PROCEEDINGS FOR 1895 XI 
The particulars of the ceremony are given below in full, as they appear 
in the official report of the proceedings of the conference : 
“Pre FIRST ATLANTIC STEAMER. 
“Tord Aberdeen—I have received the following letter from the 
clerk of the House of Commons, and beg to read it to you : 
“* To His Excellency the Governor-General. 
“*My Lorp,—The two Houses of the Canadian Parliament have 
ordered that a brass tablet should be placed in the wall of the corridor 
leading to the library of parliament, with a suitable inscription, com- 
memorating the departure of the ‘Royal William’ from the port of 
Quebec in 1833—the first vessel to cross the ocean wholly by means of 
steam. 
“* Your Excellency is already familiar with the leading circum- 
stances connected with this interesting historical fact. The brass plate 
ordered by parliament is now ready to be put in place, and it is felt that 
no more fitting time could be chosen than at the close of the opening 
meeting of the colonial conference. 
“<QOn behalf of the Royal Society and associated societies, who were 
the first to move in doing honour to the builders and navigators of the 
‘Royal William,’ I express the hope that your Excellency will be pleased 
to place the commemoration plate in its permanent position. If it is 
agreeable to your Excellency, I inclose the list of gentlemen who, it is 
thought desirable, should witness the proceedings. 
“<1. The delegates to the conference ; 2, the speakers of the Senate 
and the Commons; 3, Cabinet ministers; 4, Mr. Gustavus Wicksteed, 
who saw the ‘ Royal William’ launched sixty-three years ago and took 
passage on her trial trip; 5, Mr. Horace Wicksteed, who boarded the 
‘Royal William’ on her arrival in England and dined with the captain ; 
6, representatives of the Royal Society and associated societies. 
‘“¢T have the honour to be your Excellency’s most faithful servant, 
“¢y. G. BouRINOT 
“Tn accordance with this request, I shall, when the conference rises, 
have much pleasure in placing the brass tablet in the place selected for 
it, and I invite the gentlemen specially named in the letter and others to 
assist me by their presence at the place designated. 
“His Excellency then proceeded to the corridor leading to the 
library of parliament, when, in pursuance to the order of parliament, the 
memorial brass respecting the ‘ Royal William’ was placed in the posi- 
tion it now occupies. This formal act performed by his Excellency on 
the occasion of the opening of the colonial conference most fittingly 
associated the gathering of representatives from the British possessions 
