ship of more than half the continent. It is where nature has been most capricious, where falls and rapids awe the spectator by their tumultuous rush, that we now see the evidences of modern enterprise; where the Indian in old times carried his canoe, we now find splendid structures of masonry, illustrating the progress of engineering skill, and the demands of commercial enterprise in a country whose total population in the begining of the century was hardly above a hundred thousand souls. italists of Canada. Constantly in difficulties, they were always before Parliament soliciting provincial assistance; and at last wearied out by their importunities, and conscious of the importance of the project, the government decided that it was desirable for the public interests to purchase all the property and make the canal a public work. The whole expenditure by the government on the canal, at the time they assumed control, was nearly two millions of dollars. It is interesting to notice that nearly all our canals were constructed in the first instance in accordance with plans and reports made by eminent engineers of the British service. The Rideau canal was commenced and carried out under the direction of Colonel By, who arrived in this country in 1826, and whose name was for many years given to the present political capital of the Dominion. The St. Lawrence canals were enlarged in pursuance of the recommendations of Colonel Philpotts who was instructed by the Earl of Dunham, to make up a report on the whole question of the canal system of Canada. It is not necessary that a person should fall under the category of "the oldest inhabitant," to whom reference is so frequently made in newspaper paragraphs, in order to remember the different steps in the progress of canal development in this country. The oldest canal-the Lachine, only dates back as far as 1821, and between then and 1840, were the Rideau, Ottawa and St. Lawrence canals, constructed and put into operation. It was not, indeed, until some time after the union between Quebec and Ontario that measures were taken to enlarge the St. Lawrence and Welland canals to their present capacity. The idea that first originated works like the Rideau and Lachine was the necessity of giving additional facilities for the transport of troops and supplies in the case of the outbreak of hostilities between England and the United States. In the case of the Welland, however, commercial views predominated for sagacious men, of whom the late Mr. Mer--and consequently it has long been among ritt was the leader, foresaw the rapid develop ment of the magnificent country, of which the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes are the natural outlet. The Welland canal is an admirable illustration of the difficulties which the promoters of great projects have to contend against in the inception of such enterprises. The company which undertook its construction commenced on a very humble scale, and were a long while engaged, with very little success, in endeavouring to enlist the support and sympathy of the cap It would not be very interesting to follow, step by step, the different stages in the improvement of the canals, and it will be sufficient for our present purpose to give a few details exhibiting their dimensions. The canal which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron is a work of large size, but it is owned by the people of the United States : the aspirations of the inhabitants of Ontario to have internal communication of their own in that part of the Dominion. The Canal Commissioners in their report recommend the construction of a canal on the Canada side, where every condition seems favourable, and there is no doubt that, before many years pass by, the work will be in operation. At present, however, the first canal to which we have to refer is a work which has been of great benefit to Ontario in fact, the only work which has returned anything like a per-centage on the public money invested by the old Province of Canada. The Welland Canal connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie, and thereby avoids the Falls of Niagara. The main line from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie has a length of 27 miles and 1,099 feet; 3 pairs of guard gates, and 27 lift locks, 2 of 200 x 45, 24 of 150 x 261⁄2, I of 230 x 45; with a depth of water on sills of 104. Then we have the Welland River branches, which have one lock at the Aqueduct, and one at Port Robinson, each being 150 x 26%; with a depth of water of 9 feet 10 in. Next comes the Grand River Feeder, 21 miles in length, with 2 locks-1 of 150 x 261⁄2 and the other 200 x 45, having 104 feet of water. The Port Maitland Branch is only 134 miles in length, with one lock 185 x 45, giving 11 feet of water. From these figures it will be seen that there is nothing like uniformity in the size of the locks on the main line, whilst its depth of water is not equal to that on the Port Maitland Branch. Passing down Lake Ontario, we come to the Williamsburg series of Canals, which have been constructed to avoid the Galops, Iroquois and other rapids which obstruct navigation on the St. Lawrence River. These Canals are known as the Farran's Point, the Rapide Plat, and the Galops; they have a total length of 123% miles, six locks of 200 x 45 feet, with 9 feet depth of water on sills. Then we come to the Cornwall Canal, which extends from Dickenson's Landing on the north side of the river, to the town of Cornwall, with the object of surmounting the obstructions known as the Long Sault Rapids, and has a length of 111⁄2 miles, 7 locks of 200 x 55, with 9 feet of water. Further on, our progress is arrested by the very tumultuous rapids called the Cascades, Cedars, and Coteau, which are overcome by the Beauharnois Canal, which is 111⁄2 miles long, with 9 locks of 200 x 45, and 9 feet of water. Passing into Lake St. Louis we find navigation is impeded by the rapids best known as II Lachine, and here again public enterprize has met the requirements of commerce by the construction of a canal, which was first suggested in 1791 by the military authorities, but actually opened in 1821. This work is 81⁄2 miles long, and has 5 locks of 200 x 45, three of which have 9 feet of water on sills, while the other two have been deepened to 16 feet so as to admit sea-going vessels into the basin of the Canal at Montreal. Besides the great works intended to facilitate the navigation of the St. Lawrence, we have others of commercial importance on the Ottawa, the Richelieu, and the Rideau. The works on the Ottawa were constructed, as well as those on the Rideau River, chiefly for military reasons under the auspices of the British Government, and are known as the Carillon, Chute à Blondeau, and the Grenville, all necessary to overcome the natural obstacles of the river. Altogether they have a length of 8% miles, including the St. Anne lock, situated at the junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, where still stands that quaint little village, with its church rising out of the surrounding whitewashed cottages, which the poet Moore has immortalized in his musical verses. The locks of these canals vary in size, and depth of water, the greatest being 6%; but these works are now being enlarged so as to have, eventually, locks with a capacity of 200 feet in length of chamber between the gates, 45 feet in width, and 9 feet draught of water over the mitre sills. Then, there is the Richelieu and Lake Champlain route of navigation which extends from the mouth of the Richelieu, forty-six miles below Montreal, to the outlet of Lake Champlain on the frontier line of Canada and the United States, or a distance of eighty-one miles within Canadian territory. The canals on this route, by which the greater portion of Canadian sawn lumber reaches Albany and New York, are the St. Ours' lock and dams and the Chambly Canal, the former oneeighth of a mile, and the latter 12 miles in length. The lock on St. Ours, is 200 x 45, with 7 feet of water, whilst those on the Chambly are 122 x 23 to 23 with a depth of water of 7 feet. This work is intended to avoid the rapids which fall into that beautiful expansion of the Richelieu, known as the basin of Chambly, in the vicinity of which is the picturesque height of Beloeil, and the site of the old fort which so long represented the days of the French régime. In the Maritime Provinces there are no canals of any great extent or importance. The Shubenacadie, intended to give water communication across the province of Nova Scotia by connecting the harbour of Halifax with the river just named, which falls into Cumberland Basin, has never been turned to account, although large sums of money have been expended in opening it up. The only canal which is actually in operation is that which connects the picturesque Bras d'Or Lake in Cape Breton with St. Peter's Bay, and consequently with the Atlantic Ocean. The whole length of this work is some 2,400 feet, with one tidal lock, 26 x 122, with 13 feet at lowest water. No country in the world can show a more elaborate system of inland navigation than Canada, young as she is, can exhibit. It is in itself a forcible illustration of the public spirit which has animated our public men during the past thirty years. These works were commenced at a very early period in the history of the commercial progress of this country, and were completed, on their present extensive scale, at a time when the expenditures required to accomplish the object, seemed altogether excessive when compared with the actual revenues. Soon after, the Canadas were united into a Legislative Union ---the Legislature voted the sum of two millions of dollars for canal enlargement, and yet the whole population of the Province was only a little above a million of souls, whilst the total revenue was below a million and a half of dollars. The public men of those days, however, like the statesmen of the present, fully recognized the necessity of such improvements, and believed that the returns which the exchequer would eventually receive from the development of industry and commerce would soon reimburse the country for any outlay, however large it might seem at the outset : and the issue has more than proved the wisdom of their enterprize and liberality. By a reference to the statistics of the Canals we have given in the foregoing paragraphs, it will be seen that there is nothing like uniformity in the size of the locks or the depth of water, and consequently a vessel that passes through the Welland cannot find an outlet by the St. Lawrence Canals. It is in many respects to be regretted that these works of the St. Lawrence navigation were not constructed at the outset on a uniform principle-since the requirements of commerce would have been decidedly subserved; but the history of our public works shows that they were undertaken at different times and under various circumstances. When they were first undertaken and brought to their present dimensions, few persons contemplated the possibility of their being unequal to the demands of commerce for half a century at least-but the development of the country has made such remarkable progress, that these canals, extensive as they are, have, for some time, proved unequal to the task imposed upon them. Along the route of the St. Lawrence navigation, from Quebec to the head of the Great Lakes, there is an immense population, full of activity and enterprize, building up towns and cities, with unparalleled industry, and ever seeking greater facilities to increase their wealth. The history of Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukie, and other western cities, aptly illustrates the energy of the Anglo-Saxon or Teuton on this continent. Muddy little York" has been metamorphosed, in some thirty years, into a city of colleges, commercial palaces, and splendid mansions, and a never-ceasing tide of traffic | where to find the best and cheapest outlet keeps pouring into its spacious warehouses. for our surplus produce? Chicago which, above all other places, illustrates western progress, was unknown to the commercial world thirty years ago, but now it has a population of at least 300,000, and even the fearful march of the Fire-king does not seem to have paralysed the enterprize of the men who have made it what it is, and must long remain the greatest mart of the West. The total value of the trade of the lakes was not much more than $60,000,000, thirty years ago, but now it is estimated at $800,000,000: while the tonnage that floats on these waters must be at least 600,000 tons, representing probably $18,000,000 in value. Ontario raises some 30,000,000 bushels of wheat annually, besides large quantities of barley, and has now a population of 1,620,823, against 77,000 in 1821. The total population of the grain-growing States of the North-west, viz: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kansas, is about 12,000,000, against 3,000,000 thirty years ago; whilst they raise, in the aggregate, some 160,000,000 bushels of wheat, and 600,000, ooo bushels of corn. The progress of this splendid territory is ever onward, and the wilderness of to-day is a scene of industry to-morrow-while the question that is ever on the lips of the merchants and farmers of this grain-growing region is this: How and This question has been perplexing to commercial men of the West for some years. They have long since recognized the fact that the Erie Canal-we may leave the Mississippi altogether out of the calculation, when the transport of grain is concerned— and the splendid railway system which American enterprize has constructed to assist the West to reach the sea-board, are altogether inadequate to meet the commercial wants of a territory, which produces in such remarkable abundance. The records of the Board of Trade, the speeches of the most sagacious and energetic public men, the columns of the public press of the West, all forcibly testify to the accuracy of the assertion. More than that, the public opinion of the West has long since pointed to the St. Lawrence as the natural outlet of their trade, with which no artificial means of communication can compete-in respect to cheapness and despatch. Even under existing circumstances, a bushel of wheat can be carried from Chicago to Montreal some ten days sooner, and some fifty per cent. cheaper, than from Chicago to New York, via the Erie Canal. The number of American vessels that already avail themselves of the Welland Canal for the purpose of reaching Oswego, and thereby the Erie, is very considerable— as the following returns plainly show: The American vessels that ply on the Upper Lakes have been steadily increasing in size for some years past; for experience has proved that the larger class, especially the propeller, is the cheapest for the transport of grain and other heavy freight which seek water communications. The Welland Canal will only admit the smaller vessels, unless, indeed, those of greater tonnage are prepared to unload a considerable part of their cargo at Port Colborne, for transport by the Welland Railway, and then go through with the remaining portion. This trans-shipment at Port Colborne has, in fact, become an important feature of the trade in that section of the country. We learn from the latest report of the Minister of Inland Revenue that during the three months ending on the 30th of June, 1871, 133 vessels, carrying 78,425 tons of grain, transhipped the whole or a part of their cargo. Of these fifty transhipped the entire cargo-amounting to 24,037 tons. The remaining ninety-three transhipped so much as would enable them to pass the Canal with the remainder. These vessels drew from eleven feet six inches to twelve feet of water, whilst the Canal only admitted the passage of vessels drawing ten feet or less. When laden to twelve feet, their cargoes would vary from 19,000 to 24,000, and when drawing only ten feet from 14,000 to 18,500 bushels of wheat. To enable such as could otherwise pass the Canal to do so, they have transhipped from 300 to as much as 7,500 bushels. The vessels that transhipped their entire cargoes were too large for the locks, irrespective of the draught of water. The Canal Commissioners, in their report, dwell particularly on the inadequacy of the Welland to meet the necessities of Western traffic, and refer to the class of vessels that it should benefit. "The tendency in ship-building," say the Commissioners, "for the last quarter of a century on the Upper Lakes, has been to construct larger vessels every-way, whether propelled by steam or sail; while the screw is super Then, seding the paddle everywhere on the lakes as well as on the ocean-the relative number and tonnage of screw steamers is gradually increasing upon the sailing craft. The Lake St. Clair Flats were in former years the accepted gauge of the navigation: but by the combined action of the Canadian and United States' Governments the obstacles in the lake have been so far removed that vessels can now pass through, drawing 14 feet. again, as the line of navigation is extended, so the long voyage demands larger tonnage. As an approximate rule for the size of a vessel for any particular route, it has been observed that any vessel, to be properly adapted to its business, should have one ton of measurement for every mile of her voyage; and as an example, in illustration of the rule, it may be remarked that the vessels plying between Chicago and Buffalo, 916 miles, now range between 600 and 1,500 tons; while many persons of considerable experience in the trade are of opinion that a medium size of about 1,000 tons is best suited for this route." It has been the universal sentiment of the country for some years past that the canal system should be improved at the earliest opportunity when the condition of the finances warranted the outlay that such improvements would necessarily entail. The Quebec Convention in 1865 passed a resolution to this effect and the Government of the Dominion in 1870 appointed a Commission composed of practical business men of high standing in the country, to examine into the whole question of canal enlargement. Their Report has been for a twelve-month before the people of the Dominion, and has been generally considered as doing complete justice to the great interests involved. The government, in fact, have adopted the report as the basis of improvements which are to commence forthwith, and which comprise the enlargement of the St. Lawrence and Welland canals, so that the large propellers and other craft which are now confined to |