MONTREAL, the largest city of Lower Canada and of British America, lies in lat. 45' 31' n., long, 73° 35' w., on the left think of the St. Lawrence, 180 m. above Quebec, and 200 below Lake Ontario, 400 from New York, and 2,750 from Liverpool. its east ern suburb, which is now an incorporated village, called Hoehelaga, was originally the site of an Indian village of the same name, discovered in September, 1535, tty Jacques Cartier; and it is from his admiring exclamation at the view obtained from the neigh boring hill, that Montreal (corrupted from Mont Royal) derives its name. The west ernmost permanent settlement which the French obtained in Canada, it was, under them, merely an outpost of Quebec; and continued to be such, rule, till 1832, when it bechnlea separate port. Since then, the rapidity of •its progress has bees astonishing. By the deepening of the shallower parts of the river above Quebec, Mon flea] is now accessible to vessels of over 3,000 tons burden, and drawing from 19 to 22 feet. Its harbor, lined with wharfs for a mile and a quarter, at which 125 ships could lie at one time, is, from its inland position (90 m. above the influence of the tides), per fectly safe. Situated at the head of the ocean-navigation of the St. Lawrence, Montreal has naturally become the depot for the exports and imports of all the Canadas. At the same time, the obstruction to vessels sailing further up the river, caused by the rapids, has been surmounted by magnificent canals. The canals connecting Montreal with Lake Ontario have locks of 200 ft. by 45, with 9 ft. of water on the sills; the locks of the Welland Canal are rather smaller. As Montreal lies also near the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, it is in immediate connection with the vast lumber-country the former river and its tributaries; while a canal has been projected to con nect the Ottawa, through lake Nipissing, with the Georgian bay in lake Huron, which, if carried out, will probably bring the produce of the north-western states, as well as of Western Canada, through Montreal, as it would give them an outlet to the ocean between 200 and 300 miles shorter than by the Erie, canal. But even at present, while navigation is open, an extensive daily is carried on by steamers and sailing-vessels of every description, with lake Ontario and the Ottawa district, as well as with the lower St. Lawrence; and the ships of the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company, by aid of a subsidy from the Canadian government, keep up a weekly communication with Liverpool, while at the same time the harbor is constantly crowded with vessels from other foreign ports. After the navigation of the St. Lawrence is closed, the ocean
steamers find a harbor at Portland, Maine, which is connected with Montreal by a rail way of 292 miles. This line belongs to the Grand Trunk Railway Company, and crosses the St. Lawrence at Montreal, by the celebrated tubular Victoria Bridge, the length of which, including its two abutments and 24 piers, is above a mile and three-quarters, By the lines of the same company, Montreal has railway communication with Upper Canada, the western states, and Lower Canada, while the Intercolonial Railway opens up communication with Halifax and St. John. Several other lines afford direct commu nication with all the important cities and towns in New York state, and the states of New England. The position, therefore, of Montreal as a center of commerce is perhaps unequaled, and its rapid advance in consequence has placed it, within the last few years, among the first commercial cities of the American continent—second, perhaps, only to New York. Its exports, imports, and duties, collected during the four years previous to 1862, were as follows: 1858—exports, £684,588; imports, £2,450,815; duty collected, £331,768. 1859—exports. £608,952; imports, £3,110,714; duty collected, £467,248. 1860 —exports, £1,204,143; imports, £3,066,802; duty collected, £490,770. 1861— exports, .£2,083.147; imports, £3,239,515; duty collected, £478,695. For the year end ing June 30, 1870. these items had attained the following greatly increased proportions: Exports, £3,979,252; imports, £5,350,169; duty collected, £860,000. In 1873, the value of exports was £4,935,827; of imports, £11,064,129. The value of assessed property in 1873 was £12,712,230; in 1857 it was only £4,609,097. The population has risen in like manner. In 1840, it was about 27,297; in 1852. it was 57,716; in 1854, about 65,000; in 1861, 90.323; and, in 1871, 107,225. The number of vessels arriving in the port of Montreal in 1873 was 422; in 1856, the number of sea-going vessels was only 232. The harbor is open on an average about eight months, from the latter half of April to the beginning of December.