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 TlIK CLAIMS OF THE CITY OF MONTIIFAL 
 
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 T 11 1 . ! I i l I( i; (A V IT A I 
 
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 CANADA. 
 
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 THE CLAIMS OF THE CITY OF MONTREAL, 
 
 TO l!K SEr.K(TKn .\H 
 
 TPIE FUTURE CAPITAL 
 
 OF 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 PRINTED BY JAMES STAlUvE & CO. 
 
 Xo. 59 Suiiit Fraiinih Xavirr Sinct. 
 
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 1857. 
 
 
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 CITY HALL, 
 
 Montreal, 2T/A ..]/(/?/, 1857. 
 
 tfu flir 
 liiy/d IlommUe the Secretary of SlatCf 
 
 FOR THK COL(JN lES, 
 
 Hontiom 
 
 RIGHT H0N0RAI5LE SIR, 
 
 The Circular of which the folloAvin;:; is a Qoyiy 
 was received by me, as Mayor of the City, last month. 
 
 €irrttliir. 
 
 GOVERNOR'S S'^.CRETARY'S OFFICE. 
 
 Toronto, C.Vv'., March 28th, 1857. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 You are probably aware that the Legislative 
 Council and Legislative Assembly of Canada have addressed Her 
 Most Gracious Majesty, to exercise her prerogative in the selection 
 of a permanent Scat of Government for the whole Province. 
 
 In the event of Her Majesty compljdng with the prayer of 
 these addresses, Ilis Excellency is anxious that Her advisers in 
 England should be enabled to place before Her, a fair and full 
 statement of the claims of each separate City, which may be 
 considered a candidate for the honor of becoming the future 
 Capital of Canada. As a matter of course the final solution 
 must depend on a comprehensive survey of the interests, not of 
 any place, 1)ut of the whole Province, as part of British North 
 America. 
 
The (.'liiims however, of each City are likely to bo state.], hy 
 the persons most interested in supporting them, letter than th.-y 
 ■would bo by any other jiarty. 
 
 His Excellency, therefore, invites the Cor|)ora(Ion of Montreal 
 to cause to be prepared a paper setting forth the reasons which 
 may, in their opinion, favor the claim of that place to be selected 
 by the Queen. 
 
 With e\ery wish to afford full time for prej.Mring these state- 
 ments. His Excellency desires that it may be iji the hands of 
 the Colonial Secretary by the first week of July in the present 
 3'car. 
 
 You will please, if you see fit to comply with His Excellency's 
 d^esire, to address the packet to the Hi -lit Hon. the Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies, London, and endorse it with the words 
 " City of Montreal, Canada." 
 
 I have the honor to bo. Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J». T. Ji;.\x::i'Ariii;ii. 
 His Worship the Mayor of M(.ntreal. 
 
 The confidence which the Citi;^cns of .Ab)ntreal have ever 
 entertained in the wisdom and .justice of Her Most (Jnicious 
 Majesty, and their knowledge of Her Gracious consideration and 
 ivgard for all Her Canadian subjects, Avould have withheld the 
 City Government of Montreal, from submitting the reasons which 
 they confidently believe will induce Her Most Gracious Majesty 
 on a c.mpreliensivo survey of the interests, not of anv particular 
 locahty, Init of the uh .le rrovince, in select the Citv of Montreid. 
 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 JiH tlio f'lituro porniiitiont Swit of Govoniruont for riiitcdCjinadii : 
 l.ut rcspt^ut for tho V, irflicM of IIxm- MnjoHty's Uoproseutativo, ox- 
 [.rcsscMl in the forc;^()in;^ circular, now doniaiKls that somo, at 
 least, of these reasons should bo stated. 
 
 The present is not the first oocaslon on which the imiHjrtaiit 
 question has been mooted, of the locality in which the Seat of 
 (Jovcrnnient shouhlbe permanently established in Canada. It 
 was discussed, and decided uiion, by the Provincial Legislature, 
 in the year 181:5, when the Government Avas temporarily located 
 in Kingston. 
 
 The reasons which induced the liCgislature, at that time, to 
 decide upon fixing the Seat of Government permanently in 
 INIontreal, are embodied in the Report of a Committee of the 
 Executive Council, to His Excellency the Rkjiit Honorable 
 Sir Charles Bagot, then Governor " General of British North 
 America. This Report was drawn up by the Chairman of the 
 Committee, the late Honorable Mr. Sullivan, an Upper Canadian 
 :»Iember of the Legislature, who was born, and resided all his 
 lifetime, in Toronto, and who was for many years the popular 
 representative of that City, in the Legislative Assembly of the 
 Province. All the other Members of the Committee by whom 
 the Report was adop^jd, with the exception oi' two— .^lessieurs 
 Lafontaine and Morin— were Upper Canadian .Alembers, resident 
 in, and representing Constituencies in that section (.f the Prov- 
 ince. Such men could not have been charged, on such a question, 
 with indiftbrencc to the claims of any section (jf Upper Canada, 
 or with partiality or bias for the City of Montreal. The reasons 
 given in the Report apply with even greater force and weight at 
 present, than they did then ; they so obviously proceed tVom a 
 comprehensive survey of the interests of the whole Province, and 
 not from partial or corrupt feelings for any particular locality ; 
 they arc so cogent and conclusive ; and they are, moivover, so 
 clearly and impartially suited, that no excuse >vill be offered for 
 their reproduction here. 
 
6 
 
 REPORT. 
 
 ExlracUil from the prinUd Journals of the Leyislalive CounrU 
 of the Province of Canada, third Session of the first 
 
 Provincial Padiament, 1843, vol. 3, p. 150 : 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 To His Excellency the RrciiT Honorable Sir Charles Bacjot, 
 G. C. B , Governor General of British North America, &c. 
 REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF THE EXECUTIVE COUXOIL. 
 
 Present :— The Hon. Mr. Sullivan in the Chair, Mr. Dunn, Nr 
 Daly, xAIr. Harrison, Mr. Kilhily, Mr. Ilincks, Mr. l^a-' 
 fontanio, Mr. Baldwin, and Mr. .Alorin, relative to the 
 Seat of GoA'crnnient ; Messrs. Aylwin and Small bein'-- 
 absent on public business. '"' 
 
 *May it pleiuie your Excellency : — 
 
 f 1 a r , ^^^ important ((ucstion, rospcctin;; the localitv 
 ot the Scat ot the Provincial Government of Canada, upon which 
 your Excellency is desired by Her Majesty's Secretary of State 
 tor the Colonics, to form an opinion, with the assistance of the 
 Executive Council, has cno;agc(l the anxious attention of the 
 Committee of the whole of that body, and the Committee, fully 
 sensible of tjie difficulties attending such a subject of enijuirf, 
 and aware of the impossibility of reconciling local interests in 
 favor of any decision which may be pronounced, respectfully offer 
 their advice, the result of much deliberation, and which, thou^'li 
 not in accordance with the first impression on the mind of tlio 
 late Governor General, or with the policy which directed the 
 assemblage of the Legislature at Kingston, and the removal of 
 the 1 ubhc Departments to that place, they believe, nevertheless 
 to be most conducive to the public welfare and most likely to 
 meet with the general approbation of the people of the Province. 
 As might naturally be expected, the pojjular oj.inions most 
 strongly exi.ressed are either openly based upon the claims of 
 the mliabitants of certain localities, to have the Seat of Govern- 
 ment in their own city or neighbourhooil, or they are traceable to 
 
 \ 
 
local pccutiiary intoroat, thuu^li asauinin<]; the appearance of 
 takiii<^ |)u1)lic and f];encral ;j;ioun(l. Thus for example, the Citi/ons 
 of the ancient Cai)itals of Upper and Lower Canada complain of 
 dojjreciation in the value of property consetiuent u[)on the re- 
 moval of the Government from these cities. The inhabitants of 
 Kin;,'ston set up a like claim because of their late investment of 
 capital in building', and in the purchase of building gnjund un- 
 der the expectation formed bj them that Kingston wa to be tho 
 pernianeuL capital. Then on behalf of Quebec, its Military 
 strength and its possession of buildings for tho use of tho Le- 
 gislature are said to give that city the preference, on tho argu- 
 ments of security and economy. The existence of Public 
 Buildings in Toronto, the rapidly increasing population and 
 wealth of that city and the neighbouring districts are urged 
 as pul)lic grounds of economy and future convenience in its 
 favor, while in Kingston its central position and defences, and 
 the expenditure that lately took place under the authority of 
 Lord Sydenham, in the purchiiso of lands for the erection of 
 l'ul>lic Buildings, are brought forward not only as inducements 
 for making Kingston tho IVovincial Capital, but as in a manner 
 binding on Ilor Majesty's Government to fulfill expectations to 
 which the Acts of Government gave rise. Then in favor of By- 
 town, its inland position, on ti.e boundary river between the late 
 Provinces, and at the mouth of the great military canal of the 
 llideau, are said to give it claims to consideration above other 
 places, because it is comparatively safe in case of war, and con- 
 venient alike for Upper and Lower Canadians. 
 
 Tho Committee look upon the selection of a locality for tho 
 Government and Legislature, as far too important to tho public 
 generally, to permit of much consideration of the local interests 
 of the inhabitants of the places claiming to be chosen. The 
 convenience and advantage of the Avholc community are mainly 
 to be sought, and it may be said that these are the sole objects 
 to bo served in the selection of a Capital in a country' like 
 Canada, where as yet no great local interests are created of suffi- 
 cient importance to entitle them to regard in a national point of 
 view. _ The removal of a Government is um^uestionably a great 
 calamity to the possessors of property in the place from which 
 the removal is made, and measures of change in this respect 
 should never be lightly adopted ; but these facts only make it 
 more imperatively the duty of the Government to be careful in 
 the choice, and at the earliest possible period to fix the Capital 
 at a place from which the future condition of the country will 
 
I 
 
 not require a removal. To continue for a tinv^ anv S.-.t of 
 (government in. udiciously cliosen, exposes the I„t V ?' 
 «;.vated but certain t ut,^ evil of SSnl^nt^w ^. l'^ 
 e^tmvoved would be vastly greater than at present a (/£ 
 fore while the Government is bound to avoid as much as no S 
 changes in the ocation of a Capital, this desirable Xc Inn 
 only be attained by correct selection made in conte nr^a ion no^ 
 of local or tempoi-ary but of general abiding interests^ '' 
 
 Ihe IFnion of the Provinces of Canada brings toc^cthcr in 
 
 reSon nnd .?i^ f ""^ ''' ^""^H '^^"^^^'^ ^""^"^ ^^ extensive 
 
 K. 'i . ^l^ff«"»S in language, in laws, and in many respects 
 in local interests. It also brings to the Seat of the ProS 
 Gom-nment a continual concourse of persons having private or 
 public matters to solicit. To cause this assemblage in^any nor 
 tionof one Soct.onof the Province which from°its Z^n 
 would p ace the Leg sla ure and suitors from the other sSna; 
 once out of view of everything connected with their own race 
 and coun ry, and at a distance from those whose interets thev 
 
 ?hemTnn'.''^"'''"*'ir^ ^^^^ confidence it is essentia 
 them to continue, would, m the opinion of the Committee of 
 Council, prove a never ceasing source of discontent, and would 
 omote a .onse of banishment and of abandonment, which no ar- 
 gunents could overcome, or no advantages counterbalance. Some 
 ot this feeling is unavoidable, from the fact that any Capital n 
 Canada must be at a great distance from the extremities of the 
 Piwmce, and those at a distance from the scene of Le^isladve 
 lelibcration and Executive action, will always imagine fheirn! 
 terests more or ess overlooked or their opinions riighted but 
 dissatisfaction of this nature must be veiy much agCvate f 
 Legislation be carried on in a locality where neither thelan" 
 Ws or manners of a large portion of the community p?Sl 
 
 o 'hat mTof";f "^'"V " '^'"'^ 'T^'''''' ^"^^ ^oqu^iiiments 
 ot h.it pait of the population cannot be observed, and can only 
 
 be learned upon statements liable to be denied oi- controvei'ed 
 
 Could no common locality be found, on ground equal, or neady 
 
 so, to both parties, a great obstacle would be offered o the suc^ 
 
 ess the m^easure of the Union-for the Committee thhk 
 
 that one or the other party would continue discontented, and 
 
 ould suffer under a sense of injustice and oppression, most in- 
 
 junous to the Government, and inimical to the tranqui ity of e 
 
 Province, lo hnd the place which leaves the least foundation fbr 
 
 complanit on any side, has therefore been the object of tl e Com- 
 
 -J 
 * 
 
 
mittee of the Council in the present enquiry, and it is one which, 
 they think, ought to be paramount to all others. 
 
 Quebec, it is true, has its fortifications ; it is the mart of the 
 Timber Trade, in which a portion of the people of Upper Canada 
 are concerned ; it has Houses of Parliament already constructed, 
 Avhich might temporarily answer for the meeting of the Legis- 
 lature, and part of which would serve the same purpose in future ; 
 and it is not materially different in climate from most other parts 
 of the Province. But its distance from Upper Canada, its want 
 of equal commercial connection with the Upjxjr Province, except 
 as regards one branch of trade, the little personal common inter- 
 course between its inhabitants and people from the western por- 
 tion of tlie Colony, form, in the opinion of the Committee, strong 
 objections to its being chosen as the Seat of Govcinraent. Upper 
 Canadians having business to transact with Government, or who 
 are engaged in public affairs, would feel themselves forced to go 
 to a distance from their Country, to a place Avhere everything 
 would appear strange, and where even the distance from, and ex- 
 pense of communication with their own Section of the Province, 
 would be considered unnecessary inflictions. Toronto, though a 
 flourishing and rapidly rising City, situated in a fertile country, 
 and having a large extent of teirltory in its rear, peopled, and in 
 the course of settlement, has, nevertheless, little interests in com- 
 mon Avith the Lower Province, unless as a place through which 
 its Connnerce must pass. And its strangeness to Lower Cana- 
 dians, would even be greater than would be felt in Quebec, by 
 people from Upper Canada, while its distance from Eastern 
 Canada would cause many and constant inconveniences, too great 
 to admit the continuance of the Capital there. Kingston, it is 
 true, is somewhat nearer to a centrical po.vition, but its importance, 
 except as a Military l\)8t, depends mainly upon the forwarding 
 trade, and, not having an improved back country, its progress 
 hasnotpeen rapid, notwithstanding its being one of the most 
 ancient Towns in the I'rovinee, and favoured by the presence of 
 largo Naval and Military establishments. The coming of the 
 Goveriunent caused improvements, which, however, must be li- 
 mited to the wants of the influx po|)ulation consc(|uent upon that 
 occasion. It is close upon the American fiontier ; many of its 
 supplies are taken from the United States, and the inhabitant of 
 Lower Canada feels hinisrlf alienated from his own people as 
 much in this City as he could Avell be any where in Canada ; 
 while it is not a place in which any considerable numl)er of the in- 
 habitants of Upper Canada., besides its own citizens and the coun- 
 
 li 
 
10 
 
 try in its neigliborhood, have any interest. It is not surprising, 
 therefore, that when the question was discussed, in the two last 
 Sessions, in the Legislative Assembly, a very large majority of 
 Members declared decidedly against Kingston. Of Bytown, it 
 may be said that it is comparatively safe from attack in the in- 
 terior ; that when the country of the Ottawa comes to be settled, 
 it promises to rise into importance, and that it is situate on the 
 Provincial Boundary, but then its position makes it inconvenient 
 both for Upper and Lower Canadians ; it is, in fact, out of the 
 way of both ; and thus possessing disadvantages which would 
 be equally felt by both divisions of the Province, it would, pro- 
 bably, unite both in one feeling, and that not its favor. 
 
 The Island of Montreal was chosen as the site of a great 
 City, by the French Government, in the early times of the Colony. 
 In making this choice, the acknowledged sagacity and foresight 
 displayed by the Officers of that Nation, in their selection o" 
 positions, for either Civil or Military occupation, along the course 
 of the Saint Lawrence and down the Mississipi,in acounti-y then 
 a forest wilderness was scarcely required, when Montreal was 
 designated as a future City. No discoveries of localities claim- 
 ing to be equal, no developement of the vast resourses of later 
 times, no improvement in Canal navigation, and not even the 
 discovery and use of steam (which, in other instances, have set 
 at naught the calculations of the wisest and most profound of 
 early politicians,) have made any change in the prospect of im- 
 portaiice to Montreal, except as they have confirmed and ad- 
 vanced all prognostications of its future greatness. Situate at 
 the head of navigation from the Sea, and at the foot of the River 
 and Canal navigation, not only of Canada but of North Western 
 America, Montreal has long been the Commercal Capital of the 
 Province, and bids fair to be the Mart of Commerce of a large 
 portion of the vast North Western country of the American 
 States. It is not merely a City through or by which the Com- 
 merce of the country passes, but it is the depot and place of ex- 
 change of that Commerce, and, consequently, it is, beyond all 
 comparison, the centra of the wealth of Canada, a Avealth, not 
 derived from any partial or changeable source, but flowing to it 
 alike from the Atlantic, from the distant Western Lakes, and 
 even from waters whose natural outlet is to ^^e found at New 
 Orleans, but which, by means of Canals, hcive been made to com- 
 municate with the Canadian Lakes, and to bring contributions to 
 the favoured City of Canada. Ships fi om the Ocean and Vessels 
 from the interior, lie together in the Port, and men from all 
 
11 
 
 quarters meet there in the ordinary course of business. Mont- 
 real has no concern in the sectional jealousies of the different po- 
 sitions in the Western Canada, but it is impossible to iraaffino 
 an improvement in the condition of that country, by which that 
 City IS not benefitted, while, on the other hand, the Upper Ca- 
 nadians having little to do with the affairs of the other Ports of 
 Lower Canada, have a deep interest in Montreal, as their own 
 Sea Port and their own market ; Montreal is, therefore, essen- 
 tially a City of both the late Provinces : one in which each claim 
 an interest, and it is, moreover, a City familiar to Upper Cana- 
 dians as it is to the inhabitants of the section of which it forms 
 a part; it is the place, of all others, in which to study the sta- 
 tistics and politics of the whole of Canada,— in which there is 
 the least chance of partial Legislation, or of the interests of any 
 part of the people of the Province, being overlooked or disre- 
 garded. 
 
 There can be no stronger proof of the correctness of these 
 opinions than the claim set up by the inhabitants of the Western 
 Country long before the Union, to the City of Montreal, as a place 
 built up with the result of their industry, and sustained by their 
 Commerce ; but of the resources arising from the wealth of 
 which they were deprived, in consequence of that City forming 
 part of a different province. That the lower Canadians resented 
 and resisted a proposition for the dismemberment of their Country 
 and the loss of their chief City, is undoubted, and surely this 
 contest for a place in which both claimed a deep and obvious in- 
 terest, shared by no other locality, ought to be conclusive evidence 
 in favor of the disputed position, when the inquiry is made wbere 
 shall bo the United Capital of these contending Provinces i That 
 the Capital of the United Provinces ought to be placed in the 
 position, which would enable Upper Canadians most effectually to 
 look after the concerns of their own seaborne and outward trade, 
 and in the place in which Lower Canadians can most effectually 
 investigate and control the internal management of communica- 
 tions, of which they share the expense, and in the advantages of 
 which they expect to share, appears to the Committee of Council 
 almost an indisputable proposition. That Montreal possesses 
 these advantages is not to be disputed, and that there are facilities 
 afforded to a Government resident in Montreal, of closely and 
 constantly ascertaining what is for the public advantage of the 
 whole community, and what is the true bent of public opinion, 
 superior to any offered by rival Cities claiming the choice of the 
 Government, the Committee think is equally a])pareiit. All the 
 
 I 
 
12 
 
 advantages of common and universal interest in one locality are, 
 in the opinion of the Committee, found in Montreal in a superior 
 d' gree, to those existing in most Capital Cities, and therefore 
 they feel bound, without giving much weiglit to local claims, or 
 to desires naturally entertained of political pi-eponderanca in 
 either section of the Province, to tender to your Excellency their 
 r. spectful advice, to recommend to the Queen the choice of 
 Montreal, as Her Majesty's Canadian Capital. 
 
 The Committee further beg leave to suggest, that although 
 it is for Her Majesty to declare Her Gra(!ious pleasure upon this 
 subject, yet, in whatever place the Seat of Government shall be 
 fixed, heavy expenses will attend its establishment, Avlii{;li have 
 to come through the vote of the Lcgishirure, and they have no 
 doubt but that it would be gratifying to Her Majesty, as it would 
 to Your Excellency and (Council, to sectlie necessary expenditure 
 cheerfully and cordially undertaken, and borne by the Provin- 
 cial Parliament. And the Committei.' need not say how much it 
 would mortify them to see any serious difference of opinion in 
 the Legislature, on such a point. The jjroceedings in the two last 
 Sessions of Parliament woukl, die Committee apprehend, indicate 
 such a difficulty, to an extent, which would make application to 
 Parliament almost hopeless, \verc> Kingston to ))e continued, or 
 any of the places which put forward their own claims, chosen ; 
 and they are of opinion that althongh the Citizens of Montreal 
 appear to take little interest in the (pic'stion, as they might be 
 personally aifected by its decision, and altJuaigh in fact that City 
 is so full of other resources, as to account fur tiie indifterence 
 of its inhabitants, to the acquisition of the character of a Poli- 
 tical Capital, yet the advantages to the I'uJdic generally ajjpear 
 so plain, and the general objects ia view in the choice so deten- 
 sible, tliat they have the strongest hoj)e of a concurrence in the 
 selection by the Legislature, and of the avoidance of the diffi- 
 culties which any other would probably occasion. In favor of 
 which soever place Her Majesty may please to decide, the Com- 
 nnttee of Council would respectfully suggest, that the interests 
 of individuals are suffering, and Avill continue to suffer, by any 
 delay in the final decision. The popular mind is also kept more 
 or less unsettled and agitated on the (piestion, so as to effect 
 other politics injuriously. When once the Provincial Capital is 
 definitively chosen, bad feeling ou the subject will cease, and 
 couiiiion favorable interests will be awakened. The more quickly 
 the intention of Her Majesty shall be carried into execution, the 
 sooner will its beneficial objects be understood and admitted. 
 
13 
 
 And sluiiild your EKcelloiKjy ba pleasal to a^^roa in the rocom- 
 mrndation of the Committer, and should Ilor Majesty be advised 
 to concur in the measure of fixing the Capital at Montreal, the 
 Committee think that facilities for a very e:irly removal of the 
 Government thither can be found in that City, and the accom- 
 modation offered by its extent and position, as weP. as by the 
 possession of public property there, available for the uses of the 
 Government. 
 
 The ur<Tent necessity for an immediate decision and for early 
 action thereupon, is further sliewn by the approaching want of 
 funds ^0 pay the rents of the Public Buildings and the Govern- 
 ment House occupied in Kingston. An applicatit)n to Parlia- 
 ment for those funds Avould bring on the question respecting the 
 Seat of Government in its mi^'^t embarrassing shape. The 
 buildings occupied for Public Offi:.'es and for Parliaaneut in King- 
 ston, are, moreover, totally unfit for the pur[jose to which thoy 
 are temporarily tu)-ncd, Tho Members of the Legislature have 
 been put to the greatest inconvenience for the want of a tolerable 
 building in Avhich to hold their Sessions, and facilities for the 
 erection of buildings in Montreal and the superior cheapness of 
 their construction at tliat place, give it advantages, in an econ- 
 omical point of view, which would more than counterbalance the 
 value of any Public Edifices that exist either in Quebec or To- 
 ronto. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 By order, 
 
 Signal, R. B. Sui-livan, 
 
 Chairnian. 
 Cedijied, E. Parent, C. E. C. 
 
 Council Chamber, > 
 Kingston, IGth March, 1843. J 
 
 If any reasons re(|uire to be added to those so ably stated in 
 the preceding Report, why Montreal should be selected as the 
 Seat of Government, from a regard both to the present and future 
 Avelfare of the I'rovince, and the advancement of its interests, 
 socially, politically, and nationally, the following may with pro- 
 priety and confidence be urged : — 
 
14 
 
 THE CENTRAL POSITION OF THE CITY. 
 
 It is as nearly equidistant as possible from the Eastern ami 
 Western extremities of the Province. Gaspe, the extreme East, 
 lies in the vicinity of the 63rd degree of longitude. Montreal, 
 the centre, in about the 73rd. Sandwich, the extreme West, in 
 close proximity to the 83rd. On the North, the settled country 
 extends as yet but a short distance from Montreal. On the 
 South, the United States' Boundary Line lies at a distance of 
 about fifty miles from it. 
 
 THE FACILITIES OF ACCESS TO THE CITY BY 
 SEA AND INLAND NAVIGATION. 
 
 Montreal lies at the head of Ship Navigation. By the deep- 
 ening of Lake St. Peter — which, though a Provincial undertaking, 
 Montreal is now effecting, and has nearly completed, at her 
 own cost — Ships of War of almost any magnitude are able 
 to anchor in her Ports ; whilst, by means of the vast Lakes, 
 the noble St. LaAvrence, and the magnificent Canals above the 
 City, A-^essels capable of loading 3,000 barrels of Flour can 
 descend to Montreal from the Far West without breaking bulk. 
 
 THE RAILROAD INTER-COMMUNICATION OF 
 
 THE CITY. 
 
 The Grand Trunk Railway Company have their principal 
 Depots, at Point St. Charles, in this City. The Grand Trunk 
 Railroad is already completed to St. Thomas, below Quebec, and 
 to Toronto, in Upper Canada ; it also extends to the seaboard in 
 Portland. The Victoria Bridge — which, when finished, will span 
 the St. Lawrence at Montreal, at a breadth of about two miles, 
 and may be justly classerl amongst the wonders of the age — Avill 
 complete the link on the Grand Trunk Railway, connecting the 
 Eastern and the Western extremities of the Province ; and it is 
 fervently hoped by all Canadians, (but by none more earnestly 
 and enthusiastically than by the Citizens of Montreal), that this 
 
15 
 
 great achievement of Engineering science and skill, will, when 
 perfected, be opened by Her Most Gracious Majesty in person. 
 
 As the main artery of Railroad intercourse in Canada, the 
 Grand Trunk will ultimately extend from Montreal, as its 
 centre, not merely to the extremities of the Province Fast and 
 West, but unite with the Railroads in progress in the LoAver 
 Provinces, and otherwise branch off from Montreal into numerous 
 eradiations. It already links Montreal to Quebec at Point Levi, 
 on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, and will, in all prob- 
 ability at no very distant day, connect Quebec with Montreal 
 by the North shore, and extend along the banks of that noble 
 tributary, the Ottawa, even as far as the Georgian Bay in the 
 West. 
 
 MONTREAL IS THE COMMERCIAL EMPORIUM OF 
 
 CANADA, 
 
 And the centre of extensive Manufact'unng interests. 
 
 Our Upper Canadian friends and those intelligent American 
 Citizens, who honored us with their presence at the memorable 
 celebration of the opening, in Montreal, in November last, of the 
 Grand Trunk Railway, conceded these facts, and complimented 
 us on their advantages. It is hither the masses of the Upper 
 Canadian Merchants come to purchase their supplies of merchan- 
 dize, imported from Great Britain and Foreign Ports. It is here 
 that, from the magnitude of our commerce, and the extent of our 
 commercial relations, the Legislature, during its Session, could 
 best obtain the greatest diversity of public opinion affecting the 
 commercial interests of the whole Province. This remark would 
 equally apply to the manufacturing interests. Montreal is the 
 seat and centre of extensive Manufactories, from which all parts 
 of the Province, to some extent, draw their supplies ; and com- 
 mands within herself an immense hydraulic power, lying, as she 
 does, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, whose rapids above the 
 City furnish her with an inexhaustible supply of water for mill 
 seats and manufacturing purposes. Of this power, she has al- 
 
 I 
 
16 
 
 ready largely availed herself, by establishing extensive and costly 
 Alanufactorics on the banks of the Lachiiie Canal, at Montreal. 
 
 IIER POPULATION— ITS NUMBERl^ 
 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 AND mXED 
 
 The population of Montreal, no^\ more than 75,000, and 
 probably amounting to 80,000 in numberj^^greatly exceeds that 
 of any other City in Canada. Besides being the most populous 
 City, Montreal receives throughout the year the largest number 
 of transient visits from persons residing in various parts of the 
 Province ; and thus, in fact, possesses, at all times, within her- 
 self, the greatest amount of public opinion affecting every interest 
 of a nature to be legislated upon ; available on the spot, at all 
 times, to the JNIembers of the Executive Government, and to 
 Parliament when in Session. This is in its3lf of much import- 
 ance ; but the mixed character of her population is of infinitely 
 greater. Composed, as the population of United Canada is Avell 
 known to be, of the descendants of different nationalities, speaking 
 different languages, and, to some extent, }jt retaining their 
 national peculiarities, — the French prelominating in Lower, the 
 Englisli in Upper Canada, — the population of Montreal is, happily 
 for the interests of both races, nearly almost equally divided in 
 number, between Franco and Anglo-Canadians, or the descend- 
 ants of the two races — the numbers of the latter, rather pre- 
 dominating over those of the former. The City of Montreal, 
 consequently, affords to each race the greatest possible facility 
 for acquiring a knowledge of the language, habits, and feelings 
 of the other ; and that these tacilities are readily and extensively 
 availed of, by both races, is manifest from the fact, that both 
 languages are correctly and familiarly spoken by nearly all the 
 inhabitants of the City. If due regard, therefore, be paid to the 
 dearest, the most sacred rights and interests of all Her Majesty's 
 Canadian subjects, no other place so fitting as Montreal can be 
 selected for the permanent Seat of Government in Canada. The 
 harmonious working together of both nationalities, for their com- 
 
 o*^j *. yS6/ ., p/,ood. 
 
17 
 
 /, and 
 
 mon ^oo(\, will bo more readily secured, hy assomblin;^ tbo 
 Members of the Legislature together in Montreal, where both 
 languages are equjilly and generally used, than by calling them 
 together in any other City of Canada, where only one of these 
 languages is spoken or understood. 
 
 The opportunities afforded to the IMembcrs of the Legislature, 
 in Montreal, for social intercourse with ^i;s intelligent and cul- 
 tivated Citizens, of both origins, will tend more than any other 
 means to extinguish those national antipathies and prejudices 
 from which Canada has already suffered so much ; and such 
 harmonious intercourse will, no doubt, produce those feelings of 
 muturJ for])earance, good will and esteem for each other, so 
 necessary to the welfare and advancement of both races. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF MONTREAL IN LITERATURE, 
 SCIENCE AND THE FINE ARTS. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 In these certain evidences of civilization, IMontreal lays claim 
 to no very marked superiority over other Cities ; but a large and 
 liberal spirit pervades her Citizens ; and if she cannot boast of 
 extensive literary or scientific reputation, she has certainly not 
 been niggard in the promotion of Science and the Fine Arts ; in 
 cultivating a taste for Literature ; and endowing Institutions of 
 Learning. The High School, the University of M'Gill College, 
 the Natural History Society, the Canadian Institute, the Mer- 
 cantile Library Association, the Mechanics' Institute, and the 
 Geological ^Museum may all be referred to, with confidence, as 
 honorable and gratifying results of her Literary and Scientific 
 progress. And the fact that the American Association for the 
 advincement of Science has honored JMontreal, by selecting her 
 as the favored City in which they will hold their Anniversary 
 Meeting this year, testifies to the estimation in which her claims 
 to consideration, on the score of Science and Literature, are neld 
 by that eminently scientific and erudite body. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 IlER rOSITION FOR MILITARY DEFENCE. 
 
 In a recent communication to one of our City papers (Ap- 
 pendix ' A.', to which attention is most respectfully solicited) a 
 competent ]\Iilitary authority has shewn that Montreal possesses 
 the greatest possible natural advantages for Military defence, 
 and that by means of the lofty Mountain which overshadows the 
 City and River at its base, and which has most judiciously been 
 named " the Royal Mount," and by means also of the Inland of 
 St. Helens, and the Nuns' Island, commanding the channel of the 
 River above, below, and opposite to the City, Montreal can easily 
 and at a comparatively trifling cost, be made impregnable to 
 hostile attacks. If defended on the modern European system, as 
 illustrated at Coblentz on the Rhine, and Lcntz on the Danul o, 
 and still more recently in the immense external fortifications of 
 Paris — but at the same time, in a more inexpensive and simple 
 way — by a series of detached works, scientifically desigiiod to 
 strengthen a naturally strong position, and by that class of im- 
 promptu intrenchments which late events have Jiewn to be " the 
 cheap defences of nations," Montreal may be defended not only 
 until succour comes, but may be made so formidable as greatly 
 to deter an enemy from coming at all. 
 
 Montreal of 1857 is not the Montreal of 1775, when Mont- 
 g:)mery marched into it, at the head of a few thousand Conti- 
 nentals. The City then numberal less than 5,000 inhabitants ; 
 it now counts upwards of 75,000. It embraces within itself 
 immense resources ; the largest, best disciplined, and most 
 effective Volunteer Force of all arms. Horse, Foot and Artillery, 
 in Canada ; and features in its material progress have imjjor- 
 cepcibly added to its Military strength, since the period of the 
 Anio;ican Revolution. 
 
 The Avriter adverted to, most ccTrectly observes that Montreal 
 possesses two fortresses of great latural strength, in its well 
 known " Mount li'.oyal," and in the Island of St. Helens. The 
 " Blount Royal," or Mountain of Montreal, immediately in the 
 rear of die City, forms the apex of a defensible triangle, of 
 
 I 
 
19 
 
 !E. 
 
 crs (Ap- 
 icitc(l) a 
 possesses 
 
 dofencc, 
 (lows the 
 isly been 
 jland of 
 icl of the 
 nn easily 
 ;nablc to 
 ■stem, as 
 Daiiul 0, 
 itioiis of 
 d simple 
 ignod to 
 3 of im- 
 
 bc " the 
 not only 
 i greatly 
 
 a Mont- 
 d Conti- 
 Jjitants ; 
 in itself 
 lid most 
 Artillery, 
 3 imjjor- 
 d of the 
 
 Montreal 
 its well 
 IS. The 
 y in the 
 mglo, of 
 
 wliicli the River St. Tiawrence forms the base. One foot of the 
 trian«.de is planted on the Island of St. Helens ; the other on the 
 island of St. Paul, commonly known as the Nuns' Isle nd. This 
 outline embraces the system of an inexpensive, but secure, de- 
 fence. The Mountain of Montreal consists in reality of a nest 
 of hills, each, in a defensive point of view, bearing upon, but 
 independent of the other. They abound in wood aiid water, and 
 offer convenient and safe accommodation for troops. As a whole, 
 with the employment of skill and labor in the improvement of 
 natural advantages, the Mountain may be made impregnable. 
 So long as the Mountain is held in force, no enemy can safely 
 assail the flanks of the triangle — the Eastern and Western de- 
 fences of the Town ; and it is, therefore, impossible under these 
 circumstances, that the Town can ever bo taken. 
 
 Many other and most cogent reasons might be added to the 
 foregoing, why Montreal should be selected as the Seat of Gov- 
 ernment ; but the length to which this document has extended 
 would cause their enumeration to be tedious ; and the force and 
 weight of the arguments submitted, render any further reasons 
 supererogatory. 
 
 In the name, therefore, of the City Authorities of Montreal, 
 I will conclude this document, by repeating in the candid and 
 unanswerable language of the late Honorable Mr. Sullivan's 
 Report, as incontrovertible reason why the Seat of Government 
 should be established here : That Montreal is essentially a City 
 of both the late Provinces of Canada — the Upper and the Lower ; 
 one in which each claims an interest ; and it is moreover a City 
 as fiimiliar to Upper Canadians as it is to the inhabitants of tho 
 section of which it forms a part ; it is the place of all others in 
 which to study the statistics and politics of the whole of Canada 
 — in which there is the least chance of partial legislation or of 
 the interests of any part of the people of the Province being over- 
 looked or disregarded. There can be no stronger proof of the 
 correctness of these opinions than the claim set up by the in- 
 habitants of the Western country, long before the Union, to the 
 
20 
 
 City of Montreal as a [)lace, built up with the result of their 
 industry, and sustained by their coninicrcc, but of the resources 
 arising from tho wealth of which thoy were deprived in conse- 
 quence of tho City forming part of a different Province. That 
 tho Lower Canadians resented and resisted a proposition for the 
 dismemberment of thoir country, and tho loss of their chief City, 
 is undoubted ; and surely this contest for a place in which both 
 claimed a deep and obvious interest, shared by no other locality, 
 ouf,dit to be conclusive evidence in favor of tho disputed position, 
 when tho inquiry is made : " Where shall be the United Capital 
 of these contending Trovinces '." That the Capital of tho United 
 Provinces ought to be placed in tho position which would enable 
 Upper Canadians most effectually to look after tho concerns of 
 their own sea-borne and outward trade, and in tho place where 
 Lower Canadians can most effectually investigate and control the 
 internal management of communications of which they share 
 the expense, and in the advantages of which they expect to share 
 is as indisputable a proposition now, as it was when first enun- 
 ciated by the Committee of the Council, and aftenvards confirmed 
 by the Legislature of the Province, in 1843. That Montreal 
 possesses these advantages is not to be disputal, and that there 
 are facilities afforded to a Government resident in Montreal, of 
 closely and constantly ascertaining what is for the public ad- 
 vantage of the whole community, and what is the true bent of 
 public opinion, superior to any offered by rival Cities, claiming 
 the choice of the Government, is equally apparent. All the 
 advantages of common and universal interest in one locality are 
 found in Montreal, in a superior degree to those existing in most 
 Capital Cities ; and, therefore, every disinterested and upright 
 Canadian, every time patriot and lover of his country fee^s a 
 confident expectation that Her ]\Iost Gracious Majesty, without 
 giving much weight to local claims, or to desires naturally en- 
 tertained of political preponderance in either section of the 
 Province, will make choice of Montreal as Her Majesty's 
 Canadian Capital. 
 
21 
 
 The whole moat respectfully submitted 
 
 Si<jnedf 
 
 Counlcrs'ujnedf 
 
 J. P. Sexton, 
 
 Cihj Clerk. 
 
 IIy. Starneb, 
 (1L.S0 Mayor, 
 
'3 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 Extracted from the ''Montreal Gazette,'" of Wednesday, 29 th 
 
 April, 1857. 
 
 THE DEFENCE OF MONTREAL. 
 
 {From a Correspondent.) 
 
 * * * * " But, in case of a Avar now, we should be differ- 
 ently situated. I have been informed by one of their Engineers 
 that they would land an army on our side, and take possession 
 of some place susceptible of being strongly fortified, and cut 
 off the communication between Upper and Lower Canada." — An 
 Old Soldier of 1812,"— (7or. of Mo7itreal Gazette. 
 
 No General in his senses would dream of making the attempt, 
 unless he had previously conquered Montreal and established there 
 his base of ^.-perations against the remainder of the Province, both 
 Upper and Lower. It is accordingly in the direction of Montreal, 
 that Invasion is to be looked for, that is not only the shortest line, 
 but is the line of least resistance, and any military man is aware 
 that if such a movement were attempted, as it would be, by a force 
 commensurate to the undertaking, resistance and defence of 
 Montreal would be p'n-fectly hopeless, and would but expose that 
 large, populous, wealthy and si)irited city to utter and useless 
 destruction. For all these reasons then no military man could 
 come to any other conclusion, that on political and stratagetical 
 ground, there cannot be the slightest hesitiitiou in awarding the 
 prrfereuce for the Seat of Government to (.>uebec. — Quebec 
 Military Gazelle, March 1-1. 
 
 1. It is a matter of some importance to the inhabitants of this 
 great and rapidly incr(.'asingcity to in([nire wiu'thcr, uiidci- circum- 
 stances which have oeeurn.'d before, and which nniy (A-cur again, 
 
24 
 
 Montreal must necessarily be abandoned to the mercies of a 
 " buccaneering invader," or whether by forethought and i)rc- 
 caution, and some little preparation, such an invader may not be 
 kept at bay, until the arrival of succour from without, 
 
 2. Nothing encourages a defence so much as the knowledge 
 how defence can be made ; nothing daunts an assailant more than 
 the knowledge that resistance will be encountered. 
 
 3. It has been urged against Montreal, as its only disqualifica- 
 tion as the seat of General Goverjiment of the Province, that it is 
 defenceless and incapable of defence ; and the assertion undis})uted 
 and unrefuted thus far, has assumed in some quarters the character 
 of truth. It may bo as well to investigate the correctness of these 
 conclusions. Is Montreal incapable of defence against a couj-) de 
 main, even Avith the means at the disposal of the country i Is it 
 indefencible in a great national antl protracted war, when backed 
 by the mighty po^ver of England '. 
 
 4. It is not pretended that Montreal is to be defended — a 
 la mode de JMonsieurs de Vauhan, — on the old European system, 
 when a"media3val town, a dense conglomeration of houses, is fenced 
 in by a tight fitting wall, where half tlie shots fired miss the 
 soldiers and maul the citizens ; where, after a short experience of 
 such discipline, the citizens politely inform the soldiers that they 
 have either to give up or be given up, forcing, in short, the de- 
 fenders " a hatlre la chamade,''^ as has bet'u exemplified on the 
 Continent of Europe a hundred times within the last hundred 
 years, -but on the modern European or German system, as illus- 
 trated at Coblentz on the Rhine, and Liutz on the Danube, and 
 still more recently in the immense external fortifications of Pai-is ; 
 but at the same time in a more inexpensive and simple Avay — by a 
 scries of detached works, scientifically designed to strengthen a na- 
 turally strong position, and by that class of imiu'omptu intrench- 
 mcnts, which late events have shown to be " the chea}) dcfeuee of 
 nations," it is contended that Montreal may be defended not only 
 until succour comes, but may be made so formidable, as greatly 
 to deter an enemy from coming at all. Defences such as these 
 also afford the strongest incentive t) courageous exertion. Cover- 
 ing the place they are projected to defend, they keei) the assailants 
 at a safe distance, and carry with them the protection, iind not the 
 destruction of the families and properties of the defenders. 
 
 5. Montreal of 1S57, is not the ^Montreal of 177'), when 
 Montg( ornery marched into it at the hjad of a few hundred Con- 
 tinentals. Montreal then niunbered 5,000 inhabitants; it now 
 
 1 
 
25 
 
 •cics of a 
 and prc- 
 ay not be 
 
 nowled^^c 
 noro than 
 
 qualifica- 
 tliat it is 
 iidis^mtc'd 
 character 
 J3 of these 
 a coup de 
 jf Is it 
 jn backed 
 
 ^endcd — a 
 m system, 
 , is fenced 
 1 miss the 
 )erience of 
 i that they 
 rt, the de- 
 led on the 
 t hundred 
 I, as illus- 
 nube, and 
 of Pai'is ; 
 vay — by a 
 ;then a na- 
 . inirench- 
 dcfeuce of 
 1 not only 
 as greatly 
 h as these 
 . Cover- 
 assailants 
 )i<l not the 
 L'rs. 
 
 11^), -when 
 (bed (Joii- 
 ■5; it now 
 
 counts 75,000. It embraces ^Yithin itself immense resources, and 
 features in its material progress have imperceptibly added to its 
 military strength. 
 
 6. Montreal, if assailed at all, will be assailed by the forces ot 
 the United States. To reach it they must cross the River St. 
 Lawrence, and establish themselves on the Island of Montreal, 
 with a due regard to the security of their communications. 
 
 7. To secure a passage on to the Island of Montreal, at any 
 point, it must be made in the summer months, between the 1st 
 May and the 1st Decem!>er. From the 1st December to the 15 th 
 Januarv, and from the 15th to the HOth April, the St. Lawrence 
 is, ontlio usual averat-;^. impassable, except in canoes, and even 
 then witii ditliculty and danger. From the 15th January to the 
 1 5th April, the climate is the best defence of the country. Those 
 who have witnessiid the unopposed advance of a few hundred 
 troops and th.-ir impedimenta tlirough the narrow snow roads and 
 high-piled ice fields of Canada can appreciate its importance. 
 
 ° 8. In the summer months, so long as the Islands at Sorel 
 are occupied and Quebec maintained, no American force coul.l 
 cross the St. Lawrence below St. Uelpn's Island, except m the 
 face of the steamers and gun-boats of England. .. . . 
 
 9 To the Sorcl Islands and (.Quebec should be added the point 
 known on the St. Lawrence as the " Plata" at the Richelieu 
 
 Rapids. , . -, , ^ , ., , 
 
 10. From the mouth of the Lachine Canal— 14 miles above 
 the City of Montreal to the Islaiul of St. Helens— the River St. 
 Lawrence is impassable in the face of resistance. From the 
 mouth of the Lachiiie Canal to the head of the Lachine Ripids, a 
 distance of about six miles, the attempt to crost, the river, it made 
 at all, must be made in row boats,— the landing at least must be 
 so cftected,— and the larger the vessel employed the greater would 
 be the dau'^er to the assailants. A few light trooi>, and light ar- 
 tillery woiUd foil anv such attempt. It is to be held ni mmd 
 that any vessel disabled at this point would inevitably be earned 
 over the Lachine Rapids to certain destruction, and that the river 
 is too wide, too deep, and too rapid to be bridged by any process 
 known to military engineering, in the face of lesistance. 
 
 1 1. From the heail of the Lachine Rapids to the Island ot St. 
 Helens tha passage of the river presents eqaal, if not greater 
 obstacles Rresuming an enemy's force to be m unmolested pos- 
 session of the most favorable puint of attack on the South ot the 
 St Lawrence, that is to say, in occupation of the Town of La- 
 prairie, situated, in a deep embayment of the river, about two 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 miles below the Lachine Rapids, and at a distance of about seven 
 miles from Montreal. All means of transportation will hava 
 been removed ; but it may be supposed that boats have been 
 brought, and steam gun-boats built on the coast, in defiance of 
 the British steana navy, which, it must be confessed, would have 
 some difficulty in navigating the channel, — in one place narrow 
 and rocky, in another wide and shallow, intricate in all,— but, ad- 
 mitting the enemy to be in possession of steam gun-boats, and to 
 attempt a descent on the City, a few scows laden with stone and 
 sunk in the narrow steamboat channel opposite to St. Lambert, 
 with a battery at the lower end of Nuns' Island, combined with 
 the fire of St. Helen's Island, would effectually frustrate any such 
 attempt ; for, as has been above statal, the navigable channel 
 above this point is narrow and intricate,— the shore of the Island 
 of Montreal, above I!^uns' Island is rendered inaccessible, by rocks 
 and rapids, and the coast of the latter Island unapproachable, 
 except in row boats, by reason of the shallowness of the water. 
 
 12. It is presumed, of course, that the Island of St. Helens 
 will be held as at present, properly fortified and occupied. While 
 so occupied, no hostile force can approach the City, by river, from 
 beloAV ; still less could any invading force cross the St. Lawrence 
 under fire of its guns above. 
 
 13. Any enemy therefore, on the South of tbo St. Lawrence, 
 at Laprairie, and in its vicinity, if still resolved to ttack Montreal 
 on the river front, would be reduced to attempt a d ^eent on Nuns' 
 Island. The occupation of Nuns' Island Avould em langer the City, 
 because the City could be shelled from thence ; but the approaches 
 to Nuns' Island are for a long distance shallow, and could only be 
 made in batteaux and open boats. The river, at this point, is too 
 wide to be affected by a cannonade from the opposite shore. Gun 
 boats, if constructed, could not manoeuvre near enough to cover a 
 debarkation, nor indeed, manoeuvre at all in such a channel, 
 within the range of red hot shot. 
 
 14. With Nuns' Island and the Island of St. Helens properly 
 occupied, it is believed that the river front of the City of Montreal 
 is unassailable. 
 
 15. No mention has befin made of the Victoria Bridge, thus 
 far, not because it has been lost sight of, but because thnigs are 
 spoken of as they now are. It is clear, however, that this bndge, 
 when constructed with a sufficient tete du pont at its Southern ex- 
 tremity, will not only aid the defence of the city, but will afford 
 an invaluable means of defence to the defenders. 
 
27 
 
 16 If therefore, it may be admitted, that Montreal is un- 
 
 inWpnnftXnt- if it would be impossible to cross the river 
 
 sfiawLce n^^^^^^^^^^ of The Navy of ^England below the city 
 
 fAirrnow to consider the --n- in which an ene^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 effect or might attempt a descent on the Hand above the City ot 
 
 ^'n'lthas been shown that, in rtiis direction, Montreal can 
 T,nt be annroachcd below the mouth of the Lachine Canal. An 
 ^tic^r above presents fe- difficulties,^hou^^^ 
 
 serious nature remain to be g^'^PPJ^'^,^/^^; , ^^^/^^^^^^^^ 
 
 densbursh Railroad affords great iacility for the concentration oi 
 
 tooDS and supplies, and an advance in force from the Beauharno s 
 
 rnKltKilla^eofBeauharnoisw^^^^ 
 
 thin one The occupation, however, of l-ake fet. Louis Dy a noxm^ 
 
 If Ln boats would most probably compel an enemy to cross the 
 
 Lament, ana '"^^ i „„.„.nrp the eroattrwl be hvs difficulty. 
 r"'°f «nit&s toha^Tercfe^ let us next consider his 
 ^Zi%X^^A of Montreal, and how it may he 
 
 ""'l His direct line of advance would most naturally be on the 
 
 ®'- oo '"I'll; distance on this line, from Monklands to the mou* 
 
 p a!rKwS Pierre is about three miles ; the village of The 
 
 Cne.l^' af iie fo t of the Tannery Hill, is about twom.les 
 
 tarn the'mouth of St. Pjerre. 'i'''; "'^^Sb'^h o eli 
 
 :!:ti^rrr,^^re£^|^^-- 
 
 £lIfA,uedt.ta«.ltl.n,ea^„^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 this intervening tract ot ^'"i- -n'^' °.' ,1"" Tannery Hill, and the 
 
 I 
 
2S 
 
 (tiily be doing tliatavtifieiiilly and (ksignodly, wliicli occurs from 
 natural causes or accidental])'-, every Autumn ami J^pring. This 
 use of this important auxiliary is well known to those tamiliar 
 ^vith the Fortresses of the Pays Bas, and the north east of France. 
 Furihrrdeiails miirht be ;iivenof the manner of carrvinu out this 
 device, but enough has been said to show that, by means of inun- 
 dation, with very little assistance from a warlike population, an 
 enemy may be arresteil at this point, far out of cannon shot of 
 the city. 
 
 21. Foilcil on the lower level, the enemy Avould next naturally 
 renew his attempt on the space intervening between the top of the 
 Tannery Hill and Monklauds ; by the Coh. St. Antoine. in fact. 
 This part of the line is about a mile in length. Here much is 
 due to natural strength of ],osition. The slope upwards to the 
 Mountain ascends in terraces or }jlafeaux,Qa(:h commanding the 
 one below, the Mountain cro\sning tlie whole. This part of tlie 
 line could be easily and strongly intrenched, more especially on 
 the spur of the Mountain. It is not jiretended to interfere with 
 the details of construction of these works, which must be left to the 
 professional EngMie^'rs ; but it is evident, from the "lay" of the 
 ground, that three detached tiold Avoiks might be placed so as to 
 command and flank each other ; and, the highest being the 
 strongest — even admitting that one of the lower works fell — no 
 advance could be made en the Town, except under an oAerAvhelming 
 lire fiuui the works and the Mountain above ; it would be neces- 
 sary' to reduce all these works before an enem}'- could safely ap- 
 ]>roach the City upon their front. 
 
 -'2, Counting the cost, he would naturally turn his attention 
 further 2voith. ]S'ow it may safely be asserte^l that the Avholo 
 rear of the Mountain of ^Ljntreal, round from iNloaklands to 
 !Mile-end, may, with little comparative trouble or expense, lie made 
 impregnable. The rocks, where they are not |>recij3itous, could 
 be easily scarjxil, and the timljer, with which the Mountain is 
 Covered, allords ready material for ahaltis. It is belie\ ed that no 
 en.emy would willingly attempt to force a position such as thi:; 
 proi:>erly deiendei.l. 
 
 l^y. To the East and North of Mile-End is Logan's Farm — 
 military property, and destined as the site of future barracks for 
 the garrison of Montreal. This should be maile a regular and 
 permanently fortified cantonment — a work v.hich Avould require 
 regular appi'oachea and weeks of open trenches to subdue. It 
 is not likely that this would prove an attractive alternative to 
 the enemy, and he would jaobably move still farther on, and 
 
 \ 
 
 h 
 t 
 t 
 1 
 t 
 
29 
 
 find tlie wcalccst part of the whole eivonit to lie botwoon Lo^jai.'^. 
 Farm and the Montreal Gaol, and the; guns of bt. lie ens. 
 Weak as it may appear, it onn be made strong ennugh to keep 
 him oceupied, to his own ultimate discomfiture; tor the ettect ot 
 this movement would be to place Montreal and its forces be- 
 tween himself, his supplies, and communications, and to expose 
 his flank and rear to harrassing attacks from the Ottiiwa country, 
 the fleets on the St. Lawrence, and a relieving array from (Quebec. 
 24 The practical eflbct of this system of defence would be 
 to force an enemy, in vulgar parlance, " to take the bull by the 
 l,o,ns»_either to approach the City between Monklands an.l the 
 « Tannery Hill," where the only assailable front would be the 
 stroncrest or to assail the weaker front, on the East, at disad- 
 Yanta° e, and remote from his resources. In the one case, the 
 defence would be based on our own strength, in the other, on 
 
 ^^ 25' Thrcantonmcnts of the reserved defending force would 
 occuDV the slows of the Mountain on the Cote tSt. Antome, 
 Priests' Farm, and in the rear of Sherbrooke Street, m a healthy 
 situation well supplied with water, central, arid almost equi- 
 distant from all points of attack. From the heights abovc^, he 
 whole circumference of attack would be under the eye of the 
 
 General in command. ■ j. e i 
 
 •'0 If the views hereinbefore expressed have any just tountl- 
 ation, Montreal, with its present garrison, and by the help of its 
 own citizens, is safe against a mere - buccaneering expedition or 
 
 coi'n de niuiu. , , pit ■ 1. 
 
 •>T Bat the object of this whole system of defence is to 
 «how- that Montreal, if in a defensible state, must be assailed in 
 a formal way, with all the preparations and premonitions of 
 re^^ular an.l civilize-l ^varfare. We are not to '^"PPO^e that 
 Cimada will ever be involved in any war but one of sef-drfence, 
 hi which she would have the full support of England. Before 
 the United States could concentrate an army on any point ot the 
 Frontier, the fleets of England wouhl be upon tlie Atlantic se-a- 
 board, and her troops would occupy every defensible position on 
 
 the St. Lawrence. , ... , , , 
 
 28. But supposing a conjuncture to anse v^bich would have 
 the eftect of retarding the assistance of England, could Mon- 
 treal be held by the resources of the country until assistance 
 came ! To this (.uestion it is answere^l, yes, provided tha pre- 
 cautions are takeA in time. Canada is, doubtless uneqiial to a 
 protracted struggle with a gigantic power like the I nital states. 
 
30 
 
 but at the first outbreak of a war, the MiHtia of Canada, fight- 
 ing on their own soil, would be quite equal, as in 1812, to the 
 undisciplined and heterogeneous levies of the United States. An 
 invasion attempted hastily and with such materials would un- 
 doubtedly fail. Disciplined soldiers require time to make, in- 
 volve the costs and casualties of a great war, and delays which 
 would survive the conjuncture above adverted to. 
 
 29 But if such an ill judged invasion should be attempted, 
 is Montreal tenable until assistance comes ( To this it is again 
 answered, without hesitation, in the affirmative. Under such 
 officers as we now have in the country, and with the aid ot the 
 troops at their disposal, the Volunteers and Militia ot the 
 country are quite sufficient to hold Montreal, if defended on the 
 principles hereinbefore suggested, against any hasty and ill- 
 provided attack. An ill-considered and ill-provided attack, such 
 as this, is hardly to be apprehended. A more matured attack 
 would be more maturely met, and as assuredly would be deteatea. 
 
 30 But to secure this result under either contingency, no 
 precaution should be omitted. Happily in the view herein taken 
 of the subiect it will cost little beyond precaution. 
 
 31 Tiie militia rolls of Military Districts, Nos. 5, b, b, y, in 
 the Di'strict of Montreal, Lower Canada, number 75,000 ser- 
 viceable men. This return is believed to be under rather than 
 over the real number. Of this number, 35,000 should be organ- 
 ized, and on occasion, might be made available for the detenee ot 
 
 ^ 32 A plan of defence shouW be investigated, fully con- 
 sidered, and matured ; the situation of the works necessary tor 
 - defence decided upon ; and in some, but very tew cases, it might 
 be necessary to acquire the land required lor the purpose. In ail 
 cases, such land might remain in possession ot the actual pro- 
 prietors until wanted. , , ^ t i i j • + ^v,«i, 
 33 The means of arming detached field works and intrench- 
 ments," should be collected on a convenient central spot, accessi- 
 ble to and from them. It would be well to take advantage o 
 winter roads and winter conveyances, and transport to, and 
 " park" on, some elevated site of the Montreal Mountain, a lew 
 hundreds of the pieces of heavy iron ordnance now lying on fet. 
 Helens Island. From such a site it would be easy to move these 
 ponderous masses cZoii-n to their destination in the works, at a 
 season of the year when it might be very difficult to remove them 
 m It might also be advisable to establish magazines and am- 
 niunition depots in some of the ravines or valleys in the upper 
 
31 
 
 S* 
 
 part of the Mountain, ready when required, — but at the same 
 time in a position to cause little injury in the event of accidental 
 explosion. 
 
 84. Precautions and preparations such as these, and many 
 others which will suggest themselves, inspire confidence and give 
 strength by showing how forces and resources can be most judi- 
 ciously applied. 
 
 35. The application of these principles and means of defence, 
 it is confidently believetl, would not only secure Montreal from a 
 sudden foray— from Avhat the late Lord Ellesmere, in allusion to the 
 Mexican war, was, in a lecture on America, pleased to call " rather 
 a buccaneering sort of an expedition" — but would compel an 
 enemy, abandoning all idea of a cuiq^ de main, to adopt a more 
 deliberate, a more scientific, a more cumbrous and more expensive 
 plan of invasion. To imest Montreal under the conditions above 
 stated would require an army of 100,000 men. It would take 
 50,000 more to maintain its communications. Siege trains and 
 six months' " munitions de guerre et de bouche" for such a force, 
 in our climate and country, are neither collected nor moved after 
 the fashion of a buccaneering expedition." 
 
 36. It has beenjustly said that in all great war, such as that 
 must be which could boast of such an incident as the investment 
 of Montreal, the purse is, in reality, the true arbiter of success. 
 Armies are unavailing if not backed by a " crumena non deji- 
 ciente.^^ To invade and invest Montreal, if properly defended, 
 would demand not only a very large army, and an immense 
 amount of supplies, but constant reinforcements. With a wide 
 and rapid river on his flank and rear, not to be bridged by any 
 process as yet known to military engineering, more especially in 
 the face of resistance, an enemy would be perilously situated on 
 the Island of Montreal. With a hostile population above, below 
 and behind him — the City of Ottawa, a vast militia encampment, 
 with its outposts in Glengarry and at St. Andrew's — his com- 
 munications would be continually interrupted, and his quarters 
 continually beaten up. The cost of the necessary armaments, 
 the expenditure of life and treasure, pitted against the resources 
 of England and the desperation of Canada, would be well Avorthy 
 of calculation even by the " all-mightiest people in creation," or 
 the Government of that people might, on trial, find itself in the 
 extremity of a certain King of the Cappadocians, — " Though 
 rich in niggers, Avas short of cash." 
 
 37. It results from these observations : — 
 
 1st. That Montreal is unassailable, except from above. 
 
32 
 
 •iii<l. Thill tlio assiuilt (Voni altuve involves diiriculty, miuircs 
 niopaiiitiDii, and is uxposcd to reverse. 
 
 :',rd. Thiit to invest the City of Montreal wouhl denuind au 
 immense force. 
 
 4th. That it would l»o ditficult to maintain the necessary 
 comiMUidcations of sueli a force. 
 
 5;h. That the city, its buildin^js and population, would be 
 out of reach of the lire of the ])esicgers. 
 
 Oth. That the licsief,'crs would very soon be themselves be- 
 sieged. 
 
 7th. That discreet calculation woidd soon teach an enemy, 
 " Qiw le jeu ne vanl pas la c/iandelle.^'' 
 
 8th. ''J'hat therefore it might be as well not to undertake the 
 
 siege at all 
 
 Oth. That these results may be attained at once, and at no 
 necessary expense beyond that of forethought and pre-arrange- 
 
 ment. p ••, i 
 
 iOth. And that Montreal therefore is asdefonsible, and, for 
 great national purposes, more worthy of defence than any City 
 in North America. 
 
 iJ8. " Foieainied, forewarned," or vice versa,— ^or the ride 
 reads either way— M(»ntreul nuiy defy the worst. The precau- 
 tions whicii would certainly encourage the defence, would as cer- 
 tainly dlscoin-agean attack, and these })rudential considerations 
 would not be diminished by thu furtlier i-eilection, that if Mont- 
 real is an assailable point,' it is also a ;<alient point ; that if its 
 defences were manned by its own inhabitants, so many thousands 
 of British troops ^\ ould" bo rendered aval hible to oi^rate diversions 
 in the field ; that au invasion of oiu- A'iagara or our Western 
 frontier might be checkmated by a descent: on the Hudson, ou 
 'J'roy, Alba"iy and New York. 'The intermediate country is not 
 the wilderness of 1777. It is now as fine a lighting country as 
 any i)art of Flanders, and a second battle of Saratoga might re- 
 verse the story of the first. 
 JUmtirul, April ot!', IS,". 7. 
 
 ?,\K T-ittle more than a passing allusion has been made, in 
 the preceding i)aper to some of the most remarkable features in 
 the defence of Montreal. It may ba as well to besto-y a few 
 words u])on them here. In the well known '• Mount Royal," aml^ 
 in the Island of St. Helen, Montreal ])ossesses two fortresses ot 
 great natm-al strengdi. The Mount Royal or Mountain ot_ 
 Slontieul, immediately in the rear of the City, forms the apex ol 
 
 .'\ 
 
33 
 
 y 
 
 !X 
 
 a defensible triangle, of whieh the River St. Lawrence forms the 
 base. One foot of the triangle is planted on the Island of St. 
 Helen, the other on the Island of St. Paul, commonly kiwwn as 
 the " Nuns' Island." This outline embraces the system herein- 
 before projected. The Mountain of Montreal consists in reality 
 of a nest of hills each, in a defensive point of view, bearing up- 
 on but independent of each other. 'I'hey abound in wood and 
 water, and offer convenient and safe accommodation for troops. 
 As a whole, with the employment of skill and labor in the un- 
 l)rovemcnt of natural advantages, the Mountain may be made im- 
 pregnable. There is but one point which, in the opinion of the 
 writer, requires to be permanently fortified. This is probably the 
 key of the position, and the necessary fortification, or rather rudi- 
 ment of fortification, would cost but lit Je, So long as the Moun- 
 tain is held in force, no enemy can safely assail the flanks of the 
 triangle, on the Eastern and Western defences of the Town. 
 Even if they took the Town they could not hold it, but this is not 
 the real consideration. The object of this paper is to show that 
 the Town can not be taken at all. 
 
 40. The establishment of the so-called " Boulevard" round 
 the upper plateaux of the ^loantain would greatly aid this system 
 of defence by providing easy means of communication, ami for 
 the concentration of troops on an inner circle of radiation, from 
 whence they could be launched with effect on any part of the ex- 
 ternal circle of attack. 
 
 41. The strength and importance of the Island of St. Helen 
 is well known. It is still a British garrison and arsenal. It 
 commands the only navigable channel of the river, and all means 
 of access to Montreal by water, from below. The channel which 
 separates the Island from the south shore of the St. liawrence is 
 a boiling and impracticable r;.pid, which does not frecxe in winter. 
 The Island may be made impregnable. Until taken, the navi- 
 gation of the river is effectually closed ; and until taken, the 
 Town, even if occupied by an enemy, could not be held. 
 
 42. A strong tele dupont at the Southern extremity of the 
 Victoria Bridge, such as command the bridges on the Rhine, at 
 Cologne and Mayence, would render the City unassailable from 
 the nver, because it would make the Southern bank of the river 
 unassailable, until the tete du pont had been assaulted and sub- 
 dued. No enemy could establish batteries on the South shore of 
 the river, between the tete du pont and the Island of St. Helen, 
 under the enfilading batteries of these works ; and to establish 
 
34 
 
 batteries above the tele du />o«/,aiid boyoiul the reacli of itH giuis, 
 wouhl be to establish them out of reacli of the City also. 
 
 43. Nuns' Island is natuniUy defended by the distance from 
 the South shore of the St. Lawrence, its position at the foot of 
 the rapids, and tlio shallow and imj)racticablo character of its 
 shore. It can only be approached by row boats. The disem- 
 barkation could not be coveretl ])y an effective fire of artillery, 
 and would be counteracted by a few guns judiciously placed, 
 with their fire directed ajleiir (Teau. 
 
 44. There is just one other point Avhich may be adverted to 
 as conducing rather to the defence of Montreal than as forming 
 part of the defences. A position, naturally strong, might bo 
 occupied and strengthened just below the Locks at Lachine, by a 
 work of the character and dimensions of Fort Wellington at 
 Ostend, which would not only cover the inundation and the source 
 of the inundation, spoken of before, in paragraph 20, but which 
 would expose an enemy assailing the Mountain and City of 
 Montreal to be himself assailed in flank and rear. But, enough 
 has been said to shew that Montreal is neither defenceless nor 
 indefensible. 
 
 Montreal, April 12th, 1851. 
 
 One word more on the subject of the inundation by which it 
 is proposed to cover the south western lower front of the city. 
 It is believed that means might be devised, not only of securing 
 a necessary inundation when required, but of holding in check 
 the uncertain, casual and pernicious inundation, which almost 
 periodically afflicts the lower parts of the city. Excavate a 
 canal of the dimensions of the Lachine from opposite Brewster 
 Basin to the mouth of the River St. Pierre, dam up the mouth 
 of the river with sluices in the dam to regulate the flow of the 
 water, form with the earth excavated a dyke on the lower or city 
 side of the canal. This canal would become a dock as well as a 
 wet ditch oi the most formidable diraensioii.s. The dyke would 
 support stores, connected by tracks with the Grand Trunk depot. 
 These stores, built as they are in Montreal, would be each a 
 fortress. By raising the sluices at the dam, at the mouth of the 
 River St. Pierre, not only would the water be raised to the 
 highest level of the canal, but it might be forced to overflow the 
 country intervening between the Canal and the Aqueduct, while 
 the dyke would protect the town from the periodical inundations 
 above alluded to. 
 
 Montreal, April 26tli, 1857. 
 
 (J