better adapted by nature than St. Andrews for being made a mercantile port with extensive advantages and facilities, and in short, what Liverpool has been made as a mercantile port at an incredible expense, this point of our colonies has every advantage to adapt it for, and which might be made fully available at trifling cost." Commander Campbell, commodore of the Beaver Line fleet, thus places himself on record: "There can be no doubt that St. Andrews, both from its geographical position, and from the natural advantage of a fine, commodious, land-locked harbor, is certainly equal, if not superior to any port in the Dominion, as the natural winter port."
Third, it is open the whole year round, [unlike Portland and Halifax, which froze over in 1893] and can be entered at all times of tide, by vessels of the deepest draft, the channel in the shallowest part being over . . .
How times change! A few years ago if a man misbehaved on Sunday, in St. Andrews, he suffered for his misconduct in the pillory next day. Now, men can race horses, fight dogs, and get as full of rum as they like, and it's all right.
(Letters of acknowledgement from Board of Trade for Toronto, Montreal and Quebec from Mr. Armstrong respecting the argument for St. Andrews as the CPR's winter port.)
Beacon
Feb 23/1893
The Summer Outlook
There is little doubt that St. Andrews as a summer resort has 'come to stay,' and though its development as such has not been as rapid as we would like, yet all the indications point to a more rapid development in the future. The opinion is confirmed by the fact that several prominent people in Canada and the United States are making enquiries with a view to permanently locating themselves here in the summer season. With St. Andrews as the chief 'summer port' of Canada, all that is necessary to make the place boom is in selection as a winter port. And who knows what the womb of the future may have in store for us?
There are rumors indicating a "cottage" boom here. Hope they will materialize. St. Andrews can stand it.
Sir Donald Smith and W. C. Van Horne are on the directorate of the new Dominion Coal Company, which has been formed to develop NS coal mines.
Mr. and Mrs. Innes, well-known summer visitors, came from the West on Friday to seek out a summer cottage for themselves. They inspected two or three, but made no selection. Mr. Innes told the Beacon that he would be in St. Andrews next summer.
Beacon
March 2, 1893
Talking of Canadian Ports
The Member for Charlotte Champions St. Andrews
Ottawa
The Member for Charlotte Champions St. Andrews
Feb 24—On Friday last, in the House of Commons, Mr. Kenny, of Halifax, introduced the subject of a fast Atlantic steamship service for Canada. R. Hazen, of Saint John, put in a good word for his city as a proper port on this side of the Atlantic. Louisburg, Nova Scotia, found an advocate in Mr. Forbes, while Mr. Flint thought Shelburne, Nova Scotia, surpassed all of the above-mentioned places. Mr. Gillmor, the member for Charlotte, did not fail to set before the House the claims of St. Andrews. He spoke as follows:
There is another port in the Maritime provinces on the Atlantic seaboard, besides Saint John and Halifax. My young friend from Saint John (Mr. Hazen) urges as an argument in favor of that city, that it is nearer to Montreal and the west than Halifax, and, therefore, the most desirable port. Well, now, St. Andrews is forty miles nearer the west than Saint John, and some 300 miles nearer than Halifax, and it is one of the best ports on the Atlantic coast. Further than that, the enterprising inhabitants of St. Andrews started a railroad before Saint John or Halifax ever thought of one. I may say here that neither Saint John nor Halifax ever did much for railways out of their own pocket; they always depended upon the public chest for their railways, and for almost everything else. More than forty years ago the enterprising citizens of St. Andrews started a railway from that town to Quebec, and they now have a railway that was entirely built though their own private enterprise, without ever costing the Dominion of Canada anything. That is the nearest winter port of Montreal and Ottawa and the west, and it is the best winter port, there is no doubt about it. These who have been in St. Andrews know its advantages. Of course, it is not so big a place as Halifax or Saint John , but they are both on the decline, they are going down, and St. Andrews is growing. Now I will read a few words with reference to the port of St. Andrews: [words here from Campbell, with respect to Beaver Lines]
Now Mr. Speaker, neither my hon. friend from Saint John, nor my hon. friend from Halifax, can point to any authorities like these in favor of their port. It is mere local preference on their part. I have the report of admirals and other skillful men, in favor of the port of St. Andrews. I believe both the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister have been at St. Andrews and know something about that port. They have spent their summers there, enjoying themselves, and I shave no doubt when they were there they promised the people to give this matter favorable consideration. I have heard those gentlemen very highly spoken of by the people of St. Andrews. The Prime Minister was rusticating there, and I believe he employed for boatmen some good Liberals in that town, and I am glad to say he paid them liberally. I have no doubt that he enjoyed the beautiful bay, which is equal, if not superior, to the Bay of Naples, as it is surrounded by lofty mountains and sheltered from the winds in every quarter. On the whole, there is no port on the Atlantic coast like St. Andrews for a winter port Its natural advantage cannot be ignored and I am sure we shall have it.
Beacon
March 9, 1893
Mr. Gillmor Happy
"The Ministers," writes the Ottawa correspondent of the Saint John Globe, "did not disclose their minds on the fast Atlantic service question when it was brought up in the commons last week by Mr. Kenny, of Halifax. A half dozen of their supporters urge the great importance of establishing the service. That distinguished Tory and warm supporter of the government, Mr. Sam Hughes, declared that it was important that the service should be brought into being as soon as possible, and one reason he gave was that it was necessary to build up our own ports. Portland, Maine, he said, was almost entirely built with Canadian money, expended in the handling of Canadian freight. He did not add that this had been done under the Tory regime, which proclaims "Canada for Canadians," and at the same time makes Portland the winter port of the Dominion. Two of the opposition speakers—Messrs. Mills and Campbell—failed to see any reason why the country should spend $750,000 a year in providing a fast line just to provide speedy transit from Liverpool to New York. There was a certain amount of talk over the termini of the fast service when established. Halifax, Saint John, St. Andrews, Shelburne, Louisburg and Quebec were advocated. Mr. Gillmore, who has been seldom heard from in the house this session, was particularly happy in his remarks on the advantages and beauties of St. Andrews. The bay of Naples was the only comparison he could make with the broad expanse of water on which Charlotte's old Shiretown is situated, and he called the attention of the Premier to the matter as understanding the rare advantages of St. Andrews, because of his residence there for some last year. The ministers had nothing to say on the fast Atlantic service or the probable termini of Canada."
Rapid progress is being made on the Gardiner cottage. The foundation piers have been built, and the frame is now in course of erection.
Beacon
March 16/1893
Preliminary list of proposed property valuations for 1893. Van Horne second with 5,000; only Tilley higher at 6,000.
Purchase of the Osburn property by CPR about completed. Coal business
Mr. H. P. Timmerman, Superintendent of the Atlantic Division of the CPR, and the Beacon had a very pleasant chat for a few moments in the former's office last week.
When asked if the negotiations for the purchase of the Osburn place at St. Andrews had been closed, Mr. Timmerman remarked that they were about completed. There had been some points of difference between Mr. Osburn and the road, but these had been adjusted, and the sale would soon be consummated. "What are your plans regarding the property?" asked the Beacon. "We have no particular plans," replied Mr. Timmerman. "The property, as you know, adjoins the railway, and as we might have some difficulty in future should the property fall into other hands, in carrying out any improvement or extensions that might be necessary we concluded that it would be advisable in the interests of the road, to get possession of it. That is our sole object."
"Then, the prevailing idea that your object in purchasing was to procure a summer residence for some of the officials of the road is not correct?" interjected the Beacon.
"No," was the reply, "the property was bought for the railway. It was the land we wanted, not the house. We have not made up our minds yet as to what disposition shall be made of the latter."
"Do you expect to continue coal shipments to St. Andrews, this Spring?" asked the scribe.
"Yes," said the Superintendent, "as soon as the river at Parrsboro opens it is probably that shipment will be at once resumed. We expect to land a good deal of coal the your port, if the charges keep moderate. The cheaper the charges the more coal will be landed. A difference of one cent a ton in landing charges means three miles carriage on the railway. We have been taking this coal as far west as Megantic, and if the charges are kept down, we hope to be able to take it still farther. This means a larger supply of coal to be landed and all the consequent advantages. It is the intention of the manager of the mines to utilize barges in taking coal to St. Andrews as well as to Carleton. The tug will leave one or more barges at Carleton and will take the rest of her two to St. Andrews. She will then pick up the empty barges on her way back. It is hoped by this means to lessen the cost of freight."
Mr. Timmerman said it was not the present intention of the road to build a coal wharf for themselves at St. Andrews.
President Van Horne and family will probably occupy their new summer residence on Minister's Island the coming summer. The house can be made ready for occupation in a month or two.
Grover Cleveland
22nd and 24th President of the United States March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1897)
Nickname: None
Born: March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey Died: June 24, 1908, in Princeton, New Jersey
Beacon
March 30, 1893
What Bad Rum Did
It Causes a Brutal Fight, Qualified One Man for the Hospital and Nearly Leads to the Death of Another
Rum—villainous rum—was the primary cause of a brutal quarrel which began on Friday afternoon and nearly resulted in the death of one man.
Capt. Kerrigan, of the schooner "Mary," and his brother, who is mate of the vessel, came up town on Friday after dinner, and laid in quite a store of fighting rum. So also did Steward Walsh, of the schooner, "Erie." The three men started off for their vessels together quite peaceably but had only gone a short distance when the two Kerrigans were seen to attack their companion. They knocked him down several times and kicked him until his face was a mass of blood. Then they left him and hastened towards the wharf. They tried to pick a quarrel with Capt. Brown, who was getting his vessel under weigh, but failing in this, they returned to finish the steward, who had staggered down as far as the steamboat wharf. They resumed the attack upon the man there, when Mark Hall remonstrated with them. Mr. Hall received for his pains a tap in the nose which stretched him out on the green for a couple of minutes. The mate, fearing the crowd were going to make a general attack upon him, fled towards another schooner for protection. He mustered up courage in a few minutes to return to his brother's side, and for the next half hour the air was blue with the oaths of the infuriated men, who expressed their ability to whip the whole town.
Constable McQuoid, who was present, was asked by a citizen to place the men under arrest, but he declared he had no authority without a warrant. In the meantime, the "Erie" had sailed out to an anchorage over the western bar. Capt. Brown sent the mate and two men ashore for the steward, but he would not go with them and became very abusive. They left him ashore and returned to their vessel.
Then one of the Kerrigans caught the unfortunate steward and dragged him down to the water side, with the evident intention of drowning him. He held him under the water, until the other brother interfered. After this incident, the steward was taken on board the schooner "Mary E." [Ellen?] for protection and a permit was obtained for him to enter the hospital. It was supposed at this time that the Kerrigans had shed enough gore for one day, but they were evidently not satisfied, for about 5 o'clock, Capt. Kerrigan went over to where Ab. Denley was working with his team and without any provocation struck Denley a blow in the face. The other Kerrigan also drew a knife, threatening to do him up. Before a second blow could be made Denley's younger brother picked up a wagon stake and struck Capt. Kerrigan on the head with it. He fell like a log and laid on the ground in an unconscious condition for several minutes, the blood oozing from a horrible gash in his head. Then Constable McQuoid placed young Denley under arrest and took him before Justice Hatheway. Ab. Denley also appeared before the Justice and swore out a warrant against the two Kerrigans for the assault upon him.
When the constable went to serve the warrants, Capt. Kerrigan was on board his vessel, having partially regained consciousness. Dr. Harry Gove, considering the man's condition dangerous, would not allow him to be removed, but the mate was arrested and brought up town. The following morning, the mate was arraigned before Justice Hatheway. Denley was represented by M. N. Cockburn. At the request of the prisoner the hearing was postponed until 2 o'clock that afternoon, when a plea of "guilty" was put in. the Justice imposed a fine of $5 and costs—in all $17.70. The charge against the captain was withdrawn. After the mate got out of the clutches of the law, the "Mary" at once set sail for St. John.
The Injured steward of the "Erie" also joined his vessel before she sailed from her anchorage on Saturday morning.
Mr. George Innes, of Montclair, NJ, has purchased a lot of landing the neighborhood of the Algonquin Hotel from the Land Company, and intends building thereon. The house, which will be built in time for occupation the coming season will be of wood and will be rather a pleasing structure. Attached to it will be a studio for Mr. Innes, also a bar and coach house.
Beacon
April 6, 1893
The summer outlook for St. Andrews is most favorable. Three magnificent summer residences are now in course of erection and will be ready for occupation during the coming season. Other new buildings are being talked about. In addition to the "cottage boom," it is expected that the invasion of visitors to be Algonquin Hotel will be larger this summer than during any previous season. Whatever position St. Andrews may stand in relation to the "winter port" business, there is no doubt that its position as the "summer port" of Canada is assured.
New Summer Residences
Before leaving for his New Jersey home, Mr. George Inness, jr., entered into a contract with Messrs. Stevenson and Mackenzie, builders, for the construction of his new house, which is to be erected on the lot east of the Algonquin Hotel recently purchased by him. Mr. Inness's building will cover an area of 133 x 32 feet and the plans indicate that it will be a very a handsome structure. The ground floor will contain a large parlor a commodious hall, also dining room, kitchen and pantries. Further along, under the same roof, will be the carriage house and barn. On the second floor, there will be half a dozen or more large chambers, besides the studio of Mr. Inness, who is an artist of considerable repute. The contractors have agreed to have the building completed and ready for occupation by the first of July. Mr. Inness is already arranging for the purchase of his furniture, intending to begin life in St. Andrews just as soon as his house is ready to receive him
Mr. R. S. Gardiner's new summer residence is advancing to completion very fast. The roof is nearly all shingled, and the door and window casings are in place. Lathing will be begun in a day or two. The house is going to be a very pretty structure when finished.
W. C. Van Horne's summer mansion on Minister's Island, will, it is said, be finished by June 1.
Beacon
April 13/1893
From the remarks dropped by President Van Horne, during his brief stay here, last week, it is evident that the managers of the Beaver Line have not yet reached a decision regarding their winter port. St. Andrews still stands a chance of being selected. There is no gainsaying the fact that there is no port in lower Canada better adapted to the wants of a progressive company like the Beaver Line than the port of St. Andrews. Freight can be hauled to and from it cheaper and quicker than from any other Maritime Province port, for the simple reason that it is the nearest port on the Atlantic to Montreal and the West. And there is no port in All Canada where the port charges can be brought so low as at this port. These advantages with others we have frequently indicated, make St. Andrews the best winter port that Canada now has.
"One summer hotel won't make a summer resort," says President Van Horne. That's one reason why he wants to convert the Osburn house into a hotel.
Robert Starkey, while playing around the derelict schooner "Mary Ellen" one day last week, fell off her deck and struck very heavily on the ice in her hold When picked up he was in a semi-conscious state, and blood was flowing from one of his ears. Dr. Harry Gove was summoned. The boy is out again.
Mr. Van Horne's aide-de Camp
He figures as a speculator in Indian Opium sand Straw Hats. Article.
There is no man connected with the CPR who has had more experiences to the square inch than Jim French, the "cullud gemman" who does the honors so gracefully in President Van Horne's private car, and there is none who can relate his experiences more quaintly or more forcibly, or who can interlard them with more swear-words, than the aforesaid James. In fact, from the rugged cliffs of Cape Breton to the ocean-laved shores of British Columbia, James French stands out alone and unique, the ne plus ultra, as it were, of all that is scientific and quaint in latter day profanity.
Yet Jim is not bad, or vicious. On the contrary, he is as meek as a mouse, as generous as a lord, as sharp as a steel trap, and his heart is as big as the car in which he drives. Surrounded by wealth and luxury, Jim has had his dreams of greatness, but alas, many of them have not panned out as he had anticipated.
One of these, he related to the Beacon, while the President's car was waiting on the track at the Bar Road, the other day. It was while he was in Victoria, BC, some years ago, that Jim experienced one of these ecstatic dreams. Somebody had whispered in his ear that if he invested his spare cash—he had about $225 in his inside pocket just then—in opium that he could treble his money back east. The vision of the wealth that was to roll in upon him as a result of this speculation nearly turned his head, and after a feverish night he pocketed his wealth next day and invested the whole of it in opium at $7.50 a point. He got back to Montreal with his investment and lost no time in seeking out the leading druggist. "I told him that I had about $300 worth of the stuff and asked him what he would give me for it. He looked at a little book and then told me that it was worth $4.50 a pound. Geewhilakers! How my heart beat! only $4.50 a pound and I had paid $7.50 for it! I thought he was mistaken, but he showed me it in black and white. You see, the market for opium's something like wheat—it—it—what in—do you call it—oh, yes—it fluctuates. One day it's up and the next day its down. I struck it on the down grade. And how my heart beat!
"I tried every dealer in Montreal, but not one of them would give me a cent more than $4.50. Then I took it home and stowed it under the bed and told the old 'ooman not to let any of the children tech it. She wanted to know what it was. 'Dynamite! Dynamite! says I. Don 't you let them children tech it! Then she screamed, and told me to take it out, or we'd all be blowed up. At last, I told her all about it. She looked daggers at me, but none of them children teched it."
"Some time after this I was in Chicago. I took the stuff with me. Only $5 a pound there! How my heart beat! I tried in other Yankee towns, but it was no go. And all this time I might have been getting 4 percent for my money if it hadn't been for that ——- ——- —— —— —— villain in Victoria! A shame, wan't it?
"Next year, I was going to British Columbia, and I took it along with me. Tried to sell it to all the Chinese camps we passed but couldn't do it. None of them would give me what I had paid for it. At that time, the track stopped at Port Moody. Of course, you know where Port Moody is. Well, there was a big Chinaman there and I hooked onto him.
"How muchee givee me? I asked.
"Givee you seven dollar hop!" said John.
"Seven dollars and a half! Geewhilakers, how my heart beat! Just to think I was going to get my money back! Then I thought I'd strike for more, just for interest, you know!
"Worth more than that," said I.
"Seven dollee hop," all I givee. Gettee it in Victoria for seven dollee hop."
"But I have nearly three hundred dollars worth."
"Allee sammee thousand dollee; me take it seven dollee hop."
"And you ought to have seen me 'hop' for that car. Geewhilakers! How my heart beat! I took every blessed ounce of it and sold it to John. And it'll be a cold day again before you see me buying opium.
"Got salted on hats, too! yes, I did. You know those straw hats, those cheap hats, those ornery hats, those ——- —— —— —— things that farmers wear in the fields! Of course, you do. Well, a friend told me in British Columbia that there was a bonanza for me in it, if I took a lot of them out. I could get fifty cents apiece for them. Went to a Montreal dealer, and asked him the price of them wholesale. "Four cents," said he. "I'll take all you have," said I. His eyes got big as saucers, and I guess he thought I was crazy. He sold me about three hundred of the —— —— —— —- —— —— things on s string. They filled my room near about. When I got to British Columbia the man that was to give me fifty cents for them had busted up, skipped out, vamoosed. And there I was with a half a carload of the —- —- —- —- —- things to sell, and only an hour or two or sell them in! How my heart beat! I hustled around, and at last found a chap that offered to take them off my hands for five cents apiece! A cent profit after lugging them for nearly three thousand miles! Whew! I've had quite enough of opium and hats. No more of them in mine, l please. But here's the old man.
And Jim scurried off the kitchen to arrange a tempting repast for the president.
President Van Horne's visit
He inspects his new cottage, talks with the Beacon concerning the winter port, plans a new summer hotel, and attends to other business.
Following close upon the heels of the regular express, on Friday afternoon last, was a special train in charge of Conductor Cassidy, consisting of the private cars of president Van Horne and Superintendent Timmerman.
Among the occupants were Mr. Van Horne and his private secretary, Mr. George MacDonald, Superintendent Timmerman, Messrs. H. H. McLean, John Hammond and Mr. Colonna, of Montreal, the architect of Mr. Van Horne's summer residence.
The train came to a stop at the Bar Road, where Mr. Van Horne and his party took a boat and were landed on Minister's Island. Mr. Mallory awaited them there with his barouche, and they were at once driven to Mr. Van Horne's new cottage. A couple of hours were spent by Mr. Van Horne inspecting the building and grounds, and giving instructions as to the manner in which he wanted the finishing touches carried out. On returning to the mainland, the Beacon was on hand to extend a greeting to Mr. Van Horne and his associates. The President was in jolly mood and showed no hesitancy in answering the questions that were asked of him.
"I'll not be able to come down much this summer," said he, "as the programme I have mapped out for the season will not permit of it, but my family will come here in June and spend the season with you."
"How long will it take to finish up? Oh, five weeks' work will make the house habitable. Of course, there's a great deal to be done towards ornamenting the grounds. But I won't do much in that line until I can come down myself and look after it."
"Will Sir Donald Smith build on his St. Andrews property this season?" asked the interviewer.
"I don't think he will. He is not in very good health just now." "Will Mr. Shaughnessy build?" "I can't answer that question. I don't know what his plans are."
"What about the Beaver Line and St. Andrews?" "Well, nothing definite has been arranged. In fact, the steamship people don't seem to know exactly what they want yet. When they arrive at a decision we are prepared to lend them all the assistance in our power towards carrying out their projects. They have got to make up their minds to use some of these lower province ports, if they intend doing a winter business."
"We are especially anxious," interjected the Beacon, "to have St. Andrews utilized by the line, and we hope the CPR will aid us as far as possible."
"You can rely upon us doing all that is in our power to advance the interests of the port of St. Andrews," replied Mr. Van Horne. The President and party then sat down to lunch, while the train was backed into St. Andrews. After an hour spent in stowing away the lobsters and other good things which Jim French, Mr. Van Horne's colored factotum, had prepared for the delectation of the party, an inspection was made of the Osburn property, which was recently purchased by the railway, company the object of the inspection being to ascertain whether the house could not be converted into a summer hotel. Mr. Van Horne explored the house from cellar to garret and expressed himself greatly pleased with its appearance. By the addition of another story, also a dining hall, billiard room and bowling alley, he thought that a first-class hotel could be made of the property. On his return to the car, he drew out a plan of the addition he contemplated. He also instructed Mr. Timmerman to have a plan of the house made at once, so that he could decide in what manner the alterations and additions should be made. Mr. Brewer came here on Tuesday for this purpose. Before leaving town, Mr. Van Horne purchased a boat from Mr. James Starkey, and also obtained figures for the construction of a larger vessel for deep-sea fishing.
Beacon
April 20/1893
The Beaver Line of Steamships are now running to Halifax and New York. If the port of St. Andrews were supplied with the necessary facilities, it would not be necessary for them to go to two ports on this side of the Atlantic.
St. Andrews prospects look brighter this spring than they have done for some years. The first lumber vessel to be loaded here for many years, has just been sent out; the phosphate trade has increased nearly two-fold, and there are indications of even a greater increase in the coal business. Then we have the 1. promise of a large coal wharf, 2. another summer hotel, and a 3. large warehouse for the storage of phosphate. In addition to all these, we can point with considerable satisfaction to the 4. three large summer residences now in course of construction, to the lively 5. interest that the chief of the great railway system of Canada is showing in the place, and also, the desire that has been manifested by the 6. leading steamship company of the Dominion to utilize the port of St. Andrews as their winter port. These benefits, present and prospective—the bulk of which are coming from without—ought to awaken a little more enterprise and enthusiasm among the townspeople.
The First Winter Port of Canada
It was hoped by many that the Dominion Parliament would not have risen until it had taken some decided action towards providing Canada with a suitable winter port. As has been pointed out time and time again, not only by this journal but by many other newspapers in eastern Canada, the want of such a port has seriously handicapped and retarded the progress of the Dominion. The business which, during the summer season, finds an outlet at the St.; Lawrence, and which, during the winter months, should still be retained in Canada for its enrichment and development, is allowed to drift whither it will. The most of it—and the fact is well known—obtains an exit through ports in the US, thereby enriching them at the expense of Canada. Now, we would not utter a word of complaint against American ports doing the winter business of Canada, if there were no open and suitable ports on Canadian territory, but Canada has the best of ports for this purpose. We can say, without fear of successful contradiction, that there is not another port on the Canadian Atlantic better adapted by nature for the transaction of the winter business of Canada than the port of St. Andrews.
The government has had that fact impressed upon them; the railway people have been compelled to acknowledge the truth of the statement, and it is satisfactory to know that some of the leading steamship companies are also alive to the fact. Yet, what has been done by either the government, the railway company, or the steamship people towards utilizing this port? Practically nothing. One leading steamship line was compelled to close up all winter because here was no suitable port for them to do their business in on Canadian soil; others are using subsidies they obtain from the Dominion towards developing the port of Portland, Maine. Some of these lines have tried the experiment of using Halifax as a port, but it has been a costly experiment for them. By the way, it was only last week that the attention of the deputy minister of railways and canals [Tupper minister] was called to the complaints of Ontario grain shippers respecting the excessive freight charges to Halifax. And, unless grain is hauled at losing prices it will be impossible to carry it to Halifax and successfully complete with American ports. It can't be done, because the land haul is too long. Saint John has objections which, in the opinion of leading steamship people, seriously interfere with its usefulness as a winter port for large steamers. The only other port, with railway connection, that is available, is the port of St. Andrews.
The Beaver Steamship Company, impressed with the force of the facts we have here alluded to, have expressed a willingness to utilize this port, but for some reason or another, they are not able to carry their desires into effect. Van Horne says the steamship people do not know what they want, and the steamship people, on the other hand, declare that they have signified their wants to the railway and they will not supply them. In proof of this latter statement, we quote an extract or two from a letter received by the editor of the Beacon from a leading official of the Beaver Line, since the visit of Mr. Van Horne. This gentleman writes:
". . . The company would be only too glad to utilize it (the port of St. Andrews) if the CPR could be induced to provide the necessary wharves and other facilities for the discharging and loading of steamers using that port."
". . . It is indeed surprising that St. Andrews, with all its manifold advantages as a thoroughly good and reliable winter port should have been so entirely overlooked and neglected when the whole Dominion has been suffering from and lamenting the absence of one, so long."
". . . I have no doubt that as soon as the business public generally have become acquainted with the merits of St. Andrews as a port, they will insist on its adoption."
There is a well-defined suspicion in our mind that the CPR will do nothing towards developing St. Andrews as a winter port for ocean steamers until it has been demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that the winter business of the Dominion cannot be successfully transacted through the larger ports of Halifax and Saint John. In the meantime the commercial interests of the country are suffering and will suffer. Surely this not right.
The Beaver Line steamships are now running to Halifax and New York. If the port of St. Andrews were supplied with the necessary facilities, it would not be necessary for them to go to two ports on this side of the Atlantic.
Alarmed by the agitation in favor of the utilization of St. Andrews as the winter port of the Dominion, some of the merchants of Saint John have taken to writing letters in praise of their port. One letter-writer, Mr. W. F. Hatheway, we observe chooses to ignore the existence of such splendid harbours as St. Andrews and L'Etang, in this county. In matters of business with Charlotte County people, Mr. Hatheway is not usually so forgetful.
Van Horne house nearly done.
In 1847, and for several years following, the St. Andrews railway, sixteen miles in length, was the only piece of railroad in existence in Canada. [Not true. The Champlain and St. Lawrence RR opened in 1836, and the Albion Railway in Stellarton, NS in 1840. But it was certainly one of the first, though at only 16 miles in length hardly what one would call a working railroad.] Now there are 14, 588 miles of railway in operation in the Dominion.
A representative of a leading Toronto house, who was in St. Andrews this week, stated that there was a quiet movement in progress there, looking towards the selection of a Canadian winter port, and that St. Andrews had the first call. Hope the news is true.
It is the intention of the CPR to proceed at once with the alterations and repairs on the Osburn house, in order to fit it for a summer hotel. The master carpenter came here on Tuesday to arrange for beginning work, and also for hiring a crew to finish the Van Horne house.
Abraham Avery of Rand Avery dies in Los Angeles. Well advanced in years. "The news of his death was heard in St. Andrews with considerable regret, as he had made many friends here by his genial and gentlemanly manner. He spent nearly all of last season at the Algonquin with his widowed daughter, Mrs. Whidden, and her two children."
Beacon
April 27/1893
The Grand Trunk Railway had a very depressing report laid before them at their half-yearly meeting in London on Monday. It was pointed out that the affairs of the company were growing from bad to worse, and that unless an increase in freight rates was made they would very soon be in a bankrupt state. Sir Henry Tyler was re-elected president.
R. B. Hanson, of Bocabec, has not been able to get out as much stuff for his box mill the past winter as during some previous seasons.
The conveyance of the Osburn property to the CPR has been recorded. The consideration is $1,500, the company also agreeing to pay the yearly rental of $100 until the expiration of the lease.
Beacon
May 4, 1893
Supt. Timmerman, of the CPR, came down to St. Andrews in his private car on Monday with engineer Brewer, to inspect the Van Horne house. After his visit he expressed his delight to the Beacon at finding the work in such a forward state. Speaking of the Osburn place, he seemed in doubt as to whether the work of turning it into a summer hotel would be begun just now. There was so much to be done to make it suitable for hotel purposes that it would not be possible, he thought, to get it ready for this season. With regard to the coal wharf, he said no determination had yet been reached as to when the work should begin. Mr. Timmerman went out with the regular train on Wednesday morning.
Beacon
May 11/1893
If owners of cows will not obey the law and keep their animals from annoying their neighbors and becoming a public nuisance, they should be compelled to. There is a regulation providing for the impounding of all cattle running at large within the town limits, yet there are many vagrant cows to be seen wandering around, defiling public and private places, and annoying everybody but their owners. A stop should be put to this practice, and that immediately.
T. R. Wren has the newest "bike" in town. It is one of the Brantford pneumatics, and it's a daisy.
Tell us, ye winged winds, if for a time you'll pause, whether to don our flannel again, or creep into our gauze.—EX.
The local painters and carpenters have their hands full. When they get through, St. Andrews will be a pretty good-looking town.
The Stickney Wedgwood store has added a great many beautiful things to its stock of fancy ware this season to please the summer visitor.
Now that strangers are beginning to build up the waste places in St. Andrews a more rigid enforcement of the regulation prohibiting cows from running at large will have to be insisted upon.
The Summer Cottages
Mr. R. S. Gardiner of Boston is well pleased with the appearance of his new house. He has contracted with Lordly and Sons, of Saint John, for his furniture, and Vroom Bros., of St. Stephen, for curtains and some other fixtures. He will bring his own rugs and linen from Boston. The furniture is to be delivered in St. Andrews on the 15th of June.
All haste is being made on the Van Horne house to finish it up. Mr. Brewer and his assistants visited the ground this week, and arranged for the laying out of roads and the transaction of other work. John Carroll has been awarded the contract for sinking an artesian well on the premises. he grading will be done by P. J. McNamara, of St. Stephen, than whom there is no better workman.
The Innes house is all in frame and by the end of the week will be pretty well boarded in. A net cedar hedge has been placed around the lot, the job having been done by Mr. McNamara.
A medium-priced summer hotel would be a good speculation here. Almost every week, dozens of enquiries for such a description of hotel are made by people who would like to spend a month or two at the seaside, but who cannot afford to pay fashionable prices.
Sir John Campbell Hamilton Gordon, 7th Earl and 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
Governor General: 1893 - 1898 Appointed: May 22, 1893 Sworn In: September 18, 1893, Quebec City, Quebec Born: August 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland Died: March 7, 1934
Beacon
May 18, 1893
We have frequently urged upon the people of St. Andrews the propriety of beautifying the town by the planting of shade trees, and we do so again. Saint John and Fredericton have awakened to the necessity of doing something of this kind. St. Andrews, beautiful by nature, might be made a veritable paradise if a public spirit was shown in the direction we have indicated. Who will head the movement?
A small army of men is at work on Minister's Island laying the roads to and around the Van Horne house and putting the finishing touches to the building.
Another siding from the railway wharf is being laid in the St. Andrews yard, the increased business at the wharf urgently calling for such an improvement. The pond to the north of the main track is being filled with sawdust from the old icehouse nearby.
Beacon
May 25, 1893
The CPR in conjunction with the Manitoba government, has been engaged for two or three years past in the laudable task of endeavouring to turn the tide of maritime province emigration from the US to the Canadian North-West. But the task is by no means an easy one. For the most part, lower province people, who leave their farms, do so because—finding the work too hard and the returns too meagre—they desire a change of occupation, and when they go to the US it is not the farming districts that they seek out, but the factory towns and the large cities, where so many of their friends and other people have gone before them. For this class, the farmlands of the North-West, fertile though they undoubtedly are, have no attractions whatever. Nine-tenths of those who go away would fare far better if they had stayed at home, as the labor market of the US is glutted everywhere, but as it is only the successful tenth that is heard about, the number of departures does not seem to be lessened in any degree.
Puritanical Boston is terribly shocked, we are told, because some of the advanced thinkers among its female residents have begun to wear pants—or rather bloomers. Several of such "blooming" costumes have appeared on Bostonian streets and have excited a great deal of attention. One woman's bloomers caused a blockade on Washington street. Man may well tremble over the inroads the women have made into his sphere. They captured his shirt, coat and hat several years ago, and now that they have grabbed at his pants, he might as well give up the struggle, or else turn the tables by adopting the crinoline.
M. McMonagle, who now discharges the coal vessels, has further contracted with the railway to load the coal on the cars.
Beacon
June 1/1893
The trial of Lizzie Borden, for the murder of her parents, is to begin at New Bedford, June 5. Almost world-wide interest is manifested in the case, as much on account of the mystery surrounding the murder as on account of the revolting manner in which the bloody deed was performed.
M. McMonagle is boring for a well near the railroad wharf, with which to supply water for his hoisting engine.
A handsome flag staff has been erected in front of the Stickney building. It extends 47 feet above the roof. The staff was fashioned and put in place by David Mc Roberts and his sturdy sons.
The Summer Habitations
Art and nature Performing Wonders Round About St. Andrews
When art and Nature go hand in hand what wonders can they not accomplish? Of late, they have metamorphosed the surface of Minister's Island, (on which stands the palatial summer residence of President Van Horne, of the CPR), and their wonders have only begun. A beautiful avenue, lined with trees on either side, has been laid out down the centre of the island, the work being performed under the direction of P. J. MacNamara, of St. Stephen, the well-known landscape gardener. Other avenues yet remain to be laid out. When these have been completed and the ground around the house property graded, that portion of the island will resemble a little paradise. The workmen are still engaged finishing the interior of the house.
In the neighborhood of the summer hotel, carpenters are hard at work on the elegant summer residence of George Inness, Jr., of Montclair, NJ. The building—which is over 130 feet in length—is now pretty well along. The walls have been boarded in, the roof shingled, the chimneys erected, and the carpenters are now putting in the partitions upstairs. A broad verandah occupies the western front to the house, and also a portion of the southern side. The parlor is in the western end of the house. Then comes a wide hallway. In the rear of that are the dining room, pantries, and kitchen. A woodshed, coach house, granary and harness room and stable complete the compartments on the ground floor. There are five stalls in the stable. On the second floor there are ten large rooms in addition to Mr. Inness's studio, which looks out upon Chamcook Mountain and the bathroom. Water will be obtained from the same source as the Algonquin Hotel obtains it, and in addition there will be a large cistern to catch rainwater. The house will be ready for the 1st of July. Mr. Inness, whose artistic eye has been charmed by the weather-beaten color of the fort buildings, does not intending to put any paint on the exterior of his house. He proposes to allow Nature to perform all such external decorations along and unaided. There is to be no plaster on the interior walls. They will be sheathed, of course and then covered with a thick wallpaper, which will be fastened on with brass-headed nails.
The summer cottage of Mr. R. S. Gardiner, of Boston, is almost finished. Only the doors remain to be hung, the fireplaces put in, and some other finishing touches done. Mr. Gardiner, unlike his artist neighbor, believes in paint, and has both walls and roof covered. This cottage has a most charming outlook.
The Algonquin Hotel, which is to open on the first of July, is being placed in shape for opening day. Mr. Albert Miller, who has managed the hotel so successfully for two seasons, will be manager again this year. The season of 1893 promises to be the best the hotel has ever experienced.
Mr. J. Emory Hoar, of Brookline, Mass., will re-open this week his beautiful summer residence.
Beacon
June 8/1893
The total number of carloads of turnips shipped this season from St. Andrews was 150. Of phosphate, 289 cars were sent out from here.
Two handsome deer disported themselves in the pasture alongside the Alms House, on the borders of the town, on Saturday forenoon. They were seen by several people. After permitting their graceful proportions to be viewed for a few minutes, they turned their backs on the spectators, and skipping over the fences as if they were so many twigs, they headed for the forest.
Even the world's fair, which opened recently, will not detract from the town's drawing power as a hay fever exempt resort, also beautiful, etc.
Beacon
June 15/1893
Over One Hundred Years Old
In looking over some musty old papers, the other day, Mr. W. H. Whitlock, of the Customs department, came across a letter which was written over one hundred years ago. The letter, which was addressed to "Mr. John Dunn, Merchant in New York or Nova Scotia" is as follows:—
Kingston, Jamaica, 11th June 1784
Mr. John Dunn,
Sir,
Having forwarded duplicate and triplicate of my respects to you of the 3rd inst., which related entirely to insurance on the Lord Howe; I do not now trouble you with another copy of it; as this goes by Capt. McLean in that vessel, which I hope will arrive safe with you to a good market.
Enclosed you will please receive invoice and bill of lading for 4 hhds fine sugar, 16 puncheons and 1 hhd. Of rum shipped on board her on your account and risk. Amounting to 425 pounds Jamaica currency at your debit in account current, which is also enclosed; and credit with 389 pounds, 13 shillings, 10 ½ pence net proceed of her cargo here from Penobscot and 806 pounds, 13 shillings Jamaica currency for her chartered voyage to Georgia and back
You will find 260 pounds at the debit of this account, for the cost of five new negroes shipped to Georgia for your account, which with my advances for the vessel leaves a balance of 286 pounds, 7 shillings, ½ pence in your favour, which last mentioned sum I have paid to Capt. McLean, to enable him to settle with the people and for other disbursements.
As the vessel has really made money by her voyage here, I have no doubt of your hearty approbation;—And as Capt. McLean has spared no pains for your interest, I flatter myself you will also approve of his services.
In the expectation of hearing from you upon the arrival of the Lord Howe I remain with respect, Sir, Your Most Obedient Servant, John Moore.
The coal barges, it is said, are not proving the success that was anticipated.
Summer Chat
A Beautiful Town.—Something About the new Summer Cottages
The summer homes now in the course of erection in St. Andrews will all be ready for occupation next month. That of Mr. Robert S. Gardiner, of Boston, is about completed. It is a charming little cottage, with a wide verandah facing the eastward, and looking down upon Katy's Cove and all the country which lies beyond. The interior of the cottage is very comfortably arranged. On the ground floor there is a broad hall, with an elegant mantel and fireplace finished in cherry coloring. To the left of this hall is Mr. Gardiner's private den. The parlor is on the right. In the rear are the dining room, pantries and kitchen. All the mantels are finished in cherry, and the hard wood floors, finished as smooth as glass, make the rooms look very attractive. The upper floor is divided off into sleeping rooms. The grounds about the cottage are now being graded and put in shape.
The summer residence of Mr. George Innes, jr., of Montclair, N. J., is well advanced toward completion. All the outer walls are shingled. The verandas are yet to complete, and the rooms remain to be sheathed. But this work will not take long to accomplish, so that Mr. Innes can safely figure on being able to occupy his house during the first week of July. J. H. Doody, of Saint John, is doing the plumbing on this building.
Over on Minister's Island, a great change for the better has been made in and around the palatial summer home of W. C. Van Horne, president of the C. P. R. Probably ten days' work remain to be done inside. Outside, under the superintendence of P. J. MacNamara, romantic little avenues are being laid out and the grounds graded in an artistic manner.
It is reported that Mr. T. G. Shaughnessy, manager of the C. P. R., will soon begin the erection of a summer residence here.
The Algonquin is being painted and renovated for opening day—July 1. Manager Miller and staff are expected to arrive next week. All the indications point to a successful season.
Railway Visitors
Tuesday's train brought to St. Andrews the private cars of vice-president Shaughnessy and Supt. Timmerman, of the CPR. The occupants of the first car were Asst. General Manager Tait, his father Judge Tait, and his secretary. Mr. Timmerman and Engineer Brewer occupied the other car.
They drove over to Mr. Van Horne's summer residence, after which they returned to their cars, and on Wednesday took their departure.
Mr. Tait was greatly captivated with St. Andrews and with Mr. Van Horne's place. He says living in St. Andrews ought to add five or ten years to the President's life. Mr. Tait expects to visit St. Andrews with his family this season.
The Owen property has again changed hands. Messrs. Lord and Wells were here last week with a couple of gentlemen, and it is understood that one of them purchased the property and intends opening the Owen Hotel as soon as possible. The Byron hotel is having some much needed repairs made, which, with a coat of paint, will greatly improve its appearance. Mr. "Alexander has painted his house and stable making it one of the prettiest places in town.
Beacon
June 22/1893
Saint Andrews
. . . Angling in both salt and fresh water may be enjoyed here with sure results. The yachtsman finds a paradise, and the student of history his desire. There are possibilities for pleasure to suit every taste, coupled with a quiet restfulness of surrounding which is itself a boon.—From I.S.S. Co. issue Sea Side Resort
Beacon
June 29/1893
The water supply at the Van Horne house on Minister's Island is still not as large as is wanted. It is proposed to drill further down and erect a windmill and pump and stand-pipe.
Algonquin guests include C. R. Hosmer, of Montreal; John Hope, Montreal; Robert Meighen, Montreal; Fay, Cram. Judge Allen, Boston. George Innes, NJ.
Moonlight excursion from St. Andrews to Eastport on "Arbutus" from 6:30 to 10:00.
Mrs. W. C. Van Horne with her daughter and son, arrived in St. Andrews on Wednesday afternoon last, and were driven over to the new summer home on Minister's Island. They expressed themselves delighted with the house and its surroundings. The house will be occupied in a few weeks. [prob. Staying at Algonquin in the meantime]
Albert Miller manager 3rd straight season at Algonquin.
3-piece orchestra: again, piano, cornet, violin. 3 ladies, as usual.
Many Montreal guests. "Excursion Party" of Mass. pressmen arranged.
Clerk-H. W. Anderson, of Boston
Assistant clerk and telegraph operator—Miss Jennie Martin, of Newton, Mass
House-keeper—Mrs. Francis M. Teed, from Copely Square hotel, Boston
Chef-H. Paulke, of New York city
Pastry cook—Edward Smith of Boston
Head Waiter—H. S. Emery, of Bowdoin College, Maine
Hairdresser and billiard room attendant—J. E. Mason, of Boston
Engineer—B. J. Strange, Boston
Orchestra Miss H. E. Page, cornetist; Miss Rose A Garrity, violinist; Miss S. H. Eichler, pianist.