There are a few guns mounted on a work on the left bank of the river above the city, but for military purposes the place may be considered perfectly open. There are more than 90,000 people in the city, but it is said not to be a fighting population; and there are many foreigners and emigrants of an inferior class, who taint the place with rowdyism. The British element was active in volunteering when I was there, and figures in uniform were frequently to be seen in the streets; but the time was unfavourable for any public displays, and I never saw any of the volunteers working _en masse_. Here, as elsewhere, the jealousies of claimants for command, local and personal rivalry, have impeded the good work; but such obstacles would vanish in the presence of danger. National feeling has tended to make the organisation of corps too expensive, and the question of drafting for the militia has also interfered with the full development of the movement. It would be unjustifiable to assert that the enterprise of the French people, and their capacity for colonisation, have been diminished by republican institutions; but, unquestionably, the great convulsions which have agitated society since the fall of the monarchy appear to have concentrated the energies of the race upon objects nearer home, even though they have annexed Algeria, established a protectorate over Tahiti, and are engaged in war with the Cambodians. Where is the enterprise which, more than 200 years ago, originated a company of merchant adventurers, who pushed out settlements into this wilderness, and founded factories among the Iroquois and the Mohawks? In those days, indeed, the zeal of Jesuits and other Roman Catholic missionaries preceded the march and directed the course of commerce. Montreal owes its existence to a certain Monsieur Maisonneuve, the factor of the Commercial Association in 1642. More than 100 years afterwards it was nearly destroyed by fire; and ten years after the conflagration the troops of the insurgent colonies took possession of the town, which was a favourite object of attack in the two American wars. In spite of many misfortunes--fire, hostile occupation, insurrection, riot--Montreal has flourished exceedingly, and the energy of its population has been displayed in securing for it a principal share of the trade between England and the Upper Provinces. Its railway communications have been pushed with great energy, and the canals and quays are in imperial grandeur; but still, in case of war with the States, the only outlet in winter (by rail to Portland) would be effectually blocked up.