1853] 



THE NORTHERN RAILWAY. 



281 



■with tlieii' nssociatcd marine strata, may contain. Sir Charles 

 anticipates tliat the chronological results, derived from such 

 sources, will be in harmony with the conclusions to which botani- 

 cal and zoological considerations alone might lead us, and that 

 the lapse of years will be found to be so N-ast as to have an im- 

 portant bearing on our reasonings in every departnrent of geo- 

 logical science. 



A question may bo raised, how far the co-operation of the sea 

 in the deposition of the Carboniferous Series might accelerate 

 the process above considered. The Lecturer conceives that the 

 iuterveution of the sea would not aftbrd such favorable conditions 

 for the speedy accumulation of a lai-ga body of sediment within 

 a limited area, as Avould be obtained by the hypothesis before 

 stated, namely, that of a great river entering a bay in which the 

 waves, currents, and tides of the ocean sliould exert only a mode- 

 rate degree of denuding and dispersing powei'. 



An eminent writer, when criticising, in 1830, Sir Charles 

 Lyell's work on the adequacy of existing causes, was at pains to 

 assuro his readers, that while he questioned the soundness of the 

 doctrine he by no means grudged any one the appropriation of 

 as much as he pleased of that "least valuable of all things, past 

 time." But Sir Charles believes, notwithstanding the admission 

 so often made in the abstract of the indefluite extent of past time, 

 that there is, practically speaking, a rooted and perhaps nncon- 

 scious reluctance, on the part of most geologists, to follow out 

 to their legitimate consequences the proofs, daily increasing in 

 number, of this immensity of time. It would therefore be of no 

 small moment could we obtain even an approach to some posi- 

 tive measure of the number of centuries wdiich any great opera- 

 tion of nature such as the accumulation of a delta or fiuviatilo 

 deposit of great magnitude may require, in as much as our con- 

 ceptions of the energy of aqueous or igneous causes, or of the 

 powers of \-itality in any given geological period must depend on 

 the quantity of time assigned for their development. ■ 



Thus, for example, geologists will not deny that a vertical sub- 

 sidence of three miles took place gradually at the South Joggins, 

 during the carboniferous epoch, the lowest beds of the coal of 

 Nova Scotia like the nriddle and uppermost consisting of shallow- 

 water beds. If then this depression was brought about in the 

 course of three hundred and seventy-five thousand years, it did 

 not exceed the rate of four feet in a century, resembling that 

 now experienced in certain countries where, whether the move- 

 ment be upward or downward, it is quite insensible to the in- 

 habitants, and only known by scientific- inquiry. If, on the other 

 hand, it was brought about in two millions of years according to 

 the other standard before alluded to, the rate would be only six 

 inches in a century. But the same movement taking place in an 

 upward direction would be sufficient to uplift a portion of the 

 earth's crust to the height of Mont Blanc or to a vertical eleva- 

 tion of three miles above the level of the sea. In like manner, if 

 a large shoal be rising, or attempting to rise, in mid-ocean at the 

 rate of six inches or even four feet in a hundred years, the waves 

 may grind down to mud and sand and readily sweep away the 

 rocks so upraised as first as they come within the denuding action 

 of the waves. A mass having a vertical thickness of three miles 

 might thus be stripped off in the course of ages, and inferior 

 rocks laid bare. So in regard to volcanic agency a certain quan- 

 tity of lava is poured out annually upon the surface, or is injected 

 into the earth's crust below the surface, and great metamorphic 

 ehanges resulting from subterranean heat accompany the injec- 

 tion. Whether each of these eftiicts bo multiplied by fifty 

 thousand, or by half a million or by two million of years, may 

 entirely decide the question whether we shall or shall not be com- 

 pelled to abandon the doctrine of paroxysmal \-iolence in ancient 

 as contrasted with modern times. Were wo hastily to take for 



granted the paroxysmal intensity of the forces above alluded to 

 organic and inoi'ganic, while the ordinary course of nature may of 

 itself aftbrd the requisite amount of aqueous, igneous, and vital 

 force, (if multiplied by a sufficient number of centuries,) we 

 might find oursehes embarrassed by the possession of twice a? 

 much mechanical force and vital energy as we require for the 

 purposes of geological interpretation. — Sill. Jour. 



Tlie Norlhern RailAvay. 



The conveyance of a i)arty of gentlemen from Toronto to 

 Bradford, by a Special Train, on Wednesday, the 6th July, at 

 the instance of the Chief Engineer and the Superintendent of 

 this line, is an event which we chronicle with particular pleasure, 

 and some degree of pride. It is indeed a matter of no small 

 moment to Western Canada, and especially to Toronto, that it is 

 now possible to pass from Lake Ontario at a speed exceeding 

 forty miles an hour, over an elevation of more than 730 feet, to 

 the landing place on Lake Simcoe, in direct, though not yet 

 available communication with the T7orl9- of waters to the west. 



It is, however, in relation to the local advantages which the 

 Northern Railway confeis upon the fertile country through which 

 it passes, that \ve are as yet enabled to speak with that certainly 

 which actual observation and experience permit. Many portions 

 of the extensive countiy traversed by the line, cannot fail to im- 

 press the passing stranger with a well grounded conviction of its 

 admirable adaptation to support a dense and independant popu- 

 lation. Of the wild beauty of mountain scenery Western Canada 

 itself, can scarcely boast, and certainly none is to be found on the 

 Northern line, as far as Bradford ; but of undulating plains of 

 extraordinary fertility, a teeming soil and a health)-, industrious 

 population, of these lessei', but more desirable attractions, a rich 

 share is strewn around its path. 



The part of the Northern Line so rapidly passed over by the 

 Express Train, on July 0th, is 42 miles in length, and connects 

 Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe. The Station on the last named 

 Lake is very fortunately situated upon a deep and navigable river 

 which empties itself into the Lake, about se\-en miles from the 

 substantial railway bridge, recently thrown across it. Above the 

 brido-e the river is navigable for many miles, and thus establishes 

 an easy and rapid communication between a very extensive and 

 fertile inland country, and the only port accessible throughout the 

 year, on the North Shore of Lake Ontario. 



Although the line has been opened for a very few weeks, yet 

 it seems to have given already an extraordinary impetus to the 

 growth of the villages through which it passes. The present 

 interest attached to the northern line, is not confined to the fact 

 that it is the first railway winch has been opened for so long a 

 distance in Western Canada, or that the speed attained by a 

 Special Train, nearly equalled the usual rapidity of the English 

 Express trains ; it is something to know that the materiel of the 

 line, the Locomotive and Cars, are in themselves, admirable illus- 

 trations of the I'apid progress we are making in the mechanical 

 arts. Canadian White Oak and Bird's Eye Maple, give a lightness 

 and brilliancv to the First Class Passenge;' Car?, which wc have 



