The New York herald., 1851-10-18


soisrssiy .s ven fortified. and was ct one lns u
Snn - government, being, from its central dtua
1vn, De'.er rdapted for that purpose than eithe
Il i here the Provincial Psnitenti.ry Ia. b.s,
placed; large. and well constructed buiidins .,
stone Ihe conyicts are employed at various trsdas
but much complaint prevails among the srtisans N
hingston on this account, many Of who N. il Is
stated, have been compelled to leave the city OWN
to the cheapness at which articles are anufs
there, with which it is impossible for them to COM
pete; and which, besides meeting the wants of the
city, are sent to other parts Of the province for
sale
Just below Kingston are what are termed the
Thousand Islands, among which is most delight
full soil, and below these are the 'sGallops," the
agitation Of whose waters sensibiy felt By the
largest steamers, ana against which 1t IL difficult to
ascend.
The British government, some years since, spent
a large sum OF money in the construction Of the
Rideau Canal, connecting Kingston with the Otta-
wa river, at By.own. 1t was rather military than
provincial work, and has, since its completion, be-
come an entire failure, partly owing to the improve
ments on the St Lawrence, by which the various
rapids below Cornwall are avoided This canal
embraces an extent Of country of three hundred
and thirty miles in length has sixty three locks,
WITH hye hundred and sixty. four feet Of lockags;
Whiie the canals on the st Lawrence are only
twenty,thIee in number, with two hundred and four
cuitous.
About forty miles below Kingston, is the town of
brockvllie Is situated very much like Cincinnati,
on the summit OF he bank Of the river, and con-
tains population of two thousand seven hundred
and fifty souls About thirty miles back of Brook
will is village of considerable extent called Perth.
with which It is connected by the worst road ever
travelled with the exception of that between the
terminus of the railroad eyond Marion and Column
bus, in Georgia.
Two or three years since, the water was let of from
the Rdeau canal for the purpose efrepairing it, and
the adjacent cOnntry was flooded for some time The
result was corresponding amount OF fever and
xrhs nvtan nlal sta- Ia
the st. Lawrence.
Fifty miles below Brockville is an inanimate vii
lage called Cornwall, opposite which, at st. Regis,
the United States boundary line strikes the st.
Lawrence, where commences the line of canals By
which the dangerous rapids on the river avoided,
and against which in ascending it is impossible to
contend. Steamboats, and sailing craft take the
canals on their way up, but run the rapids in de-
scending.
This is most exciting sail, not unattended with
danger; the vessel flies along with the swiftness Of
an arrow, and the slightest movement of the helm
in wrong direction, or any accident happening to
the machinery, would be productive of instantane
ous destruction Skilful pilots are necessary for
this navigation, and by the aid of their watchtui
less and tact the vessel passes through in safety
The population of Cornwall is only fifteen hun
6red, and yet it sends representative to the As
sembly-one of the grivances complained of .
constituency so insignificant in point of numbers
and Importance, having the same represent alton o.
a county with thirty or forty thousand inhabitants
| omitted to mention, that ten twelve miles be-
low Brockville lies Prescott small to wn, viii III is
situated Immediately opposite Ogdensburg. and
which affords as striking and disadvantageous q
contrast TO its American neighbor as Windsor does
to Detroit. 1t was at Prescott that party landed
from the opposite side during the rebellion and
took possession Of a stone windmill, about mile
from the town from which. after some trouble,
they were dislodged, and the leader Of the enter
prise was subsc 1uently tried and executed
plan is ep foot to construct railroad from
Byto wn to Prescott to connect with that from Og-
densburg to Boston; but it is very problematioal
whether il will b. successful, or If completed.
whether it will be ramunerstive, as tho OTTAWA sf-
fords ample means for carrying produce to market
at Montreal, or ultimately shipping it from thence
through the Chambly canal to New York, or by
railroad from PuIliRgton to Boston. Besides, in
the vicinity of the Ottawa above Bytown in psrti-
cular, the Inhabitants have very much neglected
agriculture. to engage in numbering pursuits; con.
sequently there would be no great amount OF pro-
duce to be transported
Some forty or fifty miles below Cornwall, one
branch Of the Ottawa joins the st. Lawrence, at .
short distance above Montreal, bringing down, in
its immense volume, sufficient earthly particles TO
eight miles above Montreal is the village OF La
chine, from whence canal avoids the rapids be-
tween that place and Montreal.
AT Caledonia, about forty miles below Bytown,
which is place OF much resort during summer,
there are mineral springs. These, says the Pre-
r;nciGi Genog5a, are four IN number, three Of
which are known as the Pas Spring, the Saline
Spring, and the White Sulphur Spring which are
Il
the mouths Of the two latter not than four
feet apart. The fourth, known as the Intermittent
spring, is situated about two miles distant, and il
much more saline than the others.
The soil in the vicinity of the Ottawa is very
good, and | have seen fine specimens of grapes
raised by Scotch gentleman, who has resided
near Bytown during the last thirty years, and whs
is Of the few persons in that section Of the pre-
vince who have attended to agricultural pursuits
| He gave me punches weighing nearly two pounds,
| which had been raised in the open air.
IL would be sort Of dereliction Of duty to quit
| Upper Canada without briefly describing its main
boundary-the Ottowa, but which it would be in-
possible to compress within the remaining limits ot
| this letter.
The great basin, or region, drained by the OF
tawa and its tributaries has Of eighty thou
sand superficial miles, exclusive of the Island Of
Montreal, and is capable, taking New Hampshire
as basis, OF maintaining population as large ~
that Of the State Of New York II abounds with
mineral productions, among which are iron, plum
bago, lead, and copper, together with oohres and
marbles, which will, at some future period form
valuable exports. AsiKRfcANus.
The Late Tragedy at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
From the Tuscaloosa Monitor Oct
II will be recollectedt that, some time in April last,