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 A >1PPI_IED IIVMGE 
 
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 1653 East Main Street 
 
 Roctiester, New York 14609 USA 
 
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 THREE RIVERS ENQUIRER." 
 
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 MONTREAL; .^ 
 SALTER k ROSS, PRINTERS, ST. JAMBS STRKST. * 
 
 1858. 
 
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 THE ST. MAURICE TERRITORY. 
 
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 . (Prxwi tAe Montreal Commercial Adoertiser,) 
 
 The Ottawa river, famous both in the vers* of Moore and the ledgeni 
 of our wealthiest picrchants, is the largest tributary of the St. Law- 
 rence, and joins it about forty-five miles above Montreal. Next, and 
 almost equal to it in length, volume and commercial importance, li the 
 beautiful St. Maurice,.«nptying into (he St. Lawrence at the town of 
 T&ree Rivers, and about ninety miles below Montreal— equi-distant be- 
 tween that city and Quebec. With good anchorage and facilities lor 
 loading a^nd discharging ships of large siie— with a central position, 
 backed by a ricb country and a large and ''splendid rhrer behind, water 
 and rail communication with Montreal and Quebec— the proposed rail- 
 road ^[towards which the municipalities have already subscribed liand- 
 somely) connecting Three Rivers with the Grand Trunk Road at Rich- 
 mond, and the near proximity of the Richelieu River and Chambly 
 Canal, forming the great highway of commerce between Lower Canada 
 iiid the United States, tapping the St. Lawrence only forty-five miles 
 above. With such a happy combination of advantages, it require* no 
 prophet to read the prosperoiis future <Jf' this part of the Rrovince. 
 Quebec has no batk country, no inland ^river to feed its commerce 6t 
 form a local trade, consequently it can only be a mflitary post or ship- 
 pmg port for the upper St. Lawrence. Montreal has some back coun- ^ 
 try, but no river to open it up, and little water power for manufacturing 
 purposes. Its importance is derived from the fact of its being'the head 
 of ship navigation, the terminus of railroads, and the distributing depot 
 ' Of the miport trade of the St. Lai^rence. Three Rivers, on thd 
 contrary) possessing all these advantages in common with Montreal, has 
 tiie additional and very important one of being situated at the mouth of 
 a stream draining an area of inland country upwards of forty-five thou- 
 nnd square miles in extent ; inexhaustibly rich in timber, minerals, and 
 |»tiier natural products, and possessing water power without limit for 
 manufaoturing purposes. Here is the outlet for all that the bounty of 
 ^iatnre may give, or the band of art create in a new, fruitful and exten- 
 
 
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 •Irt twTitory. Alrtady, indeed, under the •(Imutas of the lumber trade 
 •lone, liu the town made rapid itridea toward* the importance it will 
 eventually attain in a much higher degree j and.with the aid of the Pro- 
 ▼incial Government and the impetus of individual entcrpriae, the boilnd- 
 leii repources^f thia fine river are io a very aatisfactor/ course of dc-' 
 veJopment. • 
 
 Aacending it, we come first to the « St. Maurice Forgea,»' nine miles 
 from the mouth of the river, where a justly celebrated, and very superior 
 quahtyofiron is manufactured from ore beds in that vicinity. \Other 
 forges near by are also in operation. Passing on about seven miles 
 further, we come to the flourishing village of the « Grais." Here are 
 extensive saw mills driven by water power, and manufacturing annually 
 aeven million feet of sawn lumber, with ample room and power for piore 
 establishments of the same or any other kind. Tlu-ee miles above this 
 feifttjf t come tb one of the wonders of tie new world— the Falls of 
 Shawinegan, 165 feet in height, in volume of water and picturesque 
 magnificence next only to Niagara, and for all purposes of utility, iafi- 
 nitely surpassingit. Here the traveller instinctively pauses, and weU 
 te may. He has seen as he**approached, the broad and ample basin ' 
 b«Vow the Falls, evidently one vast workshop to be driven by the mighty 
 agency above. He makes the ascent, and sees before bim a wide, calm 
 and spreading bay, receiving depot and custodian, for the extensive 
 country above, of all its natural riches, to be hjre taken by the hand of 
 irt and transformed and fitted for the purposes oh^l^rce. The con- 
 viction is irresistible; he cannot avoid it, for so lEvious and palpable 
 are the capabilities of the place, that m contemplating them he se^ not 
 the possibUities of a century but tiie certainties of a decade of ycsL. 
 
 Leaving this remarkable spot, we ascend still further, till at tiie dis- 
 tance of twenty mUes above we come to « Les Piles," nearly on a di- 
 rect line between Quebec and Ottawa City— the new Capitol of Canada. - 
 Up to, and at intervals far beyond, this place, Government has construc- 
 ted excellent public roads leading from Three Eivers, and also greatly 
 improved the navigation of the river. Here too is the terminus of a 
 proposed railway, connecting with tiie Nortii Shore Road at Three 
 Rivers, in aid of which tiie Provincial Government has granted four 
 milUon acres of land. This road is to past Shawinegan (below) and 
 will greatly facflitate tiie businessnind hasten the growth and settiement 
 of the country. Ascending still further, we see on all sides the Govern- 
 
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 the Pro- 
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 ine milei 
 superior 
 
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 en miles 
 iere are, 
 annuallj'' 
 lor ptore 
 ore lliit 
 Falla o^ 
 turesque 
 itj, iefi- 
 nd well , 
 le basin 
 
 mightjr 
 ie, calm 
 Ktensire 
 hand of 
 rbe con- 
 palpable 
 3eM not 
 '^ears, - 
 
 the dis- 
 3n a di* 
 I!anada. • 
 )nstruc« ■ 
 greatlj 
 nus of a 
 : Three 
 ed four 
 m) and 
 Uement .- 
 Sovern- 
 
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 ment works— rbooqiis, slides, dams, roads, 8u:. tUI ptMlng the Falls of 
 ** Lb Grande-M^,** we come to Rat River, one of th)e numerous tri*' 
 butaries of thn St. Maurice, about eightjr miles from, i^ mouth, wheit 
 there are flourumng farms and settlements belonging to the lumber ii» 
 terett. Paisini; still further on and upwards, we come to (he Vertnfl* 
 lion River, another tributarj of the St. Maurice, distant about 120 OkilM 
 from Three lUvers, whose waters circle round to the south-west until 
 they approach/ the head waters of the Ottawa. Above this ntill« wt 
 come to numerous other rivers, and somp posts pf the Iludaon's Ik^' 
 Company, and are surrounded on all sides bjr interminable forests of pine 
 and iipmce timber, oper&f the staple products of Canada, and alwajff 
 the first tribute paid hy the newly occupied districts into the hands ^ 
 enterprise. / From the Falls of Shawinegan, indeed, up to the extreme 
 head water$ nf the St. Maurice, a distance of a^out two hundred miles, 
 these forests cover the whole face of the country, varied only by an in- 
 termixture of the hard woods, maple, beech, birch, elm and other varie- 
 ties ; and at intervals will be found finp farms belonging to lumbering , 
 firms, where oats and hay are ^raised for the support of their cattle, and ' 
 to obviate the expense of transportation from the settled districts below. 
 
 And now, descending again in our light bark canoe, affording as it 
 does the most rapid and convenient form for travel in these remote partst 
 we glide rapidly downwards towards our starting (loint, hading as wei 
 pass some jovial crew of raftsmen or upward-bound canoe, and even be- 
 holding to our astoniis^ment a steamboat plying on ^Ate||^atj till re- 
 cently, wotted not of steam in any shape save from the vi^ilg^ur's pri- 
 mitive kettle of tea or sm(3king pail of pea-soup. We note too 00 all 
 sides traces of the importance attached by Government to the increas- 
 ing business of the river, as seen in the iroads opened, dams, slides and 
 booms constructed, and other improvements made to facilitate the lum- 
 bering and general interests of the country. \ -. V ./ . 
 
 Finally, we arrive again, perl^aps on the second day of our downward 
 journey, at the Falls of Shawinegan, making the land at the foot of the 
 bay first referred to, which is formed by the river turning out of its di- 
 rect course abruptly to the left. Here the waters seem first to gather 
 ^ themselves, as if reluctant to spcjnd their energies idly ; but the laws of 
 gravity are imperative, waitmg neither on the hour nor on man ; and af- 
 ter sweeping slowly round the bay to its furthest ^extremity on the left, 
 the river approaches the brink ^f tbe Fall, plunging over the rock, and 
 at the distance of about 800 or 1000 feet below, (including a rapid tt 
 
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 the foot of tb« fill) imergM into a ttnoolb aud eiteiuife baj, Mmi-cir- 
 culir m form, and cutUng back to far into tb« land which form, the 
 (ill, aa to approach within three hundred feet of the waters of th« upper 
 bay ; thus forminK a kind of penin&ula or bulkhead, one-third of a inii« 
 or More in length, and thr«e hundred feel wide at the narrowest part of 
 ita nwk, giring a " head'* of on« hundred and fiftj feet of water, with 
 unlimited supply. 
 
 This penimtula and hnd imme^ateTy adjoining it, (in all about fire 
 hundred acrei.) belong to prirate indiriduala. TIms Gofemment has al- 
 so reserved in the immediate vicinity several hundred acres for the site 
 of a town. ^ few years wjll probably demonstrate the wisdom and fore- 
 light which prompted tliis reservation. Tlie whole surrounding country 
 ia setUed, and within six mileaare the celebrated springs of" 8tLeon.»» 
 The curative properties of those waters attract annually many visitors 
 from air parts of Canada. In f<ict the scenery and geographical posi- 
 tion of this pUce, in addiUdn to iU extraordinary capability for manufac- 
 t»iring purposes, all point with confidence to the probability that, at no 
 distantday, it will become the Manchester of Canada. | '- 
 
 And first, in the probable course of things, will come the manufacture 
 of lumber, a twde which, in itself, if carried to any extent, leads natu- 
 t9Xiy to the ^blisbment of factories in many other departments of busi- 
 ness. Hie lumber trade is especially the trade of all newly opened 
 countries accessible from the adjacent setUed districts, and it increases 
 in ratio with population and civila*ation. Canada, as a whole, supplies 
 mainly not only the mother country, but also a large part of the demand* 
 from the northern, eastern, and central parts of the United States. The 
 'annual consumpUon of the Burlington, Whitehall, Troy, Albany and 
 Boston markets, probably exceeds one thousand million feet. Part of 
 this is supplied from the south-western part of Ne^ York. The grwt 
 bulk of the remainder finds its way to market from Canada through 
 Lake Champlain and the Chambly Canal, tapping the St. Lawrence 
 midway between Montreal and Three Rivers, and comprises the supply ' 
 from all sources from the Ottawa river, forty-five miles above Montreal 
 to Quebec, ninety miles below Three Bivers. Recently, however, much 
 of the Ottawa lumber has gone for a market to the far west ; and though 
 the raw material is still plenty on that river, yet its production is annu- 
 ally becoming more and more expensive, and can hardly compete with 
 the fresh cu^and cheaper fikcflities of the St. Maurice. . : '"/^ iv ;- 
 It is fair to presume, therefore, that much, of the lumber required for 
 
i 
 
 f, Mini-cir- 
 forifui the 
 f Ui« upp«r 
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 'eat part of 
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 about fire 
 BDt hasal- 
 for the lite 
 nandfore- 
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 8tLeon.»» 
 ij TJaitora 
 hical posi- 
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 amifacture 
 eads natu- 
 tts of buai- 
 Ijr opened 
 increases 
 e, supplies 
 he demand 
 ites. The 
 banjr and 
 Part of 
 Phe grriiat 
 I through 
 Lawrence 
 the supply 
 Montreal, 
 ver, much 
 ad though 
 a is annn- 
 pete with 
 
 quired for 
 
 th» southern markets roust come from Uie St. Manrict ; and it is ee^• 
 t«ia also that no rirt r in Canada baa, in ■ gaographicai point of fiew, 
 sii&h a complete choice of markets, or comuunds mor* sfiRj access to 
 thtm. Herein is its peculiar advantage orer the other tributary rirers 
 of the at, Lawrence, In less than thrcie days, rafts can be taken from 
 Shawiocgaii to the Quebec market, or loaded onlUrgrs at Three Rirert 
 and started on their way to tha United States. Mills' wiU out for 
 whichever market may at the moment o0er the best inducements. The 
 QMt of lumber in the log at the nil^, say at Shawinegan, b from three to 
 four dollars per thousand feet, board measure } sawing, about two dollars ) 
 rafting to Three Uivers and loading on barges, ;^oile dollar ; freight to 
 Troy or Albany, from three to four dollars) m all say. eleven dollars. 
 The commonest quality of pine sells readily in Troy or Albany for thlr* 
 teep dollars per thousand, and from that price to an average of thirty 
 dollars. Twenty dollars, however, is a (air average for the yield of the 
 river in pine ; and large quantities are sold even at Three Rivers, at 
 better proportionate rates, to southern and eaatem buyers, who, ia-HMT 
 hope of saving a commission, go northward to the mills and seek to bvf 
 direct fcpm the manufaoturers. Extensive steam mills and machine 
 shops ara Mraady established onthe main land at the noath of the St. 
 Miulrice nvar, where large quaatibai of lumber are annudly maaufke- 
 tii^ ( and there are islands in the mouth of the river upon which planing 
 milU and oiheir iisQiories might he established with rwy great advantage* 
 ^jabor i> ?fc#edipigly oheap» being supplied chieHy by the French Cana- 
 <|4an populaMon, who are aa heneil, frugal and hardy a race as any under 
 tlif sun, Tbair wants being comparatively smaU, they depend upon the 
 op^ratioDii of the hiinherman for their winter's employment. Tt need^ 
 npw oaly tha aapitaUst vd the mechanie-*-money and skill~-to give fontt' 
 and diraciioa to that tide of wealth which must ere long, and under ahf ' 
 cwQuvurtaaces, roU down the whole eourae of this magnificent rivei'.; 
 Tha opportunity for investment is one whibhj^ftigr the current yea^ of^ 
 low i^aluM, piU proliably iMTerMcur agaio.^ 
 
 1^ jB 1 1 
 
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 4 
 
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 THE PILfiS EAILWAY. 
 
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 (^From the Three lUven Inqimer,i . . . w. U. 
 ' Sir,— It has been stated, ampn| others by the ^o•. t. % ^rmmoa^^ 
 Jift^i The inquirer has dpna more than a^y other agency, to bruf ibi^ 
 St. Maurice district, and its resources, before Ihoiotiot of the public* 
 
'«i 
 
 ^ 
 
 ;'^ 
 
 I beHere the statement isleorrect. It 19, however much to be regretted 
 that within the last year or two, your views of our railway policy, as te- 
 iwunded in 7%e Inquirer, h^ve, in my opinion, helped rather to mih'tate 
 •gainst the St Maurice interest. True, The Inquirer origin'Jited, and 
 continues to support, the scheme of a branch road connecting this City 
 with the Grand Trunk at Arthabraska: which road would, as has already 
 been shewn, greatly facilitate the opening up of this immense territory, 
 as well as furnish to Three Rivers an easy access to all the markets in 
 tte world, at all seasons of the year* The Arthabaska branch is but 
 inserting the end of the wedge? If you would lay the country open, you 
 must supplement that scheme with a railroad to the Piles on the St. 
 Maurice. I know that you have cas^ ridicule on that project j but if I 
 mistake not, when you called it, « fin absurdity," the epithet was used in 
 feference to the immediate profit the working of the road might be ex* 
 pected to yield to stockholders. ^You did not, nor could any one pre- 
 ttnd to say, that such a road, in conjunction with a steamer to La Tuquey 
 eouM otherwise than benefit the lumberman and the settler. Your plan, 
 •8 set forth in last Saturday's Inquirer , of constructing colonization 
 jpoads on the same principle as now recognised 4)y Government for build- 
 ing railways, that is by grants of wild lands, is open to the old objection, 
 that these lands will falj into the hands of monopolists. What dffeience 
 is diere between the monopoly of lands by a railway company, or by an 
 "^ordinary road company t As to the profits which in either case may be 
 realised, I think the advantage lies with the railway company. Except 
 indeed, that in addition to grants of land, your road company has also 
 the right of erecting turnpikes— a right which our fudntans would 
 consider as an unjust burden, aM to which they would never willingly sub* 
 nit. Aji^ttgh a railway to the Filea might not prove remunerative for 
 Afewyearis in traffic returns, yot the earnings would from the outset, de- 
 fray working expenses and leave the lands as a clear profit. Whether the 
 railway to the Piles, and steamier to La Tuque, wouM render tfa^ lands 
 granted to this company as Yaluable as would the opening up of an or^ 
 dinary road through al|kpmate blocks, say oftoa iiiles each, to a common 
 road company, is the question nOw to be considered. It has been found 
 m Canada that wherever the lunhberman has successfully operated, there 
 the settler has established himself r because the lumber trade has opened 
 a mulEet for him in the>ei7 heailof the wilderness, and thus invariably * 
 proves the best agency for settlii^ our lumber districts. If then you 
 foster the lumber trade of mi|' particular locality, you adopt the- very 
 
 A 
 
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 ttmimm 
 
)e regretted 
 
 ' to militate 
 pnated, and 
 ig this City 
 has ab-eady 
 le territory, 
 markets in 
 anch is bat 
 f open, you 
 on the St. 
 stjbntifl 
 ras used in 
 ght be ex* 
 ly one pre- 
 La Tuque, 
 Your plan, 
 olonization 
 i for build- 
 objection, 
 k dfference 
 ', or by an 
 semaybe 
 Ezc^ 
 r has also 
 ns would 
 ling^ysuh* 
 iratiye for 
 >utset,de- 
 bather the 
 the lands 
 of an ov" 
 I c<Hnmon 
 een found 
 led, there 
 IS opened 
 nvanably * 
 then you 
 the- very 
 
 
 '.f^lp 
 
 ^¥■ 
 
 \ 
 
 best method of settli&g that locality, and consequently, by iU settlement, 
 you enhance the value of its lands. Now, such road as you propose 
 constructing, would not place the lumberman of the St. Maurice in any 
 better position than he at present occupies. He already has a road to 
 the piles, for which by the way he hMpaid ; and which most likely, he 
 will still have to keep in repair. The transport of his men and provisions 
 along this road, is more expensive and tedious than it woyld be by rail ; 
 and when he reaches the Piles, instead of steamer to Ia Tuque, he must 
 employ canoes. All this time his men must be paid and supported, 
 lieft to themselves, as they often must be under existing circumstances, 
 they consume double the time necessary for the journey j and if the 
 roads are bad,^ break pork and flour barrels, and destroy more provisions, 
 than would have sufficed to pay for the entire transit by rail and stjupier ; 
 nor taking into account the loss of time, and the inconvenience mMy to 
 result from arriving at the shanties with diminished supplies. Apart 
 from this consideration, if your oxen and hbrses are sent up by rail juii 
 steamer, you prevent their being jaded, and save considerably on the haf 
 and oats provided for their consumption. The roads you advocate 
 could confer no new advantage on the lumberman ; and not penetrating' 
 as far as the lumber districts, they would fail to provide a maricet for 
 the settler, to the interior of the country, still subjecting him to visit the 
 city or market town, by an expensive and slow mode of travel, in order 
 to dispose of his produce. On the other hand, the railway and steamer 
 mode of transit will draw an increased lumber trade up the St. Maurice, 
 providing for the farmer who settles even at La Tuque, a r^ady market) 
 for his hay, (Ais, pork and flour. But if he prefers selling these pro- 
 ducts of his industry in Three Rivers, he can take advantage of steamer 
 and railway, or if he disposes of them at the homestead, and is desirous' 
 of laying out fiis money to advantage, by making purchases in this city, 
 the same facilities are open to him. According to your plan the lumber 
 trade re'ceives no fresh encouragement, and consequently the agricul-^ 
 turist has but little inducement to locate himself at any great distance? 
 froBn a market town. We have now to take another view of the'case<r 
 The lumber growing on lands granted to any such companies, miist be 
 ts^en into consideration. Such roads as you propose can prove but of 
 little avail in getting out lumber, or in lessenmg the expenses of bringing 
 it to markets The Piles railway, as has been already shewn wUl.lessen^ 
 Hie cost and trouble of lumbering on the Stk Mauifice. The tin^er^ 
 
 -■'■'■'.. ■.;■■:■.'■■' -B>./ ': -.- _^,^ ^_^---^:^=^-^--.-.t^■,^- 
 
 
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. 1 
 
 Id 
 
 
 ^d. granted to the St. Maurice Railway Companj, wOl, on the con- 
 •tmcfaon of the road, at once assume an increased ralue. Supposing 
 that tbere are to be found on an average, only ten pine tree, per acre, and 
 ^ only calculating thera worth one dollar each, the company wfll find ilaelf 
 m possession of timber amounting fn value to three millions, seven 
 hundred and fifty th(»^nd pdunds cy. This it will be rebembered 
 IS apart from the value of the \md, or the rich minerals which are known 
 to abound on them. It has been objeeted by some residents of Three 
 Rivers, that a raUway to the Piles would have the effect of removinir 
 manufacturing operations frorn this city to the Shawinegan, where 
 water power, to any extent, may be obtained. These persons have not 
 considered, that supposing such to be the result. Three Rivers would stUl 
 be the gainer. The more numerous the industrial operations carried on 
 in tbe interior, the greater the prosperty of that city which serves as 
 the outlet to such riches ; and the fact that Shawinegan offers A6se 
 , advantag«s, is another argument in favor of the Piles railway. It is a 
 popular cry with some parties," Oh! a raUway to the bush, why the 
 profits would not pay the grease for the wheels." A wise man wrote 
 "he IS a fool who answereth a matter before he heareth it,» and thoie 
 Who raise this cry, had better first reason the matter out, or permit me 
 todoit fbr theto. If the road led where no one travelled, the ciy 
 might have some meaning j but such is not the case in this instance. If 
 I do not mistake, The Inquirer stated, about the time that the Piles 
 rOad wi|s opened, that about a hundred cart loads of shanty supplies, pass- 
 ed over it in one day. Why, some of our Three Rivera carters have 
 made little fortunes within the last four years from this source of em- 
 ployment. Supposing that business did not already exist, it is a fact well 
 kiiown in the history of raflways, that the^soon create a traflSc for 
 themselves. They afford such speedy and cheap transit, that distance, 
 along a line pf railroad, is hardly taken into calculation. With such a 
 mode of conveyance to the Piles, the farmer of that locality would count * 
 Wmself as near Three Rivers, as if he resided in the Banlieu or St. 
 Marguerites. Wtre the road in question, once in operation, an active 
 trade would immediately spring up in firewood for the Montreal market. 
 The St. Maurice lands being in many parts thickly grown with hard- 
 wood tfees^ and the labour of chopping being less expensive than in the 
 Eastern Townships, we could supply that market cheaper than they, 
 rhe great business of the Piles wulway, in my opinion, must consist of 
 
D the coo- 
 Suppoaiog 
 acre, and 
 I find itaelf 
 m»y teven 
 sbembered 
 ire known 
 of Three 
 removing 
 D, where 
 
 I have not 
 would still 
 :arried on 
 serves as 
 fers Aose 
 * Itfrk 
 
 why the 
 an wrote 
 uid thoie 
 •ermit me 
 , the cry 
 mce. If 
 the Plies 
 ies, pass- 
 ters have 
 e of em- 
 fact well 
 raffic for 
 distance^, 
 hsnchji 
 lid count 
 
 II or Sil 
 tn active 
 market. 
 ih hard^ 
 m in the 
 an tbejk 
 onsist oIl 
 
 
 lawn lumber for the United States market. As before observed, th» 
 Shawinegan presents any uumber of mill sites ; and saw millS| worked 
 hf water power, are more remunerative than steam mills. The terminui 
 of the Piles road in this city, will of course be in connexion with the 
 Grand Trunk wharf of the Arthabaska branch. It may not be generally 
 known, t^ this branch imll place us in the tnost favorable position 
 of any lumber district in America, for supplying Jive New England 
 StateSf tnth an article which every.one of them is at presentlacking. 
 The bright yellow pine deals of our native forests, placed on the car at 
 Shawinegan, might be embarked here on the Grand Trunk ferry boat, 
 and, hooked to the engine on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, 
 never break bulk till they reached.their destination in the United States. 
 This project was the darling scheme of that cherished citizen of Salem, 
 whose untimely end, precipitated by, the accident of the ill fated 
 Montreal, was mourned over in the United States as a public calamity^ 
 The construction of such roads as you advocate are good in their place, 
 but they must not be suffered to supercede those that bring in thetf^ 
 traia more impoHant advantages. Ordinary roads conduce to the set- 
 tlement of the country, and chiefly benefit the agriculturist; but they 
 cannot compare with railways for creating traffic, and giving an impulse 
 to manufactures and to commerce. To my mind, the matter resolves 
 itself into this, << ordinary roads are good, but railroads are better ; grants 
 of Ilmd to a company for making a common road will prove remunera- 
 tive j but a grant of land on the ^t. Maurice to a company that will 
 bnild a railway from Three Rivers to the Piles, cannot fail to be a fortune 
 to the happy individuals concerned." . As the North Shore Railway 
 Company cdnnot lay claim to these lands witjdut building the Piles road, 
 in ease ofaccident^ it would be wise in the people of Quebec to devote 
 one half of their recent vote, to the construction of the Piles Railway, 
 and -commence the work immediately. I remain, &c. ' . 
 
 «^- % . A FRIEND TO PROGRESS. " 
 
 Three Rivers, 15th April, 1858. r ^ ^ ■ ^' 
 
 >i {Fnnn a Correspondent of tU Three Rivers Inquirer,) ■ 
 
 The River St. Maurice, acfcoi-ding to the nearest computations that 
 can be made, drains an area of about forty-five thousand square miles. 
 This extensive region, once believed to be barren and uninhabitable, s* 
 fer as explored, presents every inducement both toihe settler and the 
 
 ,' i ^^ ^ ^*^^ ^:" 
 
 
 ^ 
 
I* 
 
 lumberman. There are exte4sihretricW, lomewliat h% \x^t^ but 
 these are corefed wtth fore/ta of the finest pine. ' On i% other hand 
 there are wide reaches of leTy^I land, covered with bard wood of a hetry 
 growth. Throughout it ia/ beautifully watered, and intersected With 
 mert. I he course of the/ main St. Maurice is neari/ from the north, 
 la the east and west, the tributaries spread out far more than ft hundred 
 i«« on either side. Su^h is the country which now partiaRy explored • 
 almost utterly unknown soiae four years ago. At tkat not very 
 remote penod, settleraejit had not extended quite fifteen nnles up the St. 
 Maunce. All beyond was [an unbroken wilderness. About that time, 
 nowever, tbfe Public Works were commenced ; the lumbermen besan to 
 embaric their capital/freely on ths St. Maurice j roads were made, and 
 settlement I apidly followed. Take for example the line of the « Pilei 
 iioad. Three y^ars and a half ago, from Cote Turcotte upwards, there 
 was not a single settler. Starting now from that place (distant frofp 
 thu place about/fifteen miles) you can travel for fourteen mile's through 
 a dense settlement. In that distance you will meet with two chui!ch!2\ 
 two post offices, and numerous stores. The houses are not .mere log hut|, 
 but good substantial buildings of hewn wood, in some instances clap- 
 bowded ^ov^r. The setUement is divided into two municipalities, and 
 the people/and the councillors project roads, and dispute about improve- 
 ments, rn/a manner which would \o credit to the most restless andener^ 
 getic settlement in Western CanWa. As to the amount of the popnla- 
 tiMy lybannot speak positively, b%it must be considerable. At one of 
 *^ft •'**®"^** ^ ^'^ ^®" ***" * hundred and fifl^ seven children 
 r®<iy5 ^^ ^"* communion in one day last summerMnd all this, bear 
 ra oiipd, where there was not a tree cut three-^did-arha^ years afo. 
 /ut this is not the only settlement springing up on tlie St. Maurice, 
 occasioned by the trade which has beetin &reon. On the east sile, 
 ittlement has advanced iiore rapidly thaa on the west, of whicli if«' 
 tve been speaking, and is approaching the source of the Rividre-4^ 
 Envies, opposite the Grandes Piles. From^ the Stct. AniiM»Jtn 
 Pcrade (nearly half way .to Quebec) to Berthier^luilf wayto Moatrea}„ 
 the settlements are extendiii^, and will extend still morr, as the demand 
 for produce to supply the lumber establishments in the interior increaies. . 
 In the mean time the new road to the Graodes Piles^ thrown open 
 ue country to La Tiique, a distance of 120 miles up the St. M^ee* 
 The money expended on this road is unquestionably the most judicious 
 mvestment yet made by the Government in the territory, All the W* , 
 fie of the St; Maurice already ^oes over it, and settlement is pouring in, 
 but as it is now the main highway leading up the St^ Maurice, it is cer» 
 tainly of flie great^t importance^ as you justly 8tate,thatthe loWer nor- 
 ^n of the road, tliat is to say, the jfiart lying between this and Cote 
 Turcotte, (a^distapce of fifteen miles) should be put-in thorougib repair, 
 and made equal -to the Government roads which have been made from 
 that place to the Grandes Plies. 
 
 
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'k 
 
 i^ Tndeed, but 
 he other hftnd 
 )od of a hetfv 
 :ert6cted with 
 001 the north. 
 :han fi hundred 
 iaWy Explored/ 
 tkat not reif 
 lies up the St. 
 tout that time, 
 rmen began ta 
 ere made, aqd 
 of the « Pile* 
 Awards, thera 
 (distant kofn 
 miles through 
 two chuEchea,. 
 .mere log huts, 
 ist^ces clap- 
 eipalities, and 
 boul improTe* 
 tiess and ener- 
 of the popnla- 
 3. At omg of 
 ieven chfldren 
 laQ this, bear 
 ears afo. 
 St. Maurice, 
 the ^t sidle, 
 of which in^ 
 i Rividre-detK 
 
 > AnnHbMi-r 
 to MoUbredK 
 IS the demand 
 rior incnMuwa. . 
 t thrown open 
 St^M^uriet* 
 nost judiciom 
 All the tn^, 
 is pouring in, 
 rice, it is cer" 
 he loirer por- 
 his and Cote 
 trough repair, 
 en made nrom 
 
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