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IU)V.\L S(»('||;tV of CANADA. 
 
 /Z 
 
 / 
 
 I'UlvSIDKXTlAL ADDRKSS 
 
 (HkaI) liKKoiti; iiii; Six ii;r\. 
 
 M). IXW.) 
 
 Canadian Water Power 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 KLECTRICAF. PKODU'T 
 
 IN HKI,ATloN TO TIIK 
 
 Undeveloi'ki) Resources op the Dominion. 
 
 BY 
 
 niOS. ('. KKKFFH, ('.M.(i 
 
 President. 
 
 •'rULISHED. BY OHDEU OF TIIK SOCIKTV. IN ADVANCK OK ITS ANNUAL 
 
 VOLUME OF TRANSA(rriONS. ON ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 GENERAL INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT. 
 
Ill 
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 111 
 
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 its 
 
 irif.f 
 
 the 
 
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I'KKSIDKNTIAl. ADDKKSS 
 
 (anadii with a. small |i(>|tiilat ion and insuHicicMt ('.apital hii< riovorthe- 
 ly!«s lu'ld a loivinost position in the products of t\u\ Korcst. and the Fish- 
 ( ri<'S. as well as in tlir (piality of those cereals and I'rnils which attain 
 their hif,diest dev<'lopinent in a northern latitude. In live stock she has 
 not suirered hy comparison with any other portion of this continent, 
 while in dairy products she is })rc-eniincnt. If she has not, until re- 
 cently, nuule much pro^M-ess in mineral development, it has heen more 
 Irom want of money than of mines. If ^hc has hecn lonjr in attainin<r 
 a position as a. manufacturing coimtry, it is accounted for hy tln^ fiscal 
 iind financial conditions (d" a sparsely >ettle(l country, the smallness of a 
 iiome market, and the competition of ^xrcattr capital and out-put, and 
 therefore cheaper |>ro(iucti(Ui elsewhere. 
 
 Amongst the many partially developed resources of Canada, perluqts 
 there is none more widespread or iimre fai' reaching in future results 
 than her unsurpassed Water I'ower. The \alue of this has Ix'cn enorm- 
 eiisly eidianced, first iiy 'he expansinn oi' the Wood Pulp manufat't lire, 
 ■..n.\ the introduction of eh ctro-elieniiral and metallurgical industries 
 for which this country jtossesses the I'aw material: and, more recently, 
 !iV the revolution which has heen liroiight ahout hy success in transmit- 
 !ing the energy of water falls, from rem ite and inconvenient positions to 
 'li(>se where the work is to he done. 
 
 {electrical transmission itrings the power to the W(uk, and when the 
 [Time mover is water, we have the cheapest power, and perhaps nearest 
 a|>proach to perpetual motion uliieh it is possihle to ohtain; — one which 
 IS always " oji tap."" and, like gravity, maintained without cost and aj)- 
 plied without <lelay. 
 
 An <'.\aminati<»n o[' any good map of our hvuiu] Dominion reveals, as 
 Its most striking feature, an extraordinary wealth and remarkahly un- 
 interrupted sueeession of lakes and rivers, suggestive of ample rainfall, 
 tlie first great requisite in the occupation of any country. This feature 
 wonld he still more impri'ssive if all the waters eould he shown on the 
 map. Over large areas only the more im|)ortant rivers have heen ex- 
 llored and delineated; while in the surveye<l districts many are neces- 
 sarily omitted to leave room for other information to be given. 
 
 Ki 
 
\ 
 
 r 
 
 J 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 Thoso rivors .'ind lakes have Ix'cii the iiiii-.| importiinl factors in the 
 sclllcintMit of tlic count IT, as tlicy lorniod the earliest lines of approju'li 
 lor the |)enel ration and exploration of the interior, and f«)r the exploi- 
 tation of our foresLs. The lun:l)ennan followed the trai)ptM' and the fur 
 trader, the axe sup])lanted the ritle, and thus the count rv was opened up 
 1)V men who know not only where to l)e*jin, hut, hv their callinji:. wer^ 
 Itest e(iuij)ped as |)ion(>ors. 
 
 The frontier, where nui already occupied liy the l-'reuch, Wius neces 
 .sarily rapidly >ettled in the tirst place hy the jioyalists of lll»i, whn 
 could mil >taud upon the urdei' of their departun? aftt'r their honie-- 
 were rontiscated. These found ihe rivers their earliest friends from 
 whence they obtained the liieans of t;lielter and of eiuploymont in th ■ 
 (»nly industry l»y which uimiey coidd then l)e obtained, viz, the tloatin<; 
 of tindx'r and potash to Montreal and (Quebec. 
 
 Over a leuiitli of seviM'al thousand miles hetwi'en Lalirador and Alaska 
 and over a width of sevei-al hundretl miles, there is an almost continuous 
 <listribution of lakes, lakelets and rivers; — the lakes of varied outlines. 
 <liuieusi(uis and elevations above sea level, and nuiny possessin^i; facilities 
 lor the >t<Ma>;e of their Hood waters. 'i'hi> power of storajre has been 
 larp'ly taken advantaire (tf by luud)ermen to retain the needed suppl\ 
 foi' their SpiMuji" "drive" into the main stream. In many |)laces th 
 outlet from the lake, or the connection between a chain of lakes, i» 
 a narrow cleft in rock where an inexpensive <iam will hoM hack the water 
 sujiplied by the winter's accumulation of snow. 
 
 With the exception of her prairie re*fion, the rivers of Canada dill'c' 
 from the ^lississipi. Missouri and Ohio, and the larjfer pail of their tribu- 
 taries, in that they are not naturally navigable from their months, orahov • 
 tidal intlm'Uce to any considerable extent, except in detaeiied section> 
 vhile the former are navijiable for thousands of nules ami are thereforf 
 witlunn. water j)ower. Those ^n'eat wi'stern rivers How upon a uearl\ 
 uniform ;frade of a few inches per mile, whilst the St. Lawrence an I 
 its tributaries art' interrupted by Kapids, Chutes and Cataracts, airordin.: 
 a ;rrcat variety, (juantity and (juality of Water I'ower. 
 
 in the I'nited States, between the Atlantic coa.st ami the l{ock\ 
 ]\lountains, as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, and as far north as th ■ 
 Bakota.s, (with the exception of ])art of ^!ew Y'ork and New I'jijj^landi 
 there is an entire absence of lakes; while throughout Canada, north e! 
 the St. Lawrence and stretching northwest toward the Mackenzie Uivei 
 Basin, these are innumerable, in fact have never been numbered, ani 
 thousands of the smaller ones have never been represented on any map 
 
 The upper sections or sources of most of the Canadian Kivers ar^ 
 chains of lakes, occu|)ying in many instances the greater portion of th • 
 water course. These head waters are often upon nearly t'»e same eleva 
 
ictors ill till" 
 of iipitroiU'li 
 
 r tlic oxi)loi 
 ami till' fill 
 
 IS ()|)OIlt'<l Uji 
 
 ciillin;;, wiT' 
 
 1. Wl'.S lU'Ct'S 
 
 >t" r. Iti, wli" 
 
 tluMI" llOUlf- 
 
 rriends from 
 ^iniMit ill til-' 
 . the tloatin- 
 
 ►r and .\lasl<;i 
 st contimiou- 
 Tied outliiu'>. 
 isui;^ I'acilitif^ 
 •aixo lias hciMi 
 leedi'd supplv 
 iiy places til 
 II of lakes, i> 
 ai'k the watei 
 
 aiiatla ditVe' 
 their tril)U- 
 iths, orahov ■ 
 
 led tiei'tion> 
 are therefor' 
 
 •oil a iiearl\ 
 iawreiice an I 
 
 •Is, atfonliii^ 
 
 the I{oek\ 
 north as tli' 
 ew Hnjjlandi 
 (la, north i>t 
 ikenzie Kivei 
 imbered, anl 
 on any map 
 n Uivei'8 ai- 
 ortion of th ■ 
 i same eleva 
 
 lion and interlocked uitli the suiinrs ,,r ,,(hei- rivcr> flowiii^' ia opposite 
 or ditVeieiil directions, and separated hy narrows necks of land at a low 
 <livide. renderinu- diversion t'roni one \n another pos.sil»le. a feature which 
 has in M»nie phucs been iiliji/pd l»y liinihernieii. — fearless of anv le»,'al 
 injunction. 
 
 This terrace-like pndiie of the rivers and their fre<|uent expansion 
 iiilu hikes, »»ften dottcfl with islands, not oidy enhances the heautv of the 
 -ceiiery, hilt, for utilitarian purposes, constitutes a series of elevated 
 "i""i':d luill ponds, containiuj.: latent jiowei of unknown extent and 
 \aliic. await in^i: that demand upon tlieni which is now heintr made in 
 consc<iuence of the discovery that our second rate forest growth which 
 has hitherto served chiefly to ornanieiit their shores and islands, has 
 heioiiie the niosi inip«»rtant, and can he ground into pulp and rolled 
 into paper to meet the ever increasing deniands of the newspa[»er, the 
 hook maker, and the innunierahje forms into which wood pulj) can he 
 (omprcssed for useful (U- ornamental purposes, — or as a substitute for 
 Wood oi- metal. 
 
 'rh(<e stejis from high to lower levels in every rivulet, branch, tribu- 
 tary (u- nuiiii stream of nt'arly every one of our northern rivers produce 
 Jiioic or less broken water which never freezes over but renuiins open 
 diirini:" the coldest weather, giving an alternation of closed and open 
 water >e(tions, of ice covered lakes and of broken water in rapids, which 
 may cover miles in extent, as well as at chutes or cataracts with more or 
 le>s open water ahovi' and below them. 
 
 it is an interesting (piestion for s})ecialists to determine what ell'ect. 
 if any, this often large percentage and almost general distribution of 
 ojien water during the coldest weather ( of which every stream large or 
 small has a portion) may have in modifying the extremes of tempeniture 
 in tlie-e northern latitudes. When all the ground is frozen solid and 
 covered with a deep mantle of snow, extending over the lakes and check- 
 ing increasing thickness of their ice covering, large bodies of water are 
 impounded and maintained at a temperature above the freezing point, 
 although there may be lifty degrees of frost in the air, and are constantly 
 poured forth into this frigid atmosphere. 
 
 It is conce<led that our Great Lakes modify the temperature of their 
 liorder lands, and although these open water spaces in our northern 
 rivers may be inferior in surface, they exist on every river having rapids 
 or falls, and extend over such a vast field that their aggregate area must 
 lie very large. Unlike the (Jreat Lakes these open spaces are constantly 
 receiving fresh supplies of wanner water to temper the severity of the 
 air. Such *' breathing holes *' (as they are sometimes called) are nec- 
 essarily com))aratively shallow, and are the only places, after all other 
 water is frozen over, where '* anchored " ice is formed and found. This 
 
w 
 
 ) 
 
 , 
 
 w 
 
 (litVrrs rnmi ljilv(» ico in llijit llic liitlrr iiirlls when- it freezes, wliili 
 iuuluir ice. when coiiiiielled liy milder weiillier In let j^o its lioM u\)n]\ 
 the liottoin. ri,ses, niid is imiiiediatelv dniwti limit r llie ti\ed ice lielnw. 
 iiiid does not dissidve until the riv«'r hreaks up in llie Spring'. Tlic laten! 
 iieat .if water. dis-eii^^aLjcd in free/in^-. — wliicli jtroerss oreiirs so Ire- 
 (jnenlly dufini;- tlir li\e months of wintei-. — is imparted to the atmos- 
 phei'e. lint is not a^'ain ahsorix-d l)_v ineltiiij,' iee, as wouhl he the easi- ii, 
 lakes, or in deep sln^';,Msh rivers. 
 
 Apiin. radiation is supposed to play an important part in ''anchor 
 in<:"' the floating:- particles of in' to the river bottom, which is said ti' 
 lie cooled so lapidly liy the ice laden current ahove it as to hecome frozen, 
 and then lie^^in to attract the pa.-sin<r ice needles, and lix them to it« 
 bed. 
 
 If mother earth, in mid-winter, coiitrihutes any (»f her impoundi'd 
 lieat to till' outer atmosphere, these almost innunierahle unfrozen spaces 
 certainly otVer ,iireat facilities for ^'ivin>r vent to lier siij>|iresfc;t'<l enioti(»u.-. 
 
 ■■"» y 
 
 J 
 
 ml 
 
 
 ^1 
 
 "SVATEH rOWEK. 
 
 From the Straits of llelle Isle to .Montreal, and theme ascending- tin' 
 (Mtawa. the trihtitaries of the St. Lawrence and <d' the Ottawa d(">ceiid. 
 tlirou<:h the Laurentian rejrion. from t'lexations of ISOO to lOdO fee' 
 ahove tide, and deltoiiche within a (rw miles of e:ich other excep' 
 immediately ahoiit the Sa^'uenay. In many cases they hriii^- their prin 
 (ipal cataracts very near their outfall, notably in the case of the fanioii- 
 l-'alls of .Montmorency, which. lea|iin^- directly into the St. Lawreiic' 
 from a heifzht of '.TiO feet, are utilized to li^dit the strtM'ts and drive tin 
 tram cars of Quebet'. 
 
 Somewiiat similar condititms exist on the soiitli shore of the St. Law 
 ronco until the K'iclielien river (the outlet of Jjake Champlain) i- 
 rcaclu'd. where at Chambly. water ^lower is about to bu used to send lb' 
 electric current into Montreal, in comiietition with steam, and with .i 
 similar water power from the Lachiiie Kapids. 
 
 The divide between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa is studded with 
 lakes west of the liideau Canal, a ]M-incipal outlet for which. — on lb' 
 ^,),,th, — is tbe Kiver Trent dischar<:iiig into the Bay of (^)uinte. w ith lar<:' 
 mills and much undeveloped water power at its nnuitb: and on tie 
 north, some balf a dozen important tributaries discharging into th' 
 Ottawa. 
 
 At Sault St. Marie, a water jwwer canal fed from Lake Superior sup 
 plies the largest pulp mill yet erected in Ontario, and a similar work a' 
 tlie Lake of the Woods (which lake is 1000 feet above tide) gives powef 
 to the lar<'est flour mill in the Dominion. The waters of the Wiunipe,: 
 
(•«'/('S, wlllli 
 
 s littld upon 
 (I ice liflitw. 
 . 'I'lif latt'Hi 
 
 ciirs M> ti'i' 
 1 the iiliiHt- 
 ■ the cast' in 
 
 ill •• illU'luM - 
 
 •li is said til 
 
 (•(tlllC t'l'l»/.*'Il. 
 
 thfin to il- 
 
 • imiii»uii(U'<l 
 I'rozon spacc- 
 ,0(1 emotions. 
 
 LS('(Mi<lin;i' till- 
 awa (IcM't'iid, 
 to 1(1(10 tVi't 
 Dtlicr oxcopr 
 ^- their prill 
 
 the I'ailKMl- 
 
 st. liawrt'iic' 
 11(1 drive til' 
 
 It lie Si. Law 
 |aiiiplain ) i~ 
 to send tie 
 and with i 
 
 tudded with 
 leh. — on ihi' 
 L. with lar^^i- 
 Imd <»n till' 
 Injr into til' 
 
 luperior sup- 
 
 lilar work ai 
 
 [gives power 
 
 U Winnipe,: 
 
 river (the oiltief of the halve of tlir \\(mmJ>) dexMiid ahnill .'KIO feet, lUl- 
 iiscd. into W'iniiipe;,^ Lake, adjoininir J.ake Maniloha, Ironi whence the 
 water system extends In the Saskalehewan, and thence via Athahasca, 
 the (ireat Shivc and the (Jreat Bear Lakes, to tl»e Arctic circle. 
 
 No ret'erence has he«'n made to the hmg estal)lish(H| water power in the 
 older districts, on the Sa^Mienay. or those hetween Montreal and l^uehei;, 
 and upon the Ottawa, nor to the more recent and extensive pidp and 
 jiapei- estahlishmcnts; — it l)ein<f the ohject of this paper to draw atten- 
 tion to the continuity and hroad distrihution of water power across the 
 Continent, on Canadian t«'rritory, and to the iinnnmhered natnral rese- 
 \oiiv of water at elevations which impart to them latent powers for the 
 future development of this country. 
 
 British ('(dnmhia has not heen included in this field, hecanse its oc- 
 cupied portion is separated hy oui- <;real. prairie re;,nt»n from the lake 
 system of Laslern Camida, which system is detlected toward the Xorth 
 \\'e>i al the Lake of the Woods. 'I'his province is hy no means delicient 
 in water |»ower, although it has heen little used as yet where iiunes are on 
 high levels, and hecanse steam could he more n^adily api)lied. On the 
 i'llicr hand, it is the only Province m which Hydraulic Mining is in 
 operation: and where g(»ld is found in ipiantity sutlicient to warrant the 
 -real <aitlay of ca.|»ital necessary in connection with that system. 
 
 In tht> Ko(»tenay, water wheels, with or without electrical transmis- 
 --ion. ;irc necessary foi- water power, in order to mine, pumj). and crush 
 
 I lie Liold hearini.;- rock>; hut in the Carilioo district, water j)ower i.s aj)- 
 ;ilicd in the simplest form, without wheels or wires, hy direct pressure 
 from a no/zle. as is done in Ottawa from a lire hydrant. 
 
 \\ idle the mountains south of the Canadian racilic- Railway are rich 
 
 1 metallic Vein- the region north of this Kailway extending into the 
 
 Arctic Circle, .ippears to he a vcritahle land of llavilah. a conlinuou-; 
 
 " I'huer " gold fudd, in which much of the precions melal is to he oblain- 
 
 <'l hy Hydraulic mining, wherever that is practicable. 
 
 'rhi< gold field, over a thousand niiies in extent l)etween the Fraser 
 and Yukon KMvers. and of nmuscertained width, has heen exj)l<>ited at 
 (arihoo. (from whenc(> lifty million dollars ha.>« heen taken), at Ca.ssiar 
 and Omeinca. and recently at Atlin, all in British Columbia; — a.s well 
 a- in the far famed Klondike, in the Yukon district, said to he the 
 richest gold field in the world. 
 
 Water, in whatever way it is used, i.s necessary to the recovery of this 
 L'dd. hut in many places water power alone will profitably unearth it 
 tmm its hitlden recesses. This is collected in quantity from lakes, and 
 
 II sevoirs on the high levels, and carried for miles hy ditches, aqueducts 
 and Humes, to the banks of a prinu'val, dc^serted river channel, at the 
 bottom of which, under forest covered clav hanks, lies the auriferous 
 
■r?' 
 
 'I 
 
 i->^ ?* 
 
 A. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 J 
 
 J vi 
 
 ( --» 
 
 pravrl stiuMrd \\'\\h lunildrrs jiiid rest ill;: <>i> the bed rock, rnd*'!' ii head 
 (if iil»(»iit .■?(•(» fret "six inch nipid fire" hydianlic puns arc pointi'd 
 i>;:iiiiist tlic l);ink. Itrcakiii;; dnwii llic earth, uproot in;.' trees, scattt'nii;.' 
 l>oid»h'rs and wa^hiii;: out the gold— which reinuijis in the traps >et for 
 it ill th«' Itottoiu of the sluices after all clsu has been carried oil' bv the 
 power iif tile water. 
 
 'i'hese "machine ;:iiiis ". called *';,Mants" and " ...»>nitors ". arc 
 models of -implicitv as well as of ingenuity and elliciencv. While work- 
 in;: tlicv ari' ;:i'eat roii'^inncr- of Wiitcr,- and can only be used when 
 llie ;ii'oiind i> unfrozen, but this season is p-nerally suHicient to u-e up 
 all the w.itcr which can be collected at the necessary elevation. 
 
 It ri'tpiirc^ at bust two nu'ii to hold and direct the force of the is- 
 suin;: stream from an Ottawa lire hydrant, but a boy can direct the 
 movement of a stream, twenty times ;:reater in ([uantity and lifty percent 
 i«tron;:er in pressure, as it rushes forth from the no/zle of one of these 
 '* ;:iants ". — which is li\<'d to a loaded jdatfonn, and moved forward as 
 the bank in front of it melts away. 
 
 A thin shoi't tube, of lar;:er diameter. pr(»jects bey(»nd the no//,le ti> 
 which it i> fixed by trunnions, sd tjuit the inbe can i»e moved indepeiul- 
 ently, bdili li(iri/ontally and vertically, to t<»uch the issuin;;: sti-eam. 
 which immediately recoils from the obstruction, movin;: the ";'iant's" 
 no/./lc in the oppdsite direction. 'IMius a boy " behiml the ;:un " can 
 (oiitrol its m>'Vement and compel the " ;:iant " to fall back upon his 
 ('wn resources for motive power. 
 
 li()!;sK iM)Wi:«. 
 
 It is impossible t(» ;:ive anythin;: but an approximate estimate either 
 of (|uantity or value (»f the available water ])u\ver over so vast an area, 
 because the first would involve the survey of every power site; and, as 
 1() the second, the value be;:ins when the power is wanted. 
 
 All which now »an l»e done is to state tiie conditions and eiubnivour 
 to estinuiti' the (piant ity. hypothetically. What is needed for an e-tiimit'' 
 is tlie (| uantity of water a.'id the amount of fall wliich can be relied upon 
 at the site for each |»ower. To ;:et the first, a nieasiirement of the mini- 
 mum flow at each p(»int wiuild be necessary in low water years, and fo' 
 the second, sonu' local knowled;:e as t(> river levels, back wafer, etc. 
 
 In the absence of such surveys we must fall back uj>on the averaj:- 
 rainfall of the whole re;:i()n as far as that can be procured for any time, 
 and assume the proportion of this precipitation ( ()f rain and snow i 
 which, after de(lucti(»ns for evaporation, the demand.s of vegetation, or 
 infiltrati(»n. would reach the wheels. An allowance nnist also be mad ' 
 for that porti(jn of the rainfall which may he carried off in floods. 
 
 I 
 
n(l«'i' ii III'. Ill 
 arc |»i»intiM| 
 8, scat t frill;; 
 traps M't fur 
 •d olV by till- 
 
 [lilurs ". lU'i' 
 Wliili' wi>rk- 
 .' usi'tl uhfii 
 nt t(» u-e tip 
 atioii. 
 
 CO of till' i>- 
 n dirt't't tin- 
 lifty |>iMT.'nt 
 one of tht'Sf 
 (1 forwiinl ii> 
 
 tlu' lli>/zli' ti^ 
 
 ('(I in(l.'})tMi(l- 
 ;uiii^' .-IrtMin. 
 \\v " tr'iiiiit's ■■ 
 H' fiuii " I'iin 
 k upKii \u^ 
 
 iiimtc either 
 
 vast an area. 
 
 site; and, a.* 
 
 \<1 ('iidt-aviiu:- 
 r an (■■itiiniit'' 
 rclii'il upon 
 
 of thf mini- 
 ciirs, and fu" 
 iter. etc. 
 
 [ho avi'raiz 
 
 or any tinn'. 
 
 and snow ) 
 
 |('^C'tatii)n, or 
 
 Ibo l)e mad 
 
 1 floods. 
 
 Tlir iirra o\cr wliiiji fjiis prrcipilalicdi would lir in iciK li lor water 
 ()0\vrr purposes, wi.nlil »iiil»ra(e nil the main land of ('iiiinda suutli uf the 
 St. Law rente, as well as all n(U-(li of it in the Ht. Lawreneo valley, and 
 !-" iiiiieli (if the llirdson hay watrrshed as ran hr utili/ed, oi' inipui'trd 
 liy I ran>inissiun. 
 
 As re;.i-ards the powi r of the water thus est iniatt'<l, we ii\nsl enihark 
 in a nnieli nioro sprculatiM' e-imiate as to the a\erap' fall which slmidd 
 he jissi^'iu'd t(» it l'<n- the w hoh' re^ncui. Wr have in the nndevehtpcd 
 distriets sonic xattcitd nictcnrohiwical ohscrvations t(» assist us in esti- 
 mating' pnihidde rainfall, and we lia\e also a U'w haroiiictrical nhsci'va- 
 tions ;j-i\in;:' the hci;:lit ;d»(ivc scji level df summit waters. <Mi lower 
 levels We have nioi-e iuimefon< rain j:aii«;es. and summit levels a>ccrtain- 
 e<l hy railway surveys. 
 
 l''or the whole ri\er the total fall may he less than l(>t» feet, a* in the 
 (ase id' the I'Vench river wlii(h has Lake Nipissins.' for a mill p(Uid. >m* 
 riso to |."i(Mt feet or more as at the riveis nelow .Ant n "stj. In the case 
 of tin- Kreneh river (which is the lower part of a. lon.j(r stream) we have 
 surveys, and know that its whole fall can he utili/rd, as would he 
 done if it is made navipdd ■ hy locks and dai.is. In the 
 others (wIk" ' ' surveys have heen made) some will il»c more or less like 
 I-'rciich river, while at others (uily a |»<»r ion of t'le total fall upon tlieni 
 may he pi-olitahly nlili/ed. The most valuahle will he liM»se which, liko 
 M(udni<u-cncy, hrin^' all their water with sutVu-U'iit head to tin point. 
 wlu're it is worth most. The upper secti»»ns of the rivers will he the 
 least valuahle. as havin^r less water and i)ein^' more remote until reached 
 hy a lU'W railway, or a transniissiim wire. 
 
 We can theretore only state a hypothetical case especially as to the 
 power to he assi^rned t(» the available water. Where the rainfall is 
 known, the proportions which reach the streams have heen a><certained, 
 in the construction of resevoirs for water supply and other purposes. 
 The chief difViculty with resp<'et to the (juantity of water is the want of 
 rain piajres over s«> ^'reat an extent of unoccupied territory. 
 
 .Assuming' therefore an averap' annual pn'oipitation of twenty-four 
 iiiches and takin^^ o!ie-half (d' this as available for water power, every 
 ten sipiare miles would yield an average of nearly one horse power for 
 (very foot of fall. .\ million sq\iare miles (and there is mnch more) 
 wonld give nearly 100.000 Horse Tower for every foot of fall: As there 
 vv<»uld be s»veral hundred feet of fall whieh oouhl be utilized our water 
 power nuist be immense, — and eommen- urate with this conntr}' in other 
 respects. 
 
 The above applies oidy to the tributaries of the St. I^siwrenee and the 
 Ottawa. an<l to the Hudson Bay watershed so far as that may be utilized. 
 The Canadian portion of the water power of the St. Jjiiwrenee, from 
 
^ 
 
 if- 
 
 41 ' 
 
 10 
 
 Jjjiko Superior to ^loiitroal, in which thorc is a fall of r>lt; foot, in not 
 incliulod, iK'iii^ holow the level of the trilmlaries. 
 
 We have mea-sureineuts of the tlow in hoth the St. Ijjiwrence and the 
 Ottawa in cul)ic feet per soeond, tis follows: 
 
 c. ft. per .see. 
 
 Tn St. Clary's river, outlet of Fiake Superior SO.OOO 
 
 ]n St. Clair river, outlet of Lake Huron "i'i.^.OOO 
 
 In Xiajjfara river, aliov(> the falls "^.MJ.'t.OOO 
 
 In St. Lawrence river ahove the rapids.... .'JUO.OOD 
 
 In Ottawa river, ahove Lake of Two ^lountains ;{.*>.()()() 
 
 Catiada's share of the St. Tjawronce water power from Tiake Superior 
 to Montrciil would he about ten million horse j)ower. 
 
 Canada has half the water of the St. Lawrence from Lake SujK'rior 
 to Cornwall, and all of it between T^ake St. Francis and Montreal; hut 
 only a ]»ortitm of this half could i)e utilized, — and this would ap))ly more 
 or less to the Ottawa and other rivers, when? all the power could not be 
 utilized without an expenditure probably beyond its value. 
 
 The power at Nia«jara has been ostimatiMl at seven million horse power, 
 from less than half of the fall between Likes Krie and Ontario, Imt the 
 How of the \ia<rara River, as <;iven above, does not support so hi^h jin 
 estimate, 'j'he whole of this fall (over '.ViO f«'et) can be utilize(l on the 
 Welland Canal, but the (piantity is comparatively insi^fnidcant, from the 
 limited channel and lU'ces.sarilv low velocitv of the (nirrent in it. 
 
 In li 
 
 Ki 
 
 ' manner the whole 
 
 fall 
 
 upon our canals in 
 
 the St. LawriMic 
 
 can be ntili/tMJ subject to the limitations imposed by the reiiuirement-; 
 of navi<iat ion. Uecause these canals have not had the work for which 
 they Were intended, they iiave in some cases become mill races rather 
 than slaek water channels. This lias been the less fell, hitherto, on ac- 
 count of the liiibtness of their west l)oun<l tratlic. the stronii; current to- 
 ward the mills bein<f in favor of the deeper laden ea>t bound craft, tlnis 
 incidentally compen>atinir for a vi(»lation of canal maxims. 
 
 
 I 
 
 While \vat''r power was at lii->t the only substitute for tin* windmill in 
 new (onntries. and its economy as well as superiority has always been 
 reco>;iii/.cd. several causes have contributed to limit its more ^eiienil ap- 
 plication. Kebd'c the invention of the turbine in the llrst half of the 
 present centui'y heads exceedin<; about seventy feet could not be utilized 
 on account of the comparative weakness and excessive cost of wheels of 
 lar;ie diameter, in these days of structural steel, and *' l'\'rris " wheels, 
 this ditliculty could he overcome", but. with the turbine, the conditions 
 ai'e I'eversed, tile higher the head the less tliosize and cost of wheels, so 
 thai the most valuable water powers were the nu>st cheaply utilized in 
 
 this l'esn(!ct. 
 
11 
 
 Mici' and t.lie 
 
 •MUil'l'IlHMlt 
 
 luM'tt), on ac- 
 currcMt ('>- 
 
 wintliuill III 
 lilwavri l)('<Mi 
 
 A previous check to the trreator extension of water j)owor wjis given 
 ill the latter part of the la-st century I.. JanKis Watt's discovery of th(! 
 stream engine, vvhicli hy hringing tiie power to the work, to the city, and 
 to the mine, revolutionize<l industrial conditions. 
 
 A still greater revolution has recently occurred which brings wat«!r 
 power t<» the front again, by its amalgamation with ehictricity, whertiby 
 it.>< economical power is tra.nsf«'rred to tlu^ work, ovi^r many miles of 
 distanc(\ upon a single wire. 
 
 AVithin the last, ten years high voltage electricity has been firmly es- 
 tal»lish('d with annually increju^ing power of exten.sion, and this has 
 brought Canada into the tirst rank of economical power producing coun- 
 tries. Water is thus represented by a power to which it can give birth, 
 but which is superior to its own, in that, where ever transplanted, it can 
 do nearly all the parent j>ower conld do, as well a.s give light, heat and 
 greater speed: moreover it has given rise to industries only possilde with 
 abundant cheai) electricity. What is more important to ns is that such 
 industries are those for which Canada possesses the raw material, but 
 wliich, without water power, she could not engage in. 
 
 There are important industries in which we have for some time utiUzed 
 Matei" power, for which eh>ctricity is not indispensiblo; but which e(|ually 
 re(|uire large amounts of eheaj) p.iw«M'. and are capable of indefinite ex- 
 tension: but while tlie<e may not need the intense electric current ihm- 
 essary for electro-chemical industries, they will find electrical transmis- 
 .•>ion of inestimable value in many situati<»ns; while, for lighting and 
 lieiiiing |iiii'poses, water power is invaluable to ail. 
 
 lleretotbre we have cut our spruce into deals and expi»rted it t) 
 I'lurope. and more recently into pulp wood and exported that to the 
 I . S.; hut, manufactured by our water power into pa[)er, the raw ma- 
 terial would yield this country ten tiiiu's the value it is now exporte<l 
 for. 
 
 'i'lie extension (d" railways cond»iiied with electrical transmission, will 
 prom()te the local manufacture of such wood products (including all 
 \alual)le Iiard wood) as can bear transportation: thus giving the largest 
 auioiinl of local employment, as well iis tonnage to the railway; and 
 deliveiing us from the positi(»u of "hewers of wood "" for other coun- 
 tries. 
 
 )f wheels of 
 
 conditions 
 wheels, so 
 
 KLKCTIIJCITY. 
 
 In order to present more fully the recently enhanced value of our Can- 
 adian water power, some reference is necessary to certain properties of 
 electricity, the pow(>r which has hap|)ily been described a.s " the most 
 inniantic form of energy" by Win. Henry Pr«'ece, C. l\. F. K. S., in his 
 iccent address a.s I'resideiit of the Institution of Civil Mngineers. 
 
^ 
 
 i 
 
 :l 
 
 p 
 
 ' 
 
 ! ) 
 
 J 
 
 Vil 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 Tnnstmu'li as tlio cost of production of electrical oikm-^'v «lc|ien(ls upon 
 continuity of (Uilput. water power nnist ])e the ideal ono for tills purpose, 
 at least until souu' cheaper j>o\ver is discovered. In some places when^ 
 steam is now used for electric li<:ht other industries have hecn added 
 to seeui-e the nu)re continuous use of the j)ower in daylij^ht hours. 
 
 The oidy (piality in which any deticiemy has been exhibited by elec- 
 tricity is for li<:ht house })urposes. a hsser ])o\ver of penetration in fofrs. 
 in which n'spect it is iufi'iior to oil or <ra.<: but even this, has in the 
 }>rcsent year, been more than compensated for by the successful appli- 
 catioji of •' wireless tele;:raphy ". by which, in any weather, communi- 
 cation between the ship and the shore can be established. The shores 
 of the St. Lawrence from tlu' Atlantic to the Ivakcs are liiu'd with water 
 ])ower which can l»e used t() lifrht. in fair, or protect, in foul weather, 
 the passiufi vessel; to ring the bell or blow the honi. 
 
 When water is applied for light and })ower i)urposes its economy is 
 always the important factor; but it is chiefly to its value for electro- 
 chemical industries that Canada will look to reap the greatest benetits. 
 because, in these it is not merely a question of competition of ]tower 
 producers. Imt one in which intense electricity has the monopoly, and 
 in the eajie of some of them, as in the prodiution of aluminium, calcium 
 carbide, carborundum, etc.. their existence de|»ends upon ample supplies 
 of an intense electric current. f(»r the generation of which abundant and 
 cheap wati'r ]tower is indis|tensible. 
 
 Touching electro metallurgical proces.ses Mr. I'recce says : 
 '* Every electrolyte re(]uir<'s a certain voltage to overcome the atliuity 
 between its atoms, and then the nuuis di'composed. per minute or per 
 hour, depends solely upon the current ])assing. The j)r(»ccss is a iheap 
 (me and has become general. Three electrical 11. 1*., continuou>ly ap- 
 plied, deposits !(► lbs. of ])ure cop])er every hour, from copper sulphates, 
 at the cost of one penny. All the cojtper used for telegraphy is thus ob- 
 tained. Zinc in a very pure form is extracted, elect rolytieally, from 
 (hloride of zinc produced from zinc blemle, in large quantities. Caustic 
 soda and chh rine are ])roduced by similar means from common salt. 
 The |)assage of electricity through certain gsu<es is aecompanie<l by their 
 dissociation, and by the generation of intense heat. Hence the arc 
 furnace. Aluminium is thus obtaine<l from cryolite and bauxite. Phos- 
 phate is also separated from apatite and other mineral phosphates. Cal- 
 ( ium carbide, obtained in the same way, is becoming an important indus- 
 try." 
 
 " Electrical energy can be generated on a coal fiehl wliere coal, of good 
 <alorific value, is raised at a cost of tliree shillings per ton, cheaper than 
 by a water fall, even at Niagara." 
 
13 
 
 Icpcnds upon 
 this purpose, 
 places wlieni 
 
 (' been added 
 
 lit hours. 
 
 hitod i)y olec- 
 ation ill t'ofjs, 
 s. lias in the 
 cessI'Ml appli- 
 er. conununi- 
 , The slu.ivs 
 od with water 
 foul weather, 
 
 Is ceonomy is 
 e for cleetro- 
 atest benefits, 
 tioii of pow»'r 
 lonopoly, and 
 nium, caleiuui 
 inple supplies 
 abundant and 
 
 ys : 
 
 e the atlinity 
 
 linute or per 
 
 ss is a cheap 
 
 tinuously aj)- 
 
 )er sulphates. 
 
 ly is thus ()1»- 
 
 vtieally, from 
 
 itics. ('au>.tit' 
 
 eoiiunon salt. 
 
 inie«l by their 
 
 enee the ari' 
 
 luxitt'. IMios- 
 
 sphates. Cal- 
 
 )ortaut iiidus- 
 
 eoal, of jj^ood 
 cheaper than 
 
 Eastern arul Western Canadian coal fields arc separated by thousands 
 of niilcs, but water power is abun<lant throu<.dioul nearly all this coalless 
 rcfrion. 
 
 Our wesiciti coal lields are vast and their market at present limited. 
 If coal can b«' raised cheaply «'nouj:h and the raw material for the work 
 be discovered in the nei^dii>orhood, they may ^dve rise to electro-chem- 
 ical and electro nictalliM-^dcal industries without the intervention of 
 water power. 
 
 The comnuTcial product i(»n of calcic carbide (acetylene ga»s), by elec- 
 trolysis, is the discovery of Mr. T. L. Wilson, (a graiulson of the late 
 Jlon. .1. ^r. Wilson of Salttleet, Ontario,) who has established works on 
 the water ptuvers of the Welland Canal and has shipp<'d this product all 
 round the world. 
 
 The electric prodiu*i,<n, commercially, of caustic soda and chlorine 
 is under the ]iatent of Mr. Krnest A. Lesuenr, son of the Secretary of 
 the (ieneral Post OHlce Department, Ottawa. This manufacture is now 
 bein^' carried on by a Hoston (Company at a New Kngland water power. 
 
 There is aiu>ther field nearly as widespread a> our water power in 
 whidi electricity is destined to play a most impoHant role, and this is 
 Mining, which is now spreading over the Dominion with the same rap- 
 idity as the utilization of our forests for pulp and paper i)urposes. Over 
 this area minerals have been discovcn-d and in many cases tested and 
 succcssfidly worked, and from recent results we appear to be on the 
 threshold of r<'nuirkal)le developuu'nts in this directi(»n, especially as so 
 snuUl a poll ion of so great an area has been j)rospect«'d sutriciently for 
 mining ptirposes. 
 
 F(»r power purposes alone, electricity is invaliuiblo in mines, and its 
 ninlfifarious uses (as enumerated by Mr. I'rwce) ar<' " for moving trams 
 and for working hoists: it lights up and ventilates the galleries, and, by 
 fium|>ing, keeps them free from water. It operates the drills, picks, 
 stamps, crushers. c<»mpressors. and all kinds of machinery. The modem 
 type of induct i«»n motor, having neither brushes nor sliding contacts, is 
 free from sparks and free from dust. Klectric energy is safe, clean, con- 
 venient, chea|», and produces neither refuse nor side products." 
 
 The Canadian mining districts are well supplied with water power, 
 and all the wonderfid effects of electricity are available for us upon a 
 larger an<l >nore <'cononucal scale than elsi'where. 
 
 In connection with this abundance of water power, and from the fact 
 that a large ]>roportion is at present situated remote from present rail- 
 ways and present setth'Uients, the (piestion of pn)fitahle limit of elec- 
 
^ 
 
 1 
 
 . ■ I 
 
 mi 
 
 ^%M 
 
 I 
 
 r J 
 
 U 
 
 Irionl transmission is most imj^ortant, — if in(1o(Ml it ho now possilbe to 
 jmt a limit on anything eonnoctod with oh;ctri(;ity, with or withont the 
 nid of a win*. It', as ro))ort('<l. Lord Kelvin hius phu-t'd the protitahle 
 limit at 'MM} miles, this is suthcient to utiliz(> t.he greater part of the 
 water ])ower npon the two watei-sheds north of the St. Jjawrence River. 
 
 Professor l''lihn Thomson says " I'p to the present time it was prac- 
 ticable to transmit high })ressure currents a distance of 8;3 miles using 
 a pressure of r)0,00() volts. If a voltage higher than that were used the 
 electricity would eseape from the wires into the air in the form of small 
 luminous blue flames." 
 
 As showing how far we are yet behind nature. Prof. Thomson says 
 the estimated voltage from a lightening discharge ranges from twenty 
 to tifty million volts. 
 
 Wherever tlu> raw material for electro-chemical, electro-metallur- 
 gical, or other industries, affords sutlieient inducement, and the water 
 ])ower is at hand, the forest will he penetrated much more rapidly than 
 heretofore, and settlements advanced in new directions. 
 
 What can he done in this direction is best illustrated by the develop- 
 ment of a single industry in tlu' wilds of Minnesota north of Lake 
 Superior, and adjoining Canadian territory. Over four hundred mihs 
 of standard gauge railways have been built, through what wa.s a track- 
 less wilderness in IMS,"), to reach iron ore beds, the ore from which is 
 shi))])ed to T^ake Krie and thence again railroa<ied t*00 miles into Penn- 
 
 sylvania. 
 
 Th 
 
 lis one husiness has, m mines, railways, ( 
 
 dock 
 
 an 
 
 d fleets ol' 
 
 steamers, retjiiircd an investment of .^'.'.-jO.OOO.OOO. and has h>d to as low 
 a rate, by water, as 1 cent jkt bushel for wlicat between Chicago and 
 Buffalo, and "^(t cents per ton for coal from Lake Krie to Duluth, nearly 
 
 100(» milt 
 
 One-half of tlie charcoal iron, and nu)re than half of tlu 
 
 ])ig iron made m 
 
 the r 
 
 is s 
 
 melted from Lai 
 
 ke Superior ore. 
 
 KLKCTRir RAILWAYS. 
 
 The substitution of electricity for steam as the motive power for rail- 
 ways on many roads is regardecl ax inevitaltle sooner or later. It has al- 
 ready taken ])lace as regards sul)iirban railways, notably in the case of 
 the Charlevoi.x road and ILill and Alymer railway, where water is doing 
 Ihe work which has heretofore been done by coal. The chief ob.stach^s 
 to an early change on the larger roads are the Inuidreds of millions in- 
 vested in locomotives, and the very large outlay required to ecjuip exist- 
 ing steam roads with the electric system. The principal inducement 
 would be the pas.senger service, owing to the increased speed ])ossible, — 
 it being confidently .stated tliat. with electricity, a speed considerably 
 over one hundred miles ju'r hour could be attained. Moreover there 
 
possilhe to 
 rithout tlu' 
 ' profitable 
 )art of the 
 ence River. 
 t was prac- 
 inilos iHJug 
 re used the 
 :m of small 
 
 omson says 
 roiii twenty 
 
 ro-inetallur- 
 1 tlie water 
 apidly than 
 
 he (l(!velo[)- 
 
 h of Lako 
 
 iidred miles 
 
 va.s a traek- 
 
 m which i-^ 
 
 into Penn- 
 
 d fleets of 
 
 1 to as low 
 
 \icaifo anil 
 
 tith, nearly 
 
 lalf of the 
 
 ore. 
 
 •er for rail- 
 It has al- 
 ihe case of 
 er is doinj; 
 •f ohstacles 
 nillions in- 
 '(jui]) exist- 
 Inducemeut 
 j)Ossil)le, — 
 l)nsiderahly 
 lover there 
 
 15 
 
 would l»c entire ahnlition of the poisonous smoke wiii< h drops upon the 
 I'ulUuan in preference to any c(tach ahead of it. 
 
 While the (Muiversion of trunk lines would be attended with a. cost 
 which is for the present pi'oliil»it(uy, this oljjeeti(»n does not apply to 
 ricw lines which nuiy be work«Ml independently, or in connection with 
 electric ones. When the time arrives for such railways, water power 
 will have a field of usefulness of which we can at present form little con- 
 (cption. Water wiieels and wires would displace the coal docks, the 
 (cal laden vessels, the hu^fe coal yards, and the trains re<[uircd for dis- 
 tributing' their contents over jiundre<ls of miles of lines. 
 
 An interior line connecting' Lake St. dohn, oti the Sa^'uenay, with Lake 
 'remiscamiuf^Mie. on the Ottawa, which C(»uld ultinuitely be e.xtended, 
 via Missanabi. Ncpi«fon, and Lac Seul to the Saskatchewan, would be a 
 ((•Ionization road, rcniovctl from the frontier ; — oiu' which could be 
 worked possibly alto^rethcr liy water power, and would open a virgin 
 tract in which electro-chemical and eleetro-metallur<:ical industries 
 Miijrht arise, as well as th(»sc connected with Jhe products of the forests 
 and the miiu'. 
 
 TKWSl'OUTATION. 
 
 The more extended Use of our Water i'ower, in the immediate futur(>, 
 for maun fact urin,i; and mining pur|)os('s. especially for tiie electro-chem- 
 ical and nietallnrgical pi-oduetions. naturally leads to the consideration 
 (d the character of the output, especially with regard to markets, and 
 trans|)ortation )wol>lems generally. 
 
 'rrans|)orfati(m, next to pro(lncti<m. is the most impt»rtant comnuM'- 
 cial (|uesti(m ti» a country of vast distances and low priced products, af- 
 fording great t(Uinage, sueli as we produce; ami for which we have ex- 
 pcmled hundreds of nullitms in Canals and Railways, Harbours, Fiight- 
 Houses and Steamers, a sum disproportioned to our ri'alized wealth, as 
 it certainly is to oiu* po|uilation. Kut, " nohli'sst' ohlii/c'': we ])ossess a 
 vast estate, are compelled to (levelo|> it — ami await results. 
 
 The (|uestion (»f transportation deterndnes, to a great extent, the ex- 
 istence, or otherwise, (d" a |)ossible imlustry, and enhances or diminishes 
 the value of every article of export just in proportion to its efVu'iency 
 and economy. On the other hatul, where transportation is necessarily 
 cxjK'nsive, cheap production may nudidain an industi'y; — and here is 
 where our abumlant water power nuiy come in. 
 
 The geographical position of Canada in relation to the commercial 
 centre of gravitv of the North American continent is at least noteworthy. 
 This centre is very near T^ake Erie. From the western end of this lake 
 the water ro\de to the Atlantic, at the Straits of Belle Isle, follows the 
 general direction of a great circle wliich cuts the commercial heart of 
 
'^ 
 
 16 
 
 i-l 
 
 ^ 
 
 % 
 
 , 
 
 1 J 
 
 SI 
 
 Kiiropo, aiKl is tlieroforo upon the sliorto^t routo, or " air liiu' ". Our two 
 ])oninsiilas, Sarnia-Dctroit and Sault Stc. Marie. wlii(;li are tin- railway 
 gates of the Ijnke ref^ion, alFonl the most direet routes to the Athmtic 
 for all the North Western States, and are traversed by the trunk lines 
 of railway. From liake Erie water ecMumunieation on the largest scale 
 extends thr()U«]fh Lake Huron to the extremities of iiakes Michi<fan and 
 Superior. One third of the population of the United States are depend- 
 ent upon the (Jreat Lakes, larj^ely as to exports and ini|)orts. and wholly 
 as to rates, — which are iixed hy the water for the rail routes. 
 
 One-half of the ])opulation of the United States is found within a 
 radius of U)0 miles from t'levidand, a Lake i'^rie port claimed to he 
 second only to the Clyde as a ship huildiuj; one. and also the larijest 
 iron ore market in the world. 
 
 The ])aper and pulj) industry a.^ well as some of the electro-chemical 
 and metallurii^ical ones (to the present list of whitli many additions may 
 be made) are distin;i:uisheil hy the lar^e tonna^ic produced, the output 
 of several Pulj) mills exceedimr one hundred tons i>ci- day. i-'or this the 
 St. Lawrence is the mitural route for cxj)ortation, and to it this heavy 
 tonnaije is of tlie greatest importance a.s a means of attracting '' tramps " 
 as well as liners during the oj)en season. 
 
 Increase of sea tonnage into the St. Lawrence is essential to our inland 
 commerce: hy it only can sutUcient west hound freights he secured to at- 
 tract a j)roper share of the commerce of the Lakes, after all has heen 
 done to give to the latter (piick despatch at Montreal «)r Quebec. 
 
 There is probal)ly no place in the world wln-re inland transportation 
 is carried on with greater expedition and economy than in the valley 
 of the St. Lawrence. This is due to the character of the inland naviga- 
 tion, mieciualled elsewlu're, and t(» the intluence which this exerts u]>on 
 the Railways comj)eting with it: and also, because the valley of the St. 
 Lawrence is not (udy the greatest highway for agricultural products, but 
 of mineral ones, as well as of the products of the Forest and the Fish- 
 eries. 
 
 ]^Iorethan half of the iron ore prodiued in the United States is mined 
 around T^ake Superior. lnt<> this Lake an increasing number of railways 
 are pouring the produce of the vast wheat fiehls l)etween it and the 
 Kocky ^Mountains, and thus placing this grain within a thousand miles 
 of Montreal, which is the nearest seaport, hy hundreds of miles, and 
 the onlv one which can be reached by vessels capable of navigating the 
 lakes. 
 
 Wheat grown in the foot hills of the Canadian Kockies has already 
 reached Lake Superior by an all rail haul of fifteen hundred miles, a 
 <listance considered prohibitory in the early days of railways, as one 
 ■which would absorb the whole value • : the cost of carriage. 
 
17 
 
 .' ". Our two 
 tlu' niilwiiv 
 
 the Atliui(i( 
 trunk lines 
 
 lai'f^t'sl scalt' 
 
 [ii'liiiiuii ami 
 arc (l«')>(Mi(l- 
 
 . and wholly 
 
 tl'S. 
 
 \u\ Mitliin a 
 aimed to l)t' 
 ) the largi'si 
 
 'tro-clu'inical 
 ilditions may 
 . the output 
 Kor this the 
 it this iu'avy 
 liT "" tramps " 
 
 to our iidand 
 ;c'euri'd to at- 
 all has hi'cu 
 uohec. 
 
 aiisportatiou 
 n till' valley 
 land navifjja- 
 exerts ujHm 
 n' of the St. 
 )n)du('ts. hut 
 id the Kish- 
 
 The lateness of harvest in our Northwest, and the earlv ih^inu of 
 navigation in the St. liawronee. will soon over-tax all our means of trans- 
 port, hoth watei- and rail. durin;j; the interval between Septeml>er and 
 Decemher. 'I'he Welland and St. Lawrence canals and the portaj^e rail- 
 ways hetween Montreal and Iial<e Huron constitute the ('unadian rortes, 
 and much, which cannot arrive hy water in time for export, will he stored 
 iiji at nearest lake |)orts for winter railway carriajjfe to tide water ware- 
 liousi's on tlu' St. Lawrence, for t'.xport at Atlantic ports, — or for conver- 
 .sioii into flour at Ontario and (Quebec water powers. 
 
 'IMiis accumidatiiif; tonnap' from our western ])lains and our eastern 
 forests inu.st call for a proportionate extension of export facilities which 
 siionld attract tonnage to the St. Lawrence. Already ^[ontreal has 
 eiirhtccn retrular lines of steamei's to transatlantic ports, exclusive of 
 tramps. New ^"ork alone of the Atlantic ports exceeds this in number, 
 ^lontreal has live regular lines to Liverpool and the same number to 
 liOndon, two lines to (ilasgow and two to Hamburg, and one each to 
 Hristo], .Manchester. Helfast and Antwerj). |{altinu)re has twelve regular 
 liiu's of steamships to i'lurojte, iJoston nine, and Philadelphia eight. Xo 
 <l()id)t all these Atlantic lines exceetl Montreal in numi)er and tonnage 
 of vessels as well as in cargo carried. They have twelve months naviga- 
 tion against .seven for the St. Jiawrence. The real siguiticance of Mont- 
 real's eighteen regular lines of riLeamshi[>s is the demonstration, 
 that, in spite of climatic drawbaiks. or inferiority in other respects, the 
 St. liawrence is the route towards which northern exports will gravitate 
 <luring its open season. 
 
 ites is mined 
 |r of railways 
 it and the 
 |)usand miles 
 If miles, and 
 [vigating tht» 
 
 has already 
 
 [red miles, a 
 
 iravs. as one