The west shore., June 01, 1889, Page 313, Image 21

THE WE8T SHORE.
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are pursuing a moat liberal policy in the encourage
ment of railroad construction, and aid all enterprises
of a legitimate character with grants of land and apo
dal privileges, seeking to provide the province with
transportation lines as speedily as possible. Several
important enterprises of this nature are on foot, and
some of them are in actual course of construction.
In a very short time railroads will penetrate most of
the leading agricultural districts and opon the way to
market for their products. The land laws are very
liberal and are framed for the encouragement of
home seekers.
In its mineral deposits British Columbia finds one
of its chief sources of wealth, and though mining is
not, nor ever has been, carried on there on the exton
sive scale in which it is pursued in the country across
the international line, the mineral product has been
very large for the past thirty years. Placer mining
has been the form this industry has assumed in the
main, though considerable work has been done on
quartz ledges in various localities, and always with
the most encouraging results. It is well known that
the rich ledges of gold, silver and copper ore that are
now being worked in suoh numbers and producing
millions of dollars of bullion in California, Nevada,
Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana, have their
counterparts in the region to the north. It can not
be supposed that nature was guided in her geological
formations by any political boundary lines. That
she was not, the rich ledges now being developed in
the 8imilkamoen, Kootenay, Columbia river, Nicola,
Cariboo and other districts are ample evidonco. All
that is needed is the introdoction of capital for the
development of mines as rich and numerous as are to
be found on any other portion of the Pacific slope.
One reason why capital has been slow to interest
itself in these mines is the same that has interfered
with the progress of the country genorally-tbe lack
of railroads by which necessary machinery and sup
plies could be taken into the mining regions and ores
brought out As has been shown, this obstacle is
now being rapidly removed. All the indications point
to British Columbia as the scene of great mining de
velopmenti during the next decade. It U surprising
that the capitalists of England do not give this most
promising portion of Her Majesti realm the pre f.
erenceover the United States when investing : be r
money in mining enterprises, and they undoubtedly
will when they become better educated on the sub.
ject. -. .
Another great source of wealth U the fineries.
At present the salmon industry receives the most at
tention, but deep sea fishing is beginning to take its
plaoe among the industries of the province. All the
streams of the coast and larger islands swarm with
salmon from early in the spring till Uto in tho fall,
and on many of them large canneries are in opera
tion. Fraaer and Skeena rivers aro tho soouo of tho
greatest industry, and on those streams was packed
the bulk of the one hundred and fifty thousand cases
put up in tho provlnco last year. Tho waters of tho
ocean adjacent to tho coast swarm with halibut, cod,
and a fish unknown in Atlantic waters which boars
the name of black ood, and which is far superior to
the true ood as a market fish. It will soon become
known in all tho markets of tho coutinout, as prepara
tions are being made to catch and euro largo quanti
ties for market this season. Tho experimental efforts
made last season by several skillful fUherraen, and
the most careful investigations of tho Unit! State
vessel, tho AUmtroat, have determined tho fact that
tho coast waters from Paget sound to Alaska aro su
perior as fishing grounds to tho famous ones of tho
Atlantio slope, over which tho governments of Canada
and tho United States aro having so much contro
versy. The winters are mild and ico does not float
across tho fishing grounds as off tho coast of New
foundland, tho storms aro loss frequent and leia so
vere and tho seasons aro longer. Tbeso advautago,
taken in connection with tho fact that the fishing
grounds aro nearer ports for shipment, would seem to
indicate that tho deep sea fishing industry on tho Pa
cifio coast of Canada will in a few years far excood
in magnitude that of tho Atlantic. M tho hardy
fishermen of Nova Bcotla, New Brunswick and New
foundland take noto of this, and onno out to this
country, to ply their avocation under conditions more
favorable than they ever have, or ever can, at homo.
What a glorious future lies before UritUb Colum
bia it is impossible fully to real!. With her vast
area, her wealth of minerals, timber, fish and arable
land, she is destined to U tho tnost wealthy and u
ulous province in tho dominion. Tho great move
ment westward now goiog on lo tho region south of
the lino will soon find it counterpart farther north,
where also exist in equal measure all tho attractions
which aro drawing that moving throng. Thousands
aro pouring Into Oregon and Washington monthly,
and thousands will pour Into Mrltish Columbia as
soon as they learn of her great stores of natural
wealth simply waiting for tho hands of indastry and
capital to grasp them.