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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1889)
THE WE8T SHORE. 313 man Catholics. Eight churches represent the follow, ing denominations: Church of England, Church of Reformed Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist The city has a board of trade, a building association, and a dozen fraternal, benevolent and so cial organizations. It has two good hotels, an opera houso, a concert hall, two banks, daily, semi-weekly and weekly newspapers, and excellent telegraphio and telephonio communication. Several parks and publio squares within the city limits aggregate in area more than one hundred acres. The corporation recently purchased the charter for a system of water works, which will be constructed immediately at a cost of about $200,000.00. This will give an unlimited sup. ply of pure water. The provincial jail, provincial asylum, the central prison for the main land, the dominion land office for the province, the land registry office for the main land, the provincial land office, and the central office on the Pacifio for the Canadian Pacifio and Postal Union telegraph systems are situatod at New West minster. It is the residence of Anglican and Roman Catholio bishops, the provincial immigration agnnt, the inspector of fisheries, the district sonator and rep resentative in the dominion parliament, the judge and registrar of the supreme court, and the sheriff of tho district A new court house, to coat $20,000.00 is about to be erected. New Westminster is connected with the main line of the Canadian Pacifio railway by a branch eight miles long to Westminster Junction. Trains are run from New Westminster to Vancouver several times a day, and direct connections are made with all trans continental trains at the junction. The completion of the New Westminster, Bellingbam By fc Seattlo rail way will make the city a oompctiog point for tho Canadian Pacific and Northern Pacifio roads. Among the other railways projocted from New Westminster are a short line to Vancouver, a line down tho south side of the Fraser to Ladner's and up the river to Somas, and one to Victoria, on Vancouver island, the last involving a ferry across the (lulf of Georgia, a distance of twenty miles, to operate in conjunction with the railway on the land. Those project are being pushed by men of capital and business fore, sight, with tho cooperation of lines already estab lished, and they will all bo completed before long. Besides the rail communication which New West minster has, it is well provided with boat linos plying to all towns on the river as far up as Yale, a hun dred miles distant, and on the coast of tho main land, as well as to the islands of tho province and Pugot sound ports in American territory. It has good con nections by steamer with Portland and Han Francis co, Stages run to Vanoouvcr, Burrey Center, Clover Valley and Hall's Prairie, in the province, aud to Blaine, across tho boundary line in Washington. New Westminster occupies a sloping site facing the south and southeast The peaks of tho Cascades and Olympio mountains afford a glimpso of magnifi. cent scenery to tho south and southwest, while in tho immediate vloiaiiy of the city are many feature of interest The celebrated Harrison Hot Springs may bo reached in less than two hours by rail from tho city. In town are all tho accommodations to make life pleasant there. The city U growing In impor. tanoo as a tourist's resort and a place o! residence, even for those who have businoa interests elsewhere in the province. Tho largo trade which 1 enjoyed by all line of business in New Westminster is pushing it to tho front as a commercial and manufacturing center. Tho lumbering, agricultural, fiiblng and mining interest tributary to the city, and tho facilities being provided for developing commerce in all directions are already beginning to bear fruit in quickening trade and atti act ing people from abroad. An enterprising spirit is awakened and tho citizens are aroused to tho a-It so Uge that lie at their door. Nearly half a million dollars will be upended in tho city this year for water works and railway Improvement alone, and this Is but the beginning of a long train of work that will keep the town in tho front rank of tho rapidly grow, ing cities of tho province.