Newfoundland until 1875, how very
little was known of the interior. The Newfoundland with which we are
concerned consisted in fact of a few towns on the coast, with a great
and imperfectly explored interior behind them. Even down to the
beginning of the twentieth century very little was known of much of
the island. It is difficult to assign limits to the developments which
are probable when a thorough system of internal communication shall
have given free play to each latent industry.

The first proposal was that a railway should be constructed from St.
John's to St. George's Bay, but objections were made from England on
the ground that the line would end on the French shore. Then came the
proposal that it should run from St. John's to Hall's Bay, with
branches to Brigus and Harbour Grace, covering in all a distance of
about 340 miles. A joint committee of both Houses prepared a report,
which became the basis of the Bill (1880). One sentence is worth
quoting, because it states very clearly the difficulties which have
played so large a part in the history of Newfoundland:

"The question of the future of our growing population has for some
time enjoyed the earnest attention of all thoughtful men in this
country, and has been the subject of serious solicitude. The fisheries
being our main resource, and to a large extent the only dependence of
the people, those periodic partial failures which are incident to such
pursuits continue to be attended with recurring visitations of
pauperism, and there seems no remedy to be found for this condition of
things but that which may lie in varied and extensive pursuits.... Our
fisheries have no doubt increased, but not in a measure corresponding
to our measure of population; and even though they were capable of
being expanded, that object would be largely neutralized by the
decline in price which follows from a large catch, as no increase of
markets can be found to give remunerative returns for an augmented
supply."

The Act was passed, which empowered the raising of a loan of
L1,000,000 for the purpose of constructing the proposed railway. By
November, 1884, the line was completed as far as Harbour Grace; by
1888 a further instalment of some twenty-seven miles was ready between
Whitbourne and Placentia; soon afterwards it was decided to recommence
building the line northwards from St. John's to Hall's Bay, which has
been discontinued through the failure of the contractors, and to ca