It is the belief of those interested in the construction of this great canal that there is no economy in cheap construction. Good results may only be obtained by good work. The Suez Canal, for example, is cheaply constructed; it is only 72 feet wide at the bottom, and large ships may pass one another only when one goes into a sort of siding, where it usually runs aground. The expense of getting ships out of the sand, since the traffic was first opened through the canal, has far surpassed the sum for which the canal could have been constructed so as to avoid such delays and accidents. Therefore it is proposed that any maritime canal to be built should be fully 250 feet wide, and 30 feet deep at least. One of the great undertakings which would be connected with the construction of such a canal would be the reversion of the current of Lake Champlain, in order to deepen the water in the upper Hudson. This would be done by diverting a portion of the waters of the St. Lawrence River into Lake Champlain, and such a condition of affairs would develop at Waterford an immense water-power, nearly equal to one-third that of Niagara Falls. This water-power could be used for developing electric-power, and the canal could be illuminated with electric-light at night so as to make traffic almost as easy in the dark hours as in the daytime. The effects of such an enterprise would be far-reaching. An open-water route from the Atlantic to Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee would make those great inland cities practically seaports, and therefore the people who live in those cities would be able to purchase all sorts of commodities more cheaply than they can now, because the charges of transportation by water directly from foreign countries would be much cheaper than it is now, when there has to be a transshipment of the goods on the coast, and transportation by rail, which is expensive. On the other hand, the people of those other cities would also be able to sell more of their own products, and to greater advantage to themselves, because they could deliver them in foreign countries more cheaply than they can now. THE TOCSIN. BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER. When the tocsin sounds a rally, over hill and over valley You will hear a sudden rushing and the tramp of marching feet; From the lowland to the highland, swift through continent and island, When the tocsin sends its thrilling call, shall answer willing feet. For the young folks will be ready, rallying with faces steady, At the moment when vacation slips with laughing haste away; Dear old books for weeks neglected will be joyfully collected, Borne with looks of purest pleasure to the school on opening day.