SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 192%. Laying of Corner Stone of 'City Buildings in 1844 Every visitor to Kingston refers to! the fine city Suildjngs, and a history of the buildings will be of interest at| this time, with all the old boys and girls in the city. It has been the wonder of the most people, unacquainted with all the cir- cumstances, how Kingston came to erect a public building of such magni- ficent proportions as that which it pos- sesses. In 1840 the necessity arose for new market buildings. In 1841 Lord Sy- denham, the new governor-general said that to his mind this was the place for the seat of government, and the coun- cil again took up the project of a pub. lic building with great life and energy. It was no longer contented with a small idea. The members of it had visions of future greatness. They de- cided to erect a building large enough to contain two halls 100 ft. long by 50 ft. wide and 20 ft. high, offices for the mayor, the clerk, treasurer, surveyor, assessor, two committee rooms, quar- ters for custom house and post office, police stations etc. It was decided to have a wing containing stalls for the butchers and hucksters. The Commer- cial bank was notified that the cowycil had decided tc at £7, Tr | take as expected t the eb to the scheme as it was nd rather than ren ew the applic n for a loan on moti councillors Rose and Tharkell, mayor was provided with sary authority to borrow, in £20,000 on corporation securities. March, 1843, Mr. Counter re his home and got a cordial v He had been successful in floa loan of £20,000. In the same month of the same year, June, 1843, the contracts for the build- ing were let as follows: James Milner, masonry, £7,768; R. & J. Fisher and T. C. Pidgeon, carpentry, £5,581; Wil. liam Filey, plastering, £975; Thomas Healey, painting and glazing, £358; W. Davy, iron work, , £475; J. H. Townsend, plumbing, £1,052 1s. Davy | and Townsend failed to go on with the | work, and their respective contracts! were given to James Skinner and Tho- mas Overend. In the winter of 1544 the building was completed and ready for occupation. It was oflered for use, eratuitously, for government and par- ting a liamentary purposes and declined. men Ta King Sireot Tower of the Kingston Clty Dulldings, Which Was Burned oly Seapied by in 1866. THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG There was no help for it but to make the best of the situation, Few will remember the public build- ing as it was occupied in 1843 and 1846 The two ends of the main structure-- were devoted to, saloons, and a pros- perous trade they ran. The end recent. the Bank of British and Bank of Montreal the pres. the post North America customs police court office, afterwards firemen's hall The mechanics' te was located p under the dome, in the room occu- pied in latter years by an orange lodge, one of the first organized in the town. Ontario hall was to be the merchant's exchange, but it was not put to that use, For a long time it was leased by the free church, and, when it removed by A. & D. Shaw as a wholesale dry- goods house. The news room was in the department now tenanted by the city engineer. The mayor's office was in the council chamber until Overton S. Gildersleeve became mayor and fit. ted up the little corner in which his worship is supposed to hide himseli for an hour or so each day. The base- ment of the building was a regular bee hive. Every department on the front and ends was used by business men. Cooper, the lawyer, had his office where the police station now is, and the police station was in the depart ment now used by the police as a bil- lard parlour. The shambles of 1844 ran to within about 20 feet of the east side pavement on, King street. The end of them was higher than the middle, and was crest- ed by a tower in which was the clock. Down thé centre, as now, rana wide passage on either side. With entrance | off King street were stores. That on | the south side was at first occupied by John Meagher as a drug store. He was succeeded by Dr. Robinson who found- the ed the city book store of which John | Creighton was for a time the manager | afterwards the proprietor. Overhead | was the apartment occupied for a sea-| son by St. Patrick's society as a read- | ing room, and then by Lightfoot the printer and the Argus office. On the Brock street side Mr. C. McMillan | had, on the second floor, his auction rooms, and in the second flat a small theatre. When McMillan retired Lin-| ton & Bartlett engaged the auction | rooms, and retained them until Linton | removed to the cofner now occupied | by the Ocean saloon. Rest of space oc-| cupied by butchers. w had a big day when the corner stone was laid. The govervor general lived here then and he was in- | duced to take a hand in the proceed- inigs and give them eclat. It was ori- | ginally intended that the ceremony should take place on May 24th in con- nection with the celebration of the Queen's birthday, but the death of Sir Charles Bagot necessitated the post- ponement of it. The weather was beastly. The rains with which the day opened had ceased, but there was a very disagreeable mist and it kept the ladies at home. A stand, that had been, built expressly for them, was taken possession of by the ruder sex; by the way, they mounted all stands, fences and roofs, and every point of vantage. ngston | the head of the procession The Kingston City Buildings. At 12 o'clock the various public bodies and national societies met in front of the old town hall, King street. They were arranged by Henry Smith, jr. M.P.P,, chief marshal, according to the following programme: Police, me- chanics' institution, hook and ladder company," fire company, band, St George's Society, St. Patrick's Society, St. Andrew's Society; militia officers (in uniform), citizens (by fours), members of the medical profession, members of the bar, the clergy (in their robes), the magistracy, the arch- itect; overseer~of works, the builders; officers of the common council, the common cotincil, his worship the mays or, the sheriff, major-general! Sir Riche ard Armstrong and the garrison staff, his excellency the governor-general, Sir Charles Metcalfe and suite, guard of honor, consisting of Frontenac dra- goons, The procession marched up| | King street to the town line, near | Stuart's. Point, and halted to await | the arrival of the governor-general | The mayor anc sheriff had previously gone on to the government house (Alwington) in his worship's carriage to intimate.the arrangements. Not long after the state carriage, drawn by four bays, made its appearance, es- corted by a detachment of the first Frontenac dragoons under Lieut. Mut- tlebury and cdntaining his excellency | and suite, who remained in the car- riage, Gen. Armstrong, his suite, and the garrison staff remained on horse- back. - The streets from the new build- ing a long distance up King street were lined by the Royal Welsh fusil- cers, through whom the procession marched to the music of the band of that regiment. The fire companies, particularly in their new dress, made most creditable appearance. When arrived near the east corner of the new city hall, at the intersection of Brock and Ontario streets, the ranks opened and the governor-general, Gen. Armstrong, their suites, the military officers, the mayor and common council, the clergy and the bar passed through to the cor- ner stone. His excellency then took his station at the head of the stane be- tween the mayor and sheriff, with the other gentlemen grouped around him. A guard of honour was provided by the 23rd regiment. There was a fusil. ade of artillery, the playing of bands and the waiving of the royal standard a the time the ceremony was in pro- gress, "God Save the Queen" being given as corn, wine and oil were poured upon the stone; governor had finished the work assign- ¢d to him there was great cheering. all Placed In The Stone. And what was put into the cavity"of that corner stone? A parchment roll containing the seventh, eighth, ninth verses of Job xii, English, Welsh, Irish, and French; a parchment roll containing the names of the legislative council and its offi George's society and a list of its offi- the constitution of the society; statements Yom St. Andrew's and St of trade; statements from the King- ston mechanics' institute, volunteer fire company No. 1, hook and ladder com- | ty steady until a most unseasonable pany; a paper containing the name of | hou the high 'sheriff of the midland dis- of the West Canada almanac; j= : ingston Herald, 7 British News, aT, and Canadian Loyalist; programme of the proces- sion at the ceremony of laying the cor- ier stone; impressions of the great and fice seals of the corporation of the i bills of exchange of bank of ritish North America; debentures of N { the corporation of the city of King- i and when the} and | in Greek, Latin, | st cers; a statement of the objects of St. | cers for 1843, together with a copy of | similar | Patrick' s societies and from the board] evening, there was a great jubiliation | trict, with the seal of his office; a copy | grea copies | day. of the Canada Gazette, Chronicle and : ia; ixpence of Queen Vi ning a sover- ; a half sover- ; a crown of! crown of the ston; a silk purse cor eign of Queen of Queen Victoria; liam IV.; a half ; a shilling of Queen Vic- ctoria; a | silver groat of Queen Victor i | ver three-half pence of Queen Victoria; |an American silver hali-dime; a penny | lof King William IV.; hali-pence of] George 111, George | William 1V.; copper medal of the uke of Wellington; halfpence of] pper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova | otia; a Lower Canadian deux sous piece, an American cent. Enough. stuff to start a curiosity shop. | After the stone was laid the proces- | sion re-opened and the governor-gen- eral proceeded on foot between the two lines, along Ontario street to Princess, and up that street to King treet and then to Brock street, each or institution .in succession | cheering him as he passed along. At Brock street he again got-into his car- ridge and the procession formed, as at | the first, accompanied him up King street to the limits of the town, where they took leave of the governor-gen: | eral and the show was over. In the | King George 11, {IV D U Sc at the British American hotel, when the flow of speech and wine was pret- ar. Crushed hats were not fashion able in those days, but they were a t many of them in use the next Over the cavity in which the box | Theophilus -| James Fisher, Thomas C. dgeon,: | William Filey, James Skinner, Th mas! 3 oe was placed a brass plate was let in the" stone, and on this plate were put thei following inscriptions: On the obve "On this, the fifth day of June, in the! year of Qu hs 26rd, 1843, and in the sixth year of reign of Queen Victoria! His Ere "the Right Hon, Sir GC Metcalf, Bart, G.CB, of British North first stone of this! by the common Governor-General America, laid the building, undertaken by council of Kingston, ior the publict accommodation and ornament of the! Architect, George Brown; ces tractors, Jos. Milner, Robert Fisher, Healey and Joseph H. Townsend," \On# the reverse, "John Counter, mayor; als dermen, Henry W. Benson, Edward Noble, Joseph Thirkell, John A. Mace donald; alderman James Williamson and common councilman Roderick M." Rose in 1842; common Samuel Phippen, John H. Grier, John! Stuart, Robert Anglin; solicitor, Tha" mas Kirkpatrick; Th of common cowrcil. Fgancis M. Hill; treasurers James J. Burrows; high bailiff, Samuel Shaw; 'city surveyor, Richard Bras" sington} assessor, George Clark; col lector, Andrew Mayne, A.D, 1843." In. the top face of the corner stone a hole: was made about eight inches in dias meter and three inches deep. As there. was nothing apparently to-put-in-th hole no little curiosity was excited to know "what it was Tor." It was under= stood, however, that it was a custom on similar occasions that the individs ual who performs the ceremony of laying the corner stone bestows "lars gess" on the work people employed about the building. His Excellence, with his usual liberality, contributed more than sufficient to fill the hele with the precious coin of the realm. It will be observed that this custom ud longer prevails. : STEACY"S LIMITED "Kingston's Shopping Center Since 1881" Welcomes You Back to Kingston y We extend to all former Kingstonians a very hearty welcome back to their native city and we trust your visit to your Old Home premises. During fixtures the past five years we and added several new departments. + We Cord \ Lat your convenience, as we wil be very happy to renew old acquaintances and new ones--and it Will be aur pleasure to have you inspect our new store x have doubled our TIT THREE ERE] ® x % Town will be most enjoyable and beneficial y Invite You to Visit Us - We have in every respect a modern department store, developed to meet the requirements of this community, and this coupled with complete stocks counciimens --