The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-09-20
FROM VICTORIA.
From MR. III. NJ
WHITNEY,.
Description OF the Route and OF the
City OF Victoria, z. C.
SPECIAL CoRREsPoNpExcE.l

|
The Australian and Canadian Pacific
steamship Warrimoo arrived at Vie.
toria, p. c., on Friday morning, Sep
TENDER Sth, at o'clock, seven days
and eight hours from Honolulu. The
| distance between the two ports, &C.
cording to the ships reckoning, is
1852 miles, and the average speed on
this trip was thirteen and One-third
miles an hour. The voyage was q
smooth and pleasant one, as is gener-
ally the case on this route in Septem-
Der, the weather mild for the first five
days, with light breeZes from every
| point of the compass, then northerly
winds and cold. AS q sea boat the
Warrimoo possesses good qualities,
with very little pitch or rolling, but
she was evidently not built for service
| in the tropics, as some of her state
| rooms amidships are uncOmfortably
warm and noisy, and not suited for
| invalids. Her staterooms are all be-
| tween decks. The agents in Homo
| lulu should have plan of the vessel,
so that intending passengers may
knowingly examine the rooms where
they are to be located.
The vessels of this line touch
first at Victoria, y. c., where they
land passengers and freight des-
tined for this place, which
causes a detention of from six
to ten hours, as most of the freight
600 tons on this trips for Victoria.
She then proceeds on to Burrard's in
let, where the town of Vancouver is
located, eighty miles distant, to the
nOrthWard and on the mainland,
while Victoria is on the large island
of Vancouver. NauaimO, the cOaling
port, which supplies part of the coal
sent to Honolulu, is on the north side
of this island. The town of Van
couver was selected as the most eligi-
BILE location for the western terminus
of the Canadian Pacific railroad, and
is destined to become an important
rival to Victoria, on account of its
being q railroad terminus and the
starting point of the various trans
Pacific steamship lines of the Cana
dian railroad company.
Victoria is n city of about -, 900 in
habitants, and is located on the south
eastern end of Vancouver Island. 1t
possesses a capacious iand-locked har-
Dor, with ample Wharves, at which
large vessels can load and discharge.
1t was formerly a fort and the station
of the Hudson Bay Company, but
during the gold excitement Of.lS5O-G0,
a considerable population was at
tracted to it, and it became 4 center
for supplying the wants of the miners
and other adventures who fiOcked
there. During the past few years,
very extensive whaTVes have been
built in the outer harbor by Mr.. r.
p. Rithet, who is the head of the we'll
known firms of WEIGH IL Co. of San
Francisco, and r. =. Rithet & Co. of
Victoria, and for whom the fine bark
of the same name is called, now ply
ing between San Francisco and Homo
lulu. Mr.. r. is also Hawaiian con-
sui at Victoria, and is evidently
ranked among the foremost of its
enterprising citizens.
Its streets are broad and handsome,
and were laid out at the date of its
origin for beauty as well as conve-
nience of trade. They are lined with
fine brick and stone buildings, which
give the city look of permanancy as
also of wealth. Among these are the
board of trade building, Williams
book establishment, Prior's hardware,
the banks of Montreal and British
Columbia, Land and Investment Co..
the Jewell block, Wilson block, Vic
torian theatre, Dried hotel, City hall,
court house and others.
Many of the residences, too, are
very attractive, being built on spaci-
Gus grounds and in the latest style of
modern architecture. Dwellings are
always taken as the truest evidences
of the taste and prosperity of the
citizens, and in this respect Victoria
will compare with any city of its size
IN, 4 IF 20
of the wealth of the city is the fact
that nine tenths of the dwellings are
said to be owned by their occupants.
The assessed valuation of the personal
and real property of Victoria is over
$50, 000, 900, making it, as has been
claimed, the wealthiest city of its size
on the American continent.
The city possesses an admirable
electric tramway, with about twenty
cars, which run through all the prin-
cipal streets to a distance of five or six
miles from the water front. 1t is also !
lighted with electricity from over 1000 |
incandescent and arc lights.
The weather, however, is decidedly
cold, the thermometer dropping some |
winters as low as 100 above zero, while |
the mean average for summer is given |
at from T00 to so. The average rain |
fall is stated as 2S to so inches, very
little of this falling in the summer
months.
I have not seen the commercial |
statistics of British Columbia for 1892,
but it is evident that there has been
steady and rapid increase since the
opening OF the China trade via Van
couver, and the returns for the current
year will probably be a surprise to
everyone, rs showing how much trade
has been diverted from the San Fran
cisco route.
II. NJ. w.
Victoria, B. c, September, 1898.