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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 d 5 6 538 7 HE CANADIAN MONTHLY. FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE SEA. BY J. i;. BOURINOT. ^y O fact illustrates more clearly the en- \ terprise and energy of the leading men of the Dominion than the large number of railways and other public undertakings, that are either in progress or in contempla- tion, at the present time, in every province of Canada. A considerable portion of the Intercolonial Railway will be completed in the course of the present summer, and the tourist will be able, in the autumn, to travel by rail from St. John to Halifax. The " North Shore, " the " River du Loup and Fredericton, " and the " St. Francis and Me- gantic" Railways are works which must give a great stimulus to the commerce and in- dustry of the province of Quebec. In On- tario there are numerous lines engaging pub- lic attention and about to receive valuable assistance from the well-filled treasury of that province. The Canadian Pacific Railway will probably be undertaken by a company of Canadian capitalists, in the course of the present year, which must always be memor- able as dating the commencement of a new era in the history of commercial enterprise and railway construction throughout the Do- minion. But, among the public works necessary to the expansion of the commerce of Canada, none occupy a higher or more important place than the canals which have been con- structed for the improvement of inland navig- ation. These canals have already cost the people over twenty millions of dollars ; but every one admits that never was public money more wisely expended, and is pre- pared to vote as much more to develop works so essential to the commercial pros- perity of the Confederation. It is only neces- sary to consider the topographical features of the Dominion to see the importance of these works in an intercolonial and national point of view. The eastern provinces are flanked by the Atlantic, while British Co- lumbia rests on the Pacific, and between those two oceans lies a vast territory of which the St. Lawrence and Mackenzie riv- ers are the principal arteries. The Mac- kenzie runs through an unknown wilderness and empties itself into the lonely waters of the Arctic regions. Perhaps, in the far fu- ture, it mav have an important part to play in the dc • lopment of the commerce of that now unknown North-west, but, at pres- ent, it is of no value to the people of Can- ada. The St. Lawrence river, on the other hand, is exercising and must always exercise an important influence upon the political, as well as commercial destinies of the com- munities of the Confederation. It is already the natural avenue of communication for many millions of people, and one of the principal auxiliaries of the commercial enter- prise of America. It runs through a terri- tory where the climate is bracing and healthy, and nature produces in great abundance. It bears to the ocean, after running a course of over 2,000 miles, the tribute of the Great Lakes, which have been calculated to con- tain almost half the fresh water of the world, and not far from twelve thousand cubic miles of fluid. Along the course of its navigation there are communities not surpassed by any in energy, and all those qualities which make peoples great and pros- perous. Its natural beauties have long been the theme of the admiration of European travellers, from the days that Cartier and Champlain first sailed on its waters, and gave France the right to claim the owner- 1 I^ROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE SEA. 539 ship of more than half the continent. It is where nature has been most capricious, where falls and rapids awe the spectator by their tumultuous rush, that we now see the evidences of modern enterprise ; where the Indian in old times carried his canoe, we now find splendid structures of masonry, il- lustrating the progress of engineering skill, and the demands of commercial enterprise in a country whose total population in the begining of the century was hardly above a hundred thousand souls. It is not necessary that a person should fall under the category of " the oldest in- habitant, " to whom reference is so fre- cpiently made in newspaper paragraphs, in order to remember the different steps in the progress of canal development in this coun- try. The oldest canal — the T.achine, only dates back as far as 1821, and between then and 1840, were the "Rideau, Ottawa and St. Lawrence canals, constructed and put into operation. It was not, indeed, until some time after the union between Quebec and Ontario that measures were taken to enlarge the St. LaAvrence and Welland ca- nals to their present capacity. The idea that first originated works like the Rideau and Lachine was the necessity of giving ad- ditional facilities for the transport of troops and supplies in the case of the outbreak of hostilities between England and the United States. In the case of the Welland, how- ever, commercial views predominated : for sagacious men, of whom the late Mr. Mer- ritt was the leader, foresaw the rapid develop- ment of the magnificent country, of which the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes are the natural outlet. The Welland canal is an admirable illustration of the difficulties which the promoters of great projects have to contend against in the inception of such enterprises. The company which under- took its construction commenced on a very humble scale, and were a long while engaged, with very little success, in endeavouring to enlist the support and sympathy of the cap- italists of Canada. Constantly in difficul- ties, they were always before Parliament so- liciting provincial assistance ; and at last wearied out by their importunities, and con- scious of the importance of the project, the government decided that it was desirable for the public interests to purchase all the property and make the canal a public work. The whole expenditure by the government on the canal, at the time they assumed con- trol, was nearly two millions of dollars. It is interesting to notice that nearly all our canals were constructed in the first instance in accordance with plans and reports made by eminent engineers of the British service. The Rideau canal was commenced and car- ried out under the direction of Colonel By, who arrived in this country in 1826. and whose name was for many years given to the present political capital of the Dominion. The St, Lawrence canals were enlarged in pursuance of the recommendations of Col- onel Philpotts who was instructed by the Earl of Durfham, to make up a report on the whole question of the canal system of Canada. It would not be very interesting to follow,, step by step, the different stages in the im- provement of the canals, and it will be suffi- cient for our present purpose to give a few details exhibiting their dimensions. The canal which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron is a work of large size, but it is owned by the people of the United States : — and consequently it has long been among the aspirations of the inhabitants of Ontario- to have internal communication of their own in that part of the Dominion. The Canal Commissioners in their report recommend the construction of a canal on the Canada side, where every condition seems favour- able, and there is no doubt that, before many years pass by, the work will be in operation. At present, however, the first canal to which we have to refer is a work which has been of great benefit to Ontario — in fact, the only work which has returned 540 THE CANADIAN MONTHL Y. anything like a per-centage on the public money invested by the old Province of Canada. The VVelland Canal connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie, and there- by avoids the Falls of Niagara. The main line from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie has a length of 27 miles and 1,099 feet ; 3 pairs of guard gates, and 27 lift locks, 2 of 200 X 45, 24 of 150 .X 26)^, I of 230 X 45 ; with a depth of water on sills of 10 j^. Then we have the Welland River branches, which have one lock at the Ac]ue- duct, and one at Port Robinson, each being J 50 X 26}4 ', with a depth of water of 9 feet 10 in. Next comes the (irand River Feeder, 21 miles in length, with 2 locks — i of 150 x 26)4 and the other 200 x 45, having 10)^ feet of water. The Port Maitland Branch is only i^ miles in length, with one lock 185 X 45, giving II feet of water. From these figures it will be seen that there is nothing like uniformity in the size of the locks on the main line, whilst its depth of water is not equal to that on the Port Maitland Branch. Passing down Lake Ontario, we come to the Williamsburg series of Canals, which have been constructed to avoid the Galops, ' Iroquois and other rapids which obstruct navigation on the St. Lawrence River. These Canals are known as the Farran's Point, the Rapide Plat, and the Galops ; they have a total length of 12^ miles, six locks of 200 X 45 feet, with 9 feet depth of water on sills. Then we come to the Cornwall Canal, which extends from Dickenson's Landing on the north side of the river, to the town of Corn- wall, with the object of surmounting the ob- structions known as the Long Sault Rapids, and has a length of 1 1 J/^ miles, 7 locks of 200 X 55, with 9 feet of water. Further on, our progress is arrested by the very tumultu- ous rapids called the Cascades, Cedars, and Coteau, which are overcome by the Beauhar- nois Canal, which is 11)^ miles long, with 9 locks of 200 X 45, and 9 feet of water. Passing into Lake St. Louis we find naviga- tion is impeded by the rapids best known as Lachine, and here again public enterprise has met the requirements of commerce by the construction of a canal, which was first suggested in 1791 by the military authorities, but actually opened in 182 1. This work is 8}4 miles long, and has 5 locks of 200 x 45, three of which have 9 feet of water on sills, while the other two have been deepened to 16 feet so as to admit sea-going vessels into the basin of the Canal at Montreal. Besides the great works intended to faci- litate the navigation of the St. Lawrence, we have others of commercial importance on the Ottawa, the Richelieu, and the Rideau. The works on the Ottawa were constructed, as well as those on the Rideau River, chieily for military reasons under the auspices of the British Government, and are known as the Carillon, Chute a Blondeau, and the Grenville, all necessary to overcome the na- tural obstacles of the river. Altogether they have a length of Syi miles, including the St, Anne lock, situated at the junction of the Ottawa and St. I^wrence, where still stands that q\iaint little village, with its church rising out of the surrounding white- washed cottages, which the poet Moore has immortalized in his musical verses. The locks of these canals vary in size, and depth of water, the greatest being 6^ ; but th e works are now being enlarged so as to have, eventually, locks with a capacity of 200 feet in length of chamber between the gates, 45 feet in width, and 9 feet draught of water over the mitre sills. Then, there is the Richelieu and Lake Champlain route of na- vigation which extends from the mouth of the Richelieu, forty-six miles below Mon- treal, to the outlet of Lake Champlain on the frontier line of Canada and the United States, or a distance of eighty-one miles within Canadian territory. The canals on this route, by which the greater portion of Canadian sawn lumber reaches Albany and New York, are the St. Ours' lock and dams and the Chambly Canal, the former one- eighth of a mile, and the latter 1 2 miles in \(' hROM THE GREA T LAKES TO THE SEA. 541 length. The lock on St. Ours, is 200 x 45, 1 .with 7 feet of water, whilst those on the ' Chambly are 122 x 2^ to z^yV.with a depth ! of water of 7 feet. This work is intended to avoid the rapids which fall into that beauti- ; ful expansion of the Richelieu, known as 1 the basin of Chambly, in the vicinity of ' which is the picturesque height of Bekieil, : and the site of the old fort which so long ' represented the days of the French rd- \ gime. In the Maritime Provinces there are no j canals of any great extent or importance. The Shubenacadie, intended to give water communication across the province of Nova Scotia by connecting the harbour of Halifax with the river just named, which falls into Cumberland Basin, has never been turned to account, although large sums of money have been expended in opening it uj). The only canal which is actually in operation is that which connects the picturesque Bras d'Or Lake in Cai)e Breton with St. Peter's Bay, and con3e(iuently with the Atlantic Ocean. The whole length of this work is •some 2,400 feet, with one tidal lock, 26 x 122, with 13 feet at lowest water. No country in the world can show a more elaborate system of inland navigation than Canada, young as she is, can exhibit. It is in itself a forcible illustration of the public spirit which has animated our public men during the past thirty years. These works were commenced at a very early period in the history of the commercial progress of this country, and were completed, on their present extensive scale, at a time when the expenditures required to accomplish the object, seemed altogether excessive when compared with the actual revenues. Soon after, the Canadas were united into a Legis- lative Union— the Legislature voted the sum of two millions of dollars for canal enlarge- ment, and yet the whole populatin ; T the ■^ -' nee was only a little above a ;.ullion ( s, whilst the total revenue was below !!iili n and a half of dollars. The i)ublic men of those days, however, like the states- men of the present, fully recognized the necessity of such improvements, and believ- ed that the returns which the exchequer would eventually receive from the develop-' ment of industry and commerce would soon reimburse the country for any outlay, \\o\f- ever large it might seem at the outset : and' the issue ha« more than proved the wisdom of their enterprize and liberality. ' By a reference to the statistics of the Canals we have given in the foregoing para- graphs, it will be seen that there is nothing- like uniformity in the size of the locks or' the depth of water, and consequently a vesseF' that passes through the VVelland cannot find' an outlet by the St. Lawrence Canals. It is- in many respects to be regretted that thesei works of the St. Lawrence navigation wereT not constructed at the outset on a uniform^ principle— since the reriuirements of com- merce would have been decidedly subserved but the history of our public works shows _ that they were undertaken at difterent time? and under various circumstances. Wher they were first undertaken and brought tc' their present dimensions, few persons con^ templated the possibility of their bein^ unequal to the demands of commerce for half a century at least — but the developmen^ of the country has made such remarkablj" progress, that these canals, extensive as the^^ are, have, for some time, proved unequal t(* the task imposed upon them. Along th' route of the St. Lawrence navigation, fron! Quebec to the head of the Great Lake^ there is an immense population, full of act? vity and enterprize, building up towns anc cities, with unparalleled industry, and eve seeking greater facilities to increase thev wealth. The history of Montreal, Torontc' Chicago, Milwaukie, and other westtr' cities, aptly illustrates the energy of th' Anglo-Saxon or Teuton • on this continen' " Muddy little York" has been metamo' phosed, in some thirty years, into a city ( colleges, commercial palaces, and splendi 542 THE CANADIAN MONTHLY. mansions, and a never-ceasing tide of traffic keeps pouring into its spacious warehouses. Chicago which, above all other places, illus- trates western progress, was unknown to the commercial world thirty years ago, but now it has a population of at least 300,000, and even the fearful march of the Fire-king does not seem to have paralysed the enterprize of the men who have made it what it is, and must long remain the greatest mart of the West. The total value of the trade of the lakes was not much more than $60,000,000, thirty years ago, but now it is estimated at $800,000,000 : while the tonnage that floats on these waters must be at least 600,000 tons, representing probably $18,000,000 in value. Ontario raises some 30,000,000 bushels of wheat annually, besides large quantities of barley, and has now a ])opula- tion of 1,620,823, against 77,000 in 1821. The total population of the grain-growing States of the North-west, viz : Ohio, Michi- gan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wis- consin, Minnesota, and Kansas, is about '12,000,000, against 3,000,000 thirty years ago; whilst they raise, in the aggregate, some 160,000,000 bushels of wheat, and 600,000, 000 bushels of corn. The progress of this splendid territory is ever onward, and the wilderness of to-day is a scene of industry to-morrow — while the question that is ever on the lips of the merchants and farmers of this grain-growing region is this : How and where to find the best and cheapest outlet for our surplus produce ? This