Cape Breton's Magazine

built to carry the coal either to Sydney or Louis? burg, and the Dominion Coal Company would not a- gree to its being shipped on their line. So mining operations ceased. In November surveys of the land preparatory to building the railway were completed, and a route 12 miles to Louisburg and 16 miles to Sydney was mapped out. But knowledgeable engineers said that a shorter line, with a much better grade, could have been planned. At the same time the mon? ey for the bond issue had run out, and the working force was considerably reduced. Most of the money had been spent on clearing the town site and con? structing the hotels and other buildings. The Eng? lish bond holders were unwilling to advance any further capital. The president tried to persuade the New England Gas and Coke Company to buy into the operation with the idea of supplying their plant at Everett, Massachusetts, with Broughton coal, but without success. Gallery & Frame Shop Rn Cumadair A Fulf-Service Frame Shop: with a Good Selection of Frames and Mattes for Photography * Needlepoint * All Art Work A Gallery: "See the Island through the Eyes of Local Artists" Corner of 10th Street and Pellett Avenue New Waterford 862-8211 BELLE ISLE LINCOLN MERCURY -SENIOR SERVICE- Any Make Car Care Plan for Senior Citizens FREE Loaner Car on Overnight Repairs FREE Pick Up and Delivery of Your Car FREE Tow to Our Service Department FREE 20% Off on Ford Parts FREE 20% Off on Repairs Done Here FREE, Li fe Insurance on Car Loans FREE I. D. Card A further complication was the fact that the Cape Breton Coal, Iron and Railway Company did not have title to a piece of land in the area known as "Lease No. 188." At the outset Col. Mayhew had been told that lack of title, to this property would seriously affect the Company's ability to work the seam of coal which they contemplated de? veloping, but that it would eventually pass into the hands of his firm. This did not occur, however, and it was learned that the long established Domin? ion Coal Company was endeavouring to get posses? sion of it in order to block the development of their new competitor. At this point, in March 1906, Lancaster resigned as general manager. Col. Mayhew tried desperately to save the enter? prise. He saw the Honourable George Murray, the premier of Nova Scotia, who promised him the regu? lar subsidy of $3,200 per mile (given by the gov? ernment to companies building railways) in order to help him finance the construction of a line to Sydney. Very soon afterwards a delegation from the Sydney Board of Trade visited the premier and asked him to increase the subsidy to $5,000 per mile. He refused, saying that if the Cape Breton Coal, Iron and Railway Company was capable of the heavy costs required to dig and operate a new mine it ought not to require the relatively few thou? sand dollars implied in the request for the in? creased subsidy. The Premier was no doubt also mindful of the disfavour with which the Dominion Coal Company would regard any special consideration given the Cape Breton Coal, Iron and Rail? way Company. On 17 May 1906, Col. Mayhew sailed for England, say? ing he would be back in six weeks. He left his son, Horace Junior, in charge at Broughton. On a Sunday morning that summer, in the "Broughton Arms Hotel," young Horace committed suicide. BELLE ISLE LINCOLN MERCURY SALES LTD. 195 Prince St., Sydney 'At the Tracks" 539-9292 (26) In the fall of 1906 an effort was made to reorganize the Com? pany. A new manager, James Hamp- son, a mine official from the north of England, was hired, and he recommended that the mining be carried on at a site two miles east of the first working, which was hemmed in by areas con? trolled by the other companies. Before the end of the year 6,000 tons of coal were dug and banked on the surface, but the mine area was closed down again the following May. Operations were resumed in 1913 but they ceased in January, 1915. From time to time since then there have been some desultory mining activities at Broughton, but they have been on a small scale. A story in the Montreal Star on 25 May 1907 described Broughton as "a mining town partly built before people were ready to occu? py it, before the employment which was to furnish its prospec? tive residents with a livelihood was sufficiently advanced to war? rant the construction, and which ...was built in the wrong loca? tion."