REID, Stu Robert Gillespie, a Newfound land railway contractor: b. Coupar-Angus, Scotland, about 1842; d. Montreal, Canada, 3 June 1908. In 1865 he went to Australia, where he took part in gold-mining and public works; in 1871 came to America and constructed many railways in the United States and Canada. The heaviest section of the Canadian Pacific was built by him; and he was prominent also in bridge-work, constructing the international railway bridge over the Rio Grande, the inter national bridge across the Niagara and (1886) the Lachine bridge over the Saint Lawrence. In 1893 he made a contract with the colony of Newfoundland whereby he was to build a rail way from Saint John's to Port-au-Basque to be completed in three years at $15,600 per mile. For the further consideration of a land-grant of 5,000 acres per mile of construction, he was to maintain and operate the railway for 10 years. He contracted with the colonial govern ment in 1898 to operate all the railways of the island for 50 years, maintaining them in a safe and efficient manner, on condition that the rail ways should become his property at the end of that period. He was to obtain also 4,500,000
acres of land concessions additional and the government land telegraph lines. On his part he contracted also to build and operate seven steamers transporting passengers and goods. at various points in the island; to buy and operate the Saint John's dry-dock; to build and operate an electric street railway in Saint John's; to pave a specified portion of Saint John's; and to pay $1,000,000 within one year from the date of the signing of the contract. In fact, he be came the real owner of the island and was popularly known as Reid. Sir Robert Bond, the Liberal leader, protested against the contract; a material revision of the contract was made favorable to the colony and the property transferred to the Reid-Newfoundland Company. He was knighted in 1907.