Blair Collection > Celtic magazine > Volume 5

THE EDITOE IN CANADA. 359
find that the Governments on "both sides are not only parties to it,
but actual participators in the spoil. You pay a toll of 25 cents, or a
shilling, for crossing the railway suspension bridge on the carriage-way
below. If you take a cab you pay another shilling for the driver and
two for the horse and cab. The bridge belongs to the Governments of
these great countries, and they actually condescend to the meanness of
giving cabby back half the fare, through their officials, on his return
journey, for inveigling his passenger across. Could anything be more
contemptible 1 You feel ashamed of all the Canadian Governments that
have hitherto permitted this, and feel sure this mean and disgraceful fact
only wants to be known to make the American Government ashamed of
itself. It is not to be Avondered at that the private Company, to whom
belongs the new suspension bridge, should follow the example of these
great Governments, and act equally mean. You are charged 4s to be taken
down, in an oilskin dress, under the Falls on either side of the river. Of
this the blackmailing cabman gets one-half. You are charged 2s for
going down in an elevator at various points along the banks. Of this the
same robber gets a moiety. If he drives you to a merchant's shop he gets
twenty-five per cent, of the full amount of your purchases, and so on
throughout the whole place ; and you have of course to pay indirectly for
all the extra charges. If aU the merchants and others combined to resist
the extortion, the cabman would soon find out how powerless he was ; but
this can hardly be expected so long as two great Governments
succumb to him, and continue to act art and part in his system ^ of
blackmail, and, shame to say, unblushingly share the profits with him.
A tramway along the banks of the river, which could easily be constructed,
would soon settle cabby, be a great boon to the public, and a source of
certain profit and large dividends to its promoters. Let Canada wipe its
hands of this blot— this hotbed of iniquity — whatever others may do ;
, for until she does she cannot claim to have a Government fit to have
: charge of a decent parish, much less of a great nation, priding itself upon
its advancement in the march of modern progress and civilisation. I
must yet ask the reader to accompany me from Niagara to New York,
Philadelphia, across the Atlantic, and home to Inverness. A. M.
GAELIC BOOKS FOE THE MELBOUENE EXHIBITION.—
Maclachlan & Stewart, publishers, Edinburgh, have, we understand, sent
by the s.s. "Potosi" a neat case, containing specimens of most of the
Gaelic books at present in cu-culation. The collection, which numbers
about 110 vols., embraces among other works a History of the Highland
Clans and Eegiments, Mackenzie's Beauties of Gaelic Poetry, Sinclair's
[ Gaelic Songster, Norman Macleod's Carraid nan Gaidheal, Mrs Mackellar's
Gaelic and English Poems, Gaelic Dictionaries and Grammars, Mackenzie's
History of the Clan Mackenzie, Brahan Seer, and Historical Tales and
Legends of the Highlands, by the same author. As also copies of the
Gaelic Bible, Confession of Faith, Pilgrim's Progress, and other religious
works. A few of the volumes are in Clan Tartan binding, others in calf
I and gold, and the case, which we had an opportunity of inspecting very
: recently, is sure to prove an object of interest to the Celts of Victoria who
j may attend the Melbourne Exhibition,