lillEIEllElEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Halifax—an Ocean Gateway

””'_ 1TH a splendid situation on the slopes of a great harbor, Halifax invites within her hos- pitable gates all who would sojourn for a while on the shore of the breezy Atlantic. Here is surely a world-harbor, with magnificent ap— proaches, where fleets from every country may ride in security, and here, more than in any port of Canada, the marine of every nation, and the giant warship, too, may be seen. As many as fourteen men—of—war, or battleships, have anchored here at one time, and the Atlantic liners, the traders, the coasting steamers, the sailing vessels and the multitude of sloops, fishing-smacks, yawls, sail boats, launches and row boats all contribute to the general busy life of the port. Its position on the eastern coast is supreme and cannot be challenged, a position that indeed makes it an Empire port in every sense. So much is this the case that with the assured growth of Canada, Halifax must always keep pace; and at no very distant day a harbor rivalling that of New York, a second Liverpool, will come into being, and Halifax will be the seaport of a great British Canadian Empire.

The city has been termed the Cronstadt of America, and it well deserves the name, for its wharves and anchorages are at the inner end of a great five-mile waterway, the banks and islands of which provide commanding positions for the eventful day when ” war's alarms " shall make defense inevitable.

Active and stirring scenes . have been witnessed here during the f past century. Privateers, blockade— runners, convoys or merchantmen, and war vessels with prizes have well covered the inner waters of the harbor. Busy times those, when in one day forty full—rigged

246