THE RAILWAY BELT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Looking over the statutes I find the following references to lands dependent upon the position of certain railways.

In the Statues of Ontario, 52 Vic., Chap. 35, Sec. 4, we find. :— "Whereas the construction of colinization railways will promote the settlement, and increase the value of certain unsettled lands of the Province; and whereas it is desireable that a portion of the said lands should be set apart and sold for the purpose of forming a fund to recoup the Province in respect of moneys expended in aiding railways-there is hereby set apart for the purpose of being sold and the proceeds applied to form the fund aforesaid—a tract of land at least ten miles in width on each side of the lines of railways to which aid is granted, as aforesaid, or on each side of the lines of the said railways, as the same may be finally located and established."

It will be noticed in the above that the lands appropriated for railway purposes remain vested in the Government, that is, are not granted to the Railway Company, and furthermore that it is optional with the Government to extend the limits of such lands beyond ten miles from the railway, and hence there is no definite limit to the "railway belt" as we will find it to be the case in British Columbia.

In the contract and agreement made between the Dominion of Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, amongst other things the Company was granted 25,000,000 acres of land. 44 Vic., Chap. 1, Sec. 11, says :- "The grant of land hereby agreed to be made to the Company, shall be so made in alternate sections of 640 acres each, extending back 24 miles deep, on each side of the railway, from Winnipeg to Jasper House, in so faras such lands shall be vested in the Government,-the Company receiving the sections bearing uneven numbers....

Although the above description lacks precision and accuracy yet its obvious intention is that the Company is to receive lands within 24 miles of the railway. The lack of precision alluded to is that as there will be very many fractional uneven numbered sections along the 24 mile limit, no provision is made for the grant thereof as fractional sections, although by another part of the same section the Government

may grant lands outside of the 24 miles to the Company, in order to supply, or partially supply, any deficiency of the 25,000,000 acres.

In passing, the inaccuracy may be referred to: it is, in stating "in alternate sections of 640 acres each." This, according to our surveys, is an impossibility; better it would have been to have said, “in alternate sections of the system of Dominion Land Surveys."

But to return to the apparent limit of the 24 miles. By the subsequent part of the above section, the limit is practically obliterated, so that there can be no occasion for determining or establishing such limit on the ground.

The only definite limit of a railway belt in Canada, so far as known to the writer, is that of British Columbia.

We have in Article IV, paragraph 2, of the Convention between Great Britain and Russia in 1825, a belt (South-eastern Alaska) somewhat similar in its conditions to the railway belt in British Columbia, in "That wherever the summit of the mountains, which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Russia, as above mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom."

By the Imperial Order in Council of May 16th, 1871, British Columbia conveys to the Dominion in trust ". not to exceed 20 miles on each side of said line" (railway line).

"Twenty miles on each side of said line" is a simple and unequivocal description of the railway belt; its demarcation on the ground, however, irrespective of mountains, is by no means so simple.

In 1885 and 1886 the Dominion Government had an accurate azimuth survey made of the line of the railway through British Columbia. This survey was adjusted to the astronomic determinations of latitude and longitude at Port Moody, Kamloops, Revelstoke and Field.

From this adjustment resulted the position of the railway with reference to the net of section, township and range lines of Dominion Lands projected over the railway belt, and hence the position of every point of the line of railway from the nearest section lines became known

For uniformity of descriptions of points, the north and east limits of section in which the point lay were used as reference lines, instead of the nearest section lines.

The foregoing furnished the data for the computation of the limits of the railway belt.

The first step in the latter computation was to ascertain the position, with reference to the system of Dominion Lands, of the extremity of the radius of 20 miles, extending from and at right angles successively to the courses of the railway, and at the beginning of each course.

From the azimuth of the chord of the line of railway was obtained the direction of the 20-mile radius. This was then resolved into its equi valents of latitude and longitude in terms of townships, sections and chains; and ranges, sections and chains respectively, due regard being had for the curvature of the earth.

From this long and tedious computation evolve a series of points referred to the co-ordinates of Dominion Lands. Many of these points will fall, however, inside of the railway belt, although distant 20 miles from the particular point of the railway line from which they have been computed.

The railway belt resolves itself into this:" that tract of land lying on each side of the line of railway, the distance from any point on the limit of said tract to the nearest point in said line of railway shall not exceed 20 miles."

When we take into account the curving of the railway, a little consideration will show that the extremity of a 20-mile radius at right angles to the railway will not necessarily give a point on the limit of the railway belt.

The railway belt is the area covered by a radius of 20 miles moving at right angles to the line of railway on each side thereof; but in following the various curves the radius is continually swaying backward and forward, in the general forward motion; thereby making complicated intersections on the limits of the railway belt.

These intersections must be computed ere surveyors can be sent to establish the limits on the ground.

There are very nearly 6,000 positions of termini of radii to be computed for the railway belt in British Columbia, corresponding to half that number of azimuth stations along the railway. As an illustration of how the position, in terms of the Dominion Linds, of the extremity

of the 20 mile radius is determined, the following example is given: As data we have the position of the azimuth stations of the railway referred to the system of Dominion Lands.

BOUNDARIES OF TWENTY MILE BELT.

Column 5 KCcsZ-Corr.6 KCosZ + Corr.7 K.SinZ

Z = azimuth of radius.

gives the meridian ordinate to the north. gives the ordinate to be measnred south.

is made + when to the west, and – when to be east.

The following is an explanation of the nineteen columns of the Computation Sheet :

Column 1. Gives the number of the azimuth survey station on the line

of railway.

2. Expresses in chains the meridian ordinate to the north.

Column 3 In this T., S. show the nearest number of townships and

tiers of sections greater than K Cos Z-Corr., and Ch.
shows in chains the excess of T., S. over K Cos Z - Corr.;
or in other words, how far the northern extremity of K
Cos. Z - Corr. is from the northern limit of the section in
which the extremity or point is situated.

4. This gives the position in latitude, expressed in terms of the
system of Dominion Lands, of the azimuth survey station
on the railway. The S indicates the tier of sections, be-
ginning at the south side of the township in which the
station is situated, and the Ch. the number of chains it
is distant from the north side of the tier of sections.
5. Is the addition (or subtraction) of the two preceding
columns. If the sum of the chains is greater that 80.50,
80.50 must be subtracted and S reduced by one section.
6. Expresses in chains the easting or westing of the radius.
from the station on the railway.

7. Expresses in chains the convergence of meridians, obtained
with argument-distance of Q from base line and argu-
ment K Sin Z.

8. Is the addition of the two immediately preceding columns, and expressed in ranges, tiers of sections and chains.

9. Gives the posi ion in longitude of the station on the railway, in terms of ranges, tiers of sections and chains, west of the Initial Meridian of such tiers.

10. Is the position given in column 9 reduced on the meridian to the Correction Line intervening between Q and the station.

11. Gives the jog on the Correction Line at the reduced position of the station.

12. Gives the position of the station referred to the north (or south) side of Correction Line.

13. Gives the convergence of meridians for the distance expressed by chains in the last column to bring it to Q.

14. Is the addition of the last two columns and gives the position of Q in ranges, tiers of sections, and chains on the parallel of Q west from the Initial Meridian. The point Q is on the meridian of the station and distance from it K Cos Z Corr.