Rival routes to the ocean from the West; and docks at Montreal.

resolved on, and the mode of construction pointed out by Mr. Forsyth previous to Mi 1 .T.'s arrival in Montreal.The plan sug- gested by Mr. Trautwine for the accommodation of the Ocean Steamers will not, in my opinion, upon examination, be found so desirable as that suggested by Mr. Forsyth ; nor do I think it will be prudent to build any of the wharves on the slanting principle suggested by Mr. Tate, and approved by Mr. Trautwine.To the people of Canada, there can be no object of so much importance as that of securing the great and growing carrying- trade of the interior, which was the chief reason for the con- struction of those expensive works which connect Lakes Erie and Ontario, and which line the St. Lawrence from Kingston to Montreal.It was not for the carrying -trade of Canada alone that the?e works were constructed.Ifthey fail to secure their object-which, up to this time, is the fact -the result will be dis- astrous to the Province in a double point of view ; for it will not only lose a great and flourishing trade, which in my opinion it is in the power of Canada to secure, but it will be burdened with costly and unproductive works, which, instead of being a source of revenue, are even now, as will be shewn, an annual drain upon the coffers of the Province.Mr. Trautwine says :-" The high rates of insurance incident to the navigation of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the expenses of pilotage and towage on the river, combine, with other causes, to raise the charge on the freight of a barrel of flour, to Liverpool, to 25 or 35 cents more from Montreal than from New York ; -and so long as the bulk of exports shall exceed that of imports into Canada by 300 or 400 per cent., there is no assign- able reason, that I can suggest, why this disparity should cease."Should the foregoing arguments prove insufficient to demonstrate the inexpediency of embarking in an extensive scheme of docks, it may be added that the State of New York, sooner than submit to the diversion of this branch of her exports, and permit it to seek Canadian channels, would, doubtless, choose the least of two evils, and reduce her canal- tolls to such an extent as to paralyse all efforts to that effect.According to this view, the efforts of Canada to make the St. Lawrence the great highway from the West have been blunders ; even if she were successful in securing a diversion of Western trade into Canadian channels, the Slate of New York would paralyse all our efforts to maintain that trade by reducing her canal-tdls.For these and other reasons, which I shall refer to here- after, Mr. Trautwine advises the citizens of Montreal " to confine " their attention to the improvement of their present harbour, and " to lay aside all dock projects for years to come ;" and that any " attempt 10 reduce the present charges on produce by the con- " struction of docks on any scale whatever, must be entirely futile?" and if persisted in, at Ihis time, will but add one more to the " many grand but unremunerative works which have already u absorbed such immense sums of money in Canada.Under this " conviction, I feel it incumbent on me to caution the citizens of M Montreal against embarking in any system of docks," at least at " present.Should future developments of commerce bring about " a posture of affairs different from that which now exists, and " one which shall change the unpropitious aspect which the pro- " ject now wears, it will then be time enough to take the matter "up in earnest."The opinions thus expressed by Mr. Trautwine go to shew that the route from theWestthrough the State of New York to the ocean, must continue to have a decided superiority over the route through Lower Canada; -that the merchants and the great majority of the citizens of Montreal are not fit judges of what is requisite to obtain a share of that trade ; -that it is useless to make further efforts at present for such an object, but should " future developments of commerce " " providentially" bring about a different posture of affairs, it will then be time enough to move in the matter.In such a policy I, as a Canadian, and especially as a Lower Canadian merchant, cannot coincide ; and although it is a labour I would at present rather avoid, still, the matter is of so much public importance, I deem it my duty to give my reasons for differing with the views thus expressed by Mr. Traut- wine.The question presented for discussion by the foregoing ex- tracts, is not whether Docks should be constructed at Hochelaga, or at Point St. Charles, or on the lands of the Grand Trunk Company, but whether the prospects of trade by the St. Lawrence The actual cost of moving a barrel of Flour from Oswego to Troy, 202 miles, at 10 mills per ton is, say, 20 cts.Toll, 3 mills per 1000 lbs., 12 " The distance from the St. Lawrence at Caughnawaga, or from the Victoria Bridge to Albany by rail, may be said to be 260 miles, which, at 12£ cents per ton per mile, and with nine and a half barrels to the ton, the cost by rail would be per barrel, 40 " By the Chambly Canal, even with 100 miles of extra navigation, it could be taken through Lake Champlain; and through the Champlain Canal at < 40 " These are the only routes now existing for taking any conside- rable freight either on to Lake Champlain, or to Albany for New- York from Montreal.And by the above figures it is clear, that property of all kinds, destined for a market in the Eastern States, can be shipped by the way of Albany from Oswego cheaper than if shipped from Montreal by any means of transport there, or at any point below Oswego.This fact is well known to all business men, and it is also well known that, to bring Western Canadian produce or Western States produce, destined for New York, Albany or Boston, down the St. Lawrence below Oswego, would be to add to the cost of transport from the St. Lawrence to New York, Albany or Boston, the cost of transport from Oswego to Montreal ; in other words, if a barrel of Flour can be sent from Oswego to New York at 40 cents, it would cost at least 60 cents at present by the way of Montreal.I have not included the cost of freight from Toronto or other Canadian ports, as the cost of the ferry or bridge at Montreal will be fully equivalent thereto.With this difference in favor of the Oswego route, it is utterly impossible that our commerce in Lower Canada can increase as rapidly as it might do.Our splendid canals on the St.

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.