180 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



and the sketch and elevation of the building itself* which is called 

 the Commissariat store-house at Navy Hall. 



The Ordinance and Royal Engineers series of papers disclosed 

 the reasons for the erection of the building. Lt.-Col. F. P. Robinson 

 reported to Sir George Drunmiond from Kingston on July 10th, 1815, 

 "I returned from York and Niagara Frontier yesterday, and beg to 

 submit to you my observations on a few leading points. The Church 

 at Fort George is occupied as a Provision Store, which of course cannot 

 be admitted to continue much longer; I have theiefore diiected the 

 Engineer lo send in an estimate for building one by contiact."t 



In Appendix "D" will be found a copy of Lieut. Phillpott's letter 

 to the Acting Military Secretary enclosing an estimate of the cost 

 of building a "Commissariat Store House at Navy Hall." The build- 

 ing w^as, therefore, erected about twenty-three yeais after Simcoe 

 left the country. I have thought it well to reproduce three ordnance 

 plans Î of 1830, 1841 and 1851 respectively. In 1830 the building is 

 called a Commissariat Store, in 1841 Soldiers' Barracks, in 1851 the 

 Red Barracks. 



It is quite clear why a large storehouse at that place was not 

 required after 1830. In 1829 the first Welland Canal was opened 

 and the need of trans-shipment at Niagara and of temporary storage 

 room had ceased. There was a sufficiently large warehouse within 

 Fort George. The storehouse was therefore altered into a bariacks, 

 two additional windows were cut through the walls, a partition divid- 

 ed the space into two rooms. Probably the last official trace of this 

 old building is found in a report on the Canadian Barracks written in 

 1863, § which will be found in Appendix "E." It was, we are inform- 

 ed, moved to its present position about 1865. It is difficult to say 

 whether an inteiesting inscription could be devised for this building 

 or not, but the present one is erroneous in every particular. Where 

 we should have a monument of some kind is on or near the site of 

 Freemason's Hall. This inscription would be suitable: — Near this spot 

 in the building known as Freemason's Hall, Lt.-Gov. John Graves 

 Simcoe opened the first Parliament of Upper Canada, 17th 

 September, 1792. 



I have thought it of interest to print in full the following papers 

 from the Archives Collection: — 



Appendix "A" Hon, Peter Russell's list of Government Property 

 in Upper Canada in 1800. 



♦See plan III. 



tDominion Archives, Series Ordnance and Engineers, Vol. C. 389, 1, 1815, p. 181. 



JSee plans IV, V, VI. 



{ Dominion Archives, Ordnance Reports 553 p. 108, et. seq. 



