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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton News Record, 1936-04-23, Page 3THURS., 'APRIL 23, 1936 TBE CLINTON NEWS -RECORD PAGE ar. WHAT CLINTON WAS DOING IN THE GAY NINETIES DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED DURING 'ERR LAST DE- CADE OF THE OLD CENTURY? From The News -Record, Apr, 22nd, and Messrs. Taylor, Allen and 0. 1896: Two young men. from Brucefield made things lively about midnight last Friday. They; drove up and down Albert 'street at breakneck speed and were not particular as to whether the vehicle was on the road or the sidewalk.. . . Their names' are known and they -.^will likely be prose- cuted for furious driving and abus- ing a horse. Last Friday evening the 25 Club closed a most delightful season , by having a hop in the town hall. A- bout thirty couples were present. The London Harpers furnished music. Within the past few' days Cantelon Bros. have shipped eight thousand dozen of eggs from Clinton to out - aide markets. Citizens of today realize that Clin- ton should have a modern public park. It is not generally known that we should: have had a magnificent public park if the council of thirty years ago had been wise in its gen • eration. At that time the late Mr. Ransford, father of Messrs. R. and J. Ransford, offered for such a pur- pose, without cost ten acres of what is now known as the Bawden Annex. The only condition was that the vil- lage should build a roadway to it. The council could not see the wisdom of such auk offer and refused it. (Succeeding councils and citizens. have refused to see the need of a park and Clinton is still without one.) We are pleased to see that the Government has placed $12,500 in the estimates for the improvement of Bayfield harbor. • Margaret, wife of the late David Wiseman of Usborne; died at the home of her son, Mr. John Wiseman of Clinton, on Thursday last aged 79 years.. The funeral took place town on Monday attending a meeting Saturday morning, via G.T.R. to of the Huron Presbytery representing Mitchell, and from there to Kirlbus- on St, Andrew's church, Bayfield, and where the 'late Mr. Wiseman is bur- presented a call to the Rev. Mr. Mac- led. ac ted• farlane of Banks. The town band gave an excellent Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Morrish and open air concert on Thursday night. Miss Bessie spent Easter in Goderich A special meeting of council was as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. 'Janes held on April 17th, when the resigns- Connolly. tion of N. Robson. as treasurer was Messrs. Hugh Grigg, Molsons Bank, London, and Roy Grigg, Bank :of Montreal, Goderich, were home for Easter. Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Gundry, In- gersoll, are the guests 'of Col. and Mrs. H. B. Combe, Mr. Gundry will simons struck his hand on a tack, tomorrow evening . address the Clin- inflicting a slight wound . . A day tori Club on "From Darwin to Bur - or two afterwards his arm began to bank." swell and Cause . him considerable Mrs. J. G. Chowen, Mrs. Hoover, Cooper a canvassing ,committee, It was decided to secure the hall for an entertainment to be held the night of the fall fair. The question of a club uniform, admission fee, eta, was leftover until Wednesday even- ing,, when another meeting will • be held. Eggs are down to nine cents. Porter's Hili: -Mr.. Thos. McDon- ald has started his new house, which promises to be a fine building. Sugar -making is over and farmers are .busy seeding. A short time ago Mrs. 0. W. Potter was called to Woodstock to see her mother, who was very low. We are sorry to learn that she has since passed away. Bayfield:—The concert given on Monday evening, under the auspices of the churches united, for the bene fit of the Armenians was a decided success in every particular, except financially. It is to'be regretted on such a program as. was rendered on Monday was so little appreciated by the people of Bayfield. When The Present Century Was Young From The News -Record, Apr. 20th, 1911: Mrs. W. H. Hellyar and Master John ,spent the Eastertide at Niagara Falls as guests of the lady's sister. Mr. E. J. Jenkins, B.A., of Toronto spent Easter at his home, Woodlands Farm, the Huron: road. ' Mr. W. B. Taylor of Toronto Uni- versity,' son of Mayor Taylor, was home for the Eastertide. ' Messrs. John Whidden, David Tough and James Campbell were m speiideer, and a big shot at a service club 4r two. ' ITe got tight once or twice.; TIe took aw occasionahtrip in the car for private purposes. He was given a hint or two to "fetch up." He was penitent -- for two or three months only to break out again. In his last pay envelope were these magic words "Services no longer re- quired." Getting tight and pinching rides may be excruciatingly finny, but they are hard on the pay envel- ope. By the way, this isn't a ser- mon. It's a package of brass tacks packed in hardpan. —Exeter Times -Advocate. ONTARIO DOESN'T WANT AN- • OTHER SESSION `OF LEGIS- LATURE LIKE THE LAST Now that Bruno Hauptmann is no more, and the 'Ontario Legislature has prorogued, the daily papers have to turn elsewhere for headings. But the reading public must heave a sigh of relief. The reports 'of' the Haupt- mann trial were not calculated to, give a favourable 'view of justice as it is administered south of the boun- dart' line; neither were the proceed- ings in the Legislature such as would add to the dignity and repute of Bri- tish parliamentary institutions, Too often the debtaes resembled a field night .at the Orillia Town Council. For this the responsibility must be shared by both Government and Op- position. The Premier sometimes seemed under the illusion that strong and unconventional language addsto the force of an argument; while the leaders of the Opposition .made the mistake of supposing that the most ef'fectiye retort was one given in kind. Unfortunately the Speaker proved unequal to the task of pre- serving decorum, and failed also to inspire the Opposition with belief in his impartiality. The Opposltion,suf- fered also, apparently, from the im- pression that "it is the business of an Opposition to oppose.' The gener- al public has advanced past that old idea—is, in fact, a little impatient with it. They want the business of the country done efficiently, and what they expect of the Opposition is that they will keep an eye on the Gov- ernment and bring out the facts, but not put obstacles in the way of ev- ery stove, good or bad, reasonable or unreasonable. Neither will there be sympathy with the threat to discip- line the Liberals who voted against the Separate School'. Act, by depriving them of patronage and a place in caucus. The mass of people rather admire and applaud a certain amount. oft independence. The Government would make martyrs and heroes of the bolters, and weaken themselves in the country, if not in the Legisla- ture, by attempting disciplinary measures. Altogether it is to be hop- ed that before another session rolls round, both Government and Opposi- tion will approach their respective dutiesin a different spirit. —Orillia Packet -Times. accepted and Wm. Coats was appoint- ed for the balance of this year. From The New Era, Apr. 24th, 1896: The other day • Master Harry Fitz - pain... . Medical attention was ne- cessary to check the poison and he has suffered a good deal of pian. A couple of inmates of the House of Refuge have been allowed to go on short visits to their friends, and the other morning` one who had been away presented himself at the office of the inspector and said to that per- son: "Look at nue. Am I sober?" The inspector replied that he.looked like a sober man. "Well," saidthe other, "I want to prove So-and-so a liar, for he said I'd come back drunk, and I want you to certify that I'm sober." Last week a horse belonging to Mr. W. Snell, Hulled, was sunstruck and died as a result. D. Flynn also lost a horse from some unknown cause and Peter Cook,. Goderich, was also a sufferer. R. Holmes is down on the London Conference program for an address on temperante. On. Wednesday evening the Clinton Bicycle Club was formed with the following officers: Hon. -President, G. D. McTaggart; president, Jacob Tay- lor; vice, M. McTaggart; captain, Frank Turnbull; lieutenants, A. Mor- rish, Lee Brown;' sec. -treasurer, J. Alien;, bugler; Ogle Cooper, W. Har- Iand and A. T. Cooper were appointed a resolutions and bylaws committee, and F. Evans. Mrs. Campbell, Miss Wilson, Miss Zada McRae, and Messrs. James Mc- Rae, 3. Saunders, McKenzie, H. Al- exander and Prof. Campbell assisted in a concert given in the Presbyterian church, Londesboro, on Monday ev- ening. i,,.'ee•'■V•PI iW'r■"■i!■'iYi•m•■iS a o . leiW."i e■ei o i•i°i'■ • e• i •i•i ••,o■■•i 4,• YOUR : 'O•R[.il 4NI) MINE by JOHN C. KIRKWOOD (Copyright) 411 ■°10• i s i lei ei•i i i �'i ■YiWi i i. ie■ W ■'i i•■i'■'■ei•■ o'WeWeles z e e■ r All of us who reach adult years ed them during the winter months;, need new experiences. We need to they had felt not merely` the urge but also the desirability to see and experience something new—to • get a fresh start, as it were. I'hold the view that old people- if persons in their, 60's can . be cal- led old -should go away from their homes to far places and to meet new people having different ways of life and different thoughts. Going away —going abroad, if it be possible — awakens the mind, and, it is mind and the spirit more than the body which need the refreshing and the expanding force of new sights, ex- periences, contacts and influences. Most, of us, I fancy, stay put, and the older we get, the less inclined do we become to go away from home. We become ratherrigid in our ways of living and thinking; We narrow rather than widen our activities. We da not want to multiply our acquain- tances and friends. We read more narrowly. We wear clothes longer. We dp not want to make changes in our home—changes in furniture, wall 'paper, rugs, equipments. This tendency in us to get set should be resisted, for it is a sign of shrinkage in us. When we let our life dry up, we become less interest- ing to people, and we have less . ca- pacity'for absorbing those - things meet new persons. We ought, if it e possible, to go to new places. We ieed to get new thoughts. We re- quire the refreshment of new stimu- ations. Perhaps it is, an appreciation of his need which causes families to do spring cleaning -not merely to get rid of dust and dirt and bad air, but also to change furniture about, and to put new paper on the wall, . and in other ways to smarten their homes. We make over our gardens to get rid of rubbish and dead stuff, and al- so to plant seed and flowers which will in due course give us bloom and joy. Easter issymbolic of resurrection —of new life. In the spirit of Eas- ter many went away from their homes for a week or so— perhaps southward, in order to get away from everything which cramped and chain - something dashing about the girls' hats of to -day! —The Toronto Star. From The New Era, Apr. 20th, 1911: The barbers of Clinton will close their shops . every Thursday a t twelve o'clock during the summer months, commencing on Apr. 27th. The new rector, Rev. C. E. Jeaktns, was present at and conducted all ser- vices in St. Paul's church on Easter Sunday. On Monday evening a largely -attended vestry meeting was held . In the absence of the rector. Mr. John Ransford presided and the following officers were elected: Rec- tor's warden, Major H. T. Rance; People's Warden, Mr. E. Ball; Vestry clerk, If.. Erskine; Finance commit- tee, J..Ransford, Win. Johnston, C. D. Dowding, Wm. Jackson, K. Ers- kine, A. J. Holloway, E. M. McLean, J. ' Dunford and J. Hartley. Sides - men: T. Rance, T. Herman, W. Jack- son; I. Rattenbury, D. Holloway, D. Clarkson, B. Moore, C. Copp, J. Hartley, P. Freeman, J. Armour, E. Ball, Ii. •Bartliff,• W. Ford, Grealis WHAT OTHER NEWSPAPERS ARE SAYING HUMAN NATURE People would resent newspaper ad- vertising too, if they were forced to read it before reading the. comics. —Quebec Chronicle -Telegraph. REFORESTATION NEED Some idea of the need for refores- tation may be gained from the fact thatthe world uses each year fifty per cent. more wood than is grown. —Chatham News. DOES HE MEAN 81E? The Peterboro Examiner, in a medi- tative mood, turns editorial pen to reflection on the impulse of church- goers to duck into the back seats, leaving the distressed .cleric to spill his pearls of wisdom over the bare front benched. Why they do it, the Examiner does not attempt to _ex - '••plain, leaving the reader to figure it out for himself. It is an interesting problem in psychology, but not un- fathomable. It is clearly' stated by those who ought to know that the first stage in the process of redemp- tion is an }unqualified consciousness of guilt and, when the pulpit thunders its denunciation of sin and hints et fire and brimstone for tardy peni- tents, it is the way of the wavering listener to lean over. to the missus and whisper "D'y think he means me?" And the answer he gets sounds less withering in the remoteness of a back seat. -Estevan (Sask.) Mercury. LOCAL MINISTER ACQUIRES •PRAYER BOOK TRANSLATION Rev. Dr. Anderson Now Owns Auto- graphed Volume By Famous Scho- lar.., which can enlarge one's life and, add Bearing the autograph of one • ,of to its enjoyments and its values. the great ` divines and scholars of We need—really need—to get new MILLION BUSHELS WHEAT SHIPPED FROM GODERICH The Goderich Elevator and Transit Company will ship, by rail, 1,000,000 bushels of No. 2 Northern Wheat to the seaboard. The wheat, a new type that has been developed, called Gar- net, and which was not approved by millers, was purchased by New `York exporters.—Goderich Star. THAT'S THAT We have just heard of., a young man who was the recipient of a good salary. He was a likeable chap who had a way of making friends and of being a good fellow generally: •He was given the use of a good car fo> business purposes, with gaso,. line and oil and repairs thrown in: He was a good dresser and 'a good the Anglican Church, a volume con- taining the Greek translations - of prayers and hymns has come into the possession of the Rev. Frank Anderson of Huron College. It was thoughts, and new thoughts enter us when we read thoughtful books and hear thoughtful addresses. There- fore it is good for us all to seek out books which challenge us, which tax given him by the Rev. Mr. R. Perdue our brain, which are not always easy for many years rector of Walkerton, to read. Reading books which merely who secured it from the Rev. Hans S. giveus pleasure or amusement is all Hill, of. Ardee, Ireland. right, but our reading should take The book, in perfect condition, was in books of serious character. • I am printed just 50 years ago and is the not recommending the reading of work of the vicar of Much Marcie, a books just to add to our knowledge— village on the borders of Hereford- though, of course, such reading, with shire in the west of England. The such an objective, is all right. The vicar, who was a master of arts of books which refresh and enlarge us Cambridge, spent his spare moments —and enrich us — are books which in the quiet village pursuing his make us think. classical studies. He was one of the I am beginning to think that the best of Greek scholars. Among oth- 'more circulation our popular maga- 'er things he translated into Greek sines achieve, the worse is it for verse some of the outstanding parts the general public; "magazines can of • the Church of England prayer I waste an enormous amount of time. book, the general confession, the Lord's Prayer, the Te Demi, the A- postles' Creed and the litany as well as a number of hymns. To do such work idiomatically and now and then we hear anew preach - yet faithfully is not an easy task and er. calls for soma genius and a great Listening to the radio is not con - deal of patience. Finally the work ducive to mental growth or refresh - was completed. The University of ment. Most of us want, to be enter - Oxford published it in 1876, the se- cond edition appeared later the same year and a third edition 10 years lat- er. At this time in England there lived Edward Harold Browne, Bishop of Ely, the author of a monumental work on Christian doctrine, entitled "An Exposition of the Thirty -Nine Articles." In 1873 Bishop Browne was appointed to the see of Winchester where he automatically became clerk of the closet of the King. In 1886 the Bishop of Winchester was presented by the vicar of Much Morale with a copy of the third edi- tion of his Greek verses, just off the press. The bishop duly entered with his own hand his: name on the flyleaf in front, using the official designa-' tion which his predeceassors had us- ed for centuries, "E. H. Winton" and adding "from the author." Whether, when the bishop died in 1891 his librray was sold or other- wise disposed of, it is not known, but the book passed into the hands of an Irish minister. Now it is -in the library of Rev. Dr: Frank Anderson of Huron College. —London Free Press. ANYTHING BUT A SENTIMENT A local man, who suffered a slight weak spell while attending church on Sunday morning last, was kindly es- corted from the edifice by his banker and his druggist, and to add to • the irony of the episode, an insurance man and the undertaker followed the trio out .of the structure. The gentleman in question was no doubt ill from the oppressiveness of the sac- red edifice, but the professions of the quartette who went to his aid were anything but a stimulant to revive him so that he might not, •Pass from this vale of tears. —Walkerton Herald -Times. THE HATS GIRLS ARE WEARING A lady schoolteacher in addres- sing the assembled school teaching intelligence of the province stated yesterday that, the present fashion in women's hats showed how prone women and girls are to follow fads. The subject is one that an editor approaches with misgivings. When the school teaching intelligence of the province is in the city •editors'. become conscious of their deficient cies. They may hope to get by at ordinary times, but not with such an audience as. we .now have in Toronto. Yet there is an urge in us, to pick up enough courage to ask, what 18 wrong with the kind of hats the girls are wearing these days?, We like them; we mean we like,the hats. They impart a saucy insouciance to the girls who wear them. The hat of 1936 givesthe girl of the moment a dashing effect. It is off on one side of her head; it may cover one eye;' it may carry a splash of color.' The present writer, while still seeing hats. although scarcely 'discerning girls at all, must confess that he likes the hats these young persons are .wear- ing. The only kind of hats he liked better were the big Gainsboroughs of thirty or forty years ago with os- trich feather on them. Those were lovely hats, gracefully worn and worth turning around to see. Still,. it cannot, be denied that there is If we are church -goers, then it is likely to be beneficial to us if every The Beaver is Doing His Bit The Canadian beaver, typifying the industry and perserverance'of the na- tion, is assisting in a practical way rehabilitation of Southern Saskatche- wan drought areas. Working their way to the south. and westward in large numbers, the busy little animals have built many dams o n small streams, creating much-needed reservoirs. Some. man- made dams that had fallen into dis- repair during drought years have. been rebuilt, by the beavers. One farmer noticed after a heavy rain in the autumn a dam he hacl built years ago and part of which had been carried away was once more holding back the water. He found a colony of beaver had patch- ed it up with old timber, mud and willows.. Watching the colony at work on a bright moonlight night, he was struck by the efficiency of the beaver. Each animal had its: own particular job and there was no duplication of ef- fort. One excavated mud and loaded it on the broad tail's of the "truck- ers." The. "truckers'' scrambled to the unloading point, where the mud was scraped from the tail and pas- sed on to other beavers, which used it to bind willows and timbers Into a wall. Other animals were upstream clip- ping off willows and floating • them downstream to the dam site. tained-not stimulated —by radio. i•Iundreds of thousands of persons in this country turn on their radio to keep it on for hours every evening. If they did not have radio, their time and their mind would probably be given to something else. There would be more reading done. Radio has to be regarded as a public enemy. Those of social qualities tend to establish small groups made up of friends of like interests and occupa- tion. This group of 'persons meets just as often as possible. But sel- dom is there any stimulation in these meetings.Each meeting, with Sts conversations and employments, is much the same as the previous meet- ing. It would be better if, 'in•addi- tion to such meetings, there were meetings with fresh persons, with diverse interests. A man' in Toronto ,has been doing something fine during the past two winters. He invited to his home a number of persons who may not have known eaoh other previously-. university students, lawyers, busi- ness men, writers. These men met for the purpose of discussing some matter of current interest—political in character, possibly. I'was at sea- eral of these gatherings, and was. thrilled by the exhibits of original thinking on the part of all present. The thought was, not always mature thought, but it • was vigorous. If every community had every winter informal meetings of 'this sort—small groups of men and women—met for the consideration of matters of cur- rent interest, it would be good for that community and for all sharing in the discussions. eAPS14(1)17•••:-.Ctli•IL ............. ARING \' EWPON The eye looks up from below; why not the camera? �tONSIDER the worm and his wholly because of the position from. u viewpoint—he's in on the ground floor. Viewpoint means much, and is an important factor in picture making. It has much to do with the perspec- tive we get in pictures. If the per- spective is not pleasing to the eye it will not be pleasing in the picture, and if the effect as seen from the viewpoint of the camera lens is odd or startling it will be recorded just so in the picture. While distortion is to be avoided in the truly artistic photograph, it is possible to obtain many inter- esting shots from unusual ,points of view, even though the perspective be a bit violent. Expert photograph- ers are today seeking and finding new angles from which to make their pictures, and for the most Part the results are pleasing as well as attractive and unusual. Many amateurs are also finding a new interest in picture making from this effort to get something different. They, too, are "shooting" from posi- tions that are daring and new. May a worn: look at a golf ball? A worm's -eye -view picture like the one above is dramatic and unusual 11111111111 which it is taken. To get a similar picture the cainera should be held,. about eight inches from the ground with the golf ball far enough away to assure good focus. A very small lens opening should be used and the ' exposure timed accordingly. This, after all, is a faithful rendering of the perspective that the eye sees from this lens viewpoint. Similarly with the shot of the men and the derrick atop the new building. Try a number of worm's -eye views, some bird's-eye views (even a slight elevation will give the lat- ter effect) and, shall we say, some cross-eyed views or snaps from odd angles. Many of them probably will be of no value, until you have been_ taught by experience to see the most effective combination of angle and subject for a given picture_ Doubtless the most of them will be: criticized as crazy -looking, but, after all, what does it matter? The an- swer is that you were after some- thing uncommon, startling, weird. or fantastic, and you got it. You will find experiments in this sort. of picture taking of fascinating in- terest. JOHN VAN C IIILDCR. CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF CANADA'S FIRST RAILWAY On July 21 of this year there will the extension from Caughnawaga,. be celebrated a centennial event of opposite Lachine, to Moore's Junction, great significence, the opening of N.Y. was opened in 1852, known as. Canada's first steam railway. Com- the Lake St. Louis and Province Line, prising fourteen and a half miles of Railroad. This line, by using a- line south of the St. Lawrence River, railroad ferry across the St. Law almost opposite Montreal, the Chain- rence River, made a connection be -- plain an'd St. Lawrence railroad was tween Montreal and the United States• built from Laprairie to St. Johns, railroads to the south. This enlarg- Que, to supersede the stage route ed line, later known as the Montreal_ between these two points. It was the and New York Railroad, was absorb -- first link in the chain of railways ed by the pioneer Champlain and St.. that developed into the Canadian Na- Lawrence, or rather by the Montreal tional System. ' and Champlain, as it was later, ' The tendency in most of us is to becomementally lazy—to think nar- rowly—to keep out of the mind ev- erything which will strain it. Also, we tend toward physical laziness; : we do not like to be taken out of our familiar groove - out of • our rut. When it is suggested to us that we go to new places, we rebel, just be- cause to go to new places will tax us physically, emotionally, mentally. We do not want to be; sharpened by the whetstone of new experiences, new associations, new environments, new employments. We very much prefer to remain dull. I am not saying that our lives should be directed by outsiders, or that we should do everything which we are asked to do. What I am'- try- ing to say is that in our programme of life, there ought to be new things to do and to think about, just because what is new is stimulating. I want to finish this contribution to The'Newe-Record with some mind - Freight and passenger service known. south of 'St. Johns were then opera':-! The Grand Trunk Railway Corn- ed by boat down the Richelieu River pony of Canada came on the scene to points on Lake Champlain, and by incorporation in 1852, the origin - thence down the Hudson River to al aim of this company being to New York. It is interesting to note form a railway connection between' in regard to transportation that evenIthe ports of Quebec, Montreal and'. in those early days a great deal of the Great Lakes. Lines were con it was international in character, there being much traffic, both pas- senger and freight, from Montreal by ferry across the St. Lawrence River to Laprairie, then by overland transit to St. Johns, and thence by water to points across the interna- tional border. Three ferries were operated across the St. Lawrence River in that early period—between Montreal and St. Lambert; between Montreal and Longueuil; between Lachine and Caughnamaga. In win- ter all transport was by sleigh over the ice. This pioneer railway' of 1836 soon provided the impetus for further rail construction in several directions. After a few years of operation, it was decided to lengthen the Line and rails where extended in 1951 north to St. Lambert (directly across the river from Montreal) in one direction, and south to Rouses Point on Lake Champlain in the other. In 1847 a line known as the St. Lawrence and Atlantic was built from Longueuil, on the south shore of the St. Law- rence River nearly opposite Montreal, eastward to St. Hyacinthe and by 1851 it had reached Richmond, then on to Sherbrooke, Que, in 1852, and by the following year it was extend- ed to Island Pond, Vermont. Here it connected with the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad built between Island Pond and Portland, Maine, completed in 1853, this line connect- ing with the Boston and' Maine Rail- road. By 1847 the Montreal and La- chine line also was completed and challenging questions: You can't see beauty with miser- able eyes. There is no beauty in Tomorrow thatwas not garnered from Today. Peoplewho have the hardest time are the people who take things easy. Do the thing and you shall have the power. Anywhere, provided that it be for- ward. .. 4530111111 . ' Loss on interests, not years, is old' age. strutted from these important points. in Quebec westward through the pro- vince of Ontario to Sarnia at the in- ternational border, with brandhea,, built and acquired, afterward radiat- ing in all directions. By 1873 the Grand Trunk had absorbed' all the railway lines included in the earlier• period of railway building centering.. around Montreal and points to the south and east, including the first railway and adjacent lines. The Grand Trunk was, in turn, absorbed. «, on January 30, 1923, by the Canadian. National Railways, which thereby in- herited •these pioneer lines. :It is worthy of note that part of the original line of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railraod, the progenitor of the Canadian National System,. still exists as a right-of-way, form- ing a tiny part of the 24,000 miles of line now used by the Canadian National Railways. ,From the acorn grows the oak, a mighty tree which spreads its bran- ches in all directions. From the puny• efforts of Canada's first venture in railroad building has grown a mighty- transportation ightytransportation system, spreading its tines across the Dominion to all MI - portant centres and beyond to vast colonization areas. When the first railway was laid down in Canada in 1836 the vision of neither statesmen nor railway builders had envisaged the linking of the two oceans. The figures 1836-1936 are simply dates but what a wealth of signifi- cance they contain historically in the• development of Canada in its many aspects, but especially in the advance• of transportation facilities, without. which that development would have' been impossible. A review of this. period, with its dramatic moves on the chess -board of railway ` building, reveals the fact that one hundred years have marched by since the in- augural run of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad on July 21, • 1836, from Laprairie to St. Johns,. Que. For this occasion and later,. use, the tiny "Dorchester" locomo- tive, built by Stephenson of Liver- pool, England, iver-pool,',.England, was brought across. the. Atlantic, hauling • the carriage like coaches on the first section of', the train which conveyed many of • the three hundred •passengers who, attended the momentous event oft the opening ceremony.