Military Paternalism, Labour, and the Rideau Canal Project

By Robert W. Passfield

In studies of the Rideau Canal construction project, Labour historians have focused on the suffering of the canal workers, and have posited that the military deployed troops to suppress labour unrest and were indifferent to the suffering of the workers. This book provides a different perspective through placing the canal project within its natural and physiccal environments, and through taking into account cultural factors in examining the labour as it evolved during the construction of the canal.

Within that broader framework, a totally different view emerges with respect to the causes of the suffering experienced by the canal workers, and the role of the military on the canal project. Moreover, the paternalism of Lt. Col. John By is revealed in his efforts to promote the physical, material, and moral well-being of the canal workers. Lastly, the phenomenon of military paternalism is examined further within a Marxist context, and in terms of Anglican toryism and and Lockean liberalism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491823767

Robert W. Passfield

Robert W. Passfield, Senior Historian (retired), Parks Canada Agency, has published several articles in academic journals and an earlier book, Building the Rideau Canal (1982), on the construction of the canal works, and the military and engineering significance of the canal. The present work, Military Paternalism, Labour, and the Rideau Canal Project (2013), focuses on working conditions and the treatment of the labourers during the construction period, 1826-1832. To date, Labour historians have portrayed the life of the canal labourers as one of 'poverty, distress and disease', and have implied that the military deployed trops to suppress labour unrest and were indifferent to the suffering of the canal workers. This book presents a revisionist view, through placing the Rideau Canal project within its wilderness environment, and in taking into account cultural factors in examining the labour situation. Within that broader framework, a totally different view emerges of the causes of the suffering experienced by the canal labouorers, and their treatment by the mililtary. Moreover, the paternalism practiced by the Commanding Royal Engineer, Lt. Col. John By, is revealed in his ongoing efforts to promote the physical, material, and moral well-being of the canal workers. The phenomenon of military paternalism is examind further within an existing Marxist interpretive context, and in terms of the cultural values of Anglican toryism and Lockean liberalism.

Book preview

2013 Robert W. Passfield. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/10/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5569-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3010-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2376-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918217

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover Design: Craig Passfield. Illustration: Brewer’s Lower Mill: Masonry of the Lock nearly completed, Excavation for Canal in progress, 1831-2. Thomas Burrowes, watercolour, (Archives of Ontario).

-Rideau Canal labour

-Canal workers

-Royal Engineers

-Military paternalism

-Lt. Col. John By

-Anglican toryism

Contents

Summary

Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Part One:   Military Paternalism on the Rideau Canal Project

Introduction

Obtaining a Workforce

Getting the Project Underway

Irish Pauper Immigrants

Health Care

The Sickness Factor

Origins, Circumstance, and Acculturation

Provisioning System

Wage Rates

Maintaining Order

Conclusion

Endnotes

Part Two:   Lt. Col. John By, Commanding Royal Engineer, Rideau Canal

Introduction

Biographical Sketch: the Early Years

Character, Cultural Values, and Worldview

Endnotes

Part Three:   Military Paternalism and the Rideau Military Settlement

Introduction

Strengthening the British Character of Upper Canada

Implementing a Military Settlements Strategy

The Assisted-Emigration Scots

The Rideau Military Settlement

The Perth Settlement

The Richmond Settlement

The Lanark Settlement

The Irish Catholic Poor-Relief Emigrants

Cost -Benefits: The Rideau Military Settlement

Conclusion

End Notes

Bibliography

Appendix

Marxism, Cultural Values and Military Paternalism

Marxist Canal Histories

Cultural Values

Anglican toryism

Lockean liberalism

Endnotes

A Note About the Author

Rideau Canal Publications by the Author

For my mother, the late Gertrude Violet Passfield,

and my daughter, Mary Barnes

Summary

This book comprises a revisionist history of the labour situation on the Rideau Canal construction project, 1826-1832. In previous studies, Labour historians have focused on the suffering and supposed exploitation of the canal workers, and have posited that the military deployed troops to suppress labour unrest and were indifferent to the suffering of the workers. This book provides a contrary assessment from a different perspective. It places the military canal project within its natural and physical environment in analyzing the living and working conditions under which the canal workers laboured, and takes cultural factors into account in examining how the workers of different ethnic groups responded to the demands of living and working in a wilderness environment. It also assesses to what extent, if any, the Commanding Royal Engineer, Lt. Col. John By, responded to the suffering of the canal workers.

Through examining the Rideau Canal project within a broader framework, a totally different view emerges with respect to the causes of the suffering experienced by the canal workers, and the role of the military on the canal project. Moreover, the paternalism of Lt. Col. John By is revealed in his efforts to alleviate the suffering of the canal workers, and to promote their physical, material and moral well-being. In addition, the character, education and upbringing of Lt. Col. By is examined to gain an understanding of his character, cultural values and worldview, and a wider view of military paternalism is taken through examining the founding of the Rideau Military Settlement in Upper Canada prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal.

Lastly, within an Appendix, a critique is offered of the Marxist interpretation of the labour situation on the Rideau Canal project, and the practice of paternalism. In its stead, a cultural values interpretation, based on Anglican toryism, is proferred. Anglican toryism is also differentiated from Lockean liberal cultural values in addressing the currently prevailing view that the Province of Upper Canada had an all pervasive Lockean-liberal political culture.

Figure%201.jpg

Figure 1. St. Lawrence River Waterway ca. 1826. Map showing the towns and rapids of the St. Lawrence River navigation, and the Rideau Military Settlement towns of Perth, Richmond and Lanark, in the interior. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Illustrations

Figure 1. St. Lawrence River Waterway ca. 1826. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Figure 2. Rideau-Cataraqui Waterway in 1827. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Figure 3. Maitland’s Rapids, Rideau [Kilmarnock], 19 Augt. 1830, Lt. Col. James Pattison Cockburn, Royal Artillery, watercolour. (Royal Ontario Museum).

Figure 4. First Camp, Bytown; September 1826, attributed to Lt. Col. John By, Royal Engineers or his staff, watercolour. (McCord Museum).

Figure 5. Rideau Canal, Long Island on the Rideau River: August 1830, Lt. Col. James Pattison Cockburn, Royal Artillery, watercolour. (Royal Ontario Museum).

Figure 6. Royal Sappers & Miners, Uniform & Working Dress, 1825, George B. Campion, Drawing Master, Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, coloured lithograph. ( T.W. Connolly, The History of the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners (London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1855, Volume 2, Plate 13).

Figure 7. Near Old Sly’s, Rideau; August 1830, Lt. Col. James Pattison Cockburn, Royal Artillery, watercolour. (Library and Archives Canada).

Figure 8. A Settlement on Long Island on the Rideau River, Upper Canada, 17 Augt. 1830". Lt. Col. James Pattison Cockburn, R.A., watercolour. (Royal Ontario Museum).

Figure 9. Places Associated with John By in England. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Figure 10. Lt. Col. John By, n.d. Photograph of a portrait by C.K (Royal Engineers’ Museum, Chatham, England).

Figure 11. The Rideau Military Settlement Townships. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Figure 12. Bush farm near Chatham, ca. 1838, Lieutenant Philip John Bainbrigge, Royal Engineers, watercolour. (Library and Archives Canada.)

__________________________

Note: In this publication, the watercolour images have been reproduced in grey tones.

Preface

The Rideau Canal was constructed by the Corps of Royal Engineers to provide a secure, uninterrupted water communication by which British Army troops, ordnance, equipment and supplies could be moved inland in wartime from the ocean port of Montreal to Lake Ontario through the interior of Upper Canada (Ontario), without being exposed to attack in wartime by American forces on the upper St. Lawrence River. Although historians have agreed that the construction of the Rideau Canal, in 1826-1832, was an outstanding engineering achievement, differences exist concerning the conditions under which the canal workers laboured.

In studying working conditions during the construction of the Rideau Canal, Labour historians have seen but yet another example of a major canal construction project on which workers suffered from poverty, distress and disease, and lived in squalor. The canal workers are depicted as having been poorly paid, exploited by company stores, and controlled by troops employed in curbing labour unrest.¹ Yet from the commencement of construction on the Rideau Canal project the Commanding Royal Engineer, Lt. Col. John By, professed a paternalistic concern to maintain a healthy and robust workforce in the wilderness environment through which the canal was being constructed – a paternalism that embraced both the psychological and physical wellbeing of the canal workers, as well as their protection from rapacious contractors.² Given such a divergence, was military paternalism an abject failure during the construction of the Rideau Canal, or have Labour historians erred in their interpretation of working conditions on the Rideau Canal and the role of the military?

To provide a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of the labour situation on the Rideau Canal project, several questions need to be addressed. First, to what extent was the suffering experienced by the Rideau Canal workers but part of living and working in the swamps and marshes of the backwoods in Upper Canada where disease was rife, and the threat of injury and death always present for anyone working in that environment? Secondly, did military paternalism contribute to alleviating the particular afflictions suffered by labourers on the Rideau Canal project as it evolved? And lastly, to what extent was the degree of suffering experienced by the canal workers on the Rideau Canal project a product of the differing levels of well-being and acculturation among the various ethno-religious immigrant groups in responding to the imperatives of living and working in that environment?

More generally, this examination of working conditions and the treatment of canal workers on the Rideau Canal project presents an interesting multi-cultural study in that the workforce comprised large numbers of men of different ethno-religious identities and loyalties. The workforce was drawn from among the pioneer settlers of Upper Canada, from the older settled areas of Lower Canada, and from immigrants but newly-arrived in Canada. As such, the labour force was comprised largely of Irish Catholics, Irish Protestants (Anglo-Irish and Scots-Irish), and French Canadians, with a significant component of Presbyterian Scots amongst the artificers, as well as English, Irish Protestant and Scots soldier-artificers of two companies of the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners who were assigned to the Rideau Canal project. Moreover, the civilian contractors comprised Scots-Canadians, Anglo-Canadians, English immigrants, several Americans, and a French-Canadian; all of whom were under the supervision of English officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers. As such, all of the ingredients for ethnic and religious strife, and – according to some Labour historians – even of class conflict, were present on the Rideau Canal project; yet that never materialized.

In sum, Part One of this book constitutes a revisionist treatment of the history of the canal workers on the Rideau Canal project. It rejects the prevailing interpretation, forged by Labour historians, that the canal workers were exploited on the Rideau Canal project under a military class indifferent to their suffering; and that labour unrest was suppressed by military force and/or by the threat of military force.

Part Two of this book, Lt. Col. John By, Commanding Royal Engineer, Rideau Canal, comprises a brief biographical sketch of Lt. Col. By prior to his appointment to superintend the construction of the Rideau Canal. It is included to illuminate the political culture in which Lt. Col. By was raised, and the influences – religious, family, educational, and military – that played a role in the formation of the character, cultural values, and worldview of the ‘paternalist authority’ on the Rideau Canal project.

Part Three, Military Paternalism and the Rideau Military Settlement, treats the prior establishment of the Rideau Military Settlement, and examines the extent to which the officers of the Commissariat of the British Army, went beyond their prescribed duties in providing aid to the settlers when in need. It has been included to attest that the paternalism practiced by Lt. Col. By on the Rideau Canal project was not simply a product of his personal character, but rather was an attribute of the character and cultural values of the officers of the British Army during that period of history.

Herein, ‘paternalism’ is conceptualized in terms of its traditional meaning: viz. the practice of promoting, in a fatherly manner, the well-being of those under one’s authority, and doing so by going well beyond the prescribed duties and responsibilities of one’s position. To the contrary, modern definitions of ‘paternalism’ and the present usage of the term in political science, philosophy, and sociology, carry a negative connotation in denoting an unwarranted government interference or meddling in the lives of citizens.³

The Appendix – Marxism, Cultural Values, and Military Paternalism – addresses an historiographical concern with respect to Labour historians who have adopted a Marxist framework for interpreting the labour situation on the Rideau Canal project. In sum, it addresses the proclivity of Labour historians to view the canal project through a Marxist lens in seeing only worker exploitation, class conflict, and an emerging class consciousness, and of Marxist historians to set forth a strictly economic explanation for the paternalism which was practiced by ‘those who ruled’ during that era. To the contrary, a culturally- based explanation is posited for the paternalism practiced by Lt. Col. John By and his fellow military officers.⁴

Robert W. Passfield

Ottawa, Ontario

June 2013

Endnotes

1. See William N.T. Wylie, "Poverty, Distress, and Disease: Labour and the Construction of the Rideau Canal, l826l832, Labour/Le Travailleur, Vol. 11, Spring l983, 729; and H. Clare Pentland, Labour and Capital in Canada, l650-l860 (Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., l981), 52 & 190. For an historical overview of the Rideau Canal construction project, see: Robert W. Passfield, Building the Rideau Canal: A Pictorial History (Don Mills, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside/Parks Canada, 1982), and Robert F. Legget, Rideau Waterway (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967).

2. Library and Archives Canada (LAC), RG8, Series C, Vol. 42, reel C-2617, 103, Lt. Col. By to Major General Darling, Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, 2 October 1826; and John Mactaggart, Three Years in Canada: An Account of the Actual State of the Country in 1826-7-9 comprehending its resources, productions, improvements, and Capabilities and including Sketches of the State of Society, Advice to Emigrants, etc. London: Henry Colburn, 1829, Vol. I, 159-162.

3. Simon Clarke, A Definition of Paternalism, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, vol. 5, No. 3, Spring 2002, pp. 81-91.

4. From 1791 to 1841 Canada comprised the provinces of Upper Canada (southern Ontario) and Lower Canada (southern Quebec), which were often referred to as the Canadas.

Acknowledgements

Part One of this book, Military Paternalism on the Rideau Canal, comprises a recasting of an unpublished earlier research paper, All Will Succeed (1984), which the author prepared almost thirty years ago while employed by the Parks Canada Agency. Additional material has been worked up from more recent research to further support and extend the original argument. The principal sources consulted were the microfilm reels of the War Office records (WO 44 and WO 55), and the British Military and Naval Record Group (RG 8, Series C) at the Library and Archives Canada. These records contain the progress reports of the Commanding Royal Engineer of the Rideau Canal project, Lt. Col. John By, and his correspondence with the Board of Ordnance in London, England, as well as his correspondence with the Commanding Royal Engineer for Canada, Colonel Elias Durnford, and with the Commander-in-Chief/Governor-in-Chief for British North America, Lord Dalhousie and his successor, Lt. General Sir James Kempt.

The archival records of several contemporaries who were associated with the construction of the Rideau Canal were also consulted, as well as contemporary travelogues which were published by visitors to the Rideau Canal project, and several contemporary newspapers articles. Additional research was pursued in more recent secondary sources.

For the most part the extant historical records convey the views, values, and outlook of the engineering staff on the Rideau Canal project; and that of contemporary observers of some means who took pen in hand. With the exception of a single petition, the voice of the workers is absent.

One of the challenges that an historian faces in writing about the history of particular cultural groups from the records left by persons of a different ethnicity or class, is the cultural biases and prejudices of the sources, as well as the disconcerting knowledge that the recorded observations and judgements might not always be palatable to one’s contemporaries. To which one might add that when an historian expounds upon a particular view of events as seen through the eyes of the witnesses who left a record, it does not mean that the historian necessarily shares their views or prejudices.¹

The present work is not a social history written from ‘the bottom up’, rather it is a history of the labour situation on the Rideau Canal construction project as seen largely from the viewpoint of the engineering establishment, principally the Commanding Royal Engineer, Lt. Col. John By, and the Clerk of Works, John Mactaggart, the latter of whom published a two-volume work focusing on his three years of service on the canal project. Where Lt. Col. By is concerned, his principal objective, and assigned duty, was to construct the canal as expeditiously and economically as possible. Consequently, the labour situation – as conveyed in his reports and correspondence – was framed by what he observed and what he concluded was needed to forge a robust workforce, to keep labour costs at a reasonable level, and to maintain labour peace. In sum, the labour situation on the Rideau Canal was perceived from the viewpoint of the needs of a major canal engineering project; yet that commitment was tempered by a genuine concern for the health and well-being of the workforce on the part of Lt. Col. John By.

As such, the surviving archival records of the Rideau Canal project abound with material on the provisioning of the canal workers, the contracting of the work, engineering decisions, the progress of construction, and construction problems, as well as efforts to reduce the suffering of the workers from ‘lake fever and ague’ (malaria). However, the multi-cultural composition of the workforce did not evoke any considerable or meaningful comment. The only time any particular ethnic group was mentioned was if, and when, they posed a particular labour problem which needed to be addressed to facilitate an expeditious completion of the canal.

Most of the members of the various ethno-religious groups who worked on the Rideau Canal posed no particular problem to the engineering establishment, and are almost completely absent from the historical record. They came to the Rideau project, did their work without complaint, received their pay, and moved on to settle elsewhere in Upper Canada or in the United States. On the other hand, one particular ethnic group, or more correctly a sub-group within a particular ethno-religious group – the Gaelic-speaking, Irish Catholic pauper immigrants – initially posed a major labour problem on the Rideau Canal project, and needed a great deal of support to cope with the demands of living and working in a wilderness environment. Hence, they appear frequently in the historical record of the canal project.

As a result, the contributions of the various different ethnic groups to the construction of the Rideau Canal are not clearly defined and delineated in the historical record, and hence not fully known or appreciated in terms of their respective numbers and particular achievements. Over time that situation has led to a misconception amongst the public in terms of the perceived ethnicity of the canal workers as a whole on the Rideau Canal project. In sum, there is a widespread belief that the canal was constructed primarily by Irish Catholic immigrant workers. Herein that misconception is redressed; although it has not proven possible to identify the exact numbers of the members of each ethnic group who were employed on the canal construction project or, with any accuracy, the precise contribution of each group to the particular canal works.

In treating the labour situation on the Rideau Canal project, a particular effort has been made to provide a thoroughly comprehensive treatment which brings into play the many different factors that had an impact on the canal labourers. Among the factors taken into account are military planning, engineering decisions, the climate, topography and environment, the provisioning and equipping of the workforce, wage rates on the canal project and in the province, the accommodation of the workers, the impact of disease, the problem of ethnic animosities, the emigration experience of the canal workers, and the economic circumstances, health, and condition of the different ethnic groups upon their arrival on the canal project.

Part Two of this book comprises a biographical sketch of Lt. Col. John By prior to his appointment to construct the Rideau Canal. The sketch is based largely on secondary sources which were supplemented through research in archival records and online searches for genealogical information.

Part Three treats the founding of the Rideau Military Settlement prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal. It is based on research in the microfilm copies of the War Office and Colonial Office records in the Library and Archives Canada, and pertinent secondary sources. This piece was undertaken to determine whether, and to what extent, military paternalism was practiced in responding to the needs of the discharged soldier settlers, and the assisted-emigration settlers, in the Rideau Military Settlement. In the treatment of the Rideau Military Settlement, there is some minor overlap with the information provided on the military settlement in Part One. However, the treatment of that subject is a requisite element in the argument being pursued in both pieces. No apology is offered for any minor repetition in the two texts.

The Appendix, Marxism, Cultural Values, and Military Paternalism, is based on an analysis of several works by Labour historians that interpret the labour situation on the Rideau Canal project from a Marxist perspective; and that attribute strictly economic motives to the phenomenon of paternalism on canal projects in early 19th Century Canada. Herein, a different approach to the writing of history is set forth. It is advocated that the historian, in seeking a better understanding of human conduct in interpreting historical events, ought to enter into the minds of his subjects for the thought behind their acts (E.H. Carr, What is History). In effect, the historian must develop an understanding of the character, cultural values, and worldview of the main actors in any historical event, as well as an understanding of their immediate situation as perceived and conceptualized within their own particular metal framework. This different approach to the writing of history is set forth for consideration as a potential enrichment of the orthodox Marxist interpretation of labour history, which is based on economic factors, class interest, and economic determinism.

Where the history of Upper Canada is concerned, there were two major political interests in conflict in the post-War of 1812 period over their respective efforts to establish the future political culture of the Province of Upper Canada. The members of each political interest believed in the superiority of their particular political culture and embodied a different character and cultural values, and held a distinctly different worldview. To aid historians in seeking to enter into an imaginative understanding of the character, cultural values and worldview of the two major political interests present in the body politic of Upper Canada, the political philosophies of Anglican corporate toryism and Lockean-liberal individualism are sketched in the Appendix as well. The political philosophy sketches are based largely on George Sabine (A History of Political Theory), the author’s readings in political theory over a number of years and, if truth be told, several thoughtful articles posted online in wikipedia.org. What is proferred is not a political treatise, but a personal statement.

On a more personal level, a debt of gratitude is owed to my nephew, Craig Passfield, for designing and preparing the book covers, to Carla Morse and Judith Dufresne of Parks Canada for assistance in securing the illustrations, and to a good friend, Ken Watson, for preparing the maps. My brother, John Passfield, perused the text and offered helpful suggestions for improving the clarity of the writing. A special debt is owed to Susan James for her understanding and support as my retirement years continue to be devoted to a demanding muse – Clio – in writing of history.

A further debt is owed to the Parks Canada Agency, which maintains and operates the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site under a heritage conservation and interpretation mandate bestowed by the Canadian government. For thirty years the author single-mindedly pursued his career as a public historian at Parks Canada during which time he had the good fortune to be assigned a number of research projects pertaining to the history and heritage of the Rideau Canal. Nonetheless, that being said, the historical interpretations and judgements which are presented in this book, are solely the responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily represent either the views or values of the Parks Canada Agency.

Terminology

Where terminology is concerned, the officers of the Royal Engineers referred to the unskilled canal workers simply as labourers and, surprisingly, did not use the British term navvies. The tradesmen who served in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners were referred to as artificers, and the skilled civilian workers were referred to as either artisans or artificers . In the latter case, the term soldier-artificer, or military artificer, served to distinguish the Royal Sappers and Miners from their civilian counterparts. Initially, Lt. Col. By expressed his intention to employ ‘labourers, excavators, and artisans’ to construct the canal, with excavators presumably being men skilled in excavating canals.

Thereafter the term ‘excavator’ was dropped, and subsequently the skilled worker were generally referred to by their particular trade – smiths, stone masons, stone cutters, carpenters, sawyers, tinsmiths, harness makers, quarrymen, etc. – as in advertisements for skilled workers, canal construction progress reports, and lists of wage rates. A generic term, ‘dayworker’, was used to describe both the skilled workers and the labourers who were hired directly on the military canal establishment and paid a daily wage. In this book, a similar practice has been followed in employing the term ‘labourers’ for unskilled workers, ‘artificers’ for skilled civilian workers – unless citing a specific reference to ‘artisans’ or to a particular trade – and ‘dayworkers’ to denote canal workers employed directly by the Royal Engineers on the military canal establishment as distinct from the canal workers employed by the contractors.

_____________________

Endnotes

1. The author’s approach to the writing of history, and the issue of cultural bias, is set forth in another work: Robert W. Passfield, Phips’ Amphibious Assault on Canada – 1690 (Amazon.com, 2011), Acknowledgements, xiii-xvii.

Part One

Military Paternalism

on the

Rideau Canal Project

figure%202.jpg

Figure 2. Rideau-Cataraqui Waterway in 1827. Map showing the rapids, and several hamlets and mill sites along the waterway, the outlying towns, and the new Bytown townsite. (Ken W. Watson, 2013).

Military Paternalism

on the

Rideau Canal Project

Introduction

In the spring of 1826, the Board of Ordnance in Britain decided to undertake the construction of the Rideau Canal by contract, under the supervision of officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers; and Lt. Col. John By, R.E., was appointed to command the project. The Erie Canal (1817-1825) in New York State, and the Lachine Canal (1821-1825) at Montreal, had been constructed by contract, and a major perceived advantage of the contract system was that only a small engineering establishment would need to be supported by the Ordnance. Contractors would be responsible for carrying out the work, and for the housing, provisioning, and well-being of the canal workforce. Moreover, the Ordnance would be free of the heavy cost of maintaining a large workforce of military artificers in barracks during the six-month winter season; civilian artisans and labourers could simply be dismissed by the contractors at the end of each summer work season.¹

Based on an earlier survey by a provincial land surveyor, the canal was to be constructed along the Rideau River flowing northward into the Ottawa River, and the Cataraqui River flowing southward into Lake Ontario, with a 1 ½ mile-long canal channel to be excavated at the Isthmus summit level to connect the two waterways. The preliminary plan called for the excavation of canal channels to bypass rapids and waterfalls, with stone masonry locks to step from one navigable river stretch to another, and the erection of low-head