In the business section of the city the wide, wellpaved and well-kept streets and the substantial character and architectural qualities of many of the business houses furnish impressive evidences of material pros perity, and of the confidence of investors in the future greatness of the city. The city is well provided with tram lines. There is also a double track inter-urban service with the city of New Westminster, twelve miles distant, which is being continued through the rich lands of the Fraser Valley to the city of Chilliwack. A further rural extension of the tram line connects with Steveston, the capital of the salmon fishing industry, at the mouth of the Fraser River.

The scenery of Stanley and English Bay forms one of the chief charms of Vancouver. Stanley Park consists of 1,000 acres of natural scenery. Situated upon

a peninsula which is almost an island, the park is nine miles in circumference and within its grounds are some of the most magnificent specimens of the big trees of British Columbia. English Bay, the long stretch of water fronting on the Gulf of Georgia, affords bathing facilities unrivalled. on the Pacific coast. The Gulf, gemmed with emerald islands studding its placid surface, stretches towards the north and south as far as the eye can reach, while across its hazy distance is the Olympic range of mountains with their snow-capped peaks, and on the north the Cascade range nearer at hand, with the serrated heights severely outlined against the sky.

VICTORIA, VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH

COLUMBIA

Victoria being the first port entered by all steamships from Australia, Japan, China and other Oriental coun

tries, having large and varied commercial enterprises, and being the capital of the largest and richest of the Canadian provinces, is of more than ordinary interest to strangers, and is none the less so because it happens to be one of the most charmingly situated cities in the world. It is the Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway system in Canada, has a population of nearly 40,000 and occupies an ideal situation at the extreme southern end of Vancouver Island, within a few hours' sail of the mainland of British Columbia and of the United States.

It is agreed that the picturesque situation of Victoria is unsurpassed. From Beacon Hill Park can be seen on one hand the rugged snow-clad Olympians, and on the other, rising proudly in the distance beyond the island-studded straits of Juan de Fuca, the lordly Mount Baker. The combination of magnificent scenery and almost perfect climate is destined to render Victoria one of the largest and richest residential cities on the continent. Victoria has excellent hotel accommodation. The Canadian Pacific Railway have, in the heart of the city, overlooking the picturesque harbour, one of the finest hotels on the continent, "The Empress.'

The public schools of Victoria, which are free to everyone under 21 years of age, are up-to-date in every respect. The High School is in affiliation with the University of McGill, Montreal. Besides its public educational system, the city is the home of a large number of private colleges and academies both for boys and girls. The Parliament Building is acknowledged to be one of the handsomest and most imposing structures on the continent. It is one of the first sights to catch the visitor's eye as he enters the harbour of Victoria. It stands amid spacious and beautifully kept lawns, the vivid green of which testifies to the mildness of the

climate. In the Parliament Buildings, there are three Museums, the Agricultural, the Mining and the "Provincial Museum.

Owing to her natural advantages it seems probable that in the future Victoria will become a great manufacturing centre. There are no less than five or six ship yards in Victoria, and shipbuilding is becoming its most important industry. Many of the large steamers used in the coasting trade have been built here, as well as the hydrographic and other vessels used by the Dominion Government.

The country immediately surrounding the town is singularly beautiful, the undulating promontory upon which the city stands being covered with woods of pine and fir and a lovely wild jungle of arbutus, roses, flowering bushes of many varieties, and English broom. In the spring and summer there is an extraordinary abundance of beautiful wild flowers. Victoria has been described as "A Bit of England on the Shores of the Pacific." This expression conveys a very excellent idea of local conditions. The institutions, buildings, clubs, homes, manners and customs being essentially of English character.

EDMONTON

From the earliest days Edmonton, the capital of the Province of Alberta, was an important trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was one of the chief centres and served as headquarters for the Peace River district and the upper waters of the North Saskatchewan. A trading post it remained till the early eighties when it engaged with the rest of Western Canada in a premature and transcient boom. Naturally it suffered from the collapse of this boom, but a beginning had been made for the future city and its population and prosperity increased slowly and surely till the