[scott] meeting place OF THE FIRST PARLIAMENT 177 



''I beg to state to Yr. Exy. that the principles on which I 

 "have proceeded are such as I have thought conducive to the 

 "King's service. The temporary huts at Queenstown may be 

 "turned to various uses. The houses occupied by myself and 

 "staff and the additions I have made to Butler's Barrack's for 

 "the meeting of the Legislature of the country and public offices 

 "are absolutely necessary in themselves, but being in a civil light 

 "only considered as temporary, yet in a military one are to all 

 " intents executive in such a manner as may be preparatory 

 "to the evacuation of Niagara. In that event will become bar- 

 " racks sufficient to hold such troops or people as may be em- 

 " ployed in the garrisoning or construction of such works that 

 " shall be thought necessary to be erected on this side of the river. 

 "In wishing to provide for the erection of these buildings at the 

 "cheapest possible rate to Government, I naturally profited from 

 "the abilities and experience of the Engineer, Mr. Pilkington, 

 "who with the greatest readiness availed himself of the oppor- 

 "tunity of being of public service. His military duty, the nature 

 "of the buildings, temporary in a civil light, but which might be 

 "be hereafter of use in a military one, the very ground on which 

 "they are placed being reserved for military purposes, all point 

 "out evidently the propriety of their having been executed under 

 "military restriction and the strict principles of economy which 

 "pervade that Department. The necessity of giving shelter to 

 "the soldiers and military officers, justify the impracticability 

 "of its being subject to any such delay as the distance between 

 "this place and Quebec must have occasioned and the equal neces- 

 "sity of building some sheds for the temporary accommodation 

 "of the Legislature and Civil Officers attendant on a new es- 

 "tablishment is justified on the same principle, but if Your Exy. 

 "should be the least disinclined to contemplate these latter build- 

 "ings in the view which I have stated them, I certainly can have 

 "no objection whatsoever of replacing the sums which they may 

 "have cost and including them in my public account. 



"I have the honour to be, etc., 



J. Graves Simcoe. 



H. E. 



General Clark, Quebec. 



Thus the Legislature and the Public Offices were housed during 

 the sojurn of Government at Niagara and here the remaining sessions 



