New-York tribune., 1878-11-25
HALIFAX IN FESTIVE ATTIRE.
THE PEOPLE FULL OF LOYAL FFRvoR-HOPEs OF AN
IMPERIAL RAILROAD sUBsIDY-THE TOWN GAYLY

lfROh A STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF IHE TkiBUNE'I
HALIFAX, Nov. 21.-The Dominion has got 'em,
tOO,-those Imperial ideas. There is not single
ful-grown subject of Her Majesty in the Maritime
Provinces, to say nothing of Ontario and the Meth
ermost parts of the West, who does not realize that
he has his being in of the foremost quarters OF
the British Empire India, with its 2OO, 100000 of
subjects, may have an English peer and poet for
VicerOy, but there is than one nobleman OF
the realm who Is blessed with poetic tempera-
ment, and for that matter the Marquis OF
Lorne himself writes verses. The GROWING honor
bestowed upon the Dominion, as every lnnkeeper III
Nova Scotia knows, is the presence of one OF the
Queens daughters in the Vice-Regal Palace at OF
tawa. The force of old habits is strong. They sOll
speak of the Princess as the daughter of the Queen
and not as the daughter of the Empress; that Is
minor point III respect to which they may have TO
be educated III future and there certain Of the
more bumptIous Provincial journals that VIII be
quick TO follow the cue if it be given to
them; but the position of the Dominion as
an essential factor in one Of the greatest En-
pircs on the face of the earth Is tu'ly
comprehended already. The appointment of +
new Governor-General has stimulated the imagina-
tion as well as the loyalty of the Provinces. While
there may not be anything like swagger i'll the
public feeling there is unbounded self-esteem.
to turn the Imperial IDEAS which have been
developed so recently practical account. In one
of the Provincial journals which | purchased tins
morning at ST. John, after withering the newsboy
with glance of American ScOrn when he yentured
to intimate that of our dimes was
worth only five cents, | hnd t0rclbly
written leader on the claims of the Canada
Pacific Railways upon the Imperial Exchequer The
editor Is not surprised that Lord Beaconseld rec
ognizing the fact that the work has an Imperial
character admits that it has therefore Just claim
TO Imperial aid" He argues that a sohdly built
and udiciOusly operated railway running through
the Dominion from ocean to ocean would tend
greatly to promote the most important Imperial
interests" He regards Lord Beaconsfeld as just
the man to take large, far-sighted. gem
erous view of this matter, and sees
no reason to doubt that, if the Afghan trouble is
easily settled and if Russia conducts herself prop
erly, and moreover, if business revves in England,
n handsome Imperial subsidy to the Canada Pacific
will be secured ere long. Indeed, the editor is
already inclined to accept the Marquis of Lorne's
appointment as prOvidential for Canada, inaSmuCh
as it will enable him to enter heartily into this
grand railroad scheme and tOexert influence III its
favor in high quarters that other VicerOys could not
At this rate Lord Beaconsield will find the develop
ment of Imperialism expensive in Canada as in
Asia Minor. The Provinces may not have so keen
an eye for the main chance as this bid for railroad
subsidy indicates but they are peopled with prac-
tical money-saving races
The Nova ScOtians, at all events. are not think
ing of railroad subsidies, nor even of the
new GovcmOr-General. There is one name
on every lip-that of the Princess. The Mar
quis of LOrne will have generous and hearty
greeting, but the daughter Of the Queen will be
in, tla
Dominion was ever before welcomed and honorcd.
1t is not that the Campbels coming, but that
Guelph is coming with Campbell As completely
in this as in Mistress Dido's enterprise is it the
woman who Is the leader Of the business. The
Official station of the Governor General is eclipsed
by the dignity of the Queens daughter. From tho
moment when the harbOr bar is crossed,
the ilustriOus lady will be received with
Royal honors in which the son of the Duke Of Ar
gyll can have no share AS the Sarmatian steams
up the bay o 50 "te of twenty-one guns will be fred
from Fort Cambridge, Fort Clarence Georges
Island and several redoubts. and this is an
honor paid only to members of the Royal
family. At the official drawingroOm on the
evening of the Princesss entry into this
city, the etiquette Of the receptions of the Queen
and the Princess of Wales will be closely followed
and from the time when the guns at the citadel
the Duke of Kent, when he commanded the forces
at this station welcome her landing at the dock
yards to the moment when the royal standard is
raised over the official residence at Ottawa as a
token of her presence she will be first in the eyes
and thoughts of Her Majesty's subjects in this part
of the world; and the man whom she has promised
TO obey and who is to rule over the Provinces will
have a subordinate place.
Gaylyas provincial lass decks herself for the day
of the fair Halifax ispreparing for the royal holiday
and set as the country girl cannot hide the hOmcy
simplicity Of her manner by dOnning bright ribbons
and fancy millinery So too, this PLAN, sedate, matter
of-fact town cannot conceal with streamers and tTl
umphal arches the quiet habits and aspects of its
daily life. Halifax at its merTiest is sombrelOOk
ing town. 1t is not down-atthe heel it looks brisk
and prosperous enough and yet has dIngy aspect
rusty, rather than shabby. The prevailing cOlors
are murky and dull Some of its shops are bright and
attractive, and there are few substantial struc-
lures but there are so many dark grays and russet
browns that the general effect is dspiritng. The
churches are bare and plain, only one of them. the
Roman cathedral having a facade and tower of any
pretensons and the few handsome structures such
as the Parliament House and the Provincial Build
ing are quiet and simple iu their architectural effect.
With the massive masonry and bastons Of the cit
adel on the crest Of the hill and the
dingy houses with old-times gables near
the waters edge. the city is sober and
quaint without being bright or picturesque. When
the plains beyond the undulatng hills are covered
with verdure, and not brown and bare, and when
layers of fog are not piled upon the horizon, they
were this afternoon, Halifax may have less forlorn
aspect 1t may be that the first glimpse which the
Princess will catch from the decks of the steamer
will be bright and far, for any town in any land
looks bright and fair at the end Of long voyage.
But whatever can be done to give this
grim, sedate town holiday look, will be
da..a nrn tha Sarnntian ls sinhtnd 1rinmnhal