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HEMARKS ON THE j , rfii • «/> 'It •..t; ": •^TW^ .7 THE pamplilet that ha« just been printed and circulated, under tlie title of Rcfiiarks on ike La- C/iiae Canal, is so replete with erroneous statements and unwarranted conclusions, and betrays so much the latent piinciples and motives vvhicli actuate the parties whose opinions it is expressly written to support, that 1 d^ em it necessary to refute the many misrepresentations with which it abounds, and undeceive that part of the public that may be mis- led by the specious reasonings which are attempted to be drawn from ialse positioijs, unfounded as. sertions, and calculations that perplex much more than they enlighten. The mode in which I will proceed will be to dissect these remarks as they occur in that pamph- let, for although probably another arrangement might make my observations more lucid, as my purpose is refutation and exposure, this will be better done by be^^tmg my opponents in detail, in the same succession in w hich they made their at- tack, than were I to start afresh, and form a new order of battle. A {? " ,7;'Wi^.i.|,>rt fl 't- %J: i mr \ ■( , , ) \ ; 's In the first place, the gentlemen under whose auspices the Remarks have been prepared and pubHshed, assume that there is in Montreal a par- ty which is opposed to the extension of the La- Chine Canal as far as the Cross. This I deny, and verily believe that no person will be found to oppose its extension to that point, provided it be conducted on such a plan as will he most for the public benefit, and one that, taking into view the advantage of the community alone, shall throw self-interest wholly out of the qucistion. That selfish principle, or selfinterestedn^ss, as the au- thors of the Remarks call it, and which they set out with gravely announcing to the world their intention of combating, may be retorted back up- on them with infinitely more justice than it can be applied to the promoters of the plan for cutting the Canal so as to join the St. Lawrence at the Windmills. In the following pagc^ it WiUapjf^e^r that the latter have no individual interest in such a direction being given to the Canal, Whfldt (he supporters of the contrary plan," are advocates fbr its crossing and re-crossing thfe turhpike-road, to the great detriment and inconvenience of the.'pub- Ijc, merely for the sake of' benefiting thtWselvcs, by causing the cut to pass through, or near^ their properties, at the same tinbe that they look foi^waJ^ with complacency to the handling of the lar^B aid- ditional sum of the public money whibh will be expended, if their ideas are followed, and Whidi they contemplate to partake of in various shsrj^e^. The direction in which it i^ now petitioned for the Canal to be made, namely, to join the Eiv^r it the Windmills, is the original one th^t Was first of all projected, apd is not therefore a novel phfi, as is insinuated. The pi'onloters of thi^ plan hkVe Mo property whatever in that direction, and can ■■^K no'^th^f'i^re \)fcf abtUated by molives of self-inter- M ;" l^h^reias it is wdl ktiown that those few indU Viidti£^d ^i\o arb for having it cross and re-cross ttite turri[iil|te rbdd, h^ive (>rbperty on that line, and iri the^Bu Lawrence Siibtirbs, which they think will be ^reatl^' benefited by the canal passing that way. Nay isli not notorious that many purchases were ihtid^ ti\6n^, or iii the vicinity of, that line, about tli^'t'imb wheri the act was 'in progress in the As** 86mbly; ' upon/ the speculation of these turning out Co g^eat' advantage ? Heftce it is pretty evident that tftisis the main reason why these gentlemen • aref so anxious t6 have the canal laid out in that ttlr^Ction at the present time, for they have good i^ason 'to apprehend that if the Canal be carried •sd^as to fall into'thi St. Lawrence at the Wind- rhills', a much' more eliegible line for the interest of the public at large may hiereafier be pursued to darry the canal to the Gross, than their favourite dnie ; by which,' though every purpose of com- mence' would be t)etter aiiswered, their individual interests would not' be' promoted, and therefore they will stick at nothiiig to secure their purpose -iiow before it is too late* Tib: Petition to the Legislature now lA agita- tion p<>ints out a direct line from the Locks at €6te St.'Paul to the Windvliicli those soi-disant disititerestcd gentleaicn wi:ih to pursue nine bridges will be re- quired and an outlay of jC'20,C0U — or upwards, for 4) to the wind-mills, it will be entire- iy iiicuinpatible with the original object which Was had in \iew when the LaChine Canal was iirst coriteinplated. This can not be, the case, since it has just been, shewn that, according to ac- tual survey, the line to the Cross can be united to the line to the wind-mills, at any one given point between the Locks and the wind-mills, especially when it is considered that by adopting this plan tiicre will be a saving in ei^pense to the public of from 19 to ^'20,000-^which if laid out in a proper way upo!i the litie to the Cross, would an- swer a much better purpose than in making a branch to the Port so extremely crooked, and en- cumbering the Canal with so many unnecessary bridges, to the great detriment of commerce and inconvenience to traffic*. besides the large annual, expense of keeping them in repair. The multi- plication of bridges^ however; ^eem to be a favor- , ite object with the gentlemen ()f the other side of tiie question; for the more bridges are required, the more contracts and jobs they expect to get, and the more mone^ >^o put into their o\i^n pockets. ^ rA ' -'■ I*'.-, ■' ; ? 1 ■f.i ■'-^ '^ tt paVtkiularly deserves to be rcttiarked too that, Accoraing to their statement, the Wind mills are fituated a little below the middle of the LaChine Rapids. This is a circumstance of local topo- ^raphy Inever knew before, although 1 have lived in Montreal many years before those gentlemen ever saw Canada, and feel myself therefore much indebted tci these learned and intelligent Surveyors and (ico^raphers for the information. VThe plan for bringing the Canal td disembogue at the wind-mills embraces the formation of a har- bour to extend to the deep water at Mr. Munn's wharf, the expense of which would be about rf5,- (XX)— but these gentlemen have adopted a Milto- nic idea and wish to make deep water deeper, to make . . •i:i,! ui ffa'pf*^'"^ the lowest deep a lower deep ; ,^^^j, , ^t. for they assert that the Canal will be inaccessible unless a large sum of ironey is expended to deep- en the river below it ; but as no deepening of the riveris rcf[ijfred there to enable a ship of 800 tons to come lip to the proposed basin. Which they very well k^iow ; their argument must be run aground ; but iVrOijatily they do not much care for its fate as they cAU Aot expect to get a contract here. TiiESE disinterested gentletncn asset t that tlioso who h:ivjc promoted the petition to the Legislature for the Canal to be made in a straight line to the witidmills, have been acting upon the maxim, talc cdrcoj lyoi&selff never mind the ptiblic govd ; but surely no' allusion could be more appropriate than this, if oh the contrary it be applied to those who ryis,h the canal to be made so as to pass and re-pass iJie tiif npike road, by which they would have a ciiance of procuring a number of contracts for tho ere<^tioTl or bridges and the construction of locks, ,>■ ■ . 1. ; t '"^i- • together wit,h, wtiat js their maip pl;>ject^ tlie proS' puct ot having]; the line of the canal, \yhea it is ex- teiidi'd to the Cross, pass thtipugh, or qlosetp, their propertieSf much of which th^y have purr plmscd at extravagant prices upon that very specu- Jution. But, nQtwit^istanding their insidioup/ as- Bertionst they \vcU kno)\' th^^t no benefit wil^^ accri^e to private persons, by the canal being cut in a straight line to theAVindmilfs, apy more than by it& being cut in a crooked direction, ^cc;ording, to their phin< The locks at the river wiy be in ei- ther case. at Mr. Munn's, but l^y g^inj; in a strait line they, as cqntractors, wcu)d lose t^ie Imiidiin^ of tVom'19 to rf20,(.)0Q-r-of the public money to, be laid out on bridges, locks, etc. on tlieir.linp, whjch will not b« wanted on the other. < • . . With regard to the party which these gentle- men allege have been constantly opposed to the fanal's, being .carried to the, Cross,.. and .to. th^ ijuirks and quibbles which. tliey ,say have \)e^x\ rcr sorted to for that purpose,, they n^ust bcin poises- hion of much better information than I can. pretend to, or- than can,be discovered from: their pampJilet, to substantiate such an. allegationv It .is indeed^ certain fact: that there were a great number.. of persons, who, when the plan waain agitation* re- fused to subscribe to the Canal, if to .be carried to the Cross upon the plan tlien proposed, and there^ by. lay out perhaps the gains^of a vyhpje lifie in thai ^tock, without the prospect of receiving any inter. est whatever for their money, ?md that for the purpose of making the fortune&oi' a few projectors a pd speculators, who were,, and are., anxious. foi; the canal to be carried to the Cypss upon a, plan, and in aline, of their dictation, .to the prejudice ; pf the public inte>rest; but we never heard of any " party xh ,t ever, oppxj^cd the carrying, .of the Qanal i to the Cross, provided it were set about upon such a plan and in such a line as would produce the benefit to the community which the public had a right to expect from such an undertaking. Let it likewise be remembered that the petition noMr before the Legislature, refers alone to that part of the Canal which is to extend from Mr. Gregory's estate to Montreal ; and should it be granted, it will in no way interfere with the continuing of the canal as far as the Cross, whenever that measure shall be resolved on. What is said as to the apprehensions alleged to have been entertained of a new town being crea- ted at the Cross, so as to throw Montreal into the back'ground ; and of the merchants from Lpper Canada passing by Montreal and going to Quebec to make their purchases ; is upon the whole so futile, and fit for none other than the weakest ca- pacities, that it requires no comment. It now appears from what is admitted in the ** Remarks," that if these disappointed gentlemen, who pretend to so great a degree of disinterested- ness, could have had it all their own way, we should never have had any branch of the canal to join the river at or near the Port of Montreal ; for, say they, when the canal was first intended to be made to the Cross, it was saddled, through the in- fluence of a party, with the expense of a lateral branch. So that it appears that in fact these wis^- heads would have a merchant load a boat in the. harbour and then fall down the river to the foot of the current, or perhaps they thought the merchant ought to be compelled to cart his goods to the canal at the back of the town, either of which methods would be more expensive and more trou- blesome than carting to LaChine, as is now prac- ticed. -ia:^-. . J It , ■^'<'''- ''''^ ' ■ r' ' ': 1 V •<» ', >\,' ■' ' ■ ■; . 10 -' .-'x.: .r* ^ Ml "t^'" ' . They exclaim most bitterly against the adoption of a having. ;>knt and say that the cry ia now, save, save all j but we say save from ^0 to j?dO»000 — by bringing a branch of the canal to the Windmills in a straight line ; lay out that tum in a proper Way upon the branch that is in future to lead to the Crofss ; and do not expend the public money upon a ci'ooked line to Mr. Munn's, by which so large a sum will be put into the pockets of greedy contractors in building unnecessary bridges and locks ; in fact it wottkl be better to throw that money entirely a- way tlian to expend it in such erections, for then nothing would be lost beyond the capital, whilst in the other case, the public will be burthened with am annual cliarge to keep the whole in repair. For want of better arguments, these wiseheads, wIk) are endued with so much foresight, next bring a vote of censure against the Commissioners wno w^re appointed to superintend the building of the Courthouse and the Gaol, for which irrevalent deviation from the topic before them we are doubt- less indebted to the circumstance that th^y had no part of the contracts for the stone, timber, or plais- teft-ing wanted. Then in the course of their desul- tory warfare they make an attack upon the locks at the Cascades, which if they succeed in, they ho|4e to get a contract for making them wider. Now they turn round and make a general dashing charge a- gainst all the Commissioners for Internal Improve- nient^ who, they say, have taken so much pains to sa\'e the expenditure of the public money, that liariiiy a vestige of any part of it having been ex- pended, is to be seen in the country. Most cer- tainly these gentlemen must have been extremely laborious and active to have travelled through the whole province to exainine whether the Commis- sioners for Internai^ImfH-ovement had done their ,' I ■/ t c'.,r : u ^ . » •\' 'if duty, and the public must undoubtedly be consid- ered as much obliged to them for their zeal ; but I strongly suspect that their complaints and ani- madversions mav be traced to another source \ and that the reaf motives that actuate them are that they neither had the handling of any part of the £50^000 — as it is well known that they were none of the Commissioners, nor had they any con- tract under them. Arguing, God help the mark ! from analogy^ where no analogy exists, these won- derfully disinterested gentlemen seem to entertain very strong apprehensions that the Commissioners for the LaChine Canal will be too economical of the public money, and very seriously admonish them to take warning from those who have been ap- pointed by government to superintend public works on former occasions, and avoid the rock , v^hich they allege that others have split upon.— \,What friendly advice ! how much the LaChine Commissioners are bound to them for cautioning them against imaginary dangers, and pointing out a safe course between rocks and quicksands that 4 have no existence ! But this is not all, now comes . the quintessence of their advice, inestimable in their opinion> inasmuch as it will^tend to put mo- ney in their own pockets. Be careful, say they, be very careful to make judicious contra(;is, and be above all things solicitous to avoid the bugbear of a saving plan ; the plain meaning of which is : Make the canal from Sfr. Gregory's ta the River . as crooked as possible ; let it pass and re-pass the turnpike road, and cause as many bridges and locks to be ^constructed on its line as possible j—^ aaever mind the expence to the public, nor the /great annoyance they will be to the navigation of the canal, nor the annual charge to keep them in repair j nor the constant expense of keepers of the 3 ^ I i 1 ■'4^^,i::.. ' i •'•'.■■ . '•;■:'.'; •■,,.' > ::''':;,v--'::.n!'' ■''- - .. '- 1^ locks ; only let the canal cross and re-cross ttie tUrnpike-road (which is the burthen of our spng) that our property may improve in value, and give us, not only the contracts for excavating the Ca- nal, but likewise those for erecting the bridges and constructing the locks, and you may rest assured, Gentlem3n, that you will never more hear any complaints or •* Remarks" from your most obedi- ent and most devoted huipbie servants, the Squad of conti^ctors. Old Engineers, and Pamphlet Writers, In their next paragraph these gentlemen speak most contemptuously of a petition signed by irom three to four hundred of the merchants, trades- men, and most respectable gentlemen of the city and suburbs of Montreal* They are pleased to allege that that petition prays that the canal may diverge f^om its present lin^ near the Toll-gate, and so proceed to the Windmills ; now the only thing petitioned for, i^ to have the-canal made in a straight, and not in a diverging line, from the lock^ or at least from Mr, Gregory's farm* (at which spot it is that the present line diverges from a straight one, in order to cross and re-cross the turnpike- road^ and thence proceed in a contipued straight line to the Windmills. They further say that this pls^n for making the Canal straight from the Locks to the Windmills, originates with a party who have uniformly opposed its being carried to the Cross, in both instances proceeding, they say, frpm the same rotten reasons. It may be adnntted that to contractors, or expectant contractors, such reasons as will tend to save from 20 to ^30,000 — and to avoid all the bridges and other nuisances and im- pediments they contemplate placing on the line of the Canal, may certainly appear rotten, inas- much as they will not have the fingering of that money, or the erection of those nuisances. .,1 ..^ ■ ■■■■-( I. ».■■;, ■. •• 1 ■■ I'" ■ ' ■ '' I. I ; ' * '- ,• „ / They go on to say that the grand bait held ouC b^ the promoters of the petition is the great sai*' vmg of the public money, or the diminished price it would cost to have the Canal made in the way they propose ; but they well know that sa^'ing the public money is not the only motive why that pe-y tition has been framed and signed, although the saving of money certainly is a secondary reason, but the ipain and paincipal cause was to prevent if possible the Canal from crossing and re-crossing the turnpike road» and avoiding the construction i of so many bridges and locks upon its line as are wholly unnecessary. They allege that in estima* ting the difference of expense, the promoters of V the petition have taken cure not to sa> any thing of the great and unnecessary expense which would be incurred by opening a water communication for vessels from the proposed bason to the Port $ now it most certainly would have been an extraordina*/; ry circumstance if we had made or given any esti-< mate of the expense of making a water communi*^' : cation, where an adequate water communication exists, and no expense whatever could or can be required, for in the very driest season of the year and when the water is at the lowest, vessels of the largest size that navigate the St. Lawrence can pome up to tile wharf at Mr. Munn's where the petition proposes that the Locks shall be made. The most zealous advocates for this saving plan, say these consistent and disinterested gentlemen, have never dared to advance the absurdity that the objects or the design of this Canal would be completed without its removing the obstacles of the navigation as far as the foot of the current St. Mary ; but 1 will ask them who ever dreamt of the obstacles in the navigation up to the Port of x Montreal from the foot of the current being whol- ' ,'; ■•I , .)■ . i ^ * s ;V '^.m'~--. u ■'•■'f.' • ■.' (■ .> ' I > -ii. •^%:..:^v, • >• -*••"•■ .'■-. i ' . o fy removed except by the continuation of a Canal to the Cross ; and no one but a projector or a would be contractor would think of making such, an attempt. Although I am no advocate for a towing-path from the Cross to the Port of Mon- trealt yet as these gentlemen say they will revert to that subject afterwards, 1 will endeavour to re- move their scruples as to its practicability when I come to that part of their Remarks. ' • It is very disingenuously stated by these Re- marks* that we ourselves do not consider that the sa- ving to the pubHc in making the canal in a straight line will be more than ta j€l5,000— and that in the purchase of property. It is very true that our estimate is that it will take «^ 1^,000, at the low- est for the purchase of property on their line } but a great part of the saving contemplated is that of the expense of making eight or nine Heedless bridges, and constructing locks, and keeping the whole in repair, besides and above iill the consid- eration of the incessant interruption to the navi* gation of the canal to be incurred thereby ; on which footing, the lowest calculation that can possibly be made to include the purchase of pro- perty, the building of bridges and the construction of locks upon their darling line will amount to iiS5,000, within the short distance of one mile and a half; and thvs enormous expenditure will be incurred for no other purpose than to put the money into the purses of a set of projectors and contractors, and ameli<»'ating the properties of a few persons through or near to whose premises the intended line would pass. Proceeding in refuting their unfounded allega- tions, in reply (^ their assertion, that if it be in- dispensably necessary to avoid these valuable grounds this could be effected in an easier way i i! \. , ^. 15 V' without injuring the utility of the canal, after leav* ing the turnpike gate, we have to state that we do not wish to come to the turnpike gate at all, but to keep a straight line through St. Gabriel's farm to the Windmills, in which direction the land is almost a perfect level, and will not moreover cost the public any thing. They say, instead of bending to the south, let it bend for a shorter* dis- tance the other way, but we want no bend what- soever. The}' further wish to carry the canal to Montreal down the lo^ lands to the Port, in a line parallel with the road leading to LaChine, and say that in this way the ostensible wishes of the pro* moters of the petition might be equally answered. Without saying any thing about the ostensible or other wishes of the prrrxioters of the petition, the great difficulty of making a canal in that line, so as to prevent it from being greatly injured by the water in the spring of tbe year, forms an abund* antly sufficient reason for rejecting sucfa a propo- sal ; and as to their natural bason or harbour, ex- tending from the bridge at Pointed CalliSre to the bridge leading to St. Ann's suburbs, exclusive of the consideration that such a bason would over- flow all the cellars in the vicinity, it could never be made to contain a sufficient dept^ of water to^ admit vessels of any burthen, without completely inundating the whole of the Recollet subuHbs.-^ But as this line would require a number of bridges; locks, etc. it would suit our disinterested remarkifig contractors very much, ill preference to the line to the Windmills, on which one, or at most tMK>^ bridges would be wanted. They further allege, that the land on the line which they here propose; is of trifling value, whereas it is in fact very vidu- afade, and I contend that it would require -a sum of iff20,000— for the purchase of property and cwn- .^y.. ...,v-:'' c ■ > -'I • I . ■;■ '.'•-■'• I '. • 1 •^ •" . 'H' % \l . i Id pleting the canal, before they can arrive at the bridge at the bottom of the St. Antoine suburbs ; and at least j?20,0C0 more between that point and the Port ; moreover, the space of land lying be- tween the bridge at Pointe h Calliere and ttie bridge leading to St. Ann's suburbs, which they point out as fit for a bason, would, if that part of the creek were arched over and converted into a market place for provisions, wood, hay, corn, a stand for carters, e^c. be worth no less than j^dO,000 — to the public of Montreal ; whilst the creek passing through it renders it very unfit to form an harbour. The second inducement held forth in the peti- tion, these gentlemen say is the facility with which a bason could be formed ; but that in this respect the Windmill Bay has no advantage over any oth- er situation, were the Canal carried to the Cross as it ought to be. It is very true that a bason might be made at many places, or perhaps at any place, on the route to the Cross or at the Cross it- 6elf» and I have no doubt in my own mind that these public spirited gentlemen have some piece of land or other in view on that line which they wish to dispose of for that purpose, or which per- haps they contemplate purchasing on speculation for the good of the public and their own individ- ual advantage, calculating at the same time up- on getting a contract for the excavation of the said bason, and the other pretty pickings to ariso from bridges and contingent erections that may be wanted, the whole of course without any inte- rested motives whatever, and solely from patriotic views. Be that, however, as it may, these gentle- men again recommend the making of a bason be- tween the bridge at Pointe ^ Calliere and that leading to St. Ann's Suburb, for such is their de- .1,' 17 sire of getting good jobs to do that they never^ once consider whether they are going to injure or to benefit their fellow citizens. Jii the superabundance of anxiety which these gentlemen evince k .t the branch of the canal to Montreal should be cut in any other line than one of their own recommending, they condescend to ' intimate that it would be the height of folly and madness for any person to propose any other, but do not tell us why the proposer of any other line ought to be considered as a madman. I can not, however, too often repeat that their real motives for talking in this way are that if the straight line from St. Gabriel's farm to the Windmill be adopt- ed, and the branch to the Cross when made be made to join at St. Gabriel's farm, the cost to the public will be from 30 to j^40,000 less than on their plan, and only two bridges at most instead of eight or nine will be necessary, all which will be just so much out of their way, which they cal- culate on, exclusive of getting the contract for ex- cavating the canal. They demand to know what the branch which is proposed to join the river at tiie Windmill has to do with the canal from LaChine to the Cross : with that part of it from Montreal to the Cross it will have little to do, but with LaChine it will have far more to do than the branch to the Cross, will ever have, and were I to .say an hundred fold more, I should not be far wrong, and these wor- thy gentlemen must be well aware of this. Ihey &ay that the proposed route to the Windmills bus not one tenable argument in its favour ; but set- ting assertion against assertion, I will say that had it been so untenable as the arguments in support 'of their proposed line from the foot of i^t. Antoin^ Suburbs, it would never haVe been proposed by ' V • i '■£}-■■ ■ ■ '-- / K ■ I f 5- ' J f 1 -v? s«^W? «li:i ;• 4ii.»,« -At. iv-i I*.. «i.^ '.»j fk' ('m.» .Aclr^A^to US or by any other person unless by a projector, a contractor, or a madman. And let it be kept in view that in proportion as they in attempting to illustrate the advantages of this work, endeavour to impress on the minds of their readers how ne- cessary it is not to be sparing of the public mo- ney, so they ai>ticipate the pleasure and the profit of handling the greatest part of what is laid out on the canal, in whatever direction, or according to whatever plan it be made. TuEaE gentlemen assert that all parties were a<(>, greed that the canal should be made in the direc- tion marked out from LaChine to the Turnpike gate ; but this assertion is not correct. Most people, I believe, were agreed that the canal was marked out in a very proper direction as tar as the locks at Cdte St Paul ; but I contend that thence to Montreal it ought to be continued in a straight course to the Windmills, and iHat the branch to lead to the Cross should be led off from it at St. Gabriel's farm. By its being made in this way, a saving to the public of at least d€d3,000 will be made, which extra sum woi^ld be expended, if the line ^ere madis according to their proposals, in purcbasin,:; property, building bridges, locks, etc. but, a^ before repeatedly stated, the whole reason for their contending for this line, is, that the other would not so well suit some of them, as it Would pass at a distance from their property, whilst oth- ers, vi'ho expect to have the fingering of the cash^ would have so much less of it to handle. }^ Tb£ next assertion which these worthy gentleV'^ men make i» a very bold one. They say, uiat by the act passed by the Legislature for inaking the canal, the commissioners appointed to see the work done were to continue the canal in a speci- fied directlob, until it rfached a certain point.--* ' /■ y. in > This is not the case, and it may very strongly be suspected that this, as well as a great many oth'eff of the erroneous statements made by these correct dqd disinterested gentlemen, have been wilfully and wrongfully made in order to deceive the public.-— The words in the act are — ** It shall be the duty '* of the said Commissioners to cause the said " canal to be made as far as circumstances will " permit, at the place and according to the plan ** drawn by the engineer employed by the said " Company, and by him deposited in the office of " the Secretary of the Province.** Now where is these gentlemen's certain point ? but this is of a piece with most of their reasonings and calcula- tions, and false deductions from misstqited pre«> raises. Now we come to the statements these gentle- men make relative to the expense respectively of continuing the canal to the Windmills, and of car- rying the other branch to the Cross when that comes to be done. And first, they reckon the distance the Canal will have to be cut from, as thjey call it, near the Turnpike gate to the Windmills, at more than a mile and a half, and the excavation of which they calculate will be ^3000. — But 1 beg to inform these worthy gentlemen, that the distance from . the Windmills to the spot in St. Gabriel's Farm where it is proposed that the junction of the two branches . shall take place, is no more than one mile, and all the land a stiff loam or clay, which can be excavated for one thousand pounds, and „ for that sum more than one person is ready to undertake it. This is only jglOOO instead, of j^3000 — consequently, two thirds less than their estimate. The tiext thin^ is the bason, the great eye-sore ">■://•■■;■•■. ,C ^ ; .--^ ;., .;,-..■>/-■■ m ^i& ' w to these worthier* The reason of their enmity to this, is, that the plan is not theirs, neither is the estimate of the expense. Had they had to make an estimate for such an undertaking, taking the last mentioned one as a sample of their mode of making estimates, the expense of such a basop would be rfl5,000^for we estimate the cost of making the pier, which is all that is necessary, af ^5000. Now come the Jocks to join the bason to the River at Mr. Munn's Wharf. These being to be made at the same place where Mr. Buri,.'• ■I •.-, I Hf round iK Now if iliis were truly the case^ how inuch more would a pier constructed on our plan act as a barrier that no ice could remove or injure ; but they cannot but know that all they say on this score is incorrect, inasmuch as the ice never shoves until it is lifted much above those shallows by the back-water, and then does not move for* ward till the water bepins to fall and the current again sets down the River ; then it is that the ice shoves in the Port and not before. > Aftbrwards these worthies make an attack up- on the act of the Legislature which makes provif sion for clearing the Shores of the River from the Cross to the place where the Canal is to join it« and rendering it easy for the navigation of boats and smalt vessels intended to pass into and through the Canal. This they call preposterous. Tne reason, however, is obvious. They ha^e no pro- perty on the river side, and the plan was not one of their recommending ; whilst tlie sura to be ex- E ended on the occasion is so trifling that, if they ad a contract for it, their gains would be in pro- portion and not worth attending to. ^rom all this it is evident that these gentlemen are so very dis- interested that they are determined to oppose ev^ ery measure but their own darling plan ; as they are fully aware that they will have but a very poor chance of handling large sums of the public money should the Canal join the River at the Windmills, and they are therefore straining every nerve, by misrepresentations, erroneous statements, and ^Xr aggerated calculations, to bias the public tnind, and procure the adoption of their plan. The maxim they go by is, if you will not improve the navigation of the River St. Lawrence in the manr rier we dictate to you, we will oppose, by every means in our power, every other method taat may be suggested. ts .11 Theui erroneous calculations and exupi^gcrateil statements display, they sayi bat a few of the many inconveniences and losses which the public must expect to suffer should a towing path he made to the Cross ; for, they add, every thing destined for the town, and coming by the Canal to the Wind* mills, would have to be caited from the bason, which can only be the case in the event of these worthies being themselves dockmasters invested with arbitrary power, or having influence enough to keep the locks fast shut, so as to prevent either boat, rafl, or any other thing from passing into the River from the Canal ; a notable scheme, if enter- tained, and one every way worthy of the character to whom it is attributed. They seem also to en- tertain great apprehensions that a towing-path will prevent any raft, boat, or other craft from ap- proaching the beach. How very considerate ! — But we very well know that such a towing-path would be of great service for the more ready and convenient unloading of boats, rafls, &c., and would be of the greatest benefit to Montreal, inas- much as it would greatly increase in length the space wanted for such purposes ; and, under prop- er regulations, neither the rafts, nor the boats, or their loading, would ever be in the way of any craft or vessel ascending the river. Amongst oth- er absurdities they say that tlie towing-path would be in the way of boats descending the river which is of a piece with others of their erroneous state- ments ; such as that, if the canal be once made ta the Windmills it can never be carried to the Cross ^ in that case, if we are to give credit to them, the river St. Lawrence runs towards LaChine, and not towards Quebec. This is one of their favourite arguments, and we may hence in some measure fonclude what the rest consist of. , . ■ ^ I' .1 .S' U %tj m 1 ij They have taken no notice, th^y say, of the expense of transporting goods from the port to the bason, nor from the bason to the port, or the ex- pense of forming a towing-path round Point Blon- deau, or building bridges, &c. It is really extra- ordinary how they happen to have been so modest in these particulars. But it may be ascribed to their being well assured that if the bason is made according to our plan, it will join the port by the locks at Mr Munn's, and therefore that there can be no need of any such towing-path, nor of any bridge ; nor will there be any expense on goods from the port to the bason. When I come to examine their other calculations, we shall see how they will stand the test. The worthy gentlemen are extremely apprehen- sive that we mean to oppose the canal being con- tinued to the Cross* But the reverse is the case ; we have consantly wished, and ever shall wish, that the canal should proceed to the Cross ; yet {)robably we shall not wish it to proceed by the ine which they propose to be followed. They pre- tend, as before said, that if the canal should be made to the Windmills, it never would be continued to the Cross ; but it is well ascertained, and any per- son who is desirous of knowing the truth may easi- ly convince himself, that the canal can be contin- ued to the Cross from any given part of the line extending from the locks at C6te St. Paul to the V/indmills at Montreal ; and therefore, at what- ever period it may in future be found convenient to carry that continuation^ into effect, there will be no impediment whatever to prevent it. And now these gentlemen depart rather from' the thread of their argument, to present us with a statement of the expense of making the canal to the Cross on their favourite line. In this famous «5 estimate they state that jf 5000 will be sufficient for sAi the bridges and other expenses that will be re* quired. This outstrips all the miscalculations I ever met with, and may be classed among the nil* nierous misrepresentations with which they are en* deavouring to deceive the public. I can not be- lieve th^t they have inadvertently omitted an ad- ditional cypher in this calculation, and rather think it must be a wilful error. But in truth, and in fact, j^50,000 would be a much nearer approxi- mation of the expenditure than j£5,000-^ior ^ much as by the eighth Section of the Act for m^*? king the canal it is en^ted "That when and a9 ** often as it shall be necessary to cut in any high- '* way or street in order to conduct the said canal ** through the same, the Commissioners shaU with? **in th@ shortest possible delay cause to be con? *; be carried on in that direction, ofthie property they now have, or keep a greedy and speculative eye upon. By comparing however their pretended rough guess ot' £^60,000 — as the purchase of property in that direction, with the expense of excavating the canal, erecting bridges ind making locks, which they take at the very lowest estimate that ever was made, ^^^6,250, and with the a^'gregate es- timated tost of completing the canal in a line from the Turnpike gate, through the St. Lawrence sub- urbs, according to the same lowest estimate, which is i^l.^0,000 — we shall find that the difference be- tween the last named sum and £^6,250 must be the estimated value of purchases of property to be made in that line, viz : j£i^2'5,70<: — Instead of rfCO.OOO.— In conclusion on this subject, these gentlemen have the arrogance or the . fatuity— what shall I call it, to infer that the very just statements and most accurate calculations, ought to induce the .; Commissioners to decide on extending the Canal to the Cross at once, if they have power so to do, and if not, they ought, forsooth, to influence the Legislature to grant them an additional authority for that purpose. So that, not content with at- tempting to mislead their fellow citizens, they even desire to direct the Commissioners in their duty, and to influence the Legislature so far as to amend the act in such a way as to suit their own purposes and benefit themselves. Reverting to their calculations of the two modes ofcutling the branch of the canal that is to proceed to the port, they appear to be very incon- gruous and inconsistent with each other atid with themselves, laey estimate the excavation of the v.. ? \- > ' I ,s I ' canal in a straight line from St. GabrJers farm to the Windmills, a distance of not a mile, at rf.!J(XX), — but when they come to estimate the branch they propose from St. Antoine Suburbs, they say £5{yo is all that is required to cut this very curved line of half a mile in length. Again, their estimate for forming l Bason near Pointe ^ Calliere is ^€500 — and here it would seem as if they had agam wilfuU) omitted an additional cy- pher. For constructing locks at this place their estimate is at the rate of £^Z0O0 each ; whilst their estimate for locks to be constructed where we pro- pose tiie bason to be, is at the rate of £4000 each. Surely these instances are sufi^Gient to convict them^ either of having very bad memories, being dreadfully ignorant and inconsistent calculators, or that they are determined to. deceive and con- found the public by all the quibbles, quirks, and deceptions they are masters of. When they have made this curious and contradictory estimate they then boldly say, here we have the branch and ba- son made according to their wishes, meaning the wishes of those who signed the petition for the ca- nal to be made straight from the locks at C6te St. Paul to the Windmills. How this plan of theirs, of all others the most foolish and injurious to thq public can be according to our wishes, it is .._t easy to find out. It is so far from being agreea- ble to the wishes of those who promoted the peti- tion, in question that I am very certain not one of them would ever consent to it. It must be evident to any person of the smallest discernment that all the cellars from Pointe a Calliere upwards would be filled with water, and a great part of the Recollet , suburbs overflowed by a bason in that situation into which all the water from the whole back country niust flow. They have likewise purposply omit- (M i# ^ I 1 ^ i \ ^ I 28 ted to take any notice of the bridges which will be required on this put from the 3t. Antoine suburbs^ the number of which can not be less than ^ve, and \Vhich will of course cost the publio £^600 ; and the property to be purchased will a- mount ^t least to £10,000 ( but this plan of theirs is altogether so preposterous that no one but a madman or a designing projector would ever have proposed it. Thesr gentlemen have the confidence to st^te* that all the purposes of commerce will be ansv er- ed if the canal is completed according to their plan ; had they disclosed the real truth they would have stated, that all their own purposes > )uld be completely answered by that mode ; but how it is to answer all the purposes of commerce, it is im- {)ossible to imagitie. In my opinion ^11 the puiv poses of commerce cannot be answered unless ail impediments and encumbrances to navigation are carefully avpided as mi|ch as possibility will admit. Now their plan, it i^ evident, will burthen the canal with all sort« of impediments that it is pos* sible to place upion its line, and cause all ^hose en- cumbrances ^nd incouveniences which the multi- plication of bridges and locks can not fail to ocr casion. If they wish to have a communicatioD from the branch that is to ran to the Croi>s direct to the Port, the most proper place for that pur- pose is through the Hay-market and McGill street^ to join the bason which we propose in our petitioH ^hall be made from the Windqiills to Mr. Munn's wharf. There is no property on this line to be purchased, excepting for a sknall distance, and mo buildings whatever in the wayt whilst only three bridges 'livill be necessary. This line is (perfectly straight, and the street sufficiently wide to adnoit of a canal being made through the middle of it. V '• V " and to leave a street on each side of thirty-two feet in width. Ko locks will be wanted, and (he earth dug out in excavating the Canal through the Hay-market and McGill street, will afford more than su^cient materials for banking in the low land behind the Hay-market, to the line of the Canal intended to be continued to the Cross ; but this cut will never answer the purposes of pro- jectors, contractors, and the soi-disant old engin- eer, for it is not exp<^nsive enough. These gentlemen repeatedly assert that we msh the Canal to diverge from their line near the Turnpike gate, which I as repeatedly declare is not the case ; for it is intended according to our plan that it shall proceed in a straight line from the locks at C6te St. Paul, through Mr. Gregory's £state, the St. Gabriel Farm, and the Common at Montreal, on which line there is no building what- ever, and the soil is of a stiff clayey consistence, being that which is the best adapted in the world for cutting a canal in, This is however, like alt their other assertions, calculated solely to mislead the public ; and is in that respect similar to ono wliich is to be found in page 30 of their pamphlet, namely that the facility of intercourse between the Port and the Cross would be very much aug- mented, both upwards and downwards, by the Canal passing through the St. Lawrence Suburbs, behind the town, and by means of their proposed lateral branch from the St. Antoine Suburbs. — In contradiction of this we know, and most confidently assert, that a loaded boat would ascend the River from the Cross, by means of a towing path, when laid out, to the Port in a much sho»ter time than by way of the Canal, and their proposed lateral branch, and indeed in much less time than would unavoidably be taken up in passing through I ( > . .! . > : h \ ; r I ill T c: I;, it. 1' ■♦ I t € ',■ ■> . ■ 'i. »■ •'30 ■ ,,.. ;\ their numerous locks ; and on the other hand it can not bear a moment's consideration whether a loaded bor^t would not fall down the River from the Port to the Cross in a much shorter space of time than it would require even to reach the point of the canal in the St. Antoine Suburbs where their proposed lateral branch is to join it ; so that it is plain that this is also an assertion which is one of those that are destitute of the least shadow of truth or reason. '^ In the same page these worthies seem very much aggrieved at the expense incurred of carting goods from the Port of Montreal to the warehouses of the merchants, and thence to those who purchase them from those merchants. This expense they estimate^ at an annual &um of *^3,750— and add that the Windmills are situated at too great a dis- tance for the purpose of building warehouses there. Be it so, but are there no warehouses already built in Montreal near the river, and in other convenient situations ^ and would not the expense of carting goods from the canal to those warehouses be equal to, or more than, that of carting them from the port ? If these gentlemen are ever able to get the whole of their plan carried into effect, we may look forward to a project being laid before the public for cutting branches of the canal, in in- numerable ramifications, so as to pass every per- son's door in Montreal and its extensive Suburbs, and thus do away with carting altogether, and throw out of employment that numerous and use- ful body of men who now p;et their living bv that means. Chimerical as such a project may be, the idea of wholly doing away with the cartage of goods in Montreal appears to be hinted at in pa- ges 31 and 32, where they calculate, in round num- hers, the value of merchandize annually imported A • ' >*.-. BTWTCKT^a *ll b-- / / ■!^,.- t into Montreal (of which they assert a great pro- portion is liable to breakage) and whicii they tix at one million of pounds, and that by avoiding the damage, breakage, and other casualties incident to carting, a sum would be saved of £i)'25 — which they reckon as equal to j^lO,4'l6 of that capital, by conveying all that merchandize up the canal rather than carting it from the port to its destina- tions ; but they do not take into the account at all the expense of carting goods from the canal to warehouses and other places, so that the dilemma In which they will be found to be in, in this res- pect, can only be solved by supposing that they must have some sagacious project on the anvil for conveying these goods by some other, better and cheaper means than carts. It might perhaps be supposed that they meant to employ carrying-bal- locr!s for this purpose to be kept at all times ready charged, and indeed as these gentlemen are so full of vapours it would be a ready way of getting clear of them, whoever might rue the consequen- ces ; but then in case of the escape of the gas, there would be more than one-sixteenth per cent, damage to the goods conveyed by these aerial - boats ; besides, on another account it seems most probable that they mean to propose cutting gut- ters, to be called canals, in every direction throufjh the town and the suburbs, as then ihey would have the contracts for so doing. In page 3'- ' ,' I i^ il I ! 32 away with, the expense of carting of goods, \yheth- er from the Port, or from the Canal, will be much the same ; and therefore what saving of expense there may be upon cargoes delivered at the Cross will be on that route from the Cross which may be found the least expensive. The route by the river has long been tried, and is well ascertained, whilst that by the canal is unknown ^ but if an estimate may be made after the same ra- tio as the toll which the Company were to exact upon that line, had they so completed the Canal, 1 will venture to say that a ton of merchandize brought up the River St. Lawrence, in the state in which it now is, to the port, will not cost on6 third of the money it would cost if conveyed by the canal to any spot opposite to ihe Port in the St. Lawrence suburbs. Nevertheless, both I and all the promoters of the present petition are advo- cates for a Canal being continued to the Cross at a period, and on a line, which may be found the best for the public at large. We do not desire i6 throw any obstacles whatever in the way of its being carried to the Cross, but only to point out the best line for it to be carried as far as Montreal at present, which is the object now to be consider- ed, taking into our purview at the same time its future extension to the Cross, which we contend can be carried from the canal as proposed to be cut to the Windmills, at any given period, or from any given spot on that line, which may be consid- ered as most beneficial to the public, and that without encountering any buildings whatever that will require to be taken down. To go back to page 30 of the Remarks, here these gentlemen state that it will be obvious to the most superficial observer that if the canal was con- tinued down from LaCbine to the Cross, and la later- # m-...- .V'.'.v'..' V •;< ss a1 branch taken off at the most convenient point to pass in at the port, the facility of intercourse be*. tween these three great points, namely LaChine, the Port, and the Cross would be very much in- creased, and all the advantages attending this route enjoyed in a very eminent degree ; because, forsooth, boats wishing to ascend from the Croes to the Port could come up the Canal until they reached the point where the lateral branch would join it, and so proceed to the port at once, and ' vice versa in wishing to descend from the Port to the Cross. Let me ask the sage propounder of this allegation whether he means these boats.to be iaden or empty ? I will venture to assert that were the bason completed at the Windmills, and the Canal completed to the Cross, not one boat, either loaded or empty, would pass down the Ca- nal to the Cross, unless its loading were consigned to some store in the rear of the Cit^ ; and that, on the contrary, they would, one and all, undoubt- edly prefer passing through our locks into the St. Lawrence and proceed down the River, \vhich can not but be a most decidedly preferable channel from that place beyond any other route whatsoever, both considering the aid of the cur- rent, and its direct and uninterrupted Course. I will also venture to assert vice versa that any boats laden or not, would prefer ascending the St. Law- rence from the Cross to the Port in preference to passing through the canal, from which they would be deterred not only by the heavy expence, (as appears by the following estimate) but by the great delay they would necessarily experience in pas- sing the many bridges to be thrown over the canal on its passage from the Cross to the Port. Estimated Revenue of the projected LaChine Canal, according to the ratei^ of Toll Hxed by the ■■'. '.I ■'-^;-\,------''_»^-v E /.v - ■;■"■ ■■■'■■■■ ■■-/-y .■:.:«'■;.■_.; »;■ •v • \ 3h Leg,isla.tiu:^, the number of Boats and their load- ing. I^vi^g been ascertained by accurate returns oC the Trade of I8I|8, obtained Icoq^, the Mer- chants 9^ Montreal, viz. G5Q, Merchants Qoats per St. X^aw- : i;en(;e, up and down, at ^^s £^l^ 10 248 King's do per do 25s, 810 3l3(j> Purham. do per do 5Cs. 840 Losing upwards of the above Boats, 10,000 Tons, at 58. 2500 55,000, Barrels downwards, at 6d 1375 17,500 Barrels Ashes do. at Is. 3d 1093 15 1700 Barrels Pork... .do. at 9d 63 15 2500 Tons» Wheat, Peas, Leather, Lard, Butter, &c. at 5s , 625 450 Boats per Ottawa River, Vaudreuil - jBigaud and other Parishes contigUi* QU8 to the head of the Island of Mon- treal, up and down, at 25s 562 10 2250 Tons of Goods in do. at 5s 562 10 0, 60 Canoes per St Lawrence and Otta- wa, up and down, at 25s 7^ ^^ 3000 Packs Furs from north and south trades, Missisippi, Detroit, &c. at 4d. 50 300 Tons Goods upwards in canoes, at 5s ', 75 12^00 Tons from, the Cross to Town, from vessels discharging there, Mar- ket Boats, &c. at Is. 3d 781 5 11,338 Cords Fire Wood, at 2s 1133 16 910 Rafts^ Timber, Staves, &c. which frpm the diffijqulty of at present, re- ducing to tqns, suppose the same, as -;'; estimated to the Legislature^ viz. at 80s,.., 8640 9 * .^: mmxd j^l4,500 1 1 '\ '< 95 V Suppose ilie Canal may cost £100,000, which sum exceeds any estimate we have yet heard of, the capital embarked in this undertakiug would con- sequently produce an interest ot J ij per cent, to the Stockholders, As to their calculation of 2^,000 tons of mer* ichandize being brought to Montreal every yedr, and admitting that 10,000 tons of these aire di^- cliarged at the Cross, neither are any datfl f^if^t tior can 1 And any where in their pamphlet now they make it appear that ^.500 per annum Ivould be saved, if these goods were brought lipf through the canal instead of being dragged up by a towing- -path. 1 will on the otlier hand venture tp a^sei^, that if vessels to the amount of tonnage supposed to be dischar^'-ed at the Cross were lying there, say forty vessels of 250 tons each, they could fee tow- , ed up the current by men only, and. that jn the situation in which the banks of the Rive^ at pres- ent is, without a towing, paih. With ih'e aid of r 6ne hundred men, at five shilihgs per day, ihe .' whole of these vessels could reach the port ifi ten days at the small expense of £^50i This state- ment goes to the utmost extent of the expense that can possibly beincurj*ed in transporting nier- chandize from the Cross to the Port by theftiver, and amounts to no more than six p.ence per ton ; how then can it be possible that a loss of piie shil- ling pef ton can be sustained, unless tlie canal , company propose to pay a premium on merchan- dize for the honour and pleasure of having it con- veyed by their communication. But I will now calculate the expense of carrying these 10,000 tpris from the Cross through the canal to thai P^nt of it wiiere these gehtleinen propose the later^tl branch shall lead o£r from the main trunk. This, accbt* '-■ E ^ I. y '' %■ .w- i : . I 30 >"%' I' i l^t,r . . tt 'J 1 1»/L dihg to the tariff inscrtetl above, will be five shil- lings per ton or j^9,^00 — and if we adopt the sin- gular and absurd mode of calculation which these learned gentlemen have adopted, makes a capitbl of nearly j£40,000. Similarly exaggerated and erroneous are the calculations which these abstruse and scicnti6p Arithmeticians make with regard to firewood and and all sorts of lumber, and their statement of the iitipediments they reckon will accrue ^ Uic towing path, are equally confused and unintcTtigibl'e. A(l- mitting even that a towing-path be absolutely neceS' sary, which I am not prepared to do, it would not cost more than two thousand pounds, if made in 'the most substantial and durable manner, and for that sum could be made with a warranty to last for five and twenty years without requiring any material repairs, the interest on which only amounts to i€lQ6 per annum : whereas the least possible outhy in makipg the canal thAiugh the St. Law- rence Suburbs to the Cross is estimated at j^l50,- 000, the interest of which is j^9,000 per annum ; besides which the keeping of twenty- three bridges in repair and the* daily attendance necessary to them can not be reckoned at less than ^^750 per anhutn, >vhich is equal to a capital of £i^,506. Here it appears that at one dash the country will be sadtUed with an annual expenditure of £*)/j[50 per annum in forming two nji'es of canal ; where- as the whole expense for carrying the canal from the locks at (:6te St. Paui to the Windmills will not amount to a^2,000 — and for completing the basort and locks j^l 1,000 more. Or if these lib- eral gentlemen should be startled at the expendi- ture of £\ 1,000 for the bason and locks, I will gladl} engage to complete those works at my own expense in consideration of a lease for ninety-nin^ * • "'^-''%' ifr- S7 years of the pier or wharf. Moreover wi'tn regard to firewood, I wtll engage to cart all the firewood the inhabitants of Montrtai muv fiiircliuse, to any part of the town, at the rate of one siiilling and six.pence per cord. As to the calculation of raft and firewood lost in the rapids coining from La-( liiiie it requires no. other comment than, admitting it to l>c ( orrcct, the benefit to be derived in that respect i» equally applicable, whether the canal be made on the one route or the other. Yet, notwithNtiJtulm^ the ve- ry great saving supposed likely to be made annu- ally therein, I amof opinicn that the great bulk of the raftsmen will contmue to follow the channel of the St. Lawrence as heretofore, without entering the canal at all ; whilst such as try the route of passing through the canal will find the charges they incur fully equivalent to any average loss they may have sustained in passing the rapids. Before I finish I cannot help saying a few words respecting the self-conceit wilh which these gentlemen, or those among them who have been considered as having a sufficient dv>c;ree of talent to write their pamphlet, use the words, " scientific men," for in the manner in which they are used in page 15 of the Remarks they cannot be suppos- ' ed to apply to any others. They there, speaking highly of the "spirited Incorporated Canal Com- pany," state that it was in conformity of the o- pinion of all scientific men that the necessity of , the canal's being extended to the Cross was re- commended to the Legislature of that Company. This is really laughable for it was not the " incor- porated company," who made such representations 10 the government, but a set of men who wanted to become, and by their manoeuvres did afterwards become, an incorporated company for that pur- I i' i I i ,. .\. !j- ^ /• ', 6i It ^ N^ ( h ^ '7 pose ; and it is well known that every engineer employed on that occasin acted under limited in- structionsi, and were required not to give their o- ipinions as to one or the other method ; but to frame a report ind estimate of a plan previously laid down to tti^m. The engineers who have giv- en any opinions on the su^ect either ther;, or since, until our plan came into discusdon, rifl act- ed under the controul and instructions either of their private employers cr of the same men when formed into a company, and no one of them gave his opinion as to tae utility to the public of any other plan. Hence when these gr ntlemen ispeak of " scientific n^-^n" ti*ey must Mean themselves, r&nd I think that an erratum ought to be added to their pamphlet-^say, page id, line 10, for scientific^ read interested. No one either can deny that this ** spirited iiiccrporated company," that for two years did nothing at all but write home to England to engage an Engineer, ai)d after all were forced to confess their incompetency for the un- dertaking, and give up the canal as a bad job into the hands of governniv^nt, obtained their charter by niaans of new^aper paragraphs, puffing and i]uackery ; by the publication and circulation of Hiistatr^oients, and absurd and incorrect estimaes ; as well as by mosi forcibly rccommendinp the en- terprising energy of merchants and speculators, in preference to that of government. I can not but a J mire how they have changed their tone since the old Engineer has been attached to their pirty. They now speak very highly and flattering!/ of the wisdom and providence of Qur legislature, and of the present Canal-commissioners ; a ve* y great «;hange indeed from the time when tiiey so vehe- mently deprecated the interference of government in any such undertakings, SLau reprobated the mode 1! ■'<^; t-. ■t .'. •; ^ , • ' ' 39 I iJy in which all such as were not managed by private companies were executed. 1 will add tliat the Legislature would h^ve had something to thank those worthy gentlemen for, ha^' they advised the presetit acting Engineer of the Canal to be calledf before the Mouse, to be strictly questioned as to ^ the most eligible route in which the canal oughlj to run for the benefit of the community ; tor there' is not the least doubt in my mind- but they would have gained much more salisractory and disinter- ested information from him, than they ever will glean from the " Remarks" of t hese heroes, or from all the newspaper puffs, tables, or estimates, that have been, or will be, printed for twenty years to come. In concluding this desultory i^ply to the " Re- marks," it Remains only for me, m order to shew the fallacy of the statements and calculations these gentlemen have made, in as correct a point of view as I can, to annex my tables of calculaiiongi in which I have opposed one to each of theirs; , and I challenge them to refute or disprove the; ' items as I make them, which I can both assert ' and prove are as correct as any estimate of similar works can possibly be made. My inducement for thus stepping forwards hag been the desire of promoting the public good, to which if I have contributed in the least, 1 shall feel amply rewarded ; and I beg to add that it is not my intention to reply to, or notice, any observations that may in future appear on this- subject in the newspapers, which I have a presen- timent may not be few, smce, when a sportsman' hits his game, every bird that the shot has touch- ed generally flutters its wings before it falls to the <;rounu. I :.'/' i i; 11 V I I I ' i ; t ' ; ! \ I .S^-fr^v'? "^••biU' .'f.,;-' '■:'':;^sf'* V'^ $■ s i '■■■•:'■'• ■■■ 'i '■>'■ \ ^ ' ''.;• ' J . ' >', ■*■>-.' , • V FIRST ESTIMATE. -■ The expence of making a Canal from Mr. • Gregory's Farm in a straight direction to the Windmills, say for one mile and a half, or 2640 -: yards: the average depth of the eiicavation re- , quired is two yards, and the mean breadth 13 yards, making (^S,640 cubic yards, at 6d. pet;; yard, is j^l,7l0 One Lock in .St. Gabriel' farm, 8 feet left, 2500 | One Culvert in St. Gabriel' farm 100 | One Bridge in Wellington Street 500 Constructing a Pier to form a bason at the Windmills, containing ten super- ficial acres 5000 20 Feet of Lockage at Munn's Wharf. 6000 ' 5^15816 This route, passing through the Commons of - Montreal for 20 arpents will not incur any public expense, and it has been ascertained that the pro- prietors of St. Gabriel's farm will not make any ; ^ demand on the public for their land, provided the canal passes in as straight a direction as the land ^ ^^ ' will permit. 1 SECOND ESTIMATE. '^ The expense of making a Canal from Mr. Gregory's farm by the Turnpike road, as laid , down on the plan by the engineer, the distance on '! • the route being one fourth more, the excavation ; at the same rate as computed in the first estimate, will an.ount to ^2145 > ;^ Two bridges across the Turnpike road, and one Bridge across a street lead- \ 41 -■•/ ing to the Mountain, at 500/. each, 5^1500 One Lock, 8 feet lift, Two Culverts, - . - - - Six Bridges between the lock and Munn's Ship Yard, at 500/. each, 20 Feet of Lockage at Munn's Wharf, - Purchase of Property on this route,, ^% ii/r ^500 200 3000 eooo 20000 £353^5 So that a canal bv this route will cost 19529/. more than that by the Windmills, without any bason, or place where a bason can be made, or place A' safety for either boats or rafts. '; L3E:: 'i 'Ci^ THIRD ESTIMATE. The eXf,^nse of making a Canal from Gregory's farm to the harbour of Montreal on the route pointed out by the old engineer and his co-adju- tors, which I will state at the lowest possible rate . for fear of too much astonishing the reader, will be as follows : ; TxT. distance to be excavated must be at least 2^ miles, say 115,000 cubic ya.^s, which will be f;v Hsore expensive to excavate than on the other liv vK^i- in order to go as low as can be, I will take h > ^ame price, say 6d. per yard, is a^2875 One iocL, 8 feet lift, - - " - 2500 One bridge across the Turnpike road - 500 p One culvert in the meaclow, - - 100 Embankment to St. Antoine suburbs 600 > " := yards, ^ ' 1500 4 Two Bridges, one in a cross street, and one ^, in St. Antoine street, 1000 . F ..■: :\>*;-V i:^ ^:.y ■" '-'M* ^:?^- I w ■ ' ^i^ i' MB- ■'f : ,-'-jiie culvert of Jarge dimensions, 250 Four bridges from the creek to the proposed bason,^ 20G0 Cost of making the bason, - - - 5000 2t) feet of Lockage oh the River Side, 6000 Purchase of land and buildings on this route, 20000 " , £42475 Now it is to be observed that even this very riiodifate es*'mate can be of no avail since there is no possibility ' " . *iking a bason in the place pro- posed ; as the ek is the great and sole outlet for the water from all the surrounding country, and cannot be turned any other course without incurring an additional expense ; and even if this project be put into effect, still the Canal to the Cross will remain untouched, save for the short distance from the contemplated bason to the old line near the Hay-market. I ■• ^i^ ■A i: ■■■■f. , ' ■1 J !■ '*v\v Iv m ■: L . -. ^.cl- • , - ... 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