Canada and the Canadians, Vol. 2 | Page 5

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 2,328 13 7 River Ottawa 35,603 16 3 Bay of Chaleurs Road 15,726 16 11 Gosford Road 10,801 10 10 Main North Toronto Road 686 19 4 Bridges between Montreal and Quebec 20,860 19 11 Cascades Road 13,287 19 6 London and Sarnia Road 19,837 5 11 London and Brantford Road 36,182 18 5 London and Chatham, Sandwich and Amherstburgh Road 12,789 0 1 River Richelieu 92 4 0 --------------
Certified to be a true abstract of the accounts of the Board of Works.
Thomas A. Begly, Sec. Board of Works.
Hamilton H. Killarly, President