26 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VoL. VI. 
“In connection with the early history of Canada, it is right to mention, 
that to the Province of Quebec belongs the credit of having built the 
first steamship that crossed the Atlantic from either side. The steam- 
ship was called the Royal W2llam commanded by Capt. McDougall, 
and sailed from Quebec on August 5th, 1833, arriving at Graves- 
end, England, on September 11th, having steamed the whole distance, 
In compliance with a resolution passed by the Canadian Institute on 
December 17th, 1892, proposed by Sir -Sandford Fleming, and 
seconded by myself, a brass tablet was placed in the wall of the corridor 
leading to the Library of Parliament, at Ottawa, with the following 
inscription: ‘In honour of the men by whose enterprise, courage and 
skill the Royal W2lliam—the first vessel to cross the Atlantic by- 
steam power—was wholly constructed in Canada and navigated to 
England in 1833—the pioneer of those mighty fleets of ocean steamers 
by which passengers and merchandise of all nations are now conveyed 
on every sea throughout the world. (Ordered by the Parliament of 
Canada, June 13th and 15th, 1894.) Having read a paper on this sub- 
ject on December Ist, 1877, at the Canadian Institute, in which I re- 
ferred to original letters from various parties, since deceased, and in order 
that the records should be preserved, I recently handed a scrap-book to 
James Bain, Junior, Public Librarian, and a past secretary of the Institute, 
containing the original letters and full particulars of the event. 
“ The first steamer on the St. Lawrence, between Quebec and Mont- 
real, was the Accommodation, built by Hon. John Molson. The first 
Lake Ontario steamer, the /vontenac, was built by Robert Hamilton. 
“ The first Atlantic cable was laid in 1858, and the first message was 
sent by Her Majesty Queen Victoria across Canada to the President of 
the United States, August 12th, 1858. In a history of the battle of 
Queenston Heights, edited by John Symons, Esq., published in 1859, I 
find the following note in reference to the war of 1812: ‘The United 
States declared war on June 18th, and the revocation of the Orders in 
Council, (regarding neutral commerce and the right of search), took place 
on June 17th. Had the Atlantic telegraph been then in opera- 
tion a disastrous war might have been avoided. The majority in the 
House of Representatives at Washington for declaring war was 79 
against 49—only 30 majority. Had the Atlantic cable been laid at 
that time, there would have been no war, and the lives of Sir Isaac 
Brock, Lieut.-Col. McDonell, and other brave men on both sides, would 
have been saved. Eleven cables have been laid across the Atlantic 
ocean between Europe and America, and there are now 273 miles of 
