Page:Public School History of England and Canada (1892).djvu/264

 long time Canada had few means of taking her products to distant markets, and was dependent on the boats that navigated her lakes and rivers. This state of things now began to change rapidly. The need of better means of carrying goods and the products of farm and shop to market led to the building of railroads through the more thickly settled parts of the country. The first line built was one between La Prairie and St. John’s in Lower Canada, which was opened for traffic in 1836. The first road begun in Upper Canada was the Northern Railway, the first sod of which was turned in 1851. Then came in rapid succession the Great Western and the Grand Trunk, the latter receiving from the Government important aid. These roads helped very much in opening up for settlement the north, west, and east of Canada, and made the farms of the settlers much more valuable. In 1852 the Municipal Loan Fund Act was passed, which gave the Government power to lend money to towns, villages, and other municipalities for local improvements, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings. The terms were very easy, and many municipalities got so heavily in debt that they were unable to pay back to the Government either principal or interest. There are many municipalities in Canada that yet feel the burden of a foolish extravagance at this time. Besides, there was in Canada, as elsewhere, a kind of railway craze, and a great deal of money was spent on roads that did not pay for their construction. Parliament was too free in making grants to railroads and other public works, and the result was that Canada began to have a heavy public debt, which has ever since been steadily growing. In 1851, another event of importance took place: the Canadian Government was given control of the Post-office, and immediately established a uniform rate of postage—threepence on every half-ounce—and, besides, introduced the use of postage stamps. Before this, when a letter was sent or received, postage had to be paid in money. In 1846 England adopted Free Trade as her policy, and a few years after threw open her markets to all countries on the same terms. For a time this injured Canadian farmers and producers, who had not as good means of carrying their products to English markets as the Americans. But with the building of railroads and the establishment of better lines of steamships the evil was lessened, and Canada prospered greatly, increasing rapidly in both wealth and population, This prosperity was partly