311
THE WEST BHOBE.
TUB CITY OF NEW WE3TMIN8TER.
Drill NO Iba time of the Fraser river gold excite
meet, in NA tba city of New Weatminster,
Uritiib Columbia, u founded, by Colonel Moody,
of Iba royal enginwa, ho considered it the moat ad
tantalus tiU for the eapiUl of the province. The
city ii liclAd on tba north bank of the river, fifteen
nil from ita mouth, ii accessible for deep water
Lilting, and tin in tba heart of a aection of varied
kD I uluabla rcaourwi. BUwrs also ply up the
rirrr a hnndrad miloa to Yale which U the center of
a diitrirt of considerable imjxjrtance.
Tim city of New Westminster ii chiefly known
brl for iU salmon trade and iU lumber business,
but tba agricultural interests of the district are now
ooiuicg into prominence and giving the city addition
al stability. Tba good firming territory of British
Colombia it not a very Urgo proportion of ita whole
are Thra ara considerable tract that are fine
grailng land, and otbori that irrigation would ren
der fertile, but much of tbia territory that will ulti
mately, of oouraa, Income valuable, ia now practical
ly inaoroMibla for tba ordinary tiller of the aoiL
Tba Urgtt and moat valuable tract of farming land
in tba province ii in tha southwest corner, in the val
leynd dell of Fraser river, and New Westminster
ia aituatM in the midst of that great garden. Lola,
Bra and Wrtharn islands, compriaing the delta of
Iba rirrr, bavo an arra of over fifty thousand acrea of
tba cboioM UmL It is not heavily timbered, and
Iba rich, alluvial soil jielda crops of first quality and
in aurprising quantity. Three tons of hay are taken
from an arra, ninety buabels of oaU, aeventy.five of
tlrt, and of n4 cn; four hundred to eight hun
dri buihrlt At Iba lut l.cI fair turnip weighing
Ut; ..unds each vera on exhibition, sod oati
icg M; fu jmunda to the measured bushel What
ita municipal,!; of IMta ia a similar
is known as
III. ... - lu.uni
arc ,sg Ut.cn ll9 hopf anJ .
lhas.mjh. The nanicialiiw 0f Surrey, Lander
Ma,,la tidj and ailli.hack occupy the valley on
!th,aid of tba rirrr aWa New Westminster, and
cm braoa an an flf fieMy fiTe hondr(yj ,
of U very U agricultural Xhee tend
U.itr4 fro ih America Umndary a distant
JtUj fiw but only bcludo whMU
Ik. H.bcaJ d,trict of Nc HfU Yum
op tb. vallc,, of iu tnbutaries, the Rm Z r,
and lb. Ki.ub. A cboiw bUve
Tb ar, all ori:,u tJ'
mixed with a clay loam. The agricultural prodno
tiona include the common grains, roots, vegetable!
and a variety of fruits. A failure of crops was never
known in that region. Dairying is a profitable in.
daatry and it is growing in importance. While in
the valley there is no government land to speak of, i
considerable portion of the area is yet unimproved
and may be purchased at moderate prices. On the
northern branches of the Fraser there are still eligi.
ble locations which may be obtained from the gov.
ernmont or from the railroad company on reasonable
terms. In the interior there are large amounts of
land of all degrees of fertility and in all sorts of lo
cations, that are waiting for settlers.
There are twelve large salmon canneries within
easy reach of New Westminster. These establish
ments represent an invested capital of $500,000.00,
they employ over five thousand men during the fish
ing season and pay out over $100,000.00 a year for
supplies. The Fraser river canneries turned out last
year forty-one thousand six hundred cases of salmon.
This is one of the most important industries of that
region. Three saw mills are now in operation in the
city, their daily capacity being one hundred and
twenty-five thousand feet of lumber. By far the
largest saw mill in the province is now in course of
construction at New Westminster. It will have s ca
pacity for sawing two hundred thousand feet per day.
Vessels bound to the several foreign markets to
which this lumber is shipped have no difficulty in as
cending the river and taking their cargoes from the
wharves at the mills. The timber is obtained in
abundance up the Fraser river and its tributaries,
and floated down to the mills where it is held ia
booms until manufactured. Lumber sawing consti
tutes the most important single manufacturing indus
try of the city. It has, however, the only woolen
mill in the province, two foundries and machine
shops, a furniture manufactory, planing mills, sash
and door factories and cigar factories. The volume
of products turned out by these establishments has
an important influence on the prosperity of the city.
The New Westminster, Bellingham Bay & Seattle
railway, now in process of construction between Be
etle and New Westminster, will have its shops in
the Utter city and will build a railway and traffie
bridge across the Fraser river, this having been
agreed upon as a consideration for a bonus and cer
tain terminal facilities which were granted it
New Westminster is well supplied with educa
tional facilities, it having good publio schools, a high
chool, and two or three private educational institn
t It baa the only free publio library in the
Province, There is a publio hospital, and also one
hich coat $20,000.00 under the auspices of the Bo-