Entered, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four, by ALEXANDER BEGG, C.C., Victoria, B.C., at the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.

BODLEIAL

13'4'1896

LIBRARY

PREFACE.

IT HAS BEEN REMARKED that "a man may be ignorant of the laws of his country, but with ordinary intelligence he is not excusable, if he be unacquainted with its history." This remark should only be applied to those who have the means of becoming well informed, and neglect to avail themselves of opportunities within their reach.

HISTORICALLY, British Columbia has, hitherto, had comparatively an unwritten record. It is true, that within the last thirty years, many pamphlets and books respecting the Province have been written, but they were principally confined to climatic, geographical and descriptive matters; hence the present effort of the Author to search for, gather, and compile, from such sources as were available, as full and complete a record as possible of this interesting portion of the Dominion. The result is this work now placed before the public, in the hope that it may interest and benefit the reading community.

The "modern history" relating to the recent official visit of the Governor-General to British Columbia, is given at some length, as it refers to many provincial topics of importance, and gives evidence of the continued loyal feeling of the people of the Province to Queen Victoria and the British throne.

The lamented death of the Premier of Canada, at Windsor Castle, 12th December, 1894, is noted. Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Minister

of Trade and Commerce, favorably known in British Columbia, re Australian Trade and the Pacific Cable, at the request of Lord Aberdeen, accepted the Premiership.

A new historical feature, namely, THE APPENDIX MAP, showing the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway across the continent, also the

routes used by the brigades of the early fur-traders, from the Pacific. coast and New Caledonia to Hudson Bay and Montreal, will be found useful and instructive.

The thanks of the author are due to not a few in the city of Victoria who have assisted in supplying material for this history; especially the Deputy Provincial Secretary for affording access to the provincial records and archives; to the Provincial Auditor and the Assistant Auditor for the warm interest they manifested in the early progress of the work.

ALEXANDER BEGG, C.C.

December, 1894.