IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MTS) .v-.^ 1.0 I.I "^ ^ Hi ^ e^ 12.0 122 1.8 1.25 1.4 l~ -• ^ 6" - ► m, 'n 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ,1^\'"^' ^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1 O Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notos tachniques at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta has attampted to obtain tha bast original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may altar 4ny of tha images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D Coloured covers/ Couvertura de coulour I I Covers damaged/ D Coi^verture endommagte Covars restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^ at/ou pelMculAe □ Cover title missing/ La titre de couverture manque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes gAographiques en couleur C] Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ I Encre da couleur (i.e. autre que bioua ou noir«i rn Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D D n a Planchaa at/ou iiluafations an couleur Bound with other material/ RaliA avac d'autres documents Ttght binding may causa shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion la long da la marge intirieura Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout*es lors d'une rastauration apparaissant dans la texte. mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M film^as. Additional comments:/ ^ Commantaires supplimantaires; L'!nstitut a microfilm* la meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a itt possible de se procurer. Las details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique. qui peuvent modifier una image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithoda normale de filmaga sont indiqute ci-dessous. D Q D n n n Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restauries at/ou peiliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dicolories, tachaties ou piquies Pages detached/ Pages d^tachias Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualitift inAgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du material supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by orrata slips, tissues, etc.. have been ref limed to ensure the best possible image/ Lea peges totalement ou partiellemant obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, una pelure, etc.. ont it6 fiimies i nouveau de ftcon d obtanir la mailleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X The copy filmed hora has baan raproducad thanka to tha ganaroaity of: Library of tha Pubiic Archivas of Canada L'axamplaira filmA fut raproduit grAca h la g4n4roaitA da: la bibliothiqua das Archivas publiquas du Canada Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha bast quality poaaibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in Icaaping with tha filming contract spacif ications. Original copias in printad papar covara ara filmad baginning with tho front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Tha last racordad frama oa aach microficha shall contain tha symbol — ^- (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar applias. Las imagas suivantas ont At6 raproduitaa avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nettatA da l'axamplaira film4, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvortura an papiar ast imprimia sont filmte an commandant par la pramiai plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui cotnporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'iilustratlon, soit par la sacond plat, salon le cas. Tous las autres axamplairaa originaux sont filmte an commanpant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration at an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un daa symbolaa suivanta apparattra sur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la cas: la symbols — ► signifia "A SUIVRE", la aymbola y aignifia "FIN". Maps, platas, charts, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba antiraly inciudacf in ona axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand corner, laft to right and top to bottom, as many framas as raquirad. Tha following diagrams iilustiata tha mathod: Laa cartas, planchas, tablaaux, ate, pauvanv Atra filmte A daa taux da reduction diff Grants. Lorsqua la documant aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un saul ciichA, 11 aat f iimd A partir da I'angla supAriaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagas nAcaasai'a. Laa diagrammas suivanta illustrant la mAthoda. 1 1 2 3 i % ?: t 3 4 s 6 :mJ- mm f «< - r THE ^ TOEOSTO k GEOKGIAS BAT \ i 1 ( SHIP CANAL. lEPLY TO CERTAIN QUERIES or THB MO^:0]liBLE THE CANAL COMMITTEE OF THE CANADUN PARLIAMENT. V '^ ■■^'' J BY "WILLIAM BEOSS, A.M., OF THE CHICAGO TBIBUNS. ■",'.S^'' I <^l I CHIC A GO: TBIBUNE BOOK AND JOB PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT. 1864. ^: m. iM' i' I S^ \-. )i I \ REPLY. '"'^*ilMw^ ***^ ^r*^!. \ ^IfciliiiNk*.' I Chicago Daily Tribune Office, April 20tii, 18G4. To the Honorable the Canal Committee^ of the Canadian Parliament. Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, embracing several queries in relation to the proposed Georgian Bay Canal, of which the following is a copy : Canada Legislative Assembly, CoMMiTTEK Room No. 16, 15th March, 1864. Sib: I beg to inform you that I am instructed by the committee appointed to consider the practicability and propriety of con- structing a Ship Canal between the Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, via Lake Simcoe, to transmit you the following queries, to be answered at your earliest convenience : Question JVb. 1. — Will you state to the committee your opinion, (1) as to the advantages that would accrue to the NorthrWestern States by the construction of the Toronto and Georgian Bay Ship Canal ; (2) the prospects of a remunerative return on the capital expended in its construction, taking the estimates and reports of Messrs. Mason and Tully as the basis, published in 1858; and (3) whether any interest in such a' work would be taken by capitalists and merchants in the United States. Question No. 2. — Also, the advantages, if any, that the Georgian Bay route would possess over others, as to tims, !\ distance and the general convenience with respect to trade and commerce, more particuUirly in reference to return cargoes. Question No. 3. — Also, whether the construction of other proposed routes, or the enlargement of the Welland Canal, would pe more advisable than the construction of the Toronto and ^Georgian Bay Ship Canal, to meet the requirements of the ^ ' "Western trade. Respectfully Yours, J. W. MAC EDWARDS, "William Bboss, Esq., Clerk to Committee. Chicago Tribune. To these queries following reply. I beg leave respectfully to submit the To nearly all the points embraced in them it might be a suffi- cient answer to make the general statement, that the census returns of 18Q0 have confirmed nearly all the anticipations of the reports of Messrs. Mason and TuUy on the Georgian Bay Canal, and moic especially, the figures put down for that year, in the table on page seventeen of that document. Indeed, in most, if not all cases, the facts, as shown by census and o*her reliable reports, exceed the estimates of Messrs. Mason and Tully, and I have no doubt whatever that such will continue to be the result of all prudent calculations for half a century to come. But to be more specific — I. You inquire, first, " As to the advantages that would accrue to the North-Western States by the construction of the Toronto and Georgian Bay Ship Canal." I answer, their continiied settlement and development are depen- dent upon the opening of new and greatly increased facilities for the transit o'i' their products to the ocean. So largely has production increased upon the means of transit, that in 1861 the Erie Canal was clogged with business. Freights were so high and prices for farm products 80 low, that in many sections of the West, corn in large quantities was actually used for fuel. But before entering into particulars, allow me to ask your attention to the extent of the North-West, whose commerce is to be fostered by, and will con- tribute to, the business of the Georgian Bay Canal ; the amonnt of hmd under cultivation in 1860 ; its present commerce and rapid growth ; — all of which may tend to give you some fair esti- mate of the traffic of the proposed canal. Were the increased facilities for transit to the ocean which th« Georgian Bay Ship Canal, especially if it were construclud ns recommended, to pass ocean-bound vessels of a thousand tons burthen, afforded to the commerce of Lake Michigan, tnide would certainly be attracted from points as far south as St. Louis. The territory west of Lake Michigan and north of a line running east and west through St. Louis, and east of the Rocky Moun- tains, and capable of sustaining a dense and prosperous popula- tion, consists, in round numbers, of seven hundred thousand square miles. In this statement ample allowance is made for whatever of the "great American desert" lies within the limits under consideration. The report of H. U. Hind, Esq., geologist of the recent Canadian exploring expedition, shows that tlicrc are four hundred thousand square miles of territory lying within the valleys of the Saskatchawan, the Assiniboine, and of the other rivers that tiow into Lake Winnipeg. So that it is safe to say that there are one million one hundred thousand squixre miles of the ricliest land upon the globe, for whose com- merce the Georgian Bay Canal would compete with the Erie Canal and the great lines of railway between the West and the seaboard. There is, therefore, territory enough within the limits of the United States, between Lake Michigan and the liocky Mountains, to form seventeen States as large as Ohio, and who- ever has studied its climate, soil and resources, knows they would be vastly richer and more productive. In addition to these, there is a country west of Lake Winnipeg, and east of the moun- tains within the British Possessions, rich in everything that can give wealth and prosperity to a people, amply sufficient to form ten more States as large as Ohio. And yet, in all this vast fertile country, west of Lakes Michigan and Winnipeg, there are but little more than half as many square miles of land under cultiva- tion as there are in the single State of Illinois. If we go back for figures previous to 1850, showing the growth of the territory west of the Lakes, more marked results are obtained than we find since, for, comparatively speaking, the 6 'X "tt .^^ country had only jnst begun to be developed. The increase of the last ti'U years, as shown by the Ibllowing table, carefully compiled from the census reports, is sufficiently striking. The statistics include Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and the northern half of Missouri: ) Land under cultivation — square miles Populatiuii Wheat, busheU Coin, " Oats, " Swine, number Cattle, " 1850. 13,100 1,696,174 16,2Ji2,688 68,309,637 1. '5,086,840 2,399,164 1,234,092 1860. 83,323 8,768,216 60,601,142 lfi7,368,62S 34,477,045 3,636,092 2,673,704 These figures show a most astonishing progress. They de- monstrate an appreciation in a single decade of Irom nearly a hundred to more than three hundred per cent. I beg your special attention to the following statistics taken from the carefully prepared yearly tables of the Chicago Tribune. As Chicago is the great commercial centre of the North- West, these figures will tend still further to illustrate the rapid growth of the North- West, and the pressing necessity for greatly enlarged facilities to transport her products to the ocean. They vary somewhat with the abundance of the crops, and the demand for them, financial embarrassments, etc., but they certainly show a most wonderful development of the resources of the West. TOTAL KE0EIPT8 OF FLOUR AND GRAIN FOR FOUR YEARS. Wheat, bush Corn, bu?h Oats, bush Rye, bush Barley, bush Total Add Flour into Wheat Total 1860. 14,-568,429 15,487,966 2,029,906 295,436 623,006 33,004,742 8,500,080 36,604,776 1861. 17,539,909 26,543,233 1,883,258 479,005 417,129 46,862,534 7,230,865 64,093,219 1862. 13,728,116 29,449,328 4,138,722 1,038,825 872,053 49,227,044 8,331,953 67,608,999 1863. 11,180,344 26,450,508 9,139,526 839,760 1,098,346 48,708,483 7,371,420 66,079,903 ^ ^ TOTAL SIIirMENTS OP FLOUR AND OUAIN FROM CHICAGO FOR FOUR YBAR9. Wheat, bash. Com, bush. . Oats, bush , . Rye, bush.. . Barley, bush. Total Add Flour into Wheat. Total. 1800. 12,487,684 13,743,172 1, 039,7 »9 129,166 290,211 27,690,002 3,506,695 81,256,697 1861. 16,788,385 24,186,382 1,665,384 422,492 r.:,293 42,'2a7,936 7,125,446 49,363,381 1862. 13,808,898 29,462,610 3,112,306 871,796 632,196 47,777.865 8,('i99,245 66,477,110 1868. 9,341,881 24,444,147 7,674,994 836,183 668,786 42,864,890 7.688,465 60,648,846 ■| SHIPMENT OF FLOUR (REDUCED TO WIIEAT) AND GRAIN, FROM CHICAGO, FOR TWENTY-SIX YEARS. Years. Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Oats, bushels. Rve. bushels. Barley, bushels. Total, bushels. 1838.... 1839 1340.... 1841 1842.... 1843.... 1844.... 1845.... 1846.... 1847.... 1848 1849.... 1860 1861.... 1852..., 1853 1854 1865 1856 1857.... 1868 1869 1860 1861 1862..., 1863.... 78 3,678 10,000 40,000 686,907 688,907 923,494 1,024,020 1,699,619 2,136.994 2,286,000 2.192,809 1,387,989 799,380 941,470 1,680,998 2,744,800 7,110,270 9,419,365 10,783,292 10,909,243 10,759,359 Hi,0.')4,879 22,913,830 22,902,766 17,925,336 T-rm r — 67,135 666,460 644,848 282,013 3,221,317 2,767,011 2,780,253 0,8.37,899 7,547,678 11,129,658 6,814,615 7,49.3,212 4,217,664 13,743,172 24,186,382 29,462,610 24,444,147 38,892 66,280 26,849 186,054 605,827 2,030 317 1,748 493 3,239,987 1,888.533 1,01 4,. 54 7 316,778 1,498,134 1,174.177 1,039,779 1,65.5,384 3.112,666 7,674,994 ' '31*453 22,872 19,997 127,028 120,275 148,421 92,032 19,051 17.993 127,008 478,162 129,166 422,492 871,796 836,133 * 17*31*5 82,162 41,163 20,132 690 ' V,.i69 131,449 290,211 185,293 632,195 668,735 78 3,678 10,000 40,000 686,907 688,907 923,494 1,024.620 1,599,619 2,243,021 3,001,740 2,769,111 1,830,938 4,646,291 6,873,141 6,412,181 12,932,320 16,633,700 21,.583,22I 18,032,678 20,036,166 16,753,796 31,256,697 49,363,381 50,477,110 60,648,345 I 8 RKCEIPT8 AND SIIIPMKNTS OF nOOS AND BKEP CATTLK, IN ( HICAQO, FOR NINE YEAHS. YEAR. 1856 1866 1857 1868 1869 1860 IfBl 1862 1863 HOGS. BEEVES. Recoived. Shipped. Received. Shipped. 302,068 145,680 10,715 8,268 293,6. '6 281,640 21,960 22,602 251,116 131,216 48,624 25,602 630,009 176,868 118,151 43,149 281,496 212,840 90,674 36,978 865,854 166,284 156,753 104,122 675,002 280,094 204,579 124,146 1,348,890 491,136 2r,9.655 112748 1,900,619 810,468 298,381 203,217 RECEIPTS OF LUMBEU, SIIINOLES, LATH, ETC., IK CUICaOO, FOB SEVENTEEN YEARS. YEAR. 1863, 1862, 1861 1860 1869 1868 1857 1866 1855 1864 1858 1862 1851 1850 1849 1848 1847 Lumber, feet. Shingles. No. 893,074,882 299,365,000 2^9,309,000 255,147,000 296,710,832 268,616,000 444,396,300 441,961,900 297,667,669 228,336,783 202,101,098 147,816,232 126,056,437 100,364,779 73,269,663 60,009,260 82,118,225 152,485,633 131,225,000 79,356,000 133,678,000 165,087,000 125,788,000 130,462,000 135,876,000 158,770,000 82,061,260 93,483,784 77,080,500 60,338,260 65,423.760 39,057,760 20,000,000 12,148,600 Lath. No. 41,665,000 23,830,000 32.697,000 30,609,000 49,548,210 44,617,000 79,650,000 79,235,120 46,487,650 32,431,650 89,733,116 19,759,670 27,5S3,475 19,809,700 19,281,733 10,025,109 6,655,700 TONNAGE OP CHICAGO. Arrivals. Tonnage. No. of arrivals, etc., in 1863 8,678 2,172,699 No. of arrivals, etc., in 1862 7,417 1,931,692 Increase 1,261 241,007 No. of clearances in 1863 8,457 No. of clearances in 1862 7,270 Increase 1,187 Men. 76,649 67,774 8,876 1' ■i 9 Duties received at this port, for the years — 1861. 1862. 186:^. $22,768.70 $66,600.04 $161,212.79 /Second. " Prospects of a remunerative return on Capital," etc. Tho answer to this query may bo deduced from the above statiHtics, and the estimates in tho table, page seventeen, of the report of Col. M;i8on. I may premise, however, that in 1861, as before stated, the Erie Canal was completely clogged with freight ; prices of grain were so low that corn was used as fuel within two hundred and fifty miles of Chicago, and had it not been for the competition of the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals, it is im- possible to estimate to v»'hat figure freights would have risen. Since then, the great demand for Western products to supply the armies of the Mississippi, and in fact also of the seaboard, and the depreciation of our currency, have largely appreciated the prices of Western products, and our people have therefore been prosperous. But when we are again forced to rely upon foreign markets to take cur surplus of provisions, cereals, etc., and especially when it is vastly enhanced by the return of our soldiers to industrial pursuits, the vital question will again return, how is this vast surplus to be transported to the ocean? The best friends of the canal can scarcely hope that a work of so much magnitude can be completed before the year IS'TS. The table above, taken fi'om the census, shows that the increase for ten years of population, production, etc., in the territory west of Lake Michigan, has been from nearly a hundred to three hun- dred per cent. The ratio of increase adopted by Col. Mason for every five years, in the table, page seventeen of his report, is only twenty -nine per cent., and his estimate of revenues for the canal, based on these figures, a 1875, is $1,835,037. This sum "would pay six per cent, oi the entire cost of the canal, $22,200,000, and leave a surplus of half a million of dollars to pay for repairs, operating expenses, etc., of the canal. The subsequent figures, viz. : $2,367,198 for 1880, $3,053,086 for 1885, $3,939,254 for 1890, and $5,081,638 for 1895, he who will study the extent and the resources of the North-West cannot doubt for a moment will be more than realized. The limit of profitable production at the West, owing to the want of adequate facilities of transit to the ocean, is now very nearly reached ; but if stim- 10 nlated by flic certainty of the completion of the Georgian Bay Canal by the year 1 875, so that vessels of a thousanrt tons burthen could pass directly from the ocean to Chicago, and return with wheat, corn and provisions in bulk direct for Liverpool, he would be a bold speculator who would venture now to put down the figures that would represent our products and exports even in 1875. Within the next quarter of a century the great Central Pacific Railway will be built, and beyond a doubt, also the lino north-west from Chicago through St. Paul, the valleys of the Red River and the Saskatchawan, to Vancouver's Sound; the Illinois and Michigan Canal will be greatly enlarged, and railways will be in operrtion in all directions through the vast and fertile West. The gold-bearing regions of Colorado, Idaho, and at the head waters of the Saskatchawan, will have attracted an immense popu- lation, and there can scarcely be a doubt that the figures for the population of the North-West, viz., 16,009,044, estimated by Col. Mason to be then in the North-West, will be largely exceeded. He would prove himself ignorant of the past and faithless of the future, who could doubt that so many millions of intelligent, industrious and energetic Anglo Saxons, in a country so vast and so rich in agricultural and mineral resources as the Xorth-VVest, would furnish ample and remunerative business, not only for the Georgian Bay Canal, but for the Erie, the Ottawa and the Welland, and for all the railways that may be built between the Lakes and the Atlantic seaboard. Thus far at least, the boldest speculator has never been able to keep pace with the growth of the North-West in woalth, population and power, and such I predict will be true for the next century. Third. "What interest will be taken in the work by capi- talists in the United States." For the present and many years to come I'darc not promise or hope for much. The accumulated capital and the monied power of the country is concentrated mainly in New York, and New York, from the necessities of her position, must bitterly oppose, so far as she can, any scheme which would certainly rob her of the control of the commerce of the continent. She will not only refuse her own capital; but she would exert all )•- r influence and power to pre- vent the West from aftbrding pecuniary or other aid to any great Canadian enterprise. As to the West, the opportunities to use 'I T 11 money are so many, and the results generally so profitable, that larcfe sntna for such an investment could not be obtained. And besides, comparatively speaking, we have very little accnmulated capital. There is not to-day half banking capital enough in Chicago to do the business of the city. I have no doubt, how- ever, thiit the members of our Board of Trade, our merchants and capitalists, and those of Milwaukee, and other })oints to be benefited directly by the work, would subscribe to the extent of their ability; but whatever is done would be to encourage it on account of the benefits to be received by them and the West gener.'illy, and not because they have spare capital to invest. In general, I may add, that I believe the press and people of the West will give the work all the pecuniary and other encourage- ment in their power. II. Cojuparison of routes. As to distance, the difference between the Georgian Bay and Toronto route and that by the Ottawa, is merely nominal. Between Chicago and Quebec the route by the Georgian Bay Canal is about three hundred miles shorter than that by the Welland. As to the matter of time, I think that experience could alone furnish a reliable result, but if the long, close canal and river navigation of the Ottawa be compared with that of Lake Ontario, and the broad, deep channel jf the St. Lawrence, there can scarcely be a doubt that the time of the transit of a vessel from a given point on Lake Huron to Montreal, would be largely in favor of the Georgian Bay route. As to the general convenience of commerce and the matter of return freights, the difference is, in my judgment, very largely in favor of the Toronto and (Tcorgian Bay Canal. What the millions of Great Britain need, and Avhat her states- men and capitalists at home and those of Canada, it is believed, are striving to provide, is, cheap food, and a large, steady and paying market for her manufactures. The hundreds of miles of the ])roposed Ottawa canal and river improvement must, as I think, always be conducted by barges, requiring transhipments at both ends of the route. The St. Clair flats will always form a troublesome barrier to ocean vessels in reaching Lake Michigan ^y the Welland Canal. And besides, the money required to f I 12 enlarge the Welland Canal would go very far toward tlie con- struction of the Georgian Bay Canal, where it can be used more effectually to promote the interests of Great Britain, Canada and the great and growing Norih-West. The great central highw ay for the commerce of the continent, if I read the purposes of Prov- idence aright, was designed by him who formed it to pass from the Georgian Bay through Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario. There a channel can bo secured, broad and deep, through which the vessels and p opellers can pass, laden with the products of Brit- ish skill and industry, directly from London and Liverpool, to supply the millions who shall dwell in the mighty valleys of the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, and having performed their mission, they could return filled with the beef, the pork, the lard, and the golden grains of the teeming West. The dangers and the expense of transhipment, always, if possible, to be avoided in commerce, woukl thus be entirely removed. The products of the West would now go to Europe by the St. Lawrence probably a hundred fold more than they do, could the Quebec and Mon- treal lines bring back the foreign goods consumed by the West. For the last year, and, if i mistake not, for two or three years past, a bushel of corn and wheat could be delivered from two to five cents clicaper at the wharves of Montreal, than they could at those of New York; but the large return freiglits from Europe received by New York vessels, gave them on the round trip the advantage over the Canadian lines. Build the Georgian Bay Canal, so that England could send her products in vessels of a thousand tons burthen in bulk directly to the consumers west of Lake Michigan, and the advantage would be turned in their favor. Great liritain, according to what I believe reliable statistics, imported from all countries, of grain and meal, in ISOl, 10,094,941 quarters, of which 5,398,176, or more than one-third, were from the United Stales; and I think it was Mr. Cobden who stated, in a '•})eecli at Rochdale, that had not a supply been obtained from the United States, there was not gold enough in Lombard street to buy it, for other nations could not possibly spare so large a surplus. There can scarcely be a doubt that the building of the Georgian Bay Canal would so largely cheapen the price of grain, that in less than five years, England would save on the price of her food more than the canal would cost. t •«<( \ 13 Of eight bushels o\' corn starting from Iowa or Illinois for Liver- pool, from six to seven bushels are consumed in freight, so that the consumers get but one. Give the people of Great Britain, by cheapening freights through the construction of the Georgian Bay Canal, four or five bushels of the eight instead of one, and England would at once appreciate the importance of her Cana- dian colonies. I therefore sincerely believe that the imperial government could well aiford to advance all the capital to build this great continental thoroughfare, and not only make money, but feed her people sumptuously by the operation. -.\;' •S III. I find I have incidentally given my views in favor of the Georgian Bay route, I may add that by it there would be little if any more close canal navigation than by the Welland ; the route is some three hundred miles shorter, and the navigation by the Detroit river and over the St. Clair flats would be avoided. For the passage of ocean vessels and steamers with manufac- tured goods in bulk bound inward, and grain and provisions also in bulk outward bound, the Ottawa cannot be compared with the Georgian Bay route, for the hundreds of miles of close canal and river navigation, in my judgment, make it available only for barges, while by the other, vessels of a thousand tons burthen can pass lirectly from the producer to the consumer, and thus the commercial necessities both of England and America be fully accommodated. In regard to the cost of transit by the different routes, I beg leave to refer for facts on tnis branch of the subject to the tables in the reports o*^" Messrs. Mason and Tully. In regard to the extent and the resources of the North- West, its present industrial and commercial status, and the vital necessity of greatly increased facilities of transit for our products to the ocean, I beg leave to solicit the attention of the Honorable Committee to the report of the Committee on Statistics to the National Canal Con- vention held in this city in June last. Of that Committee I had the honor to be a member, and as the facts and statistics there presented are accurate and comprehensive, I submit them as exhaustive of the subject. You will find the report commencing on pagt^ sixty-three of the published proceedings. I also solicit your attention to the memorial by a Committee of Congress to 14 the President and to Congress upon the same subject, at the close of the proceedings, in the document above re- ferred to. I am well aware that these fiicts are presented from an Ameri- can and not from a Canadian stand-point. Thoy are intended to influence Congress to make appropriations to enlarge the Erie and the Illinois and Michigan canals. Strong appeals are made to Congress to enlarge these canals as an essential means of defense in case of a war with Great Britain — from such fearful calamity may " The Good Lord ever deliver " these great Chris- tian nations — but all the facts and statistics presented in the reports, viewed commercially and in a friendly national spirit, plead with equal eloquence and force for the opening of the Georgian Bay, the enlargement of the Welland, and the con- struction of the Ottawa Canal. I have not a particle of doubt that long before the close of the century, the West will crowd them, and also the Erie Canal, with all the business they can pos- sibly do. She will be able and willing to pay for all the manu- factured goods Europe can send through these great thorough- fares ; and Europe will gladly take the vast surplus food-products of the West, to feed her hungry millions of people. The fact that the Georgian Bay Canal would.be in the territory of Great Britain, would not make a particle of difference to the West in the matter of furnishing it with business. With remun- erative cargoes for westward-bound vessels, a single penny a bushel cheaper on freights, would eifectually control the direction of shipments of cereals by the Canadian route. Commerce does not stop to inquire through whose territory goods pass ; the only thing to be decided is, by what route they can be had in the shortest time and for the least money. Whether her vast pro- ducts find their way to the ocean by the Georgian Bay, the Welland or the Erie Canal, makes not a purticle of difference to the West. The matter of controlling interest to her is, how cheaply her 'products can be transported from her teeming prairies to the consumers upon the seaboard .and upon the other side of the Atlantic, and hence that she may have Europe for her customer and get the best possible price for her surpUr . If a New York merchant can only afford to pay her a dollar for a bushel of wheat, to be shipped to Europe by the Erie Canal, and i 15 t, at re- a Montreal dealer can afford to pay a dollar and ten cents to ship by the Georgian Bay route, the hig'iest offer will take the wheat. I beg leave to close by quoting a sentence which, years ago when comparing the New York and the Canadian routes, I used, and cannot now improve the sentiment, " It is true that national pride and immense capital and the beaten track of commerce are on the side of New York; but God and nature are stronger than all these ; and let any intelligent man compare the * Erie ditch ' with the mighty St. Lawrence, and a canal to pass vessels of a thousand tons burthen from the Georgian Bay to Toronto, and he cannot doubt for a moment uu which side the immutable lawa of commerce will decide the contest." Begging pardon of the Honorable Committee for my betrayal into any discussion of a topic not strictly embraced in their queries, offering, as my excuse for so doing, the deep interest I feel in the success of this great enterprise, so promotive of peace and commercial prosperity between England and America, I am, gontlemen. Very truly, and most respectfully. Your Obedient Servant, WM. BROSS. Wl