HARRISBURG, nineteen miles from Hamilton, is the station of the Galt Branch of the Great Western Railway. PARIS, with the Upper and Lower Town, contains about 3,500 inhabitants; so called from its contiguity to beds of gypsum or plaster of Paris. It possesses a considerable amount of waterpower, which works numerous mills. There are two foundries. a tannery, machine-shop, distillery, saw-mill, etc. The Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway intersects the Great Western at this point, running to Goderich, on Lake Huron. WOODSTOCK, 48 miles from Hamilton and 138 from Windsor, is a county town, well situated on rolling ground, and contains about 4,500 inhabitants. It may be called a town of magnificent distances; East and West Woodstock forming a street upward of a mile in length. The vacant spaces, however, are fast being filled up with stately edifices, and it will thus in a short time become one of the handsomest thoroughfares in Canada. In this locality, noted for its handsome country seats -and indeed all the way from Hamilton-the land as seen from the road (the railroad for the most part passes through a new country) is rolling and well cleared of trees and stumps, presenting more the appearance of "merrie England" than any other section of the Province. INGERSOLL, nine miles farther, formerly an Indian village, now contains about 2,000 inhabitants. A small arm of the Thames runs through it, and furnishes some water-power, by which several mills are worked. Since the opening of the railway it has risen in a surprising manner; and the town, which before then had a very dingy appearance, the houses being of wood and wanting paint, is now gay with white brick, and the streets resound with the hum of an enterprising population. LONDON, 119 miles from Suspension Bridge and 110 from Windsor, if not, like her English namesake, is nevertheless a very stirring business place, and presents another instance of the energy and enterprise of the Canadian. Ten years ago, this then very small village of wooden houses was entirely burned down, and now on its ashes is raised a most flourishing city, containing four banks, several wholesale houses, fifteen churches, many of them handsome structures, and the English Church having a fine peal of bells; life and fire insurance offices, breweries and distilleries. It has three newspapers and several good hotels. Population nearly 18,000. It is well watered by the river Thames, which, however, is only navigable up to Chatham, sixty miles distant. The London and Port Stanley Railroad here joins the Great Western Railway; length twenty-four miles, running south to Lake Erie. CHATHAM, forty-six miles from Windsor, situated on the river Thames, possesses the great advantage of a navigation, and is therefore a place of considerable business. It contains eight churches; and being the county town of Kent, it has a court-house, a very handsome building, several grist and sawmills, woolen factory, two foundries, machine shop, etc. Numerous steamers and sail vessels have been built at this place. Steamers ply between Chatham, Detroit, and Amherstburg. Population about 5,000. WINDSOR, 229 miles from Suspension Bridge, opposite Detroit, prettily situated on the banks of the river, is a place of considerable business, and is rapidly increasing in wealth and population, owing to the advantage it has of being the western terminus of the Great Western Railway. Of course Windsor must have a "Castle," and the hotel of that name will be found excellent. Population, 2,000. Three steam-ferries ply between Windsor and Detroit, making close connections for the benefit of railroad passengers. For further information in regard to this route-See Canada Railway and Steam Navigation Guide. BUFFALO TO GODERICH, C. W., via BUFFALO AND LAKE HURON RAILWAY. Office, 37 Exchange Street, Buffalo, N. Y. THIS important line of travel extends from Buffalo, N. Y., crossing Niagara River by means of a steam ferry at Black Rock to Fort Erie, on the Canada side. It is proposed to construct a permanent railroad bridge of about one mile in length, a short distance above the present ferry. From Fort Erie the line of the railway extends westward within a short distance of Lake Erie for forty miles, to Dunnville, situated at the mouth of Grand River, crossing the Welland Canal. From Dunnville the road runs along the valley of the river on the north side to Brantford, thirty-eight miles farther, and from thence extends westward to Paris, where it connects with the Great Western Railway of Canada. The line thence runs to Stratford, C. W., where it connects with the Grand Trunk Railway, a total distance from Buffalo of 116 mules. To this point the road is now completed and in running order, and will be finished through to Goderich, situated on Lake Huron, during the year 1857. DUNVILLE is advantageously situated on the Grand River, at a point where it is intersected by the feeder of the Welland Canal. It is a place of considerable business, and contains several grist, saw, and plaster mills, and a tannery. Population, about 1,500. The Welland Canal is one of the many works of the same kind of which Canadians may be proud. This Canal affords a passage for propellers, sloops and schooners of 125 tons burden, around the Falls of Niagara, and connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. It is 42 miles long, including feeder, 56 feet wide, and from 8 to 16 feet deep. The whole descent from one lake to the other is 334 feet, which is accomplished by 37 locks. BRANTFORD, 78 miles from Buffalo and 82 miles from Goderich, is beautifully situated on Grand River, and named after Brant, the renowned chief of the Six Nations Indians, who, with his tribe, steadily supported the British Crown during the American War. "In Gertrude of Wyoming' he is alluded to in disparaging terms: 'The mammoth comes-the fiend, the monster Brant.' But some years afterward Campbell was obliged to apologize to Brant's son, who happened to visit London; as it appeared, on satisfactory evidence, his father was not even present at the horrible desolation of Wyoming. This much is due to the memory of Brant, who was a brave warrior and a steadfast ally of the British, and always exerted himself to mitigate the horrors of war." Brantford, until the opening of the Great Western Railway, was a great wheat market, the streets being crowded with hundreds of wagons daily; but that road created other markets, and to this extent the town has suffered. It has, however, other sources of prosperity. There is no place in the Province which commands such extensive water-power, and which is made available for the working of numerous mills. The iron foundries, machine shops, and potteries are on a large scale, and have caused the place to be regarded as the Birmingham of Canada. It has a goodly number of churches of various denominations, and one of the largest and handsomest hotels in tho Province-"The Kirby House." Population about 6,000. STRATFORD, is a new and thriving town, favorably situated on the line of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. This section of Canada enjoys a good climate and fertile soil, producing cereal grains in great abundance. The distance from Stratford to Goderich, by railroad route, is 44 miles, which, when completed, will afford a direct and speedy route from Buffalo to Lake Huron, a total distance of 160 miles. GODERICH, C. W., is advantageously situated at the mouth of Maitland River, here affording a safe and good harbor for vessels of a large size. The village is beautifully situated on elevated ground, rising about 150 feet above the waters of Lake Huron. The population now amounts to about 4,000, and is rapidly increasing in numbers and wealth. Steamers run from this port to Port Sarnia, Detroit, and Saginaw, and other harbors on the Upper Lakes. The Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway Company is pushing with energy the completion of this road, and the improvement of its passenger and freight capacity. We learn that the board of directors, at a late meeting in London, England, appropriated $1,300,000 for the construction of a steam ferry to run between Fort Erie and Black Rock, which shall be able to transfer six cars at a time from one side of the river to the other; for the construction of slips and docks on both sides to accomodate the steamer; for the construction of a track from Black Rock into the city of Buffalo, and to improve the harbor at Goderich, the terminus of the road on Lake Huron. |