^•^ **> \> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // y. 1.0 Ifria IIIIM ii 1.25 1^ M 2.2 6" 2.0 lA ill 1.6 Phntnorpnhir Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ^ ^ fV i\\^ ^^ i\ \ ^ '^^Tx% t^. ^^ 'I, ^?« -»: :j s? w^^ ^ I CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r"! 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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked helow/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indique oi-dessous. ^OX 14X 18X 22X 26X SOX y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 3 32X ^^ The copy filmsd hare has be«n reproduced thanks to the generosity of: L^islature du Quebec Quebec L'exumplaire filmi fut reproduit grSce d la g^n^rositA de: L^islature du Quebec Quebec The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated imprc sion. The !&st recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —»-( meaning "COI^- TINUED"). or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filme, that this appreciation would be very greatly encrcased were the trade facilities encreased, we may safely infer, by trade faci- lities, basins warehouses and elevators are understood. These facilities are now being actually supplied in all the important townsandciliesof the upper part of this Province, at Sarnia, Collingwood, Hamilton, the Wetland, Toronto and Montreal, and these facilities are beyond a doubt indispensable at Quebec. If all the towns mentioned above have found it absolutely necessary to have such facilities in order either to keep, increase or make a trade for the public benefit, and in order to maintain their position in the general advance of the t Province, with iho drawback to wliich they arc all more or less exposed, of hein^ only on the route to the Occsan, how much more should it become obligatory on the citizens, who reside at the actual sea-port itself, to bestir themselves and by so doing obtain their just share of the advantages derivable from increased trade and commerce. Montreal, although 180 milies further from salt wa{(;r, has long been aware of the importance of this route between the Atlantic and the West, and has lor years past been steadily and perseveringly pursuing such a course as would secure to her basins and piers a share of the advantages of its adoption, and is at this moment straining every nerve to cnhngcj her accom- modations and increase her trad(! facilities, and this against obstacles and impediments which might well daunt less ener- getic and determined men, surely with such examples before them the proprietors of Quebec should arouse themselves, and enter the lists as competitors for the prize, which sooner or later must be awarded to the St. Lawrence route. Trade facilities mentioned above, consist in good and safe berths for vessels either seagoing or river and lake craft, without such it is in vain to look for the increased arrival of either of the above or indeed of any kind of vessel. It should Iherefoi-e be the duty of those who desire the prosperity of Quebec to aid in obtaining such accommodation. In this case, as in many others, private interests interfere with the public requirements, and owners of wharves and piers now in existence declaim against improvement for the general good— not because improvements are not imperatively demanded, but because the improv(!ments do not embrace the piu-chase of their wharves in the first instance. It will be well, at this point, to examine the state of the existing wharves and piers in the Port of Quebec and see what actual amount of accommodation they are capable of supplying to ships requiring berths. Commencing at Alfords wharf or pier, which is the upper 6 one of llic prosont business part of t!ic port, and moasurinR down lo llio cornor of the iiuiia wharf, conlih'uoiis to llio new Ctisloiu House, llirre is found to bo n distancij of 121)1 foot, nnd this comprises the present I'ort of U'lidjec as rejiards ge- neral nierchandizf!, Iliat is, if llie assertion of the present wharf owners or hohh.'rs is lo bo credited. Having? the dis- tance in ll^Mn-es how many berths and what amount of accom- mofhilion docs it allbrd. Bofjtin with Alfords, the most vabiable pier on th(; riv(!r, for it allords berths for two vessels lo be afloat at low water. N(!xt in ordT is (Jillespies, — here only om; vessel can lie and that across the end, a very narrow and uneasy berth, this is usually a steamers berth. Next (Jibbs, — here as before there is but one berth. Atkinson has a berth across the end, usually occupied and reserved for the Lady ilead. Lcaycraft has one berth, and lastly there is a berth at the India wharf. In the whole Port of Qiieboc, usin;; the ^yord poit as the wharf owners use it, there are but live available berths ^^hcro ships can remain afloat at all times of tide drawiniL;; J8 feet water, whenvis in the port of Montreal there are berths for 22 vessels, of over 18 fei't draught of water, whore they can lie secure alongside the wharves and piers. AVilh su('h a fact before them is it matter of surprise lliat ship owners should prefer to pay the cost of sending their vessels lo Montreal in preference to running the risk of allowing them to lie across the end of a pier in a tideway and exposed lo the frerpieut gusts of wind from the N. and N. E. to which they arc exposed, or to the alternative of getting a cargo whilst lying in the stream by the expensive and tedious process of lighterage. In the month of June last, it was observed that tlie wharves were covered with coal lo the absolute exclusion of every t c olhor kind of m(»rchantliso, so that there were no Qvailahlo berths for ships with gciinral cargo and considerable loss and delay was the coiweqiKsnco. To quote from « a letter from a member of the Hoard of Trade on the subject of the Harbour improvements : » « For » many years past the wharfaf,'e accommodation of Quebec has )) beiMi found to be but ill adapltnl to the requirements of our )) tiado. The deep walf.'r privileges appears to have been » conceded originally to the possessors of small properties on » the siion;, who erected in front thereof wharves of greater » or less dimiMisions at all conceiveable angles and depths of » water, which, however well suited to their own business » views at the time, and to the average size of vessels some » ' 'ity years since, are, in their present somewhat improved » state, when the number and size of vessels visiting the port » are considered, but a sorry makoshifl for any thing like » proper wharfage accommodation.)) The above extract from the published letter, is endorsed by the action of the Board of Trade of Quebec, a fact established by the introduction into that document of a passage from a report submitted to a general meeting of that body on the (Hh of August 185G, and which was forwarded to the Executive, thereby fully proving that the wharfage accommodation was insufticicnt for the business of the Port. After, it would seem, repealed applications to the govern- ment, a Harbour Commission was appointed, and fortunately to the satisfaction of the writer of the letter alluded to ; but with tlie admission on his part of satisfaction as to the compo- sition of the Commission ends his approval, and the acts of the Harbour Commissioners receive his censure. Without desiring in any way to stand forward as champions and defenders of the proceedings of the Commission, let us quietly see if common sense, will not prove their conduct to have been based on sound and practical views of the require- ments of the case, and their acts themselves speak better •^ 8 in their favour than any panegyric though written by the ablest pen. Another quotation from the letter may be here inserted : » immediately on commencing their duties, the Harbour » Commissioners seem to have entered into a negocia- » tion for the purchase of the properly known as Oliver's » wharf. There is probably no great reason to doubt the » prudence of this purchase itself, or to find fault with the » price paid, even though it be a considerable advance (here » the writer is in error) on the price of which it was acquired, » but a very short time previous to the resale to the Commis- » sioners. » With regard to the foregoing a few words will suffice. The Act of Parliament forming the Commission grants all the estuary of the St. Charles to them, outside a certain line known as the Commf iioners line, but without owning some properly between that line and the city there could be no access to it, and unless that property « Oliver's wharf)) had been purchased in the first instance, the Commis- sioners, judging from the tone and tenor of the letter, would have been efTectually debarred from obtaining such approaches as would render the Government grant of any value whatever, most wisely then they obtained possession of the property in question, and by so doing secured to the Commission the advantage of free and uninterrupted means of communication with the city. Before purchasing this property however the owners of wharves, lying between the Custom House and the new market, had been applied to and the prices of their pro- perties respectively asked for, — whether the prices asked were so large as to perclude their purchase remains to be seen — the Commissioners however purchased that which was abso- lutely required, and have not yet purchased that which is not so immediately wanted. The purchase of « Olivers wharf)) having been made, it was obviously desirable to make it pro- fitable and that is exactly what they, the Commissioners, have proceeded to do. So far common sense speaks loudly in their favour. Having glanced at the present state of the Harbour and found ^ A{ 9 that it is in a very unsatisfactory state and that some ameliora- tion is absolutely necessary, not only with a view to obtain a new trade to the port, but also to render fit accommodation for whnt already exists, it will be well to consider what plan should be adopted to obtain the desired result. Sheltered berths m sufficiently deep water with easy access and so constructed as not to interfere in any way with the navigation of the river are obviously what are required, at present there are but five berths in the Port of Quebec, that have any title to the name. Suppose, for arguments sake, that it be decided to purchase, saV tlire^^ of the properties on the St. Lawrence, namely Gillespies, Gibbs and Leaycrafts, and com- mence to make such ameliorations as may be possible in each of these, in what must they consist ? as there is not space suffi- cient for this purpose along the river front, clearly, in projec- ting piers from the present ones out into the river. The class of vessels which must be provided for, are, as the writer of the letter remarks, of a superior size to those using the port some thirty years ago, and the Pride of Canada, may be assumed as a standard. One berth for such a vessel must be at least equal to her length 225 feet, say it is desirable to berth six such ships, then in order to meet this amount and not interfere with the berths already in existence the piers must be at least 300 feet long eich, and three piers will be required, for the idea of extending one pier only, of sufficient length to give the required accommodation could not for one moment be entertained, for the two m?nifest reasons of enormous costanc' interruption to the general navigation of the river. Assuming then that three piers must be constructed, and the three properties mentioned, namely Gillespies, Gibbs and Leaycrafts are selected, let us proceed to count the cost of this operation. Commencing at Gillespie's the depth of water in front of the existing pier is 34 feet at low water, at 300 feet out it is 58 feet, the mean is 40, to this must be added 25 feet from low water to top of the pier, making a total height of 71 feet. Assuming 60 feet as the width of the pier at the lop and iO that it IS necef3sary to have the sides formed with a slope, to allow of the rise of the ice in winter, of one in five, the width of the hottom would be 88.4 feet and the mean width would be 74.2 feet which multiplied by the mean height and again by the length would give 58,535 cubic yards, taking the estimate of the celebrated Engineer, who self denial is « never-to-be- too-miich- commended, » of the cost of such works namely one dollar and forty cents per cubic yard, which in such deep water would be a low estimate, wc have the sum of $81,949, or £20,487 10s., for the first two berths. Next in order comes Gibb's pier, at the end of this there is 40 foet, at 300 feet out 60 feet giving a mean of 50, appl; the same process of calculation and the result is for these two berths a cost of $87,500, or £23,730. Lastly Lcaycrafts, here are find 30 feet and CO respectively, giving a mean of 45 feet and calculating as before the cost for the two last berths will be found to amount to $80,570, or £20,142 10. Making a total of £64,380 for berths for six ships, to this must be added the sums asked by the proprietors for these properties, which we may set down in round numbers at £45,000, which added to the cost of the piers makes this arrangement amount to £109.380. The amount stated as being required to carry out the en- larged views of the letter writer contained in the following paragraph : « It would obviously be more prudent to purchase three or four of the present wharves, situated, say imme- diately above the Custom House, a would have yel further to be encreasod before the experiment, as he is pleased to term the action of the Commissioners, could be tested, and with the interest of such a sum to be provided arl with so limited an amount of accommodation, what possible business could be carried on with an v hope of success, — the proposal therefore of purchase and improvement « immediately above the Custom House )) must for the present be abandoned and some other scheme, which would be self supporting at any rale, must be adopted. } ± } t 11 Without attempting to argue upon a fact which has be3n established beyond a question, namely that a road must be made before it can be used, or that merchandise cannot bo conveyed without means, although a contrary position seems to be assumed in the following extract «from the letter referred to, » donbtless there are people sanguine enough to contend that » there is an enormous western trade waiting at our doors, and » that some ((encouragement)) only is required in order to » obtain it, and the Commissioners may imagine that this » encouragement)) consists merely in the provision of what, » after all, are soundary matters, wharves, elevators, and ware- » Jiouses, » Ctcamboats railroads and canals might w ilh equal justice have been added to his list of secondary matters, it may be asserted that if there is one fact more clearly demonstrated than another, it is that facilities make trade and not trade facilities. The history of the commercial world during the last 30 years has been one long and uninlerruptod proof that whenever facilities have been made, trade has followed, and did we want further corroboration, the simple fact of the present state of this port would most amply prove that the absence of facilities deters trade, — an assertion which has been made to the citizens of Montreal by one of their mem- bers. The Chief Commissioner of Public Works, in his general report for 1860, says: ((It is unnecessary to dwell upon » the importance to the trade of the St. Lawrence, of having « proper facilities r> for receiving, storing, and transhipping » grain and other produce, or to recount the inconvenience » and loss it has sustained during the past season for want of » them. The mere fact that the raih\ay, although it reaches » the city (Montreal), ivhich is the head of Ocean Navigalion, » possesses none of these facilities, and is, as yet, nncon- » nectcd with the Harbour, is fcuKicient, of itself, to make » manifest that a radical defect in the traffic arrangements re- » mains to be remedied, and a great want to be supplied. » A scheme combining all the requirements mentioned above 12 namely sheltered berths with sufficiently deep water, of easy access, and so constructed as not to interfere with the na- vigation of the river, has been formed and is now before the public. This scheme contemplates the improvement and en- largement of the Harbour or Port of Quebec, in that portion of it at present unoccupied and unproductive, by providing a basin of nearly 12 acres in extent surrounded by a wharf or piers, in 22 feet depth of water, sheltered from the prevailing winds, of easy access at all times of tide, with a pier in the middle on which elevators and warehouses would be con- structed and where cargoes could bo landed and transferred at all times, this scheme provides a wharfage of 2925 feet in length, and not being affected by the current allows of outside or stage berths, supplying berths for 16 large ships, 4 large propellers and many smaller berths for light craft. This work can be executed for less than two thirds of the former scheme, being in shallower water, more accessible, already the properly of the Commission and permitting of a much more simple method of construction, in addition to which it provides for the reception of ships ballast and allows of the formation of ballast berths which no other scheme can supply. The question of what is to be done with the ballast annually brought to this Port, is one which must be speedily settled. During the last 30 voars the bottom of the river at the ballast groinid has been raised 43 feet ami Ails process is going on at the rale of eighteen inches per year, as we are informed on the authority of the Admiralty Surveyor, Capt. Orlebar, R. N. If the Commissioners of the Harbour do not take this matter up, the British Government will be compelled to do so for neglect will be allended with results of a character altogether so im- portant as to render such a step absolutely necessary. For twenty years past the average annual deposit has amounted to the enormous quantity of 220,000 tons, and this as is well known has already caused great inconvenience — to the extent of rendering one of the most valuable properties in the vicinity ( h t } i 'I t 13 of the ballast ground comparatively unavailable. In his evident anxiety to aid in the sale of certain wharves the very able writer of the letter referred to, has altogether overlooked this small matter of the ballast, a subject however of more real im- portance to the welfare of the Port than the purchase of all the river frontage. In the construction of wharves one important item is the filling ; in the case of the three piers proposed to be con- structed from those already in existence, there is no oppor- tunity for utilising the ballast as the piers must be completed without the delay and interruption to trade which ships dis- charging ballast necessarily cause— and even if any number of ships could by any possibility be brought alongside, the piers would not absorb one years supply,— and after all some other means would have to be found for getting rid of it. In the case of the proposed improvements below the Custom House (be it remembered « on the St. Lawrence » and not « up the St. Charles » ) preparation is made for taking the ballast and rendering that which is now actually injurious, a source of profit and a mean of increasing the capacity and importance of .he Port— this will offer a receptacle for the ballast for many years to come, that would not take one years supply, where it possible even to get the ships to the piers. The scheme of experimentalising on a small scale, as the result has shewn, was erroneous thirty years ago— what would such a line of conduct appear to the world in 1861. Already the «myth» facetiously so termed, is at our doors, and we have no means of accommodating the first proposed instalment of the Western trade, men of energy and intelli-' gence are amongst us offering a share of this « mythical trade,* and we cannot embrace it, and why ? simply because we have no piers elevators or warehouses, « no secondary matters » in fact, and no energy or enterprise amongst as to commence their preparation even at this eleventh hour. It does not require a prophets eye ,d forsee or a prophets pen to describe what the result must inevitably be— if Quebec 14 spurns the idea of cncniased commorcc, there are men of intellect and energy, who will gladly ard quickly loo accept the profl'ored prize for Point Levi ; and should they he unablo to profit by the chance, Montreal is ready and waiting for the opportunily to embrace it. To sum up the whole question in few words, if it be desi- rable to encrease the facilities for commerce in the Port of Quebec at all, it is essential that the necessary improvements should be made in such a manner as to be efficient and profi- table, and commenced without delay ; of the schemes proposed one would decidedly meet the requirements of the case, the other would be a mere mockery and would entail rum and disappointment on all concerned. — That a very large trade will be done by means of the St. Lawrence route between Europe and the Western portion of this continent is no longer a matter of speculation, the only question is, what share or interest in the mailer is the Port of Quebec to hove. It is hoped that a consideration of the foregoing remarks, will induce those who are owners of real estate, in this City and Port, to consider the importance of the matters now submitted to them and give their aid in once more placing the ancient City of Quebec, in that position which she is entitled to Occupy.