lying there. Mr. Dunsmuir, of Victoria, is the chief proprietor of the
railway, and he has associated with him Mr. Cracker, President of the
Southern Pacific Railway, and others.

"The Government of Canada gave a bonus of $750,000 (say
150,000_l_.) in aid of the construction of the railway, and a belt
of land, with the minerals under it, of 10 miles in width on each side
of the line.

"During the afternoon of the 23rd of September we visited the West
Wellington Coal Mines, 4 or 5 miles beyond Nanaimo, and to which the
railway is to be extended, work on the extension having just been
commenced. The mines are owned by Messrs. Dunsmuir & Sons, and at the
present time they are working at five shafts, the output for the month
of August being 17,000 tons. We went down the shaft of No. 5 pit, which
was 240 feet deep, and found the seam was very thick, from 10 to 11
feet, but not very solid block coal, having apparently been crushed.
The mines are all connected with wharves on the coast at Departure Bay
by a three-feet gauge railway; the lines around the mines were all in
fair order. The line is worked by small locomotives, six wheels coupled
and no truck, of the Baldwin Locomotive Company's manufacture, the load
handled by them being 15 cars, each containing 3-1/2 tons of coal, and
averaging in dead weight 1-3/4 tons each. The grade down to the port is
very steep, and the heaviest work for the engines is in taking the
empties back again.

"The coal is mined by white miners, who employ each of them a Chinese
labourer; they employ gunpowder for blasting purposes, chiefly Curtis &
Harvey's make, and use naked lights of oil. The miners are found in all
tools except their auger drills, which they all use, and which cost