What Is Thought Of The Proposed Canal Enlargement

Some fiftv yeai's a;_;o, it, v:is a creed 'jy tre. ty that tho vast iiiluud lakoe, thu posusion of whiob, n case of war would bcofsucb decisivo roportanoe, íhould bc praetically neutralized. Neither country wttsto keep any forcei at all there Equali'y of weuknosa was to bosubstituted lorequality ufstrength I and that undt.-rótanding has been j iully observed. It foliowed of courso that in the event oí a war, tho udvantage would liu with that power whieh oould most rapidly collect or exteirporize a naval i'ureo, and it was easily ! eeriiibla that, at ceitain periods of the year, the changa would be in our favor, and at others i u favor of the Americana. Had war for inttanee resulled f rom the affuir of the Trent, in December last, tlie ïederal States would probably had the advantage over usfor a time. At that season, there was no accass to the lakes j froni thesea and es tho American were superior to the Canadians on the spot o populación and reources,they could in all likelihood have put a superior force afloat. As soon, however, as tho broaking up of the ice had opuned the navigation oí the St. Lawrence, we could have pourcd a whole fleet of gunboals thi ough that rivtr intothe 'akes, whoreas no Bueh cbannol would hnve been open to the Ainoricans. It was at the prospect thiia diaclosed that thu Ainciicans tooi alarm. Though peace was happily rnaintained, war, for some weeks, bad been disiussod as ft prob able contingency, and the advantage .secured to us by iha possossion of the tít. Lawrenco wure contemplated with great uneasiness. Especially was this anxiety lolt in tho State oí Ñew York. tho Lügislaturo í which Provinco passed an act in April last lor ': adapting th6 canals of the State to the protection of the northern and northwestern lakes." This aut forma the groundwork of tho comprehensivo project to which we now invite atteiHion. It is not improbable that Federal governmont may discorn some domestie advantages in the scherne just opened but il is proposed and recommended exclusively with referencc to Cartïdian war, and is, indeed, designated as a mensuro of national deience. The object is to provide facilities for throwing ü powerful iorce into the waters of the lnkes in as short a time as possib'.o ; nnd Ihïa object might ba atlained, it ia said, as regarda tlie two eastern lakes, within a singlo year. The exeoution of the plan would undoub'edly modity the relativo positions of Great Britain and America on the Canadian fiontiers but we do DOt lenovv that anything moro can be said on the point. The ïreaty of Ghent would not close these canals to the Americans any more t han i t loses the St. Lawrenee to us ; in fact tho Fedeerals would oay that the project is roquired to put them on a level with ourselvea. Tho chief security of Canada will be found, not in frontier arsenals or fortresses, but in the spirit with which its population is animated. The period of suspense which followedon tho Trent r.ffairdisclosed to the Americans the unwelcome and apparently surprising fact that Ganadians of all classus and parties were resolved to boar the brunt of unequal war rather tban be absor'jed in the gieat Republic. We fear itcannot be asfiumed that a tasto of war will leave the Americans with a deaire lor peace. It see ns, on the contrary, as if thoy were already reconciled to all the evils which war briogs io ils train, and as if they preferred military glory with all its cost to tranquility and oase. Stil], :.t will undoubtïdly be feit that to attempt the conquest of a hardy and courageous people is a very different thing f rom annexing a willing province. The Federal-, even if they ever should prevail over the Confederates, will infalliblv discover that rebellious subjects are more troublosome than independent neighbors, und thut it will hardly be worth their while to repeat in the Nonh an attempt whieh has cost thom so dearly in tho South. While it was believed that Ganada wanted only an opportunity to become part of the Union it waf natural enough for Unionista elitc8men to speculate on the chances of the acquisition, out now that the leeling of the Canadians has been sbown these speculations can 5nd no place. The Americana will probably think twice before they attack Canada, and the ti may be perfectly assured that we hace not the rcmotest intention of allackvng them. They can builil as many guiiboats as they please, but we think it would best ooüaJst with the good eonseas well as the financial advantage of bo tb. couutries if the uneerstanding which has hitherto so successfully prevailed reopecting the neutrality of the lakes should be left undisturbed.