CROFTER TO MILLIONAIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 January 1916, Page 10

CROFTER TO MILLIONAIRE.

HOW A SCOT GOT ON. There lately arrived in London a mun whoso career provides yet another amaziny illustration of the energy, perseverance, and shrewdness of the modern Scot. His name is Mr. John William Stewart, known in Canada us "Jack" Stewart, the millionaire railway contractu'. Four years ago he. bought from the Puke of Sutherland SO,OOO acres of the Sutherland estates, with an annual rentroll of .£2500, which anions' oilier things included Mr. Siewart's birthplace, a tiny cottage at Drumbeg, in the parish of Assynt. A few months later Mr. Stewait bought from the Duke for £OO,OOO .i further large tract of laud in the pariah of Assynt, which included house property, a deer forest, a sheep farm, and small holdings, with a rental of £2700. Yet it is not so many years ago since Mr. Stewart landed in Quebec with just 10s in his pocket. This was after lie had tried farming and engineering in Scotland, and decided that the ('clonics otl'ercd him more scope for (lie realisation of his ambitions. Obtaining work as a farm hand on a French-Canadian farm, lie untimately settled down in British Columbia with the money he had saved, where he found work on the railway. Afterwards lie drifted to Montana, in the. States, and made such good use of his opportunities that he was able to enter into partnership villi' two wellknown IrU,V.-Ameriean contractors, Foley and Walsh, which has since become one of the foremost lirms of its kind in the. West.

A patriot to the backbone, Mr. Stewart lias utilised some of his wealth to equip a Highland regiment in British Columbia, whore he is opening up a great new railroad, and has furthermore contributed £20,000 to the war i'ur.ds. "Rather than my country should be beaten in this great war," lie says, "1 will go back again to day labour and small wages where I began." And there arc thousands of wealthy Scotsmen in all parts of the world who would do the same.