July 31, 1867

PUBLIC WORKS SPENDING AS ELECTION NEARS

Though there is still no official word the signs are all around that the elections will begin at any moment. Candidates are preparing themselves in the various constituencies and the ministers have taken to the rails to cross the Dominion in search of confirmation from the electors of their good works and good intentions. Above all else, however, there can be no surer sign of an imminent poll-taking than the spending of sums on public works projects.

As speculation around grows around Ottawa that the paper work for the Dominion elections is complete save for the filling in of the dates, it should come as no surprise that the attention is being paid to the state of repair of the Dominion’s canals, locks, and harbours.

While the rest of official Ottawa sleeps, Hon. William McDougall (Public Works) was busy in his office on July 29, 1867, preparing memos for the Privy Council Office recommending the expenditure of nearly $17,000 on a number of canals, locks, harbours, and bridges in Ontario and Québec. Once submitted, McDougall departed Ottawa to join his colleagues on the campaign trail.

The memos were received by the PCO and turned into the following Orders, submitted yesterday for consideration by Her Majesty’s advisors and ultimate approval by His Excellency, the Governor-General.The Orders include:

• 1867-0030: $2,250 for the repair and operation of a steam dredge owned by the Government in the Lachine Canal. This Order will not be approved.
• 1867-0031: $2,000 for repairs to the Williamsburg Canal. Considered and approved on August 7, 1867.
• 1867-0032: $8,000 for repairs to the Lachine, Beauharnois, Chambly, and Carillon Canals and the St. Annes and St. Ours Locks. Considered and approved on August 7, 1867.
• 1867-0033: $3,500 to the Municipality of Huron and Bruce for improvements to the Southampton Harbour. These funds were part of a $10,000 grant to the municipality, dated February 20, 1866, for the improvement of the Owen Sound, Kincardine, and Southampton harbours. Payment of the grant was conditional upon the inspection of the completed work by departmental officials. That inspection now done, the Order has been made recommending release of this portion of the grant to the municipality. Considered and approved August 7, 1867.
• 1867-0034: $275 to A.W. Powell for construction of a Bridge at Farmers Rapids on the Gatineau River. The payment is an award and costs ordered by the provincial arbitrator.
• 1867-0035: $780 to Stephen Richards for arbitration services on contractor claims related to the Public Buildings, Ottawa. Considered September 28, 1867. Approved October 1, 1867.

  POSTAL CONFUSION IN QUEBEC

  With the advent of the Province of Québec and the demise of the Province of Canada East, the Montreal Gazette is warning those mailing letters to the province take care to ensure that the envelopes are clearly addressed.

The new practice of including “Québec” on the envelopes of all matter being sent to all destinations in the province have resulted in some mail being routed to Québec City by accident. The Gazette suggests that letters meant for the province include a designation like “P.Q.” be used in place of the provincial name so as to avoid the confusion.

NEWS FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY

John Conner and William Kittson, late of the Township of Howard in Kent County, Ontario, write of their early experiences emigrating to Rupert’s Land last month. They report of

• soil that is “a rich, greasy, black, clay loam…blacker and richer than any, even of the flats and bottoms of the River Thames.”
• prairie cleanings that can be sown and reaped within one year of settling
• land “as far as the eye could see” that is “just waiting for the plough, and giving promise of food and homes for millions.”
• the purchase of 200 acres and a homestead on the bank of the Assiniboine River, fifteen miles from Fort Garry on the route to Saskatchewan, for £7 ($34)
• expecting to break 15 of their acres this year, and sowing it next, a task that would take fifteen years in Ontario
• farmers reaping crops of incredible prosperity — a six acre field producing 384 bushels of wheat, each weighing 67 lbs and another farmer who reaped 900 bushels of potatoes from 22 bushels of seed.

Messrs. Conner and Kittson warn, however that all is not rosy. The local government, such as it is, has “no energy, no life, no anything” except an obsession with furs and fur profits. The gentleman write that their emigration to the territory was made on the belief that the territory would soon be part of the Dominion and express hope that that soon occurs.

Finally, they note with some concern that on their way out they passed a caravan of some 1,050 carts bound for St. Paul, Minnesota, carrying hardly any Canadian goods. “Surely,” they write, “our country has some right to the riches of this productive land, at least to its trade, if nothing more.”

ATTACK ON IRISH GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY

Recent statements in Chronicle and Mercury with respect to the Irish population must be the responsibility of the politicians who support these publications through grants, patronage, and the dissemination of information, according to the Québec News.

Recent calls for Irish representation in the provincial cabinet have been rejected by the two papers. The Chronicle argues that Irish claims to specific representation are as justified as those of the Indians of Loretto. The Mercury goes further, telling the Irish they exist in Canada solely as “labourers about the docks” and “domestics in British households.”

RICHARDS IN BROCKVILLE

Hon. Stephen Richards (Commissioner of Crown Lands, Ontario) is in Brockville mooting a potential run in the South Leeds constituency.

ONTARIO PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS RENOVATED

Construction of a western wing of the of the Ontario Parliament Buildings at the corner of Front and Simcoe Streets in Toronto, is nearly complete and will house the clerks of the Crown Lands Department. The rest of the building is undergoing a complete renovation. The outside has been painted red and work on the legislative chamber is underway with a completion date still to be determined.