Canada and the Canadians, Vol. 2 | Page 5

but they are not kept in very good repair; in fact, it
cannot escape the notice of a traveller from the Old World that there is
too magnificent a spirit at work in the commencement of this place, and
that utility is sacrificed to enlargement.
Hamilton is beautifully situated on a sloping plane, at the foot of a
wooded range of hills, called mountains, whence fine stone of very
white colour in immense blocks is easily procured and brought; and it
is very surprising that more of this stone has not been used in Toronto,
instead of wood. Brick-clay is also plentiful, and excellent white and
red bricks are made; but, such is the rage for building, that the largest
portion of this embryo city is of combustible pine-wood.
I left Hamilton in a light waggon on the 9th of July, at half-past five
o'clock, a.m., having been detained for horses, and rolled along very
much at my ease, compared to what the travelling on this route was
seven years ago--I was going to say, on this road, but it would have
been a misnomer, for there was nothing but a miry, muddy, track then:

now, there is a fine, but too narrow, macadamized highway,
turnpiked--that is to say, having real turnpike gates.
The view from "the mountain" is exceedingly fine, almost as fine as
that from Queenston heights, embracing a richly-cultivated fruit and
grain country, a splendid succession of wooded heights, and a long,
rolling, ridgy vista of forest, field, and fertility, ending in Lake Ontario,
blue and beautiful.
We arrived, at a quarter past seven, at Ancaster, a very pretty little
village, with two churches, and composed principally of wooden
houses.
The Half-way House is then gained, being about half a mile from the
end of the macadamized road, and thirteen and a half from Hamilton.
Good bridges, culverts, and cutting, are seen on this section of the line
to London. We got to Ancaster at half-past eight, or in about two hours
and three quarters, and thence over the line of new road which was,
what is called in America, graded, that is, ploughed, ditched, and
levelled, preparatory to putting on the broken stone, and which graded
road, in spring and autumn, must be very like the Slough of Despond.
At eleven, we reached Maloney's Tavern--most of the taverns on the
Canadian new roads are kept by Irish folks--four miles from Brentford.
The Board of Works have been busily employed here, for a great
portion of the road is across a swamp, which has been long known as
the swamp. This is a pine-country, soil, hard clay or mud, and no stone;
and the route is a very expensive one to form, requiring great bridging
and straightening.
I observe that the estimate for 1845, for Public Works on this road, in
the Gore District, for finishing it, is as high as £10,000 currency, and it
is to be all planked, and that, to continue it to London, £36,182 15s. 8d.
had been expended up to July, 1844.
The immense expenditure, since 1839, upon internal improvements in
Canada, in canals, harbours, lighthouses, roads, &c., is almost

incredible, as the subjoined list will show:--
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF WORKS,
SHOWING THE MONEYS EXPENDED UPON EACH OF THE
PUBLIC WORKS, FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE
WORK, UP TO THE 1ST JULY, 1844.
Welland Canal £238,995 14 10
ST. LAWRENCE CANALS, VIZ.:
Prescott to Dickenson's landing 13,490 19 4 Cornwall (to the time of
opening the Canal in June, 1843) 57,110 4 2 Cornwall (to repair breaks
in the banks since the above period) 9,925 16 4 Beauharnois 162,281
19 5 Lachine 45,410 11 2 Expenditure on dredge, outfit, &c.,
applicable to the foregoing in common 4,462 16 3 Lake St. Peter
32,893 19 3 Burlington Bay Canal 18,539 11 2 Hamilton and Dover
Road 30,044 16 5
NEWCASTLE DISTRICT, VIZ.:
Scugog Lock and Dam 6,645 8 1 Whitlas Lock and Dam 6,101 7 11
Crook's Lock and Dam 7,849 9 6 Heely's Falls 8,191 5 1 Middle Falls
219 2 8 Ranney's Falls 228 6 8 Chisholm's Rapids 7,599 14 0 Harris's
Rapids 1,591 9 6 Removing sundry impediments in the River 185 17 0
Port Hope and Rice Lake Road 1,439 16 4 Bobcaygean, Buckhorn, and
Crook's Rapids 12 0 0 Applicable to the foregoing works generally
6,674 1 2
HARBOURS, AND LIGHTHOUSES, AND ROADS LEADING
THERETO.
Windsor Harbour 15,355 18 3 Cobourg Harbour 10,381 6 3 Port Dover
3,121 10 4 Long Point Lighthouse and Light-ship 2,163 8 5 Burwell
Harbour and Road 136 10 0 Scugog Road 1,202 6 3 Port Stanley
16,242 10 10 Rondeau Harbour, Road and Lighthouse 60 4 2 Port
Stanley Road 24,385 13 5 Expenditure on outfit, &c. applicable to the

foregoing in common