544 



NATURE 



[September i6, 1909 



freight cars. A reduction of grades and curvatures has 

 been carried out on the principal railways in recent years, 

 and till? has permitted the hauling of heavier loads. It 

 is estimated that in 1907 the average earnings per ton of 

 freight hauled were i'472 dollars, and the average earnings 

 per passenger carried were 1-219 dollars. The earn- 

 ings per train mile were 1-953 dollars, and the working 

 expenses 1-381 dollars. The total earnings per mile of 

 railway were 6535-64 dollars, and the working expenses 

 were 4620-9 dollars. The working expenses W'ere divided 

 as follows in the official report : — 



Per cent. 



Maintenance of way and structures 20-13 



,, ,, equipment 20-88 



Conducting transportation SS'^S 



General expenses 374 



.Mlowing two cords of wood fuel to be equal to one ton, 

 5,609,000 tons of fuel— of which 5,578,000 tons were coal 

 —were consumed by Canadian railway locomotives in 1907 

 in running 100,155,000 miles. The total cost was about 

 3,027,500/., equal to 14-59 P^r cent, of the working 

 expenses. 



From this brief summary of facts some idea may be 

 gained of the rapid development of Canadian railways, 

 their immense capital value and traffic, and the remaric- 

 able influence they have had upon the progress and popula- 

 tion of the Dominion. It is a matter for satisfaction that 

 British capital and engineering skill have contributed in 

 no small measure to produce this development, and it may 

 be hoped that in the future they may render even greater 

 service. 



Inland Navigation. 

 The most important system of inland navigation which 

 Canada possesses is primarily due to the existence of the 

 Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River ; but the utilisa- 

 tion of these natural advantages and the construction of 

 a continuous navigable channel from the sea to the head 

 of Lake Superior is due to the work of engineers. The 

 importance of such a navigable waterway leading to the 

 heart of the Dominion was recognised long ago by the 

 Government. The first canal is said to have been opened 

 in 1821, and from that time onwards the canal system 

 has been developed, but the greatest progress has been 

 made during the last forty years under successive Adminis- 

 trations. Up to March 31, 1907, the capital expenditure 

 on Canadian canals, exclusive of outlay by the Imperial 

 Government, has approached 18,350,000/. sterling, of which 

 more than ten millions have been spent on enlargements. 

 Besides minor canal systems, many of which are important, 

 a great " trunk system " of water-transit has been created 

 from Montreal to Port Arthur, at the head of Lake 

 Superior, this all-water route being nearly 1300 miles in 

 length, having a minimum depth of water of 14 feet and 

 effecting a total vertical rise of about 600 feet from tidal 

 water in the St. Lawrence to Lake Superior. In order 

 to effect tills rise forty-nine locks are provided, most of 

 which are 270 feet long and 45 feet wide, enabling vessels 

 255 feet long to be accommodated. Out of the total length 

 of more than 1200 miles, only 73^ miles consist of artificial 

 channels. The Wclland Canal, connecting Lakes Erie and 

 Ontario — with a total rise from lake to lake of 327 feet, 

 effected in twenty-five locks — is 265 miles long. This canal 

 dates from 1824 ; its enlargement to present dimensions 

 was begun in 1872, and occupied fifteen years; the total 

 expenditure on the canal has been nearly five and a half 

 millions sterling. Another important section of the water- 

 way is the Sault Ste. Marie Canal — about 6000 feet in 

 length and from 142 to 150 feet wide between the pier- 

 ends, with a lock 900 feet long, 60 feet wide, having 

 20J- feet of water over the sills. The difference of level 

 between Lakes Superior and Huron is 18 feet. Commenced 

 in 1888, the Sault Ste. Marie Canal was opened for traffic 

 in 1895, the cost being about 930,000/. Like its' pre- 

 decessor on the United States side of St. Mary's River — 

 the so-called " Soo " Canal affords free passage for the 

 ships of both countries. In 1898 about two and three- 

 quarter millions represented the tonnage of vessels passing 

 through the Canadian Canal, and of this total about 

 403,000 tons was in Canadian- vessels. In 1907 the total 

 tonnage had risen to i2.it6.ooo tons, of which 2,288,000 



NO. 2081, VOL. 81] 



was in Canadian vessel*. The Soulanges Canal is fourteen 

 miles long, with a rise of 84 feet effected in four locks. 

 Commenced in 1892, it was opened for traffic in 1899, 

 and cost nearly 1,400,000/. The Lachine Canal was com- 

 menced in 1821, enlarged in 1843 and 1873, and, as com- 

 pleted in 1901, is 85 miles long, has 45 feet rise, effected 

 in five locks, and has cost from first to last about 

 2,300,000/. 



In the construction of this great waterway many difficult 

 engineering problems have been solved, and every modern 

 improvement has been introduced ; electricity has been 

 utilised in its equipment,- both for power and lighting, so 

 that navigation can proceed by night as well as by day. 

 For the years 1903-7 the canals were declared free of tolls ; 

 but it is estimated officially that if tolls on the ordinary 

 scale had been collected the revenue for 1907 would have 

 exceeded 91,000/. In these five years the water-borne 

 traffic of the Dominion increased from 9,204,000 tons in 

 1903 to 20,544,000 tons in 1907 ; in the same period the 

 increase in Canadian railway traffic was from 47,373,000 

 tons to 63,866,000 tons. The official reporter justly re- 

 marks that " these results are exceedingly encouraging." 



It was recognised long ago that the utilisation of the 

 waterways of Canada from the Great Lakes to the sea 

 would yield considerable advantages by facilitating cheap 

 transport of agricultural products of the fertile regions 

 from the great Norih-West, but the Canadian portions of 

 that territory were then regarded as " a great lone land." 

 Subsequent developments of the corn-growing regions of 

 Canada have emphasised the value of the water route and 

 its great potentialities. In his " History of Merchant 

 Shipping " (published 1S76) Lindsay dwelt upon this point, 

 and foresaw that if the waterways of Canada were made 

 continuously navigable a struggle for supremacy in over- 

 sea trade must arise between New York and the Canadian 

 ports of Montreal and Quebec. This struggle is now in 

 full force, so far as the grain trade is concerned, and it 

 is likely to grow keener. The quantity of grain passed 

 down the whole length of the St. Lawrence navigation to 

 Montreal increased from about 450,000 tons in 1906 to 

 685,000 tons in 1907, while the quantity carried to Montreal 

 by the Canadian Pacific Railway was about 387,000 tons 

 for 1906 and 384,000 tons for 1907. On the other hand, 

 the quantity carried by canals in the United States to 

 New York fell from 294,500 tons in 1906 to 230,800 tons 

 in 1907. 



An important addition to the Canadian canal system has 

 been proposed, and its execution will probably be under- 

 taken when great works now in progress have been com- 

 pleted. This route extends from Georgian Bay on Lake 

 Huron to the St. Lawrence, and would utilise Lake 

 Nipissing as well as the French and Ottawa rivers. The 

 distance to be traversed would be 450 miles, less than 

 that of the present all-water route. On the basis of careful 

 surveys it has been estimated that a canal having 20 feet 

 depth of water could be constructed at a cost of twelve 

 millions sterling, upon which capital a reasonable dividend 

 could be paid, even if the charges made for transport were 

 one-third less than the lowest rates of freight possible on 

 United States routes to New York. It would, of course, 

 be most advantageous to have the available depth of water 

 increased from 14 to 20 feet, thus making possible the 

 employment of larger and deeper draught vessels between 

 the Lakes and Montreal. Considerable economies in the 

 ratio of working expenses to freight earnings would be 

 effected, break of bulk in transit to the sea would be 

 avoided, and the cost of transport greatly reduced. 



The magnitude of the grain trade and its growth may 

 be illustrated by the following figures for recent years : — 

 In 1897 the grain cargoes passed down the Welland Canal 

 to the ports of Kingston and Prescott numbered 377, and 

 represented 515,000 tons; for 1907 the corresponding 

 figures were 518 cargoes, weighing 841.000 tons. .\s to 

 the elevators and mechanical appliances for handling 

 economically these huge quantities of grain, nothing can 

 be said here, although they involve the solution of many 

 difficult engineering problems and have been greatly 

 simolified and improved as experience has been gained. 



The bulk of the canal traffic, of course, moves east- 

 wards and outwards from the interior provinces. For ex- 

 ample, of the total quantity of freight (1,604,321 tons) 



