so by a
resident San Francisco landshark. Selling the trees therefore may
be to maintain color of title to the streets. But that will prove
useless. Viewing the townsite as their private property, when they
sold they forever conveyed away their claim to the streets. But the
townsite is not private property, although it has unjustifiably been
so claimed from the first settlement of the Colony. As private
property the Company have no claim to it which will stand the test
of law or equity. It is to all intents and purposes in the same
condition as the lands of Cowichan, Nootka or Cape Scott; and the
funds derived from the sale as justly belong to the Territorial
revenues of the Colony. Taking then the townsite to be like other
lands, subject to the conditions of the grant, (which we will
hereafter prove) we find that one of the conditions says: 'That the
said Company shall (for the purposes of colonization) dispose of all
lands hereby granted to them, at a reasonable price, except as much
thereof as may be required for public purposes.' The streets are
used for public purposes--and for that reason the Company have no
more right to them, nor the trees, than anyone else. Their act of
felling trees on the public streets, and their intimation, deserves
the strongest mark of public censure--and merits the attention of
the proper authorities.

"Besides if our connection with the Hudson's Bay Company is not
speedily ended we may expect many more such trumped-up claims as
their claim to the streets, which they will want us to pay for."

I think my pioneer friends will now agree with me that enough
evidence has been furnished to prove my contention that View Street
was originally intended to reach from Wharf Street to Cook Street,
and farther if necessary.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

BISHOP CRIDGE'S CHRISTMAS STORY.

Some years ago the _Colonist_ requested several "old timers"
to write for the Christmas number a description of Christmas as it
was observed in the early days in this city.

The following were those who wrote: The Venerable Bishop Cridge, Hon.
Dr. Helmcken, Hon. D. W. Higgins, and the author of these
reminiscences. I was so much interested myself in these stories (as I
am in all Christmas stories), I decided, with the consent of the
writers, to reproduce them in my book; not only as interesting, but
as very instructive, describing, as they do, life in the pioneer days
of the colony.

[Portrait: Rev. Edward Cr