Blog Borg Collective: Squabbling land grabbing CPR 2014. 1893 Telegrams ... Arbutus .... was the secrecy of the Crown and others compromised?

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February 26, 1893 to April 18, 1893

We started to read this 1893 Census Telegram document in July and with the weather being so hot we put it aside for a rainy day.

It's not raining today but we took another look at the 'Telegram' because last week Vancouver City announced that it was going back to Court to settle the CPR Arbutus Corridor fiasco once and for all.

From our perspective of reading the 'Telegram' there appears to be an association, a link to be made that conversations between Government officials and insiders and corporations who were supposedly 'building' Canada from the ground up, were being 'overheard' by a third party, the railway, using 50 year old technology created in 1836, whereby every telegram that was sent or received, came across the counters of the CPR ... holding onto the juiciest parts???? for future references.

The volumes of telegrams must have been boring stuff to keep track of, not just the Census details, but also mining, fishing, staking property claims, mineral reports, HBC forays into the wilds of BC, Vancouver Three Greenhorns activities, acres of land purchased for a song (Arbutus Corridor) and all done with the magical sound of 'Dot Dash Dash Dot Dot Dash .....'

Morse Code Translator, complete with sound, converts the written words of the Hon. J. H. Turner to J. Lowe, Deputy Minister Agriculture, Ottawa: February 26th, 1893:

Please Wire Total Indians on Mainland, B.C. Also total Indians on Vancouver Island

.--. .-.. . .- ... . / .-- .. .-. . / - --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / -- .- .. -. .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / -... .-.-.- -.-. .-.-.- / .- .-.. ... --- / - --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / ...- .- -. -.-. --- ..- ...- . .-. / .. ... .-.. .- -. -..

Reply:

Total Indians on Mainland, 29,460. On Vancouver Island, 5,742.

- --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / -- .- .. -. .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / ..--- ----. --..-- ....- -.... ----- .-.-.- / --- -. / ...- .- -. -.-. --- ..- ...- . .-. / .. ... .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / ..... --..-- --... ....- ..--- .-.-.-

Wikipedia on Morse Code

Timeline of historical events in British Columbia while Telegrams were making the rounds within :
18xx
1832 A.C. Anderson of the HBC arrives at the Columbia River
1833 Fort McLoughlin established in 1833 in Lama Passage, it was later abandoned in 1843
1834 James Douglas becomes Chief Trader of the HBC
1835 Coal deposit at Fort Rupert publicized

1836 HBC Chaplain and missionary Reverend Herbert Beaven arrives at Fort Vancouver
1836 Small pox epidemic in northern BC and southern Alaskan coast (to 1838)
18xx

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Backgrounder to the first time that Vancouver City approached the bench....

The Chief Justice — Introduction Arbutus Corridor

Over a century ago, in 1886, the provincial Crown granted the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (“CPR”) a corridor of land for the construction of a railway line from False Creek, in the City of Vancouver (“City”), south to Steveston, on Lulu Island (named after Miss Lulu Sweet, a young actress in the first theatrical company to visit British Columbia). It is this corridor of land, now known as the “Arbutus Corridor”, that lies at the heart of this appeal.

In 1902, a railway line was built on the corridor. As the century advanced, traffic declined. From time to time, there was talk of using the corridor for an urban transit line, but nothing came of it and, ultimately, the line was placed elsewhere. In 1999, CPR formally began the process of discontinuing rail operations on the corridor under the Canada Transportation Act, S.C. 1996, c. 10 . SNIP

Were there Privacy regulations that prevented CPR from 'listening in' on the contents of telegrams between governments and companies? Did CPR shred the information as soon as it was sent/received; or did the CPR keep the scraps of paper for audit purposes, making sure that the right charges for service was done; or did they hang on to the important tidbits when it came to 'negotiating' for the Arbutus Corridor in 1886?

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Must be pretty tough on CPR having all their discarded 'heritage' property, waiting for development, with no means to tweak their uses for public use.

Like their Telegraphists Field Office, situated within Yoho National Park, west of the double Spiral Tunnels, staging grounds for the rail yards, is just waiting for a cycling/cross country outfitting camp to be developed....

Heritage!!!! FOR SALE by CPR, the catch is they want it moved off their Right of Way property