Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/358

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MONTREAL 296 MONTROSE season of navigation extends from May till November. Noteworthy Buildings. — The twin tow- ers of the Roman Catholic Church of Notre Dame, the parish church of Mont- real, built 1824-1829, constitute the most characteristic landmark of Montreal. The towers are 227 feet high, and one of them contains the largest bell on the con- tinent, the "Gros Bourdon." The church is one of the largest in North America, and will hold 15,000 people. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. James, com- menced in 1868, is modelled after St, Peter's at Rome. There are about 100 churches in Montreal, the oldest being Notre Dame de Bonsecours (1771). Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican) is an exquisite example of English church architecture of the Gothic style. Other fine churches are Notre Dame de Lourdes, the Church of the Gesu, and St. James, Methodist. The oldest structures in Montreal are two old towers in front of the Grand Seminary, built in 1694 for protection against the Indians. Among the more noteworthy modern buildings are the Royal Victoria Hospital; the Bank of Montreal; the general offices of the Grand Trunk Railway; the Windsor Street and Place Viger stations of the Canadian Pacific Railway; the McGill and Laval University buildings. Monuments. — The best statues are those of Queen Victoria, in Victoria Square; of Maisonneuve, in Place d'Armes Square. Perhaps the most in- teresting monument is that of Lord Nel- son, near the City Hall, erected in 1809. Bzisiiiess. — In 1918 the imports were valued at $197,162,520, and exports $524,- 365,342. Montreal is an important bank- ing center, the oldest and largest bank being the Bank of Montreal, founded in 1817, and since then developed into one of the most important banking institu- tions of the world. In 1919 the bank clearings were over $6,200,000,000. In the same year the assessed valuation was over $850,000,000. Education. — As a seat of learning Montreal occupies a high place. Chief among its educational institutions are McGiLL University (q. v.); a branch of Laval University, Quebec; the medi- cal faculty of Bishop's College Univer- sity, Lennoxville; the Seminary of St. Sulpice; St. Mary's College (Jesuit) ; and the Ville Marie, Sacred Heart, and Hochelaga Convents. The public schools of Montreal are controlled by boards of Roman Catholic and Protestant School Commissioners respectively. History. — Ville Marie, afterward called Montreal, was founded by Maisonneuve, May 18, 1642, during the French regime in Canada. The site had previously been visited in 1535 by Jacques Cartier, who founded there a large Indian town called Hochelaga; and in 1603 by Champlain, when it was found that the Indian town had completely disappeared. The early French settlers had much trouble with the Indians, culminating August, 1689, in the massacre at Lachine, 9 miles from Montreal, of 200 settlers and the capture of 200 more by a band of 1,500 Iroquois Indians. On Sept. 8, 1760, Montreal ca- pitulated to General Amherst and the surrender of the city completed the con- quest of New France by the English. In 1775 Montreal was captured by the Americans, who sent expeditions under Montgomery and Arnold to capture Que- bec and Montreal; and General Carleton in command of the British forces at Montreal had to retreat to Quebec, where the Americans were ultimately defeated. In 1775 the American General Wooster made his headquarters in the Chateau de Ramergay, which still stands opposite the city hall and which was the official residence of the British governors after the conquest. In this same chateau, the Commissioners of Congress, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll, in 1776 met and held council un- der Gen. Benedict Arnold. In 1776 the American forces retreated. Montreal obtained its first city chartefr in 1833, the first mayor being Jacques^ Viger. In 1844 the city became the capital of the province of Canada formed in 1841, by the union of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, but Parliament met for the last time in Montreal in 1849; when a mob of English-speaking citizens, en- raged at the passing of the "Rebellion Losses Bill," burned down the Parliament Buildings and pelted the Governor-Gen- eral, Lord Elgin. The fire (which de- stroyed valuable public records, the par- liamentary library, and in fact every- thing appertaining to Parliament but the mace and the portrait of Queen Victoria) terminated Montreal's brief career as the seat of government. Pop. about 700,000. MONTREAL, an island of Canada, in the St. Lawrence river, at the confluence of Ottawa river, 32 miles long and 10% broad, containing the city of Montreal. MONTRETJX (mongr-truh') , a group of villages on the N. shore of the Lake of Geneva. The name properly belongs to one small hamlet, but is popularly ex- tended so as to include the adjoining vil- lages of Clarens, Vemex, Veytaux, etc. Near it is the castle of Chillon. MONTROSE, a seaport of Forfar- shire, Scotland, 76 miles N. N. E. of