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The War of 1812 with the United States, in which Toronto and Newark (Niagara) were destroyed by United States troops, in retaliation for which Canadians burned Buffalo, Oswego and Sackett's Harbour, shewed the British Government the need of an internal line of communication. Upon the advice of the great Duke of Wellington it was therefore determined to construct a continuous inland waterway from Montreal to Kingston, via the Ottawa river. For the purpose of connecting this river with the Great Lakes, the Imperial Government, in 1826, sent Lt.-Col. John By, R.E., to construct the Rideau Canal. The corner-stone of the locks was laid by Sir John Franklin, the great Arctic explorer, in August, 1827, on his return from a voyage in search of the North Pole. The work of constructing the canal was one of considerable magnitude, but was successfully accomplished in 1832, at a cost of about $5,000,000. The total length is 126 miles. The difference in level between the Ottawa river and Lake Ontario is 458 feet. This is overcome by 47 locks, the majority of which are 134 feet in length by 33 feet in width; of these, 8 are in the heart of the city.

At a point close below "Earnscliffe" the Rideau river flows on either side of a low flat island which the street cars cross, and then falls into the