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1902.] IMPROVING ST. LAWRENCE RIVER ROUTE, CANADIAN MINISTER OF MARINE AND FISHERIES OUTLINES THE PROGRAM OF THE YEAR 'to Facinitate NaAvicATion-- CoMPREHENSIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM. From the great lakes to the ocean is the theme which is attracting a great deal of attention throughout Canada nowadays. The dominion government realizes that it has one of the great waterways of the world, a waterway which, however, has serious handicaps, the principal one, in a commercial sense, being high insurance rates. Of course there is reason for the advance in rate which navigators of the St. Lawrence have to pay. The rate would be no higher than the straight Atlantic rate were the channel as safe. Insurance companies are as eager as other com- mercial interests are to obtain business and would not throw any obstacles in their own way. 'They charge a high rate unquestion- ably because they have to. Canada is endeavoring to improve its waterway and to make it as safe as its means and energy can permit. The insurance rate will fall in proportion as the safety of the channel increases. Lately the Hon. James Sutherland, minister of marine and fisheries, outlined in the house of com- mons the program which the dominion proposes to carry out during the present season for the improvement of the St. Law- - rence route from the navigable standpoint. He said: "Very strong representations have been made for many years MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. are charged to American ports. Having been promised these reductions, I have come to the conclusion that it would be very much in the interests of this country to improve the aids to navigation. It must also be remembered that as our shipping season is short, lasting during only a portion of the year, we have to be particularly on the alert in competing with ports that are open all the year round, and must provide ourselves with the best facilities. "After conference with representatives of the shipping, mer- cantile and marine insurance interests and other parties concerned, a careful selection has been made of the localities where addi- tional aids or improvements in existing aids are most urgently required, and I have indicated on charts for the information of i house, the localities where such improvements are contem- plated. : "Entering the St. Iawrence by Cape Race or the southern route, the following improvements are contemplated :--At Cape Race a quick-flashing light to be established and whistle changed to syren; Cape Pine, a first-rate light and fog signal to be estab- lished, and as this is in Newfoundland, it is proposed to invite the imperial and colonial governments to co-operate with us; Cape Ray, improvement of light and signal; Bird Rocks, light to be made occulting; Byron islands, light to be established; Cape Rosier, fog alarm to be strengthened and light made occulting; Fame point, a syren to be erected and light improved. "Entering the St. Lawrence by the Strait of Belle Isle or 55° BELLE ISLE. | Lighthouse and siren undar construchon. C.NQRMAN ano C.BAULD. OY Diffebent fog alarms asked for. Characteristic of one willbe changed. PR OF Vell N COE. O F Q Ob Bee .€, | PROPOSED eee "Toon IMPROVEMENTS ka : IN AIDS TO NAVIGATION " BELOW ren SHOAL. &) QUEBEC : Le aries Ne 4 ip asked for 5 poe . a 902-3 FATHER PT. Par), be mcf. oe Pe : pe Qi sess tone hte, roe NEWFOUNDLA , SHOAL. j hy, F 0 sla bell buoy to ba established. awe E SEGHOURIE. G U i BIRD ROCKS| 4 gine ES G Lighthouse tobe built @ Olighr tobe madi : Si Se lashed hers 0 irento Wp ft elon by ; orads aN . Lightto be improved. 2 J OOS NEW é 7 y conning: oO BRUNSWICK PRINCE EDWARD © CAPE PINE: Shap and quick: ° Mi saing buoy tobe placed. (1odpeonetdrad Ph tmperel boa f0sbing ight 'recom ta D ee on to be eslablished. A ae <P a Ps oA Lights be mave occuing. y 5 60° % . wee that the lighting and other aids to navigation on the St. Law- rence are very deficient. It is only necessary for me to mention, what every honorable member knows, that the greater portion of the trade of Canada is with Europe and the object aimed at is to place the Canadian producer in a position to compete, and com- pete successfully. with the exporters from other countries. To enable him to do this the lowest possible charge must be secured for the transport of Canadian products to the European markets. This charge consists of two items--freight and insurance. Ship owners have to provide for a profit on their enterprise. They have to add to the other expenses the insurance on the hull and there is also insurance on the produce to be taken into account, so that it will be seen that the high rates of insurance now charged are a heavy tax on the Canadian producers as against those of another country, who are charged lower rates. My information is that the insurance from St. Lawrence ports is from two to five times, as great as from American ports. Figures given me by leading shippers of Montreal show that on a large steamer, worth say $500,000, the extra insurance charge is $5,000 per voyage, or $25,000 per season of five trips more than from a United States port. Every one will see what a very heavy tax this is on the Canadian producer as compared with the American shipper. The reason of this high rate is undoubtedly the many casualties which have happened on the St. Lawrence route. It has been repre- sented to us by the large shipping interests, and by the marine insurance people, that if we had very much improved aids to navigation, the rates would be reduced to those charged at Ameri- can ports, or at any rate would be very much reduced. I have also had representations made to me by representatives of the largest marine insurance companies, and a representative of Lloyd's, to the effect that the result would be, as I have said, to reduce the insurance very materially, if not to the same rates as northern route, we propose to make the following improve- ments :--Belle isle, a new light and fog alarm on the north east end; Cape Bauld or Cape Norman, one of the fog alarms to be changed; Point Amour, light to be occulting; east end Anticosti, lightship to be established. "Between the points where the two routes above mentioned join, namely, Fame Point and Quebec, the following improve- ments are contemplated :--At Matane, bell buoy to be placed on extremity of shoal, a syren established at station and light improved; at Fahtre point, a syren to be erected and the light improved; at Prince shoal, the danger at the mouth of the Sague- nay is being marked by a combined gas and bell buoy, which will be placed in position as scon as one can be procured; at lower Traverse a pier light with fog alarm is being erected; at Belle- chasse, light is being made occulting; the west end of Island of Orleans an occulting light was established last autumn to guide vessels on making the turn at Quebec harbor. "With regard to the route from Quebec to Montreal, I wish to state in general terms that the policy of the department is to thoroughly mark each section of the ship channel, as improved, with buoys and range lights, and changes in aids to navigation are rapidly being made. On May 1 of this year, three new range lights were established at St. Antoine, to more efficiently mark a turn complained of by the pilots, and three pairs of range lights were established near Vercheres to mark a new channel where the department of public works have done splendid work in straight- ening and widening an intricate reach. The next stretch that it is proposed to improve is a dredged cut at Pointe aux Trembles. The deepening of Lake St. Peter will be followed by a re-arrange- ment of the lights, and the semaphore showing the depth of water over Ste. Croix bar, where the dredging has been completed, is being moved to show the depth over Ste. Augustine bar, which