eved, the bulwark of their
industry. It had almost immediately the effect of lessening the exodus
of artisans to the United States, and of improving the revenue and so
restoring the national credit.

Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

In October 1878 Lord Dufferin's term of office expired, and his place as
governor-general was taken by the marquess of Lorne, whose welcome to
the Dominion was accentuated by the fact that he was the son-in-law of
the queen, and that his viceroyalty was shared by the princess Louise.
The election of 1878 marked the beginning of a long period of
Conservative rule--the premiership of Sir J. Macdonald continuing from
that time without a break until his death in 1891, while his party
remained in power till 1896. This long-continued Conservative supremacy
was apparently due to the policy of bold and rapid development which it
had adopted, and which appealed to a young and ambitious country more
strongly than the more cautious proposals of the Liberal leaders. As
soon as the government had redeemed its pledge to establish a system of
protection a vigorous railway policy was inaugurated. A contract was
made with a new company to complete the Canadian Pacific railway within
ten years, on condition of receiving a grant of $25,000,000 and
25,000,000 acres of land, together with those parts of the line already
finished under government direction. After fierce debate in parliament
these terms were ratified in the session of 1881. The financial
difficulties encountered by the company in carrying out their gigantic
task were very great, and in 1884 they were compelled to obtain from the
Dominion government a loan of $20,000,000 secured on the company's
property. This loan was repaid by 1887. Meanwhile the work was carried
forward with so much energy that, five years before the stipulated
period of completion, on the 7th of November 1886, the last spike was
driven by Mr Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona), whose fortune had been
largely pledged to the undertaking, along with those of other prominent
Canadian business men, especially Mr George Stephen (Lord Mountstephen),
Mr Duncan McIntyre, and Mr R.B. Angus. Under the energetic management of
Mr (later Sir) W.C. Van Home, who was appointed president of the company
in 1888, the new railway soon became the most prominent feature in the
development of the country; lines of steamships were established on the
great lakes and the Pacific; a stream