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 UT THE 
 
 CHIEF ENGINEER 
 
 TO OJFE 
 
 DIllECTOIlS 
 
 OF TIIK 
 
 ONTARIO, SmCOE AID HURON 
 
 RAILROAD 
 
 UNION COMPANY. 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 PRINTED BY HUGH SCOBIE. 
 1852* 
 

 BIREOIOUS. 
 
 v-^-^->-'.-.'-^"-' 
 
 The llonoiimblo IIEXIIV JOHN BOULTON. 
 
 t)icc-Prc5il)cnt. 
 
 CIIAULi:S BEllCZY, Ksq. 
 
 GEOIKIK BAllKOW, Esq., Secrctanj, 
 FREDERIC CIIxVSE CAPREOL, Esq. 
 JOSEPH CURRAX MORRISON, Esq. 
 
 BENJAMIN HOLMES, Es<|. 
 
 WILLIAT^I AimSON, Esq., Warden of Simcoc. 
 
 B. W. SMITH, Esq., Sherif of S'mcoe. 
 
 HUGH SCOBIE, Esq. 
 
 JAMES MITCHELL, Esq., and 
 
 JOHN GEORGE BOWES, Esq., Mayor of Toronto. 
 
 C/«V/ .^H/r^-«(?^r,-H. C. SEYMOUR, Esq. y 
 
 Chief Assistant Fnglneer,—Tf. P. DeWITT, Esq. 
 
 Contractors,-ll^ssRS M. C. STORY & Co. 
 
 Solicitor,-ChAUKE GAMBLE, Esq. 
 
 Cons.Uiny Counscl,-V. M. VANKOUGHNET, Esq. Q.C. 
 
TO THE 
 
 PllESIDENT AND DIRECTORS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 OITARIO, SIMCOE AID IIUROI 
 
 lUlLKOAD UNION COMPANY, 
 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 I liave tlio lioiiour to suT>niit llio folloAving Ropovt of tlio 
 progress iiiado in tlio location and construction of the road under 
 your cliai'o'c, and some remarks as to its claims upon public 
 consideration as a work destined to promote, to a remarkable 
 degree, tlie vital interests of Canada, as, also, to be abundantly 
 remunerative to the Shai'choldej'S. 
 
 Your road extends from th(3 am[»lo and safe harbour of the 
 City of Toronto, and, connecting with Lake Simcoe at the 
 Village of Barrie, terminates on Lake Huron, on that portion of 
 it known as the Georgian Bay. The. location is made as far 
 north as Barrie, a distance of 03 miles, and Contractors are now 
 at work with large forces preparing the road-bed, and procuring 
 timber for the superstructure of this portion of the line. 
 
 North of Barrie surveys have been made of a line terminating 
 at the mouth of the Nottawasaga River, and are now being made 
 for a line to terminate at Penetanguishcne. By the line termin- 
 ating at Nottawasaga, the Avhole length of the road will be 
 about 90 miles. The curvature and grades arc favourable to 
 cheap and rftpid transport. 
 
 In passing from Lake Ontario, the line passes over ground 752 
 ;feet above the level of that lake; but no grades have been 
 
a<l<>i>to(I, or will bo on ritiy portion of the line, exceeding 5'>i feet 
 per mile going sonlli, or in the direction of the greiitest tonnage, 
 ami none exceeding (50 feet going Xorlli; these grades are 
 generally short and are intercejited by levels or undulating grades 
 of less inclination. 
 
 The earth of whicli the road-way is formed is, for the moat 
 part, sand or .sandy loam, u])on which the railway can be cheaply 
 maintained in [.erfect order, no laige streams are crossed and tho 
 amount of wooden bridii'ing will be less than usual. 
 
 Under the C'ontract made with M. C. Story it Co., the cost of 
 the road, finished complete with H lail of 50lbs to the yard, and 
 furnished with cars and engines, is to he £0,250 per mile. 
 Further expenditures may ho required to he made hy tho Com- 
 pany for general expenses, and for work and machine shops, sta- 
 tions, <fcc., not inchi(U;d in the contract, hut I. deem it safe to 
 iissume that the road can be fully completed in all respects, for the 
 <}Conomical transaction of a large husine^s, for a sum not ex- 
 ceeding £7000 per mile, which, for 90 miles, is £030,000. 
 
 That tho husiness of tin; roa 1 will pay a larg«i interest on its 
 cost, I have no doubt. The City of Toronto is situate<l upon tlie 
 best harbour on Lake Ontario, and has a population of ahout 
 27,500, and is rapidly increasing. 
 
 From Toronto to Th-a-iford, which is on tlie Iloliand Hivcr, 
 and at the head of Steamboat na\igation from Lak(3 Simcoe, a 
 distance of 42 miles, the line ])asses through one of the most 
 productive regions in America, and whicli has, for the most part, 
 a dense population. In this distance, and within a space of teu 
 miles on each side of tho road, the ]>0[)ulation is about 85,00.0.. 
 The trade of this district, and nortli of it, now chiefly reaches 
 Toronto over Yonge Street, w hich is a well graded and maca- 
 damized road, extending from Toronto to Holland Landing. 
 
 I am informed, by persons well acquainted with the subject 
 th^t the travel in public conveyances between these two places js 
 
equal to 75 persons each way daily, and l>y pnvato convoyancea 
 as many more; and that equal to 100 waggons loaded with 
 merchandize, produce, hnuber, A:c., often pass the toll gate, noilh 
 of Toronto, in one houi'. The street, for its entire length, pre- 
 sents at all times a busy scene, more like a \ illage street than a 
 countrv road. AVithin the <listance of 42 miles there are 72 
 taverns, and the constant throng of vehicles, of all kinds, indi- 
 cates that they are required for the accomodation of the immense 
 tratllc. The etVect of the operations of the railway when con- 
 structed will he, at the outs»'t, to quailiuplc the travel and 
 increase the traflic to a vast extent. 
 
 At Holland Landing, as well as at Barrie, we connect with the 
 navigation of L;ike iSinicoe, which has a coa«t of over 100 miles 
 skirting a productive and well settled country. Notwithstanding 
 the present isolated position of this lake, a Steamboat linds pro- 
 fitable employment for daily trijjs about its borders, and the 
 contributions to the business of the road from this lake will bo 
 fully equal to a branch road of 50 miles in length. 
 
 From Holland Landinix to Barrie, which is C3 miles distant 
 from Toronto, the road is located through a less populous, but 
 very productive count ly. Pine lands of great extent are adja- 
 cent to this portion of the lino and will furnish a large and pro- 
 fitable business. These lands when cultisated produce abundant 
 crops of wheat and other grains. 
 
 An extensive and productive region, west of th's portion of the 
 line, will, as well as that bordering on the lake, contribute con- 
 siderably to tlie business of the road from its present resources. 
 
 From Barrie to Lake Huron the line passes through a district 
 spai-sely settled, but liaviug an excellont soil, now bearing exten- 
 sive forests of pine and other valuable timber. These forests will 
 furnish the road with an immense traffic for many years to come. 
 
 It is known that lumber is transported over the New York 
 a:id Erie Railroad in large quantities, a distance of nearly 400 
 miles, and at rates which wall equal the cost of transport from 
 
8 
 
 this h'liUMi «»vcr \()Ui' road, thonco !»v Laku Ontario ami tli«j 
 Ni'w York Caiial.s to tlio Citv of New York. 
 
 Aloii'j tlio slioro of ill'! (fcoruian R'lv, cxtouflinjx north and 
 •\vost tVoiii tli<! termination of tlu; road, is a lari;Hi tlistrict with a 
 |)ro(hu'tiv(' soil and which is ra[)idly inort-asinj^' in popnlation, and 
 will Ik' trlhutary to tho road. Tho railway once in operation, 
 nn<l liavinn' no trallk* ('xeept that drawn from the regions ahovo 
 reforred to, will, within a short time, if not at the ontnct, eom- 
 mand hnsincss fnliy ade<[nato Ui secure ample retm'ns for its cost. 
 The ree'ions about Lake Sujterita" and tlu; Northern portion of 
 ^Michigan and Huron will, however, bo trihutiuy to the road, as 
 it will ho the shortest, che.'ipest and most agnjeable rcjute betwoeu 
 those reo-ions and tJio u'reat markets of Canada and the United 
 States, 
 
 To illustrate this important statement, I would refer to the 
 ma[) herewiih. It shows that by spanninif the Isthmus, between 
 Lakes Ontaiio and Huron, with a railway of only 00 miles in 
 length, the jterils of Lakes Erie and Huron are avoided and tho 
 distance I'educed 2G7 iiiik's. Agreeable changes from steam- 
 boats to cars occur, and with the safe iiavigation of Ontario and 
 the Get)rgian ]5ay we have, during the warm season, a route 
 alono* the latter remarkable for the beauty of its scenery and the 
 salubritv of its climate. 
 
 We "will su}>}iose that passengei-s leave X(!W Y''ork City by a 
 mornino" train, tliev reach Oswego, a distanc** bv lailroad of 328 
 miles in 12 hours, the night is spent on Lake Ontario, the 150 
 miles from Oswego to Toronto reipiires sji}' 10 hours, thence U) 
 Huron, including chanires from and to steamboats, 4 hours 
 Travellers can then by our route reach Lake Huron at a point 
 about 150 miles north of Detri(»t within 20 Ikmu's, enjoying a 
 night's rest on Lake Ontaiio. J^y way of Rochestei* and Lake 
 Onttuio, tlio distance by steamboat is reduced, and by railroad 
 increased, and bv railroad to Lewiston tlie steamboat navigation 
 is reduced to 40 miles, and by forming proper connections be- 
 tween the tiains over the central roads and the Now Y^^ork an(| 
 
 'M 
 
 l\ 
 
 # 
 
■tM^fli 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Erie roiul and boat' botwruii Lcwistoti fitu.l Toronto, tht; time 
 ' betwoon N<'w York City an«l Toronto, via iiutlalo and Niagara 
 Falls, will not exceed 20 liouif*. 
 
 When roads now in i^roij^ross sluill Lc constructed and extended 
 to the inouth of the Ni;ii;;ua llivt*r, as some of tlirm will be, 
 witliout douf)t, a still greater saving of time will be made, and, 
 ere lonir, the northern termination of vour road will be within 
 22 hours of New York. 
 
 It is a most impoitant fact, atTecting tlie value and usefulness 
 
 ,of your road, that Lake Ojitari«>, between the harbour of Toronto 
 
 find Niagara, is never frozen and that steamboat navigation is 
 
 inaintaincil throughout the year. 
 
 Miles, 
 The distance from theCitvof New York to Lake 
 
 Huron, at the termination of your road, is as 
 
 above stjited . 5(18 
 
 From this to Mackinaw is about • • « . . 250 
 
 From N. York to Mackinaw, via Toronto 818 miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 3^. York to Buflalo .' 470 
 
 Bwihh by Lake Erie to Detroit 285 
 
 Detriot to Mackinaw 330 
 
 From N. York to Mackinaw via Detroit . , . 1085 miles. 
 
 Making a saving in distance of 2G7 miles. 
 
 These distances arc made up of railroad and steamboat rouies 
 as follows : 
 
 Yiji Toronto, . , , . Railroad, 418 miles. Steamboat, 400 miles. 
 Via Buffalo <k Lakes, do. 470 do. do. 615 do. 
 
 Saving of time (Toronto route) by railroad 2 hours and by 
 steamboat 14 hours, in all 10 hours, and at 2 cents for railroad 
 and 1 cent for stcitmboat fare, a saving in cost of $3 20. 
 
So ftti' as travel by tlio lalics i.s conoeniGcl, tins difference in 
 cost and time -will bo tlie same svl'.enever tbe travel is destined 
 
 to any point beyond Macldna\\'. 
 
 Water connnuniealions are always tbe clieapcst compared with 
 railroads, and iijion sate waters, oi' durinu; calm weather, tho 
 most de&irable, and will command the laro-est amomit of travel, 
 unless the loss of H]n(^ is too gi-eat. With a large proportion of 
 travellers, cost and comfort are the considerations which controul 
 in the selection of the route. Time is an important element 
 with men of business; but is not as controlling Avith the great 
 mass of travellers as many persons imagine. 
 
 Wbile the faro on the line of roads between Albany and 
 Buffalo was tbree cents per mile, the number of passengers, 
 (mostly immigrants) was greater on the Erie Canal than on the 
 railroads. St(\aml)oats on the Hudson Ri\cr continue to take 
 most of the travel notwithstanding the com])letion of the Hud- 
 son Kiver llailn ad, and, no doubt, Avill continue to do so. Be- 
 tween Boston and New York, if I am eonvctly informed, much 
 the laro-oi' number of passeno'ers take boats on the Sound in 
 pj-eferenco to the continuous line of railroad. I am informed, 
 also, that the number of i)a'^senicers by the Lakes between Buf- 
 falo and Chicago was as gi-eat last seiison, in pi'oportion to the 
 steaml)oat facilities, as ja'ior to the construction of the Michigan 
 Central RailroacL 
 
 Ii your route anIU controid tnivel from ports on Lake 
 ijichigan as far south as Fond-du-lac a^id Milwaukie, then it 
 will ha\e the benefits of that brought to those points b}' railroads 
 c\tendin<x thence interi(3r, and as \t is undeniable that lai'o-e luim- 
 b^ift of passengers, to and from the east, go by steaml)oats be- 
 tween jjuttalo and Chieago, and, as it will be nearer b) 267 
 miles, o(;cupy Jess time, be cliea})er and moi-e agreeable by the 
 way of your road, it is safe to claim that they will take your 
 houte when completed. 
 
 Init, let us assume that railroarls are pi-eferr(Ml by a majority of 
 
 
 €^ 
 
 ■ 
 
11 
 
 
 'i* 
 
 traveller^;, and that, on long journeys, cliang-es from oars to steam- 
 boats, are not desirixl. From Xew York to Chicago by raih'oads 
 now constructed or in pi-ogrcss, the distance appears to be 1052 
 miles, and to Mihvaukie, 1147 miles. 
 
 The distance from New Yoi'lc to Milwaulde, by the route of 
 your road, is, llu;'i Jiiilcs, of \viiich 418 is by railroad, 
 and 685 by steamboat, allowino- time for rer-t AVhich, it 
 would seem, all must require on long routes by railroads, let us 
 assun^e 20 miles per hour as the average rate of speed on a 
 journey of 1147 Jiiilc:^, and the time Avill be, by railroad between 
 New York and Mihvaukie, 58 horns: make the time between 
 New York and Toronto, 22 hours: allow four hours to pass over 
 your road, and a steamboat speed of 14 miles per hour through 
 the Lakes to Miiwaukie, and the time would be, between New 
 York and Miiwaukie, 75 hours, or 17 hours longer than by 
 railroad. 
 
 The cost by railroad route at 2 cents per mile, would be $23,' 
 and via Toi'onto, making railroad fare 2 cents, and steamboat 
 fare 1 cent per mile, the cost would be, say 815, making adifter- 
 ence of $8. But few tra\ellers count their time to be worth |8 
 or even 85 per day. If the expenses were the same, and the 
 time re<pured 24 hours long^'r, you would, doubtless, still com- 
 mand some travel from llilwnnkie and Chicago by reason of the 
 efise and attractive features of yom- route. 
 
 Assuming Boston, Portland, Quebec or Montreal, as starting 
 points, instead of New York, and the relative advantages of your 
 route OA or others as a line of conn nunicat ion to the north-west 
 remain the same or aie increased, it will be and must remain the 
 shortest and cheapest route between all those cities and the large 
 districts alluded to lying north-west of Toronto. 
 
 I take great satisfaction in embodying the following letter of 
 Edwin F. Johnson, Esq., he is an eminent Engineer, and his 
 lono- experience in the construction of public works, and habits 
 
12 
 
 of careful investigation of all the elements required for their suc- 
 cessful oj^eration, justify the fullest reliance upon his opinions: 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 • New York City, September 30th, 1851. 
 
 H. C. Seymour, Esq., Chief Engineer^ 
 
 Ontario^ Shncoc and Huron Railroad. 
 
 Dear Sir, — 
 
 Your favour, of 8th inst., reijuesting' my views of the pro- 
 ject of a railway to connect Lake Ontario with the Georgian Bay 
 of Lake Huron, or Lake Manitoulin, as it is sometimes called, 
 was received a few days since, and I avail myself of the first 
 opportunity to reply to it. 
 
 The near approach of tlie waters, al)0^'e named, to each other? 
 .-early attracted my attention, and, in a published report made 
 '.about 16 years since, I coinmcnte*! upon the importance of unit- 
 ing them, if possible, by a navigable communication. 
 
 The surveys which liave since been made, while they do not 
 ■show the impracticability of a canal, yet, considering the actual 
 character of the country and the impi-ovements since made in the 
 railway system as a means of ti-ansit tor both goods and passen- 
 gers, lead to the conclusion that a work of this latter character 
 will not only be well sustained by the busmess it will perform, 
 but prove a great convenience to the population of a vast extent 
 of country bordering on the great lakes. 
 
 The interior region, thus particularly benefited, comprises the 
 north and north-western part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, 
 the whole of the upper peninsula lying b(it\veen Lakes Michigan 
 and Supeiior, the northei'n and middle \)[\\'i of Wisconsin, to 
 gether with Minesota and the territory west, aiid the entire country 
 lying north and north-west of Lakes Huron and Superior iu 
 Canada. This whole region is rich in agricultural, mineral and 
 other resources, and is fast filling up with an intelligent and en- 
 
 *♦ 
 
*♦ 
 
 13 
 
 teiprising population. On this subject I can speak from personal 
 Icnowledge, of a larg-e portion of Wisconsin, being now engaged 
 in constructing a railroad to extend iVom near Green Bay south- 
 erly into Illinois, a work, the nortli(.'rn portion of which will contri- 
 bute, during the season of navigati(jn, to the business upon the 
 Ontario and Huron Roa<l, as atibrding, from the saving in time 
 and distance, a most eligible route to the eastern seaboard. 
 
 Other improvements are also in progi-css, or contemplated, 
 which must produce a simihu* eft'ect ujjon the business of the 
 Ontario and Huron road, among the most prominent of which 
 is the proposed navigable communication between the watei-s of 
 Green Bay and the Wisconsin River, thereby uniting the lakes 
 with the upper Mississippi, by the cheapest route possible for a 
 work of that description. 
 
 This improvement, which is now in progress as a State work^ 
 is to be of dimensions suited to the smaller class of steamboats, 
 such as can navigate the Mississippi and its tributaries, and will 
 be completed probably in less than two years from this date, 
 when it will pour upon the waters of Green Bay a vast amount 
 of agricultural and mineral wealth, and thus conduce, in common 
 with other improvements, hereafter to be made, leading to other 
 points in that portion of Lake Michigan and to points in the 
 rich mineral regions of both shores of Lake Superior, very ma- 
 terially to the business and revenue of the Ontario and Huron 
 Road. 
 
 These considerations, combined with the facilities which now 
 exist through the reciprocity Acts of the Governments of Canada 
 and of the United States, insure to the Ontario and Huron rail- 
 road a large portion of travel and business which would other- 
 wise pursue a different and more circuitous route. 
 
 That these views are not veiy wide of the truth will be the 
 more evident when it is considered that the Ontario and Hm*on 
 route not only lessens the distance between the region of country 
 above described and the eastern seaboard some 230 miles, as 
 
14 
 
 compared with the route by Lake Erie, but it also avoids the 
 tolls, expense and delay of passing the Wclland Canal, or about 
 160 miles of the New York Canals, either of wliich it is be- 
 lieved, will go far towards lessoning the dirterence caused by the 
 extra cost of transhipment and transit by railway upon the On- 
 tario and Huron route. 
 
 With respect to the travel, ^Ahich is always tlie most profitable 
 part of the business of a railwa}', the Ontario and Hui-on route 
 will, from the saving in time and distance upon it, connnand, 
 during the season of navigation, the most of that which passes to 
 and from the reo-ion mentioned and the Atlantic seaboard. This 
 travel will be auo-mented from what it has hitherto been, not 
 only by those more general causes which art3 contributing to 
 swell the population of the west and north west, but by the fact 
 that the Ontario and Iluroa I'oute avoids that portion of Lake 
 Huron, the navigation of which is the most difficult and dan- 
 gerous, its direction being along the north shore of that Lake 
 through the Georgian Bay, as it is called, a considerable portion 
 of the distance being, as reprosiMitod, in the vicinity of islands 
 which afford a convenient and safe shelter for vessels. 
 
 In predicting, as I confidently do, a large amount of business 
 for the Ontario and Huron Road, I am fully sustained by the 
 experience of the past in i-egard to the i)robable future develop- 
 ments of the resources of that particular portion or region of 
 country which stands in direct commerciid relation to it. 
 
 In the report to which I have already alluded, I made an 
 estimate which was then deemed by many as extra\'agant of the 
 probable increase in the population \^■ithin a given period of the 
 States and Territories contributing to the business of the New 
 York Canals from New York West, viz:— New York, Ohio 
 Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and the then Territories of Michigan 
 and Missouri. That estimate was based on tlie census of 1830 
 and previous ones, it gave for the States and Territories therein 
 narued a population, in 1850, of 8,500,000 souls; the actual 
 
 t 
 
 i 
 
iO 
 
 population of tlie snme extent of country, as derived from the 
 census returns of 1850, is 8,515,200, showing a very near 
 a2)proxlnmtion to the estimate iu the general result, but in the 
 details it appears that in the States of Xew York, Ohio and 
 Indiana, the actual result is less than iu the estimate, while in 
 the States and Territories to the west and north-west it is o-reater, 
 showing that in the region of country which is more likely than 
 any other to contribute to the business of the Ontario and Huron 
 Road, the rate of incresiso in population has been the greatest, 
 and this greater increase is likely to continue for a series of years 
 to come. 
 
 i 
 
 You remark in }'our letter that the Outfuio and Huron Rail^ 
 road is to have a breadth of track or gauge of five and one-half 
 feet. The Canadas being to a great extent separated by waters 
 which cannot be bridged, and under a ditferent government can 
 very well adopt a gauge difi'ering from that of Roads in the 
 United States without inconvenience, and five and one-half feet 
 is certainly better than four feet eight and a-half inches, which 
 is the prevailing width in New England and a portion of New 
 York. 
 
 The advantages of the greater width of track are many and 
 important, while the disad\autages are few and comparatively 
 «^?iimportant. In adopting the five and a-lialf feet gauge, you 
 have doubtless been influenced by the fact that the Atlantic and 
 St. Lawi-ence Road, and others projected in Canada are of that 
 width, but the reasons which can be urged in favor of 5^ feet, as 
 compared with a "'v/'^er width, apply Avitli still greater force to a 
 width of six feet. This, in connection with the fact that the 
 latter wadth has been adopted upon the New^ York and Erie 
 Railroad and its branches, which is now and hereafter to be 
 a leading thoroughfare from New York West, establishes the 
 propriety of making that wHdtli the standard throughout the 
 Western States ; and in this view, the Line of Road which I am 
 now constructing in Illinois and Wisconsin is to be of that width, 
 and I do not hesitate to say, that it is the most proper width to 
 
10 
 
 bo {idopted tlirougliout the vast rog-ion now imocciipietl, by Rail- 
 rojids lyirg west of the State of Indiana and Lake Mieliigan in 
 the United States. 
 
 "With much regard, I am very truly your's, tfec, 
 
 EDWIN F. JOHNSON. 
 
 As suggested by Mr. Joluison, T have no doubt of your abiHty 
 to command a large amount of freiglit transport passing between 
 the distant reo-ions alluded to and the seaboard. 
 
 Upon the completion of the Erie Roa'l last season, large 
 amounts of Merchandize took that route from New York to 
 Dunkirk, and were there transhi]>ped to vessels for other ports 
 on Lake Ei'ie. Considerable p(.)rtions were again loaded upon 
 cars at Cle\ eland or Sandusky to bo taken by Railroad to Cin- 
 cinati, thence by the Ohio River to different towns along its 
 banks. This was done during the sejison of canal navigation, 
 although Cincinnati is connected with New York by water com- 
 munication by which the cost of transport is much less than by 
 the roiite described. 
 
 The saving of time by your route will, in like manner Enable 
 you to command a large through business in freight. The 
 expense of transhipment from, cars to boats, or the contrary, at 
 your temiinations need not exceed 4 cents per ton. At Toronto 
 (and it will be so at your Northern termination,) the location of 
 your Road places the cars and vessels side by side, and as freight 
 from New York, or any Atlantic Seaport, can be delivered 
 cheaper at Toronto than at Buffalo, the cost by your route 
 between the seaboard and the country described by Mr. Johnson 
 will not differ materially from the cost by way of Lake Erie. 
 
 The sa\Tng in time must therefore command for your route a 
 large traffic passing between those points. The great and rapidly 
 augmenting travel and traffic between the St. LawTonce and the 
 upper lakes will of itself during the season of navigation, burden 
 
17 
 
 1^ 
 
 your Road with business and the construction of the great Trunk, 
 Railway will still fuilher augment it. 
 
 I would again refer to the map as plninly exhibiting the evi- 
 dences that your route has from its remarkable location all the 
 advantages claimed and must therefore be productive. 
 
 Its effect upon the growth of Toronto will be quite beyond 
 the seeming expectations of her enterprizing and intelligent 
 citizens. It will fill her docks with lumber and produce of all 
 kinds, and Iicr harbor with vessels. The Esplanade, if built on 
 the largest scale contemplated, will all be required for commer- 
 cial purposes. Yonge Street is a very important condition to 
 her present prosperity. The Railroad, bringing to her the pro- 
 ducts of regions for beyond Yonge Street, from the upper lakes, 
 and from the Upper Mississippi will do much more. . 
 
 The productive country along the line of the road, and for many 
 miles on each side, Avill rapidly increase in population and wealth. 
 
 The time is now ai hand when, with proper co-operation of 
 those most interested, these benefits may be realized. Under 
 the present progress of the work. Contractors can complete tho 
 Road to Barrie, G3 miles, by next autumn, and to Lake Huron 
 by the year foUoAving. • 
 
 The cost of your Road Avill be less than the average of Roads 
 in the United States, while its resources greatly exceed very many 
 Roads of greater cost which are amply producti\'e. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 H. C. SEYMOUR, 
 
 Chief Engineer, 
 
 STATISTIC S 
 Of the Country through which the Railroad passes, and other 
 information in regard to the same : — 
 
 Length of Railroad, 90 miles. 
 
 Connects Toronto, on Lake Ontario, with Lake Huron, through 
 the Georgian Bay. 
 
18 
 
 Comparative Distances. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 From New York to Mackinaw by tins route is, by Railroad, 418 
 Do. do. do. Lakes, 400 
 
 Total Distance, - - - - 818 
 From New York to Mackinaw by Buffiilo and Lakes is, 
 
 by Railroad, 470 
 
 Po. do. <-lo. Lakes, 615 
 
 Total Distance, - - - - 1085 
 
 Making a sa^^ng in distance of 267 miles, a saving in cost of 
 20 per cent., and a saving in time of 25 per cent. This saving 
 in distance, cost and time applies, as will be seen by the accom- 
 panying map, to all the Ijusiness and travel l)etween the north- 
 west aiul the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode 
 Island, Connecticut, Massachussetts, New York, and portions of 
 New Jersey and Pennsylvannia, and with greater force to Nova 
 Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower Canada, and a large portion of 
 Upper Canada, contaming, in all, a population of more than eight 
 millions. 
 
 POPULATION 
 
 Of the City of Toronto and the Counties of YorTc and 
 Simcoe, respectively, for the years 1839, 1842, 1.848, 
 1850 and 1852. 
 
 Years. 
 
 City 
 
 of 
 
 Toronto. 
 
 County 
 
 of 
 York. 
 
 County 
 
 of 
 Simcoe. 
 
 Total in 
 
 York and 
 
 Simcoe 
 
 including 
 
 Toronto City. 
 
 1839 
 1842 
 1848 
 1850 
 *1852 
 
 12,153 
 15,336 
 23,505 
 25,166 
 27,500 
 
 47,056 
 55,372 
 83,490 
 
 88,441 
 93,000 
 
 10,743 
 12,592 
 23,050 
 25,753 
 29,510 
 
 69,952 
 
 83,300 
 
 130,045 
 
 139,360 
 
 150,000 
 
 * Estimated. 
 
19 
 
 Extract from the Address of the Board of Directors, to Hii 
 
 Excellency the Right Honourable the Earl of Elgin and Khi' 
 
 cardine, K. T.^ Governor General of British North America, 
 
 <&c^ on the occasion of breaking ground for the first Railroad 
 
 from Toronto^ on the loth October, 1851 : — 
 
 " According to the census of 1848, the last officially promul- 
 gated, the quantity of Lands in the Counties of York and Sim- 
 coe under tillage, and the stocks, productions, &c, wei'e aa 
 follows : — 
 
 York. Simcoe. 
 
 Acres. Acres. 
 
 Lands under tillage 271,488 54,711 
 
 « " l-)asture 93,326 21,158 
 
 " wild, good for cultivation, - - - 495,989 260,883 
 
 " average value per acre cleared - -£5 155 £411 2 
 
 " average value per acre wild - -£3 33 £1187 
 
 Bushels. Bushels. 
 
 Produce of wheat 1,451,384 293,071 
 
 " barley 110,819 6,985 
 
 " rye 23,482 2,482 
 
 " oats 1,526,935 212,006 
 
 ** pease 384,721 37,580 
 
 " maize 33,480 5,627 
 
 ** buck-wheat - - - - 10,536 722 
 
 « potatoes 423,004 200,876 
 
 Lbs. Lbs. 
 
 " flax 5,762 874 
 
 * tobacco 122 
 
 « maple-sugar ^ - - - 364,663 115,960 
 
 " w^ool 314,662 62,571 
 
 « butter 428,297 80,406 
 
 ^ cheese 119,602 7,931 
 
 Bbls. Bbls. 
 
 " beef or pork - - - - 14,664 6,039 
 
20 
 
 Yards. YnrJs. 
 
 Produco of fulled cloth - - - - 07,714 15,742 
 
 linen 4,025 2,490 
 
 i» llannel - - • *— - 128,094 37,043 
 
 Kuinbors. Numbers. 
 
 Neat Cattle 00,202 17,890 
 
 Horses 21,700 3,327 
 
 Sheep 105,033 23,530 
 
 Hogs - •• '^0,802 • 21,047 
 
 Extracts from the Reply of Ills Excellency to the Board of 
 Directors^ on the occasion referred to : — 
 
 " It is no new thing Avith nic to feel an interest in the con- 
 struction of a Kaihvay ihrough the District which it is intended 
 that the Lino we are now assembled to inaugurate shall traverse. 
 Four years ago, on the occasion of my first visit to Toronto, I 
 was so much struck jjy the great amomit of local traflic, as well 
 as by the fertility and capabilities of the country through which 
 I passed in the course of a drive which I took along Yonge 
 Street, that I ventured to predict that we should soon see a 
 Railway running through it. The favorable impr(}ssions which 
 I then received have been strengthened by subsequent observa- 
 tion, and they are further confirmed by the Naluable statistical 
 information contained in the Addre-.i which you have just now 
 read. That this Railway, which is to connect Lakes Huron and 
 Ontario, should be commenced, while 1 am still in Canada, is 
 .therefore a subject of no ordinary gratification to me." 
 * * V' * * 
 
 " It is indeed my conviction that there are few parts of this 
 ■wide and flourishing continent which can boast of a prosperity 
 .-more uniform, and in all respects mpre satisfiictory, than that 
 .^hich this City and neighbourhood enjoy." 
 
 Population of Upper Canada in 1842, was . . 480,055 
 ^ ^ « « 1850, " . . 791,000 
 
 ilncrease in 8 years 02f per cent 304,945 
 
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