In estimating the comparative merits of Montreal and New York, or any other American port on the North Atlantic coast, it may be assumed that the average summer rate of freight upon a bushel of wheat by either route from the head of the Upper Lakes to Liverpool is almost identical.[61] But it must be borne in mind that grain shipped _via_ Buffalo, whether by rail or canal, may be stored at the American seaboard, to be shipped at any time during the winter that may be desirable, thus placing the Montreal route at a disadvantage. The rates of marine insurance are also said to be in favour of New York. Another argument in favour of the route to New York _via_ Buffalo is that the Erie Canal is open for navigation from three to four weeks later in the autumn than the St. Lawrence canals, a fact of great importance to the Western farmer who wishes to dispose of as much of his crop as possible before the close of navigation. MONTREAL, OTTAWA AND GEORGIAN BAY CANAL. This latest canal project is the revival of a proposal that was entertained by the Canadian Government many years ago, and upon which there was spent a good deal of money, but which was subsequently abandoned in favour of the St. Lawrence route. Mr. Macleod Stewart, ex-Mayor of Ottawa, and a man of great energy as well as of influence, is the chief promoter of the present enterprise. At his instance a company of British capitalists has been formed for the purpose of constructing and operating a system of canals to complete a through waterway from Montreal to the Great Lakes along the course of the Ottawa and Mattawa rivers, Lake Nipissing and French River to the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron—following precisely the track of the early voyageurs. The chief advantage claimed for this route, from a commercial point of view, is that it is by far the shortest that can be devised from the Upper Lakes to the seaboard. Owing to the directness of the route it would effect a saving in distance of 450 miles over the Erie Canal route, and of 375 over the Welland and St. Lawrence route.