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Ussmaiiimam^mmmm

x.*jMBiM-iiiiBmjmmiJiSm sm

■yM|i|M>yi»ip w#^w > m |

OJf wMb

OHANGBI^ OPINIONS,

since: 1.84 8,

OF THE

fltttrtal l^irarlr of Craie,

ABSrSGTINO

A CANAL

TO ceaCKBGT

LAKE CflAMPLAIN WITH THE ST. LAWRENCE.

PRINTED BY JOHN I^OVm^ ST. NICHOLAS STREET.

V, ■.

smssSi

ON THE

CHANGED OPINIONS,

SINCE 1848,

OF THE

ontreal ^oarb of Crah,

RESPECTING

A CANAL

TO CONNECT

LAKE CHAMPLAIN WITH THE ST; LAWRENCE.

PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.

1866.

,'*

^^91^

.'*

ON THE
CHANGED OPINIONS, SINCE 1848,

or TBI

MONTREAL BOARD OF TRADE,

RMPIOTINO

A. O A.N A.L

TO OONNBOT

LAKE CHAMPLAIN WITH THE ST. LAWRENCE.

The following extracts from the records of the Montreal Board
of Trade, since 1848, will show how uniformly consistent the
merchants of Montreal have been since that time, in every Report
and Resolution adopted by them, through the Board of Trade, up
to the date of its last meeting, in February, 1866, in reference
to the necessity for the construction of a Canal to connect the
waters of Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence ; and how mcon-
sistent was their action at that meeting in disapproving of that work,
(by a vote of 36 to 11,) with all of their action during the previous
eighteen years.

The collecting together of the opinions, thus expressed by the
Board of Trade on this subject, will not only be useful, as shewing
what has been done, but may also tend to dissipate any erroneous
views or prejudices which many hold in reference to the effect which
the construction of this Canal will have on the commerce of thia
city.

The first action taken by the Montreal Board of Trade was at a
meeting of the Council, held on the 18th April, 1848, of which the
following is an extract : —

" The Secretary reported havmg addressed the Provincial Secre-
tary, requesting he would favour the Board with the inspection
and perusal of any Plans and Reports which might be in the
possession of the Government respecting the construction of a Canal
from the neighbourhood of Caughnawaga to Lake Champlain, and
read the reply granting the same; but the Council, thinking it
would be more satisfactory to have copies of the same, he was requested
to apply to the Board of Works for them. The Map and Report
being obtained, Mr. Geo. Elder, at a meeting on the 11th June^

1848, road a letter from Mr. John Young, on this subject, to himself
and after reading the report of Mr. Mills, Civil Engineer, on the
vrork, it was moved by Mr. Law, seconded by T. B. Anderson, Esq.,
that Messrs. Elder, Law and McPherson be a Committee to take
into consideration the documents presented, and to draft a memo-
rial to Government, praying for a further survey of the country
lying between the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlam and the
vicinity of Montreal and Caughnawaga.

The following is the Memorial referred to : —

TJie Memorial of the Montreal Board of Trade humbly aheweth : —

*' That your memorialists haveforsome time been deeply impressed
with the desirableness of connecting the waters of the St. Lawrence
with Lake Champloin, by means of a Canal. The commercial
advantages which would result from such an undertaking are nume-
rous and highly important.

Istly. By means of such a Canal, provisions and breadstufis,
which are at present imported into the non-producing States of
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut from
the West by the route of the Erie Canal, would undoubtedly be
brought by the St. Lawrence — the superior cheapness of such a
route being such as to defy competition ; so that thus not only a
transit trade of considerable magnitude would be secured, but a
new and valuable market would be opened for the productions of
this Province.

2ndly. That such a Canal would prove of immense advantage to
the lumber districts on the Ottawa and its tributaries, inasmuch as
it would open up a new and permanent market for timber, besides
bringing into play the water power, so largely available on all the
streams, for the manufacture of rood stuffs adapted for a Southern
market.

Srdly. That it would be the means of completing the chain of
water communication from the Upper Lakes by the St. Lawrence to
New York, and thus materially assist, under the system of free
navigation contemplated, in rendering that river the great thorough-
fare to the ocean of the produce of Western Canada and the West-
ern States of America.

4thly. The financial results which would accrue from such a

►t

►f

canal would be of tho greatest advantage to the Government, if its
effects would be, as it is justly anticipated, to increase incalculably
the traffic in the St. Lawrence, by tho power it would place in our
hands of competing successfully with the Erie Canal : tho tolls arising
from tho Provincial Canals could not fail to be largely increased
and tho public revenue proportionately augmented.

5thly. The Canal in ((uestion will prove of great advantage to tho
city of Montreal, not only by the direct trade it would bo the means
of opening up, but by tho growth in wealth by a population resident
in her rear, which, by natural necessity, would resort to her market
for supplies. By tho contemporaneous completion of the Portland
Railroad, Montreal would also become the centre of three great
routes to the ocean, a situation most favourable for tho growth and
concentration of commerce.

Lastly. A Canal connecting tho waters of tho St. Lawrence and
Lake Champlain would liavo tho effect of neutralizing, in a great
measure, the present contemplated railroad from Ogdensburgh,
which otherwise would draw the traffic of the St. Lawrence at a
point above all our Public Works, thereby inflicting a serious loss
on our revenue, but an incalculable injury on the interest, of the
Lower Province.

Your memorialists are also aware that representations on the
subject of such a Canal were made last year by a number of the
citizens of Montreal, and that according to the prayer of their peti-
tion Your Excellency was pleased to direct a survey of a line for
the proposed Canal, commencing at the St. Lawrence side, at or
near the village of Caughnawaga.

It appears to your memorialists expedient, under any circum-
stances, before deciding the line of the proposed Canal, that the
country lying between Longueuil and Laprairie should also be sur-
veyed, so that the final preference be given to that line which, after
minute investigation and consideration of all the interests involved,
shall be deemed to possess a preponderance of advantages in its
favour.

Your memorialists cannot help regarding the selection of the
terminus of such a Canal, in the construction of which a vast
expenditure must be incurred, and any mistake regarding which
may be looked upon as irremediable, as a matter of the very highest

importance) and not to be decided on without the utmost deliber-
ation and the examination of competent and unbiassed authorities.

Wherefore your memorialists would humblj pray your £icellency,
as a preliminary step, to direct the survey of the country lying
between Longuouil and Laprairie, so that a choice of a route for the
proposed Canal may subsequently bo made, after a due balancing
of the various circumstances, pro and con, affecting each line res-
pectively.

And your, &c., &c.

(fSigned,) Peter McGill,

Prest. M. B. ofT.
F. A. Wilson, Secretary.
Montreal, 2eth July, 1848.

On the 9th October, 1848, Mr. Seymour, of St. Johns, asked
the opinion of the Board when the Canal was likely to be built,
and the Secretary was ordered to reply to the effect, " that the
Board was of opinion such a work would prove of the very highest
importance to Canada, and they entertain a confident hope it would
be constructed at no distant day."

In the Annual Report of 2nd April, 184VS (Mr. Hugh Allan
being a member of the Council,) whi(,h was unanimously
adopted, it is stated that : — " Your Council have noticed the
importance of improving and extending the inland commu-
nication of the country, so as to enable Canada to compete
advantageously with the neighbouring States in the carrying
trade of the West, and to facilitate the transportation of
lumber to Southern markets, from the Ottawa and other timber
districts. Hence the construction of a Canal to connect the St.
Lawrence with Lake Champlain, became a matter of the deepest
interest ; and the Council have been engaged in procuring all the
information in their power on the subject, not only through the
Board of Works, but from other sources, the result of which has
satisfied your Council, that the construction of a Canal would be
found of the greatest practical utility and advantage to the public,
besides yielding a large revenue to the Province, and they therefore
would recommend to their successors that this contemplated im-
provement should not be lost sight of."

I 1

The Annual Report of April, 1850, says : — ** The question of
a Canal to unite the waters of the St. Lawrence and Lake Cham-
plain, being frequently before the public during last summer, the
Council deemed it their duty to address the Oovemment, praying
that any rights reserved by the Act, authorising the formation of a
company for this purpose, might be exercised by the Government,
so as to prevent any injury to the interests of Montreal, in the
selection of a location for the St. Lawrence terminus of any Canal
which might be formed."

On the 17th December, 1850, it was moved in Council, by
Mr. D. L. McDougal, and carried, " That, a Committee of three be
appointed to draft a memorial to His Excellency the Governor-
General, in Council, praying for the immediate adoption of meas-
ures for the construction of a Canal, on the same scale as the St.
Lawrence Canal, to connect the River St. Lawrence with Lake
Champlain, the Committee being instructed to report without
reference to the terminus."

In the Annual Report of April, 1851, it is stated, " That i1ic
subject of a Ship Canal, to connect the waters of the St. Lawrence
with Lake Champlain, has also had the attention of the Council,
and the advantages expected to arrive from connecting the Eastern
and Western Trades, were thoroughly discussed ; but on account of
a diversity of opinion existing as to where the terminus should be
located, they took no further steps on the prosecution of the object."

No reference to the Canal is made in the Reports of either 1852
or 1853.

In a memorial from the Council of the Board, 14th April, 1853,
signed by Mr. Hugh Allan, it is stated, " That, while your memo-
ralists are not convinced of the great benefit under present circum-
stances to be derived by this Province from the proposed new
Canal they would view with alarm its construction, as injurious to
the trade of this City, unless its terminus is fixed at some point on
the opposite shore, not higher up than St. Lambert."

On the 1st June, 1853, a Special General Meeting of the Board
was called, to consider the following Resolutions, which were pro-
posed and moved by Mr. Young : —

1. That, in the opinion of this Board, the interests of Canada,
and the prosperity of all classes of her inhabitants are, in a high

degree, dependent on the complete success of those great Public
Works, which have been constructed at so vast an expense, with a
view to making the St. Lawrence the great highway for the con-
veyance of the produce of the Western States, and of Western
Canada to the Eastern States, to Eastern Canada and the Atlantic
Ocean.

2. That this Board considers it as established beyond all doubt,
that the . Public Works on the St. Lawrence do not offer, in their
present incomplete state, the best route for the trade between the
Western States, and Western Canada with the Eastern States ;
but that Buffalo and Oswego successfully compete, and that the
construction of the Dunkirk Bailroad from Lake Erie, the Cape
Vincent Railway, and of the railway connecting Ogdensburgh with
Rouse's Point, on Lake Champlain, are calculated most seriously
to detract from the efficiency of the St. Lawrence Canals, and ti ..t
if counteracting Public Works be noc constructed the revenue from
these Canals will be impaired, and the commerce of the country
injuriously affected.

3. That, in the opinion of this Board, Canada can successfully
compete with all or any of the routes referred to by the construc-
tion of a Canal to connect Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence,
or the River Richelieu, of dimensions commensurate with the
probable trade ; and that if so constructed, it is the opinion of this
Board, that the great bulk of the trade of the Western States and of
Western Canada would be attracted through our waters, inasmuch
as such Canal would be the cheapest and speediest means of trans-
port, besides possessing the great advantage of connecting any
port on Lake Champlain with the most western port, without any
transhipment.

4. That the trade of the Ottawa region, as well as the district
of Montreal, and the lower districts of Lower Canada, with the
United States, is rapidly increasing, and demands greater facilities
of transport than now exists ; that for this trade our present means
of transport will yearly become more inadequate for the wants of a
commerce which promises to be almost indefinitely extended by
the increasing demand on the part of the Eastern States for the
producti /Hs of our soil and our forests.

6. That although this Board has only referred to the effect

-which the proposed Canal would have on the Western States and
Canada with the Eastern States, it is nevertheless of opinion, that,
whether the State of New York enlarged the Canal connecting the
Hudson River with Lake Champlain to a similar size with the pro-
posed Canal, or not, the construction of the latter would neverthe-
less render the St. Lawrence a successful competitor with all other
routes for the trade between the West and the City of New York.

6. That this Board offers no opinion as to the best point of depar-
ture from the St. Lawrence, and deprecate any discussion thereon
until full and complete surveys are made, having in view not only
the Western but the Eastern trade of the St. Lawrence ; and that
it is firmly convinced that a moderate toll would not only yield a
very great return on the cost, but would also add to the revenue
of the St. Lawrence Canals, and greatly augment the trade of the
country.

7. That the proposed Canal, being the last link of our chain of
internal water communication, iS one which ought to be undertaken
at the public expense ; that the reasons which induced the Legis-
lature in its wisdom to construct the other Public Works on the St.
Lawrence, which are the pride of Canada, apply with increased
force to the proposed Canal, inasmuch as it is a work which will
be generally useful, and not calculated to serve the interests o
any one section of the country at the expense of any other.

8. That a memorial be prepared to His Excellency the Gover-
nor General, founded on the foregoing resolutions, and praying
that, guided by that spirit which His Excellency has ever evinced
to promote public improvements and develope the resources of the
country, he will exert his constitutional influence to cause a Canal
of suitable dimensions, to connect the waters of the St. Lawrence
with those of Lake Champlain, to be undertaken as a Government
measure, without further loss of time.

Resolutions moved in amendment to the above, and carried : —
1. " That in the opinion of this Board, a Canal of large capacity to
connect the waters of the St. Lawrence and those of Lake Champlain,
or the River Richelieu, made from a point of the St. Lawrence where
vessels from sea and from the interior could meet and exchange
cargoes, without incurring the heavy charges which would be unavoid-
able, were it to diverge from a point inaccessible to sea-going vessels

^ ?

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would (while it preserved the shipping trade of the St. Lawrence,
and thereby promoted the interests of the entire Province,) afford
every facility required by the growing traffic between the Western
States, Western Canada, and the Eastern States, and Europe,
while a Canal constructed from a point inaccessible to sea-going
vessels, would prove highly injurious to the Eastern section of the
Province.

2. That in the opinion of this Board the early construction of a
Canal, such as that referred to in the preceding Resolution, would
tend to prevent the further absorption of the trade of the St.
Lawrence by completing foreign channels to bring back much of
the trade which has been lately lost, to secure the progressive
growth of the traffic on the St. Lawrence, and thereby render pro-
ductive and profitable those works which have been constructed at
so great an outlay of public money.

3. That the Council of this Board be requested to prepare and
forward to His Excellency the Governor General, a memorial
embodying the foregoing Resolutions, expressing the confidence felt
in the well-known anxiety of His Excellency to promote the
interests of the Province, and praying that he will cause the neces-
sary surveys to be made by competent engineers, with a view to the
immediate construction of a Canal, so much desired and so essen-
tial to the expansion of Canadian commerce."

A memorial, embodying the above Resolutions, was forwarded
to the Government : the Provincial Secretary, in reply, stating that
it would not fail to receive attention.

In consequence of these representations of the Board of Trade
and other parties in Canada West, the Government, in Executive
Council, passed the following Order on the 18th October, 1854 :

" On the report of the Chief Commissioner of Public Works,
stating that several petitions to Your Excellency from various
localities in Upper and Lower Canada, for the construction of a
Canal to connect the St. Lawrence with Lake Champlain, have been
referred to his Department ; that the Legislative Assembly also,
by its resolution of the 6th of April, 1853, called Your Excellency's
attention to the subject ; that the petition from the Montreal Board
of Trade, also referred to that Department, requests that a survey
be made by Government of a convenient site for the Canal in ques-

, "

■-

'•■ ,

c '

^m, at su<:'h a place that vessels going to or coming from sea may

the St. Lawrence and such Canal to Lake
lain ; that V . has carefully perused these petitions and
res^loit-i'ons, and al he papers relating to the matter of record in
his office ; that a s.u^ey was made in 1847, at the request of
een^tain individuals, also contemplated to construct the Canal as a
private enterprise ; and that such survey was confined to a parti-
cular line, with its terminus at Caughnawaga above Montreal, so
as to be within the locality these persons had in view ; that he is
of opinion, considering the great importance of the subject, that a
new survey should be made immediately by competent engineers,
who should report as to the most convenient site for the said Canal
and the probable cost thereof ; and requesting that authority may
be given to the Commissioner of Public Works to have the survey
effected. The Committee recommend that authority be given to
the Commissioner of Public Works to cause a survey to be made,
for the purpose of ascertaining the most eligible and convenient
route for a Canal, from some point on the St. Lawrence to Lake
Champlain."

In consequence of this Order in Council, Mr. John B. Jarvis,
one of the most eminent Engineers in the United States, was engaged
to malce the survey alluded to, and the following is his letter of
instructions from the Chief Commissioner of Public Works : —

Public Works, Quebec, 12th August, 1854.

Sir, — As you have been pleased to signify your willingness to
undertake the duties connected with the location of the con-
templated line of Canal between the River St. Lawrence and Lake
Champlain, in the performance of which the Commissioners of this
Department were most doSirous to have the benefit of the counsel
and experience of a gentleman of such admitted high standing, it
now becomes necessary that you should bo informed as to the
points upon which your opinion and advice is more immediately
sought for. The advantages to this Province which are calculated
upon from the construction of this Canal, are fully set forth in the
Annual Report of this Department to the Legislature, for the year
1852, in pages 32 to 38. A copy of this Report is herewith

!('

transmitted. By reference to it you will perceive that the objectd
aimed at are : —

To complete the chain of Canals already in use, and to render
them profitable as well as a convenience to the Province.

To enable our Canals to compete successfully with the Erie
Canals and t«e Railways on the South bank of the St. Lawrence,
in the transport of property to and from the Atlantic seaboard in
the United States, and with the Western States and Canada.

To furnish a cheaper, quicker, and from reduced transhipments,
a more desirable route to the great trade which passes between tide
water in the HudsonJRiver, the Railways in New England, and the
City of New York on the one hand, and the Western States and
Canada on the other ; and thus to bring traffic and tolls to the St.
Lawrence Canals, which, by the competition of the Oswego and Erie
Canals and the Ogdensburg and other Railways, and the want of an
efficient outlet between them and Lake Champlain, obtain scarcely
any of the transit trade between the Atlantic and the Western
States or Canada. To enhance the value of one of our great staple
products (lumber), by furnishing a direct, cheap and capacious
connection between the great lumbering districts of the Ottawa, the
Upper and Lower St. Lawrence, and the greatest lumber mart in
the world, that of Albany and Troy.

By connecting Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence upon an
efficient scale, to open the districts upon that Lake to the sea via
Quebec, and afford them a shorter and cheaper route for imports of
coal, iron, salt, fish, oil, &c., &c., which articles can be had down
at Quebec at a cheaper rate than at any other American port, in
consequence of the large amount of tonnage entering inwards in
ballast. Such were some of the principal objects considered
attainable by the construction of this work in 1852, when the
Report alluded to was written ; but the Commissioners are of
opinion that the altered circumstances under which the Province
will be placed by the passing of the Reciprocity Act and the
opening of the River St. Lawrence to our American neighbours,
afford increased and strong ground for belief in the great im-
portance of this work for the development of the resources of the
country. Your views upon the points embraced in the foregoing
are particularly requested, especially with respect to the trade

of the Great West, its channels, whether in use or in course of con-
struction, the changes that are likely to take place in a great
portion of it as regards the transportation eastward by the Lakes
and Rivers and down the Mississippi, upon the completion of the
several lines of navigation and railways leading from the interior to
those Lakes, and the probable proportion of it which may be
induced down the proposed Canal, for the supply of the Eastern
States, the West Indies, &c.

Your opinion, also, as to how far such trade may be interfered
with or competition formed by the several lines of Railways, North
and South of the Lakes and River, now made or in course of con-
struction, will also be considered valuable, not only from your
intimate knowledge of that trade and section of country, but as
President of an important Railway there.

The next point on which your well-considered opinion is re-
quested, is the general location of the line, and particularly its
terminus on the St. Lawrence. Upon this much difference of
opinion exists, traceable in a great measure to the separate or local
interests of the several sections of the Province. As the Com-
missioners desire that this question shall be settled unbiasedly and
solely upon grounds connected with the accommodation and facilities
for the contemplated trade, together with the engineering difficult
ties, or otherwise, which may be found to exist, it is well merely to
state that some advocate the line to start from some point, on the
Beauharnois Canal, thereby as they suppose to carry such a level
as would overcome the summit between the waters at the least
expense ; others urge the selection of Caughnawaga,, opposite the
head of the Lachine Canal, as being the place most convenient for
the Ottawa trade. The interests of Montreal naturally desire its
commencement at some point opposite, or a little below ihi<t City :
the population, trade, and importance of which must necessarily
command due attention ; and finally, there is a party who consider
that the route of the Richelieu River should be that decided on.

The advantages and disadvantages of each of these propositions
will, no doubt, be duly perceived and weighed well by you, prior to
your coming to a conclusion.

The third point to which your attention is requested is, as to the
depth of water and dimensions of the Lock and Canal which it may

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be, in your opinion, the most advisable to adopt, and an approximate
estimate of the cost of the work, the nature of the trade to be cal-
culated on, the class of vessels suited for it ; the capacity of the
present OanaJs, and the capabilities of the harbours on the Lakes,
will, no doubt, materially govern your decision on this point, which
is more important, as by the scale of this Canal will be determined,
also, that of the enlargement of the Welland Canal, a work which it
is believed, must be undertaken at no distant day.

Besides the foregoing, the Commissioners will be obliged by
receiving your views and advice upon any other branch of the
question that you may think necessary to touch on. It is most
desirable that your report should be received at as early a day as
the efficient discharge of the duty will permit, with a view to which
you will make such arrangements as you may deem expedient.

I am, sir.

Your most obedient servant,
(Signed,) J. Chabot,

Chief Com. Public Works.
J. B. Jarvis, Esq.,

Engineer.

The following is an extract from the Annual Report of the
Board, in April, 1855 : —

" The next important measure which we think should be urged
upon the attention of the Government, for the purpose of promoting
the interests of Eastern as well as Western Canada, is the imme-
diate construction of the projected Canal to connect the St. Law-
rence with Lake Champlain. With such a Canal, it appears to us,
that the immense trade which is now diverted away from this city
by Oswego and Ogdensburg, would be brought to our very doors,
and deposited with us, as a central point, for re-distribution either
to the United States, to the Lower Ports, or to Great Britain, as
circumstances might require. On the other hand, the certainty
of a large amount of inland tonnage being always at command,
would attract the large sea-going vessels of the Uuited States to
our harbour in preference to going to New York or Boston with
their cargoes made up for Western markets, and with emigrants ;
and the deepening of the ship channel from Montreal to Quebec to

twenty feet at low water will prove a great auxiliary to the
Bame end.

The advantages of this Canal has been so frequently adverted to
by the Board of Trade, that it seems almost superfluous to say
another word about them, but yet as our Government does not seem
fully alive to them ; it may not be amiss again to refer to them.
This Canal will be a rival to the Erie Canal, and would have many
advantages over it. It would enable vessels (supposing the Wei-
land Canal enlarged) capable of carrying 7,000 brls. to leave any
port in Canada or the United States, situated on Lake Ontario,
Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior, to deposit their cargoes in
Burlington, in the State of Vermont, or Whitehall, in the State of
New York, without once breaking bulk ; while on the other hand,
such a quantity of flour would have to be divided among five boats
on the Erie Canal, even with that work enlarged, before it reached
Albany. The mere mention of these facts must be suflScient to
shew the great superiority of the proposed Canadian route over the
Erie Canal, even when enlarged — a superiority which would be still
greater if the Canal between the Hudson and Lake Champlain were
aJso made a Ship Canal, thus connecting the Hudson with the
Western Lakes by Ship Navigation, and avoiding any transhipment.
In the next place, the movement of property on the Erie Canal
amounts already to four millions of tons per annum ; the revenue is
$4,000,000 per annum ; while the movement on the St. Lawrence
and Welland Canals is insignificant. As a question of revenue,
therefore, it would seem worthy of the immediate attention of
Government ; while on the other hand, to the country at large as
well as to Montreal in particular, its more important consequences
would be found in its tendency to increase commerce and add to
the value of Canadian productions." This report was unanimously
adopted at a meeting where sixty were present, (Mr. Allan was
President of the Board,) among whom, were Mr. Hugh Eraser,
(who seconded Mr. Allan's resolutions), Mr. Jas. Hutton, Mr.
Louis Marchand, and others who at the late meeting, voted against
the necessity of the Canal, and the very reverse of what they
asserted at the General Meeting of the Board in 1855.

The Report of the Survey by Mr. Jarvis was made known in
1856. Mr. Jarvis confirmed, in almost every respect, the survey

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of Mr. Mills, recommending the outlet of the Canal to be at
or near Caughnawaga. It will be seen how particularly the Chief
Commissioner of Public Works directed his attention to an outlet
from Longueuil, and on this subject, he Reports as follows ;

SECOND OR LONGUEUIL ROUTE.

" The termination on the St. Lawrence is very unfavourable for
the lumber trade. Whatever of it goes down the Ottawa to its
junction with the St. Lawrence would not, (and could not on rafts)
be brought up to the Canal at Longueuil. It must be brought
down the Lachine rapids, and owing to the strong currents in the
river opposite and above Longueuil, it would be difficult to stop the
rafts'at the terminus of the Canal, and if they should pass it, they
would probably go down the St. Lawrence, rather than attempt to
bring them back against so strong a current as prevails in this part
of the river. It is not therefore believed that the lumber trade of
tlie Ottawa and St. Lawrence could derive much benefit from the
<'anal on this route. The strong current in the river between the
terminus of this route and Montreal, would be unfavourable for ves-
sels entering and leaving the Canal. For the Western trade,
destined for the Hudson, the Beauhamois route would be thirty
per cent., including tolls, and forty per cent, without tolls, more
favourable ; and the Caughnawaga direct line, including tolls, twenty
eight per cent, more favourable than the Longueuil route, and give
the most favourable accommodation by the latter route to the lumber
trade of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence above the junction of the
Ottawa in Lake St. Louis. The only circumstance in favour of
' this route is that the trade would pass Montreal, and might find a
market in that city, and would so far improve its commercial
interests. This it is desirable to secure, if it can be done consistent
with the main objects of the enterprise. How far the Canadian
Government may consider it proper to hazard this for such incidental
benefits as would result to Montreal, it is not my province to decide.
The navigation is now open, and free to Montreal, and whatever
route may be adopted, for the projected Canal, it is supposed it
will direct any trade from her, but rather, in any event, being a
large trade so near her door, that she can secure from it all that
her commercial position will enable her to command.

Mr* 'real will have no privilege taken from her, and will have
incre.j;f i inducements to improve every national advantage she
possesses ; this new channel of a great trade will be near, and tend
to promote every branch of industry, increasing the inducements to
improve the vast hydraulic power in her vicinity, and thereby mul-
tiply the sources of her weidth. Viewing the enterprise as in the
main designed to improve the value of the St. Lawrence Canals, as
well as the Welland — to enhance the value of the great lumber
interest of the St. Lawrence and its tributaries — and to improve the
facilities of commercial intercourse with the United States, I am
constrained (much as I would be gratified to second the wishes of
Montreal,) to pass by the Longueuil route, as not the proper one to
secure the great object of the projected Canal. In the conclusions
to which 1 have arrived, in regard to the first and second routes, it
has not appeared important to regard as material the estimate of
the cost in construction. Other considerations are too decided to
permit the entering of this as a material element in the comparison."

In the Annual Report of the Board, in April, 1857, the follow-
ing passage occurs : —

" The developement of our trade with the Western States is a
subject of the greatest importance, and your Council strongly
urge the necessity of providing regular means of transit for freight
to Chicago and other Western points, without which no successful
effort can be made to direct from its present channel the vast trade
which our position entitles us to control on the St. Lawrence.
From various causes our route has this year attracted more atten-
tion abroad, and your Council earnestly hope that the opportunity
which now presents itself for the extension of our commerce, will
not be lost by our neglecting to afford those facilities which are
quite within our control, and the disregard of which has so long
strengthened our competitors.

The most urgent demand ought to be made on the Government
in reference to connecting the waters of Lake Champlain with the
St. Lawrence, and for enlarging the Welland Canal, as impera-
tively called for, whatever other outlets from the Lakes may here-
after be formed ; and, inasmuch as works of such magnitude involve
long delay in construction, it is of the first importance that no more
time should be lost."

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In the Annual Report of 1862, it is stated :—'< That the
Council regret that, although the tolls have been removed by the
Government from the St. Lawrence Canals, no adequate measures
have yet been adopted by the Government to enable the St. Law-
rence route from the Upper Lakes to compete in cheapness with the
route through the Erie Tanal to New York and the New England
States. The means by which this desirable result might be accom-
plished have, since 1848, been constantly urged by this Board on
the attention of the Govenmient, but hitherto without effect ; and
when it is considered that, with our Canals and Railways completed,
we fail to attract more than nine per cent, of the trade of Western
Canada and the Western States down the St. Lawrence, and that
ninety-one per cent, of that interior trade flows through the Canals
over the railroads of New York, such a statement ought to com-
mand the attention of the country."

No further action was taken by the Board of Trade until
the 9th January, 1866, when Mr. Young submitted the following
Resolutions : —

1st. That no adequate means of transport now exists in Canada,
to compete in cheapness with the route through the State of New
York for the trade between the Western and Eastern States and
Europe.

2nd. That without an enlargement of the Welland Canal, the
lengthening of the Locks on the St. Lawrence Canal, and the con-
struction of a Canal to connect Lake Champlain witli the St. Law-
rence, trade must continue to flow as now through American
channels, leaving our Canadian Canals comparatively deserted, and
consequently non-remunerative, and an annual tax on the people of
Canada.

3rd. That the amount of interest which is now paid annually on
the money borrowed by the Province to build the present Canals,
and to aid the construction of Railways, and which has to be collected
by duties on imports, exceeds the sum of two million four hundred
thousand dollars over and above all receipts from these works.

4th. That the completion of the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals,
and the construction of the Lake Champlain Canal of a size com-
mensurate with the magnitude of the capabilities of the St. Law-
rence navigation, would give a decided superiority to the route of

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the St. Lawrence over any other route which it is possible to have
through the State of New York for the trade between the Western
States, Western Canada, and the Eastern States, and render highly
remunerative those Canals and Railways which are comparatively
unproductive, and an annual loss to the Provmce.

5th. That with the navigation so improved and perfected, the
St. Lawrence route would not only be the cheapest, quickest, and
best for the great and ever-increasing trade of the Eastern States
through Lake Champlain, but the port of Montreal from the vast water
power at command for milling and other purposes of manufacture,
and from its being accessible to vessels from sea drawing 20 feet at
the lowest water, and from its also being 120 miles nearer the Upper
Lakes than any other port on the continent, property of all kinds,
whether from sea or from the West, could be held here for distribu-
tion in the Eastern and Western States, or for shipment to Europe,
and would thus become the most convenient, and from the facilities
which may be created, the cheapest interior depot on the continent.

6th. That while all interests in the Province would be greatly
promoted by the adoption at once of such a policy, a revenue would
be obtained from those great public works, which do not at present
attract more than nine per cent, of the Western trade ; which trade
was the awowed object of their construction. The cost of transport
would, by the employment of vessels of eight hundred tons, sailing
direct from Chicago, Milwaukee or other Western ports without
breaking bulk, be so reduced as to enchance the value for all time,
of every agricultural product in the Western States requiring trans-
port to the East, lessen the cost of all imports into the West from
the East, and would make the St. Lawrence the great thoroughfare
to and from the ocean.

7th. That in the opinion of this Board, the action of the Govern"
ment of Canada in immediately deciding on the prosecution of these
works would create as much interest with, and be deemed as great
a boon by the people of the Eastern and Western States, as by
ourselves, and the knowledge by them that such was the resolve of
our Canadian Government, and that these works would be rapidly
carried forward, would create, and give to the people of these States
such an interest in the St. Lawrence route, as would, more than
anything else, induce them to join us in urging on the Government

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of the United Suti'8, the largest ai»d moHt extended mcaAure for a
reciprocal trade botwoon the two countries.

8. That it bo an instruction to the Council of this Board, that a
copy of these resolutions bo transmitted to the Provincial Secretary,
and that a memorial embodying them bo sent to the three branches
of the Legislature at the next meeting of Parliament.

The resolutions were received with great applause, and,

These resolutions camo up for discussion at a special general
meeting, on 2Cth Januaiy last. Mr. Young spoke to the resolu-
tions, and, by fuct8 and figures compiled from public documents, no
part of which were then, or have since been disputed, proved how
unproductive were the Public Canals of the Province. He also
stated that, in the present circumstances of the country, and in
consequence of the interest felt by the people of the Western and
Eastern States, in the matter of increased facilities for transport,
there was no better way of inducing the people of these States to
join us in urging on the General Government of the United States
a much enlarged and extended measure of reciprocity.

An amendment to Mr. Young's resolutions was moved by Mr.
Hugh Allan, seconded by Mr. Hugh Fraser, :—

1. That this Board, whilst recognizmg the great benefit to the
Province of the improvements made in its inland navigation by the
construction of the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence Canals,
considers that the usefulness of these works is much impaired by the
want of uniformity in the size of the Locks, and the depth of water
throughout the route ; and that improvements to attain this uniform-
ity are urgently needed.

2. That in the opinion of this Board the trade of the Province
requires for its full developement that all the Canal Locks should be
enlarged to i^ e full size of those on the St. Lawrence Canals ; and
that such portions of the river as requires it, and the Canals should
be deepened if practicable, to admit the free passage of v v 1'
drawing ten feet of water.

3. That the large and increasing trade on the Ottawa rivux is
much retarded by the imperfect state of the Carillon and Grenville
Canal, as well as tlie insuflSciency of the passage at St. Anns, at
which places increa.-.:d facilities a^^e much required.

4. That the Counj-'ii <<f th?" Board he instructed to urge upon the

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Executive govornniont, the iinpi>rt4uic(< of giving an early attention
to the prosecution of theic improvements, aa may bo warranted by
the State of the finances or tli ^ prospect of making improvomontti
remunerative.

iliich amendment was carried on a cliviHion. It was then moved
by Mr. Honry Lyman, and seconacd by Mr. Ira Gould :—

" That the subject of the constructict;. f a Canal to connect the
St. Lawrence with Lake Champlain, which has lieretoforo been
repeatedly urged by this Board, has h ^t none of iLs importance, as
a means of attracting an increased amount of traffic tlirough tho Hi.
Lawrence, and should be undertaken and effected so soon as the
Pro/ii.ji! finances will permit tho expenditure, and the Stute of
Kvi w :. 0' a. shall agree to enlarge the Champlain Canal to .i 0i>rre8-
ponding extent."

'Mi8 resolution wa» rejected hy a vote of 36 to 11, while at
every meeting of the Board since 1848, the vast importance and
nifessity of the Canal for the interests of Canada^ has been uryed
as will he seen from the foregoing extracts of the proci lings
of the Board. The great objection to tho Canal with man) . is the
fact that every Engineer who has surveyed the ground, was com-
pelled to come to the conclusion that to secure the least loc kage
between the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain, as well a-! to
secure the general interests of the Province, the outlet from the St.
Lawrence should be at or near Caughnawaga. It is not denied by
any that in the competition for the exports and imports by sea, with
the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals enlarged and adapted i r
vessels of 800 tons, Montreal would have the entire superiority.
It has been estimated (and the estimate has never been impugned) .
that property could be brought from Chicago to Montreal, there to
meet the ocean ship at $2tVo per ton, while the same property
could not bo taken from Chicago via Buffalo to New York, or via
tit? Caughnawaga Canal to New York, at less than $4tV5 por
ton. Is it not then very absurd to suppose that Montreal would be
injured so far as the export trade was concerned, by the Caughna-
waga Canal ? Would any merchant, having a cargo of wheat from
the West, at Montreal, pay $2 extra per ton for the privilege
of taking it through Lake Champlain and Hudson Biver, and shipping
it at New York, when he could bring the Western vessel with his

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wheat alongside of the ocean ship in the harbour of Montreal ? It is
true there might be exceptions to this. Every dealer in produce
knows that the sailing ship and steamship owner keeps himself
thoroughly posted, as to the quantity of grain and flour on hand
here and on the way from Kingston, and having the game
in his own hands, he puts on the screws, and demands any
rate of freight he chooses. The merchant is helpless, and he is com>
pelled to give whatever rate may be demanded. Hundreds of thou-
sands of pounds have in this way been paid by the Montreal produce
dealer, in extra freight, which could have been saved, if there was
the check on excessive rates of freight, which the proposed Canal
would give. The rate at Montreal could never be higher
than the New York rate, with the charges of inland transport from
Montreal to New York added, and if this option was in the hands
of the shipper, the rate of freight could never be excessive at
Montreal. The one party, however, gets rich ; while the other, as
a class, becomes poor. It is no wonder, therefore, that these ship
owners should be on hand, when the subject of this Canal is discussed.
The foregoing extracts from the nunutes of the Board shew, that up
to 1854, Mr. Allan was warmly in favour of a Canal into Lake
Champlain, but since that time, when he became an owner of stea-
mers, he curiously enough condemns it.

The Canal might, and no doubt, would interfere with the rates of
freight inwards, and would tend to reduce rates on all dry goods hard-
ware, &c., from Liverpool to Montreal. The fact is well known
that the present rates from Liverpool to Montreal, by steamships
are so high, that many Toronto and Hamilton importers regularly
bring their dry goods, &c., in the " Inman " and " Cunard " lines
to New York, and after paying inland charges from New York to
these cities, the cost from Liverpool is less than by the " Allan "
line of steamers via Montreal. With the proposed Canal constructed, it
must also be evident that the dry goods, hardware, and grocery
merchants of Montreal would have it in their power of limiting the
rates of freight from Liverpool to Montreal, to what might be the
cost from Liverpool to New York, with the charges added to
Montreal from New York. It is not, therefore, surprising that
parties interested in the " Allan " line of steamships, should be so
much interested in the proposed Canal, and should have changed

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their opinions on the subject ; but it is surprising that Mr. Hugh
Fraser, James Hutton, and others, largely engaged in the Import
Trade, should have changed their views.

But, again, it is said, there are no objections to the Canal,
provided that its outlet be at Longueuil, or, as Mr. Allan says*
" not above St. Lambert." So far as the export trade is con-
emed the western vessel must meet the ocean ship within the
harbour of Montreal. The supplying of the New England States
with western products is now almost exclusively done through the
Erie Canal and by New York Railways. We get almost none
of it wm by Canal, but we do a little by railway, in conseqnence of
the V'ctoria Bridge. This trade of New England from the West,
for New England's consumption, is far greater than all the exports to
foreign countries. Now, the position of Montreal is such, that it may
be made the seaport of the West, for western exports and imports.
This cannot be disputed ; but, besides being the best seaport for
the exports of the West, the St. Lawrence can be made the best
and cheapest route from the West to New England. What
harm then will it do Montreal if the route from the West to
New England can be made the best and cheapest through the
St. Lawrence, instead of through the Erie Canal? Upwards of
$5,000,000 are now collected annually from the Erie Canal
by the State of New York. Would it injure Montreal if
Canada could collect $3,000,000 per annum from her Canals,
instead of, as at present, receiving nothing whatever ? Would not
the people of Montreal, even under this view of the subject, be
benefitted alike with the people in all parts of the Province, by the
reduced duties on imports which would then be possible ? There was
a time when the people of the Western section of the Province did not
hesitate to denounce the merchants of Montreal as selfish ; allegmg
that they cared not how general laws or principles were ignored?
so long as Montreal obtained the advantage. It is to be feared
that in the rejecting of Mr. Young's resolutions, and opposing a
Canal from the St. Lawrence into Lake Champlain, ignoring all
considerations of level, and for no better reason than because its
outlet is not at Montreal, that this charge of selfishness will be
renewed. Montreal is not the whole province of Canada, and
the true policy of her people ought to be to find out what is beat

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/or <Ae general good, and with a feeling of self-reliance to extract
from all measures or works for the general good, every possible
advantage, and to develope to the largest extent every local
facility for trade which she possesses. It has been shewn, that the
Western vessel loaded with produce for export, by sea, must meet the
ocean vessel in the harbour of Montreal to exchange cargo, if imme-
diate shipment is necessary ; but suppose immediate shipment is not
the object, but that the Western or other owner desires to store the
cargo, it is not thereby placed in a worse position by the Canal
being at Caughnawaga, than if the Canal was at Longueuil or St.
Lambert. The lockage into Lake Champlain, through the Lachine
and Caughnawaga Canals, would be exactly the same from the
Port of Montreal, as from St. Lambert direct into Lake Cham-
plain. If the water power of the St. Lawrence were made available
by the construction of the Pbint St. Charles Docks — property
of all kinds could there be stored twenty-six feet above the present
harbour, and consequently with fifty-two feet less lockage into
Lake Champlain via the Lachine Canal, than from St. Lambert
or Longueuil.

The time will soon come when these facts will be generally
recognised as true, and the wonderfully advantageous position
of Montreal for transacting the business of the interior generally
acknowledged and acted on. This result can be accelerated or
retarded by the narrow or enlarged views which the merchants
of Montreal, and of the Province, may take of their position.
There is no other ocean port on the continent similar to Montreal.
There is no other where there is almost an illimitable water power.
The St. Lawrence falls, in seven miles above the harbour of Mon-
treal, no less than 46 feet. It is calculated that in Great Britain
one million of tons of coal are consumed every year to create the
same motive force in steam, which is afforded by Mr. Legge's
scheme of docks at Montreal, and which is only a small part of the
available power. Again, the port of Montreal is 120 miles nearer
the Upper Lakes than any other seaport on the continent. Weuld
it not be well, then, to have a little faith in these great natural
advantages, and by their developemcnt command the trade, rather
than seek to force everything to Montreal, whether right or wrong ?
If the Canal from the St. Lawrence into Lake Champlain were

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at Longueuil, or at St. Lambert, it is evident that all the exports
from the Ottawa Valley, in timber, &c., and Western Canadian
and Western States products must, by such an arrangement, be
compelled to go down a stair of Locks, of 46 feet, and from St.
Lambert or Longueuil ascend another stair of Locks into Lake
Champlain, of 71 feet, (or 117 feet lockage in all,) when via Caugh-
nawaga they could get into Lake Champlain with 25 feet lockage.
The lumber from the Ottawa, and Western products shipped direct
to Troy and Albany, or other markets, would not stop at Mon-
treal, even if the Canal was at St. Lambert or Longueuil. The people
of Montreal might see it pass through, but that would be all, for
such trade passing through, would not and does not now pay any har-
bour dues. Engineers, however, say that with the Canal at Longueuil
or St.Lambert, it would never pass, because the extra lockage on such
trade would be so serious an item of increased cost of transport that
it would probably give the entire advantage to the Canals of tlic
State of New York, and Canada would thus be unsuccessful
in her rivalry with that State for the trade between the West and
New England. How much better, then, to respect the unanimous
opinion of scientific men on such a pomt, and say, let the Canal
be placed wherever the general good will be most promoted. This
is the true policy, for on all property shipped from the West, whether
by rail or ship, to be held for a market, there is no point where
storage, insurance, &c., can be had so low as at Montreal. With
ample water-power to drive elevators, mills, &c., and for manu-
factures of all kinds, there is no sea port with such advantages ; for
property so stored and held would be at a point ready for a market
either in the New England States, the Lower Provinces, — the
West Indies or in England.

JOHN YOUNG.

Montreal, 1st March, 1866.