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Ml, 1 MONTREAL; PRINTED BY ^ALTEll & ROSS, (IREAT ST. JAMES STREET. 1859. 1* K p: f a. c e . The series of Letters signed ''A Merchant,''^ which have appeared in the Mrmtreal Gazette, on "Rival Routes to the Ucean from the West and Docks at Montreal," were written in review of a pamphlet on that subject, recently published by the Hon. John Young. They are here reproduced, as they were written, at the request uf a number of my friends, who take a lively interest in the question discussed. 1 believe it is of great importance for the city and the country that it should be well understood. During the publication of these letters, I was charged with having attacked Mr. Young from " behind the cloak of an anonymous signature." I had no desire to escape any responsibility. I simj)ly desired to present the question on its own merits, quite free fro.ni any personal considerations. 1 hope T have succeeded in doing so. WILLIAM WORKMAN. Montreal, May 28, 185f>. ri c i a f fa T» u a n E B' 1^ q o ti ■i RIVAL ROTTTKS, ifcO. Nol. To the Editor ofHut Montrial Oazrtti : Sir, — " Rival Ronna to rni Ooiam from thi Wist and Docks at Hontrial" forms the title of a goodly Blue Book of sixty-six pageB, osteDsibly deroted to a diaoussion on the merits and capa- bilities of the River Routes between the OceHD and the Oreal West; but a more appropriate title for the booic wouM be " A Dissertation on the Oaugbnawaga Oanal, on the Migrations of a Barrel of Flour, and on the personal pronoun 1." This brochure appears in the form of a letter by the Hod. John Young to the Harbor Oommis- sioBers of Montreal, of which body he is Chair- man, ard more than the directing genius, since it is notorious that he not only rules over, but over-rales, the majority of his confreres, on every branch of the subject which he now treats. The document in question therefore can only be regarded as a letter by Mr. Young to himself, as each of his colleagues is ns innocent of its con- tents as was Speed in the " Two Oentlemeu of Verona," when he exclaimed of Valentine's effusion — " 0, excellent device, was there ever heard a better. That my m^ater being Scribn, to himself should write the letter." That a supernbundaat modesty or too low an estimate of his own capacity and public merit is not a failing of Mr. Young, the productions of his genius during the last ten or twelve years abundantly prove. Prominent instances of this failing might be pointed out here, and some may be noticed hereafter, but in none of these is this well-established characteristic of Mr. Young more strongly evinced than in the slighting and almost insulting critique on the very able reports recently presented by one of the most eminent Engineers of our day, Mr. Trautwine, on the subject of Harbor Extension and Doclcs at Montreal. The public are generally aware that the views of that gentleman were recently called into re- quisition in consequence of a difference of opinion between the great majority of our citi- cens and the Chairman of the Harbor Oommis- ■ioners, Mr, Young, as to the practicability O' farther enlargement ot our harbor opposite the centre of the city for the accommodatioi if sea- going vessels drawing 30 feet water, and as to the propriety of burthening the trade of our port with the cost of constructing most gigantic and expensive Docks at Point St. Charles, far above the centre and commerce of the city, to accom- modate imaginary fleets, of which there is not yet any appearance, nor, as any one will see, who will take the trouble to wade through Mr. Young's pamphlet and weigh its reasoning, any imriediate prospect or possibility of appearance. At its first projection this notable scheme for removing our trade from its present centre, and for rendering unproductive the enormous sums expended for docks, buildings and other ap- pliances in and opposite our present harbor, for no other purpose apparently than to enhance the value of property in another locality, seemed too ridiculous to attract serious notice ; but by de- grees, as the design crept into more apparent reality, as numerous surveys and imposing plans, made with public flinds, levied for a totally dif- ferent purpose appeared in the promotion of the undertaking, public feeling displayed itself in a form that crushed for the time this nascent enterprise in the bud. As, however, time run on, and the necessity for increased har- bor accommodation was made to appear impera- tive, Mr Young, with that pertinacity which he so eminently possesses, renewed his efforts, and th« possibility of deepening or improving the large space in our harbor, for so many years occupied by mere wood and hay barges, opposite the very centre of the city, was denied. The only part of the harbor which afforded any possible increased ac- commodation for sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet, was said to be that limited portion of the harbor between the Island Wharf and the en- trance of the Lachine Canal. Hence the impera- tive demand for the immediate construction of docks at Point St. Charles, to which docks sea- going vessels were to proceed and discharge, leaving the hay and wood craft in undisturbed poBS<'saion of our present harbour, and compel- ling the numerous city consignees of goods from sea to cart the goods back to town which bad already passed their door a distance, in some cases, of nearly a mile, and over a singlo *! ■M dr»wbridge on the Lachlne Cftnal, which brldR*-, besidea beitiK in conetunt uoo Cur the niitnoroue ■teamors nnd roaaelb entering and leavinp our bnrboiir, was nlao to serve as a crossing tho- roughfare for the thousands of vehicles and peo- ple attractnJ \>j tlio buainess of this contemplated new and extensive port. A iirojjrHnime so vision- ary, BO obviously absurd, and, even if possible, 80 unjust and inconvenient, had again but to ■hape itself into the semblanco of reality, to elicit fniin the inhHbitiints of our city th"? most marked disfuvonr. Accordingly, at u numerous public tnpetiiig, held in the Uonsecour Market on the ITih of May lust (at winch meeting Mr. Young appeared with ban'lB of ruusic and a for- midable display of physical force), Mr. Younn and his purty were again subjcclrd to an equally Ignoniinious defeat, and by the un'quivucal voice of outraged public o;iinion driven from the ground. The unmislakeiible voice ot some tf n thousand of our ciiizeaa it wan hoped, and by some be- lievf d, had at la^t awoke Mr Young to a sense of bid real position. Apparently deserted by his crnfreres of ihe Har'.iour Trust, he at length appears to luive seen the proprieiy of seeking conference with others entertaining views dif- ferent from his own. Men who, although no disposed rashly to embark in guch wild nnd do- Btructive achemes as Mr. Young's, have felt, in common with a large portion of our citizens, the pro|>riety of making early provision for that na- tural increase of the commerce of the city that miy be reasonably expected from its increasing population, wealth, and resources. Accordingly, a meeting of leading citizens, convened by invi- ta ion, was held at the office of the Harbour Commiasioners, on the 24th of May laat, at which meeting a I'omraittee of ci'izena wai organi/ed to act in concert with the Harbour Commission- ers, und^r the following resolution, passed una- nimously : — RcnolvPil, — " That the following committee, viz., Wm Workman, John R^dpath, Henry Hul- mer, Wm. Parkyn, J hn Ostell, A. M. Deliile, and Thomas Ryan, be empowered to select an engineer to aur^ey ani take the levels of the ground lying between the present Hart'our nnd the north bank of the Lachinn Canal and St. Joseph S reet, or such part thereof as such com- mitte'> may determine on, in order t'lut such lev- els may be laid as soon as possible before a chief engineer or engiaeera of eminence, to be named by said committee and approved of by the Har- bour Oomuiiasionera, which enginef'r or engi- neers ahall ascertain the facilities affovded on the north or city side of the Lachine Canal for the conBtiuctioa of Docks and Warehouses, and the expense thereof, and iball also confer wu^i the Harbour CommisalonerB and said committee aa to the extent to which the present Harboui can be improved, and the expenae thereof, and ahall report upon the whole subject." I will reMiirao the anbject in ii future number of your journal, wilU your permission. A MERCHANT. March 12, 1869. No. 2. To the KilUor of the Momtihil Ua/.rttb : Sin, — The best results, it waa to be boprd, would have emanated from this arrangement, Mr. Young having voluntarily consented to It, and very care and pains having been taken in procuring from a distant part of the Continent, an Engineer of ui questionable eminence, totally unconnected with any local differences of opinion, and ap- proved of by Mr. Young himaelf. Mr. Trautwino arrived, and entered upon his mission on the 17th July last, and the results of his labours are before the public in the two excellent and elaborate re- ports already referred to. Whi'e Mr. Trautwine esiablishad beyond doubt the correotnesB of opinions so long previously urged by many of our leading citizens, as t .< the poasibiltty of deepening to 20 feet the important space in the centre of our Harbour so longjemployed by wood and hay barges, and thus giving to our city amide room for years to come for sea-going vessels, without the necessity of expensive Docks — he differed alike from Mr. Young and from previous opinions of the committee of citizens already referred to as the most suitable locality for Docks, when tho proper time should arrive to construct them. The Committee of citizens, however, not blindly wedded to any scheme, but anxious to have the questioa settled on amicable grounds, saw much merit iu Mr. Trautwiue's plan of Docks, and expressed themselves williag to accept it, and to co-operate with Mr. Young and the Harbour Commissioners in carrying it out whenever desirable and practicable. Mr. Young's confreres on the Harbour Commission, it is be- lieved, were similarly disiposod ; not so, however iheir chairman, Mr. Young himself : his idea of a reference of the question in dispute to any im- , irtial source, appears to embrace the complete necessity of a direct verdict confirming his own will, his ovrn foregone cDnclusions, — in fact bis absolute dictum. It will be admitted by any unbiassed reader, that the Reports submitted by .Mr. Trautwine are no ordinary documents : they .1? I "I \ not »r« remarkable alike for hi t oerity, and bonetty. Tliej embrace a ciicclnot rerlew of tbo present condition and prohnble ' progress of tbe irac'.o of the country, comprising an amount of atatiaUciil and general iufurroa- tion iidnpted to strike tlie underijianding of ali who peruse them, and to Ctirry conviction to tbe minds of the uiiprpjmiictfd. The fxtruvftgnnco and impolicy ot tho Point St. Charles project are made apparent. This plain sprakiiig, aitho' couched in tho most cautious terms, appears to bare operated as a wet-blanket on tlie vanity of the Point St. Oharles projector, hence the ire so obvious In his reply to Mr. Trautwino's Report, a reply in which it is to bo re^jrettcd tbe spirit of tbe partizan is more conspicuous than tbe coolness of judgment ot the inipartinl reasoner. Singular to relate, the deductions of Mr. Trautwine, wliicb especially excite the displea- tiure of Mr. Young, are drawn from data supplied by tbe bitter,— tbey are derived from the failure, admitted by Mr, Young himself, of those large pnblic works, now in operation, to fullil tbe main purpose for wbicb they were constructed : the attraction of tbe bulk of the carrying trade of tbe West from the Erie Oamil to tlio St. Law- reuce Canals. Reasoning from thia acknow- ledged but disagreeable fact, Mr. Trautwine re- commends *he citizens of .Montreal to conGne their attention to such enlargement of tbe pre- sent harbour as is now required, and to leave to the future tbe gigantic dock projects, since "any ''attempt to reduce tho present charges on pro- " duoe by the construction of docks on any scalo " would be futile, and if persisted in 'a< //(t« limt " will bui alii one more to the wainj giaiul but " unremunerative works which have already ab- " $orbed such immense sums of money in Canada." Words of friendly warning these, the dictate of a sound judgment, and wbicb deserve to be met in B similar spirit to that which gave utterance to them. But their promulgation is detrimental the success of extravagant dock schemes, and mark how the Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners repels them, and tbe rebuke, intended to be crushing, which he burls at Mr. Trautwine : — " In such a policy /, as a Canadian, and especially " aB a Lower Canadian mervbant, cannot " coincide." Tbe inference that Mr. Trautwine disparaged the capacity of tbe merchants and the great ma> jority of the citizens of Montreal, by submitting to their judgment opinions to which his convic- tions bad led him, is as ill founded ae tho retort itself ii discourteous. It is pUio, however, 'hat it id not tbe body uf merchants generally or the citizens whose judgment is felt to be eallad in quostlou, but that it wis tho individual " I. a Canadian" and " Lower Canada merchant' whose absolutism in such matters wa.> trenched upon. It is to be regretted that Mr. Toung should have approached tbe discussion of this vitally important question in such a doc{matic spirit, mure especially since, as already observed, his stallstics in his own pamphlet attest its inap- plicability— since they tell a tale of the actual condit'cn of the trade of tbe country hb connected with the canal i, at loitHt oa sombre as anything contained In Mr, Trautwino's a'ray of facts. Mr. Young'.! answer shews, from parliamentary re- turns, that, after expending three millions and a half of pounds of the public money on the Wel- Iftud and St. Lawrence Canals, and four millions and a half of pounds on the Grand Trunk Rail- ray, and after eaddling the country thereby with un immense taxation in the shape of interest on tho outlay, not only is there no revenue derived from lli.^se works, but that •' it seems to him im- " possilde, under our present nieans of transport "ie/oio Oswego, that either tbe bulk of tbe pro- " ducta of Canada West or tbe Western States " can pass below Oswego" ; and that goods of every kind from Now York, shipped through the Erie Canal, " are at present carried to tho West " cheaper than by tbe St. Lawrence route to the West." Tbe "hard facts'' of the case, namely, that onr public works have disappointed public f xpecta- tion, being establiebed by the consent of all par- ties, the question to be considered is, ^rhetber the recommendations of Mr. Trautwine are to be fol- lowed, or whether Mr. Young suggests anything more promising in prospect in lieu ? Mr. Trautwine saya any attempt to improve ma Iters by the construction of docks at Montreal, "if persisted in at this time, will but add one " more to tbe many gracd but unremunerative " works which have already absorbed such im- ' mense sums of money in Canada." Mr. Young says : " In such a policy he, as a merchant, and '' especially as a Lower Canada merchant, can- " rot coincide." lie would proceed at once to the construction of most costly docks. He thinks, "if wo adopt Mr. Trautwino's policy, and wait " till trade increases, we will do very wrong." I shall renew tbe subject at an early day. A MERCHANT. Montreal, March U, 186£). I 1 s No. 3. 7b the Editor of taa Montrbal GiziTTS : Sir— In the atire advocuoy of this Dock ques- tion, at public meetings, aa Harbour Oommission- er in conference with the Uommittee of citizene, and aa member of the Board of Trade, at the va- rious meetings of that body, Mr. Young has ever evinced the same impatience and recltlesa deter- mination to launch uncond'tionally into the enor- mous expenditure which the immediate construc- tion of hia scheme of Docks would entail upon our trade. The burthen of bis story is (vide letter page 10) " In Montreal it costs 3 cents per " buabel to cart, ttore for a month., and ship grain " on board of ocean vessels." It is in vain you endeavour to reason with him, and to shew that an increased servitude upon the revenue of our port, r qual to the burthen of the Poio t St. G barles Docks, must inevitably increase to a damagiog extent the cost of shipping both flour and wheat in place of lowering it ; it is in vain you point to the verdict of Mr. Trautwine, whose opinions he solicited in conjunction with the Committee of citizens — and who shews conclusively to the judgment of any unbiassed mind that " to make " these Dock?, (even without ^[raving docks) " every barrel of flour must pay nine cents of "dockage alone, or allowing the westward bound " freight t'> equal 20 per cent of the exports " (which it never could under eiioting circum- " stancec) 7J cents per barrel." And Mr. Trautwine predicates this scale of charges on the very liberal estimate, that " Mon- " treal shall secure to herself the shipping of " two-thirds of the entire quantity cf wheat and " other grains now exported to foreign countries " from our north-eastern portb, say a bulk equal " to 2,666,666 barrels." This is allowing to our export trade «n increase of 2,376,730 barrels every season over the average amount exported during the poriod of the last 14 years— as will be seen by the following Average amount of wheat and other grains re- reduced to barrels, at 5 bushels to ?l;«i barrel, exported by sea from the Port of Montreal during the last 14 years brls. 289,936 Amount, estimated by Mr. Trautwine as above, should Docks be con- structed 2,666,666 Possible increase estimated by Mr. Trautwine barrels. 2,376,730 To reach this large increase, estimated by Mr Trautwine, we would require to receive and ship every working day during our navigation eeaaon, about fourteen thousand barrels of flour ; and whatever we migh*, fall short of this quantity would of course proportionately augment our port charges, and add to the 9 cents dookags estimated by Mr. Trautwine. Mr. Traotwine's estimate is certainly very liberal, and yet Mr. Young endeavors to raise a prejudice against Mr. Trautwine on the assumption that he has under- rated our shipping capacity. " In such a policy be, as a Canadian mer- " chant, cannot coincide." The pciicy Mr. Young would pursue, the policy he has always advocated, is the immedinte construction of the Point St. Charles Docks. Strange however as it may appear, although this has been bis cry, althongh his pamphlet now be- fore as abounds in severe condemnation of Mr. Trantwine's recommendation, that expensive Docks should not be attempted " at this time," Mr. Young, in this very condemnation, acknow- ledges unwittingly the correctness of Mr. Traut- wine'u views. '' It will be seen," he says (page 63), " tbnt it is through and by this Oaughna- " waga Canal project alone that I expect the " trade of Montreal to increase" ; and again : " It " is on this broad ground alone that I still urge " the necessity of Docks." Now if it is " through and by the construction of the Caughnawaga Canal alone' that Mr. Young looks for employment for bis Docks, it will be evident to any one that the thing first to be done, by Mr. Young's own shewing, is to make the Caughnawaga Canal, as, until that project is secured, Mr. Young acknowledges the Docks will be useless. Mr. Trautwine, and the Montreal public, go with Mr. Young in this conclusion. But they go farther ; — they believe the converse ot the proposition. They believe that, should the Oau$;hnawaga project ever be a reality, docks at Montreal will be less needed even than they are now, and for the following reasons : — The great object to be attained by the construc- tion of this canal is, the junction of the waters of the St, Lawrence with Lake Champlain. Mr. Young says, — "When that project is complete(1, " a channel is opened by which the merchant of " the Western States, or Western Canada can " ship direct to New York, Boston, or the Eastern '• States, if he chooses, or he can store his pro- '' perty at Montreal, where I hold it can be done "cheaper than is possible elsewhere," and ship from thence. Now let us imagine this pretende,. sheet an- chor of our commerce in actual existence, and the merchant of the Western States or Wes'ern Canada directing his produce this way on that account Arrived at Caughnawaga, he finds, as Mr. Young says, that, on the one band, le has, for choice of maikeis, — the Eastern States, all If 9 Um porta on Lake ObampUin, Bdstoii, New Tork, and from thence all the world ; and on the other band, he has Montreal, with such poiata aa are already accessible from that port. Mr. Young promiBes that bia dock storage at Montreal shall be '* cheaper than at any other {joint;" but bow it could ever be so cheap aa storage on cheaper land, at Gaugbnawnga, he does not explain. If, however, for nothing — would any man in his senses, having before him the above choice of markets, — ten to one against llontreal, — incur the risk and the cust of des- cending, with bis produce, rapids or canal to Montreal, with the chances ten to one on the side of bia coming back again ? Would be not say, — " From tbia point (Gaughnawaga), I have Boston, Burlington, and all the Lake Gh^mplain ports, all the Eastern States, and New York, and from these, Liverpool and all Europe. If I go to Montreal, and should afterwards decide upon any of these markets, — and there is ten to one in favour of my doing so, — I am forced to return here again. Whereas, if I sLore my pro- duce here, instead of Montreal, I have afterwards equal chance of that market, from here, with any of the others ; and by remaining here I escape the contingency ot eighteen miles travel, double canal dues, and all the other expenses insepar- able from my produce mo. ing up and down.' This is the reasoning and the course of action which unquesiionably any sane produce mer- chant would follow, and therefore it will be evi- dent to any unprejudiced mind that, along with the Gaughnawaga Ganal must spring up a rival to the Port of Montreal, a bleeder rather Ihan a feeder at Gaughnawaga, where, from the cheaper land and other appliances, storage and dock room would be found " cheaper than at any other point," — but, if even at same price as at Montreal, would, from the above reasons, always commiind a preference over that port. From the foregoing I think it undeniable that the construction of the Gaughnawaga Canal, instead of giving any proper grounds for Mr. Young's strong opinions, "that it is by and '' through this project alotie ha expects the trade " of Montreal to Increase, or that he still urges *' the necessity of docks" — the very reverse would be the issue ; and that th* strong public eentiment which prevails in Montreal, backed as it is by the high opinion of Mr. Trautwine, as expressed in bis report, to the effect tbtt the cre- ation of the proposed Gaughnawaga Canal wonid injure the trade of Montreal, and deter from ratber than draw produce to Mr. Young's docks, is baepdjupon truth. B If, in dealing with tbia branch of th« anbjeot under discnssion, I have gone aoraewbat into detail, it is not from a persuasion of the ueccr- sity for aucb a course, for whatever may be aaid in favor of constructing a Ganal at Gaughna- waga aa a means of adding to the revenue of our other canals above that point, or of promoting the interpsta of Western produce dealers, United States forwarders, or New York shipowners, ita construction, by any sound thinking Montreal merchant, must only be regarded aa carrying absurdity on Its very face, as, in fact, the moat aggravated species of Commercial Suicide. What would be said or thought of a propoaition to improve the trade and advance the intereats of Quebec by constructing a tapping canal and erecting a port at New Liverpool 1 What heightens the absurdity too, of the mat- ter, is the preference Mr. Young gives to Gaugh- nawaga as a point of depai-ture for the canal, — "for the inlere Us of Montreal (he says) be wonld " prefer the outlet at Gaughnawaga to an outlet ' opposite the city." Comment on this is unne- cessary. I shall continue the subject in my next. A MERCHANT. Montreal, March 19, 1859. No. 4. To the Editor of the Montrbal Gazette : Sir, — A di3tant reader, unacquainted with the topography of Montreal, on perusing Mr. Yonng'a letter, would imagine that city to be deplorably inaccessible, and that her future prosperity en- tirely depended on the removal of some formida- ble obstructions interposed to th" conveyance of produce trom the St. Lawrence to Lake Cham- plain : he would picture some mountain to be tunneled or some dreary moor to be traversed by a canal ! " Connect these two points," says Mr. Young, " and vi what a grand position would this place the merchant of Montreal !" Who, perusing this ecstatic burst, would ever dream that the two notn 3, wiiose junction is to produce Buch marvellous results, are already united by two excellen'; railways, — the distance along one of whinb, from river to lake, is little more than 20 miies, with its terminus opposite the city, and the terminus of the other at the El Dorado of Mr. Young's imagination, Gaughnawaga I With these means of communication, coupled with the more circuitous route of the Chambly Ganal, it can scarcely be conceded, and especially when Ibe Victoria Bridge is opened, which it will be this year, that any insuperable obstacles exist to the most extensive commerce between the two points in question. Bnt great stress is laid by Mr. Yonng on tbo greater cost of transport by railway than by B 10 ii Mnal. tniBOT* tbit dliparlty, which Mr. Toong allege! to be Boffioient to drire the carry- ing trade from Canadian waten, be insiBts on the oonitrnetion of the Oaagbnajraga Canal. Let this point now be ezamined on the data fur- aisbed by Mr. Touag himself. In page 16 he ■eta down the actual cost of moving hoary freight at li cents ptr ton per mile. This be givee as bis own contrac price. This estimate givei about 33^ cents as the cost of carrying a ton of wheat, 33} bushels or 10 barrels of fl)ur •long one of the railways already mentioned from the St. Lawrince to Lake Champlain. Say for wheat about one cenl per bushel, and for the flour 3} cents per barrel. Now, for the ebortnesa of the line of rail, and for handling •t both ends, allow 50 per cent over Mr. Young's own contract price, this will brine the transport of wheat from the St. Lawrence to Lake Cham- plain to something under U cents per bushel, and of flour to about 4} cents per barrel. How much under these rates could the Caugbnawaga Canal, including lockai^e and everything, carry sach produce ? and do the future prospects of the produce trade of the City of Montreal, and the necessity for tbe creation of extensive docks at Mntreal, depend upon such a slender thread as this, upon tbe fraction which an expensive canal 33 miles long can convey wheal under the railroad rate of 1^ cents per bashel, or fljur at 4} cents per barrel, and these rates are 50 per cent over Mr. Young's contract prices and still more over present Grand Trunk turiff rates from Toronto? Truly, if on this rests the mar- gin between the prosperity and decay of our Lower Canada commbron, our Upper Canada friends, with Mr. Meriitt at their brad, are committing a grave error in con Btracting at this moment a railway along the line of tbe Welland Canal with a view of carry- ing produce by rail' upon more advantageous conditions than by canal! The people of Biififilo, too, whoso opinions on Buch mat ers are well deserving of weight, aod whose interests are oppojed to the success of Mr. Merrill's railway, setm to acknowledge its ability to compete succesafully with the canal in question, hs may be seen from the following; taken from a recent Buffalo journal :— •' A New Compbtino Rohtr p^m the Westebn Tbadb — ll is not, probablv, generally known to the citizens of Buffalo, and other western towns, th^t a new route from lower lake ports to Port Dalhonsie, and by railroad to Port Colborne, and propeller to the upper lakes, is to come in competition this spring with the already esta- blished ISaef apon the lakes for • shats of ths trade of the Western States. A railroad, which has been m progress of constrnctit n during tbe past two or three years, connecting Lakes On- tario and Erie, and running parallel with tho Welland Canal, is now com^Jeted and ready for business. This road has been constructed espe- cinlly for freight trn£Bc, though it will, of course) ■arry all passengers who disire to take this route. When we say especially, we mean that hU modern facilities t ir tbe handliog of grain and roiling (f freight have been supplied. Ele- valors of ibe most improved kini, of Itirge c pa> city, with exteDsive docks and warehouses, have been built at either end of the road, which, by tbe way, is only 25 miles in length. Upon these docks have been erected sulinble macbineiy for trariferring rolling Ireigbt from vessels to the railroad, and from tbe railroad to vessels * * Some three years since, the Hon. Wm. H Merritt, who was tbe originator of tbe Welland Canali and who watchtd over and superintended its construction, having seen tbe sucoeasful compe- tilion which tbe railroads were waging against ibe lakes and canal, and aware of the large amount of money which would bo required to enlarge that canal and its locks — which could not, for some years at least, be oblalnel — and the length of time which must elapse before the work, if undertak>^n, could be accomplished, con- ceived the idea of constructing tbe Welland (liiilway on tbe shortest practicable line between the two '.Hkes, and parallel with the canal. Mr. Merrill's long connection with the Government of Canada bis abilities as a statesman, his fore- sight and SHgaciiy in predicting, wben the coU" 3^ruction of tbe Welland Canal was first dis- cussed, the growth of tbe western country in population and wealth, and the steadily increas- ing commerce which was to pay tribute to that great public work, as well as his energy and perseverance in oritiinatingand successfully car- rying it out, at a time, too, when bat few bad any C''>nfllence in the undertaking, gave him cbaracler and confidence with the people of ')reat Britain an I ber capitalists, who ciime for- ward, when applied to, a:.d readily furnished the means to build and fully equip this road." Mr. Young, the Lower Canadian merchant, insists upon a Canal, to compete with two Rail- ways, already open, as the only means cf saving our produce trade from destruction— Mr. Merritt, tbe Upper Canada merchant, has, for tbe last Tcu- or five years, been leclurinr? and travelling 10 idise funds to construct a Railway which is to lun right along the bank of the Welland Ca- nal ; and the belitf that this road can success- fully compete with ihe canal in question, has alone enabled Mr. Merritt to obtain the means for Ub completion. Verily, it is a relief, when snch eminent "doc- tors differ " so widely, to know that the gasping point to which they respectively bring onr 8 trog- gling commerce, and for which they bo earnestly u "doc- isping lettlj preteribe >ach oontrftrj ooaoterpoisoua, it but a •peck in their owe imaginationa. In mj next I will endenToar to point out the reaaona why "(Ae barrel of flour" migrates 30 larftely to New Yorli, in preference to Montreal. March 21, 1859. A MERCHANT. — P08T8CBIPT.— Since closing the above re- inarkf>, my attention has been drawn to a com- munication in to-r^.ay'a Herald, over the eignaturc of "Another Anonymous Scribbler." The reaaoning and the wrangling of this lite rary limb are not on a par. He is rery angry at my attempt to write over an anonymous signa- ture, sputters handsomely, and calls very naughty names; but, as he beautifully ez- preasea it, '*akulks behind the cloak of an anonymous signature ' himself— thus he is guilty himself of the crime I am condemned for. His next freak is to dive right into, what I suppose we might call, " Caughnawaga bog logic." "Judging from Mr. Youni^'s antecedents*' (he ■ays), " Mr. Young will consult Lis own dignity " by disdaining to notice my communication," and then he adds : " At the same time I could "almost guarantee he will promptly give one of •'ftt« umal energetic and pithy replies'— ergo, a mans antecedents and what be usually does are not synonymous; and "he will guarantee" Mr. Touner will not conult Lia owr di''nity. Mr. Young may well excluitn ; "Save me from my friend t." For the information of this sapient defender and others whose nervea he may bare shocked, I bare briefly to say that, on placing my first communication in the handa of the editor of tbf Montreal Gazette, I distinctly authorised him to give my name to any party who might auk it, eftei I had published my entire correspondtnc - ; and of this I have reason to know Mr Young was promptly informed. If my observations, written as they have been somewhat crudely, uarry with them truth and commoii sense, I desire that the public sbould judge, apart from any influence for or agais •ach a conclusion that my proper signature might possibly give or take away ; and it is too bad Mr. Young should complain before I reach my "aixty-aiz pages." ^ March 22, 1869. A MERCHANT. No. 5 To the Editor of Tm oIomtrial Oazbitb : 81R,— Harlog now to some extent disposed of iba Caughnawaga Canal, let na turn to the other canal routes discuned by Mr. Young — the Erl« and Wellaud and St. Lawrence Caoala. Mr. Young has been at great pains to demon- strate, and he does so most efifectually, tb« lamentable disparity that exists against our port in its rivalry with Eastern ports, but more espe- cially with the Port of N w York in the trade of the cereal productions of the Great West. One of our moat talented Canadian engineers, who baa great experienco in such matters, has laconieally observed that " the Harbor of Montreal has been engineered te death." Mr. Young's "barrel of fl^'ur," the precursor of imagiaary millions, has in like manner, it may be said, been wriitcu and theorised apon, until it also is in extremis. la spite of canals and railways, in spite of elaborate calculations, made year after year, tending to prove that this is its natural resting place— it comes not, but passes along the "mem ditch," the Erie Canal, to Nov/ York, or other United States' marts of commercs. The broad facts of the case, ns it is, in dcfiince of engineers theorizing of what it ou^lit to be, are given in the following Btateiuent, in pages 1 L B, o! Mr. ' foung's pamphlet : — " The New York canals were opened in 1825. " The enlarged St. Lawrence canals were opened " in 1845. Both rou'es have been in usd since " the compleiioT of the works ; but it is matter " which admits of no iloubt, that the St Lawrence " route has hitherto completely failed to attract " any considerable portion of the Western Siatea' " trade ; and that since the passing of ih't United " States Bonding Act, in 1849, ll e f»reat bulk of "the exports fiom Western Canada have been "carried across Lake Ontario lo Oswego and " oib-T lake ports forehipiner.t lo Atlantic ports, '' aod tor sale in the Eastern Suites. Tiiis will "ba manifest from the following statement; — "Tfae receipt.? of wheat and other grain and •' of flour, reduced to grain at the rate of 4} " bu-bcls to the barrel, at the ports 0!' Buffalo, " OiWPgo, Dunkirk, Suspetisioc Bridge, ttocbea " ter, Capa Vicicent and Ogdensburgh, " In lfi5R were 48 391,055 bashela "In 1858 about 52,•> 13 ad- trn Continent, and of her commercial relations with every part of the world, Mr.TouDg's codcIu- ■ioos are mainly predicated on the relative rates of freight to Europe at New York and Montreal, and he seems to consider that it would suffice to throw the monopoly of the Western produce trade into our ports, were ocean freights to Europe reduced here to as low a figure as in New York. But he loses sight of the circumstance, that of the entire quantity of breadstuff^ received at New York, but a small fraction is shipped to Europe. A reference to the Table of Exports in Hunt's Merchants Magazine for December last, will shew the following as the total quantity of BreadstufiTs shipped from New York tu Great Britain and Ireland during the year ending 1st Sept., 1858 : Flour, bbls 773,408 Meal.bble 484 Wheat, bush 5,413,873 Corn, bush 1,767,114 And to the Continent of Europe : Flour, bbls 126,186 Wheat, bush 237,953 Corn, bush 10.818 Rye, bush 13,100 Reducing this into bushels it gives 11,483,209 bushels shipped from New York to the British Isles and the Continent of Europe during the above named period, — say a little more than one- fifth of that large accumulaion of produce which Mr. Young describes as collected at the various ports on Lakes Brie and Ontario for transport la that year. The other four-fifths are, of course, either taken into consumption or shipped to other Foreign markets with which New York holds commercial intercourse. It will, therefore, be seen that alike in error is Mr. Young in grouping together the fifty-two millions of bashels, which be gives as the total receipts at the ports of Dunkirk, Buffalo, Suspension Bridge, Rochester, Oswego, Gape Vincent and Ogdensburgh, with a view of shewing that Montreal, in obtaiaing only 10 per cent of this grand aggregate, is a great suf- ferer, or, that any system of docki) or canals could materially change this. With as much reason, might he add together the quantity, of merchandise forwarded for export to the ports of London, Liverpool, Bristol, Hull, Glasgow, and other ports in Bri •vin, and by shewing what a email proportion of this quantity was shipped to Montreal, exclaim, — '* Kow what is the reason of this !" The reasor simply is, that goods des- tined for other markets could not conveniently come here, ft^i A private letter recently received by the writer from a Western miller, has some remarks on this branch of the subject so well put, that he is tempted to quote them : — "There is one controlling principle, he says, " which it seems to me Mr. Young, and, indeed, "all you Montreal people overlook, which is, " that along all this Erie Canal route there are " multitudes of very important streams which " Western produce has the chance of flowing " into at good consumptive prices, before it needs "to take the last chance of New York. This " one thing gives our route a great advantags " over others, even Oswego. Buffalo is undoubt- " edlj from its position the v. ry best grain mar- " ket in the country, that is, it will stand a larger "arrival of grain at one time without breaking " down than any other place. " Since the almost entire failure of the wheat " crop in New York State, nine-tenths of the " mills in the State look to Buffalo for a supply " of wheat (and not for a great many years has " the State been able to grow half enough for its " own wants), aud as the Empire Slate has a " population a good deal larger than that of " both the Canadas, you can easily see how im- " portant this home demand is. Just as soou as " large arrivals are reported in Buffalo there is an " influx of barges ihat will buy more wheat, and " corn and oats iu one day than you would <* receive in M ntreal, or be able to sell in a great " many months. Now suppose all that stream of "produce was directed to Montreal, what would " you do with it, and what would the Buflalo " route do without it? You would just have to " send a large portion of it to New York, to "which point we only send our surplus— for " however much the Eastern States m^jy con- " sume, every dealer in produce knowy that Bos- "on is a disaalrcus place to make heavy sbip- " meets to. Often one thousand barrels of extra "quantity will knock the Boston market hope- lessly down." The fifty-two millions of bushels, then, which Mr. Youag gives as entering tbe porta of Dun- kirk, Buffalo, Suspension Bridge, Rochester, Os- wego, Cape Vincent, and Ogdensburg on their way to their various destinations (destinations which want them and must have them for local consumption), could not be attracted from the natural groove of supply and demand by any system of docks at Montreal, New York, or else* where. The average shipments at New York to Great Britain and Ireland, and the Continent of Europe, for the last year, after adding all that 14 I iMobM tbftt port ttom tifrj other route, is, m will be leen bj the abore eitraot, only about nt'flftk of this ^antity, Bat> independent of the small fractional part of Mr. Young's grand aggregate of 62 millions of bnshels which ultimately reaches ocean ports for foreign shipment, any one at all conversant with the foreign corn trade for a series of jcars.is aware on how fragile a tenure it bangs, and bow little reliance can be placed on Europe as a certain or permanent market for our cereal produce. A ■accession of deficient harvests there, following tbe opening of the British corn markets, has given for a time t<«mporarj vent for our surplus produce, and stimulated, in a corresponding de- gree, our agriculturists to increased activity ; bnt if we may judge from tbe present appear- ances, very moderate supplies will be needed from na for soma time. In fact, at this moment, tbe prices throughout the European Coutinent rate lo much lower than ours that speculators from tbie continent, according to reports, are • operating there. Mr. Young appears to be obliveous to all such eontingencies as these, and in page 67 predica'es tbe receipts cons'^quent upon the carrying out of bii dock and canal schemes at five millions of barrel! daring oar navigation season. A sup- ply more than double that shipped from New York to the British lales and all Europe out of all the produce that reached New York from the ■aid 62 millions above named, and from every other quarter daring the same year. A snpply which, we may well ask Mr. Young, what he would do with should, as at present, European low prices deprive as of that market, and all in- land navigation be closed around us by a long winter ? To send it to New York, or elsewhere, by railway, would, according to Mr. Young's own calouUtions, entail ruinous loss, and to ■tore it during a long winter would involve a locking up of capital and a load of charges ruinous to tbe owners. And here tbe inaccuracy of Mr. Young's reasoning, on this branch of his subject, must not be left aonoticed. Mr. Trautwine, in bis report, instances tbe cir- comstwce of the port of Montreal being annually closed by ice for five months, as a considera- tion in tbe problem of securing to betself tbe monopoly ot the Western trade. To this, Mr. Young repMes :— " I bold a con- " trary view to this, and state that the port of "New York, or any other Atlantic port, it as " effeotaally closed to Western trade, by the cold "of winter, ■■ is Montreal or Quebeo." No doubt, it may be so considered, so far as oomma« nioAtion with the interior is concerned— (altho* the Hudson River is a much shorter period closed than the St. Lawrence)~but it is altogether different with the foreign trade of New York, which \3 in full career the whole year. The advantRfi^e that that port, with the other ports on the seaboard, derive from that oircnm* stunce is so obvious that it can only be matter of surprise that Mr. Young should attempt to deny it. Mr. Young, whose experience in Western trade should be large, must surely when he made thia denial have been oblivi: a? of the exertions acd cost incurred during tbe fdll of every year to b iog down produce to New York, in order that it may be there to meet the shipping demand for it during tbe winter from every quarter of the globe. With facts such as these staring htm in tbe face, who does not marvel at the exception by Mr. Young to the following just comparison of Mr. Trautwine between Montreal and tbe Atlantic ports. Mr. Trautwine says ;— " Constancy and regularity are rapidly be- ■■ coming more essential features in tue transao- " tion of heavy commercial operations between "distant countries, and neutralise to a great " extent the advantages which attach to long- " water communications subject to so serioas a " drawback as an entire suspension of baslneia " for five months annually. The business con- " nections which must necessarily ooncentrata " apon New York and Portliud the great balk " of the Western commerce during nearly on«> " half of the year, cannot be suspended and re- " newed periodically in favor of Montreal daring " tbe other half." Of what avail are the tables ao ostentatioasly produced to prove what no one denies, that tbe main cbanaels of internal water eommacicatioD do not vary much from each other in the time at which they are closed by frost T Mr. Traatwine'a arguments are not directed to that point : ho merely cites tbe fact that New York and the otbei porta on the seaboard, at all seasont of the year can hold direct mttrevurtt by sea with foreign notton*,— that New York receives goods from them and aenda anppliea to them, while Montreal, abat out from aacb com- manication, labours ander aimilar dIsaUUtiet with other porta in the interior. r¥-''-^-"^'*"*llliir rti »fc*; 15 thli dlaparity, tTery Mndid Md imp«rti«l nlnd will acknowledge with Mr,Tr»atwine, ren- ders the luprtmacy of Montreal orer New York aa a great ibipping emporiam impossible. There is, indeed, an amount of illnsion in the entire statements of Mr. Tonng, un this head, really astonishing in such a treatise. Ik may, indeed, be true that the Port of Quebec la ooccasionally open as early as the end of March or beginning of April, but it is equally tiue that carriages have traversed the St. Law- rence opposite Quebec on tolid ice on the 10th ot May. Qood cannot ensue from such distor- tions as Mr. Young's pamphlet abounds in on this head— distortions which the recollection or experience of any one engaged in commerce or navigation amply refutes. Our climate, our comparative insulation from foreign markets during five months of the year, every one feels to be a serious embarrassment to our trade. All our efforts are continually directed to lighten this difficulty ; and to profess to ignore its exist- ence is worse than an absurdity. I will continue the subject in an early number. A HEROHANT. Montreal, 24th March, 1859. No. 6. To the Editor of Tbx Montreal Gazetts : StH, — If in the direction my previous remarks have incidentally taken, they should appear con- clusive as to the impolicy of making a canal at Caughnawaga or expensive docks at Montreal " at this time," the reader will perceive that it is not from any special effort made to place the subject under discussion beforp the reader in any flattered or forced aspect : '^or, in addition to the undeniable objections already referred to as in- separable from our climate, our geographical and political relations, there still remain unnoticed nany other still more convincing arguments against the possibility of changing to the extent imagined by Mr. Young the current of the Great Western carrying trade in its progress towards the best markets for consumption. Of these we will briefly notice one not previously mentioned, •nd which arises out of our very existence as a eolony. In the present United States revenue system, which compels parties from that country pur- chasing goods in Canada to enter them at Ga- nadiao invoice cost, there exists an insuperable barrier to onr Canadian cilice supplying the trade of the Qreat Western States. This regnia- tioD, wblcb, so long at w* remain ooder a dURir- ent government, will not he changed, conflnea onr domeittc commerce or supply trade to oar own territory ^ and as a consequence limit! car sea-going tonnage as a general thing to an ex- tent commensurate with the imports for our own Canadian consumption. All tonnage beyond this most arise from casual pass snger trade, vet* selscoming in ballast.or chance direct shipment! from European ports to the West. It will easily be seen, therefore, that were tha imaginary " five millions of barrels of flour, here, which in page 61 Mr. Young depicts, they could only be exported by the employment of • large fleet of vessels coming here in ballast to receive them. Now the loss from a voyage in ballast or a single cargo has git to be made np on the freight of the return voyage, and conse- quently our flour rates of freight would just range to that extent above the rates of Eastern Atlantic ports, where double cargoes could be obtained. To say that we could compete with these ports, and retain this trade under such con- ditions, would be another absurdity. Vessel! froTi Chicago or other Western ports, bringing flour to Montreal, would be unable therefore to obtain that " back freight" upon which Mr. YouDg rests the entire success of his project. "First catch your hare, then cook it." Mrs. Glass's maxim is as applicable to schemes for the promotion of commerce as for other enter- prises. Mr. Youpg, it is true, proposes to overcome this difficulty (page 25) oy " Montreal and Quebec "merchants establishing branch houses in Chi- " cago, Milwaukie, or elsewhere, and importing " goods direct from Liverpool, through the St. "Lawrence, for such houses." Montreal and Quebec merchants, having capital to spare, might, if so disposed, establish " branch housea" in San Francisco, or any foreign city, but how this is to benefit Montreal or Quebec it is difficult to see. We want more capital here, in place of sending it away. And what would be said of any o her city adopting such a course — say of the city of New York— should she, for the mere purpose of giving artificial support, or bringing trade to some pet dock scheme, or to the Hudson River, or the Erie Canal, send the young blood and capital of her commerce to some distant city, whether " Chicsgo, Milwaukie, or etu- where." Truly, this would be a novel mode of benefitting New York, and yet it is precisely Mr. Young's plan for increasing the trade of Montreal . 10 m I Thii "back freigbt" question has, howeTer, pucsled more heads than Mr. Young's. In the debate a few evenings ago in the House of As- sembly, on the question of our Ocean Steamers Subsidy, Mr. Howlaod made the following brief and very pertinent allusion to it : — " Hon. Mr. Howland said that the Tarious nos- " trnms proposed were ail very well, but so long "as the American Government persisted in " charging ad valorem duties on imports on their " value at the port whence they are brought in " the last place, Chicago people can never buy "at Montrflftl and we can never compete with "New York in carrying grain to Europe, as we " must charge enough lor the voyage out to " cover the expense of a return voyage ia bal- '• last." Mr. Howland said a great deal of truth in a very small space here. Indeed, it is too evident that this one difficulty alone, were there no other, renders It impossible, so long as the two countries remain under diiferent Governments, to attract the carrying trade of the Great West to our Oanadiuri waters in preference to the New Yorlj route — sad. here again Mr. Young's argu- ments crumble to the ground. The iDtelligeut reader will readily understand that this ici'ereuce to the facilities that New Yorli, especially f^om her proximity to the ocean, enjofs over Montreal, arises from no desire to disparage our comme'Clal position or prosperity. They are such, indeed, as when candidly and fairly stated, every inhabitant of Montreal has a right to be proud of. By the energy and public spirit of her people, ^Montreal has, in spite of natural obstacles from climate, from political relatious, or unjust and unwise legislation from flighty free trade theorists, risen to an acknow- ledged pre-eminence over nil th' other cities of British North America, and her advancement, cow that her representatives have advocated her true interests, in obtaining a wise protection to her home industry, seems likely to proceed in an ascending ratio so rapid as to distance all her competitors. Every enterprise within our means, judiciously conceived, is deserving of warm eu- couragement ; but precisely to the extent that prudent undertakings should be aided, ought wild and impracticable projects to be disc. un- tenanced. In striving to grasp a shadow, let us be careful not to lose the substance. To m.ike -provision for that increase of trade that our in- creasing population and resourcr s may reasona- bly be expected to entail, is the proper work of the Btatesmnn as well as of the citifeos; but to eonsttuet extensive docks, which Mr. Young bimeelf acknowledges conld only be employed " by and through" the completion of the Oaogb- nawaga Oanal and the other Immense works he couples with it, and which works are not yet commenced, is beginning at the wrong end. Mr. Young is so demented on this one idea of " rivalry" with New York, and the certainty of Montreal diverting from that city the great arte- rial produce trat^a of the West, that he cannot patiently listen to any opinion differing from his own. Had Messrs. Ohilde, Kirkwood, and Mc- Alpine done anything else than "placed the route of the St. Lawrence as superior to any other," or " deemed it their dnty to report strongly ia favour ot making the iuproviuintb (?) at Point St. Charles," their opinions would have been at once discarded, as Mr. Trautwine's are. The great majority of our citizens felt convinced of this when Mr. Young selected those gentlemen and brought them here to make the survey. They also believed that if Mr. Traatwine should have the independence to make an impartial re- port (as he undoubtedly has done), Mr. Young would pitch it overboard, and write a book against it. But although a large majority of the merchants and inhabitants of Montreal, from the very ab- surdity of Mr. Young's projects, have hitherto regarded them more as harmless " Will-o^-the w'sps" than as actual realities, there is danger in carrying this apathy too far. They should remember that, although Mr. Young is unsupported by his co-Harbonr Commissioners, he invariably writes and acts with reference to his wild schemes, as if his individual action was endorsed by his confreres in office They should also bear in mind, that although yon may search in vain for a single Montreal merchant beside himself who approves of tha Oaughnawaga Oanal project, or would give it any other reception than a hearty burst of a ha, ha, ha ! Mr. Young, by the intlaence be wields as a large produce dealer, through certain parties who are mem- bers cf the Board of Trade, has succeeded, if we mistake not, iu having his Caugb- nawaga Canal and his Point St. Charles Docks both approved of or favorably noiiced by the acilou of that body. To the Committee of citizans, therefore, who have re- cently taken the field in open opposition to Mr. Young's policy, the merchants and oit zens of Montreal owe a debt of gratitude. These men deserve every encouragement — tbey are battling against an attempt, to do what 7 To plant the business of our city remote from 17 r the Oaagh' >e worka be are not jet Dg end. one idea of certaintj of ' Kreat arte- t he cannot Bg from hit d) and Ifo- d the route »n7 other," itrongly la ') at Point ve been at are. The vinced of [gentlemen > BurTey. ne should 'artial re- r. Young I a book lerchants very ab- hitherto ill-o'-lhe danger gh Mr. harbour and hemes, aed by also search beside Canal eption bung, oduce mem- eded, ugh- arles ■ably the e re- Mr. 8 of Ita preaent centre, f^om the spot which nature pointed out to its primeval founders, and which hitherto baa been found to answer every pur- pose i— to turn fieldt and pasture ground into city lots ! and city property into fields ! When we consider the immense amount in- vested m stores, piers, and buildings of every description, with the loss to the proprietors, the general bouleversement of our trade, the immense inconvenience to the entire community, we con- fess we are lost in amazement at the audacity that could conceive such a project. To the population of the eastern part of the city the conatruction of the docks at Point St. Charles would be as fatal to tbeir interests as would the building of the Oaughnawaga Canal to the general interests of the city. It is well, therefore, that Mr. Toung has shown the cloven foot, and proposed the two projects as an entirie- ty, since by that means ,he has, as ho will disco- vor, the entire public voice raised against him. The great majority of the inhabitants ot Mon- treal concur in the opinion so sensibly expressed by Mr. Trau twine's Report, that to launch into an outlay of half a million of pounds, in the con- struction of docks, would be, "at this time" a most unwise proceeding. They will not ac- quiesce in the dictum of Mr. Toung, " that It is ' only through and by the Caughnawaga Canal'' the trade of Montreal is to be augmented. They entertain higher hopes of our future than to be- lieve it contingent or dependent npon the con- struction of some 33 miles of canal 9 miles abov^ our 3:ort, and across a peninsula already traver- sed by two railways. I will endeavor to close this correspondence in my next. A. MERCHANT. Montreal, 6th April, 18S9. No. 7. To the Editor of the Montreal Gazbtte : Sib, — Since the date of my preceding commu- nication I have been unexpectedly called from town, and my engagements have rendered an earlier resumption of this correspondence impos- sible. Having, I trust, to all impartial readers, disposed of the Oaughnawaga Canal and tracked the erratic ramblings of the barrel of flour, I shall now proceed to notice in detail sundry ob- jections to Mr. Trautwine's plan of Decks, which have been raised by Mr. Toung in the pamphlet written by ^im, now undti- consideration. It will be remembered that Mr. Trautwine, in his Report, *' recommended the citJEeni to con- " fine tbeir attention to the improvement of their " present harbour, and to lay aside dock project! " for years to come." " But if, after reading hia "arguments, tbey still insist upon a system of " docks, be would advise them to adopt the one " proposed by him, as combining the elrmentaof " economy f capacity, convenience and safety to a " greater extent than any of the others." "With " this," be says," I conclude I have investigated " the general question of improving the Port of " Montreal to the best of my ability, and in do- " ing so I have laid before you my reasons and " my figures in order that my errors may be de- " tected and rectified." "To me, in the choice, "it appears utterly impossible to hesitate." The plan of docks which Mr Trautwine recom- mended, in its outline, embraced simply the pro- longation of the Government Basins near Wel- lington Bridge till they should meet Qrey Nun Street, from whiuli point tiioy would descend by lockage into the Harbour at a point opposite Logan's stores. Mr. Young opposes this plan, and raises against !t a number of objections, which have existence only in his own imagina- tion. In page 4C he enters into an elaborate calculation as to the number ot vehicles and pas sengers which, he says, would be obstructed by it, with a view of shewing that public conveni- ence would sufl:er seriously by its udop'ion. If there is one feature which, above all others, pervades Mr.Young's sixty-six pages, it is his Don Quizote-like manufacture of giants out of Wind Mills. His "choice of routes" at Caughnawaga, his "fifty-two million of bvahels" at the reven ports on Lakes Brie and Ontaria, his mode of im- proving the Commerce oj Montreal and Quebec "by establishing Branch Houses in Chicago, Mil- waukee or elsewhere," and his " back freight" sentiments are all striking examples of as flighty and thoughtless heroism in argument, as was ever displayed by the Knight of La Mancba in bis bootless encounters with the creations of his diseased imagination. Of a class with these exploits, is bis charge on Mr. Trautwine's docks, on the grounds of diffi- culty of access and public inconvenience to ve- hicles or passengers. These docks, Mr. Toung says, " connect with fourteen great "thoroughfares, between the harbour and the "road to the Grand Trnnk," upon any or all of which coald be constructed draw-bridges, so that if a passenger or vehicle should be obstructed at any one of these by the acciden- tal passage of a vessel, they had choice of sundry otbers ; whereas, to the Point St. Charles docks, which Mr. Toung advocates, there is but one way of access, and that the present already over- C 18 ! erowded «nd most inoonfenient drawbr'dge orer tbe Lacbine Canal at WiDdmiU Point. Mr. Toung baa calculated that, under Mr. Traut- wine's plan of docks tbe inconvenience would be so great tbat " tb^re would accumulute at " Oommon street 90 Trbicles and 101 foot pas " sengers," during tbe period required for lock- age, say balf an hour. Now, without disturbing Mr. Young's calculation, let us simply ask if a project having " fourteen great thoroughfares " to and from it, should obstruct on Oommon St., during balf an hour, 101 foot passengers and 90 vehicles, bow many foot passengers and vehicles would be obstructed at Windmill Point, where there is but one thoroughfare. It is certain that tbe travel at WiudmiU Point will far exceed tbat on Oommon street ; but granting it to be equal, thero would be an obstruction thoro, on Mr. Voung's own data, of about 1200 vehicles and 1400 foot passengers, during the period men- tioned. In this comparison wo are giving Mr. Toung tbe advantage of bia concealing, as he does, the poasibility of the said 101 foot passen gers and 90 vehicles finding their way over some of tbe other " fourteen great tboronghfarea," in- stead of quietly standing still for balf an hour while other crossings were accessible ; whilst, by bis Point St. Charles project, wtth but the one thoroughfare to it, passengers and ve- hicles would have no escape, but must patiently wait and jam up the street as often as a boat of any kind ascends or descends the locks over which this one thoroughfare is constructed. — This interruption, in the busy time of navigation, would occur probdbly every half hour, if not for hours togethers. It must be plain to any candid observer, that a powerful police force would be required to ward off accidents at this bridge ; and when we take into account the circumstance that the entire thoroughfare of tbe city, to and from this contemplated new City Harbour, would be forced to make its ingre?s and egress by this one portal, it is questionable whether, under any circumstances, such a feat would not be found a physical impossibility. But why any of this discussion on this p t sound judgment and correct busincjs talent will have little ap- pre^f '?lon ao to whero the gro'ii error ilea. I fiiid it irap03;iib!o to sny tuurc in this com- mu^ioatioa. I h d hoped to close this corres- pondence with tho p.escnt Utter, but I caunot. A MERCHANT. 27th April, I'^'l). No. 8. To the Editor of the Montukal dhztm: Sib,—" The Hvrb.-iur of Montreal hns been on- '' pineer-'d to de:itl)," was the pithy observation of an eminent Canad'an engineer not long since. Mr. Yu ing, however, ia determi ,ed that It shall not die in ppam-or, Hibetniau like, he "will kill it after it's deaa." Mr. Walter Sbanly has been selected by Mr. Young, I see from the public pvints, to make another " Report ' on Mr. Young'a Point St. Charles project. Now, thij whole Poiut St. Charles question narrows itself down into a mere pjiiil— and that is the point of confidence. Does any one believe that, viewing Mr Young'a anrr'jedcnts on this question, he io the proper party to make choice of an engineer i- r another surv.y ; and lb it any engineer acting under such clrcnmstancea would inspire public confidence in hia decision, let that decision be what it may ? If in accordance with Mr. Young'a viisws, would tlic public not laugLT All the parties who have hitherto acted for Air. Young, when selected by himself, have always reported " all right" on his side ; but /rhen tho public, or a second party, got edging in a word, the deci/actfi^ the entire cott of the deepening of Lake St. Peter upon the trade of our Port instead of continuing it as a Provincial work at the public cost, as it had been by the pre- vious Act which Mr. Young destroyed. The entire expenditure in constructing the straight channel so near to its completion, thus became a dead loss to the country, and the future cost of the work was thrown upon the Oity of Montreal. Who, npon perusing these facts and turning to Mr. Young's self-iaudation on the " deepening of Lake St. Peter" and the frequent allusion he makes to it, in connection with the benefits (7) be has b°etowed on Montreal, can repress a smile? In the pamphlet before ue Mr. Young says :— " Entertaining these views, it is not to be won- " dered at if I have persisted in keeping them " before the public, although they should be " stamped aa visionory, and as vague dreams of " the imagination. It should also be remembered " that other project) advocated by me, which at " first were considered as unfavourable as the " Dock at Point St. Oharlea, have been carried " out. SI " t ftUude to U)« deepeoind of Lake St. Peter " in tb« old obannel, which wus locommonded bv " me la 184A, nnd wm Ht firit covered with rldf- " eule, but whlob was flnallj adopted, and the " Oorernment worka abandoaed after aa oipen- " dlture of about X76.000." "Serenty-flre thouinnd" pounds I Do '* Kun's Island. I certainly never dreamed of so *' noble a work as that now being erected. My '* idea went no further than a bridge of wood and " stone; the conception of thn bridge in its present " form is due to Alex. M. Ross, who examiaed the "locality, acd first mentioned the present mode " of construction to mo when on a boat on tbe " spot, I was trying to point out its advantages. "I brought the projuct befure the publi^at vari- "ous times from 1846 to 1853, when, at my sog- " gestion, its construction was made the means of ' a Gompromisii between the Montreal and King- "ston Railway and the Grand Trunk Oom- "pany."— (Page 64) Now, first as to the incption of tbe scheme of bridging over the St. Lawrence, in the neigh- borhood of Montreal, there is abundant evidenoo to prove that long bef re Mr. Young dreamt of such a structure, or was even much known amongst ns, it bad been publicly urged in tbe press, and tbe ^nltability of various points en- 1 rgei and dwelt upon. The difficulties in the way of such an undertakiug, and the benefits to result from it, were male tbe frequent theme of ill 22 ,' , L ll I (iiiouuton Afl well in prirate circles as {a public channels. There were other active and large micda en- gaged in ita consideration before the Oolossean intellect of Mr. Young took its stride over the mighty St. Lawrence. One ourrespondent of a Montreal journal pro- posed a Tunnel from Or aig Street to St. Lambert another urged the merits of an Iron Suspension Sridge fiom the high bank below the Barracks to the Island of St. Helens of a sufficient altitude for vessels to pass under, whilst others snggested plane of buperstructnre of wood, with stone piers ; — various sites between Lacbine and Bou- cberville were pointed out as suitable termini on the soutb side of the St. Lawrence. This was in the interval between 1830 and 18 i2. In the years 1832 and 1834, at the time that cholera devastated the city, Feter Flemiag, Esq , O.E., whilst business was in an utter state of stagna- tion, occupied nearly the whole of the summer in sounding the river and studying ibe various sites thought of for the Bridge, and shortly after- wards drew up plans and sections for the work and committed them to paper. They were in- spected by many of his friends, and formed sub- ject of discussion, as well written as oral. All this occurring before ^846, let us see bow much of originality is justiy attributable to Mr Young at that epoch. In]thatyear a Mr. Edward P. Gay, O.E., of Philadelphia, was employed by a committee of which Mr. Young was chairman to make the required examinations of different sites, and to report as to the practicability of building a Bridge across the St. Lawrence. He gave his judgment as follows — from which it will be seen that his conclusions wore altogether unfavorable to the Bridge :— " The data," he says, "Ihusobtaine'l, confirmed " as it ia by impressions derived from a personal " examination of the river, and by my familiarity ■■' with the operations of large bodies of ice or " streams, somewhat similar, enabled me to ex- " press the opinion, that any attempt to construct " a permanent bridge across the St. Lawrence, " below Nunris Island or between it and the lower " end 0/ Si, Helen's Island, would be attended with " /ireat risk, if not prove a total failure," Mr. Guy then suggested two separate lines for a Bridge, both traversing the Island, and his re- port exhibits another line suggested by Mr. Mor- toa, Ofaief Engineer of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway, stretching also across Nnnn's Island. These plans involving the obstruction of the navigation of the St. Lawrence, of coarse fell to the ground, and so fall Mr. Young's pre- tensioDB grounded on bis action in 1849. In 18S1 the Bridge project was revived, and the Si. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad Oo. appropriated £1,600 for toe survey of a line to connect between the terminus of that line and of the then projected Montreal and Kingston Railroad. T. 0. Keefer, Esq., the Oivil Bn^;i- nner, whose services were retained for that sur- vey, and whose name is not once a verted to by Mr. Yo'iUg in connection with that proj<)Ct, Ihen for the first time demonstrated ike featioilily of building the Bridge below Nun's Island, after all the preceding Engineers had pronounced it tm- practible. Mr. Young, so far as the public are aware at all events, had never questioned the correctness of the conclusions that Mr. Gay had come to — although that gentleman Lad been employed by a committee of which Mr. Young was chaiiman —and it is now only, when the Bridge is a " fixed fact," and that Mr. T. 0. Reefer's ideas are in the main carried out, that Mr. Young's vanity tempts him to claim the merits of their origination. A good stock of patience, coupled with a con- sciousness of his high position as a first class Engineer, enables Mr. Keefer, ne doubt, to regard this appropriation of his genius and eng' jeering skill with considerable amusement. This scries of letters which have now extended beyond the bouuds originally contemplated, were not commeiiced without reluctance on the part of the writer. He waited a considerable period before doing so, and only entered upon the task on finding that no other member of tbe Oommercicl community had accepted Mr. Young's challenge (page 63), that some of the parties whom Mr Trautwine had described •' as "gentlemen of long Oommercial experience, and "habits of close observation, would come for- " ward and support their views before the "public." Tbe "still born" fate of Mr. Young's numerous harbour documents, to say nothing of the ancient free tra le literature of by-gone days, was per- haps the moot ominous indication of public sen- timent towards them that tbe scnndest wisdom could dictate. "The philosophers of St. Sacra- ment Street" had their d.y, and their say, and Montreal bad her adversity ; both have passed away ; but tbe question now under discnssion had been placed by recent events so prominently before the public, that the "silent system" would no longer work. There bad been a "Band of Music" procession ; tbe bursting thunders and the piercing cheers of the mircb to Bonseconr Hall, on tbe Hih Hay last, were yet ia tbe peo« fiS pies' 6«ra, and althongb rislon io the Tista bad T. D. MoGee (who waa telegraphed from bis Parliamentary duties for the occasion) and Mr. Young, at the bead of the Point St. Charles forces in fall retraat before the indignant scowl of impatient public sentiment, lir. Toung found a halting ground at St. Ann's Market to make a speech and somewhere else to write a book, which latter production, tending, as it did, to mislead, bad been widely circulated at the public cost, and in justice to Mr. Trautwine and the commercial interestfl of our city, demanded a reply from some quarter. If, on entering upon this most disagreeable task, and during its progress, I have, to a cer- tain degree, preserved my " incognito," it has not been from any desire to evade the responsibility of the opinions or views I have advocated. These opinions I have long entertained, oftbn openly avowed, and time and reflection but in- creases my conviction of their soundness. Tou are, therefore, at lib<^rty tj communicate my name to any party who may desire to know it, and especially to that polite correspondent who, through the co'umns of a city journal, accused me of " skulking behind the cloak of an anony- mous signature.'' It is to be hoped that he will follow my example, and " skulk" himself no longer under a cover be so indignantly depre- cates. So much for the veil which I have thought proper partially to use, but that being now withdrawn, I trust it will be conceded that my position and interest in the material advance- ment of Montreal fully entitles me to exercise the rights of citizenship in judging the merits of any scheme of a public character that may be before the public, neither cac that judgment be impugned on the groand of hostile hii