If commerce seeks for her abode the head of navigation, there are many instances to show that she loves also to keep her ships to their native tides. An instance well known to us may be cited in the case of Glasgow and of Greenock, cities which have risen to their present prosperity so quickly that they rival in that respect many in America and in Canada. Greenock has not been killed by the enormous rise in the importance of the commercial capital of Scotland. Assuredly we may believe that Quebec, with a far greater country at its back, may be enabled, with the aid of proper communications, to pour forth every summer from her lap much of our wealth, of which Europe is so eager to partake.
These are the aspirations we share with you, and we wish to give effect to them by drawing the attention of those beyond the seas to the practical invitation you extend to them by the facilities afforded by your docks and wharves, and we now join with you in the trust that ample repayment will be yours for the energy and engineering skill you have lavished on the public works, which are comparable to any designed for a similar purpose. LORNE.
The drapery by which it had been concealed having been removed, the tablet stone was discovered suspended over the place it was intended to occupy in the wall. The attendant masons having performed their part, a silver trowel was handed to the Princess. This was a handsome piece of workmanship, beautifully chased and set in a rosewood handle, and bore the following inscription:—"To H.R.H. Princess Louise, this trowel was presented by the contractors of the Quebec Harbour Works, on the occasion of her laying the tablet stone of the Princess Louise Embankment and Docks, River St. Charles, Quebec July 29, 1880." Her Royal Highness, with this splendid implement, dug right lustily into the cement, and having prepared the bed, drew back to allow the ponderous stone to be lowered thereinto. This done, a beautiful mallet of polished oak having been presented, the mass received two or three blows, and was then declared to be well and truly laid. The Vice-Regal party almost immediately afterwards regained the Druid, which swiftly conveyed the members thereof to terra firma, the police yacht Dolphin being in attendance. Of the other steamers, the Clyde and North, after a short sail round the harbour, landed their passengers at the Grand Trunk Railway wharf; the Brothers went down to St. Joseph, and gave to those on board an opportunity of noticing the progress made upon the new Graving Dock there. The troops and privileged guests having been conveyed to and from the scene by the Montreal Harbour Commissioners' boat John Young.
HARBOUR AND DOCK WORKS.
Before describing these vast and important structures, calculated to afford such boundless facilities to ocean shipping frequenting our port, it may not be without interest to note the efforts made at various times for their construction. In his excellent work, "British Dominions in North America," Vol. 1., p. 263-264, Col. Bouchette thus deals with the subject in 1832—the far-seeing but misunderstood Mr. James George, however, as early as 1822, had conceived in his teeming brain the whole scheme.
"The construction of a pier across the estuary of the St. Charles is a measure of the greatest practicability, and of pronounced importance in every aspect, and a subject that was brought under the notice of the Legislature in 1829, when it received the most serious consideration of the committee, and was very favourably reported upon; but no bill has yet (1832) been introduced tending to encourage so momentous an undertaking. The most judicious position contemplated for the erection of such a pier is decidedly between the New Exchange and the Beauport Distillery and Mills, [141] a direct distance of 4,300 yards, which, with the exception merely of the channels of the St. Charles (that are neither very broad nor deep nor numerous), is dry at low water, and affords every advantage calculated to facilitate the construction of a work of that nature. It appears that, anterior to the conquest, the French Government had entertained some views in relation to so great an amelioration; but the subject seems to have never been properly taken up until 1822, when the project was submitted to the Governor-in-Chief of the Province by James George, Esq., a Quebec merchant, conspicuous for his zeal and activity, as well in promoting this particular object as in forwarding the views of the St. Lawrence Company, an association formed avowedly for the improvement of the navigation of the St. Lawrence.
Of the benefits to be derived from thus docking the St. Charles no one can doubt, whether the undertaking be considered in a local, municipal or commercial point of view. As a means of extending the boundaries of the Lower Town, and bringing under more immediate improvement the extensive branches of the St. Charles, it is of the greatest consequence.
Commercially considered, this pier (which would at first form a tide- dock, that might eventually be converted into a wet-dock) would be of incalculable advantage from the great facilities it would offer to the general trade of the place, and especially the timber trade, which has frequently involved its members in much perplexity, owing to the deficiency that exists of some secure dock or other similar reservoir where that staple article of the colony might be safely kept, and where ships might take in their cargoes without being exposed to the numerous difficulties and momentous losses often sustained in loading at moorings in the coves or in harbour. By building the outward face of the pier in deep water, or projecting wharves from it, an important advantage would also be gained, affording increased conveniences in the unloading and loading of vessels. In fact, it would be impossible, in summarily noticing the beneficial tendency of this great work, to particularize its manifold advantages; they are too weighty to be overlooked, either by the Legislature or the community at large, and will doubtless dictate the expediency of bringing them into effectual operation. The different modes suggested of raising the capital required for the undertaking are: 1st. From the Provincial revenue by the annual rate of a loan; 2nd. By an Act vesting it in the City of Quebec, by way of loan to the city, to be refunded by the receipts of rents and dock dues arising from the work; 3rd. By an Act of Incorporation, the Province taking a share in the stock, and appointing commissioners; 4th. By an Act of Incorporation only."
The Wet-Dock quay wall was to have been completed by the 1st of October, 1880, but delays have taken place, and the much-desired Tide Harbor of 20 acres, entering from the St. Lawrence, with a depth of 24 feet at low water, together with a Dock of 40 acres, having a permanent depth of 27 feet, will require another year before it is finally completed.