HAMILTON, Ontario, Canada, city and capital of Wentworth County, situated on the shores of Burlington Bay at the western extremity of Lake Ontario, 40 miles from Toronto, 42 miles from Niagara Falls and 70 miles northwest of Buffalo. It was laid out and settled in 1813 by George Harrill, ton, and is built on a plateau of slightly ele vated ground extending around the front of a hilly range from Niagara Falls. Ham ilton is connected with a large system of Canadian and American railways,— the Cana dian Pacific, Grand Trunk, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo, the Michigan Central, the New York Central and the Lehigh Valley and Wa bash railways. Hamilton's geographical posi tion at the head of Lake Ontario, with its fine harbor, affords the best shipping facilities to the Northwest Provinces and European markets by water, while her railway facilities are not excelled by any city in the Dominion. She has also become the radius for three electric rail way systems. Electric power is obtained from Decew Falls and from Niagara, and natural gas from Welland. Hamilton is one of the chief
manufacturing cities in Canada and is in the centre of a fine fruit-growing district. It manufactures agricultural implements, auto mobiles, air brakes and electrical supplies, belt ing, boots and shoes, carriages, tobacco, cloth ing, drugs, elevators, emery wheels, engine packing, fertilizers, furnaces, gasoline engines, harness, glue, mats, paints, pottery, soaps, sil verware, nails, vinegar, mattresses, washing machines and musical instruments. Its manu factures considerably more than doubled be tween 1900 and 1910. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic and Anglican bishoprics, has a provin cial normal college, two fine public recreation grounds in Dundurn and Victoria parks, and a race-course. The city returns two members to the Dominion Parliament, and two to the provincial legislature. It is the seat of a United States consulate. Pop. 100,000.