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'^'mi^M''
1
WATER TRANSPORTATION
ANT)
FREIGHT RATES.
— BY
■lA.MKS FISHER. M. P. P
A V:i\n-v -ivcii ,it till. Annual Meeting of the Manitolxi Contral
F.inii.is' Institute held in Brandon on July
17th, 18th and 19th, 1894.
BRANDON
1894.
[
< A' tt-€^ -
,***(
it
•■*>
-■■■■^
^^[bOb
WATER TRANSPORTATION
AND
•■ I. .... /C
■7
■ii
FREIGHT RATES.
- BY
JAMES F'LSHEK, M. P. P.
A Paper given at tl.e AMUiial Meeting cf tlie Manit.. ha Central
Planners' Institute held in Brandon .>n .Inly
ITtli. l«tli and nttli. 1H!»4.
BRANDON
18i)4.
WAT|.:k THANsH.KTATfO.V AN., FK,,,,,,,-,. ,,.,,,,,
i<v .;.\.\ii;s FisHKi}, M. |.. |..
Mk. Pkks,„knt, LA,.n.;s am. (;KNr,,,MKx,_.
The (|ut'8tiun as to li,,u- tlic .lis-i.lv.u.f
»'t" ^v.at cost of tmnsportMti , 1; ' -'' '■"''"."^' ^''•""'
consideration of u, p I • ''"'!',S''^ *'' ^^'"'"-(ol.a. TIi.
t'.utcostnK.vna;;;:i,irl:^:2:,,i;:r;tr'''''^*'^''^'^^^
yu with ul.id, you,, ''x . 5^^''", "'^■•^••'*"'" to address
p-p-e. witi.yo,;^- kind k:^)"^:.. ;''";•'■*■'' /"^' '^ '^ ■"^■
I'i^' the effeet of water t-nU 1 •'''''" '"^*^ t'^i^'''"(-
*"''<-'"ffl't rates, a„d t ft ,r '''"''''''• ''' ^''" '■^■'I'H'tion of
P"-"-''- -tent, take a.Ka:tl;:.::!;Vi;"^ ""^^'•^" tJK. p..atest
'" ^''^' P-t l.ee„ nee on 1 ' V r; " '^" ''*"y'^^ ^'"'^ '-•-
,^n-eat lakes and rivers It /' "" "V)'."^ ""•' "'iH^^ino tl,n
Atlantic, a.., to an';:;,i:;n;i:e'^^^
tliat.nay, I l,e|i,.ve, Ir attain.,] I Tr . ^'"' ^'^ ''t^r r.-sults
tl'*-*' channels, as w df s v '/ V' ""'"" ""P'"^'"'^'i't of
in<Ieed he feasihie, h. , 1^ „. I' ^ 7^ " "'i"^-^^'"". i^ ^.eh
••""' fli<' Xo.-tlnvest. ' *""' ^''^' P'-O'Hsof Manitoha
;'->n!Hn;;::;;:;:l^n::;;^:j:;;;;-;^,p^^^^^ .iwen on the
tlH' way f,.on, the Atlantic filV ■ u' .ril'^'?' '•^'^'''"^ -"
'ttosay that in no other e.a.n rv I '" '■■^'^'■•'^' '^"ffice
■such immense hodies of h^ !.^ "''''• ^''," ■^"" "'■•' t'ound
'"^•'-.y rorthecurna^.of its pnilV '"'"""'"' ""^•■-'
. '.'"'t our minds mav he luvr.ared (,. c
tlH-ir lUM.iense valuef,,r"trn,s,.. V ''"' "*""^- "'^'a of
"»^ the An.erican and .mi 'y .IT J'":''!'-^ ^" ^he poopl.
vyebe reu.inded of the is ' " ' 'V-'r'' ' ' ''^ "•'^-If"! that
tl.o interior of this c ntine t T. ," '''''^^'^^ '"to
-Hterly point on the .r': hll.s and'^Kenelt'^rtt "'^^^^
e point
lOHT RATES.
^■f arising, p,.,„„
(■fCOlllc is („!,. ,jf
iMfUiitoliji. Tlie
''lis oF I'nliiciiio
'*', its out' dl' (ii^.
fiistitnt*' at its
'ilion to a<)(Ij(.ss
'' "It--, it is my
\' facts ovidctie-
"' I't'fllK'tioil ol"
« to tilt' IllC-ilis
" f'n' ^'ivutest
't ii'V ivriKU'ks
•^'ilts tli.it have
i«l mU\//ui^ tin;
'><i\ with tJie
^I'fitec )csnlts
"I'rovciiit.Dt ol"
eetiou, if siiol)
'^■^<>\' Manitolia
•'^v.ll on the
'•'^, lea<Iiii^r all
■'^'-«. Suffice
"" Hi'e found
in any other
icent natui-al
■■^oiiie idea of
t" the jieople
"t't'.lful that
■"^ti't'tch into
"« the iiirst
as th(> point
( where we h.iye the oc.an to enter the (iulf of St. [.awrence,
' vve have tlie lolio\viii<f distances ; —
Miles.
From Liverpool to Duluth 4,(ii,s
.. .. Belle IhIc 2,i;i4
„ Belle Isle to J)nluth 2;'<S4
So that the distance fion, the h.-ad of th.- lakes to th.' foot of
the(,ult IS irn.ater l.y a hundn.l and Hftv miles than that
across tlw Atlantic to J.iv.Tpool. And for-fhe wholr of this
nnn.ens.. stretch (.f nearly two thousand f.mr hundrcl n.il.'s
with the exception of sevellty-th ive miles, we hav ,meii'
'"'«"'|""l'''l navigation. Thronohoiit that .seveiitv- three
I'liles natural ol.structions had t.. he overcome l,v the
construction of canals, as follows:
The St. I.awrrnee sxstcni .
.. Wellari.l CanaL .......
„ Sault Ste Marie ( 'anal .
„ St. Clair Flats dianiiel
Miles.
2(i^
Before s[)eal<!n;;-of the immense volume of trade carried
over these waters m recent years, it tnav Im- interestiiK- just to
refer to tlie ri.se and early historv of tiiat traffic I n"e.-d do
no more, however, than recall a few dates. The first white
man to enter the St. [v.wivie- was tie- o-.vat Frenchman,
.)ac.|UesCartirr, in l.-,:U. I M!(),S, Champlain lan.led at
Quehec, and rs!al,|ished a s.-ttlem nt there. Seven years later
found the .same mtiTpid adventurer as far west as Lake
Huron. In lii4i. two JMvncli missionaries made their way as
tar as St. Marys Falls : and, .srveiiteen vears later, two French
traders ventured on the .,cean-Iike expanse of Lake Superior.
Hitherto these voyages were made in canoes and l.atteaux
^o .sadinu- vessel had yet venture,] on the ^n-eat inlan<l lakes
Ihehrstship that sprea-l its whit.' wind's to the l.reeze on
these \\aters was a, .schooner (.f ten tons, hnilt at Kin-'ston in
bpiKM- Canada, in HITS, hy La Salle and Father H-nnepin in
which they .sailed over Lake Ontario and up to the foot of the
pvat catai-act on the Xia^^ara river. Here thev left their
iM.at .;n.i ,oo,„a or, toot to a point al.ove the falLsl; thev laiilt
au<] launche.l, m J .;!l. the first vess.d that ever floated 'on the
waters ot Lake Krie. In 1755, over seventy-five years afte--
the first little craft was put on these waters, two ve.ssels of
sixty tons l.urden were put on Lake Ontario: and, comin<r
-I
<l()\vn fit'tv-fivc yi'ius later, in LSI I, ii;st'Ii<M)tR'i- of tin- nipiicity ^''""
of II liumhcd tons WHS l.iiilt at Oswcffo, uii that lake. An ^'">iiij
idea of tlu! lake tnulf in tlu-su early days may Le fi»iine<l I'lkex
from the faet that, in the whole of the year IMli, the total ^•'t'/^i
tonnafre carried on Kake Krie, inelndiiie' that handled at ^'-^ t''
Detroit, was hut '2,Wu tons.
So, far, there were iKiiH' hnt sailiii<,' \essels, Hnl now a
new power \va^ to take the place of the hree/es of heaven.
Jn I.SI7, the first steamer that ever sailed the lakes une of
two hundred and forty ton^ hurden was placeil on the
waters of Ontaiio: and the very next yeai- saw a steamer
launched on l.nke Krie. This vi''ss.-l tiailed L.tween I'.idl'ali.
and Detriot, ooin^r down the Niii^-ara rivei^ a little distance in
lier eastward tri|)s. To make the return trip against the
ratht'r swift current of the stream, the steam power, with the
l»rindtive apjiliances then in use, was found icsutlicient, and
resort was had to what was known as a "honied l.reeze."
This was created liy hitching oxen to the vc.^.h'I, and they
wore made to pull her hack throiieh thu curivnt until she
I'oiiched sufhciently near the smooth waters (d" the lake to he
safi'lv handled,
auinl
liowe
of !>■
to tlh
on th
there
Ueces'
F.»r ;
to ca
team
gre.it
l-orta;
I
v'onsti
fcMgo*
the A
an en(
caii.s t
irudei
in
ami m
ridicul
l)nrpi).'-
settlen
enterp
Down to till' period we have now reached, the lake trade-
was practically confined t,) the lower watei's of Krie and
Ontfirio. It was not till the ll>th July. ls;U. just sixty years \[','^\^
ago, antl three hundi-ed years after' Cartier* had made his
pioneer trip up the St. Lawrenc, that the first vessel from the
lower ports reached Chicago. This was the " Illinois," of a
hundred tons hurden. As she scaight to make her way from
the lake int.) the Chicago river, she struck on a sand har, and
tliere iieing, 1 su])pose, no oxen conveiuent wheivwith to ;i,r .n,,
provide n " horned hrce/e " to assist her ofl", the whole popu- ic.ii'i.tn
lation of till.' place, then a hundred in number, turiie.l out and, ahout
with willing hands and a great cheer, triumjdiantly pulled the „,adc
ship over the har into the (piiet waters of the sti'eam. This twelve
was indeed the day of small things for Chicago, as well as for i„,pi.tu
the lake tra the: hut the .same entei'pri.se that was exhilated Xortln
hy the citizens of the hud. ling city in lifting the stcaniei- ,*,f the
"Illinois" over the hai' in ls;{-t. has characterized them over , Ciiited
since, and has lifted the hamlet of that day to form the great U.„terni
city of this day, with its proud place in the world of trade ',1,,^!,,,;,,
nnd commerce, of enterj)rise and prosperity. nieteil i
The first vessel— a fifty ton craft— to plough the waters M'^'t'ii t
of Lake Superior, hy way at least of an extension of the "P''"iii,i
lake trade in that direction, was launched in l.S.So, although the tra
hefore the end of tlie last century the Northwest FuV 'i'l-ading I'mther
IHT of tlif capiicity
)ii tliut Inkf. All
ys iiiay \iv runiictl
vnv islli, tlic total
i' tliat liaii'llcd at
SHcls. Hll( MOW a
lii't'i'/fs (if licavi'ii.
till' lakfs dill' ol"
as placcil on tin-
ar sav\' a strainer
I iMtwetii lUid'aio
a iittit' ilistaiicc in
i tii|) fi^'ainst tlir
nil ])n\\(r, w itli tlic
111 ii;sntlirii'iit, ami
" liuiiii'd lircczi". '
(• vi'sst'l, ami tlicy
1 i-uii't'iit ujitil slic
I of till' lake to 111-
lii'il, tlic lake trade
iters ot' Kric ami
U. just sixt\- \'eais
ler liad niadi- liis
rst \ esse! riDin tlie
he ■ Illinois," of a
lake her way from
)n a sand har, ami
•nt whei-ewitli to
W, the whole |io|)u-
cr, turned out and,
lihant'Iy pulled the
the stream. This
'a^t,'o, as well as for
hat was exhihited
ftin<i- the steaniei"
^terized them over
to form the ^'I'eat
le woi-ld of ti'ade
ilough the waters
extension of the
in 1835, althou^rh
iwest Fur 'i'luding
n.ipany '.I a.iada, and perhaps also the HudHon IJuy
u.npany, had ittJe vessels sail in;; on this ..vatest of all the
I'k-. ludeed, Mr. T. C. K....reP, the rniinent Canadian
n^ineer, ,n a recent most interesting^ ,„i,,.., „„ t,,,. ,,^,„^, j,.„^
;,';;:'•,"; ''^the,e was ,,l..t..da loek canal of ihiv..
"""''•••I »••'/. ""- "" /'"' • ""^"li"" ^i'l- "f the Sault. a work
l.mv.^ver.whieh was destroyed l,y the .Vmerieans in the wa.:
f ; :: f 'V.'^^.^"",'-^ "'!•■'• th.' extension of the lake trade
t . V'te,,s., I.akeM.peno,.,,n I S-T.. the mini,.;: operations
..the south shore were opened, audatratlie s, Iilv arose
th.'ielrom, whieh \\as ;.reatly hampered how-wr "l.v the
'•-"•vssity .M a transfer over the porta-e at St. .Marvs 'l-'dls
\'ny ,so,,e years indeed, one hurse, with a eart, was ahh^
to carry over all the tiatlie Then, f,,r a time, a douMe
team was employed: and. in IS ,0, the trallie l,e,Mme so
yieat that a hurse tramway was eMnstnieted across the
pi)rtan;e.
In tlie me.antime, an airitation I^.d heni,,, i„ f..,,,,,- ,,r the
J"Mstruct,on ol a.eaual at the S.-mlt, a a people who had
or;,.. t ten the very ex.stenee uf the former one At that time
(I.eAiiierieans were alone interested in the pr,„Mut iun of sueh
••HI .'nterprise : ( ana.la was not • ,n it. Kven amo,;.. A ri-
can.s there was hy no means a General opinion tlia.Tt ,- =^' a
P'-Udent thin;,, to put pnMie „ey in what .seemed so uuli.
I'-km- a scheme: and Mr. Henry ( 'lay, o, | ,|,.. .,,,,f,.;;
H.i.I most tar-seem;;' ot Ameriean slatesmen, attL>mpt..,i to cast
'■"'"'"''• "!•<"' the idea of com.din- Federal aid for .such a
pnrpnse l.y de.scri ,in,.r h as 'a work heyond the .vniotest
^settlement m the ( nited State.s, if not in the moon ' lint the
..'uterprise received such encoura;,r..ment that, in |.S.-,;{ it was
'" ;nn : and the year is:,:, witnessed the op.'uin.rof (he canal
c< :i....ructed and ovyned hy the state of Michigan, at a est of
a .out a millaa, dollars, out of the proccds of a ;rrant of land
made l.y the Hederal powers. This canal had a depth of
uelve feet: and its opeiiii... at once pive a remarkal.le
mipetus to the minm;; and other imlustries of tli," rrreat
Nor hwest on the American side, and to the consei|Uent Trade
il n ;Vsr^- /. '""" ^'r ^.'"^t' «'"t^--" y-i'- Inter, the
a ; rite. 1 States (government, havm- taken over the wln.le
/■"terpri.se as a Fe.leral • work, made an appropriation for
deei.enm;; It to s.n-enteen feer. This improvement was c.m-
.pleted 1,1 SM. A;rain a new and extraordinarv impetus was
!M''veu to the industri.'s and trade of the .Wthwi'st l.v the
;openin^ot tlieenlar;;e.! channel, so that in five vearsmore
he trathc had so tar increased that Congress deci/led upon a
iurther deepening ,so as to -ive a clear twenty feet of water.
-<l—
TliiM work luiH liccii j,'(iiM;i,' (III cvrr Hiiici-, is now in jpiDfin'ss,
iiiwl is likflv to lie f()in|)lftr(l liv til" <'li«l ol' lMi)').
'I'liut tlic opi'iiin^' III) ol" tlic rich Noitiiwc^t of tli«'
Aiiicrifiiiis 1ms Ixcii ^nntly *. ctjIfDitcil : tliiit its iiiiiiiii<r,
Imiiln'i- mill riiriiiiii^f iiitliistriis Imvi- licm dev » lope*! nnd its
tnulc j^'iTiitly inciTiisnl us tln' ijircct result ol' tlic opriiiii^' mid
dfc]iciiiii^' ol" the >';iult canal and tlic iiiiprovciiicnts made in
other parts of the chaiiiicl cannot, of coiu'sc, lie (haihtrd.
At tlie smiic time that this woik was liein;; carried out,
HO as toojten a channel hetweeii Lakes Su|ierior and Huron, a
consideiahlc ex|ienditure was made- mainly hy the American
(iovorniiient, hut partly hy < "anada— to impiove the navipition
of the St. Clair and Di'troit Hivt'is hy divdojn,^ and lytlie
construction of short cr.nals, wherehy a depth of at leat-t
eiehteen fiet has Iceii ol taimd throughout their entire
lenj^'th. Finthei- impro\( nieiits aic now in progress to deepen
these channels to twenty feet, and l.y the end of the season of
IS!),") it is expected that a twenty feot channel will stretch
without lircak from Duluth to iJutfalo. I.et us l< ok for a
moment at the eH'ect of these impro\ ( iiients as res) ects trathc
and rates.
In IS.')»i, the year fohowiii;^ that in which the ."^aiilt canal
was opened at iideiilh of twcKe feet, the tonnage ] a:-siii^
throue-h it was l()l,4r)S tons. In ISTO, it w as (;!iO,.S2() tons.
Jn IM)2, the year following; the dt I'jieiiinj,' of the channel to
seventeen feet, it reached •2,()-2!l..")2 I tons.
In is:55 it wi
„ ISfH) „
,. 1W»2 „
Tons.
:},-2r)(i,()2.s
! 1,041, -21:?
11.2l4,:iH:i
A most striking evidence of the threat increns(! in the traftic is
furnislied hy a comjiarison of the \alues of the fi'ci}j!l»t
carried through this canal in tlu' i^-ist few years.
In IMS!) the value was !^ s:?,7:i2,r)27
„ ISOO „ 1()2.214,I4S
„ ISOl „ 1:}S.IVS,2()S
„ 1892 „ i:ir,,117,2ti7
„' is<).s „ I4r),i.">(i,!ir,()
This traffic includes, of cour.se, only the freieht enteiing and ^
clearine' from poi'ts on Lake Su])erior alone. It includes, |
liowover, Canadian .-is well as Ameiiean fi'eiiiht.
• in jiio^'iVHH,
tl\V('!-t. <»t tllC
t its iiiiiiiiif.',
i'l()|)(.'»l Mild its
f (pjicninij iiiul
ii'iits made in
• ddulitttl.
ij,' ciirfii'd out,
■ tiiid Huron, H
(lie Aniriican
llif nuvij^^iition
,!;• and I y tlic
li of at Icat-t
thi'ir entire
;n'.s.s to d('f|)cn
tin- si'ason ot"
•1 will .strctcli
us 1( ids I'oi' II
!('S] (cts tniHic
lie Saiilt caniil
linatio 1 a^sll|o (
s (:!>'(),,S-J(i tons, i
lie cluiliml to j
HIS.
I, -JIM
in tlu' tratHc is
if the I'lcinlit
,'jirs.
i-2,.r27
4, 1 4.S
.S,2().S
7,2(i7
;(i,<i5(;
t onterin^ and
.'. It includes, '
N| lar I h,iv.. .spukm ..f Hi., tratlic uf |.,ikr .Superior
•|»-tH ulon... hrt us now tiikc til,- tnillic pussi,,;. throu-li tlu-
-troit nv.'.- vM.H. in<.lud..s, n.,t only that of L..,k.. Sup. rior,
•ut also that. d bilu.s .Mi..|.iuan an.i llun.n an.l l..r u^
js sec
li'.NV It lias increas...! ,n a r,.u yars. Tli.- fiu,„vs I am n..w
.iHH.tl.. .|Uot.. incdu.l.. AnM.n,.an tni.I.. only. n.,t (ana.lian.
in l.ss.t. t I... Ani.-n,.,.,,, tn.lHc carri...! tlirouixli tli.. D.-troit
Wwasl!).,h,,s,;,, .,,.s: in I s<)0. it was 2 1, MS 1,472 : in
.S!)2, It uas 2(i.:.:,:{, Mii. Th.. tonnaLr.- caiTi.d .,,. all tin-
-ikos w.-st ,d Hulfalu in IMM) was :m,2!)!»,0.,(i t.,ns, an.l in
«J2 It was ov..r tl.irty.,s..v. iHi,,,, t.a.s. This Uu- .■xc.,.,..ls
I... t..(al uiv.^r,. tunnanv ,.nf..|in,u and v\vnv\nu at l..-tli
';"'"'"" ""•' '^'v.'rp'H.l .•on.l.iii,..!, and, ind....d, ai.iH.st ...mals
the a-u.vo-at.. ol l,„th tl... foivi;,^ and castwise fni-l.. of
tluMe -r,.at ports: and it ...xiveds the ao-jr.vuate foivi-Mi
..miaj:ehan,ll,..latall th.. ..cvan p.-rts ,„ th.': r„it.,.| states
put t.i^'.'tilcj'.
•'•>; ^;".v nr lurth.T iMn^tiMtii,^^ th.- .-xf-Mit ..f this lak<.
tratfi.-, let us contrast th- lunnao.. ..an-j..,! tliP.u-di th.. Sault
canal with that .•ani..d ihn.u.h tlu^ Sn.-x eanal. Th.. Iatt..r
l.eitr.-n,..,Mh..n..|, i, th.. chanii..] thr..ui.h which th.. tra.Ie ..j'
Kivatoc.-ansau.l l.etw....|i vast cntin.^nts is earri.-.l It is
oiH'U ..v..ry day of th.- th.v.. hui-lre.l an.l sixtv-live tliat f..rin
theyear lie Sanlt. ..n t h.- cnitrary is ..p,,, r.,,. ...ilv ah.n.t
two hun.lre.| an.l tuvnty-tiv.. .lays .„, th.- avrane; an.l it
.vpr..s..nts,as Inive alr..,,dy sai.l, n-.thin^r „..>,... than th.. tra.l..
toan.llroni the p.a-ts on ..ne .aily .,f .,nr fivsh wat.-r lak..s
mi.l ye , tlir.)U<.h th.' Su..;^ was ..airi-.l (i,S!M),()()4 t..ns in I.S<>| ■
In-nuoh th.. Sault, f),()4l,2IM tons; th,.„„oh th.- J)..troit
ltiv..r, ov..|. 24.()()O,0()0 tons, inelu.lincr ('ana.lian IV..i.d.f
wl.U.. th.. anniv^ra,,. o v.'!' a 1 1 th.. lak..s was owr :{:iO()(r()0()
I will now ^iv.. .soni.. lioun.s l.y way ..f co.npuri.iL'
tl .loht r-ites !.y lake with tlios.- diaro....! f..r rail carria^'c:
I he (ipn....s pven, as well as nearly all the otli..r Hoinvs
pi'(.'sente.l in tins paper, ar- I'.ote.l iVoin otHcial statistics an.l
v". 1" ^-'IT^'/m'- '!■ r'^r '''"-'■ "''' ^■■^'^■^'" *■'••"" the ..fKcial
eport.d the duel ,.l the American I5ur..au of Statistics on
I vo ,.','",' ^^^'"""^'••«*' "'■ tl'e Cuite.! States, puhlishe.l in
IN.>2, the last one to which I have had access. The ti-nires
relate chietly to the y..aTs IN.'K) an.l INf.j, hut such exan.inu-
\l'!L''^ , •"'■'-' , ''''■'' t" ^"'^'^^' '"t'^ the (iaures of l.Sf)2 an.l
l«.».i m.licate that they conv..y the .same les.son in even more
strikiiifj terms.
For the |,urp.)se of cnveniently couiparinf.- rail rates
with those chargea for water transportation, the cost i)er mil.'
per ton to the shipper is taken in each case.
The averafre rate hy rail upon all the railroads in the
United States was, in 1S!)0, stated to he i)22 niills per ton
per mile. The average rate hy water for all fri'i<rht passuig
tlirouoh tlie Sault canal tliat year was l';i mills p.r ton per
mile,or a little less tlian one-seventh of the aveviige cost l-y
rail. Tlie result is, as tlie report sliows, that tlie total cost to
the shippers of iiioviiif,' tlie nine millions and odd tons ot
frei-jht carried tlu'oucjh the canal that yenr was less than
S;(> r^)0,00(). If, however, the rates char<:ed had heen equal
to 'tlie average rates cliarged i.y rail, the total cost would have
been S(i5 000,000. This I'tl'ected a saving in one year, as tlie
report stated, of more than S.". 5 ,000,000 upon the livightot
Lake Suiierior ports alone 'IMie total traffic carried that year
overall the lakes west of Ihiffalo was M0,2!t0.000 tons. 'I he re-
port referred to points out, that the average cost to the shipi or
over the lakes generally was a little less than the average of
the cost on freight through the ^aitlt. l^ut, for compari.son,
the writer was coiite'at to assume that it was just the same as
the Sault rate. The total cost of the lake freight at that rate
wa.s !^^>-^-2n4 00S. Had the rate charged heen the same as the
rate I.y' rail, it would have heen i5 1 57.000,000. What do
these tijiui'cs sliow ^ I wil
oive
the answer in the wtirds
of
the report itself, so that they may he accepted as cairyiiig all
the weight which the official jiosition of the document gives
it. " Tpon this hasis.'says the writer. " the saving to the
pultlic by water transportation on th.e lakes, in a single year,
was i!?i:^5,000,000, or four times the entire riv( r and hai].)r
expenditure of the United .States on the great lakes from the
foumlation of the government to date." It will be seen in
this comparison that he took the figures less favorable to
the cost of lake freight than the facts warranted, liecause the
rate he took was really largei' than the average. " It shouhl
be noticed also," proceeds the same report, " that this saving
to the public is over and above tlie undoubted saM?'g ^v!Hch
lias resulted from the eff'ect on the rail freight rates produced
by the competition of the water rates." Again he jioints out
another respect in which he was not claimin;:- the full advan-
tag(> of water rates. Most of the lake tiatlie, and ]iarticu-
larly coarse goods like grain, coal, \'c., is handled at a rate
lower than \:\ mills per ton per mile. As the rate per ton per
mile on tlie Canadian TaciHc Ibiilway for the year 1S!»1 was
!tl mills, it is manifest that the comparison is(piite tair to the
Canadian Tacitic Railway Coiiipiiny.
The ditf<'reiu'e between ihe cost of moving freiglit by
ctKst ]wv mile
ilrofuls ill the
mills pel- ton
ri'i<,'ht pMHsiiit,'
Is iitr ton pi'V
L'raj,'L' cost I'y
e total cost to
1 0(1(1 tons of
Wiis less tluin
ul been e(|iiiil
.).st^voul(l have
iu> year, as the
the I'reiijht of
i'i'i(Ml that year
I tons. 'I'he re-
tothe shipicr
the average of
for comparison,
1st the same as
;ht at that rate
Jie same as the
00. What do
n tlie words of
as carrying all
hicument gives
saving to tin-
n a single year.
,(!• ami haipor
lakes from the
will he seen in
ss favoralile to
teil, heeanse the
;e. " It should
hat tills paving
d sa\ \v<j which
rsitv'S produced
n he ]iointH out
the full advan-
ic, and ])articu-
lulled at a rate
rate per ton per
.' year liS!*! was
(|uite fair to the
v'ing freiglit hy
iw-nH . ?■ ""' -"■'"'^'- ^"•'- 1-haps, he still m.av
cem "^ .; ' o '' ''^''"'^" ^'"- '"-tin the carriage of
th' n M "■ /^^"•^r^^t'M'l" in Manitoha is wh-at^nid
li' nMst_d,sl,e,.u-ten,ng laet n, eonnecti.,n with wheat raisin-
..•.v.t,atj.l,,.urhair,h,.valu " the grain n. the nmmafc
ma.k, t IS taken to cany ,r (inav from our lields. The rate
.•o.nHran,h>Mf, F,a.t\V,il,a,„ is at present J !. .ents , .■ 1
s.)(.On,ile.. |.,u,n( loeag,.to|!utral,,.!l(H)nnles, the rate hv
cents per !.,,he|. he average for „„n.e seasons i,ein.. as low a
.cents I-ron. ,nluth to MouMval hy water, aUa.t I'j^
-1. s. the rate ,sh.,a,Mi to 7 cents when competition is keen.
N..n \ "M-;^to Montreal, I,:i7„,„iles, it i^ahout 27 cents,
leauaagvallrad route I ron, ( 'hicago to New York, in iM.i
urdTtw '';■; "^'"■'' "'''''■ t''^' -crage rate i,v lake ami
I, , al 1h tU(H.n lu^ san,e pon.ts was l.ss than .1 cent^ : and this
■'Itl'-^l' at P.uffa „ ,t had t„ ,„, transferred u, the sn.all
'arges.ntheeanal tor carriage to New York. The rate per
V", '"■• ";!'" '"'^^I'-^^ now charged hy the Canadian I'ae tie
KadwayC.Mnpanyh.a,, iJrandon to K.rt Willian,, aceordim.
o H.Con,,,a.^vs hgures ,s H'S ndlls, and fron, ^Vinnipeo- tH
ot \.ha,nhnHlls. Hh. ra.e .„. wheat hy the .Sault' canal
i'om Lake .Superior ports to nuM'alo is I- niills ,.er ton „er
mile, an-l as .gainst the rate of 11,40 ce,„s ,„■,■ hu^hel fron
■ ■ Its per hushel IS charged fjoni Ihlliido to \e'
'e canal and Hudson Kiver, a di.tan. f ahuut oOO n,iles
K.
j to :i
le
ake, again, the item of e,,al. of which
We iiiipiii't SO lare-e a
UW'/'Vv" '?'""""'■. '•■'"■ '-^" '■-". Fl.t William to
mi in'Tl ; T ■ r •'^' '"'■ ^""^ '■'■•"" the Anthracite
mines in the Rockies, a lion t !tOO miles it is ^V wl.il,. r,. .
.h.ihd.>tonu.uth,,,t.o,.a,i,...i, isf,.:,;n;m-t;;4oe:nts'i,
on. hi IVH, the average uas 2!) cents, and f..r part of he
sea.on It was actually as low as |0 .vnts ,„,• to,,.
Itisn-.tditiicult to account f,,,' the hnver rates l,v wate,-
.■>seo„,,.a,vd with thwsehv, ail. |„,hefi,x, place, theVe is no
'■'"""l'"l>- ■;" ^1';- ^^■"/."'•- It is Natures own highwav. and
.J^overnments and parliaments have not vet as.sumed to o-iv,. „„
IS exelusiv.. ..se to pa.ticular corporations or imlividuals.
.';;;^'iter channel .shetter than a ..coiv uf lii,..s of ..ailuav
loi the use ..! tl,P channel is „ot limited (u the use of scores .".f
vessels or to a scMiV ,,r i:„<„ ,,|- ..sseis. h„t is open to all who
aiv willing to compete. A .-...at part of tie' tVafhc of ,1,.,
J^l^, .^1^mn.r,am,a. — -j^.
— 10
Iiik.'s, US woll as of tin- (iccuii, is ciirricl l>y "traiiii. ' vesKfK
l«!l<)nrfin<; ti) no iiMi-ticviliU- line, <i«>iii<r here and tluTr, an«l m
evcry^liivotion uli.'iv tratlic is uvailnl.le. Tlion tlicre is the
cost (»f couHtruction of railways. Hnt for alK)nt two tlionsaiK
thrci- linndrtMl niilcs of tlir two thousand tliici' liun.lred and
eij^lity-four of lakf an<l riv-r lit-twivn the At'antic iukI tli.^
\w,\i\ of the lakes not a dollar has hrcii cxpfntU'd hi jirovidiiii;
us with the l\i;,diway : not a cent has hrm (.ai.! out for rcpau's
to the track, whii-h lu'ver wears out.
Tlien tliere is the reduced eN|)ens.' attending' slupiiient hy
water. Tliis is owiiie- in i'.:r1 to" the e-reat cartroes that are
carried on the lake vi'ssels. Theiv are shii.s now on tlie lakes
that, with a drauLdit of sixteen feet of water, carry nior(>
than one hnn.lred and twenty-tive thoti.sand hnshels of erain , -
in one load from the lieadid'the lakes to Ihitlalo. It costs j
hut little more to carry a hundred and twintytive thousand ; I
hushels in a vessel of their eajs-teity than it does to take fifty
thousand husluds in a vessel l.ui;t to carry that load. J undei-
stand that acar load of wlieat tales ahi^ut six hundt ed and
lifty hushels. It would t.ike ahoiit ten trains uf twenty cais
each to cari'y the load of wheat taken hy one such a vessel.
ti
ti(
m
an
sti
th
la I
th,
fr.^
on
lai
each to carry me loan oi w neiu lumu ><% ..... ,-uv i, .. ,>,..,...
When our St. Lawi'ence canals shall havt- keen deepened to
thedei-thof fouiteen feet, one of the whale-hack .stefimers,
with two Tai'^es in tow. can take in one load, fi'om Port
Arthur to Montreal, ahont a (ptarter of a ndllion hushels,
without liieakin^' hulk. To take this hy I'ail wouM _re(piire
nearly twenty trains <d' twenty ears each. One of tlie.se
Kteaiuers, with three h'arecs in tow, has already carried ahout
three hundred and twid\v thousand hushels in one load down
the lakes. That means a load e<iual to tlie caj-acity of twenty- ;
four such trains. Manytiains, of couise, take mucli more;
than twenty cars of ^rain, hut often they are less. A w-ritei
in a recent 'nia^nizine says that the avera_ye loud can-ied hy
frei<,dit trains in the rni'ted .States is less tlian one hundre<!
and ei>,d\ty-two tons. Souie of the new vessels on the upp.er
lakes, with a draupht of only sixteen feet, take in one carg...
over three tlnaisand seven lmndr<d tons, e(|Ual to moie than]
twenty such avi-rajre trains : while the wh.ale-haok steamei|
with her three consorts in tow. will, in one load, with oin
statrof hand>. with one outfit of steam-power, witli one set o
m<ichiner\-, with no wear and tear at all of the wateiy track
and with'little wear and t-ar to the vessel, carry throueJi th(
fourteen foot chanmd to Montieal, when eom])!eted, nearl,\
nine thousand live liundr<d tons, or more th.-in is cairied h\
fifty of such aver.-itre freight trains.
There is. then, a vast difl'e'.ence in ex[iciise in ever
I o
>\-
T'la
tra)
ofs
is ci
foot
cam
to L
stre
.'ire (
liapi
I'ecei
heen
-I We
coiisi
twen
of oi
lake.'-
from
while
• leptl
— ha(
unifo
in fa\
trafKt
(io\'ei
throu,
to ma
class (
traffic
lia\ ('. a
" ti'aiiij) " vossf'ls,
iiiid tlifVi', iind in
Tlu'ii there is the
Hint two thousMiid
irce h.uutheii ami
At'iintic iuitl the
■iuIlmI ill i)rovi(liiii;-
aid out for vepaii's
idiii^- sliipiiieiit liy
carifoes tliat are
< now oil the lakes
\ater, cairy more
1 liusluds of i^raiu
r.utl'alo. It costs
iity-Hve tlioii^aixl
, docs to take fifty
iiat loa<i. J under-
it six liUiidu'd and
ins (d' twenty ears,
one siud\ a vessel,
krci) doi'jK'nfd to
lalr-liaek st( aniers,
I' load, fiom Port
a ndilion luishels,
rail would re(|uire
h. ( )ne of tlieso |
eady earriLMJ ahout j
s in one load down |
'a|iaeity of twenty- I
■, take innch more;
are less. A writer
j;e loud carried '^y
than one liunilreilj
(■ss(ds on tlie u|)]H'r|
, ti'.ke in one careof
r(|ual to more tlian|
hale hack steamei'
one load, witli v\\<
wer, with one .set o
f the watery track
, carry throueli tht
I.' r^
1 completed, iiearl\
tlian is eari'ied h}
ex[iense in ever
— 11 —
<lii'eetioii in fn\'or of tli
fcin.e. wear and tear, ^^c d^^ t'^H '■''"'P;"<>"Mahor, fuel,
'^"'' ^v-hos. fhunv . . : ' ■'"•^?"^^' '-''^e n. the Xortlnvost,
tlie coal consu, 1 1,,.,.,,,. oF fl, . " '''^'''' ''' ""''y^''^ that
V'-^r'-iy-ioun^e/ ,;;•:• r,"^
tl-it tho co.t in that om. it. 1 ,.''"-''^^™•'•!'-'• I"-'" "nl.. and
•>"'y ono taontv-sixth par I f'l, '"''■/"" f*"'" '""''-■'^
,,,i, . I'''>L<,| tlir cost ]m- ton per mile hv
'^i- ti^l.v:t'';vdm.;- :;;■ ^^
''-' " la.^-e extent v ,, i. 1 ""''"' ^'^ ^''^' ''•^'^^' '-""tes ^
'•.V "- '-ans e, n- ,; ' ': h '"' \- >''' ""*'-'t'"'"tely, We are
The. Ho,n.estlmt £v^.- ' '" ''V^''"^ *'"^t^^-^' """^'lit.
->!■ seventeen to e I , .^ ' ;'" 'T' "' ^''"^'^'"- TheVhannel
is carried ext^^nds^ n ' 'the 1 V'V' 7,'''^^'^ '^" ^'''^ ^'^^^^
foot of Lakei.:n-e i , \ '''V "^ ^^'''^■" ^'M'^or to the
eaunot pass. T.-ue we ■ ^ n''^'?''' ^'^"^"''^ "<" ^''^^ ''^'<^«
to Lake ()ntari u I I s/ ■ '''""' n!'"^' '•'■''^•'"■"«- tln-nee
«t-tchiu, to Aion:;:li a ,uh t;'^;;;^: ""^r^ r^^ h -^r^--
•uv of nuich sn,all,.r can-.eifv . ^ "^•"■tnnately, tliev
'^'H'P'M's that a c n nle r ^ S r" ^ "' "''I^^"'' ^'^'••^""<''-^- J^t
•vint years iu thJ c .rtte " ! .V'' 'l'" ^:''^"" J^''"^^' ^^''tlnn
T.entv-live vearr ., 1 t' ". ^"' ^>^*''''"" ''^■'- ^^vnals.
e<..sidered that no la ; V t.ls'"^ Hathor,tK.s o,> shipping
t-euty thousau.l 1. C > wt t ' "^ T ^''V''' ""■'^'-^?
of ordina.'v freieht m ud ev /. 1 ' • .'""^ '''■^ ^'""'''''^'J tons
|;^'<es. I^oforelhla^nne/t : WeiKm 3^7^ "^^ "' ''''.
t'''irtic of the lakes ■u.d ',• ";/''^'"'''^^ "1 the then mcrea.sed
^--'•••unenttod^L /^,^^^ TT't ^'J ,*'-; American
throne.], was at Hrst ec led , t. '?'*'' *'^ ^^^'^'^'^ ^'^'^^ all
to Mui^e the canal of' el ,, ff '•' '''^^'"^ion, indeed, was
1:^
'"■iii;^-iii^' till- caiialH to t
nn'.^witli ,•!_ wi.ltli ol rmty-tivc r,.,.t, Tli.' work ol"
^ C'a]>acity was at once proceeded
wit.'i ; liiit, li) I,S75, tl
proposed ,i,.],t]i ,,t' tw.'lv.' IV, t would 1
HMv was already e\idciicH' tliat the
was (h'culcd to
til. Ml 1
r iiisiitHeii'iit, and it
''■ ■pfit til. 'Ill to fonrtci'ii t'cct. Tl
•■^■'in III |,S7I, liiis 11., I to tllis (1;|\- I
lis wor
I'i'll colli
Hid w._ still aiv without a o,v,.,t,.r d..pth than nine IVet
[iKde.],
part of the St. I
W
in a
aw iiiicc s\-st('i
<'llaiii| lias had a
iiati'lv. when it
■pt
oc )th ol loi
II. alilioiinh, since I.SNS, the
ii'ti'in tVct. .Most uiil'ortu-
M'ft iiistca.l of twcl
va.s <l.t<rii.iiH(| to make tli.' depth loui't
cell
width ol' the loe
I'. n,» (•llan^v was mad.j in th.' length oi'
;s, w iiKli st III r.'iiiaiu at
s.'V 'iity r,.,.t i:v rortv-ti\c IV, t
All tl
Wo huiiditd and
!•■ ''i,:^',ui'r \.'ssc|s now in i
"r tJH' loiiitcu IVot cliannel.
liiniilri'il l.'.'t I, nil;' ai
loail, pass ciisr of iJiiti;
i^e on tlh' lakes are tin-.
St. L
iwreiiee, r\v], w h.^n th.' I'
"I o\er. an.j caniiol. e\ .'ii w ith a
do; aihi cannot, tlieretVi,.
oiirl.'.'ii fo.it cliannel shall 1
pa It I A' a
I'ass the
'•ce I coii.pl.. ...1. I un,l,rs(an.i that through th.- Welland witl
Its t.ailteen Feet
liii't^vst ioa.i that can I .■ taken I
"' wat.T anil its pivsent l,;,.],- eapacitv, th
one thoiisan.i einht hiiinlred
itvvr s'wiy thousand lui^l
y an onlin; r\- \(■^^^.
mil twcnt\--li\,' t.
Is ahoiit
locks will not admit \
i"!-^ '1 \v lieat ; w Idle tl
esseis (i
more than ahout liv.' hundred t
I the or.jinary patt
lis. or a little
St. Lawrence
eins carr\-in<r
iHlsMels.
hnnd
iiele ai'i' liow III t
r.'.l Vessi'ls wi
more each, while the a\era
oils, or aiionfc sixteen thousaml
ii" upper lakes more than two
ons and
ill a capacit\- ol tw,, th.ai^aml t
''"'■'y '''''!< i^ till''-'' thousaiHl two hnndr.d
lone- aeo as IN.S!) then
Ves.sels plyinn- on the li
••■•ipaeity of the larger on.
tons.
V
Were nearl\- three ill!
\eli as
iidiv.I and <irt\'
in ■!•
Ikes tiiatcoukl n,,t, uheii loa.h'd
p.T.sthroueh the Wellan.l. Winn a tweiitv Tinit cl
I.e coiii|,l,.ted. as it will he ly |,s!l(i, t,.,„„ i
laniiel wil
th
e c
ij'acity of tl
UlCli-aseil
W
li' la!<e X'es.se
Wil
iiall thi-n til
seven thoiisaiid ti\e hnndn d t
Ml loa.ls
foot ol" Lake !•
will Tall t
the tratiic
ar shorter than e\er of l,ein^ ahl,> t
>nluth to ihittalo,
course lie ^nath-
';! tioiii six thonsaiid to
ons carii.il in ,,ne \-essel to the
awrenee route
<> accomm,;,|.,t,.
'■'•■ • ■■""1 >!"■ Welland and St. I
ookiii;-- at tilt
Can.i.lian channel.-, an. I tl
t' iiid'ereiici'
li.'t
Wfi'ii the capacitv of tt
»■ on this si.le of r.utfalo. it
sin'prisiiio- tliat. whil,. the tratli( tliiv-mdi tl
I. Sit
\^ . ele\en mil
11' Sault
le
is 11., t
canal in
three hun.lre.land tliirtv-thi.v t-ais, tl
!"'" '\^" ''"'ndreil and f.airt.-eii thousand
W
and duriiiy- the same s. a-:
lat
passnie' thr.aioji th
e-on was l,ut nine i,
<"'->'y:'::z:'^rv':\"-'^
throii-!i the St, Liw I
'■ne" c iiiai.- nm.
'Utiili
e 1 1 (ill
IMl'fV
— l.S-
tlioiisand sevcMi hundml find Dinety-four tons. The I'uot is,
that the f(i-eator part of tlie traffic that ^oea down tlie lakes on
its way to the seaboard, even tliat intended for tlie Liv.'rpool
market, is diverted from tlie natural and shorter channel bv
the lake and river route, and is cari-ied either by rail or by
the Erie canal to New York. And speakin^r ,,f the Erie
canal, \ye have in this work, apart from its importance as a
competitor with theCaniidian route, ii remarkable instance (jf
the effect of a water way in reducini,'' rates. Opimed ori<,'i-
nally, in 182.5, at a depth of four feet, it was eidareed, in \sVr2,
t() a seven foot depth, the total C(jst for all beiiicr about
S5 1 ,00(),0()(). This entire cost was repaid to the State many
years ;if>'o out of the tolls, sinee which time it has been free
and maintained at the expense of the State. It has a lenf^th
of about three liundred and fifty miles to Albany, from winch
the little bai-^avs which cai'ry utnnore than about two hundred
and foi-tv tons, or eii,dit thousand bushels of tjfrain, are towed
to New York over the Hudson Rivei'. It takes about one
month for the round trip from 15utialo to New York and
return, the avei'af^'e rate of speed bein^- no more than about
three miles an hour, and the barrjes are usually drawn by
horses. With all these disadvanta<,fes, the can.'iriias secured
an enormous traffic in past years, and has been a wonderful
factoi' in settlin.iif freight rates by rail, tne t^reater part of tlie
traffic beinf? tak(Mi by the railroa<ls, Init of course because of
reducin<r their rates. The distMuce from Buffalo to New York
by this route is about five hundred miles. The i-ate for wheat
in recent ycai-s has been, as already stated, from 2o to 8 cents
per bushel, includinnj elevator charg-es. In 1890, the scheduled
railway rate on wheat fi-oni Buffalo to New Yoi-k, up to the
opening of the canal, was 7.S cents. Durino- the period the
canal was opened the avera;>(' nctual rate charged by the
railways that sea.son was :r7."j cents le.ss than the .scheduled
i-ates. The (piantity of wheat carried to New York that
season by rail and canal, according to an appendix to the
report mentioned, was about one Junidred and tea million
bushels, of which about eighty millions went by rail and
thirty millions l)y canal. TheVater way cheapened the rate
on \yhat was carried by rail as well as that taken by water.
Taking the saving in the rate on the entire transportation as
.'17o cents per bushel, there was a saving on the wheat alone
carried into New York for that one season of about 84,000,000.
In fS!>8, the ipiantity of grnin carrie<l to New York was al»out
one hundred and sixty-eight million bushels, of which aliout
one hundred^ and thirty-eight million bushels went by rail.
The .saving for that .season, calculated upon the same rate of
14
!ll|
ba
luct
ion \V(ju
111 .uiiDUiil to iiiMi'f tliaii 5!(),()()(),00(). Xot a
,il ivcoi'fl
th
'jflC
tlitcli, witii its seven t'rct ol"
wator,
A most iiiij)ort;mt t'actoi' in Ifailin^' to tlic low rates I
have <|Uote(| has lieeii, as already sn^ffesteil tlif iiiei-easi'd sizo
ol' lake vessels and the eoiisi'ijUeiit enlargement in their
eai';;'oes. It is only, indeed, sim.-e, and hceause, tiie lar^ei-
v«;ssels have come into ii.e that the \r\y low rates name.!
ha\(' heen reaelicd. In iNsT, tie' axcraye rate jier ton |ii'
mile on the lakes was
the avera<re rate on whe
•A mill
in IS!) I, it was i
In 1S71
lake and (;anal iVoiii C'hioa<i-o to
New \'ork was ovei' 17 cents a husliel: in INHO. it was \ '.]{:)
cents; and in (MM, it was less than li cents. In IH.SO, the
a\-eraoe rate hy lake I'mm ('liica<,fo to ihitt'aloon wheat was i'l
cents per Imsliel: in ls!K), it was I'll --ents. In 1.SS7, the a\ eraei
I'ati
on
wheat I'l'om Dniutli to lUiU'alo was (i'd cents [ler
aishel : in I MIO, it was ;U",'nts. in ISS7. the averaee late on
al l'ron\ Dnlnth to Chicaeo was sl.O") ]ier ton ; in lS!)|,it
CO
was .)() ci'nts.
In iN.Sf, the avei-ae-(> lati,' on coal
to Duluth was 70 cents ; in IS!»|, it was -i!* C(Mit^
tV(-m r.uti!
Ho
If
such resnlts have lieeii lar"'td\' hrou'^ht aliout hy
uicreasetl (le])th ui
th
anuels wes
t of llnlt'al
and
th
conse(|uent increase in the si/,e of vessels, what woidd he the
position to-day if
we
had the seventei'n foot channel of
th
ipper
liikes (.
xteiided to Moiitre
And what if. in
ls!)(), when the upper channels will ha\e a depth oi' twenty
feet deep, we Were to have them extendi'd to Montreal at tht!
same de]itli ' It is imjioss
ihle fo)' ns to concei\e the extent of
tl
le i'e<
Inction in freinht rates that would follow, lint we ha\
not now hefore us any such a sclieme as the dee; enino' of our
ca
nals to twenty feet, or e\en seyenti.'en
The present aim of
the ('anadian (lovernment is the much more modest one of a
fourteen foot chainiid. We ha\e. for nearly a iiuartei' of
a centin-y
.'en workini;' away at it, am
tl
le lies
t proi
mst> we
can get to-day from the tJovernment is that they hojieto have
it completed in the spi'ine' dj' l,s!»7. Let us, too, hope that it
may he so. Had n fraction of the energy heen a] plied to tliis
work that was (h'voted to the ci instruction of the (.^inadian
Pacific Railway, we would have had it com])leted ten years
aii'o.
II
Ki (
■veil tl
'Xtra
■rt'ort
-so eltectually and yet so
needlessly, as I thinl-: -made to hasten the complelion of th
Canadian canal at the. Sault heen yi\ en t
tlie St. Lawrence, we wiaild not still h
liiit though we may not hoj'C. in the neai' futur(\ for an ocean
o [lusji on the \\-< ii'ks on
waitiiio' itscomj)letion.
service to I'ort Arthur and Duluth, let ns not he discouraoed
From the completion of even the fourteen foot chaniie!, ii
iiaiiKJU
luadiaii
u ocean
mil'!, in
lfS!>7, we luiVc II ijcflit MTV
I'Ot
liiili'iitly ti) aiitieipato a i,'i'0!it
iv.liU'tK.n 111 iMti's. Tliniio'l, tin- ..1.1 style ..1' vessels (.ami..t
take iii.»re than ali..ut.>iie rli .usaii.l ei^lit Imn.lre.l aii.j tueiitv-
Hve t.Mis throtinh ,,ur n.'W eliiiiii.'ls wh.'ii .•(Miii)let.-.l, liaj.i.ily
' le wliale-liack v.'ssels ar.' eMiistnicte.! for earrvin.'- lai-<>-e'r
.... ~. . I I t 1 • t' t^ r^
ti
cai'ifoes.
J I
ia\e ali'.'a'ly ;;ivcii -■.mc li^niivs sliowin.f the "Teat
loa.l they can th.-ii eany t., Moi.tival. Of their pPeseiit'^lake
fl
e.'t ol aliout thirty vessels, I mi.l.Mstaii.l that nt l.'ast one-
hall havel.ceii ei.nstnu-trW with ;t s|)eeial view to tlie Wellan.l
an. I >St. Liiwivmv tialii.-. Th,. .st,.;ii,„'is of that elass .-an
carry alM.ut sev.'iity-tive thoiisaii.l hnsheh, aixl the t.)W l.ar<-.-s
aliont e!ir|itV-li\e tiinJlsjiihl. "^
I have sai.l that w.- i
further ili'eperiiiiif .if thi's.- d
ia\e no iimiieiliate jn'.jsjiect of a
laiiii.'ls, 'I'h,. .|Ui'stion .^f havin<
the .l.M'i,..!- water way oi' the ii],, ,■)• lakes coiitiniie.l to tl
se.ahoanl is a
leiii^^tii.
paper. I
iJIK'Stl
oil
siicli a wor
now
\\iii iiiil to-nif^ht .li.seiiss at any
lie 'ii'yoii.l tie' e.iliipJiss .)f this
I'e perinitte.l t.. remarl:, howev.'r. that while
o .lo so \\(jlli
iiia\'
1 I
IS iicy.iiuj t!i,> tiMiicial aoilily of Caiia.la just
ia\t' a h.ij).- that.
ITC \c
sides .if the h niinlai'V'
as an intei'iiatioiiai
th
liOtil
iiia\' S'
-eiu'iiic
•y lony, piililie iiK'n oil
tile propricry of t;ik-iiin- it up
n a paper that I wrote on this
sulijeet nearly thr.'e years a;^-.., 1 \,.iitiire.l to snn-ecst soiiu' of
the i-eas.,iis that l.-.j m.' to s,.,. in such a pr..]M.sition the hest
an. I most r.'asonahle sehma' f,,i' snlvinir the pmhlem of trans-
portati..n foi- (he X.irthwest. I am (rh,.! to lu.tice that piiMic
opini.iu in Canada is l)ei,dniniin- to assert it.self in that
.lirection. At the Jnternatioiial Reeiprocitv (-'onveiitions h.d.l
m (irand Forks and St. Paul, in |S!)2 aii.l IMI:}, cvideiiee
was imt wantiii^Mhat many of th(> p..'op!,. ,,f th.' Am.'riean
northwest lo.>ked on such a scheme with nineh faxur.
After all. the St. [.awrence route is the natural channel
to reach the .sea f.)r the tratlic .if the .Mitir
tl
I' lalu^ retrion and
le immeiis.- cotnitiy to tle> N.irthwest that is trihutarvto th
aKes.
ft
IS not satisfactory, either to America!
dians, tluit tlu- conditions for t:
is .)r to Cana-
ikuifrthe traffic via the Canadian.
canals are such as to force th.' hulk of the whole northwest
tra.le. inclu.lino' th.' wh.'at <,f ^lanitoba, over the New York
railwiiys or the Krie canal in preference to the St. Lawrence.
The Cana.lian route is crtainly the shorter one for the people
on hoth si.l.'s. Fi-iMii Huttalo't.) M.mtreal hy lake and canal
IS ihree hun.lr.'d and .seventy-ti\ <■ miles, of which seveuty-one
IS canal, with a .!e].th -so.,ii to h.i -of f.)nrteen feet. Fi
iSutfalo t.) .New Y.)rk hv the Fi
. )iii
le canal an.l Hudson River is
Hve hun.lre.l miles^.)f whi.di thiv.' hundred a.nd tift^
with .)!ilv a se\cn f.iot cha
IS canal
line
A channel of fourteen feet.
— 1(!-
it Is said, will cany a vessel oF about ei^lit tiiiirs the capacity
t»f the largest vessel tliat a seven toot cliaiinel will liear. In
the same connection I may add tliat in a chainiel with twenty
feet of water a vessel will float with a eai'j^'o of neai'ly three
times the size ot" the lari^est load that can he taken in a
foin'teen foot channel. In other words, a twenty foot
channel in the Welland and St. Lawrenc(( would admit ves.selH
carryinf( carifin's nearly twenty-four times the size of the
f.jreatest loads that can he taken oji an Krie canal boat.
Then the distaiier from Montreal to Liverpool is shorter
ly over two hundred and sixty miles than the distance fi'om
New Voi'k to liiverpool. Mr. T. ('. K<'ei'ei', from whom I
have alieady (pioted, speak in<; s(!veral years -.v^o on this
suhject, thus referred to this fact : — " II" a thread he stretclied
U{)on af);lol)e from any point in the Jh-itish Channel to Toi(!do,
()hio, and ai-raiiocd so as ti> he upon the shortest line, it will
lie found that the St. Lawrence does not deviate at any point
more than thirty miles, connt'ctiuf^' in the shoi'test p(3ssilile
distance, with the most capacious, steady, and economic mode
of eommunieation, the <freatest food-consumine' and the
^n-eatest I'ood-producinLj' countries in the woi'ld — Ln<,dand and
America -inhabited by the parent and otf'sprini; of the most
favored I'aci,' of men.
Evidence tliat the .scheme is not without suppoit even in
tlie United States Con<,Mv.ss is found in the )'epoit of the
("onmiittee on Inter-State and Foi-ei^n Coimnei'ce, presented
to the House of Ke])resentatives in February, l.S!)2. i-econi-
niendiiif^ the passa«i'e of a resolution inti'oduced by Mr. Line],
of Minnesota. In this resolution it was actually ])ropo.sed
that the President of the United States slis^nld " invite
negotiations with the Clovernment i»f Canada to secui'e the
speedy improvement of tlie Welland and St. Lawrence canals,
so as to make them conform in depth and naxigability, so far
as practicable, to the standard adopted ly th(> (Joverinnent of
the United States for the waters connectincr the great lakes."
That is, twenty feet. The rep(a-t of the committee, after
declai-ing that ' the gi-eat lakes furnish a highway for
conunei-ce that has no parallel in any other cianiti'y," and that
" th(! impracticability of deepening or impi-oving the Erie
canal .so as to adnut the passage of ocean going vessels seems
to bo adnutted ,)n all sides," went on to di'aw the attention of
Congr.'ss to the fact that "if the Welland and St. Lawi-ence
canals wei'e dei'pened, .so as to cori'espond with the twenty
feet of the new Sault canal, all the cities of the lakes would
enjoy the advantages of seaboai'il cities."
-r
1 "tinl.t to ,1.1,1, l,v way (,f still Ini-thcr i-vi.)
uwi-wnn n,.,,uun in thr .uMtt.T, thnt tlio r(..s.,luti..n j„st
lllk'CtI 111 H-.l^' I.. 1 ... C.. i. :. L !• ... . . .1 ' "
I'llCt' (I
.spoK.'ti ot wiis, III (In. first installer, ivfcnvd. for I
to (
Oldllr
Orlai
lUU
K. I'
•Jiit'l'
lis 0[)l|||()|l,
Sail It canal, tlu' lii<.lirst A
'I'lcstioii, and ('(.liiiu.j |',„.'s n-siioi
fn<<in('('i- of tlu- Anicri
can
iiicncaii autli()fit\-
isi- was in tlii'sc ten
perhaps, oil tlir
lis
Tlu. Wcllaiid
aiHl
St. Lawfi'ncc canals un<louht,Mlh
•K'cupy tJ„. i,„.st favoialilr, ami th.-ivfoiv tlu- hrst I
water coiiiiiiiiuicutioii tictwccii the lakes an,' tin
Wi'cp WiittTvvay can !.,•,. p.. h.mI l,y d,,.;
inc
liy any otiicr, an,] tl
A
I' voiitf at less cost than
ocean.
UTf
in an ('n,!,'iiic('i'in,^^ point oF vi
• •;iii he iioipjcstion as to its a<lvanta<
'tween Wiv |;|1
e\v,
l\es aiKl
tl
o Far as coiiiiuunication
concenuMl, evo'v ar;-iini,'ni 1
coiintnes KeycHul the Atlantic i,^
l\or:
th,
'positl
oil o
r tl
us
M,
>ri' striking an, I valwaMe t-sti
tlie St. l,i\vi-,'iice route tli.iii I lia\
'■ iviaitatiiai ,>!' Mi'. Ke,'l",T :>n,l r,
UKHiy to the siipei'iority
pioteil tr,.iii men of
i;'i-,M)ntation of Mr. Ke,.r,.r a,„! (\>|,,nel j'oe it uouM I.,,
diliieult to conceive. I k„ow that the enterprisiiiu p,.,.p,.i,.tors
"I tlie whale-l.ack w.s.sels that n-.w cany ,so much ,,1' tli..
conini.-rco of thclakes have exactly the same opinions as to
the a<lvaiita<re ot the inteniati, >iial chann.^l ,,v,.r aiiv other
I'oUte.
I liei'e IS an,)tlier consi,lerati,.n ati'.'ctin^r the ,jUestion of
doepenine- the mteniati.ai.al channel that is not tot..- lost siclit
ot. ()pini,)n on the Ainerican ,si,le is ,s,, stronoly in favor o? 'x
twenty fo,.t channel to the coast that failii.o' tr.Wcnre itl.vthe
WellaiKl an,l St. Lawrence, they are i,oun-l to have it thron.rh
their own territory. In,lee<], active steps have I.een in la-ofrn'ss
towar, s that en,| for some years, Our neio'lil„H's ,,,xriiot
Matihcl with anythino. short of a channel all tJu. way thnni.rh
that will acc()nimo,Iate ocean vo.s.sels. Ali,nit ninety-Hvo p'^er
nent, of the ocean tratHc is to-.lay carricl in v.'ss(>Is di-awinrr
no more than twenty feet, .so that the cntinnation, to the .sea
' "/'. ''"iV^" tlje<I''pth which they now pmctically have
west of hultalo wdl ^\yv them what they desire. Th(> hcst
opinion auioiicr sjiippers and cnnincM-s on the American side
IS in lavor oi tlie St. Lawivnce, lint there are many, of course
who try to rou.s(. the national |.ii,le ap'ainst a partnership with'
1. ana-la in the international nuite. Every expression of aJinrr(,
sentiment on our side stren,n;t.hens that feelinn-,,n the American
side. The result may he that, if we do ,„,t .so(m mov,- in the
matter and seek the co-oiK-ratioii of our iiei<.hl„,rs in imi.nniiif
the natural waterway, that we .shall see a comr^leted chanrKd
of twenty f -t throun-h American soil, which they may open
IS
to lis Of not, as llii'V plciis,', iiixl on .sUili terms as tlicy |(li'asc.
'I'liis liciin' l.roiii'iit aliout, lln- St, Iwiwrfncc ami W'rllanil
channel'- w
lie |iraftii'ally cln ,e(
to till' tratlic of the Noi'lli-
W cs
tra.l
t, Montnal will no longer \>r on the liiu'liway oi ('aiiailinn
anil llie hlt\'-li\e millions
ollal's we ,sji;ll
l\ e
eN)iellileii o
n the route will have Keen lar,i;'el\' thrown away
One ol' the ili-ail\aiila^es of the St. Lawrence route
wliich in the meantime l.^uls to the ]irei'eivncc of the lines to
New N'ol'K', is the est r.i ti 111" ami e\jicnse iiix ol\ ( .1 ill h.ilid
the cram
when t il\"ii via the St. I.
IW r 'lice
Vt Ihillalo
there is the most j.erfecM machinery for hamllini,' it. Willi an
levator capacit v of over lifteeii million l.iisliels, they have
[iplianccs whereliy oiii- elt
vat or w
ill transfer twent\-li\e
tlioiisaml hiisliels of wheat from a vessel in one iioiu'. < )ne
elevator Ins traiislVrred three hiiMilre'l thousaml hii^liels in
tweiitv-foiir hours, hesides a I low i Hi;' time for all the move-
liellts of V essels rei|ire«l for t Ih' ]ilirj(
w
H'll placeil o
n tl
cars or i-atial at Ihillalo, im fin tie r transfer of careo has to he
made until it reaches New York. ( >n the Si. l/iwreiice route
there is ni> such matdiinery for s|iecdy ami cheap haiidline' of
^■raiii.
to canal
( hi reachiiii;' Kiiiestdn, ciru'es have to lie transferred
.•irii'es. and no nropi'r
itiii
la 1 1 m I e
•vatois or ;!]■
• 11-
ances for the jiurpose are pros ided. ,Such means as are av aiialili-
are said to he in the hands of one company, vvherehy 1 under-
stand that a pi'tictical monopoly of the I ari;e t r,-dlie .'xist-. on
tln' river. I Ins c.u
1 oiilv he vv lloll V dol
ii' a wa v w It li w hen
ake Vessels
UUhrokell calicoes
like the whale-lia(d<s will pass throiieh with
to Montri'al, without resort to the canal
hnrcjv's. Ae'ain, at Montreal, tliei'e are no proper applianci'i
for speciiy and t'heap transf
tr ol ca
I'uMi's to ocean freighter:
'I'he conditions at that point will he much more favorahle
when the >;reat loa«ls of seven or i'ii;lit thonsami tons can he
hrouyht at once alonesiiK' tin' ocean ves.^el. instead of a delay
from day to day for the arrival of the small harees with their
little loads. lint it needs that h.'tler ma(diinery shall he
ajiplied. even then, for transfi'rrine' the careocs. No doulit it
mav he left to the enterprise and foi'csinht of the trade
authorities of the er";it (•(■mnierci;d capital of Canada, whose
future dejiends so much on the maintenance of this route, to
.see to it that the very sei'ioiis defects in the e.xistme- state of
thin<,'s are removed.
Referrini;' to the i|Uestion of a. deepeiiiiiii <if the channels
to twenty feet, I iiave noticed that the cost of sutdi ,>n um
takine' is s.aid to place it lievon
er
il th.e ii oi'ijer ot nos.Mhiluv
I
have seen Si ol).()t)().()t)l) spoken of as the jirohaMe cost. I'.iit
I find that Mr.lv I.. ( 'ortludl. a V(>rv noted en,eiiieer who ;>
I!t
Ni'i'V laiiiiliai' w il li ihr loiiti
iml w 111) has w rii ten a must
lllli'lTsllllM ],;||u !• ull tllf MiKjict.is uT ll|>illiul| tliat alM.ut
>5.)2,'»()l),()()() WMllM collll-lrtr liir \v|„,|,. Work. I liaX.'Sccll
It'tti'I's tVnili tWii III
in'i' <iiiiiii'iil riiir||i,.ri's iiiir a ('aiiailiaii
(1
mil tlif iitliri' all AiiM-riraii wIik, wliilc (lisclaiiniiiy liaviin''
i\- siicli kiMW IcImv MS w uuld I'lialili- tlinn ti) tonn a pioKalili
tiiiiat". yi't siii^-fst )i sum ripial tu tliat alivaily i-xpciHlril a-
till
M' sum \vi' ]n:\v v>
na t'ly i .\|>t ct tu |>a y
iir srcijniii>' tlic
a.Milioiial .|,'|.||i 'I'h'h, i.,(-il i'N|M'iiilitinv, \,y tli.' ti tl
vvc.i'k is (• MiipKliMJ. will in II, it !r-,s fliaii S :..'). 000, 01)0. Mr.
I'l'iT makes a siin'o'csiiMii v\ iili I, s|M ct P) all i'iilar!.fciiiciit i.r
tlh- raiial- wliicli wmilil
I'Tiiil;' r\ci'llciii rr.Mli-. tii..iin|i l,v
iMf.iiK M) val'iaMr as a ,|' "priiinn' "I 'li'' ••liaiiiifj ,, hut at
mu'-li
ll'SS (•;)S
lial IS. t
'I l<'r|utll''ll 111!' plvsi'lil lucks.
wiiliDiit fith.r will, 'Mill. . iliciii or il
iiciiiii;^' III,.' cliaiiii,'
Tlic fir,'ct <>[' this wiiuM l„ that iii.iiiy nj' thr laini r \cssi|s,.r
the lak.'S widijil he I'lialij.'il tu )iass ,|,i\\ii »,) .Mmil r,'al, lakiiiL;-
liyliti'i' |,i I'ls I r,,m t 111'
■ Wlii'ii this is ,|,
it ol
■IKf IM1f
II Ills iiWU Wiil'ils,
111!', iicarl\- r\ ,T\- iaki' rralt inw alh-a
Clllljil
ass .lilt t'l -,.'a with riiurti'iii !'■■. t ili'aiiulit. ami Inail iluwn ti
twciitv at Mull!
ival
III a I
am lint iii'l:iii'j' that ( "ii
|.^ iM'iit. till' C'st UmiiM 1,(. nrcaf .
I I'la almi, -^liniiM iiinlrrtaki' it at
aiii
pri'^i'iil ,
< >ur < i'ArniiihMit am! Parliament at ( )tta\va siem tu l,e uf
'he iij, iiii. Ill, hu.vexei-. thai ('aiiaila has heaps <<[' muii('\- luf
i'X|'eiii|i| ure .pti ;;ll kinds iiT iiiiileilakiiies, IK) matter ' Imi\v
iviiiote riMiii our laml or Imu ii -ejess for <aii' |nir[iiise.s, Fancv
payiiie' a suh-^idy of S| :>:).00:) ,i y,.ar to secure twelve trips u['-
a steamer from \'aiicou\er t,i .Viistralia and i>ack, t
liriiie- tratli: to the Canadian I'acilic Kailwav. For c
Kl liel I
irria;^!'
ovcl' its imuii line passing; tliioimh the I'liited States! I''ancv
i)!i\Mim' S/ .)
.01)0
1 \ear to srcui'e a li'W triiis
hCllie' made irnm
\ inuMUver to Japan for the same jmrposc ! Wc ap|)ear t<
lia\'e lots of eojd to aid hotli these eiiterpii-ises, althoneh tlu
I'acilic ( )ceaii is alread\' wliite with t
And il" Canada ha.
le sails III commerce
no III imy to ]>i'o\ ide I'or tl
le lU'oper
improvement of our natural highways to the Atlantic, ho
can We seriously talk of speiidiiiLT SToO.OOl) a ycai'- (-(Hial to
the interest, at three p,r cent., on t went\-li\e millions of
dollars to secure a faster si'r\iceon the Atlantic, the onlv
oliject of w liich can he to save a few hours in the transmission
of the iiiails and to sccine to tlie Canadian I'acilic Koad a
larLfi'i- share of the Australian tr.tile.
Sii' William Van Home the distineiiished President of
the ( 'anadi.an I'acilic llail wa\- ( 'omp'iii\- w ho i-;. of
ea
rnrst ad\-o!-ate of the f,i-t Atlaiil
coiu'sc. an
le si'lieiile m dlscUssinLJ it
■10
the (itlKT «l;i\ , IS H'i».ih'i
to Iwivc
.Sil!
i|,,it Mil Atliiiitif
itflllllSftlll Sl'IVlC'l" '
liri'd (U,
H' CO
imtrv
f the lii-.'h»'st class \a tlif very <,'iviit»!st
It shoul'l lit- |irtivi<lt'<l lit liny
t It shciiihl lie 'ill llifit iiioiify nm
,■11 It wuiiM lint havf i.criiiri •! to iinyoiu' in
lllttKt
COS
w
)i liftttT stciiiiisliiit st-rvicc till
It.
Miinitul.ii that
nt'fil ti>-<li»y. it is t*'i
till' Atliintic isCaiui'lii's ^iciitt'st
tainlv nut Maiiitnl.a'.s |^riviiti'st iu''«l.
n,,. pivs-nt strainshil. srivi( n tlw ^nvat ^.craii is ,yun.l
unl it' it is not -^'oo.l .'iioii-li it must l.r liccuiiso
t to krr]! it u]-. Lit IIS oiioi' have
(■!iuU(;li tor lis 1
the ti-ailf is not sutticim
(•iifa|) tians);oi
.tioii
to t
If o('(
I'll-
wil
^__^ an, aii«l that '-•Uij;' iifcnni-
Ih'.I 'anirth!' Ii"alii'.- i.i. tl.r Atlantic tlnavl , nicimscl, as it
lin<l that thciv is cnt.T|.nsc cnon,L'li m th.'
he, W r Will
world
t"l
iroMUcr
slltllcl
lit st'iN ice oil till- Atlantic
W
IV Sliolllti N\C
not
IVc
>y i\\)V
which is not haiii|icri
the oidinary laws of siiiipiy
the coiiiiiicrci' ol' the ocean,
..•oiiditioi.s or lestiiclioiis, to
aa.l (hinan.l ' Is it really
liccess
iiV for Caiiiiila to siKii.i luillioiis t . ena • e \ c^m
use this waterway whicii
iieiyhliois to the south spc
lia:
never
t a dollar
I)
to
o our
Slid
Cll e
umnation as
ia\e
not (li
uao,
aiVairs <loe^
'rnie, their
ocean, hui theiv is never iaeUiiii;' means
iinercial luarine ma
ml their money in such a lasluoii .
heen ahle to uiiKi' into tncir
nieiit of any such sul'siilieh,.
V not he the greatest (Mi tl
I I
ric the pay
tl
leir I
il'ou
net'
.veil II
we
llOUllt
for the transport ol'
ha\e, at the country's
cx[K'nse. a line
crcalion, is it wo
rtl
f steamships that in sp
liiiN iiij;'
It at such
d wil
cost, so
•A ll II I )
II
ar as aii\-
suhstantial a.lvantaue to the country is coiicerne.l
Sir William speaks of our .^rcat canal enterprise as hciii*,'
already completed, and as if we did not need to touch another
si.ade'for its furtlier imiirovenient. "1 look upcni it. he says,
■as a necessary ami natural snppleniont to th(^ eiiorinoiis
expeiidiliire Canada I
railwavs and canals
las nu
id.' for the di
iiieiit t)f Ih'I*
iiia\- 'n:
■rniitted to suffj^'cst that I
tiiiiik it time enou<-;h to sup'plenie'nt our expenditure on the
canals l.y the spendini; of millions more for iin]a'ovin,u eicean
■ have so imiiro\C(l our own chaiine'-
in*; when we sha
sliippi .^ . ,
to the ocean that the shippin;,' of the lakes may pass thr.nioh
them. In other words, let us procure the means of transp.oi -
n markets to the ocean, on r<'asoiial)l»>
tatioii from our ow
conditions
means o
for
e we
av out millions in improviiiif
f transit oii the ocean itself, especially when the grant
than a siihsidv to cnahK' one particular
is to be uotliint'- iiion
line to coiiip
w
t-,^, ,yj()) stiecial advantae'e over others on the free
■ 1 I'
ators of the Atlantic and I'aciti
C(
(•(
el
tl
tl
—01 _
Th. truth is tliat uliili' the loiite fioiii lirttuiu to AuHtnili
IV
vvn uno, It Im.s tlu'
Ims tlic lulviiiit.ijrt' iinlistiiiicc nvt-r tlio Kiist
(liHadvaiituj,'!' nl' involving tAV«i tranHliijxiieiits of carjjtM's on
til"' Wfiy, lit till' twi) cii'ls (»t' the ('.iiiMiliini Pacific Uaiiway
•i-isivf uinitT
Ami St) Canada,
line
Ins IS siicli a si'i'iuiis (Irasvliack as to
oi'Miiiary (•(iiiilitKHis ayainst its HUCC't'
wliicli has iHMctically \ri'y little inter. st in the selieiiie, in
asked t(i |iay all the iiitiiiey to ()\t'ri'<iiiie this disadv antajift';
and fie- ('anadian I'ailiaiiient, Maiiitoha iiieiuhers int'luded
tiiid iiodilHeidty in vntiiin it. \V,' may expect in a Few years
tt) see the i^'feat in'ujeel of a canal acruss tlie narrows i if this
continent at Nicaraeua coiiqilcted, and a uateiway for >oean
vessels estalilished lietwe.n the Atlantic and Paritic. What,
then, will come of the Canadian rnute to Australia, with its
two transhi)aiieiits and thi-ee thoiis uid miles of r,iil\va\' '
Well, of course, it can then he Inn iised at a hi<fher rate.
IC\en How, to eiiconra,!,'e trade I.etWi mi Australia and \'aii
cou\er, iiesides the SIO.OOI) a ti ijt fjiveu liy the Diaiiinion, tin;
Canulian I'aciHc Railway Cuinpaiiy arries at |)i'e.sent all
the Australian freioht across the contim nt at actual cost, the
handsiaiie di\ ideiids it makes out of the Canadian trade juid
the tinaiicial standiuij the Canadian siil ^idies hasc j^fiveti it
eii.'ililini,' it easily so to do.
Kvei) if tlii'se mijiistili.ilile j^rants fur tlu> Atlantic and
I'acilic service were not in.nle, I am not li--re to contend that
(■anada is in a position now to undertake tie deepeninj^' of the
canals t<» twenty feet. I'.iit I hope the (piestiou will not he
alloweil to rest, and that not, majiy years w 1 pass hid'ore the
two nations will unite in doiiin; the woj'k And when the
ohjection is madi- that the cost is too h^\'ivy, and when
a sum lik(.^ S|:{(),0()0.()()() is mentioned as i hi; possihle cost,
even till Mitrh we may not hrlieve it will co^ anythin;if near
oiu'-half of that, let us not foiiret that in ;il ut two huiKh'cil
and twenty days of every year a ^M'eatei- sui than even tliat
is saved on the cost of carryin<f that jiortion • f the American
tratHc of tho upper lake I'e^don that is carricMJ by water,
without inclu<lin<,f the many millions mor(,' tli it are saved in
the freiuht carrieil hy rail l)ecause of the reduc-<l rates caused
hy the com]ietition of the waterway.
On the i|Ut'stion of an international sc lenie for the
deepeninjf of the canals, it is su;jj<^ested that Hie Americans
would never think of spendiiiy a dollar on a puhlic woi-k in
a fori'i(;n country. Why not / Did the c()n.si<leration of its
heiiiff a foreien coiintry detei- our enterprising nei^diltors from
takinf,r up the Nicataijua canal scheme
American (lovernmeiit undertake and pay
Did not tlu
for tl
le Hurvc
of
.oo_
tin; route as ;i lu-itioiml oiitcrpriso ^ And diil not tho AnicriCiin
Con^nvss ori:iuiiz(; uml cliai'ttT a company tor tlic purpose of
constructing tlie work ! Did not Dritain t\oI i'ree to take i\
like interest in tliat enterprise, without allowinu- tlie I'aet of
its Iieinu in 'i f<'reif,ni country to deter lier from so doing {
Wliy, till- entei'prise i f-peak of was deemed of so mucli
importance t]iat(!reat IJritain and the I'nited States, ivah/ing
that the ca])ital to l)uild it must come IVom tlieir ( iovernments
or citizens, actually entei-t'd into n solemn treaty to protect
that capital. One clause ol' the treaty pro\ided that these
two nations hound themselves to eacii other to "guarantee
the neutrality of the cana', so that it may forever he ojx'ii
and free and the capital invested in it secure." 11' lam not
mistaken, some of th(> Amei'ican money already <'Xpendt d to
impiove this \cry waterway of our own, in the Detroit lli\-er,
has hcen ex])eiided on ('anadian soil, and certainly lioth
nations ha\c joined in deepeniin.;' the Deti'oit channel. ()r
coui'se it would not 1 .\pecte(l that the I'nited Stales would
expend money on tlie \\'elland and St. Lawrence canals
sim])hs' as a ('anadi;in enterpi'ise. But, as an iuternation.al
eiiti.'rprist.' — as an inqirovemeiit of the common hi;;hway, for
the luMU'tit of hotli countries — why sho\ild they not ; I'ro-
vided always that the canals were I'ecoj^nised, as they liy treaty
ai'e, to he open to the enjoyment ol' citizens of hoth counti'ies
on eijual tei'iiis ; and ])i'ovided tli;\t the manaevment and
control oi' them were ])Ut in the hands of a joint commission
appointed iy hoth counti'ies.
I will close what I have to say on this phase of the
((Ui'stiou hy the followin;^' ipiotation I'rom tlie j^ajier 1 wrote
on the suhject in IS!>1 : — '' i''i'om the heail of Lake Su[!erior
to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, the lake and river I'laite
I'orms a common hiehway i'or the I'nited States and Canada,
ill which neitluM' side has any greater ri^ht as to enjoyment
than the other. It so happens that at some jioints on the
I'ivers formin/^' this common highway there are some seriiais
ohstructions to navigation. Kven in some of the hikes
navigation is interfered with hy natural hindrances, and
cannot he made perfect without the exitenditure ol' a sum of
money. How should nioin'y I'or such a jiurpose ht> provided ;*
It is to In' used in improving a joint highway hetweeii two
friendly nations, the use of wliicli is common to hoth of
them. Sundy it would seem reasonahle that it should he
furnished hy li(jth nations. . . As it is tjiiite impossihie
to make the Niagara navigahle, no other coui'se was hd't open
to the owners of the ' highway than to dixcrt it for a short
distance, so as to a\<)id a rock tliev could not remo\e.
-OQ
TliL' only way that cduM Ik- accoiiiplishod was liy openino-
ai'ounil tilt' olistnicfcioii a canal on whicli vt'ssels could he
Hoated. Such a canal n\ust, of course, be within the territory
of one or other of the nations ovvninf;- the hicjhway. It
ha])pens that the work could he more eonv(,'niently done on
the Canadian than on tlu' Atncri.'an side, 'i'hr \V"fland canal
wasliuilt, therefore, through tiie .\i;ii;ara, peninsuht, to avoid
th.e falls and rii-])iils of the Niaevira llivei'. I'.ut it was huilt
at the expensi- of Canada aloiie, --an expense that to this date
lijis rcMched nearly twenty-live niillions of flollars. Citizens
of tlie Cnited States have the same henetit from it that
("anadians l>a\e, and pay no erc-jitcr tolls. 1 know not why
this canal nueht not have hein constructed and maintained at
the expense, and as the [iroperty, of the two nations, instead
<»f one. 1 am lookiiiif at it simply as a divt'rtini.:-, for that
distance, uf the joint and eonniion highway. Aniei-icans
certainly d.) not ohjectto use it heeanse it is on Canadian soil.
I s.'e no i-eason why Canada should ohject to the enterprise
lieine- earried out thi-oui;;h her soil as a joint enterprise, seeino-
it was for her manifest advanta^^c to have it on her soil, and
that she was willing- to let American citizi^ns ha\e its use in
common with her ov.n, after she spent so nuich money in
building it. Can there, then, he anythino- ohji^ctionahle in the
Fnitttil States, jointly with Canada, owidni;- and maintainine-
a canal that they hoth ust; and that is huilt simply in the way
of divertinii,- their joint hiehway. and that simply on the
e-round that it pa.sses thmue'h Canadian soil ! . . . I
re})e;it that T am unaMe to discover any sulKeient reason why
the two nations shoidd not jointly own and operate these
canals. 1 see no disad\;intaoe, practical oi' sentimental, to
aris(_' from such a scheme. 1 see many advantaecs to iioth
countries fi'om the joint possessi.m. I can imaeiiu' iiothinj;'
more likely to pi-omote the estaltlishment of that ' lasting'
peace and friendship ' hetween the two countries that was
aimed at in the tr(\aty of i7S2 than the full and common
' (mjoyment of the recipi'ocal ad\'antapfes and mutual con-
veniences ' that are open to hoth nations, in the sha]ie of the
uneipi.alleil water stretches thatai-e connnon to lioth, extending
fnan the' Soo " to the sea, and includin<>' the artificial channels
cut hy the side of Xiaeai'a and St. Tjawrence, in order t(j avoid
the rapids of the one and the cataract of the other."
And, now. will you sutl'ei' a word o)' two more hy W'ay
of surf.u'estinijc the en(|uiry whether any feasible means may
he lound of turnine' this areat international watei" way to
better advantan'e for the benefit of the jn'airie country that
we occupy ■' Is it at all feasilile by utilizini^ some of the
—24—
natural cIimiiiu^Is of our own NorthwoHt, l»y improvincf some
of tlicMii. and \>y o|(eiiiii<,' artificiul ones, to luivu direct water
coMiinuiiicatioii from oui- country to tht- lakes or to the ocean?
Yo\i are i;ll paiiifnlly ei'iit-cious tliat, as tliinfjs are now, tlie
only means of transjioi'tation to tlie lakes is at tlie cost of
rates wliieli, e\ en tlioii'di they l)e not — as sonio think — alto-
yether unreasonal)le, aif, at all events, many times over a
multi|»le of what the eost wuiild he hy watei'. ridess,tlierel'ore,
we know at the nutstart that a waterway to tlie lakes or the
ocean Hov all or a <,rreat pait of the distance is ii ])rHetica)
im|Missihility. tln' (|Urstioii is a most important oni'. We had
a hope, at one time, tliat deliverance would come to us hy
secin-ini;' a e()mpetint,f line of railway. A<^ainst f^reat oilds and
powerfid inlltifuei- we foUiL,dit for years foi' tlie ri^ht to huild
anothrr inad. We wei'e even ready to tioht for it, almost,
with tin- musket, so inten.se was the feelint; lU the Province.
Ill the em], we won. Thi' rioht was eonn ded, an<l tlie railway
was secured. I :-iU[)pose no one will tn-day say tliat ou)'
expectations have I'ceii in any siilistantial measui'e realisid.
We looked foi- real, aeti\e, keen eomjietition. The most
enthusiastic hcliexei' in the scheme will )iot to-day say that
we have it. or that it has ^iven the relief we expeeied. It is
interesting to recal liow eontidently Me wei'«' once lookinj^ to
Mr. Oakes and a certain letter he had wi'itten. He was to he
our ill livei'er wlieii we arran^'eil with his com))any tliat tlie\-
take the control of the new road. Well, Mr. Oakes was
i^ivinof evidence, (h(! other day, in the courts of his country,
as the newspapers tell us, and h(> told the Court \ery candidly
why his eom])aiiy had houifht oui- I'oad. Jt was not, however,
with a, vi(!W to estalilisli competition with the Canadian
f'acitic, as we supposed. ft was just the revei'se, as he now
tells us. It was in order to ))Ut an end to eomjietition. We
thou<Tlit the purpose was to lower rates: Mr. Oakes fi-ankly
tells us to-day that the ohjeet really was to l;eep up tlie I'ates.
Hut let him tell his own stoi-y, as the papers I'ejiort his
evidence: — " The Xoi'theru Pacitic and Manitoha l>rancli was
hou(,dit hecause of the powerful competition of the Canadian
Pacitic, which, unhampered hy an [nter-State C'omnierce Law,
was slasliino' i-,ites in a tei'i'ihle niannei-. The acipiisition of
the Manitoha i. ranch ^ave the Xorthei-n Pacih'e an enti-ance to
Winnipen;, and forced the ^'anadian Pjicitie to maintain rates.
Hut ha- the ac(piisition of this hraneh, Mr. Oa,kt*s .said he
helieved the Northern Pacitic would annually have to pay the
Canadian Pacitic S.'OO.OOO to maintain rates, as was done hy
the Tr-.-insc'oiitini^nt.ii Ivailway Association.'
I am not here to criticise, much less to rellect upon, tho
-25—
actions of nuy of our pulilie iiiuii in connection with this
tmnsuction. I simply wish to suijt^'est the lesson it teaclies
US,— tlint it is (lifiicult to crejite, ni'uch more difficult to main-
tain, active, honest competition between lines of railway, and
especially it is so whei-e the lines are con)petitors in other
districts, whosi; trade is of more importance to the competing
lines. ' ^
If we had watei' communication, however, we know that
it would he worth more to us than half-a-dozen lines of
railway, even if it were but a four foot chaiuiel like the
Ri(k'au and ms the Erie Ciinal was i\)r nearly foi'ty years.
W hat evidence have we that such a means of "^transpoitatiou
can be secured, at a cost that makes its construction practi-
cally possible ' It laust be confessed that the information we
have in this dii-eetion is of a very indefinite character, either
favorable or unfavorable. Vet a few thou,ii'htful men have
^nveiimoreor less of attention to the (piestion. Ten years
a<,fo, when the Moitation in favor of coiistructiiiff a railway
to Hudson's Hay was at its hei,i;ht, Colonel T. C. Scoble, of
Winnipen-, a ])ractical entrineer of wide experience, and with a
personal knowled^^e of the country excelled \>y very few,
declare<l his opinion that a waterway to that Bay was f'easible
at a much smaller cost than a railway. In the first place, by
improvini-' the; Red River at St. Andrew's, we have a clear
stretch of watt'f for ovei' three hundred miles, from the City
of Winnipeg' to the foot of l.Mke Winnipec,^ Froui that
point, CoUaicl Scoble would follow the Nelson River for about
two hundred and fifty-live nnles, in which distance inland
canals vvould have to be constructed, as he states, ha- twenty-
eio-ht ndles. Anothei- canal of fifteen miles would lead from
the Nelson valley to a lake, from which flows the Little
Churchill Rivei-, a distance of one hundred and seventy-two
miles, to the (h'eat Churchill, which latter runs from the
junction one hundred und live miles more to the Bay. The
whole distance from Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay by this route
is said to be eioht hundred and forty-four miles, and which,
apart from works that would have to be constructed to avoid
rapids, forty-three miles are inlaiid canal.'
For ten 3'ears |)ast nothinr^ ftn-ther had i>een heard of a
water channel to the Bay, until al)out two years a,i,'o, when
Major H. N. Ruttan, City Knnineei- of Winnipeir, a ofentle-
man, too, of wide experience and j^^reat knowledoe of the
counti-y, pulilished a most interesting' paper showing the feas-
ibility, as he contends, of a channel following most of the way
the Hays River, somi'times known as a branch of the Nelson.
This route, acc:)rd!ng to Major Ruttan, needs scarcely any
2()
canal in tlir w-iy nl Iciiilino- I'imih one Ixuly of water to
another, ms there is a coiitiniious stream all the way. Of
t'oursi- niueh h(>avy work wduIiI lie involved in the way of
improving' the channel and making; canals around rapids, but
Majoi- Huttaji contideiitly )i«-<'>-ts that the scheme is feasible,
anil at a ivasonalile cost. Renewed interest is ffiven to Major
Kuttan's papti- at tliis time tlirou(;li a recent letter frou)
ih'. Urt(jn, exM.F , addn.'s.sod to the newspapers. That, aj^ain,
has led to thv- ret-urrectiiii; by Colonel ScobrI of liis own
proposal of ten yeurs .if^-o of the C'hurehill route. Whethei'
oithei- of these schemes is practicable it is (piite impossible at
present to say. It is, at all events, a matter worthy of con-
siiit.'ration anJ en(|niiy. It is to be bcjrne in mind tliat any
estimates that may lie now suiji;-ested of probalih; cost must
be base<l on altoifether insufli lent data. No actual sui'vey
has been made of any part of eith(;r route. 'J'he fact that
there is a channel throujfhout the wliole or any particular
j)artof the distance, either way, is of little conse(|uence until
we know from instrumental survc>ys the ))robablt' cost of
makiiifr the channel itself navipibli!. Many miles of the
(!hannel may be of the character of the St. l^awrence rapids,
or those at Smdt St. ?darie, wliidi have involved ''le expendi-
ture of so many millions to o\crcome them. The ])ublic are
indebted to the gentlemen named, who have gone to no little
ti-oublc in their investigations, foi- drawing atti'nti(in to the
])roposed routes, and it is to be hoped it may h>ad to a further
consideration of the (piestion. Hut unless and until an actual
survey shall be made, tiie (piestion of a water I'oute to the
Hudson's liay caiuief. l)e considei'ed a living one. That any
( Jovertnneiit would grant an estimate for evi'U a surve}' of
tlie route is more th in doubtful 'Mider present cii'cumstanccH.
What e\idence have we of the feasibility of olitaining a
chamiel connecting the Red River with Lnke Sujierior ?
Twelve ye-ars ago, f)r more, this <|Uestion was lii.'ing agitated
among ouv neighiiors in .Minnesota and Dakota. It is said,
indeed, that a pi'elinnnai'y survey was made for n ch;uniel
tliMM C(aitem])lated. The'route was by the Red Lake River
and Red Lake, from (Ji.ind Forks easterly. From Red Lake
connection was proposed to be n>ade with some of the lakes
and streams f(»rming the head water.s of the Mi.ssissijjpi.
From these latter, connection was to be made liy canal with
tlie St. Louis River, which runs into Like Superior at Duluth.
Whether any delinite estimate was made of the cost of a
channel in this direction, I Inow not. At .-dl events, nothing
came of it, although in recent years the (juestion has been
once more discussed, and \\a^ one of the subjects brouo-ht
-27
liofore tlie (Irand Foi-ks Reciprocity Cunventiou in
lNf)2.
It is the opinion of not a few wlio liuve <rivoii the
(piestioii some consideration that a nioi'e feasible scheme for
connecting the Red River with Lake Superior is by way of
the Lake of the Woods. And tlie numlier is greater who have
ffjitli in the possibility, as well as the advantage, of a canal
to the Lake of the Woods itself, even if it shoidd lie impossible
to continue it to Lake Superioi-. Over a year ago, the
gentlemen who are now promoting the construction of the
Manitobii Soiitli-Hastei'u Railway, to Butt'alo Bay on the Lake
of the Woods, obtained a charter to c(jnstruct a canal from
that lake to Red River. I do not understand that they had
n\ade such surveys ')r examination of the country as enabled
them to decide or. any particular route. They had simply
[nad(,' such a general examination of the countiy as satistied
tliom that such a channel was feasible. One pro|)osal was to
use the channel of the Rosseau River, whose hea<l waters are
within twenty miles of Buffalo iSay. For more than that
distance the land is said to lie very level — chielly muskegs —
the height of land I'ising, according tu some accounts, not more
than ten or twelve feet above the waters of the lake, althougli
more recent testimony indicates that it is altont twenty feet.
It is said that a channel can be o])ened to the head waters of
the Rosseau at little cost, the country being pretty free; from
rocks. Mr. Lonsdale, of Headingly, who a numVier of years
ago passed ovei- that ccjuntiy a great deal, tells us that in
tiiree successive seasons lie paddled his canoe by this route
from Buffalo Bay to Red River, without making a single
portage. The fall fi'om the Lake of the Woods to the Red
River near Dominion City is about two hundred and sixty
feet. As the Ros.seau, for a. great part of its course, passes
through Mitniesota, the tipening of a chatiiiel by that route
would lie an international (pU'stion. That, however, instead
of being an objection, might be an advantage, as it nnght help
to solve the very ipiestion that is agitating the minds of our
neighbors in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Another route, one strongly favored by sv)me men who
have been over the countiy, and particular!}', I UTu'.erstand, by
those who hold the charter referred to, is from Buffalo Bay
thi'ough Manitoba, to the head waters of the .Seine, which
runs into the Red River at St. Boniface. Still another is to
connect l)Uff'iilo Bay in the same way with Red River,
entering the Red Riven* near St. Agathe. As in the case of the
Rosseau route, tlie ground for some distance from Buffalo Bay
to the west, for either of these I'outes, is level .'ind lioggy, with
2«
a slight run uf water to tliu ll,i y. With the imj.iovcd iiuKlorn
apphancL's lor opfninuf (h'aiiis in such a ,st)il a.s oius, aii.l with
the «;oiioraliy levol character of the couiitiy und tlu- iihsriice
ot rock iuul rapids in the stivtiiii, the promoters of this scheme
claim that a caiiul to tlie lied Hiv(;r, of a depth of six feet,
can be opened at an exceed iiinly small cost. The fall to he'
overcome hetweeii the J.,d<e of the Wo.mIs and the Red
River at Winniperr is at the same time quite ii consider-
al.le one,— alnnit tww huudivd and ninetv feet in a hundred
Uiiles.
Whether it is really feasil,le, at a reasunahle cost, to open
aehannel hy either of such routes is not, however, a (|uesti(;n
that can yet lie answered. Xo one has the information on which
asatejud^iiieiit can he formed, ijut it is at least a .lUestion
upon which It would he well for the authorities to ohtain
deliiute inlonnation hy a proper survey. There is no (piestion
with any (.1 us as to the advanta,<re this country would derive
could such a channel he opened. Once at tlie"waters of the
Lake ol the \\ oods, we have oi)en iiavi<ratioii for over one
hundred and ten miles, to Fort Francis, on the hoiindarv line
hetween Ontario and Minnesota.
Assumino- that a water channel hv way of the route
mentioned would he feasihle, there w.'.uhl still remain the
problem ot reaching- Lake Superior from the hea.l of the
Kainy River. lUit let us suppose that the Lake could not !;o
reacie.1 Irom this point by water. Would not the connecting.
ol the Ited Kiver with the Lake of the Woods and the Rainv
River l.y water be in itself of tremendous ad\anta(.e t"()
Manitol.a/ Surely, of this there can be no doubt. If we
can but reach out to those waters, we oet into the richest
timber country on the continent: and on the Red River will
the nulls bo erecte.l, where th,; timber will be cut, instead of
being hauled to Rat Portage. A .saving of the haul by rail
rom Rat Portage to the Red River wid be, indee.l, a, rnvat
boon, not only to Winnipeg, but to the whole Province "^ ,\'e
liave a prospect of a supply of coal in the same district
winch would also be of immen.se value tiMis. R.-tween the'
Red River and the Lake of the Woods, too, Manitoba has a
va.st tract ot unoccupied territory at present jiracticallv
useless, except as to a small fringe on the west .side The
and m this district, under the .settlement with the Dominion
government, would nearly all come to the Province as swam,,
laiKLs. Who can estimate the value to tliis Province of a
reclamation ot these lands, which would to a laroe ,U.„Te,. be
effected by the opening of such a channel through our own
teiTitory/ Who can estim.-.te the benefit, to Winnir)e.r
-29-
cspccially, of opciiiiii,'' up tliis country nnd niakincr tlic cntiro
• listnct down to Rainy River ti-il.iitary to its trade '
Tlieii, even if We cannot reach Lake Superior liv water
from that point, is there any douht that there will, in' a very
short tune, I.e a line ot rail fi-oni Duliith to Rainv River?
The activity that prevails even now on the America^! side of
that riv(.'r is a sutHcient guarantee that such a line will soon
he hudt. Already the rails are laid for, 1 believe, the ^'reater
I)artol the(|istance to the mining- country around Vermillion
Lake, and if we cannot fret hy water to Lake Siip.M'ior we
shall at least have rail to Duluth. and to ol. tain access even
l)y rail to that port in comix'tition with om- existin*,^ linoH
would he worth a oreat deal to Manitolia,
Assuminrr, howevei', that we shall Hnd means of oponin^^
a water route t(j the Lake of the Woods, 1 have Iiope tha't
means will somehow he found of reachinrr Lake Superior
without a transfer to I'ail cars. Th.e late Ale.xander McKenzie,
in liis .scheme of steam conununication with Manitoba, jx-ndinc-
the completi(.)n of the (/anadian Tacitic Road, proposed to
utilize the " water stretches," as he tei-med them. i>etween
Lake Superior and the Lake of tlie Woods. By constructinf
the Fort Francis locks at the head of Rainy River, which were
nearly completed, communication hy boat with Rainy Lake is
opened, and from there to within a distance of about forty
mill's of Fort WilHam there is almost a continuous water
route, a numlier of j)ortai,a's, not exceedinrr in all eio-ht miles,
intervening. 1 know not whether any estimate lias been
made of the j)robable cost of overcoming'these. The character
of the coiuitry, as evidently appears from, the many rejiorts
we have upon it, is such, doubtless, as to involve very heavy
rock cuttinir and a lar^^e expenditure, especially from the
heifrht of land to Lake Superior. Another route that has
been su^rcr.'sted from Rainy Lake to Su[)erior is by the chain
of lakes and rivers that run alonji- the international boundary,
endin^r in the Pijtreon Rivei- valley. The character of the
country is said to be much tlu; same as on the more northerly
route. Still another route spoken of is from the Rainy
River or Lake; to J^uluth, by way of the valley of the stream
that runs north from the heiglit of land around Vermillion
Lake, and thence i-eachinn' the waters of the .stream tliat Hows
througli the valley of St. Louis to Duluth. Apiin it is likely
the charactei- of the woi-k would be exceedino-ly heavy. (Jf
the feasibility of any such schemes I do not understand that
much is known. I have never heard that any survey of any
of them, with a view to such a proposal, has ever been made.
But 1 repeat that, with a chainiel once open coiuiecting tlie
30—
Red River an.l all its tril.utfii'ios witli the Luke of tlio Woods
the (|uostioii of coinpletiiio' the schcm.- Iiy a watorwuy to Lake
Superior, l.e the cost wliat it may, wotdd deserve, and receive,
consKh-ration. It would tlieii l>eeoinea (|nestion of so imich'
iiiipoi'tance, lioth to the l/nited States and Canada, that a
•solution would in som.' way prohahly lie found. L, the
words of Sir Willian. Y-.m Home, " It should l.e provided at
any cost. ' At the most, it would never, [ am contident, hecdn
toecpial tlie cost of >;onstructin^r the Wellan.l canal. /Cnd
yet the ti'aHic which it woul ' receive and the interests which
it would accommodate, even to-day, immcasuraMv exceed in
extent and importance those that the Welland" canal were
intende.l to serve when the late Hon. William H. Merritt led
m the a^ntatu.n that securrd its construction. And who will
venture to estimat.' the extent of the trallic of the Northwest
in a very few years, if a water rouce to the lakes weref)pened^
I he very commencement of opeuino' such a channel, with an
assured prospect of success within a reasonahle time, would
^'ive a marked impetus to immi^n-ation,— more, in fact than
all the money we ever spent for tlie purpose. It would
«ive an imi)etus to pn^duction and to every kind of enteri)rise
in this country that the most san<ruine never .livamed of.
We have been for years most earnest heliexers in a route
hy Hu(lsons I5ny, and we have heen hoping- against hoi.e that
a Imeot rails would ^nve us access to its waters. I just wish
to su^rgest one advanta^-e, amongst others, in tin; route hy the
lakes. We have already a perfect knowledjov of that route
We km.w how lon,irit is open in the year, and we know that
on the lakes there are to-day, besides hundreds of smaller
eratt, a business lleet of at least two thousand five hundred
ships competmo- for the tiatfic. And th.'re is local tratJie all
the way to the sea that stimulates competition. If wo even
reach the Hu.lson Bay, whether it be by rail or canal, we
cannot have this advantacfe, at least for many years to come.
Another consideration affecting the (piestion— not exactly
indicating an advantage in the lake route in itself, but withal
a veiy important circumstance— is that, in improving the lake'
and ht. Lawrence route and in seeking to connect the i)rairie
counti-y with It, we will be working in unison with the eastern
part of the Donnnion,— the part which controls the striim-.s of
he public purse. The St. Liiwrenee an<l lake route is one that
the country, as a whole, is interested in maintaining: and the
Last IS interested in bringino- the tra<le of tlu' great Northwest
t.y that way. In saying this, I do not seek to detract from the
merits that the Hudson IJay route may possess. Confessedly
however, we have not the knowledge "of it yet that we haye'
'.i\
ot the other, oi- thut iiiakes its sueceas a certainty ; and I
<i() not hesitate to say that, in my own jiidninctit, th.-n^ seems
a snrer opt'niiiir for us in the <liivetion' ol'' the hikes. And
not the least important considtsration favoring' this route is
tlu! I'act that it is an international one.
Had one the time to refer to it, and Iiad von the patience
to listen, it w()uld l)e interestintr also to refer to other and
i^reat po.sHihdities in coniieetion with oui' waterways in tliis
Northwest. If we had a channel to eoiuieet our Red River
with the hdx-es, who will j.ut a lindt to the possihilities in the
way of extendin^r the system to the west and iioi'th-west, l.y
the Assinil.oine and its hranehes, and hy our own north-wostern
hikes / There wasa time when the waters of a great portion
of the far north-west came do\x-n into the valley of the Red
liiver. To l.ring some of them in the .same direction apiin
would involve, we are assured, l.ut little (^.xpense. TIk*
(juestion of a canal from Lake .Manitol.a to the Assiniboine is
by no means a new one. For the, past twenty years official
surveys have been nuule, and reports pulilished from time to
time, shuwino- the small cost of eonnecting these waters by a
channel to the Assiniboine at or near Reaburn. ('olonel
.Scoble, after a careful estimate— based, doubtless, on accurate
information— put it as low as S.SOO,000. J.ake Winnipegosis
IS about nineteen feet higher than Lake Manitoba. Its waters
reach those of Lake Manitoba by a circuitous cour.se, and both
have an outlet through a rapid stream, with a, fall of over
eighty feet, into Lake Winnipeg. The sui'veys sh.nv that at
Meadow Portage there is but a strip of about a mile and a-
half wide between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis, and by
a little cut in this and the opening of the canal to tlie
As.Hinilioine alreaily referred to, the surplus waters of these
two great lakes, and of all of tlieir trilaitaries, could he
bnjught down into the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. To
coiHiect the head waters •)f Winnipegosis, again, with Cedar
Lake simply means to cut a channel in a strip, of lam] about
four miles in width, lying between tlie two, at Mos.sy
Portage, the waters on both si.les being at practically the
same level. Cedar Lake is on the (Jreat Saskatchewan River,
that pours its waters into Lake Winnipeg. All this, and the
effect of tapping the Saskatchewan by the means suggested,
has been pointed out frequently, during the last twenty yearsi
in tlie ofllicial repoi'ts, but hitherto no attempt has been made
to take ad\antage of it. The people of Winnipeg have not
realised that, by the expenditure of a very small sum,
navigation can be opened for hundreds of miles to the north-
west, bi-inging the entire region that is triimtary to th
ese
-:}2
rakoH, as ucll asti,,. upprr Sasl.;utdi,.wan, witl.in sU„inhn:it
communieatK.n with that city. It w.m.I.I ^-ivr am-ss to thr
rich salt .l..iH,,s.tH of the VVi.ini|M.^rosiH, t.. thf vahiaLle tiinher
<listnc s Ml that (hivcti ami to thf rich hiii.ls of th.- district
arouM.I I.akc Dauphin, which in c(..).ir,;tr.| l,v a CM.si.hTal.lc
HtrcMii. with the waters u\' Winnipefrosis. How Tar the fjivat
volume ot vvater that «ouM thus he l.rounht into the He,|
Kiver wouhl oF itself settle the proiJein of the St. A.nliews
nipwls ,t IS not for nie to offer an opinion. Manifestly it
wouNI at least reduce the iK.,..led expeiuliture on that work U>
H nHnunuin.
It niicrjit provf.kc n smile were I to sui^^est shat at ii<»
very heavy cost— luavy, I mean, as coiipare.l with the vast
amounts put into many of .an' Can^Miian puMic woi kss—
water communication, with a .leptii surlicient to secure
nav.^ration can be n.aintaine.i alon;,. the Assinihoine River
past this City of I5ran,lon, and to its upper waters, and alonij'
the valley of tl... (,)„ Appelle to connect with the South
Saskatchewan at the olhow of that river. I am not here to
recommend such a scheme as .me at present to he advocated
.y thi.s Institute, t\a;, pcr.sonally, I know nothing, as to its
(casih, ity There ,s eno.^rh of an immediately practical
character to take up the time and attention of the Farmed'
institute, without advocatin^Mdl the possible schemes that the
kn r f h':7 '"'^'l-- ^' '' !"t^'>\«tin«-, at the same time, to
k . w that men of en^uieenn^. skill and experience have,
studied the rpiestion, and have declared that it is ,,erfcctlv
tcasd.Ie, and at a surprisin^dy small cost. The head of the
guAi.pelle valley is within a few miles of the South
^Saskatchewan. ^I'he two valleys, in fact, connect, hut there is
a very considerable elevation at the head of the gu'A.nH'lle
by which the waters of the Saskatchewan are prevente. n
coming into ,t, althouoh there is little d<,ubt thit, at an earlier
period, the waters of the South Saskatchewan flowed into the
Qu Appelle. More than ten years ago, Mr, 1). A Kei/er v
ciyil engineer residing in Winnipeg, went carefullv ' and
nnnute y into the whole <p,estion, mluk^ a proHIe of the'wMe
route showing the elevations, and elaborated ,. scheme for the
entire enterprise. I u.ention this simply to sh(,w t at
there are great possibilities i„ the future, in connection wit
these waterways, of which we little dream. And though wo
are no here tonight advocating the taking of any steps to
promote any scheme that is not at present practicable, yet we
may be permitted to look forward to the dav when much th it
now seems a most chimerical will become pVactical proble s
And the possibility of such extensions of iur wuter^con mu-"
- :V.\
CII
I.l.'ntl.rjis us niv sii-J(rst...l l,y i.i.i. likr ....^Mtwcrs Sc..l,|,.
luitt|man.I Kn/rr, rvrii if ut; s|m,ii1,| cull tlinn I'litlinsiMsts'
Hlh.ul.l stiiHiilal,. u,s to tUv illlI.r..VrlMMlt(.l' tllC'Sr (•..i.inHiiiicH-
tioris III .'Very .liivctiui. in wliidi it has l.,vii pruvidto Ik-
pnietu'ulilc.
Ill th. iiicun (iiiic, there is s<.im'thin<;' of a vwy ].ruc'tieul
aracter i\,v ii:s heiv to .h.. in the direction oi' I'orwar.liiM' the
inipruveuieiit ..I til.' vNater system, s., „s t,. l.riiiy i„,.ne7liate
Ixnelit. W e siioni.l he ever and {'oiistantlv ])ressiii(r niion the
"Uth.aities tiie nee.l „i' u speedy canpletioH of the l'<.nrteen
toot chamiel to Montreal, lo.^kin;: at tli.' [a.^t, it n.uv he feared
that umess pressure IS hrou-ht to Invir, its e<.iiip|eti"on i.iav he
delayed <.ven heyoixl i,S!)7. We .should, I think, endeavor" t.u,
to lead puhhc opinion to the advi.snhilitv of seekiii;^'' tho'
co-operation of our repiii.licin nei^dihors ' in .le.'ix'niiii} tlio
channel in tlie near future lo twenty f-et riejit thioiioh To the
sea, placincr tJu't'iitire work under 'the chat'ue ,,f an'lnterna-
tional Coniinission.
'rh.'re is one more sii/mestion of a practical character
that 1 ilesire to offer. Some months a^o, the First Miruster
at Ottawa sent two of Ids colleagues to this Xortiiwest to
study the wants and nee, Is ,>f the (totintry and its settlers.
Perhaps the menus used to ^vt at what they wanted mav not
have hecn invariahly t!ie he.st. At all events, the memhers of
tins Institute are free to express them.sclvt'S frankly and to
indicate what theii- orievances are. .\iid on tho trans])ortation
(jUestion J fim sure yuu have hut (me opinion. "Sow, we see it
announced that the Premier is ahout to issue a Commission to
empiire into this very (piestion of transportation. I suppose
it will include also an eiKpiiry into the means that may he
open to ohtain relief. Would it not be at once wise 'and
o])liortune to ask of the Federal P(.wers that, in connection
w ith this eiKpiiry, they sluaild have a careful survev made of
the country hetweeii the Red Kiver and the Lake of the
Woods, with a view to consideriiifi' the feasihility of a canal
route and the proliahle cost of such an enterprise i }lavin^'
taken tlu^ best of our lands and resources whci-ewith to
construct a line of i-ailway to the PaciHc, which, in reaching'
that distant coast at all events, .serves Federal and Imperial
rath(!j' than local pui-poses, and havinn^ subjected us to the
burden of the present rates, wc- surely have a cl;iini to
consideration to the extent of makinfr^ full oncpiiry as to the
feasibility of a water route. Surely there is the more
justilication for the demand when we 'reflect that the oliject
of it would he to facilitate ■ - • ■ . -^ - -•-
our own
D
'acilitate trade between the East and West
ominion.
Once
more
T
remark
that
our
:U
Aim'ricui iici(rlil, ,rs aiv on tin- iikivc to ("stiiMisli .N.itiT
i'wiiiiiiiitiicafi..ii with tlif laki's. Kvcti tis I writ*' tliiw lines, I
iviid tliiit ill \V'!isliiii<,ft..ii, ('(.iinivss is! likely in a few .lavs 'to
puss an ap{U'(.|.iMaf.i(>ti I'm- a survey nf a clianiicl t'rnui tlic'lird.l
waters of till' Mis.sissi))|)i to Lake Siipeiior. , Ai,'niii our
iiei^rlihors hid lair to .^ret ahead of lis, and in a Tew^-eais \\r
niiiy nee the cities of St. I'aul and Minneapolis and ilu' ^nv;it
Aiiiorian northwest <iiiJoyiii<; the aii\antaov of dinet water
conimunication to the sea', (aiuida, on tla (.th. r hand will he
l«'t't to <;lory in, haviii<r spent ninh one hundre.l aii<l til'ts-
iiiillions in ^nM and lands to eonstnu't a niilwav whos," niai'n
liii'' is now in the Tnited States, contrihiitinn- t, the huildino-
ol' the.se seine Aiiieiiean eilie> and thatsfinie Anieiiean ina-tl"
west. And, in the nic-m time, we are keepin^^' (ai rieht in
tile same line, payiiiif to lines oi' vessels on tli<^Atl;iiitTe and
I'aeilie siilisidies that are ei|u.il to the interest on ni'ai'lv thirt\'
niillioiis ol" dollars.
Surely the time is o|,)i(>rtune to iirj;(> on the Federal
i'ow.'rs that they should at least m;ike a surve\- ,,i' our
comitry to test the i'easil.ilily of a ch.'iniiel hy the J.ak-' (.f
the Woods when We k iiow that the eharaete'- of the eoiintrv
is at least niueh more i'avoral.le to the eoiistruetion of siieh a
work. 1 venture, theivioiv. tosu^'^cst that at this meetiiiir of
y.air Institute it would hi' wise to take action in the wav of
nieni()rialisino' the ( loveiiiment of the DMiuinion on ' tlie
Hilestion.
i