MONTREAL 



3935 



MONTREAL 



thedrals of Europe than any other edifice in 

 the New World. 



Saint James Cathedral, facing on Dominion 

 Square, is patterned after Saint Peters in Rome 

 and is one-third the size of that cathedral. It 

 is built in the form of a cross, and from the 

 center a dome, seventy feet in diameter, rises 

 to the height of 210 feet. Rising above the 

 dome is a gilt ball on which is placed a large 

 cross which bears electric lights. The Jesuit 

 Church on Bleury Street is famous for its fres- 

 coes. 



Among the Protestant churches are Christ 

 Church Cathedral, on Union Avenue, said to 

 be the most perfect church in Canada, archi- 

 tecturally; Saint Andrews, a fine specimen of 

 Gothic architecture; Saint James Methodist; 

 Dominion Square Methodist, and Saint 

 George's, one of the most magnificent Anglican 

 churches, are prominent. 



Education. Montreal has two distinct school 

 systems, Roman Catholic and Protestant, with 

 separate boards of commissioners (see QUEBEC 

 [province], subhead Education), The various 

 boards raise their own taxes at a rate fixed by 

 the provincial government, on the system pre- 

 scribed in the article on the province. The in- 

 struction under each board is of a high order, 

 and the schools are characterized by thorough- 

 ness and efficiency. The Protestant Board of 

 Commissioners maintains a high school for 

 boys, a high school for girls and a commercial 

 and technical high school for both boys and 

 girls. The leading educational institution of the 

 city is McGill University (which see). Laval 

 University of Montreal occupies a position in 

 the Roman Catholic system of schools similar 

 to that occupied by McGill in the Protestant 

 system. The elementary and high schools un- 

 der each board lead respectively up to these 

 universities. (See LAVAL UNIVERSITY.) The 

 Catholic Board of Commissioners has control of 

 six other colleges and the Jacques Cartier Nor- 

 mal School, widely known for its library of 

 Canadian historical works. These were used by 

 Parkman in preparing his valuable works on 

 American history. There are many theological, 

 medical, law and technical schools in the city 

 and its suburbs. 



The most important learned societies are the 

 Natural History Society, which maintains a 

 valuable museum; the Numismatic and Anti- 

 quarian Society, which has done much to pre- 

 serve the identity of the historic sites in the 

 city and which maintains the museum in Cha- 

 teau de Ramezay; the Montreal Society for 



Historical Studies, and a number of societies 

 connected with the universities. There are a 

 number of valuable libraries connected with 

 the educational institutions, the most important 

 being that of McGill University. The public 

 library is far from adequate to the city's jieeds, 

 but a fine, new building on Lafontaine Park 

 will house an enlarged library. A library much 

 used by the public is that of the Fraser Insti- 

 tute. 



Benevolent Institutions. A number of con- 

 vents maintained by Catholic orders are en- 

 gaged in benevolent work. One of the largest 

 of these is the Grey Nunnery, which cares for 

 deserted children and the sick and unfortunate 

 of all sects. The city has a number of hospi- 

 tals, among which the Royal Victoria Hospital 

 is the most important. This was the gift of 

 Lord Strathcona and Lord Mount Stephen and 

 is one of the largest and most completely 

 equipped hospitals on the continent. A large 

 addition has been built by J. K. L. Ross. The 

 other large hospitals are the General Hospital 

 on Dorchester Street, the Western Hospital 

 and the Homeopathic Hospital on McGill Col- 

 lege Avenue. Hotel Dieu, a convent, is the 

 largest Roman Catholic hospital. The Notre 

 Dame Hospital is also important. 



Commerce and Industry. Montreal is not 

 only the chief commercial center of the prov- 

 ince of Quebec, but of the Dominion of Canada, 

 and its commercial rank is due to its location. 

 The canals around the rapids in the Saint Law- 

 rence River and those connecting the Great 

 Lakes enable lake steamers to meet ocean 

 steamers at this point. Montreal is the natural 

 port of exchange between ocean and inland 

 navigation, and, notwithstanding the fact that 

 its port is open only seven months in the year, 

 it handles nearly fifty per cent of the total 

 trade of Canada for this period. The great 

 Canadian railways the Grand Trunk, the Ca- 

 nadian Pacific have their headquarters here, 

 and the Intercolonial and Canadian Northern 

 enter the city, as do the New York Central, 

 Central Vermont, and several other lines from 

 the United States. 



The Victoria Jubilee Bridge over the Saint 

 Lawrence has a length of one and one-fourth 

 miles between abutments. The first bridge, a 

 tubular structure, was completed in 1860 and 

 was considered to be the eighth architectural 

 wonder of the world. In 1898 this was replaced 

 by a steel arch bridge having tracks for electric 

 cars, driveways and walks, in addition to the 

 railway tracks. 



