Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-01-06
THE RUTLAND HERALD.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY s, 1870.
Huron and Ontario Ship Canal.


The project Of the construction of the
Huron and Ontario Ship Canal is agitat-
ed both in the Canadian Provinces and in
the United States. The English govern
ment is giving the subject grave consid-
Grafton, and a select committee has been
appointed to investigate its feasibility.
The money is said to be ready in England
and the only thing now asked by the
projectors is grant Of land, and the gen.
eral feeling abroad and at homo is in its
favor as great public work, and it is an
assured fact that the money is lying idle
in English vaults waiting for grant to
be made by the Provincial Parliament to
. go on with the work.
The chief characteristic features of the
enterprise are to commence on Lake On
tario, near the mouth of the river Hum
Der, and follow the valley of that river to
Berwick, from which it will follow the
eastern branch of that river to King, then
by a large excavation to the valley OF
Holland river, which it is proposed to
deepen and straighten. Lake Simcoe will
then be utilized for navigable purposes as
far as Barrie, from which point to the
Nottawasaga River another excavation of
some Importance occurs. 1t is proposed
to follow that river for fifteen miles, deep
ening and Strengthening it as far as Jacks
Lake, from which point an excavation
will be made to the mouth of that river,
to avoid large detour. 1t is said that
the supply of water is largely in excess Of
the requiem ents of the canal.
The estim ated cost is thirty six millions
of dollars, including the right Of way.
To make the canal commercial success,
it will probably be necessary to give a
similar capacity to the navigable canals
and shoals of the st. Lawrence river.
There is necessity for such work,
and among the grounds for it, are the
manifest insuficiency of the present
routes to convey the produce of the West
to the Atlantic cities and the West and
European ports also the necessity of
opening up to the world at large the vast
timber and mineral regions lying on the
north side of lakes Huron and Superior
facilitating the construction of ships
building on large scale in the districts
of Canada-facilitati ing communication
with the North West, formerly the Hud-
son Bay territory; securing long and
important link in future communication
between Europe and Asia, and leading
to arrangements for reciprocal trade and
certainty of securing to British North
America, peaceful relations with the
United States.
The sources of traffic to be depended on
for the business of the canal are from the
United States, grain, meats, salt, minerals
and return merchandise, and from Canada
lumber, andlminerals, with returns of emil
grants and merchandise. To secure the
data of this statement one need but consult
the reports of the Boards of Trade of the
cities Of Chicago, Milwaukee, Buffalo and
other important western cities and the
traffic reteurns of Sault st. Marie, the
Welland, the Erie, the Oswego and the
st. Lawrence canals. On examination
we find the area which is naturally
tributary to this canal in the United
States amounts to 114,548 square miles,
say 394,319,720 acres, the population of
wnIUu area IN 1000 an,ounUva ~ Il, tos,oSr
and the amount of land under cultivation
at that time was 24,9S3,6S0 acres, being
less than seven per cent. OF the total area
Tn cd ditioy, IN This Az owtapt &c onup+rxr
there is the Provincial North West Ter
ritory which is estimated a much
larger extent of valuable mineral and
agricultural land. 1t is estimated at a
reduction of fifty per cent. in freight and
saving of time in the transport of freight
to nearly the same extent. The actual
capacity of the canal is 19,00S,0 900 tons
per year, but it should be taken into con-
sideration that the prospect of return
freights are much more limited than
freights going TO the east, and the esti-
mate may be reduced somewhat.
The length of the canal is 40 miles
The whole distance is 81 miles from lake
to lake. 1t would take AZ hours to pass
from Nottawasaga Bay to the Humber
river-possibly less-by Juggling on long
reaches or hydraulic power on short
reaches. There are Sc miles without lock;
there steam tugs would be most available
and the distance of eight miles an hour
might be attained in the canal four miles
an hour or on the reaches two miles an
hour. 1t will take 20 minutes to pass
each lock. Hydraulic power is coming
into existence more generally and is now
in Use i'll Austria, and is being tried on
the Erie canal. There is no longer any
doubt as to its applicability, and screw
vessels will soon be exclusively used. A
screw steamer would come from. Chicago
TO the point of divergence in about thirty
hours. From the point of divergence to
Collingwood is probably $50 miles, and
from the same point to the foot of Lake
Huron about six hundred miles 1t will
take " hours to go from the point of di-
vergence on the head of the Humber to
Lake Ontario and 90 hours from the point
of divergence to the mouth of the Welland
canal, Lake Erie, which is abont 900
miles, 1t will take "a hours TO pass the
Welland canal A screw steamer should
travel 375 miles in 50 or 36 hours. The
Welland canal has 81 locks and is 2s
miles-the new canal will have AZ locks
Twenty minutes is allowed to each lock
Travelling at the rate of two miles an
hour through the % miles would take
13t hours and 9 for the locks, in all "a
hours. The lake navigation should be
from to 10 miles an hour. The differ
ence in distance would be $40 miles, and
the difference of time % hours.
1t is $50 miles from the mouth of the
Welland, and 81 miles through the canal
which would be traversed in 146a hours
making a difference of 24a hours The
cast Der day of q yessal If ON tome