VANCOUVER 



6031 



VANCOUVER 



were given to the world. The magnetic tele- 

 graph was patented in 1837; friction matches 

 were first used in 1838; the first photograph in 

 America was taken in 1839; and in the same 

 year the process of vulcanizing rubber was dis- 

 covered. Regular steamship connection be- 

 tween the United States and Europe was also 

 established, the first steam vessel having 



-ed the ocean but a few years before. 

 The Election of 1840. The independent 

 treasury was Van Buren's greatest work, but it 



did little more than add to his unpopularity in 

 1840. Although he was in no way responsible 

 for the panic of 1837, its shadow hung over him in 

 1840. In the election of 1840 Van Buren polled 

 nearly as many popular votes as William Henry 

 Harrison (1,128,702 to 1,275,017), but he had 

 only sixty electoral votes to 234 or Harrison. 

 Van Buren was not soured by this defeat, but 

 retired cheerfully to Lindenwald, a beautiful 

 estate which he had purchased near his birth- 

 place, and there lived the rest of his life. 



Later Public Career 



Van Buren's retirement to Lindenwald was 

 only temporary. At the end of his term he was 

 a vigorous man, in the prime of life, and it was 

 impossible for him to withdraw from public 

 life. For twenty years he continued to wield 

 considerable influence. 



In 1843 he announced his clear-cut views in 

 favor of a tariff for revenue only. But he broke 

 with the majority of the Democrats when he 

 opposed the annexation of Texas. This stand 

 cost him the Democratic nomination for Presi- 

 dent in 1844. Van Buren's friends, however, 

 gave loyal support to Polk, and insured the 

 latter's election by carrying New York for him. 



Van Buren continued to figure in public life, 

 and in 1847 announced his approval of the prin- 

 ciple of the Wilmot Proviso (which see). The 

 extension of slavery was the rock on which the 

 Democrats now split. In June, 1848, a conven- 

 tion was held at Utica, N. Y., to organize 



VANCOUVER, vankoo'ver, a city in British 

 Columbia, the metropolis of the province and 

 the fourth largest city in the Dominion of 

 Canada. It is exceeded in size among Cana- 

 dian cities only by Montreal, Toronto and 

 \\rnnipeg. In commercial importance Van- 

 couver ranks about as it does in population. It 



western terminus of five lines of railway: 



Canadian Pacific, Canadian Northern, 

 Northern Pacific, Great Northern and Pacific 

 Great Eastern. It is also the western terminus 

 of the British Columbia Electric Railway, 

 which extends for 112 miles up the Fraser 



r to Chilliwuck and New Westminster. It 

 is the eastern terminus of many steamship lines, 

 whose boats run regularly to many points on 



Pacific coast, to Alaska and the United 

 States, and far away to China, Japan. I 

 New Zealand, Australia and the small isl.-md 

 groups of thr Pacific. It is the North Amrri- 



Dejnocratic opposition to General Lewis Case, 

 who had disavowed the Wilmot Proviso. In 

 spite of Van Buren's refusal, this convention 

 nominated him for President, and in August, 

 1848, a "Free-Soil" national convention at Buf- 

 falo reaffirmed the nomination. Van Buren 

 received no electoral votes, and fewer than 300,- 

 000 popular votes. This number, however, was 

 enough to give the victory to Zachary Taylor. 

 After this defeat Van Buren ceased to play 

 an active part in politics. Except on the ques- 

 tion of slavery he was still a Democrat, and 

 he voted for Franklin Pierce in 1852 and for 

 Buchanan in 1856. In 1860 he voted against 

 Lincoln, but after the war began he gave Lin- 

 coln his hearty support. Van Buren was buried 

 at Kinderhook, N. Y., his birthplace. W.F.Z. 



Consult Alexander's Political History of the 

 State of New York; MacDonald's Jeffertonian 

 Democracy. 



can port nearest to the Orient. Between Van- 

 couver and Victoria a daily ferry SWHJP if 

 maintained. 



The city lies on the north shore of Burrard 

 Inlet, which is an eastward extension of the 

 Strait of Georgia. It has one of the finest 

 natural harbors in the world. This has been 

 improved by the construction of docks on both 

 shores of Burrard Inlet, that is, both in Van- 

 couver proper and in North Vancouver. South 

 Vancouver, which adjoins Vancouver, also has a 

 fine series of jetties, partly completed in 1917 by 

 the Dominion government. The city naturally 

 has a large foreign trade, averaging $50,000,000 

 a year; the imports form about sixty per cent 

 of the total. Vancouver is also a wholesale and 

 manufacturing center, notably for canned fish, 

 lumber, shingles and other lumber products. 

 Wooden and steel ships, strum r ;rm- 



turo, and machinery of various kinds are im- 



