BRITISH COLUMBIA 25

a Hudson Bay Company’s trading post. The city leaped into prominence
during the gold excitement in 1855, and grew rapidly in trade and popula-
tion. It is substantially built, there being many fine stone and brick blocks
in the business portion, while the private houses, surrounded by beautiful
’ lawns, gardens and shrubberies, are picturesque and cosy. The Parlia-
ment Buildings, overlooking James Bay, are one of the finest examples
of architecture in America. They contain fine collections of natural history,
mineral, agricultural and horticultural specimens, and are a centre of great
interest to visitors, Beacon Hill Park, a natural pleasure ground, facing
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, affords a most magnificent view of the snow-clad
heights of the Olympian Range and the dome-like Mount Baker. Victoria
Arm and the Gorge form a beautiful stretch of inland water, and there are
many other delightful bays and inlets which lend peculiar attraction and
variety to the scene. With such a wealth of natural beauty Victoria is fast
becoming the Mecca of the tourist, many thousands from all parts of the
world visiting the city every year. It isa very popular summer home for
people from the near eastern provinces. Here the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company owns the ‘‘Empress Hotel,” a magnificent building, most luxur-
iously furnished and equipped with all modern appliances. It is acknow-
ledged by travellers to be one of the most beautiful and comfortable hotels
on the Continent; it faces the inner harbor, and with the adjacent Par-
liament Building, presents an imposing picture to travellers arriving by
steamer. The capacity of the Hotel has been so taxed that an enlargement
on an extensive scale is now being carried out.

The city is growing steadily in population, now estimated at 50,000,
many persons of independent means choosing it as a place of residence
while new enterprises are giving employment to more laborers and artisans.

Here is the first and last port of call for the Transpacific liners and
northern steamers, as well as all the big freighters which round the Horn
for Puget Sound points. It is the home of the Victoria sealing fleet.

The city has an electric street railway system and gas and electric
light services. Several up-to-date daily newspapers are within its borders.
The business streets are paved and well kept, and cement sidewalks and
boulevards are being laid on all the principal thoroughfares and residential
districts. The waterworks and sewerage system are being extended to
meet the requirements.

Port Alberni is the terminus of the western extension on the Esquimalt
and Nanaimo Railway, which is operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Alberni Valley is 25 miles long by five miles broad, extending in a
north-westerly direction. To the east it is guarded by the Beaufort range
of hills, while to the west it is bounded by yet unnamed mountains. This
valley has a most beautiful situation, well watered by large rivers and
smaller streams, with a salubrious climate, and with the soil enriched by
deposits washed down from the mountains. It bids fair in the near future
to become one of the gardens of Vancouver Island.

Ladysmith, on Oyster Harbor, east coast of Vancouver Island, is one
of the youngest towns in the province. It is the shipping port for the
adjacent Extension coal mines, and the transfer point for through freight
between the Island and mainland. The Canadian Pacific Railway ferries
freight trains from Vancouver to Ladysmith, where they are transferred to
the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway for distribution to Island points. Most
of the miners working the Extension mines live at Ladysmith, which
has a population of 5,000. Ladysmith is an important coaling station
for coasters and ocean-going craft, and ships load cargoes of coal for Cali-
fornia and other foreign countries. The Tyee Copper Company operates
a smelter and there are several minor industries which add to the prosperity
of the town.