Blair Collection > Celtic magazine > Volume 5

232 THE CELTIC MAGAZINE.
raltar Point which separates it from the Lake, shelters the inner bay,
which is six miles long by one and a-half wide, and makes it a very safe .' \
harbour for shipjiing. The city lies low, but rises gently from the water's ' i
edge, until, at the Observatory buildings, it reaches a point 108 feet above i i
the level of the sea. It is mainly built of stone and brick, and has a \ i
number of very fine streets crossing each other at right angles, and con- ■ i
taining several very fine public buildings, warehouses, and private resi- i i
dences. The city is the seat of the Provincial Government of Ontario | j
and of the Law Courts. The Government buildings make a very poor i >
appearance in comparison with others in the city, but they are about to ' '
be pulled down, and new buildings, in keeping Avith the importance and j t
requirements of the Government, are to be erected in their place. Osgoode J i
HaU, where all the Law Courts are held under one roof, is a fine classic ! .:
structure, and the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor and the ' ;
University are noble buildings — the latter considered to be one of the ' '
finest on the American continent. The public park is a very fijie one, and j i
the wide avenue leading to it, ornamented with stately trees, must be a '
magnificent sight in summer. The city contains no end of thriving ! i
factories and foundries, breweries and distilleries, and the largest cabinet j i
factory in Canada, while between forty and fifty ne-\\-spapers and periodi- ]
cals are published in it, including the Globe, admitted on all hands to be } (
the most influential paper in the whole Dominion. Its founder and prin- { \
cipal proprietor is j
The Hon. George Brown, Senator of the Dominion, quite a self-made j I
man, and whose mother was a Mackenzie from the Island of Lews. His i
influence among Liberal politicians, derived no doubt largely from that of j-
the Globe, is unequalled, and indeed more potent than some of the j .
ostensible leaders of the party are willing to admit. iSTo Liberal Government I \
can ignore his opinions, and usually declining to accept office, it is most difii-
cult — indeed, sometimes impossible to keep him under party control.
In N"ova Scotia I was told that " the people of Ontario believed more in
the gospel of George Brown than in that of the I^ew Testament," and in
Toronto I found the Globe described among its opponents as the " Scots-
man's Bible." While this is no doubt a libel on the orthodoxy of our
countrymen, it gives no bad idea of their faith in the leading Canadian
journal. The Toronto Mail has been started a few years ago in the interest
of the Conservative party. It is capitally written, and conducted with
great vigour, and, I was told, no small amount of success. I found the
Hon. George a most agreeable and chatty fellow, but his herculean frame
and firm, determined-looking visage at once convinced me that, apart al-
together from the power of the Globe, it would be the better part of valour
to keep on friendly terms with him. I had been told that
The Hon, Alexander Mackenzie, ex-Premier of the Dominion, re-
sided in Toronto, where he held the post of Chairman of the Isolated
Eisk Insurance Company. I called and sent in my card, whereupon he
walked out of his sanctum, invited me in, and introduced me to one of his
brothers, who was at the time with him in the office, and, after a most
pleasant chat, invited me to dine with him that evening. I did so, and
enjoyed a most agreeable evening listening to the pleasant and unpreten-
tious chat of the distinguished statesman, and that of his amiable aad