“The best houses and most of the churches are covered with plates of tin, a far better material for this purpose than the wooden shingles which are frequently used. In comparing the climate with that of Quebec, it may be observed that in general the winter is shorter in Montreal and the cold not so intense.
“In the latter city also the snow is seldom so deep, or remains so long, as in Quebec.
“The favourable situation of Montreal enables her to command the trade of a considerable portion of the lower Province, and the greater part of the upper. Her position, indeed, is such as always to ensure a profitable connection with every part of the continent where business is to be done.
“By some persons it has been thought, however favourable the situation of Montreal is at present, it would have been better had the city been founded a little lower down the river, so that the difficulty of ascending the current of St. Mary might have been avoided. The aid of steam navigation, however, by which ships of all burdens may easily be towed up to the city, renders this a consideration of much less importance than it was formerly.
“The civil government of Montreal is administered by Justices of the Peace, who are appointed by the Governor of the Province. They are at present forty-six in number, and have the power to make certain assessments for defraying the necessary expenses of the city and to enact and enforce such by-laws for its regulation and advantage as are not inconsistent with the statutes of the realm. For a short period the municipal affairs of the city were managed by a Mayor and Common Council.”
VIEW OF THE CHAMP DE MARS, MONTREAL, 1830
From a sketch taken by John Murray and engraved by Bourne
ABOUT 1845