Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-15
BRITISH COLUMN BIh.
The Prosperous Condition Of the
Province.
The Chinese Curse Undevel-
oped Mineral ealth-A
Cheering Outlook.
Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.

naming Tor nearly ten years
the force of events is pushing the city
of Victoria, b. 9 forward, aud OIL
though q BOOM" In the American
sense Of the term, is not In full blast,
something approaching 1t eIis,s. The
upward movement is slow, out 1t has
the characteristics of stability and per-
msnence. Property In the city and
suburbs is In demand and advancing
10 value, new buildings are under
erection or contracted for on the chief
s~treets, and real estate of q desirable
kind is changing hands quite frequent.
ly. AS If to fan the fame, one of the
principal topics Of street discussion Is
the large Influx Of strangers to the
city ana the promptness of their ab.
sorption into local Industries.
The government dry dock at Esqui.
malt, which measures 400 feet In
length by 200 feet In width, will, on
completion, be o work OF great utility.
This desirable end cannot, however,
be attained for eighteen months yet.
There ere 200 men at present EN-.
ployed on the dock.
Onderdonk's Canadian Pacific rail-
way contracts are now 10 full swing,
giving employment to 4,0O) Chinese
and 1000 white men, besides q num-
Der OF Indians. Already SO 000 600
has been expended on the sections
under construction, which are being
pushed forward with much vigor and
great executive ability, embracing, as
they do, some of the heaviest blast
ing, t~unneling and bridging yet
achieved on any American railway.
The syndicate pledged themselves to
have tho road from the Atlantic to
the Pacific completed within four
years, when 1t is expected that Ed
ropesn emigration on q stupendous
scale will begin to COLOMBO the fertile
wheat lands OF the great Northwest
and the cattle ranges of B ritish C,lum.
bia. In fact, the complexi n Of this
latest transcontineDtal highway will
either "break" or "make" the do.
minion for many q long year to
come
There are II, 900 Celes!ials 10 Brit.
ish Columbia 1000 Of them are at
work on the Canadian Pacific railroad
and the remainder are distributed
among nearly all avooations, except
t law and divinity. They have appear.
. ed In every hamlet snd town on Van.
couver island ard tho mainland like O
= locust sw.rm, which, In fact, would be
: far less pernicious to sthe county.
The outcry against them Ia great, but
: this fair province Is q veritable para.
a ! disc for the heatben, 40 here he livts
cheaper than In many other
parts of the Pacific coast, besides get.
ting better wages. A single Chinese
= firm In Victoria has at present IL
keeping $3.50 0o0 of rawlings, mostly
from the ranks Of the railroad host,
and other firms have lesser Hums
Every dollar goes to China without
increase or curtailmeut by catering
into trade transactions. Tho day o.
prohibition ard exclusion for John Il
near at hand, however, judgipp from
measuroa at present before the pro
%viroial Legislature.
Tho thrift Of tho industrial classe
of British Colombia 10 evincsd by thu
iaot that tho Dominion savings banks
throughout the provinces have upward
of 81, 900, 000 on deposit belonging tc
them, which ia q very large sum wher
it is considered that the entir,
white population consists of less thar
80, 900.
For the year 1882 the placer golt
lIIo. 80 Dri&tab Eolun,hio
1854 085, giving employment to l 73S
men principally Chinese), or a yearl!
average of $548 per Some ex
= eeptionally rich mining olsims are a
present Ia the hands Ct Chinese. A
yet there Is no quartz mining In Brit
ish Columbia, Notwithstanding tn
existence OF good lodes In every dis
n triot.
. Vioteria stands sadly In need of
6rst. GLASS hotel. No better invest
% ment exists In the city. At presen
. every hotel and boarding house, wha'
ever Its status, Ia full to overfowinl
but there 10 nc frst- class accommod'
tion to be had.
~ The advent OF the railroads 10 de
tined to mske this province the jew
=, of the Dominion. At present
stands In the position of Colorado b
~ fore the building Of the Denver
a Rio Grande railway, which has be-
Il 30 instrumental In developing the r
~. SOURCES of the Centennial state. WI
a Oimilar railroad system to aid
development, the of Brittle
r. Columbia will astoniah the worl
Not only has the province great 81
20. and river fisheries, magnificent waite
ways, penetrating into the very hes
of the country, but unexcelled forest
fields and mines, which on
await the magic touch Of Il
n railway engineer to make the
\ yield untold millions of wealt
- Apart from the lpublio works nc
under construction there are nupero
openings for mechanics througho
a. the province, aud many business O
y" portuniti0s are to be found In I
smaller towns of the interior, Will
& are already beginning to attract poi
"A latlon and trade. This is especia
On the case on the line of the Csnadi
Pacific railway from Port Moody, I
terminus, to Kamploops and beyor
The latter place, situated at the fol
\ of the North and South Tnomps
"a river, commands the trade of the ri'
est grazing and agricultural section
the province. A. Is
MI rg-yuuS-s----~