176 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Navy Hall, Niagara, 



Sept. 16, 1792. 



General Orders — 



Major Smith will give directions to Captain Glasgow of the Royal 

 Artillery to fire a Royal Salute when His Excellency Lt.-Gov. Simcoe 

 goes to open the House of Assembly tomorrow morning the 17th. 

 A subaltern Guard of the 5th Regiment* to mount tomorrow morn- 

 ing at Freemason's Hall. 



Major Smith. (Sgd.) E. B. Littlehales. 



Freemason's Hall had been erected in the previous year by author- 

 ity of the Land Board. It was at the north west corner of King Street; 

 nearer the river and next to it was the Inn or Tavern — a view of these 

 buildings and other dteails with reference to them will be found in 

 Mr. J. Ross Robertson's History of Freemasonry in Canada. The 

 building had an upper and lower chamber, the former was the Masonic 

 Hall and the latter was used for public gatherings. This lower room was 

 in fact the only convenient place where the ceremony could have been 

 performed. Fort Niagara was in American territory, although the 

 British flag still flew above it; there was no accommodation at Butler's 

 Barrack's, as we shall shortly see; Navy Hall was in course of re- 

 construction. At Freemason's Hall, a new room was available, 

 which had probably not been used at that time for any public purpose. 

 There was stationed the guard of honour and there Simcoe opened 

 the Parliament. He was methodical in his habits and punctilious 

 upon all points of procedure, and, unless we are to think that this 

 well-ordered gentleman became suddenly erratic and, when he went 

 to open the House of Assembly, did not go where his guard of honour 

 was posted, but somewhere else where there was not accommodation, 

 we are bound to say that in Freemason's Hall Simcoe opened the 

 First Parliament of Upper Canada. 



But the Lieutenant Governor did not think it proper to make 

 use of such a building as Freemason's Hall for Legislative purposes 

 any longer than was necessary, and in the early part of 1793 he ordered 

 repairs and additions to the Ijuilding known as Butler's Barracks. 

 He explains his intentions very fully to Sir Alured Clark in a letter 

 dated 4th June, 1793. t The following is an extract: — 



*In 1792 one company of the Fifth Regiment was stationed at Fort Erie; half a 

 company at Fort Schlosser; eiglit and one half companies at Fort Niagara. 

 fSimcoe Papers, Library of ParHament, Ottawa. 



