ountry, a splendid succession of wooded heights, and a long,
rolling, ridgy vista of forest, field, and fertility, ending in Lake
Ontario, blue and beautiful.

We arrived, at a quarter past seven, at Ancaster, a very pretty little
village, with two churches, and composed principally of wooden houses.

The Half-way House is then gained, being about half a mile from the
end of the macadamized road, and thirteen and a half from Hamilton.
Good bridges, culverts, and cutting, are seen on this section of the
line to London. We got to Ancaster at half-past eight, or in about two
hours and three quarters, and thence over the line of new road which
was, what is called in America, graded, that is, ploughed, ditched,
and levelled, preparatory to putting on the broken stone, and which
graded road, in spring and autumn, must be very like the Slough of
Despond.

At eleven, we reached Maloney's Tavern--most of the taverns on the
Canadian new roads are kept by Irish folks--four miles from Brentford.

The Board of Works have been busily employed here, for a great portion
of the road is across a swamp, which has been long known as _the_
swamp. This is a pine-country, soil, hard clay or mud, and no stone;
and the route is a very expensive one to form, requiring great
bridging and straightening.

I observe that the estimate for 1845, for Public Works on this road,
in the Gore District, for finishing it, is as high as L10,000
currency, and it is to be all planked, and that, to continue it to
London, L36,182 15s. 8d. had been expended up to July, 1844.

The immense expenditure, since 1839, upon internal improvements in
Canada, in canals, harbours, lighthouses, roads, &c., is almost
incredible, as the subjoined list will show:--

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF WORKS,

SHOWING THE MONEYS EXPENDED UPON EACH OF THE PUBLIC WORKS, FROM THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK, UP TO THE 1ST JULY, 1844.

Welland Canal L238,995 14 10

ST. LAWRENCE CANALS, VIZ.:

Prescott to Dickenson's landing 13,490 19 4
Cornwall (to the time of opening the Canal
in June, 1843) 57,110 4 2
Cornwall (to repair breaks in the banks
since the above period) 9,925 16 4
Beauharnois 162,281 19 5
Lachine 45,410 11 2
Expenditure on dredge, outfit, &c., applicable
to the foregoing in common