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Ch’town, January 12, 1874.

THE DUTY OF THE HOUR.

To agitate for the redress of griev inces ; to gitate for the introduction of reforms,—this is the constitutional pri- vilege of free people. January will be “a time for agitation.’ [t will be well if the discussions at pub- lie meetings and in the press are about subjects vhich the this if the and the ** defec- tion of Laird,” and “ corruption of Pope”

,

really coucern

electors of Province; well ‘ Pacific

* letter-ste

Railway Slander,”

ling scandals,—the —are not tle all-absorbing topics ; well if the particv'ar reforms required by the people rec the they deserve. The people want,—

ive consideration

1. More rezular and more frequent com-

munication with the mainland ;

2. A final settlement of the Land Ques- tion ;

3. Liberal legislation on the School Ques tion, so that justice may be done,— alike to Secularists and to the friends of relizious edueation,— so that the free schools of the Province may be made more effective and more con- sonant with the sentiments ef a re

ligious community ;

4. To know, for certain, whether the coal and iron beneath the red sandstone of this Island may be made available ;

5. More lighthouses on our coast ; for the greater safety of seamen and fisher- men ;

6. The entr:naces of harbors on the north side dredged, so that vessels of large tonnage may enter.

7. In addition, we learn that the people of the south desire a branch railway

to Belfast: end that the people of | —thé-north want a branch railway to |

Rustico, New

London

Glasgow

. . >|} Some of these wants it is the duty of

the Dominion Government to allay ; some, the local authorities should settle. But And Each party is now eager to receive power from the people ;

the people should agitate for all. now is the time.

and each party is in a position to carry the measures, whether Dominion or Local. required by Therefore, let let most readily introduce the reforms they need ;

he people, the people agitate, organize, combine ; them ascertain which party will and, to that party give their support. The time is most opportune. Let it not be lost. “It is an ill-wind which blows no-body good The dissolution of the Dominion Parliament may be productive of good to the people of Prince Edward Island, if they are but true to themselves. Then, let petty jealousies and local squab bles give place to united efforts; and let the reforms we require be carried. There is no need to fear the bankruptcy of the Colony now, pensive works will be shared by the peo- ple of the whole Dominion.

Respecting the first want on the list

py we have recently expressed our opinion

We consider it to be the most preseing of the seven

pretty freely. During the early spring and early winter months, we

should not be from the civilized world « quite shut out.”” We should have a stezmer to carry mails, passengers and treight to and from the mainland when ice in the straits prevents the St. Law- rence and the running. The neglect of our Local Gov- erpment and |.ocal Legislature----pointed out by a correspondent in the last Ex- The people should tuke the matter in hand.

AMINER----shou!d now be remedied.

They should declare that they will sub- |

iit to isolation no longer.

Goverpment is bound by the terms of union to keep up regular communication | between this

Let electors not be lulled into inactivity

[sland and the mainland.

by such a statement.

terms of unio3, to redress this grievance |

But will they do it unless the people |

agitate the mutter? No. Its members presented to P. M. John G. J. Weldon a

will be so absorbed with political scandals, t

and so diverted from the true interests of | companied by an address expressive of the country by the importunity of office | seekers, that promises to this little pro.| md a Mason, to which Brother Weldon vince will be forgotten,—it the people | S¥tably responded. After the close of the

neglect to remind them of their duty. Our advice is this: At every public meet ing held during the election campaign have a resolution, couched in the follew- ing words, or words of like effect, intro- duced and carried :----

Resoived, That the electors present at this meeting hereby earnestly request the representatives of Queen’s (King’s or Prince, as the case may be) County in Dominion Parli meut, to press upon the general Goveruient vn immediate tulfil- ment of the t rms of union respecting steam communic ition between this Pro- vince and the Mainland.”’ :

The month of |

and New! '

w the cost of the most ex- |

should not be altogether isolated ;—we |

Princess of Wales from |

Some politi cians may tell them that the Dominion |

It is true, the Do | minion Government is bound, by the |

:

Such a resolution, carried by the united voice of the electors, and backed up by a memorial when Parliament meets, would, | think, have the effect.

“i assuranyge to steam-

we desired

sides it would be an

Be-

| water,

ship compant s that the peopl are really

in earnest ; that they now mean business ; that they are sick and tired of the ‘“‘ How

not to do it’ Policy; and that they would

any body of men steamers to perform the service required, in ocular demonstration

an 1 ive the Tm

of HOW TO DO IT.

Tue Lanp QursTion is a local matter Still it shou'd not be lost sight of during the present ¢ lection campaign >

simple reason that so favorable an oppor-

—_-

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

Tue friends of religious education are gaining ground. The tide has apparently set in their favor on both sides of the In England, the most influential Protestants of the realm are advocating the maintenance of religious instruction

in public schools. In Nova Scotia a

leader of Protestant opinion recently ex- heartily support, with their patronage, |

who would furnish |

for the

pressed his belief that a law which places the teaching of religion under a disability ‘ does not give satisfaction.’

Ata publie meeting held in London, on

| the 6th November, the Earl of Shaftsbury

—the foremost Protestant of all Eng- land—proposed the following resolution : ‘“That special exertions are required at

| the present time to maintain Scriptural in- | struction in Board Schools, and to counter-

tunity will not again be afforded for its | | schools to be places of mere secular. train-

liseussion. We presume (if the people

act the attempt to reduce our primary

ing, by which Christianity would be dis- honored, and our national well-being im-

| paired.”

express a determination to have the! “vexed question” finally settled) the Locul Government will take immediate

steps towards ascertaining whether the

their lands; and, if so, at what price. Then, if the answer is favorable,~if the

And in supporting the resolution, the

| noble [Protestant] Earl confessed that | he

remaining proprietors are willing to sell |

‘* Sympathized with the Roman Catholics

| on this matter; they must insist upona dis-

proprietors are willing, :nd their prices |

not exorbitant,—a measure providing for the application of the $800,000 allowed for the purchase of lands by the Domin-

| Greece, Rome, Budhism,

1on Government to the purpose for which | it is intended, will be prepared and sub- |

mitted to the Legislature at its next sitting. If, on the contrary the proprie- t

the prices they ask are exorbitant, then a

ors are unwilling to sell their lands, or i?

measure compelling them to receive a fair money value for their holdings will be This,

introduced and passed. we

| Spinosa and John Stnart Mill.

; convuilsed.

tinctive teaching on religious matters. They desired something definite and dis- tinctive; distinctive on the great truths of the Gospel, onwhich the Scripture teaching rested. They did not want the morality of or the Koran. They wanted the great and saving Goc- trines of the Gospel, under which so large a proportion of the world had lived and died. Otherwise they would be brought in the course of time to the morality of Strauss, They must be earnest in their determination to resist this, They had come on a time unlike any. thing that had preceded it. Wild opinions were rampant, all the domestic ties were loosened, filial obedience was very slight, and parenta! authority nothing at all. In politics, in morals, in religion, all were And was this a time to give up the Bible, our only guide, to cast our ballast

think, is the practical way to settle the | overboard, and leave the rudder to itself.”

matter; this, we have litt!e doubt, is the that two hundred and eighty thousand acres of land is too large a tract to re- main under leesehold—be adopted by the administration.

7” . . | be Tne ScHoor Question will,we hope,be | 5

approached in the spirit of charity and justice. That it must be approached is His Lordship, the Catholic Bis-

hop of this Province, has, we understand,

certain.

issued a pastoral in which he exhorts his people to support no politician who wi'l not consent to a settlement of the School Question on the basis of the Education If Catho- lies attend to the injunctions of their

Act now in force in Ontario.

Bishop, the school grievance must now come up for consideration ; for every poli- tician on the Island needs the support of Catholics. And we do hope that it will be settled without an appeal to the de- nominational prejudices of our people. In our opinion, there is no necessity for any such an appeal,—no necessity even to materially alter the School law at present in foree. It is only necessary to introduce a clause providing that wherever secular education is imparted, in a school with the average attendance required by the pre- sent !aw, that education shall be paid for by the State—irrespective of the religious instruction by which it is accompanied. Such an amendment would, we feel sure be ueceptable to those who cannot, for eonscience, sake send their children to It would carry out the principle—acknowledged by all to be the true one—that the State should | pay for secular education imparted to the young; it would relieve Catholics from the double burden of paying a school tax for which they receive no return, and wholly maintaining schools to which they can, with clear eonciences, send their

purely secular schools,

young children, for whose spiritual in- struction they are responsible to their God ; and it would not interfere with either the rights or beliefs of the Secular- ists—those who think that instruction in religion should only be communicated by parents, pastors, and teachers of Sunday | schools—because the law would still pro- tect them and provide secular schools to which they might still send their child- ren.

Our Coat Measves—can they be made available ? 1s certainly an interest A trial would, we believe, be A dis-

cussion of the question by those specially

question. well worth the necessary expense.

interested, and a memorial, presented to the Legislature when it meets, might re- , sult in the expenditure of a sum of money for the pnrpose of boring for coal and water, and settling this question for | ever.

The other wants on our list should be discussed. That it would be well to have more lighthonses on our coast; deeper entrances te our harbors on the north side ; und railway for the accommodation of those of our farmers and merchants, who will receive little benefit from the line now in course of construction, is ac- knowledged. Then let the intelligence and enterprise of those specially interested be exerted. The columns of the Ex- AMINER are open to any discussion which

may give rise to the practical improve- ments indicated,

| Masonic.—At the Regular Communica. | tion of St, John’s Lodge, No. 397, E.R., holden St. John’s Day, the following Brethren were duly installed by Rev. P.M. | Murray as officers for the present Masonic | year:

Bro. Philip McLaren, W.M. Alexander McDougall, 8. W. David Small, J.W.

W. J. Fraser, Treasurer.

“ Boswall Macgowan, Sec’y. Ven. Archdeacon Read, Chap. W.H. McLaren, S.D. Hector McDougall, J.D.

‘* PD. D. McKinnon, O.S. ‘Pp. R. Blatch, 1.8,

“ Donald McKenzie, I.G. Thomas Sheidow, Tyler.

** John Ross, Marshal.

« N.P. Stramberg, Organist.

The Brethern of St. John’s Lodge then

| “ce

handsome Electro plate Tea Service ac«

_ their esteem and regard for him as a Man

, Lodge the Brethren partook of a collation | provided by the new officers.— News.

' cose

Biackwoop’s Macazwwe for December has | been received The contents are as fole | lows—

The Parisians, Book 12. | Vanities, No. 1, Ceremonial. Phidias and | the Elgin Marble. A Story of the rock. | The Conservative Party and National Edu- eation. The Count De Chambord and | Conservatism. International Vanities bids | fair to be attrative to most readers. The | Story of the Rock will attract those fond of ‘light Reading. The beginning of the year is a good time to subscribe.

International

The Bishop of London, who presided at

way which will,—if the people deelare| the meeting in which the resolutions

quoted passed unanimously, ssid :

‘* This meeting was meant to be an as- sertion that den>minational schools—the schools where the consciences of all should be treated on fair and equal terms—should respected and maintained. (Cheers.) je used the word *‘ denominational’ and not ‘ Church’ schools because the meeting was not held in support of creed or party, bat of principle—(loud cheers)—and was asserting the right of all schools enjoying distinct religious education to be treated on an equality with others in which no

distinct religious education was given. As | a Churchman he should be glad to have all | the children taught Church principles; but, | unfortunately, partly by the faults of our

forefathers, we were divided; and what the Church contended for was that the truths in the Bible should be taught to the children of those who did not object to the teaching. (Cheers.) The position he took was that to endeavor to destroy or supersede such denominational schools by non-religious State schools, or to place them, uninten-

| tionally it might be, at a disadvantege, was

a violation of the rights of conscience.

The Rev. George M. Grant,—whom everybody in these Lower Provinces knows to be one of the ablest minister of the Established Church of Scotland, the other day, said—speaking of religious instruc- tion in Government schools—

‘Is it nota burning question now in Neva Scotia, but it may become so at any moment, beeause the present state of mat- ters does not give satisfaction to either side in the long standing controversy. I content myself with sayiug that the solu- tion come to in Ontario after years of struggle appears to me the fairest and therefore the wisest;—best ror education and religion, for Protestant and Romanist, for that peace aud mutual good-will which are indispensable to progress and patriot. ism.’,

To the friends of religious education on this Island the recent utterances of the Patriot on the school question must have been highly gratifying. The Pat- riot—as all know—has been, for many years, the devoted champion of the secu- larists ; the uncompromisiag opponent of those who believe that children should be educated in schools where religious in- struction is imparted. Now. however, it 8 constrained to admit that Catholics are aggrieved in this matter. Now it thinks that the demands of Catholics, and other friends of religious education, deserve, at least, consideration.

—-_-

THE MEETING AT FORT AUGUSTUS.

At a meeting, of the inhabitants of Fort Augustus and viciaity, held at Webster’s Corner, on Thursday evening, 8th inst., the following resolutions were put and carried :—

Whereas, a large portion of the lands of this [sland are still owned by proprietors, who have hitherto declined to sell the fee simple thereof.

And Whereas, by the terms of Union of this Island with the Dominion, the Canadian Government has guaranteed the payment of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000,) to be expended in the purchase of said lands.

And Whereas, the total abolition of the leasehold system would promote the welfare and best interests of the people of this Colony.

And Whereas, a great number of Writs have been issued against tenants on Lot twenty-two [22], and other Townships, to enforce the payment of arrears of rent, there- by subjecting them to immense hardships and expense.

Therefore Resolved, that in the opinion of this meeting the Legislature should 5 called immediately for the purpose of passing a law to compel the proprietors to sell their lands at a fair and reasonable vaiuation, to be as- certained by a competent and impartial tri- bunal.

Resolved, that this meeting regards with disapproval any in‘ rference by middle-men to prevent the emaneipation of the ienante from propristary bondage.

Resolved, that this meeting requests the active co-operation of all persons interested in the welfare of the tenantry in their efforts to abolish the leasshold system.

Resoived, that a copy of the foregoing re- s>lutions be preseated to our Representa- tives in both branches of the Local Legisla- ture, to His Honor the Administrator of the Government, and thata duplicate copy there- of be forwarded to His Excellency the Gover- nor General of Canada.

The people of Fort Augustus have done well. The Land Question should be agi» tated. But it should be agitated in a fair and temperate way,—else, we may be well “ssured, it will not accomplish the result desired. To call a meeting of the Legisla. ture immediately for the purpose of passing a measure forcing the proprietors to sell their lands, as desired by the meeting, would, we submit, be precipitate action— likely to end only in the discomfiture of tenants. For, ifa law compelling proprie- tors tosell, is passed, without first consult~ ing them, and ascertaining their demands. they will have fair grounds upon which to base a petition to the Governor General for its disallowance. It is not worth while to treat proprictors with unnecessay discours tesy, and we hope the Government will not treat them so.

—_——_——--- © wo@e -—-~—-— --

Wreck or tuk s. Rowsrr Lows.—The body of Captain Tidmarsh, wio went down in the wreck of the “ Robert Lowe,’’ was washed ashore,brought to StsJohn’s,Nfl. and interred with Masonic ceremonies, as he was a member of one of the Lodges there. Some of thier bodies came ashore and were interred at St-Mary’s.

>_<

A man who gives his children habits of in- dustry provides better for tiem than by giv- ing them a fortune.

Act assigned to Council refuse

ceded ee

QUESTION OF THE DAY.

‘« Try say there is to be no election.”’ Nearly every ‘street greeting,’ for the past two days has been accompanied by this expression, The report is,not with- out reason, creating a great commotion among politicians here. The Order in Council under the authority of which this Province was admitted into and be- came part of the Dominion, provides for the FIRST ELECTION (to be held within three momths after the date of union) in the following words :—

« And in accordance with the terms of the said Addresses relating to the Electoral Districts for which the time within which, and the laws and provisions under which the first electiou of members to serv? in the House of Commons ef Canada for such Electoral Districts shall be held, it is hereby further ordered and declared that Prince County shall constitute one District, to be designated Prince County District, and re- turn two members, that Queen's Couaty shall constitute one District, to be desig- nated Queen’s County Distriet, and return two members ; that King’s County shall con- stitute one District, to be designated King’s County District, and return two members’; that the first election of members to serve in the House of Commons of Canada for such Electoral Districts shall be held within three calendar months from the day of the admis- sion of the said Island into the Union or Do- minion of Canada ; that all laws,which at the date of this Order in Council relating to the qualitication of anyperson to be elected or sito vote as a member of the House of Assembly of said Island, and relating to the qualifications or disqualifications of voters, ond to the caths to be taken by voters., and to Reiurn- ing Officers and Poll Clerks and their powers and duties, aud relating to Polling Divisions within the said Island, and relating to the proceedings at elections and to the period during which such elections may be cons tinued, and relating to the trial of contro- verted elections and the proceedings inciden- tal thereto, and relating to the vacating of seats of members and to the execution of new writs in case of any seat being vacated OTHERWISE THAN BY DISscLUTION, and to all other matters connected with or incidental to elections of members to serve in the House of Assembly of the said Island, shall apply to elections of members to serve in the House of Commons for the Riectoral Dis- tricts situate in the said Island of Prince Edward.”

No provision has yet been made for a second election,and therefore, if the literal meaning of the Order quoted is adhered to, there can be no election of members to represent this Province in the Dominion Commons, until after Parliament meets, Evidently, however, it was not the inten- tion of the Privy Council that the Pro- vince should be disfranchised- and if it were not for the express words, —

“ And to the execution of new writs in

case of any seat being vacated otherwise than by a dissolution,”

we should be inclined to think that the order would be interpreted rather accord. ing to the intention of those who issued it, than according to its literal meaning. The British Government did not, doubt— less, imagine that the McKenzie party would so soon have assumed power, or that such a statesman as David Laird would represent this Province in the McKenzie Cabinet, or they would have made provision for an election here, even though the seats of our representa- tives were vacated by a dissoluti n. We have heretofore directed the attention of our readers to the striking contrast in administrative ability between the present Government and its predecessor, The neglect to provide for a second Dominion election in this Island, will bring the contrast directly home to their minds, The Government now have the alternative left of allowing the elections to proceed under the writs already issued, and hav- ing them confirmed by Parliament when it meets. This alternative will probably be adopted. But even if it ir, a difficulty remains ; for it is questionable whether a Parliament in which one of the Provinces is wholly unrepresented is a 'egal Parlia-

ment.

som.

THE NEW ELECTION LAWS.

The forthcoming general elections will haye to be run on a somewhat different plan to those formerly run. Two Acts have been passed by the Parliament of Canada, which have to some extent modi-~ fied the condition of election affairs. 1st, An act to make temporary provision for the election of members to serve in the House of Commons, assented to 23rd May, 1873; and 2nd, An act to make better provision respects ing election petitions and matters relating to controverted elections of members of the House of Commons.

The first named Act is to continue in force till the end of the next session of Parliament. It provides, so far as Nova Scotia is concerned, Ist, That the qualifica~ tions and disqualifications of persons to be elected, or to sit or vote as members of the House of Assembly, the voters at elec. tions of such members, the oaths to be taken by voters, and the powers and duties of Returning officers, and generally the proceedings at, and incident to, such elec- tions, 8 continue the same as they were on the Ist day of July, A.D: 1867—that is as they were before Confederation.

2nd. That the Governor in Council make a tariff of fees, costs and expenses to be paid and allowed by the Dominion Governs ment to the Returning officers employed in the elections.

3rd. It provides a very stringent law against bribery and corruption, as follows :

Sec. 18. “No candidate at any election shall, directly or indirectly, employ any means of corruption by giving any sum of money, Office, oe employment, gratuity, reward, or any d, bill or note or convey- ance of land or any promise of the ; nor shall ae by himself or his autho rized agent, for purpose an, elector with losing any office, salary, oa come or advantage, with the intent to cor. rupt or bribe any elector to vote for such

candidate, or to keep back any elector from voting for any other ; nor

shall he open and support, or cause to be opened and supported at his cost and y house of public entertainment for the accommodation of the electors; and if any representative returned to the House of Commons is proved guilty, before the proper tribunal, of using any of the above means to procure his election, his election se be —- declared void and he shall incapable of being a candidate or being elected or returned during that Parlia- ment.”

The “proper Tribunal” referred to in the above clause, is provided in the second Act at first mentioned. This act came into force on November Ist 1873. It provides for an ‘Election Court,’ to consist in Nova Scotia, of the Judges of the Supreme Court of this Province- said Court to be held at Halifax ; i the Lieut.-Gover nor shall, by er made by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Couns cil of the Province authorise and i sueh Judges to perform the duties them. If the

fei Fi

55

:

§ i

5

z F

oe ekes Be perce 33 RET

ear 2 dpm

. — —

THE CANADIAN ROUTE TO THE WEST AND NORTH-WEST.

[From the New York World.)

The River St. Lawrence being a natural outlet to the great lakes, might be expect - ed to <ftord the easiest passage for versels from the Atlantic Ocean to these inland seas. But capital, population, climate and other causes have long given to the more artificial water highways of New York an almost unchallenged pre-eminence. The Canadians, however, are waking up to their natural advantages and mean to challenge a division of Western trade. ‘he truth is there is and will ever be more than enough for all the routes natural and artificial which at present exist, or are ever likely to be created. By the St. Lawrence route a vessel of considerable tonnage can, by entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, find easy floating for a distance of at least 2,000 miles excepting two or three obstructions, all of which have been partially overcome. The first obstruction is the rapids near Montreal, which are avoided by means of canals through which the vessels on their upward trips pass around them. The second obstruction is the Niagara Falls, between Lake Ontario and | ake Erie, about 1,000 miles inland. This obstruction is overcome by the Welland Canal, after which there is clear sailing for 1,000 miles more, terminating at Chicago or Duluth, two natural receptacles for the land pro- ducts of the West and Northwest.

The first improvement to the St. Law- rence route was the construction of the canals around the rapids. The total length of these canals is forty-one miles and their depth is ten feet. There are twenty-seven locks, each 200 feet long, by 45 feet wide, with a total lochage “lift’’ of 2043 feet. The plan of the Government, which is soon to be carried out, includes the enlargement of these canals so as to pass vessels of 1,200 tons The Welland Canal, between Lake Ontario and: Lake Erie, was built by Upper Canada on a small, inexpensive scale. In its present condition it is able to pass vessels of 400 tons It is 28 miles long and 10 feet deep. There are 27 locks 150 by 264 feet with an aggregate “lift” of 330 feet. 1t takes 20 hours for steam and 50 hours for sail vessels to pass through it. In 1872 1,250,000 tons of freight passed through this canal, and dur- ing the same time 3,087,212 tons were carried on the Erie Canal ‘Two or three years hence the enlargement of the Wel- land Canal will be completed, and it will then be able to pass from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 tons, or more than all the canals and railroads of this State combined to carry in their present condition. The esti- mated cost of the whole improvements to the Welland Canal is $14,000,000. The canal is to be 13 feet deep and 100 feet wide on the bottom, having side slopes 2 to linclay. The locks will be 270 feet in length between quoins, 45 feet wide, and 12 feet deep over the mitre sills. From Thorold, at the head of the old system of locks, the new channel is to diverge and make a circuit past St. Catherines, emerg- ing at Port Dalhousie, on Lake Ontario. Thus the canal will have two outlets on Lake Ontario, with two sets of iocks, the old and the new. Heretofore it has often been necessary to lighten the cargoes of vessels coming down from the lakes before passing through the Welland Canal, as any vessel drawing more than ten feet of water could not enter the locks. Many thousands of bushels of grain were taken from the vessels every day and carried across to the other shore by the Welland Railway, where They were shipped again on board the propellers and schooners.

The greater portion of the traffic through the Welland Canal turns out of the Cans adian channel as soon as it enters Lake Ontario, and finds its way to New York by the Oswego Canal. The enlargement of the former will doubtless increase the busi- ness of the latter, But the increased trafs fic of the Oswego and Erie canals in con- sequence of the enlarged Welland will also increase the use of the St. Lawrence route ; and should the Welland and St. Lawrence carals be made to do a business of twenty millions of tons in one season, the capacity of this channel would surpass that of all the trunk railways of the United States for the same length of time. The time required to reach Quebec from Chicago by the lakes, canal, and river, is eight days against fifteen days to New York via the Erie Canal, and the cost of transportation is cheaper in proportion. From Chicago to Quebec is 1,421 miles, and from Quebec to Liverpool is 3,160 miles. From Chicago to New York via the lakes and Erie Canal 1,411 miles, and from New York to Liver- pool is 3,470 miles. Supposing two cargoes of wheat to leave Chicago together for Liverpool, one via Canada and the other via New York, the one taking the northern route would arrive at Quebec in eight days with 3,160 miles of its voyage still to per« form, while the one taking the other course would reach New York seven days later with 2,470 miles of its journey unperform- ed. The trade of Montreal in the produc~ tions of the West is rapidly increasing. In 1872 the receipts of grain at that city amounted to 17,628,353 bushels against 12,378,823 in 1870, and the average movex ment of grain by that route during the four years ending 1859 was less than 5,(00, - 00 bushels.

SHIP CANAL BUILDING IN CANADA.

The plans of the Canadian Government for improving their water route from the Atlantic to the West are, after opening the natural or St. Lawrence channel to vessels of sufficient size, to shorten that channel by cutting off the corners, for example, by a ship canal connecting the Ottawa River with Lake Huron. thus shortening the dis- tance from Chicago to Montreal by 368 miles. The first survey for this important undertaking was made by Walter Shanley in 1858. The route as laid out by him was as follows: Starting from Montreal, the course of the Ottawa River 1s followed up to the junction of the Matawan, one of the tributaries. ‘The route then turns off into the Matawan, and follows that stream to its headwaters, which is Trout Lake, and from Trout Lake by canal to Lake Nipissing, only a few miles. The route then passes through Lake Nipissing to its outlet, the French River, which it follows down into Georgian Bay and thence into Lake Huron, In 1860 another survey was made by Mr. Clark, who confirmed the route selected by the first engineer, excepting the plan for connecting Trout Lake:with Lake Nip- issing. The distance from Lake Huron to Montreal by this route is only 431 miles, 30 miles of which would be by canal. There would be 64 locks with a lift of 665}

ten feet more than the Erie Canal has. The estimated cost, the work being equal in dimensions to the St. Lawrence canals, is $12,057,680, or, according to the plan of 1858, $24,900,000. There would be 401 miles of lake and river navigation and 30 miles of canal navigation. The canals are calculated to pass vessels of 1,000 tons, and the navigation season is equal to from 210 to 220 days, or about three weeks less than the season ‘sr the Erie Canal. This extensive line of interior waters, with short land portages, formed for many years the

route fo the vessels engaged in the Huds

son Bay Company's and Northwest Com-~ pany’s trade. It would open up an im-~ mense country and increase the lumber trade of the Ottawa district, which already amounts to 500,000,000 feet per year. This route, as will be seen by @ glance at the map, is in almost a direct line with the Northert Pacific Railroad, and would short- en the distance across the continent by that line at least 250 miles.

‘The Toronto and Georgian Bay Ship Canal is another undertaking proposed by the Canadians. The route of this canal is from the City of Toronto, on Lake Ontario, through to Georgian Bay, which is the inlet to Lake Huron. miles, twentysthree of which, through Lake Simcoe, is open navigation. The level of this lake is 470 feet above Lake Ontario, and 139 feet above Lake Huron. The route from Lako Ontario to Lake Simcoe com-~ mences at the mouth of Humber River, about five miles west of Toronto, ascending that river in a northerly direction, crossing by a canal the dividing ridge which separ~ ates it from the Holland river, and thence on the same level to Lake Simcoe, A canal from the other side of Lake Simcoe to con. nect with the Nottawasauga River would complete the navigable course to Georgian Bay. The proposed size of the locks is 265 feet long by 55 feet wide, with 12 feet lift. The estimated cost of the work is $22,00),- 000 or upwards. The cutting in crossing the ridge from the Humber to the Holland River, extending ten miles averages ninety feet, and the cutting from Lake Simcoe to the Nottawasauga River, will have an aver- depth of fifty feet. The distance from Chicago to Liverpool by this route as compared with that via Buffalo is 837 miles less, and 428 miles less than the Welland Canal route to Quebec.

The Bay Verte ship canal, ether improvement proposed by the Canadian Government. It is intended to make a new outlet from the St. Lawrence through the Straits of Northumberland and Bay of Fundy, instead of going through the Gulf, which is often rendered danger- ous by the fogs. It is believed further- more, that the opening ef this channel would largely augment the trade of Can- ada with the West Indies and South © mer- ica, as the distance to all points south would be lessened by from 300 to 430 miles. It would also enable the Lower Provinces to receive their breadstuffs direct from the west by direct shipment from the upper lakes, returning cargoes to the west of sugar, coffee and other products brought from the south. The canal would make Halifax the harbor of entrance to the St. Lawrence, and besides conducting the ship- ping away from the fogs of the Guif, would enable it to avoid the stormy coasts of Newfoundland .

It is claimed by the Canadian authorities that the food imported from the West into New England—equal in quantity to that which is imported to foreign countries—can be delivered by the St. Lawrence route and the Gulf and the coast vessels cheaper than by the New York Canals These are a few of the splendid projects which are occupy> ing the minds of enthusiastic Canadians.