292 



MONTPELLIER 



MONTREAL 



rail XN\V. of IVwton. It. contains a handsome 

 granite state-house, with a statue of Ethan Allen, 

 and has mine mills and tanneries. Pop.) 1900) 6286. 



Molltpellier, the capital of tin- French depart- 

 ment of Hcrault, on the river Lez, ti miles from the 

 M ;m,l :tl S\V. of NiiM.-,. Pop. I 1872) 54,466; 

 (1891 ) 69,258. Lying near tin- centre of Langue- 

 doc, on the great "route from Italy ami Proven** t 

 Spain, with ite seaport at a point ottering the 

 shortest land-mute not only to all parts of iMDmt 

 doc. Imt to north France, Montpellier's position 

 was a highly favourable one during the middle 

 ages. Hence alike ite commercial an<l intellectual 

 importance, anil ite stormy history, during which 

 it was sometimes independent, and sometimes 

 under the suzerainty of Aragon or Navarre, hefore 

 finally becoming a possession of the French crown 

 in 1392. Ite schools of medicine, law, and arts, 

 developing during the 12th and 13th centime-, 

 were formally constitute.! a university hv a papal 

 bull in 1289, at which time the schools of law and 

 medicine (the latter founded by Arabian phyacWM) 

 rivalled those of Paris. In the following century 

 IVtrarch was a student at the law school, and 

 Arnaud de Villeneuve, the alchemist ami physician, 

 was teaching in the medical school. With such 

 a geographical position Montiiellier was easily 

 -tirrea by the Renaissance. Rabelais and Ron- 

 delet the anatomist l>otli graduated in medicine 

 in 1537 ; Casaubon was made (ireek profeMM in 

 1586. After Rondelet there is a continuity al- 

 most unique in tlie history of science. A pupil 

 of his founded the famous botanic garden (the 

 oldest in France) in 1593; other pupils, Lobel, 

 (Musius, the brothers Bauhin, were highly dis- 

 tinguished amongst the earlier botanists (see 

 HOT ANY). At the end of the 17th century 

 (during which Clarendon and Locke had been 

 residents), Magnol again made Montpellier the 

 centre of the science, and reckoned among his pupils 

 Tournefort and the elder De Jnssieu. De Candolle 

 also wrote here some of his principal works, and 

 laid out the first botanic garden upon the natural 

 system in 1810. The medical school had also a 

 notable history ; and a new period of activity 

 is indicated by the celebration of the sexcen- 

 tenary of the university (1890), with ite reor- 

 ganisation upon the fullest scale of equipment. 

 The town has also an important picture-gallery 

 and library. 



A centre of wine production, upon wlucb its 

 present prosperity depends, Montpellier mill'ere. 

 greatly by the phylloxera; but it was here tha 

 the cure of grafting French vines u|H>n America! 

 stocks was earliest applied. The new Bohoo 

 of Agriculture, chiefly devoted to the practica 

 tudy of wine and silk culture, is very Oouroli 

 ing. Of the medueval town little remains, it' 

 fortilications and most of ite buildings, save tin 

 cathedral and the adjoining bishop's palace (whicl 

 now bouses the school of medicine), having IM-CII 

 destroyed in the religious wars, in the Hevolution, 

 or by municipal improvements. The older street- 

 are crooked and narrow, but afford better shelter 

 from the sun. and from the chilling mistnil. than 

 do the modern ones. The chief modern building! 

 are the theatre ami law-courts; but the principal 

 glory of the town i- its two great terrace*, form- 

 ing public promenades overlooking the undulating 

 country dotted with innumerable /miriSr or country 

 cottages, and in the distance the Mediterranean, 

 Cevennes, Pyrenees, and Alps. See Duval Joave, 

 MontprUirr ; Aigrefeuille, Hiitoire de MontjieJlter 

 (1739; new ed. 1877). 



Montreal, the largest city of the Dominion 

 of Canada, is the centre of Canadian commerce, 

 of Canadian banking, and of the extensive system 



if railways by which the country is now covered. 

 t is built on the south-east side of an island formed 

 iy tin- junction of the Ottawa Hiver with the St 

 >awrence, ami may lie said in general terms to be 

 situated on the northern bank of the St Lawn in-,-. 



The city is alxiut 4 miles long and 2 wide, the 

 Central 'Mountain rising in the rear narrowing the 

 city at ite liase for some distance. It is not the 

 political capital of the province of Qaftbeo, Imt 

 it exerts an immense |Militical influence, and prac- 

 tically not only directs the political business nt 

 Quebec, but exerte also by means of its banks, 

 ite manufactures, and ite great im [Mining and 

 distributing commercial bouses a great influence 

 on the public policy of the Federal Covernmont. 

 It is also the seat" of the greatest universities, 

 hospitals, convents, and seminaries in all Canada. 

 Finally it is during the season of navigation- i.e. 

 from Slay to Novemlicr the great maritime port 

 of the Dominion, a do/en transatlantic steam- 

 ship companies making it one of their head- 

 i|uarters : while a lake and river and coast navi- 

 gation of great activity increases and diversifies the 

 business of the city. It is nearly 1000 miles from 

 Montreal to the ocean proper, and 250 to the first 

 salt water. Pop. (1871) 107,225; (1881) 140,747, 

 or with the suburbs, 155,237 ; ( 1891 ), including 

 suburbs taken into the city since 1881, 216,650. 

 In 1881 the people were divided into 78,684 of 

 French descent, 28,995 Irish, 16,407 English, and 

 12,531 Scotch, with a sprinkling of various other 

 nationalities. The revenue of the city in 1888 was 

 $2,095,411, and the expenditure 82,062,275. 



The growth of the commerce of Montreal is 

 xerx remarkable. In 1870 the imports amounted 

 tof23,W6,688 and the e\|x>rts to $1 1,222,101. Ill 

 18S9 the imiHirls were si:t.!l-S.:,!l4 and the expo. Is 

 $29,032,613. The I'sHI miles of the St Lawrence 

 Mixer contribute to this growth of export, and 

 distribute largely the giowth of import. The 

 total of receipts of grain. Hour, and meal at 

 Montreal in Is'.MM.T. amounted to about 20,000,001 

 bushels annually, the shipments of the name being 

 some millions less. The annual tonnage of ship 

 pin" rose, from 208,000 tons in 1870 to 000,000 tons 

 in IH'.MI '.I.', lib.' Amcncan ships declining). I "i 

 the great Victoria Railway Bridge across the fc 

 Lawrence, see HIIIIM;K, vol. ii., p. 441 : see MM 

 CANAL. The Federal < ioxeriiment having assumed 

 the debt of the port incurred for deepening the 

 channel, and the canal tolls having been reduced 

 to a minimum with a pro-pect of being entiicly 

 abolished in order to encourage a through trade, the 

 future of the port of Montreal as a practically free 

 port seems assured. The canal system which finds 

 its outlet at Montreal is remarkable. By means of 

 the canals Montreal is enabled to touch and handle 



