was still an
incomplete work; unconnected, except by a dangerous and often
impracticable ferry, with Montreal, the capital of the province, and shut
off from connection with the United States, as well as with the coast to
which the commerce of Canada naturally tends. Without a bridge at
Montreal, therefore, it was felt that the system of Canadian railway
communication would have been incomplete, and the benefits of the Grand
Trunk Railway in a great measure nugatory.

As early as 1846 the construction of a bridge across the St. Lawrence at
Montreal was strongly advocated by the local press for the purpose of
directly connecting that city with the then projected Atlantic and St.
Lawrence Railway. A survey of the bridge was made, and the scheme was
reported to be practicable. A period of colonial depression, however,
intervened, and although the project was not lost sight of, it was not
until 1852, when the Grand Trunk Railway Company began their operations,
that there seemed to be any reasonable prospect of its being carried out.
In that year, Mr. A. M. Ross--who had superintended, under Robert
Stephenson, the construction of the tubular bridge over the
Conway--visited Canada, and inspected the site of the proposed bridge,
when he readily arrived at the conclusion that a like structure was
suitable for the crossing of the St. Lawrence. He returned to England to
confer with Robert Stephenson on the subject, and the result was the plan
of the Victoria Bridge, of which Robert Stephenson was the designer, and
Mr. A. M. Ross the joint and resident engineer.

The particular kind of structure to be adopted, however, formed the
subject of much preliminary discussion. Even after the design of a
tubular bridge had been adopted, and the piers were commenced, the plan
was made the subject of severe criticism, on the ground of its alleged
excessive cost. It therefore became necessary for Mr. Stephenson to
vindicate the propriety of his design in a report to the directors of the
railway, in which he satisfactorily proved that as respected strength,
efficiency, and economy, with a view to permanency, the plan of the
Victoria Bridge was unimpeachable. There were various methods proposed
for spanning the St. Lawrence. The suspension bridge, such as that over
the river Niagara, was found inapplicable for several reasons, but
chiefly because of its defective rigidity, which greatly limited the
speed and weight of the trains, and c