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32X

THE QUESTION

OF TUB

O -A. ;3 G -A-*0 E S

AN J)

COTEAU LANDING CANAL

EXAMINED.

J. P. LANTIfiR, M.P., Co.'f>6utariges.

^ONTREAL :
IMilNTEl) BY l^KNNY WILSON & CO., \m ST. JAMES STREET,

1874,

THE QUESTION

OF TH3

O^^SO^^IDEJS

AND

COTEAU LANDING CANAL

EXAMINED.

« <■> «

J. P. LANTIER, M.P., Co. Soulanges.

^ONTREAL :
PRINTED BY PENNY WILSON & CO., 155 ST. JAMES STREET.

1874..

THE QUESTION OF THE CASCADES AND COTEAU
LANDING CANAL EXAMINED.

The interest manifested on the subject of our inland
navisfation induces me to offer some observations referring
to one section ot our system of canals.

No better opportunity than the present could offer itself
to draw the attention of our Jies^islature and of the com-
mercial comnumity to the necessity of mai^in^- a strong
effort to put the navigation of the St. Lawrence in the most
perfect state of efficiency.

It has, in fact, become a question of political and
commercial necessity, that we should lose no time in taking
the necessary measures to improve our s-y^tem of canals on
the St. Lawrence, if we wish not only to compete with our
neighbours in obtaining that large share of the Western
produce trade that it is so desirablt; that we should obtain,
but even if we desire to retain the advantages which we
have already secured in that direction.

It will be admitted that, if we wish to construct on the
St. Lawrence a good system of canals, it must be perfect and
efficient in all its parts, each section made and located so as
to correspond with each other in thorough efficiency, and
fully equal to the depth of water that can be otitained from
Prescott to Montreal. If one part or section of our system of
navigation is deficient and not equal to the other sections, it
will not only retard the development of our freight trade ;
hinder or destroy the success of commercial speculations, but
it will also diminish the efficiency of the whole system ; limit
its usefulness, and induce shippers to seek elsewhere the
facilities of communications which we could not offer them.

Amongst the many difficulties to the unobstructed navi-
gation of the River St. Lawrence, between Montreal and
Prescott, the Rapids of Coteau, Cedars and Cascades present
one of its most formidable obstacles ; and, as it is to that sec-
tion of our navigation that I desire to draw the attention of
the Federal Legislature, I will briefly refer to the attempts

that have been already made to avoid those difficulties, before
submitting a project, the execution of which would, in the
well-expressed opinion of the commercial community, afford
the best and the only means to overcome the difficulties
caused by those Rapids to the navigation of the St. Lawrence.

FORMER ArrEMPTH TO IMPrtOVE THAT SEtTIO V OF THE RIVER.

The early settlers of the country had understood that the
shortest route to reach Lake St. Franci-s from Lachine, was
by Cascades Bay and the north shore of the St. Lawrence.
They had constructed small canais at the end of the Cascades
point, and at some other places, from that point, to the site
of the old Coteau fort, ^See General Report of P. W. for
1867.)

After the conquest, the British Government had also
considered that the shortest and best route to connect Lake
St. Louis, below Cascades, with Lake St. Francis, above the
Coteau Rapids, was obtained on the north side of the river,
and had, in consequence, constructed a small canal across
the point of Cascades, another at the Bisson Rapid, and one
at the Coteau fort. The Legislature of Lower Canada,
following the same course, had, at subsequent periods,
caused surveys to be made on the north side of the St.
Lawrence, tor the construction of a bettor system of canals,
from Cascades to Coteau Landing, and, in 18-38, expended
a sum of ;^-tO,000 to facilitate the navigation by the means of
short cuts, on the north shore, through some of the most
difficult points of the rapids.

In 1834, Mr. Mills made an exploration from Cascades
to Coteau Landing, and recommended the construction of a
series of three small canals, on the north side, to avoid the
three Rapids ot Coteau, Cedars and Cascades. He also visited
the south side, and expressed his opinion, that a more direct
communication between the two lakes would be obtained by
the north than by the south route. (See General Report of
P. W. for 1867, fol. 13, and following.)

Other engineers, and namely. Colonel Philpotts, surveyed
different lines of canals on the north side of the river, and
recommended their construction. The Seigniors of Beauhar-
nois have caused surveys to be made on the south shore of
the St. Lawrence; but they were made on their own respon-
sibility, and without any official authority. Mr. Stevenson,

in 1833, and Mr. Huird, in 1835, wereemployedb)^ the Agent
of the Seigniory of Beauharnois, to make explorations on the
south shore. As their reports were ex parte made, they could
not be considered as very impartially stating the merits of
the location. They contained romantic descriptions of the
site; of the advantages of that location, which they declared
to be unsurpassed. (vSee General Report of P. W. lor 18G7,
fol. 14; also Mr. Killaly's Report of 1st Aug., 1842.)

In 1834, Mr. Stevenson's project was submitted to the
Government and Legislature of Lower Canada, but it was
not accepted nor entertained.

In 1835, two plans for the construciion of a canal on the
south side, which had been prepared by Messrs. Stevenson
& Baird, by order of the Seigniors of Beauharnois, were
submitted to the Legislature of Lower Canada. (See Report
of P. W. for 1867, fol. 14.) But the Government and
Legislature, being well informed, by the rtjport of the
hydrographic survey of that part ot the St. Lawrence, by
Messrs. Thompson and Larue, as to the defects of that
route, and as to the exaggerated statements of Messrs.
Stevenson and Baird, refused to entertain their project, and
it was rejected.

In 1839 Colonel Philpott recommended the construction
of a canal on the north shore of the St. Lawrence. Nothing
further was done to improve the navigation of that part of
the St Lawrence up to the time of the union of the two
Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada.

THE BEAUHARNOIS JOB.

It must be Uorne in mind that at that period of our
political historv, the Seigniors of Beauharnois exercised a
very large influence in the Colonial Office, and in the
Government of Canada. They had justly considered that
the construction of a canal through their Seigniory would be
hiirhiy beneficial to them ; that it would enhance the value
of their property; and that the time had arrived to secure,
by their influence in the Colonial Office and with the
Canadian Government, the execution, through their estate, of
the important scheme which the Lower Canada Legislature
had rejected in 1835,

The 20th August, 1841, Lord Sydenham, then Governor
General of Canada, in a messige to the Legislature, recom-

moiided that m^^nsures should bo adopted to improve the
navigation of the St. Liiwrt'iice by construotinn' a stories of
ciiiialH, jind recoiiinn'uded that u loan should be ii"gotiatod
to defray the expenses of their construction. That part of
his niessajre, which has reference to the canal between Lakes
St Louis and St. Fiancis, contained statements from which
t'le only interenci^s that could })e drawn were, that tht-re
were capitalists in England who were interested in this
work, and especially in seenin- the communication between
Lake St. Louis and Lake St Francis established on the
southern side of the River St. Lawrence, and that there was
reason to expect that assistance vvould be allbrded upon that
condition, and that money would be obtained, on that
condition, at a cheaper rate of interest. (See .Fournal of
the House, also Brilish Culouisl of 25th August, 1841.)

The Legislature voted the sum of $ 1 ,023, GOO, (see General
Report of P. W., Ibl. ]->,) to construct a canal to avoid thi^
Rapids obstructing the navigation between the two lakes, but
without stating on which side it should be constructed,
adopting, however, the estimates of Mr. Mills lor the con-
struction of three canals on the north shore, and the unfor-
tunate job of the Beauharnois Canal has spruiig from the
misuse and misapplication of that Vote of money.

The intrigues which had been prepared fx'fore hand, to
obtain the construction of the canal on the south side, were
then used, through the agency oi Mr. VV^aketield, to secure
its success.

Mr. Keefer's Report of 17th February, 1842, gave, to the
Government of the day, a colourable pretense to meet the
views of the Seigniors of Beauharnois. The old line of Mr.
Steven.son was re-examined by Mr. Keefer, approved and
recommended by Mi'. Killaly ; and before the Legislature
could meet and interfere in those proceedings, men were
hastily brought to the ground as early as June, 1842, before
any part of the work was put under contract. The work
was pushed with the greatest haste. Money was borrowed
from the City liank, at Montreal, to pay the labourers. The
1st August, i842, Mr. Killaly boasted in his Report, that there
were 700 men at work. It is plainly seen that every means
v.'ere taken to increase and accumulate the expenses, in order
to deter the Legislature from interfering, at a future x^eriod,

against the prosecution of the work.

Th«' proiiioiors ol' th*"! l^'iiuhaniois Cauiil know (luito
woU th:i: the w'holo alhiir would bo hroiv^rhi lu'loit' iho n^pro-
seutalives of tlio people al the next meeting' ol'tlif House.

(oMMJrrKi; OK KM^UIKY Al'IMtlNTKD.

The late John Simpson, then member for the County of
Vaudreuil, had addn'sseil to tin* (loveruor-deneral, a strony'
protest ayainsi the proeci'dings of Mr. Killaly, <lenoun(inu:
the wli«»le .schenn' and its revsults. A petition to llic same
effect was also presented to the ]^ejj;islature. A Committee
WHS appointed to make an encpiiry into the case. The whole
job was laid bare before the ('ommittee. (See (bin-ral
Report of i*. W. for lHtJ7, also Api). of Journal lor IM2.)

The statements contained in the Jveports of Messrs.
Stevenson and Baird. and fully endorsed and aceei)ted by
Messrs, Killaly and Keefer, were disproved, not oidy with
regard to the merits of tht» line on th«' south side ; tlie (piality
of the soil that was to be excavjted; the cost of construction;
but, above all, with reierence to the western extremity or
channel of communication, from the eanal proper to the navi-
•i'able channel on Lake St. Francis. The delects of that route,
its physical diiliculties. the absence of any channel of eom-
munication to the lake from tht? western extremity of tln^
canal, were clearly shown to the Conunittee by compt^tent
enuineers, by members of the Lejiislature, by pilots and by
other persons. Th»' tfieory advocatinl by Mr. Killaly, and
his stateme.it of fails upon which it was founded, were
clearly proved to be erroneous.

The committee merely reported the evidence to the
House, alleging that a prorogation was on the point of
taking' place. It became known, afterwards, that two
members of the committee had accepted ollices under the
Crown.

But apart from the evidence adduced f)efore that com-
mittee, have we not an experitmoe of t' ':ty years, acquired
at an immense cost, to disprove every on • of the statements
contained in tlie reports of the promoters of the Beauharnois
Canal V

How can we explahi the silence of that comuiittee,
composed chiefly of ijentlemen who were the strong siij*-
porters of the (Jovernment of the day, and tlie personal
Iriends of ]Mr. Killaly, in a case where his professional skill

and political position were on trial ? Can we infer from
their silence, that, if the Government used olHcial influence
to prevent them from malcin^ an unfavorable report against
the projected canal on the south, the members of that
committee, in presence of the evidence and strong facts
brought before them, and condemnatory ot the project, feit
convinced that by making a favorable report, they would
certanily be exposed to severe public censure. ,

The House having becui prorogued, the promoters of the
Beauharncis job were relieved from further interference.
The work was continued ; the contracts lor the work were
accepted during the fall of 1842. This canal was reported
to be finished in the fall of 1845. (See Gen. Rep. of P. W ,
fol. 15).

THE EllROK SOON FOUND OUT.

The Executive and Legislature were thus drawn into
one of those grave errors which remain as a lasting reproach
against the foresight and prudence of a Government. But
both Executive and Legislature soon found that a great error
had been made. The yearly reports of the Board of AVorks,
of the engineers in charge of the works on the canal, con-
tained statements of unforeseen obstacles, requiring a larger
outlay of money than w«s anticipated, to provide for new
expedients to overcome difficulties which had been at first
prudently ignored.

The complaints of the trade as to the inefficiency of the
canal ; the difficulties of its ingress and egress ; the demands
yearly made to the Legislature for more money required to
open an artificial canal at the western extremity, where
three channels of from six to twelve hundred feet broad
each, with a depth of water of from twelve to twentv feet,
had been reported to exist, by Messrs. Stevenson, l3aird,
Killaly and Keefer; the large expenditure over and i^bove
the sum originally demanded, convinced the Legislature that
the very plausible reports of the engineers who had ad lo-
cated the construction of a canal on the south shore had not
stated the facts as they were, and that some great nalitr?!
difficulties had been cautiously kept out jf sight. The
assertions and statement of tacts contained in the reports of
the promoters of the Beauharnois job have been disproved,
one by one, by the reports of the Board of Works of the
engineers in charge of the work on the canal, from its
inception to th^'- present day- (See Mr. Killaly 's Report of
1st August, 1841.)

The assertion of the existence of the three channels of
from six hundred to twelve hundred feet broad each, with a
depth of water of from twelve to twenty feet, whicli ^lessrs.
Stevenson, Baird, Kiilaly and Keeler had stated that were to
be iound at the western extremity, and their sudden
disappearance, might oi\e an idea oi the means employed in
those days, by the promoters of the Beauharnois Canal, to
secure its conoiruction and to obtain that kind of success
which has provcii to be so detrimental to the interests of the
country. (See Mr. Killaly's Keport of 1st August, 1841).

INEFFICIENCY AND DEFECTS OF THE BEAl HARNOIS CANAL.

It is an admitted fact that the canal, to avoid the rapids
of Coteau, Cedars and Cascades, is not located where it
should have been ; that the Beauharnois Canal has never
obtained the efficiency of the other canals on the St.
Lawrenct. ; that its locution has never met with tho approval
of the commercial community ; that the navigtiiou on the
south side of Lake St. Francis, and especially at the western
entrance of the canal, is not only fraught with danger, but
also impossible for A'^essels drawing twelve foet of water.
The maintenance of that canal, its working expenses,
superintendence, costs of construction, and amount of
damages paid in consequence of its defects in location, have
exceeded in proportion the same lines of expenses incurred
in any other of our canals of same size and proportions, and
in the same climatic condition, while its efficiency has always
been under the standard of our other canals, it never yielded
any revenue proportionate to its cost of construction, main-
tenance and superintendence. It does not correspond in
efficiency with the canals of Cornwall and Lachine. Any
attempt to remedy its natural de^'-^cts, and put it in a
thorough state of efficiency, in one word, to make it what it
should be, and what we want to accomplish to put our
system of canals in the state of efficiency needed to obtain to
provide for the carrying trade of the West, would entail an
expense of money over and above the value of all the
advantages that could be expected in r.?turn.

ITS MAIN DEFECTS.

' From the reports of the Public Works Department, from
the opinions of the engineers connected with the works on
the Beauharnois Canal, as well as from the testimony of

pilots of long' experience, we can asceitain that the natural
delects of that canal consist chiefly — 1st, in its western
terminus and its deficient channel of navioation with the
channel of Lake 8t. Francis ; 2nd, in the condition of the
soil formino,- its banks, which, being of aluminous Jormation,
causes slit ;ind deposits in the bottom ; 3rd, in the want of
proper anchorage ground at the eastern extremity, owing to
the rocky formation of the bottom of Lake St. Louis at that
place ; 4th, in the accumulation of the spring ice at the same
spot ; 5th, in the late opening of thi? canal in the spring, on
account of the late breaking of the ice in the western
entrance, and its early closing in the fiill on account of the
early freezing of the pond at the western end ; 6ih, in the
crooked, toi'tuous, shallow channel leading from the western
extremity of the canal to Lake Ht. Francis, and in the almost
insuperable difficulties to be overcome in excavating a good,
straight and deep channel for vessels drawing twelve feet of
water; 7th, in the exposed site of the western extremity at
Grosse Poinle to the strong gales from east, north-east, north
and north-west, from the west and south-west; 8th, in the
fact that there is no riavigable channel on the south side of
Lake St. Francis, the channel being on the north side, and
that an artificial channel should have to be made from the
south to the north side of the lake for vessels drawing ten
feet of water ; 9th, in the exposed location of the eastern end
to the north-west, north, north-east and easterly winds; lOth,
in the longer distance from the navigable channel of Lake
St. Ijouis to the navigable channel of Lake St. F'rancis by
using the Beauharnois (^anal, then by a caiuil from Cascades
Bay to Coteau Landing.

THE NOKTII SHORE OK THE ST. LAWKENCE.

If we can obtain, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence,
the natural advantages recjuired lor the construction of a
large ship (^anal, of which thi; south side is so deficient, and
if those natural advantages on the north shore are such that
they would fully eompensate for the extra expenses of
construction, it would Ik^ l>utan act of wisdom and prudence
to make use of the superior facilities that we could find on
the worth side of the St. liawrence, instead of persisting in
the error of 1842 and its consecjuences.

We nuist bear in mind that the problem which is to be
solved is not to ascertain which is the cheapest constructed

. 11

canal, without paying due regard to its future usefulness and
efficiency. But what we have to do is to construct a canal
that would be in every respect fully equal to any other link
of our system of navigation, having tiie best harbours, the
best channels, the greatest dejtth of water, with the best
advantages that could be obtained, and ofl'ering the shortest
route from Lachine to Cornwall.

If we examine with care the natural advantages found
on the north shore, it is plain that we can obtain there all the
requisites tor the construction of a large ship canal, and the
most part ot which no human skill, nor the heaviest
expenditure of money, could create on the other side.

WHY A CANAL SHOULD BE CONSTUUCTED ON THE NOUTH SIDE.

The construction of a canal on the north shore of the
St. Lawrence, to avoid the Rapids of Coteau, Cedars and
Cascades, will result from the careful consideration of the
following leading facts: —

1st. From the admitted necessity of constnicting, to avoid
these Rapids, a canal adequate to tlie present and future wants of
our rapidly growing carrying trade, and Inlly capable of" admit-
ting the larger class of vessels wliich it is necessary using, to
cheapen the transporiiition of produce from tlse west to the sea
ports; having the best harbours, the greatest depth of water,
ofiering the shortest route, i-onnected at each extremity with the
best navigable channels, and securing, during each season, the
longest term of navi'^ntion.

2nd. From the great and insuperal)le difficulties, and almost
physical impossibility, to reconstruct the Beauharnois Canal, in
order to put it in such a state of efficiency so as to meet the
future wants of the carrying trade, and connect it by a broad and
deep channel, unless at an immense cost, with the only deep
navigable channel on Lake St. Francis, which is found only on
the north side of the lake.

3rd. Frtnu the well-known and proved fact, that the greatest
natural advantages are found on the north shore of the St.
Lawrence to construct a large ship canal, having all the qualities
of a firsf-class canal, with the best harbours, free from ob-
structions, and directly connected at each end with the deep
navigable channels, oftm'ing also the longest period of navigation
during each season, and the shortest route from Lachine to
Cornwall.

THE KECESOITY OF IMPROVING THAT SECTION OF THE RIVER-PRELIMINARY

REMARKS.

The great efforts that have been made for some years past,
by our mercantile community, to secure a large share of the
trade of the western products, and the beneficial results of that
commerce, have led our political and commercial men to inquire
into the best means that could be adopted to obtain the largest
possible amount of that important trade, and which would
enable us to compete successfully with the shippers of those
products to the American sea ports.

From a careful comparison of the lengths and facilities of
the different routes, of the means and time employed in reaching
the different sea ports, and the markets of Europe, from the
Western markets, with the comparative costs of each route, they
iiave arrived at the conclusion that the River St. Lawrence was
the great natural artery of the Western trade; that it was the
cheapest and shortest route from the West to the sea ports and to
the European markets ; that by lessening the expenses of freight
we would give such an advantage to the shippers of produce, by
the St. Lawrence, that no successful competition could possibly
be made against that loute.

From those considerations, and the conclusions derived
therefrom, has arisen the necessity of improving the navigation
of the St. Lawrence to its utmost capacity, in order to enable
the shippers of produce to use a far larger class of vessels.

The efforts lately made by American statesmen to increase
facilities for the transportation of those products from the
Western States to their sea ports, both by additional railway
and canal communications, have caused amongst our commercial
men a feeling of apprehension that the large share which they
ha<i already secured in that important trade would be diverted
from them. They all look to the Federal Parliament for
immediate and energetic action to put the navigation of the St.
Lawrence in that ptate of efficiency which would enable them to
compete successfully with the American railways and canals.
They feel that the time has arrived to draw from that great
natural artery of our trade all the facilities that can possiblv be
obtained, and that no expense should be spared to test its
carrying power to its greatest capacity.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE REQUISITES OF OUR SYSTEM OF CANALS.

To attain that object, it is necessary that our canals should
be constructed on the increased proportions sufficient to carry the

larger class of vessels which it shall be necessary to use to
cheapen the freight, and be provided with the necessary acces-
sories, of a proportionate greater depth of water, broader and
better channels, the harbours the best and safest that could be
obtained, connected with the best channels of navigation, the
routes the shortest; and that our canals should be constructed
where the longest terms of navigation could be obtained.

THE COTEAU, CEDARS AND CASCADES RAPIDS.

As the Rapids of Coteau, Cedars and Cascades, situate
between the western end of Lake St. Louis and the eastern
extremity of Lake St. Francis, offer one of the great obstacles to
the navigation of the St. Lawrence, it becomes a necessity to
construct, on the intended much larger proportions, an artificial
communication to connect the deep navigable channels of the
two lakes; in fact to put that part of our navigation in the most
perfect state of efficiency, on a footing of equality with our other
canals, by taking advantage, not only of the engineering skill
that we can command, but also of the best natural advantages
that we can obtain, and which the most favored locality can
offer.

WHY THE BEAUHARN0I8 CANAL SHOULD NOT BE RECONSTRUCTFD.

A careful perusal of the discussion which took place in
Parliament, in 1841, when the canal question was considered,
will show that none of our public men of ciiat day foresaw that
Our trade would make such rapid strides, that it would, at some
future pariod, become a commercial and political necessity to
double and triple the carrying capacity of our canals. The south
side of the river was not therefore selected with the view of con-
structing a canal having a larger capacity than the one fixed at
that period, and none of its promoters attempted to establish the
fact that the locality of the south offered any facilities for the
navigation of a larger class of vessels than those for which it was
then intended.

Experience having amply proved that the location on the
south was deficient, in every respect, in the necessary requisites
for the construction of a canal on its then limited proportions,
how can we expect that it will be more advantageous for the
construction of a canal on the much-intended larger dimensions,
which have become necessary, requiring a greater depth of water,
better and deeper channels, better harbours, a longer term of
navigation season, with the shortest route from Cornwall to
Lachine.

DIFFICULTIES TO HE MET IN HECONSTRUOIINO.

Any attempts to reconstruct the Beauharnois canal on the
increased dimensions, required to receive the larger class of vessels,
which it has become necessary to use in order to cheapen the cost
of freight, would bring out in a still more marked manner the
difHculties and disadvantages of that very defective location, and
would become but the continuation, although on a much larger
scale, of the error of 1842, and of its consequences, greater diffi-
culties would be met in making the needed deeper excavations in
the canal itself. Vessels of a larger class Avill require accommo-
dation on a lariicr scale at each extremity, straifjhtcr, broader and
deeper channels, better harbours and better anchorage grounds.
More expensive and additional means should have to be taken to
protect them from the rapids and shoals at the western extremity,
and to open a channel of communication to the navigable channel
on the north side of Lake St. Francis, which is the only deep
channel on that lake.

But no human skill will shorten the distance by following
that route, will protect the two extremities of the canal from the
effects of the strong gales which so materially aflfect the shipping,
will chaniie the nature of the soil forminjj the embankmenis
which makes deposits in the canal.

The question of preventing the ice in the pond at the western
end from being formed so early in the fall, and fi-om remaining so
late in the spring, thereby causing eveiy year a shorter period of
navigation, siiall have to be solved. Some additional means shall
have to be adopted to prevent the spring ice carried down the
Cascades Rapids from accumulating at the eastern end.

DEMOLISHING OLD WORKS.

Before the reconstruction of the Beauharnois Canal could be
proceeded with, it would become necessary to demolish the present
locks, their foundations, tlie most of the waste weirs, remove the
crates, some of the piers, the bridges, and a number of other works
which would become useless.

LABOUR AND EXPENSES TO RECONSTRUCT THE CANAL.

The reconstruction of the canal proper requires its deepening
and widening for its whole length, the construction of entirely
new Ijcks, nine in number, of new foundations, of new gates,
witli new apparatus to the gates, new bridges, waste weirs, new
tunnels, new approaches to the bridges, new tow-paths. The

two banicg, with tlie two side walls, sliould have to be re-made
for the full length of the canal. The additional excavation in
the canal proper should have to he jnade in solid stone for the
two-thirds of its length; new piers should have to be re-
constructed at different places, but especially below and above.
It is a well-known fact, amply proved by experience, that the
depth of the water in the western extremity, and chnnnel leading
to Grosse Point, is less than on the sills of the first lock. It
results from the fact that the bed of the canal is lower than the
bed of the channel above. The whole of the work to reconstruct
the canal shouM have to be executed during the winter (at a far
greater expense than during the summer. To save any delay to
the navigation of the canal, a lan:o pier should have to be
constructed opposite, but east of Grosse Pointe^ to prevsui;
accidents and wrecks on account of its proximity to some shoals
and to the Rapids of Coteau,

THE ENTRANCE CHANISEL AT THE HEAD OF THE CANAL.

But the reconstruction of the canal itself is not the only
difficulty to be overcome. 'J'he other and much greater obstacle
is to obtain a good and deep channel from its western entrance to
the only deep navigable channel of Lake St. Francis, whicl', is
on the north side of the lake.

If we take into consideration that the class of vessels that
will be used on our canals, when they are reconstrncted, will be
of far greater dimensions, both in length and depth, and will
draw at least twelve feet of water, we must understand that thev
shall require a broad, straight and deep channel, with at least
fifteen feet of water, instead of the narrow, crooked and shallow
one presently used.

A NEW CHANNEL SHOULD HAVE TO BE SaGAVATED.

To open such a channel as should be wanted from the western
entrance lock to Grosse Pointe, and from Grosse Potnfe to the
deep channel of Lake St. Francis, we should have to excavate a
cut of four hundred feet wi(ie. two miles lonir, across a strong
current, by a mean additional depth of at least six feet, through
boulders and solid stones, apart of the high rockv shoals inter-
secting that channel, which sliould have to be removed, and from
Grosse Pointe another channel should have to be opened for the
larger class of vessels to the channel on the north side of Lake St.
Francis, by making another cut across a strong current of 400 feet
in width through solid stone and boulders. The distance is about

two mileg. The mean depth of excavation would be four feet lor
u channel of fifteen feet of water, which is considered the necessary
depth in lake navigation f(>r a vessel drawing twelve feet. A tug
boat should have to be kept constantly there to take sailing vessels
to and from the western entrance lock.

THE OUEAT NATURAL DEFECTS STILL RKMAININO.

When that immense labour would have been accomplished,
and it cannot be done unless at an immense cost, there will still
remain the same inconveniences which are now experienced each
year. 1st. The canal will be closed eight days earlier in the tall
on account of the earlier taking of the ice, and opened eight days
later in the spring, on account of the later breaking up of the ice
at the western extremity, than would be a canal constructed on
the north shore. 2nd. The same exposure to the strong winds on
the lake, the same dangerous proximity to the rapids of the
channels leading from the lake, and the same necessity of keeping
a tug boat to take sailing vessels to and from the entrance
western lock to the channel of Lake St. Francis. 3. The same
want of a good large, roomy and deep harbour at the western
extremity, and want ot anchorage ground for large vessels, which
would be obtained on the north side without any labour. 4. The
same increased distance between Cornwall and Lachine, as com-
pared vith the shorter distance between those two points by the
North Shore route. 5. The eastern extremity would remain as
now exposed to the action of the ice carried down the Cascades
Rapid?, and which is accumulated there by the current of the
eddy below Point Bisson. It would remain without a safe
anchorage ground at the bottom of Lake St. Louis, as the eastern
end of the canal is of solid stone. 6. The eastern end of the canal
would remain as now exposed to the strong gales. 7. The ground
used to form the embankments, being of aluminous quality, would
make, as now, deposits in the bed of the canal. 8. It would
remain, as now, exposed, in the event of a war with the United
States, to be occupied and used, or destroyed by an invading
army; no other outlets possible.

TRIAL SURVEYS BY HUNGRY BAY AND BY A LINE NEAR I8LE-AUX-CIIATS.

Nothing can show more conclusively that the present entrance
is considered as impracticable, and is not susceptible of being
improved, so as to become what it should be, to answer to the
wants of the trade, than the very fact that trial explorations have
been made in search of some other spots v/here another outlet to

the canal could be obtained. The promoters of that theory,
instead of admitting frankly the necessity ot looking to tiie north
side of the river to obtain a good location, the depth of water, the
anchorage facilities, the channels and harbours which are wanted,
and which are found there without any expenses, have searched
for another outlet by a proposed extension of about three miles,
of the canal, further west into Hungry Bay. They are perhaps
under the impression that as our experience in search of a good
channel, a good harbour and anchorage facilities, having been so
far limited to the present site and entrance of the canal, we should
become convinced by another fruitless and expensive venture, that
this last resort is as useless as was the first.

HUNGRY BAY.

The Bay, called Hungry liay, u immediately above Grosse
Pointe; it extends several miles west and is formed by an inland
curve of the lake. The bottom of the bay is composed, to a great
depth, of moving sand, with some boulders Anchors do not
hold in that .^and. The bav is shallow and full of shoals and sand
bars, which accumulate and disappear according to th<> surface
swell of the bay and t^ 2 direction of the wind. From Thompson's
and Larue's Hydrographic Survey of Lake St. Francis, and from
Mr. Jones' evidence before the Committee of the Legislature in
1842, we ascertain the fact that the Commissioners appointed by
the Government of Lower Canada, to renort on the canal
question, and of whom Mr. Jones was the Chairman, had made
themselves quite certain that there was not in the bay a depth of
water to float a vessel drawing seven or eight feet. A glance at
the land back of the bay will satisfy any person that the bay is
shallow, as the back country, for several miles, seems to have been
not many years ago but an extension of the bay further inland,
and from which the water has receded. It is flat, marshy, partly
and mostly covered with water, a regular morass. The surface
soil is worked for peat fuel, the under soil is composed of moving,
wet sand, the same as in the bav. Grosse Pointe is at the soutn-
western extremity of that bay. It is a small isolated spot, and the
only land, a little more elevated than the surrounding marsh ; but
around and back of Grosse Pointe the land assumes the same
character as elsewhere, as low and as marshy. That marshy, low
land extends east to the very outskirts of Valleyfield. It must be
borne in mind that after the construction of the Beauharnois dams,
dikes had to be built in that part of the south side of the lakes to
prevent the flooding of the farms, as far as the parishes back of
Valleyfield. Sec. No. in App., also App. Z. 1842,

TWO LINES TO HUNGKY BAY EXPLORED.

If I am informed correctly, two lines luive been examined to
connect the canal ot Beauharnois with Huiiifry Bay, one from the
present terminus of the canal, to a site in the bay. The second
from a point west of Valleyfield, passing south of the town,
through some high lands, until it reaches the marsh, to the same
site as the first in the bay.

]f the first line is adopted, the Icngtli of wliich would be
about three miles, it would pass through part of the upper portion
of Valleyfield, and a number of houses should have to be pulled
down and paid for. If the second line is accepted, the length of
these extensions would be considerably increased, and these
excavations through the high lands up to the marsh would be
expensive. It would in both cases either entail the additional
expense of maintaining two expensive ouJots, the present and tiio
new outlet, if the two are kept, not one of which would satisfy
the trade, or the loss of the expenses that have been incurred for
the opening of the western channel at the liciid of the canal, if the
new one alone is maintained. In that case all the work done in
the old channel, and in the small bay, the expenses for piers, light
houses, excavation, dredging, the raising of boulders and the
construction of the canal west of the lower line, if it was the line
accepted, from its junction to its present terminus, would be a dead
loss, to which we might add the expenses for the construction of.
the dams, the payment of damages for flooded lands; while if my
suggestion was adopted of constructing a canal on the north side
ot the St. Lawrence, we would obtain there all advantages that
we seak in vain to find on the south side, without any more losses
than those already incurred in trying to prepare the Beauharnois
Canal for the passage of a larger class of vessels than it was at first
intended for, and in constructing an expensive public work .vhero
it should never have been located, because the two canals could
be useful, if adopted to proper and suitable purposes.

THE OUTLET BY HUNGRY BAY.

In the event, although most improbable, of the entrance to
the canal by Hungry Bay being approved, through one of the two
described lines, that additional length to the present canal sliould
have to be made by a cut through that deep peat bog on that deep
moving sand bottom, for the whole distance from the outskirts of
Valleyfield, with the certainty that nothing of a permanent
character can be executed in that site ; with the certainty of

It
If

having to draw from a distance tlie very materinli necessary to
make the banks on that extension, ot" providing for means to
prevent the bunks from sinking in the moving sand, and the canal
from getting filled up by tlie sand upheaved from the bottom, and
with the further certainty of obtaining in the bay no dcptli of
water, no harbour, no safe anchorage ground, not even for a wood
scow, and far less for large vessels ; no channel in the bay; of
having to dredge an artificial harbour, and a channel from the bay
across the lake, to the navigable channel of Lake St. Francis, on
its north side; of keeping a dredge at work to keep that extension
of the canal clear from the sand raised from its bed, the harbour
and the channel across the bay and lake clear from tlie moving
sands of the bay, the shoals and the bars of sand. That extension
to the canal would make it much longer, according to the line
adopted, and would necessitate either the construction of another
lock or another distribution of the locks on the canal.

Immense piers should have to be constructed on b;)th sides of
the entrance into the bay upon artificial foundations. It is known
by every pilot and every boat owner, acquainted with the naviga-
tion of the lake, that Hungry Bay is exposed to the w inds of the
whole compass, the south and south-westerly winds excepted. That
the bottom of the bay is composed of a deep bed of moving nands,
constantly in motion by the effects of the wind. That shoals and
bars of sand, accumulated by a storm, are displaced to fill up
adjacent ponds or channels existing before a gale ; that there is no
certaint)' after a strong wind to find a shoal or a channel wherw
they were the day before.

The ice of the bay is the last to leave the lake in the spring,
and the tirst to take in the fall. The canal opening in Hungry
Bay would, to a i;ertainty, lose more time of navigation than with
the present defective entrance. It would be a most extraordinary
expedient to adopt if, to remedy the existing defects of the present
defective entrance, we choose another one, in an out-of-the-way
place, far worse in every respect than the present one. If the
project of the North Shore Canal is objected to on account of its
length, what excuse could be given to induce 8hij)pers to be
satisfied with one still longer, by at least two miles, and leaving
between Cornwall and Lachine the present longer route, as
compared w^ith the distance between the two places by a canal on
the north. I am told that an exploration was made to obtain
another channel of communication by a line between Isle-aux-
Chats and the pillar of the lied Light House. In my opinion, and
in the opinion of pilots of long experience, if such a course was
adopted, the difficulties of navigation would be increased instead of
being lessened. The cost of excavation would not be less, if not

I
I

not more, but tlio site would bo still worse ; first, on account of its
cloMor proximity to tbo nhoulH und the rapids of Coteau ; next, on
account of the groator ditftcultics and the greater amount of
expiMidituro nocessary to obtain by excavation a channel of com-
munication across a strong current, from thence to the deep
navigable channel of Lake St. Francis ; and again, on account of
the grcattu' ditttculties for vessels coming from above to enter that
lower pass. (See testimony of Messrs. Asselin, Prieur and Rinfret.)

No propeller with a long tow could enter it with a strong
westorly, north or north-westerly wind, and because there is no
anchorage ground.

The want of anchorage facilities and bottom is so much feltou
the south side that vessels that have to beat against a strong wind,
or that are not ready to cross to the south by day time, when there
is appearance of a dark night, remain moored at the Coteau
Landing piers during the night, to wait for a favorable opportunity
of reaching in safety the entrance channel of the Beauhamois
Canal. I will now ask the projectors of the deepening of the
present channel, or those who propose excavating another broader
channel, either in the line or by a lower line, if in any of those two
eases the lake ice would not be drifted into the bay in larger
quantities than now ; if the ice would not take as early if not
sooner than now ; if it would not remain as iate, if not later than it
does at present, and if the canal would not be closed as early a9
now each fall, and opened in the spring as late as now.

NO MORE DAMS ACROSS THE RAPIDS SHOULD BE BUILT.

As the enlai'gement of the canals will require, above all things,
a greater depth and a more abundant supply of water than may be
needed at present, in the event of the Beauharnois Canal being
enlarged, the increased depth of water necessary to be obtained for
a channel from the western extremity of the canal to the navigable
channel on the north side of Lake St. Francis, must be obtained
either by the excavation which I have already described, or by
conotructing more dams across another section of the river, above
the Coteau Rapids. There is no alternative between those two
expensive and extreme means. The cost of such an excavation
under water, for such a distance, through solid stone and large
boulders, would be immense, apart from the inconveniences to the
navigation in such a narrow and tortuous channel.

With vegai'd to the construction of additional means of raising
the water liy new dams, the public accounts will show what have
already cost, the damages caused by the erection of the present
dnms, apart of the claims which might be presented in future. It
cannot be denied that the construction of additional dams across

g ;i

the Coteau Rapids would be still more disastrous than was the
first experience, as tho most of tho upper part of the County of
Soulanges would be flo(Mlod, and the front of the counties of Glen-
^'ary and Soulanges would be covered Avith water. The Federal
Parliament would ho exposed to tho payment of dama^'os, in ex-
cess of the expense that would be incurred for th construction of
a new canal on the north, where there is a natariu depth of water
in tho harbours, and channels at each extremity to flfyut vessels
drawing fifteen feet of water.

THE CASCADKS AND COTEAU LAN'DINO CANAL.

I have already noticed the fact that tho construction of a
canal on the north shore of tho St. Lawrence, from tho Hay of
Cascades to Coteau Landing was not a now project.

Apart of tho surveys made on the north side, by men of emi-
nence m their profession, to which I have alluded, and who had
invariably recommended that side of tho I'ivor as tho host route to
connect tho two lakes, Mr. Casey, in 1842, made an exploration on
the same side, at tho request of the late Messrs. Harwood and
Simpson. (See Appendix Z., of Journal, Session of 1842.)

His report and his evidence before the committee of inquiry
on the Boauharnois job, demonstrated conclusively the superiority
of the nortli shore over the south, for tho construction of a canal,
but also pointed out the defects of the location on the south shore,
the want of a channel, the difficulties to obtain one, the various
reasons why the selection of tho south side would hereafter be re-
gretted, our experience since that time having amply justified
him.

A 'T EXPLORATION ORDEnED IN 1871.

During the fall of 1872, Mr. Baillarge, of the Department of
Public Works, received from Mr. Langevin, then Minister of that
Department, the necessary instructions to make a survey on the
north side of the St. Lawrence, for the construction of a lai-go ship
canal to connect Lake St. Francis with Lake St. Louis, from
Cascades Bay to Coteau Landing.

A thorough exploration was executed in that fall and <luring
the early part of tho winter of 1873, by Messrs. Baillarge. Colonel
Fariguno, Stukel and Rosa, engineers in the Department of Public
Works, from Cascades Bay to Coteau Landing ; and not only was a
searching inquiry made as to the facilities offered for the excavation
necessary to be niude, but also as to the channels and harbours at
the extremities of the canal, the depth of water, and the other
requisites for the construction of a canal on Iho intended larger
dimensions. An able report, with accompanying maps and plans,
were made of their survey's of different lines, of the harbours and

channels, corresponding with the terminus. Nothing can show
more plainly, than does that report, that there are on the north
shore of the St. Lawrence, from Cascades to Coteau Landing, as
many natural and permanent advantages for the construction of a
large ship canal as there are found on the south side natural
ditficulties, which no engineering skill will completely overcome.

The channel of navigation from Cornwall to Coteau Landing .
is bi'oad, st' ight, on the north side of the lake, and deep enough
for ves^ els < . rawing fifteen feet.

The harbour of Coteau Landing is, without question, one of our
best inland harbours, protected from the east, north and north-
easterly winds, with y. sufficient depth of water, and a safe and
large anchorage ground. No artificial means should have to be
used to raise the vtrator, and no expenties would be incurred for the
payment of flooded farms. ..??

The channel of the lake is in a straight direction with that
harbour, and the intended entrance of the projected canal from
Lake St. Francis. Large piers are being now constructed by the
Department cf Public Works near the intended entrance to the
canal. The Bay of Cascades offers one of the best inland harbours
of the Dominion. It is formed by an expans jn of Lake St. Louie,
and by one of the outlets of the Lake of Two Mountains, between
Island Perrot on the north, and the point and Island of Cascades
on the south side of the Day. The anchorage is safe, the depth of
water sufficient for vessels drawing fifteen feet.

That harbour, which is in direct communication, by two deep
and broad channels, with the deep navigable channel of the St.
Louis, is large enough to receive one hundred vessels. Tt is per-
fectly protected from the north, north-west, west and south-west-
erly winds.

The two harbours of Cascades Bay and Coteau Landing, were
used, in former years, by the Upper Canada Eoyal Mail Line
Company. It is within the knowledge of several persons that, since
the Boauharnois canal was constructed, but before the building of
the (irand Trunk, on account of the earlier opening of navigation
at Cascades Bay and Coteau Landing, while the Beauharnois canal
was closed by the ice ai the western extremity, the western mails,
for several daj'^s each spring and fall, were carried by steamers
from Lachine to Cascades Bay, thence by land carriages to Coteau
Landing, and put again on board steamers at the latter place, for
the west.

The engineers who made the survey alluded to, in the fall of
1872, and during the early part of the winter of 18V3, have ex-
plored and sketched two lines for the construction of si canal on
the north shore. One line is through the interior, by a cut from

near Coteau Landing to the Chamberry Eiver which empties in
the Bay of Cascades.

The second line would be formed by a cut from the samei
starting point, near Coteau Landing, to a point below the old
Coteau fort. From thence the St. Lawrence could be used to near
the village of Cedars ; and from the village of Cedars by another
cut to Chamberry River.

TWO GOOD LINES ARE OBTAINED.

Either of the two lines would afford all the advantages and
requisites of a fiist-class canal, on the intended enlar';t^d propor-
tions, fully equal, if not superior, in every respect to any other of
our canals on the St. Lawrence. The whole land distance between
the different termini is a perfect level. The quality of the surface
aud sub-soils has been tested to a great depth, and no difficulties
would be met in excavating. The Chamberry Eiver is, in itself, a
natural made canal for a distance of four miles, and its use would
save a large amount of expenses, on account of its breadth, varying
from three hundred to one thousand feet, and great depth, if filled
with water, it would form a large reservoir to supply the lower
locks and any amount of machinery. The canal by the interior
could be constructed with seven locks, the guard lock included.

By adopting the second or front line, the expenses of e^-
cavavating the distance from about the Coteau port to near the
Cedars Village, about six miles, would be saved, as the use of the
St. Lawrence would serve for the purpose of the navigation
between the two link^ of the cant*l ; the channel being deep and
broad from near the old Coteau fort to the intended entrance near
the Cedars Village. There is an abundance of building materials
in the ''ucinity of the proposed lines.

The North Shore Canal could be opened at least eight days
earlier in the Spring, and closed for the same period later in the
Fall, than the Beauharnois Canal. It would shorten the distance
from Cornwall to the upper entrance of the Lachine Canal by at
least six miles, as compared with the distance between those two
points through the line of navigation by the canal on the south ;
because \<!ssel8 passing by the Beauharnois Canal have to cross
Lake St. I'rancis from its navigable channel on the north side of
the lake to the western extremity of the canal, and from its
eastern end they have to cross Lake St. Louis to the deep channel
on its north side, while by the proposed canal on the north shore
those extra distant'cs would be spared, as the channels at each
extremity are respectively in a straight and direct course with
the channels of the lakes. ,.,, - -, -■;■ \ '

RECOMMENDED BY THE PRESS AND BY THE TRADE.

No project has been as well received by the press and by the
commercial community as the proposed canal on the north side of
the St. Lawrence, in lieu of the reconstruction of the canal on the
south. Dui'ing the session of 1873, a large number of petitions
were presented in its favour. The names of the petitioners
representing the largest firms, engaged in the carrying trade on
the St. Lawrence, almost every owner of a beat on that river, and
the largest commercial firms of the two Provinces of Ontario and
Quebec, deserved that due regard should be paid to their demand.
They are the most interested in the success of our commerce and
navigation ; from past experience Sind observations, the best judges
of the existing difficulties to the accomplishment of that success
and of the means of obtaining it. Those petitions are properly
considered as expre sing the unanimous consent and desire of the
commercial community that it should be constructed, instead of
enlarging the Beauharnois Canal, as a further and stronger ex-
pression of public opinion on that subject. The Montreal Board
of Trade sent to the Executive a strong recommendation to adopt
tha^ project ; while the Board of Trade of Kingston and its Council,
with the Board of Trade of St. Johns, in the Province of Quebec,
sent petitions in its favour. The petitioners not only complain of
the inefficiency of the Beauharnois Canal, but strongly express
their opinion that owing to the natural defects of its location of
the Beauharnois Canal, should not be enlarged, but that a new
canal should be constructed on the north shore, which would benefit
the trade of the country, not only for the present year, but more
so for the future.

Apart from any other considerations, it would save to the
public treasury the yearly expenditure of large Gums of money to
make more patch-work on the Beauharnois side, to provide year
after year for new expedients to remedy the natural defects of its
location.

- ,The subjoined documents will bear out my statements as to
the action of the ice at tl o eastern end of the Beauharnois Canal ;
its early closing in the fall on account of the early freezing of the
pond at the western end ; its late opening in the spring, owing to
the liite breaking of the ice at the same spot, and as to the earlier
opening of the navigation in the spring, at Cascades Bay and
Cofeau Landing, and its later closing in the fall.

' 1 refer especially to the letter of Captain Masson, formerly of
Cascfidet^, commanding, for many years, one of the steamers of
the Upper Canada Eoyal Mail Line Company, between Lachine
anfl Cascades, and subsequently one of the Provincial arbitrators ;
to the 8\irorn affidavit of Paul Leroiix, a resident of Cascades since

^■-..*:.

35 -

many years, lessee of the ferry at Cascades Bay ; to the two
certificates of Captains Charles B. Dewitt and Jacob H. Itowitt,
who commanded steamers for many years plying between
Lachine, Cascades Bay and Beauharnois, also between Lachine
and Cornwall; to the certificate of Messrs. Joseph Asselin, senior,
Frangois Prieur and Joseph Einfret, pilots of more than tAventy
years experience in the navigation betweon Prescott and
Montreal ; to the letter of Reverend Mr. Picard, for many years a
resident of Isle Perrot, on the north side of Cascades Bay ; but
particularly to the Report of Colonel Farigana, one of the
engineers in the employ of the Public Works Department, who
had been specially sent by the Minister of Public Works, in the
spring of 1873, to ascertain and report on the action of the ice in
the Bay of Cascades, at Coteau Landing, and at the two
extremities of the Beauharnois Canal.

IT IS A MILITARY NECESSITY.

It is well-known that military men of great experience have
reported to the proper authorities that the location of the canal on
the Beauharnois side was a great error ; that it would become a
great cause of danger in the event of a war with the United
States, and that the construction of a canal en the north shore ,
was a military necessity.

ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS. '*" *

An objection has been raised against the north shore canal, on
account of its alleged greater length, as compared with the length
of the Beauharnois canal proper. But the parties who made that
objection took very good care to ignore the fact that the length of
the western channel of the canal on the south, leading from the
entrance lock to Grosse Pointe, more than compensates for the
length of the canal on the north, apart from the difficulties of naviga-
tiorfin the westerly entrance channel, apart alro of the distance
from Grosse Points to the channel of Lake St. Francis, and of the
necesBity of crossing Lake St. Louis from the channel to the
eastern entrance of the Beauharnois canal.

The Commissioners appointed to examine and report on the
state of our canals, with a due regard to the existing controvers}''
on the location of the canal on the south side, and to the .ilmcst
certainty of the attention of the legislature being drawn to the
merits of the projected canal on the north shore, refrained from
giving a favorable opinion on the location of the canal on the
south side of the St. Lawrence; but Mr. Laidlaw, one of them,
who made a separate report referred to it as " hcing the canal on
the wrong side of the river," while Sir Hugh Allan and Mr. Calvin,
two of the Commissioners who had concurred in the report of the

_Jl_

majority, signed some of the petitions presented by me during the
session of 1873, condemning the enlargement ■^f the Beauharnois
canal, and pi-aying for the construction of a new one on the north
shore of the St. Lawrence from Cascades to Coteau Landing.

The project of taking advantage of the natural facilities found
on the north side of the St. Lawj ence, to connect Lake St. Louis
with Lake St. Francis, has obtained the favorable attention of the
Legislature, of the commercial community, and of the press. It
has been largely discussed by most of the leading journals of the
countiy, and strongly recommended. No arguments were brought
to lessen, and far less to destroy its merits.

ANSWER TO THE OBJECTION AS TO EXTRA COST.

If now we examine the question of the allodged greater
expense of the construction of a new canal on the north side, as
compared with the cost of reconstructing the Beauharnois Canal,
we must also consider that we obtain, on the north side, natural
and permanent Jidvantages which are not found on tHe other side,
and some of which no human skill can procure, conferring on the
country lasting benefits far in excess of the extra expenses of its
construction, ^^""e must also bear in mind that when the work is
once done on the north side, we will be spared, for the future, the
necessity of finding out new expedients, and we will be saved
from new and yearly outlays to make new and additional works,
to make up for natural disadvantages of location. We would
secure the best harbours at both extremities, with the best
channels, the greatest and naturally obtained suflScient depth of
water, the shortest route from Cornwall to Lachine, the greater
period of navi^-^ation season, without incurring the risk of paying
damages for flooded farms. A canal on the north side will require
a less number of locks, of draw bridges, less expens63 for main-
tenance and superinten«:ience, and will yield a larger revenue ; it
will meet the wishes and demands of the trade, and the country
will be convinced that we are in earnest in selecting the best
means to secure the western trade.

The navigation would not be interrupted during its con-
structi'm. The reservoir of the Charaberry Eiver would become
the means of JuJding largely to our manufacturing facilities. For
the same amount of money, or near, we would possess a canal on
each side of the river, both useful, if adapted to special purposes,
as the one on the south could be still used for smaller sized
vessels, and the most of its water turned off to bo used for
manufacturing purposes, thereby becoming the means of adding
largely to the prosperity of the surrounding country.

CONCLUSION.

^^^J^'^^'^li^^'' ^''''''Soing remarkH on the propored north shore
canal, with the greatest confidence, that the question will obtain the

thlF^wt'Tf T'^'" ?^ '^' Government ind of the members of
the Federal Parliament, as it has already received the almost
unanimous approbation of the press and of the trade of the counTy
I am comident that the more the question will be discussed and
examined, the more certain is the success of that project and the
sooner imparl lal and enlightened statesmen will come to the con
elusion that the north side is the only site in that part of the ri?er
where the necessary requisites for the construction of a large
canal can be obtained; that the extra costs of construction if hefe
would be any would be more than compensated by the iS
natural advantages which are found on the north side of the river
and which cannot be obtained on the south for any amount o^^
money ; that the reconstruction of the Beauharnois^^an^ru ould
be but the contimtation of the error of 1841 and 1842 on a much

APPENDIX.

List of the petitions presented during the Session of 18*73,
praying for the construction of a canal on the north of the St.
Lawrence, as per official acknowledgments : —
1873.

March 4. — The Petition of the Municipal Council of the
County of Soulanges.

" 7, — From Eev. A. Labelle and others.

" 12. — From Sir Hugh Allan and others.

" 12. — From William Cox Allen, Mayor, and others.

" 12. — From W. J. McNaughton and others.

" 13. — Of Hon ble. Isaac Buchanan and others.

" 17.— From C. C. McFall and others.

" 22. — From the Mayor of Kingston and others.

" 22. — From Alex. Kirkpatrick and others.
April 5. — From J). D. Calvin and others.

" 17. — From the Board of Trade and the Council of
the Board of Trade, Kingston.

'' 24.— From the Board of Trade of St. John.
Five other petitions were presented by Mr. Harwood, M. P.
for Vaudreuil.

COPY or THE PETITIONS PRESENTED DURING THE SESSION OF 1873.

To His Excellency the Right Honorable Sir Frederick Temple, Earl
of Dufferin, Viscount and, Baron Glandeboye, of Ballyeidy and
Kilaleagh, in the County Down, in the Peerage of Ireland, and a
Baronet, Knight of our Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick,
and Knight Commander of our Most Honorable Order of the
Bath, Governor General of Canada, and Governor and Com-
mander-in-Chief in and over the Island of Prince Edward, and
Vice- Admiral of Canada and Prince Edward, &c., &c.

Mat IT Plere Your Excellency, — The humble petition of
the undersigned, interested in the trade and navigation on the St.
Lawrence, fr»m Montreal to the upper lakes, humbly sheweth : —

That a great effort should be made to bring down by the way
of the St. Lawrence, the great trade of the west ;

That to obtain that object, as the only meaiis of securing that
important trade, the navigation of the St. Lawrence should be

improved, so as to enable a larger class of vessels than those now
engaged in the carrying trade of the products of the west to reach
the port of Montreal Trom the upper lakes ;

That our canals on the St. Lawrence should be constructed
on a scale adequate to the wants of our present largely increasing
carrying trade, and to the legitimate expectations of our mercantile
community, to obtain and draw to our market a large share of
the western trade ;

That our canals should be located where the best harbors are
found, with the greatest depth of water, and free from those ob-
structions which are a source of danger to vessels and cargoes,
offering at the same time the shortest and safest way of communi-
tion from the sea port . to the upper lakes ;

That experience has convinced your petitioners that the
Beauharnois Canal was not located on the most advantageous side
of the St. Lawrence, that it is, at both entrances, difficult of
egress and ingress, without safe harbors, the channel at the western
extremity especially being difficult, dangerous and unsafe, exposed
to the strong winds ; and that even if altertions would be made,
although at a great cost, your petitioners have cause to entertain
the strongest doubts whether the necessary safety and convenience
could be obtained ;

That a canal constructed on the north shore of the St. Law-
rence from Cascades to Coteau Landing, opposite the rapida of
Cascades, Cedars and Coteau, would, in our opinion, be more
advantageous to the interest of the trade on the St. Lawrence
than the Canal of Beauhai nois, because there would be at ouch
extremity a large and safe harbor, with a sufficient depth of water
free from obstructions ;

Tho channel at each extremity would be in a straight line
witii a course of a vessel navigating on Lake St. Francis and St.
Louis;

It would oflfer a shorter way of communication from tho head
of the Lachine Canal to Lake St. Francis ;

The navigation would not be interrupted on account of its
construction ;

The harbors of Coteau Landing and Cascades are better pro-
tected from the high winds than are the two extremities of the
Beauharnois Canal ;

It would be open for navigation earlier in the spring ;

Vessels entering the canal at Coteau Landing would not be
exposed to be drifted into the strong current of the rapids ;

It would complete on the north shore of the St. Lawrence our

line of canalH, and thereby add to the means of national defence;
It would be the best adapted to the requirements of the
carrying tuide for the present as well as for the future ; the extra
expense of construction being more than compensated by the
natural and j)ernianent a<.lvantages of that route, and which are
not obtained on the south side ; wherefore your petitioners humbly
pray that it may please your Excellency to take their petition
under your most favorable consideration, and sanction the con-
struction of a canal on the north shore of the St. Lawrence from
Ca>icades to Coteau Landing.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

Becommendation of the Montreal Board of Trade.

(Copy, No. 2903.)

Office Montreal Board op Trade,

Montreal, 5th March, 1873.

Hon. H. L. Lanqevin, C.B.,

Minister of Public Works,
Ottawa.

Sir, — I am directed by the President and Council of this
Board most i-espectfully to inform you that their attention has
been drawn to representations lelating to the great advantages
whicli would iiccruo to the rapidly increasing commerce of the
River St. Lawrence, by the con.struction of a new canal on the
north side of that river, from Cascades to Coteau Landing, as
contrasted with the f^lcilities aiforded by the Beauharnois Canal,
even if the latter canal could be, and were enlai'ged to the capacity
intended for the other canals on the St. Lawrence River.

The President and Council have given the subject such con-
sideration as their knov.ledge of the circumstances of the case
admits of. They are of opinion that the question must depend
largely for decision upon thorough reports of competent Engineers
as to the difficulties to be overcome, and probable expense that
would be incurred.

The President and Council beg, however, to say, that if the
question of engineering and expense can be satisfactorily answered,
the advantages of a canal on the north side of the River St. Law-
rence, would be great, both by shortening the downward and
upward trips of vessels, and by atfording a much safer harborage
at the entrance and outlet to the proposed canal, as compared with
the one on the opposite shore. There would also be this further
great advantage, that the proposed new canal would be parallel to

the railway, which would be advantageous in ease of break,
obatruction, or other inconvenience.

The President and Council are well aware that of the attention
that has been, and is still given to the improvement and enlarge-
nient of the canals by you ; and they are contident that the matter
in this comnnmication has only to be brought forward, to secure
for it all *he consideration and subseciucnt action that is necessary,

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Youi- obedient servant,
(Signed,) aVm. J. Patterson,

Secretary.

Extract of the report of Mr. Killaly, 12th August, 1841.

improvements required between lake ST. FRANCIS AND LAKE

ST. L0TJI8.

The Coteau, Cedars and Cascades present most formidable
difficulties to the dragging up of a small light barge, with but
fifteen or twenty tons of cargo. To vessels (if any size they are
wholly insurmountaole. The construction of the necessary locks
and canals to overcome those difficulties, Mr. Keefer estimates at
£225,900, and I have every reason \o believe that the work can be
done for that sum.

Extract from Mr. Laidlaw's separate report, 1871.

PROM THE GRAVE ERRORS, WHOLLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO ENGINEERS.

These have occurred in the selection of canal localities, such
as building a needless canal at one place on the St. Lawrence
where, I understand, the construction of weirs and the improve-
ment of tlie bed of the river at a small cost, wimld have obviated
the necessity of a canal, and at another place on the St. Lawrence,
where a canal was built in all probability on the wrong side of the
river.

Extract f the message of Lord Sydenham, 20th August, 1841.

The navigation of the St. Lawrence involves the expenditure
of nearly one-half of the whole sum calculated on. That work is
no donbr highly desirable, but it scarcely justities so great an
expenditure at present, unless some diminution of the annual charoe
of interest upon the sum to be raised can be obtained, nor is such
a diminution to be unhoped for. Many capitalists in England are

;

intorosted in the prosecution of thin work, and especially in seeing
tlie communication between liako St. Louis and Luke St. FranciM
established on thesouthern side ol' the River St. Lawrence. The
Govornoi'-(xonoral haw reason to expect that assistance will bo
afforded upon this condition.

THE THREE ALLEGED CHANNELS WHICH HAVE DISAPPEARED.

Extract from Mr. Killaly's Eeportof 1st August, 1842, cited
froni Mr. Tate's Report : —

" At the foot of Lake St. Francis, a point on the south-eaMtern
side, extending from the shore of Hungry Bay, called (rrosse
Fointe, forms one side of a small bay called Chartier's Bay, which
is the mouth of the south channel, or of that portion of the rivei-
which runs between the Grand Isle and the main land of
Beauharnois. The other side of this bay is formed by an island
called Isle-aux-Chats, or Clarke's Island. Upon considering the
capabilities of this bay as a harbour or entrance to a canal, it will
apjioar to be sheltered by Cirosse Pointe from the prevailing wind,
which iS south-west, as well as from the surf and swell of Hungry
Bay, from which it is quite distinct ant separate. It has an
entrance of suflBcient extent and depth of water, in the whole
breadth of which, about 1188 yards, there are two shoals of small
extent, upon which is a rock with but five feet of water over it.
There is every facility for removing these shoals if necessary, but
from the fact of there being Three entrances of from six to twelve
hundred feet in width each, and with a depth of water varyinn from
twelve to twenty feet, it may be sufficient to place buoys over
them.

" Pursuing tho channel down, there is a fine reach extending
a mile and a quarter, with a good clay bottom, and sheltered
from the winds. The current does not exceed two miles an hour,
and there are ten feet of water from the shore. Here, therefore,
is a good and safe anchorage from Ohartier's Bay to a point called
McPherson's Point, a distance of two miles and five chains. This
harbour, then, fully comes up to the standard of an unexceptional
entrance."

|! ''

Statement of vessels wrecked in the western channel at the head
of the Beauharnois Canal : —

1. The steamer Magnet.

2. One schooner loaded with hams.

3. One schooner belonging to Charles Plumbs, of Prescott.

4. One barge, wheat laden.

6 One loiulecl barge.

U. One do do.

7. One wood lj<jat, 125 cords to Dr. Masson.

8. One barge, to B. W, Bridges.

9. One do., to J. B. Elie.

10. One do., to J. B. Elie.

11. One do., to Godfroi Lalande.

12. One scow, to Olivier Gaza.

13. One barge, Josepli Bertrand.

14. One do., to Frs. Decarie.

15. One do., to Isaie Sauve.

16. One propeller, grounded and leaky.

From App. 28, fol, 334, General Report, 1867. Maintenance and
service from 1860 to 1867 :

Beauharnois Canal. Cornwall Canal
$115,941 63 $98,601 68
Diiference against Beauharnois Canal $17 339 97

From App. 47, fol. 400, General Report, 1867 ; statement showing
the number of working days of the two canals from 1846 to
1866 :

BEAUHARNOIS.

Years.
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866

Opened.

April 16

May 5

April 12

May 2

April 29

May 1

April 26
19

May 2

April 24

Closed.
Nov. 29

Dec. 13
Nov. 24
Dec. 2
Nov. 28
Dec. 1
Nov. 26

29
3

Nov. 30
Dec. 4

Dec.

Days.
228
209
233
234
223
216
226
209
216
212
215
209
215
225
229
224
215
217
224
227
223

CORNWALL.

Dififerencc against
Canal

Beauharnois

4628
177

4805

FROM APPENDIX Z., 1842.

JOHN JONES, Es<[., ciillutl in uii»l oxumincd.

(^uostion. — You woro ('hainnuii oi'u Ooimni.sHion !H)])ointc'tJ 1<*
KJipcMMiitcnd tlui Hiirvoy of tlio St. Ijawroiieo ('mini, im«l luui beforo
yoti flici pliiiis <»r siii'vc!}' of Mr. Tlioinpson jiikI Mi-. Mills. VVIitit
vvjiH (lio opinion of yoursi'if and colk'Ji^uoH jis lo llio rolutive
lueritH of tlio line ofcanul on the noilh and woutli nidea of the St.
Luwi'ciiice ? . . '

AnHWcr. -By the .\ct 5tli, Will. 4, cliaj). 2.'{, varions portions
of Lakt's SI. Ijouis and St. Krant'iH, and of the lliver St. Lawrence,
Were directed to he .Hi.rveyed under a Commission of which 1 was
chaii'fnan. The survey was tor the purpoHo of aseerlainin^i; the
most eli<:;il»le route for canal improvemonls on a scale correspond-
ing with the canal and locks at (/'ornwall. The 8urvey of the two
lukoH was confided to Mr. Larue, and that of the river to Mr.
Henry G. Thompson. IIavin<f found that hoth lakes had sufficient
depth of water, the question next in importanie was to ascertain
the best route for connect in/:^ them. On tlioone hand, we had Mr.
Mills' plans of a survey on the north side, exhibit inn throe
locations for the contemplated eanal, with estimates and re])ort«.
On the other hand, wo had Mr. Henry (i. Thompsons plan of the
south channel; also Messrs. Stevenson and iJai.d's plans and
estimates of a projected canal, as surveyed for th'' projirietors of
Beauharnois ; and after bestowini^ on the several documents every
consideration, my colleagues and myself woi'O of oi)inion that the
canal ought to be located on the north side for the following
rojusons: — McDonald Point (now Mclntyi-o's), on the north side,
afforded a good site in the still water for the entrance of a canal,
and admitted of a good harbour. Our own survey had demon-
Btrated the fact that six miles out of the whole distance of 14^
miles was on really good navigable water, with a ma'-gin offei-ing
great facilities for a tow path, whereas no j)ortion whatsoever of
the south channel appeared susceptible of being used, and hence a
continuous canal from lake to lake became necessary. The next
point naturally looked to was Hungry Bay, as the only place at
which a canal could outer the lake ; and here again it was found,
from Larue's Landings and other sources of information, that the
depth of water was insufficient, i- )nsequently all idea of using the
south side was abandoned. -

h f

Extracts from the evidence given before the Committee of
inquiry, 1842, from app. Z : —

. DAVID THOMPSON, Engineer, examined.

Question. — Have you examined the bottom of the river in the

cljannclM Ixftwcon ({rosne Point und iHlo-iiux-Clmts, and if so, what
kind of lK)ltoin \h it ?

AiiHWor. — Tlin soundiiij^H show it to ho rock in sitO, or the
urdinar}' roi-k of the country, w'th ioo.so houldt^-H on it.

' (^iicHtion. — Will the n^inoval of tho hoiildcrs make tlio channel
HuffieitMitly doop, witliout reinovini^ part of the rock ?

AiiMWor. — No; in my opinion it will not. .

Mr. CASKY. Kn^inccr, examinod. (Extracts from evidenc e

Question 08. — What side of the rivci- utl'ords the greater
facilty I'or navi^^ation V

Answer. — The north side. At the lower end of Lake St.
Francis, on account of the hotter channel, and also from heing on
the windward side.

Question 103. — What was the nature of the shoals you ex
amined between Isle-aux-Chats and Chartier's Point?

Answer. — Stony, covered with large boulders; the bottom 1
suppose to be rocky, i'rom its appearance at Isle-aux-Chats.

Extract from report of Mr. Keefer, 1849, aj)p. B.B. " lie
(Mr. iveefer) has found only eight feet of water, and only seven
feet at the Cotter dam.' For the security of the navigation, it is
necessary to diminish the action of the current.

184G, App. N. — W. B. Robiiison, Commissioner.

" The items on which expenditure over estimate was made,
unavoidably took place, are chiv.Hy the following : In the deep
cutting of section one, 9,000 yds., and in section height, 7,r)S(J yds.
of rock had to be excavated, the existence of which was not known."

184*7, App. 99. — W. B. Robinson, Commissioner. , ,^ ..;.

3[r. Castjrain, Assistant Commissioner.

The upper entrance to this canal is imperfect, the channel is
crooked, and it will recpiire u considerable cx|)onditure to improve
it. The Commissioners feel it to be their duty to re])resent, that
in their opinion, it may be found necessar^'of ad()])ting some moans
of checking the current. The set of the current which i-uns at
this place, about four miles an hour, is not in a direct line with
the channel, but in some places nearly crosses if. They have
mentioned that expenditure in consequence of having received
from several experienced mastei*s of vessels repeated remonstrances

on the present state of the entrance and the necessity of checking
the I'urreiit,

1848.— In the report of 1848, App. N., Mr. McTntyre, officer
in charge, has ascertained, beyond a doubt, that boulders are brought
by the ice irom tlxe shoals and high points in the vicinity, and
deposited in the channel whenever a shove takes place, and as this
occurs frequently, it is obvious that until the current is b}' some
means checked, and the immense n^asses of ice made to descend
the river in another direction, the channel, though clear of boulders
at one time, is liable, and indeed certain to be ob3tructed by others
being brought into it.

EXTRAr'T FROM REPORT OF 1856, APP. No. 31.

This canal (Beauharnois) was opened last year on the 1st of
May, but owing to ice at the upper entrance, no vessel could pass
until the evening of the 3rd of that month. From the purely
aluminous nature of the soil, of which the banks are formed, the
action of the water has caused much silt to take place, to such an
extent, in several parts, as to obstruct the passage of deeply-laden
ve.-^sels ; to remove which obstructions a dredge shall be ready on
the opening of navigation.

FROM REPORT OF 1869, APP. 29. <

Early in the spring last, we let the water otf for the purpose
of removing some slides in the banks, bars, &c. The operations of
this dredge were continued for the remainder of the season, but it
will require further dredging during the greater part of the coming
season.

1859. — In the report of 1859, the following remarks is found :
The Commission rs consider it their duty to draw attention to
the largo sums of money which have been already paid, and to the
amounts still claimed for damages, asserted to be caused by the
raising of the water of Lake St. Francis, a few inches at most by
the dams at the head of the canal.

1858. Mr. Z emieux, CommiBBioner — App. 19. '

Much I'as been done during the past year in removing shoals
and deposits in the canal, and it is expected that about two month's
working of the dredge will complete the removal of all such
obstructions.

1860. John Hose, Commissioner — Sees. p. Xo. 11. ■ -

''-'-■ ' ■ • EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF JOHN PAGE. *

Bemarks.— Daring the fall months at low stages of the ri\or,
there is frequently not more than ten feet of water on the lower
mitre sill of this lock (No. 6), and in October, 1854, there was only
nine feet ten inches for the tlrst half, and nine feet six inches lor
the last half of the month.

■>. .0

1862. Joseph Cauchon, Commissioner.

On the 24th April, the canal was readj^ for use, and live days
afterwards, vessels succeeded in passing through the ice which had
accumulated in the bay at the head.

The freshets of last spring and heavy rains dmnng the summer
did considerable damage to the banks, which, from the nature of
the materials they are formed of, are liable to slide when softened
by the action of the water. This renders not only ".r. annual
outlay on the protection walls indispensible, but diminishe.s tao
width of the channel, which from this cause and accumr.lation of
silt in it, had & few years ago to be cleared out by means of a
dredge.

IS63. JV. J. Tessier, Commisi^ioner — Sess. p. No. 8. '^'''" '

Eeport speaks of large tracks of land flooded on account of
sudden thaw in the spring, and of breaches caused to the dike in
Hungry Bay.

The report further says : " The insufficient accommodation at
the outlet (east) of that canal, has been severely felt for the past
few years, as a large number of vessels frequently collect there,
waiting for tug boats or favorable winds. At such times one or
more steamers with vessels in tow have occasionally arrived when
there is really no place for them to make fast to.

, The ice takes sooner and remains longer in tne still water of
the ba3^ at the head of this f^anal, than at the upper entrance of
any other on the St. Lawrence. It is crosf-icd bv a lai-ge number
of swing bridges, which together with the long dikes on l»oth sides
of its upper entrance, rendered necessary by the backing of the
water there, considerably increase the cost of maintenance.

Ottawa, May 13th, 1873.

Pear Sir : — In reply to the questions put to me as to the
desirability and practicability of ct.nstructing a canal on the north
side of the St. Lawrence to connect Lake St. Francis with Lake
St. Louis, I have the honor to submit the following, viz, :

Question No. 1. — " Have you been engaged in the navigation
" on Lake St. Louis, between Laehine and Cawcadcs, and between
" Laehine and the eastern entrance of the Beauhamois Canal, and
" during what time and in what capacity ? Could jou tell from
" your experji^nce in that navigation at what time was the port of
" Cascades opened and closed ?"

Answer. — I have been engaged in navigation on Lake St.
Louis, between Laehine and Cascades and between Laehine and
the eastern entrance of the Beauharnois Canal, and other places on
Lake St. Louis, at tirst in 1842, and afterwards from 1845 to 1853
inclusive, as master of steamers. The time of opening and closing
of navigation at the ditterent port, /aried according to the severity
or mildness of the weather in fall and spring. 1 have Tin 184G)
commenced running between Laehine and Cascades aiout the
middle of the month of Aj)i'il, (and could have commenced earlier
had our boats been ready.) Generally before the first of May,
and have run as late in the fall as 17th December (in 1848.)

Question No. 2. — " Did you ever remark that it was opened
" in the spring and closed in the fall unusually late or early ?"

Answer. — Yes. As I have stated in my answer to question
No. 1, but never was opened late.

Question No. 3. — " Did you ever remark anything par-
ticular ?"

Answer. — No, except that ice remained on the shoals until
the north water from the Ottawa River (eau du n^rd) rose and
floated it off. But I never found the ice to obstvuct tie channel
after I could ett'ect a landing at Laehine from Chateauguay, where
our boats were usually wintered. The shoals referred to, in no
way interfered with the channel, which is broad and deep.

Question No. 4. — " Did you ever carry the mails for the Mail
" Company to Cascades because the Beauharnois Canal was closed
" with ice?"

Answer. — Yes ; at the opening of navigation on Lake St.
Louis during several seasons before the opening of the Beauharnois
Canal.

Question No. 5. — " Do vou consider, from your experience,
" the Cascades Bay as a gooa and safe harbour with deej) water
" and safe anchorage?"

A nswer. — 1 do.

Question No. 6. — " Do you fousider the channel leading from
" Cascades Bay to Lake St. Louis as good, broad and safe ?"

Answer. — I do.

Question No. 7. — " Did you, during the whole of your ex-

"■ perience, sec mountains of ice in Cascades Bay or ice remaining
" there until late in May?"

Answer. — Never to the best of my recollection, and I look
upon such assertions as mere stories.

(Question No. 8. — " Did you hear of any damage done by ice
in Cascmles Bay ?"

Answer. — I never did.

(iuoation No. 9. — " Do you know the outlet of Chambery
" River in Cascades Bay, and from your obstu-vations, w^ould you
" consider that entrance of a canal bj' that river would be unsafe,
" exposed to damage by the action of the ice in Cascades Bay i*"

Answer. — 1 know the outlet of Chambery Eiver in Cajscades
Bay. I do not think that there could be any possibility of damage
being caused by ice there ; and as proof of my assertion, I beg to
refer to the existence, yet, of the old canal and locks at Cascades,
which latter, although hold together by no cement or fastening-
whatever (so to speak) still exist in good shape.

Question No. 10. — " Would you consider that a canal by

" Chambery Eiver, exposed to be closed earlier in the fall or

*' opened later in the spring in consequence of the ice remaining

•' later in the spring and taking earlier in the fall in Cascades Bay

' than elsewhere ?"

Answer. — I would not.

Question No. 11. — " Did you command steamers from Cornwall
" to Montreal, and during Avhat time, and had you any experience
" of the navigation by the Beauharnois Canal ?"

Answer. — I did, from 1852, with little interruption up to
1859, and after the latter year up to the yeai" 1867, inclusive,
between Ogdensburg and Prescoit and Montreal.

Question No. 12. — " Did you remark the action of the ice at
" the eastern end of the Bcauharnois Canal and at the western
" extremity, and what did 3'Ou obfx i v e ?"

Answer. — I have always observed that the ice is much later
breaking up at the head or western entrance of the Beauharnois
Canal than elsewhere; and this I attribute to the fact, that the
dam built between the islatids and the main land of the south shoj'e
of the St. Ijawrence has converted what was swift water and rajtids
into a pond of still water, and, as is well-known, ice makes faster
and thicker in still than in swift or nnming water. At the eastern
end llie iee breaks up, according to my observations, about the same
time as at the C.-'scades ; but it must be observed that, as the canal
iksel**, if the water be not lc< out, or if the water weirs or sluices
of the lock be not opened to create a strong current to wear out

mss^

the ice or cause it to break, it would be late in the month of May
before the canal would be of unj practicable use for navigation
purposes. I have known the ice to hold bo fast at Valleyfield
(western entrance to Beauhamois Canal) that men and teams have
been crossing from Clark's Island, (Isle-auz-Chats), to the main
land, when steamers and other craft have been lying to waiting
for a strong westerly wind to break up the ice, and have seen men
eiigaged with saws and other implements to make a passage
through the ice to allow the vessels to pass through to open water
on Lake St. Francis, which, I firmly believe, would not be the case
were a canal constructed on the north side of the St. Lawrence.

The ice which accumulates on the shoals below Cascadeo Bay,
commonly called " L4 Bruet dn Loup" is, I consider, caused by
the accumulation of anchor ice formed by the congealing of the
Avater when the temperature of the atmosphere is highly rarified
and necessarily when passing down the outlet west of or above
" Isle-aiLi:-Chevaux" lodges on the sfwafs east of Cascades Bay, but
the deep water or channel is not any more effected by this ice than
any other part of Lake St. Louis ; therefore, I believe, after thirty
years experi ce, that the best site or location for a canal is
decidedly the ' \ side of tbo St. Lawrence. I firmly believe
that, with a cana fhe north side of the St. Lawrence, season of
navigation would be at least two weeks longer than at present.

Respectfully yours,
To J. P. Lanthier, Esq., M. P.
House of Commons,
: Ottawa.

J. H. DE WITT.

(Translation.) : '.

LETTER OF CAPTAIN P. T. MASSON.

St. Eustache, April 3, 1873.
To J. P. Lanthier, Esq., M. P. :

Sir, — In answer to your letter of 29th March last, I must
inform you that having resided at Cascades for more than thirty
years, and having had 1 he means of remarking each year the action
of the ice in the Bay of Cascades and the time of its departure, I
have never heard oi a place called Ice Point, nor that t'le ice
remained in the bay to the middle of May,

I have obtained a good experience in the navigation of Lake
St. Louis, from Cascades to Lachino, having commanded a steamer
of the U. C. Mail Co. on that line. 1 am perfectly disinterested in
the success of the canal on the north nhore, having sold out, a long
time ago, all the real estate which 1 had once at Cascades and in
the two counties of Soulauges and Vaudreiiil. I state without any

hesitation that ice leaves the Bay of Cascades as soon as the Lake
St. Francis ice comes down, and that tlic ice in Cascades Bay causes
no damage. The wharf which we had, and the old Cascades Canal,
havii.g never sulfcred any damage on account of the departure of
the ice from the bay. Having been cmploj'ed for many years as
one of the Provincial arbitrators by the Public Works Department,
there must still be, in that department and amongst the members of
the Legislature, some persons who remember me well, namely, the
Hon. John IFamilton, of Kingston. You may consider as sheer
absurdities all the stories of the mountains of ice, of the Po.n ' of
ice in the Cascades Bay, and specially thnt the ice of the bay
remains up to the middle of May. It happened but once, about
thirty years ago, that the ico had not all left by the Ist of May,
but it left on that very day ; a man of the name of Gordon Johnson
intended to plant on it a May-pole, which fact was considered as
extraordinary and worthy of remark.

The reflux of the water of the St. Lawrence in the Bay of
Cascades, when the ice on Lake St. Francis comes down, atid which
causes the departure of the ice from the Bay of Cascades, has never
causid any damage, and shall never cause any to a canal that
would debauch by the Chamberry Eiver. The channel on Lake
Si. Louis to the Cascades Bay, which is but an extension of Lake
St. Louis, is deep, broad, and more than sufficient for a vessel or
steamer urnwing twelve or thirteen feet of water. I speak of all
those facts with perfect knowledge, because I have with the
assistance of one Landry set the first buoys, where are presently
the light houses on Lake St. Louis. I give you the foregoing
information with pleasure, and I guarantee them to be most
exact.

I have the honour to be, Sir, yours, &c.,

; ;. (Signed,) P. T. MASSON.

Extract from a Letter of Captain Charles B. DeWitt, Ibth

May, 1873.

At the request of pei'sons interested in the project of the new
canal, on the noi-th shore of the St. Lawrence, 1 take the liberty
of bringing the following facts to your knowledge :

I have commanded steamers between Cascades and Lachine
from 1846 to 1851, inclusively. During that period the navigation
was opened each year by about the middle of April.

The shoal called Brideloup, on which some ico accumulates,
is absolutely outside of the channel, and that ice is in no way an
obstacle to the navigation.

1 am of opinion that by constructing a canal on the north

shore the navigation reason would ho lengthened each year by ten
or fifteen days.

Extract frow a Certificate by Charles Lefaivre, Flantagenet, 25th

March, 1873.

I am engaged in the nuvigntioti on the St. Lawrence for a
number of years, and the owner of two boats, the Emily and
Kingston. During the last summer I could not reach from Grosse
Pointe to the entrance of the canal without grounding one of my
bouts. One of my boats drawing eight feet and a half of water
grounded also in one of the lower locks. The two ends of the
canal are defective and dangerous. Several boats have been
wrecked there. The channel at the head of the canal is crooked,
and too luirrow. Anchors will not hold on the bottom, which is of
rock from :il)out a mile above Crrosse Folnte to the entrance of the
canal. The navigation season is retarded every spring by the
accumulation of the ice at the head of the canal, and often
artificial means had to be used to break the ice to enable vessels
to pass.

St.

Stanislas de Katska, 2^th March, ISIS. — Extract
Certificate by Joseph de Repentigny.

from

I am engaged in the navigation on the St. Lawrence since
thirty-two years. I have commanded the boats of Messrs.
Glassford and Perrault, also my own boats. I have always found
the entrance of the Beauharnois Canal very difficult, on account of
the channel being narrow and tortuous, and from the want of a
sufficient depth of water on the rock, which extends fro'Vi one
mile above Grosse Pointe to the entrance of the canal. Several
vessels and boats have been wrecked at that place, and many, my
own included, have lost their anchors, as J hey could not hold on
the rock. At the eastern end several vessels have been exposed
to being wrecked ; when the wind is north-east, the surge is so
great that the entrance into the canal is very difficult.

The opening of the canal is kept back on account of the
accumulation of ice from Grosse Pointe.

Extract from a Certificate by Jean Bte. Elie, owner of Boats at
St. Zotiquel 24th March, 1873.

I am engaged almost from my youth in the navigation on
Lakes St. Louis and St. Francis, which I know thoroughly well.
In my opinion the canal of Beauharnois has been constructed on
the wrong side of the river; the channel leatling to the entrance

from Lake St. Fi-ancis is defective, and without a sufficient depth
of water; the bottom from GrosKe Pointe and for a mile above is
composed of solid rock and large boulders. No vessel can safely
anchor there. It would be exposed to ho. drifted into the rapids
by the strong currents found there. That channel is tortuous, and
difficult even in ' ly time, but more so during the night, when the
wind is strong It is too narrow to enable two vessels to meet.
I can speak of those facts from my own experience. Having lost
in that place three of my barges, almost completely, and my
anchors. 1 am aware that sailing vessels have been wrecked, and
that some others lost their anchors in the same passage. I can
testify as to the losses of their barges made by (iodfroy, Lalande,
Joseph Jkrtrand, and Francois Descarie, with his two anchors. A
grand child of Lalande, aged Hi years, was drowned, and the i-est
of the crew on board bis barge had great difficulty to save their
lives.

The Beauharnois ('anal cannot bo opened early in the s|)ring,
because, during the fall, the pieces of broken ice drifted by the
strong winds from north and west form such a thick nuiss on the
pond between (Irosse Pointe and the entrance of the canal, that we
nave to wait until the ice is melted by the sun, if artificial means
are not taken to break it.

In my long experience I have never known that there was a
place at Cascades called Pointe aux Glaces (Ice Point.) I can
tissure you that the navigation would be opened in the spring
much sooner if a canal was constructed on the north side. Because
the channel from Cascades to the Lake would be opened as early
as the lake itself, and because there is nothing at Coteau Landing
to prevent the ice from passing down, as is the case from Grosse
Pointe to the canal. The harbours and channels on the north are
deep, good and safe.

Extract from a Letter of Reverend B. Rivard, Priest — Isle
Perrot, 10th May, 1873.

"With I'eference to the enlargement of the canal of Beauharnois
and the project of constructing a new one from the Bay of Cascades
to Coteau Landing, I feol no hesitation in stating, that a new canal
on the noi'th of tlie rapids would be more advantageous to the
tratle of the Dominion than the present Beauharnois canal.

I reside at Isle Perrot since over thirty years. I have always
remarked that the Cascades and the north channel from that bay
to Isle Porrot were clear of ice each spring much earlier than the
south channel from Beauharnois.

The Cascades Bay is clear of ice sooner than Lake St. Francis.

The navigation being opened, while it is still closed at Beauhamois.

You know that I have no personal nor local interest to serve
in that question,

I mako the foregoing statement in the hope that our Govern-
ment will not fall into a second error more detrimental than was
the first in constructing the Beuuharnois Canal.

Certificate of Messrs. Joseph Asselin, Francois Prieur, and Joseph
Rinfret, pilots — 2nd April, 1873.

Wo, the undersigned, Joseph Asselin and Francois Prieur,
pilots, of more than forty years experience, and Joseph Rinfret,
pilot, since twenty years, from Kingston to Montreal, employed as
pilots l)y the owners of the Mail Line Company, and oy other
com|)aiiics owning steamers and sailing vessels, are prepared to
declare under oath, if required, that Ave know the navigation of the
St. liawronco, fj'oni Kingston to Montreal, on the lakes and
through the rapids, as well as arjy other pilots employed by the
ditt'orent companies owning boats and steamers navigating on those
waters. We know all the channels and shoals, also the depth of
the wafer in Lakes St. Louis and St. Francis. We do not hesitate
in stating that the northern channels through those two lakes are
the best and the deepest. We can safely pilot through those
channels, any sailing or steam vessels drawing fifteen feet of
water, from Cornwall to Coteau Landing, on Lake St. Francis:
also from Cascades, through the north channel on Lake St. Louis,
until it meets with the south channel, from Beauharnois, with
vessels drawing over fifteen feet.

The south channel on Lake St. Francis does not offer the same
advantages. The entrance to the Beaiiharnois Canal, from near
one mile above Point Cartier, offers great difficulties for vessels
drawing eight feet and a half, even when the water is high. The
bottom of that part of the river being of solid rock, an anchor will
drag. During the high winds the surf on the rock is stronger
than elsewhere. The channel from Grosse Pointe to the entrance
of the canal, is too narrow and tortuous, hence its name of "the
crooked ripid." To our knowledge many vessels have been
wrecked at that place. It has liappened to ourselves when meeting

there with other vessels to meet with accidents either to the vessels
under our charge, or to those we had to pass by. The lower end
of the Beauharnois Canal is also most unsafe, especially during a
north-eawt wind. The two extremities of this canal offer neither
harbours nor anchorage grounds, while there are good harbours
and good anchorage ground on the north side, at Coteau Landing
and at Cascades.

We declare also that the navigation by the Beauharnois Canal
is closed aooner in the fall, in consequence of the thieknesH of the
ice formed in the bay from Grosse Pcfinte to its entrance; also by
the loose ice drifted into the bay, by the wind from north and
west, the most prevalent during that season of the year ; while the
Lachine and Cornwall Canals are free from ice for til'teen da^'s
longer. It happens often, during the spring, that vessels, after
passing the Cornwall Canal, reach the Beauharnois side, where
they are detained at Grosse Pointe, and compelled to remain at
anchor for several days, and even weeks, in the impossibility of
reaching the entrance of the canal, on account of the thickness of
the ice. They have to wait until it is melted by the heat of the
sun, or opened by ai'titicial means.

We positively affirm, without any fear of being contradicted,
by any experienced pilot, that in the event of the opening of
another outlet, near Isle-aux-Chats, that is to say betM'een that
Island and the great pillar of the Bed Light House, as we have
been informed that such a course had been recommended lo the
G overnment, such a channel would be still more dangerous than
the present one, on account of the strong currents towards the
main rapids, and because tug boats with a long tow of vessels will
be more exposed to be drifted into the rapids, which at that spot
are most dangerous. We do not know that there is at Cascades
any place called Pointe-aux-Glaces (Ice Point.)

When the Ottawa Eiver is swollen by the melting of the snow,
the ice from Vaudreuil to Cascades is carried away as early as in
any other place. The Cascades channel is opened to navigation
much sooner than the channel at the head of the Beauhainois
Canal,

Last year, in the middle of the month of April, we had to be
landed from the rafts of Messrs. Calvin and Breck, at the foot of
the Cascades Rapids, in an open boat to the Cascades shore by
the north channel, as we were not able to reach the Beauhaimois
side. ;: j

his
JOSEPH X ASSELIN,
mark,
his
FRANCOIS X PRIEUR,
mark,
his
JOSEPH X RINFRET,
mark.

Received in presence of C. 0. Pease,
Warden, County of Soulanges.

From the declaration of Paul Leroux, trader at Cascades, 20th

March, 187:^.

That, in liis opinion, the enlarf<omentof tho Beauharnois Canal
would Jiot provcnt tho ice from accunuihitin^ at the hoad ol' the
canal, and would not he a remedy to the shorter ))eri(Kl of
navii^ation l>y that canal, as it is retai'ded every year hy (he lon^'or
period durini; which (he ice remains at the head of the canal;
while oil the north side the same obstacle would not he found. It
has hap;»ened of(<.n (hat when communication was .losed on (he
south, it was opened on the north side; and that travellers comin«^
from the west, who could not go down by the canal, on accoun( of
(he ice at Valleyrield, had to land on the nor(h side, reach (Jascades
by land cai'riage from Coteau Landing, and arrive at Montreal by
a steamer from Cascades, no such obstacle would have been met on
the north side, while it was experienced sometimes for ten days
on the south.

That the deepening of the channel at the head of the present
canal would not prevent the ice from accumulating hereafter, and
would not, therefore, cause an earlier opening of the canal, while
no such obstacle would be experienced on the north side, iw no ice
remains there at the latter end of the winter, and as the Cascades
Bay \% clear of ice sooner than any of the extremities of the
present canal.

That tho entrance into tho channel, leading to the canal, is
difficult ; the water is not deep, and accidents have often happened
which were not generally noticed.

That the entrance into tho channel leading into Cascades Bay
is straight, over eighteen feet deep, and from thi'oe to four hundred
i'eot broa(l.

That deponc.it resides at Cascades, in the Parish of Vaudreuil,
since alunit forty yeai-s, and knows the whole place perfectly well.
That there is no such a place known as Pointe a la Glace (Ice
Point), as was stated. That the shoals make no obstacle to tho
navigation, on account of the great breadth of the channel, which
would render quite onsy the access of vessels to the canal if
constructed there.