90 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA • 
i 
lions in Upper Canada are Englishmen of 
education, a circumstance which must render 
the society of the capital agreeable, let it be 
fixed where it will. Few places in North 
America can boast of a more rapid rise than 
the little town of Niagara, nearly every one of 
its houses having been built within the last five 
years: It is still advancing most rapidly in size, 
owing to the increase of the back country trade 
along the shores of the upper lakes, which is 
all carried on through the place, and also owing 
to the wonderful emigrations, into the neigh¬ 
bourhood* of people from the States. The 
motives which lead the citizens of the United 
States to emigrate to the British dominions 
have already been explained. So sudden and 
so great has the influx of people, into the town 
of Niagara and its vicinity, been, that town 
lots, horses, provisions, and every necessary of 
life have risen, within the last three years, 
nearly fifty per cent, in value. 
The banks of the river Niagara are steep and 
lofty, and on the top, at each side of the river, 
are extensive plains. The tow n stands on the 
summit of the western bank, about fifty yards 
from the water’s edge. It commands a fine 
. view of the lake and distant shores, and its situa¬ 
tion is in every respect pleasing to the eye. 
From its standing on a spot of ground so much 
elevated above the level of the water, one would 
