292 



CANADIAN lNSTITITIv— COAL IN CANADA. 



[1854. 



These questions appear I" 1110 to be very simple, and Tree from any dilli- 

 cnlty. 



An extensive series of Railways in Canada, on the north side "i the St. 

 Law rence, is developing itself rapidly ; pari of ii is already in operation, a 

 large portion lasl progressing, and other lines in contemplation, tlie com- 

 mencement "I H 1 1 1 1- 1 1 ninsl s|)eeddy lake place. 



The commerce of this extensive and productive country has scarcely any 

 outlet at pies.-ni. but through the Sti Lawrence; w bich is sealed up during 

 six months of the year, und Iherelorc very imperfectly answers the purposes 

 Of a great commercial thoroug'hf&rei 



Experience, hotli in this and other countries where railways have come 

 into rivalry with the best navigable rivers, has demonstrated, beyond the 



possibility of question, that this new description ol loc tion is capable oi 



superseding water carriage wherever economy and despatch are required; 

 and even where the latter is of little importance, the capabilities oia railway, 

 properly managed, may still be made available, simply for economy. 



The great object, however, of the Canadian system of railways is not to 

 compete with the River St. Lawrence which will continue toa ceommodate 

 a certain portion ol the traffic of the country, but to bring those rich pro- 

 vinces into direct and easy connection with ail the ports on the East Coast of 

 the Atlantic , from Halifax to Boston, and even New York, — and consequently 

 through these ports, nearer to Europe. 



If the line of Railway communication be permitted to remain severed by 

 the St. Lawrence, it is obvious that the benelits which the system is calcu- 

 lated to confer upon Canada must remain in a great extent nugatory, and 

 of a local character. 



The Province will be comparatively insulated, and cut off from that- coast 

 to which her commerce naturally lends; the traffic from the West must 

 either continue to adopt the water communication, or, what is more probable 

 — -nay, I should say, (c rtatn— it would cross into the United States, by those 

 lines nearly completed to Buffalo, crossing the river near Niagara: 



No one who has visited the country, and made himself acquainted only 

 partially with the tendencies of the trade which is growing up on all sides 

 in Upper Canada, can fail to perceive that if vigorous steps be taken to 

 render railway communication with the Eastern Coast through Lower 

 Canada uninterrupted, the whole of the produce of Upper Canada will find 

 its way to the Coast through other channels ; and the system of lines now 

 comprised in your undertaking wrll be deprived of that traffic upon which 

 you have very reasonably calculated. 



In short, I cannot conceive anything so fatal to the satisfactory develop- 

 ment of your Radway as the postponement of the bridge across the liver 

 at Montreal. The line cannot, in my opinion, fulfil its object of being the 

 high road for Canadian produce, until this work is completed ; and looking 

 at the enormous extent of rich and prosperous country which your system 

 intersects, and at the amount of capital which has been already, or is in the 

 progress or prospect of being expended, there is in my mind no room for ques- 

 tion as to the expediency — indeed, the absolute necessity of the completion 

 of this bridge, upon which, I am persuaded, the successful issue of your 

 great undertaking mahdy depends. 



I am, Gentlemen, yours faithfully, 



Robert Stephenson. 



To the Directors of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. 



Canadian Institute. 



At a general meeting of tbe Institute, held on the 6th of May, 

 1854, the following resolution was adopted: — 



"That the amalgamation of the Toronto Atheneeum with the 

 Canadian Institute be agreed to, and be carried into effect accord- 

 ing to the conditions set forth in the communication from the 

 Council, which has just been read." 



The Communication from the Council consisted of a recom- 

 mendation to adopt and act upon the Report of the Special 

 Committees of the Canadian Institute and Toronto AtheuEeura, 

 appointed to confer on the subject of the union of those Institu- 

 tions. 



Tlie Report alluded to, together with the resolution of the 

 Council, are given in full on page 1 'Jo of this Journal, and need 

 not) therefore, be repeated here. 



At a meeting of the Council of the Canadian Institute, held 

 on Saturday, Juno ;;d, it was resolved — 



" That the thanks of the Council be transmitted to Alexander 

 Mackenzie Ross, Esq., Chief Engineer of the Grand Trunk 

 Railway, for his kindness in furnishing the original copy of the 

 plate of the Victoria Bridge, which appears in the June number 

 of the Canadian Journal?' 



A member of the Canadian Institute, distinguished as much 

 by an ardent love for natural science as for the remarkable 

 liberality with which he encourages and promotes its study, has 

 signified bis intention of presenting the Institute with a very 

 commodious piece of land in the city of Toronto for the construc- 

 tion of a building, subject to the condition that, either through 

 the munificence of the Provincial Government or by means of 

 private liberality, the necessary funds for the erection of a suit- 

 able building be ensured. We hope to enjoy the privilege of 

 being more explicit and definite in the July number; 



Coal in Canada* 



We have observed with much regret that the question of the 

 existence of coal in Canada West is again revived. The dark- 

 coloured bituminous shales of the TJtica slate have been once 

 more mistaken for the " black diamond." Tho shales alluded 

 to in a letter which has lately acquired a very wide circulation 

 throughout this country by means of the provincial press, are 

 many thousand feet below the true coal measures, and no wilder 

 speculations could be indulged in than attempts at finding coal 

 where those black shales appear. Sensible persons will soon be 

 perfectly satisfied on this matter by the speedy publication in 

 this Journal, of a paper " On the Physical Structure of Western 

 Canada," by W. E. Logan, F.R.S., and G.S.- Provincial Geolo- 

 gist. The delays which have arisen in the publication of that 

 distinguished geologist's paper, have proceeded from the great 

 difficulty which has been experienced in obtaining a correct cop- 

 perplate engraving of a geological map of Western Canada. We 

 hope, however, to be able to enrich the pages of the first number 

 of the third volume of the Canadian Journal, to be published in 

 August next, with an accurate plate of Mr. Logan's most valuable 

 and instructive map. 



The Quebec Meteorological Table for April was received at 

 the office of the Canadian Journal, on Tuesday, the 13th June. 

 This unusual delay will probably form an excuse for its non- 

 appearance in the present number. As yet, we are quite unable 

 to conjecture with whom the fault lies. We hope that it will 

 be found side by side with its May brother in our next issue. 



