cial buildings at
Victoria, in British Columbia, the general design of which is
Renaissance, rendered most effective by pearl-grey stone and several
domes; the headquarters of the bank of Montreal, a fine example of the
Corinthian order, and notable for the artistic effort to illustrate, on
the walls of the interior, memorable scenes in Canadian history; the
county and civic buildings of Toronto, an ambitious effort to reproduce
the modern Romanesque, so much favoured by the eminent American
architect, Richardson; Osgoode Hall, the seat of the great law courts of
the province of Ontario, which in its general character recalls the
architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Year by year we see additions
to our public and private buildings, interesting from an artistic point
of view, and illustrating the accumulating wealth of the country, as
well as the growth of culture and taste among the governing classes.

The universities, colleges, academies, and high schools, the public and
common schools of the Dominion, illustrate the great desire of the
governments and the people of the provinces to give the greatest
possible facilities for the education of all classes at the smallest
possible cost to individuals. At the present time there are between
13,000 and 14,000 students attending 62 universities and colleges. The
collegiate institutes and academies of the provinces also rank with the
colleges as respects the advantages they give to young men and
women. Science is especially prominent in McGill and Toronto
Universities--which are the most largely attended--and the former
affords a notable example of the munificence of the wealthy men of
Montreal, in establishing chairs of science and otherwise advancing its
educational usefulness. Laval University stands deservedly at the head
of the Roman Catholic institutions of the continent, on account of its
deeply interesting historic associations, and the scholarly attainments
of its professors, several of whom have won fame in Canadian letters.
Several universities give instructions in medicine and law, and Toronto
has also a medical college for women. At the present time, at least
one-fifth of the people of the Dominion is in attendance at the
universities, colleges, public and private schools. The people of Canada
contribute upwards of ten millions of dollars annually to the support of
their educational establishments, in the shape of government grants,
public taxes, or private fe