, 1881-11-12
CHICAGO.
The City as Seen by 4 Canadian Judge
and Described BY Him In an English

and Described by Him In an Engl1sa,
| Newspaper.
r1;,a 1%;sweastts-uDon- fEnoo Chronicle. oet-M
Eiiot-is uatiye OF Newcastle. Mr. Elliot left
this country FOR the Stnte Of Illinois fur bach
us 1886. Settling III Ontario subsequently, he ut
tal,,td the ludiciaI position he has now for man
different associations have destroyed his uffec.
tion for tho place OF hts birth. 1t is on account
Of his regard for Newcastle that he has occs-
communications from CAnada.-EDlroR CnsoS-
ICt.E.l
LONDON, Ont, Aug. l, 1ssl.-1o TIC Editor Of
the C7sronclc-SlR: bud not seen this city [Chi-
cagoI since the great fire in 1871, and certainly
the magnitude Of the buildings and their sub
stant1a! appearance surprised me, much MS
was led to expect from what had heard. To
think that ten years ago these Streets, extend
ing for miles, we're one mass oil ruins aud ashes,
and that now piles upon piles OF magnificent
structures have been erected upon the ruins, is
indeed marvellous. No one who desires to know
what American energy can do Should full to
visit Chicago. 1nslSG, when first knew it, 1t
contained 1000 people. From the decennial
census just completed find it contuins 5Gl,GO
What 1t will become in the future. is to the minds
Of It's inhabitants not doubtful. They hnve the
most Implicit faith i'll its future. In fifty years
it will contain 1.,Oo9,0o0 they firmly believe.
Not even will New York take the lead in tho
course OF time, they confidently nr,n, This
may appear an exaggerated idea to muny, yet,
in the past, no place that know Of On earth has
increased SO rapidly in population nrd wealth.
The basis upon which this expectation Is formed
Is the admirable situation Of tho city, which
gives 1t IN unriva1e'i communication with The
vast surrounding country. Situate Oil tho great
lakes, it has wute@ co1nmlnsca zion with tue St
Lawrence, .and, by canul, with New York; also
by canal snl river with the Mississippi and New
I'll IN if.
Self the business Of California. and the main
produce OF tho States Of Wisconsin, Minnesota.
Dakota. Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado. and purts Of
Kansas. Missouri. Indiana, and Illinois. it is
not too much to say that, excluding Russia In
Europe, an extent of country fully equaling NIL
the rest of that continent IL tributary in blisi
ness to this wonderful city. To these States
thousands Of people from all tho countries OF
Europear hasten'r4- In Chicago ntonc there are
Try the Ger:lia1, element is very strong. The
Americans welcome the Gerinans. They are
steady, peAccnble Industrious, aud law-nbdins.
So are the Swcucs. under which appellAtion tho
whole Scandinavian people .1re included. What
then. are the FORCES. from which Chicago is TO
derive its wcalth, und by which it Is to preserve
its prcIInlnence among the various tt.wslsDf the
West First, its nnriyllcd means OF lCtercorn-
mtlnicntion arising from its situution; secondly,
Its manufactures, There was time when it was
supposed that to be ncur tho ocean WIS great
advantage III constituting plnce a great dis
tributil11 point This is no longer the case. The
great facilities of transit give to inland places
when its proximity 10 the recipient States is
considered. New York, at present, is the great
monetary centre Of North America. Ist1t every
day capital is rapidly uecumuIating in Chicago
IL the greatest grain and cutie market In the
world. and it is likely to remain SO. Ultimately
1t nlnst. from present appearances. hccoNt i
greater monetary centre than even New York
Then. us TO its capacity rs manufacturing
plIce, Its situation cannot he exceeded. Coal i'll
incxhnustiblc quantity lies close TO 1t. The de-
u'and for tnal!ufnctures by the vast surround
ing country'js almost iimltnhte- Food for
wurkiugnlcn is cheap. The climate Is upon the
whole sa!llbriolss. The time will souu come
when by ship navigation the ocenu will be
reached from it. In fact. everything points to
the continual growth of this wonderful place.
AL present the smallness Of the river, the
crowded situation vi the shipping, and the MT
merous swing bridges, arc felt to be great i1con-
vcnieuces. But these obstacles will be over
come BY the formation Of capacious docks on
the shore OF the lake, which can be easily nc-
conpiisbcd when the energy Of Chicago settles
down upon the project | shall reserve some
account Of personal Impressions derived from
my visit to Chicago for another letter Yours,
ETC., NILi.LtI ELLIOT