… The present position of the negotiations between the Government and the canal company is that the latter corporation having matured its scheme, the Government engineers have made a report, and a compromise has now to be effected on those points where the recommendations of the Government engineers differ from the scheme of construction drawn up by the Georgian Bay Canal Company. "The total distance of the route planned by the canal company engineers between Georgian Bay on Lake Huron to Montreal, the head of ocean navigation on the St. Lawrence River, is 440 miles. The project is essentially a river and lake canalization scheme, and for the greater part of its course the projected route follows the course of the French River and the Ottawa. River and its lakes. From Georgian Bay to the summit level it is proposed to utilize the middle channel of French River to Lake Nipissing. From the northern side of this lake to the summit level, a distance of over 80 miles from Georgian Bay, it would be mainly an artificial waterway. From the summit level, 677 ft. above sea level, there is a long fall to Montreal, and the route proposed by the canal company engineers is _via_ Trout and Turtle Lakes, the little Mattawa River into Talon Lake to Sand Bay, a distance of 21 miles. A canal three miles long would carry the waterway to the Mattawa River, 13 miles of which would be utilized, and a short canal cut would give access to the Ottawa River, which would then be followed for a distance of 293 miles. Thence the St. Lawrence River or a branch of the Ottawa River, known as the Back River, would form the new waterway for the last 25 miles. The difference in elevation of 659 ft. between Montreal and the summit level, and 99 ft. between the summit and Georgian Bay would be bridged by 27 locks, ranging in lift from 5 ft. to 50 ft. These locks would be designed for a length of 940 ft., with a width of 70 ft. and with 22 ft. of water upon the lock sills, the proposed depth of the canal being 24 ft. {71} The total length of canal cutting for the route is estimated at from 28 to 34 miles, and in all about 108 miles out of the total length of 440 miles would require excavation work for lock approaches, canals, and submerged channels.