228 CANADIAN LOCAL HISTORY : 



of the late King,] the East and West Regiments, with Capt. Button's Troop of Cavalry, -vrhieh 

 are attached to the North York Regiment, on the right, were formed in line at eleven o'clock in 

 the forenoon, on the road in front of the Government House, and a Guard of Honour, consisting 

 of 100 rank and file from each regiment, with officers and sergeants in proportion, under the 

 command of Lieut. Col. FitzGibbon, were formed at a short distance in front of the centre, as 

 the representatives of the militia of this Province, in order to receive the rich and beautiful 

 Colours which His Majesty has been graciously pleased to command should be prepared for the 

 late incorporated Battalion, as an honourable testimony of the high sense which His Majesty 

 has been pleased to entertain of the zeal and gallantry of the militia of Upper Canada. At 12 

 o'clock, a RoyaUSalute was fired from the Garrison, and the Lieutenant-Governor with his staff 

 having arrived onithe ground, proceeded to review the widely-extended line ; after which, taking 

 his station in front of the whole, the band struck up the national anthem of ' God save the 

 King.' His Excellenoythen dismounted, and accompanied by his staff, cm foot, approached 

 the Guard of Honour, so near as to be distinctly heard by the men ; when, uncovering himself, 

 and taking one of the Colours in his hand, in the most dignified and graceful manner, he pre- 

 sented them to the proper officer, with the folio-wing address :— "Soldiers ! I have great satis- 

 faction in presenting you, as the representatives of the late incorporated Battalion, with these 

 Colours— a distinguished mark of His Majesty's approbation. They wUl be to you a proud 

 memorial of the past, and a rallying-point around which you will gather with alacrity and con- 

 fidence, should your active services be required hereafter by your King and Country." — His 

 Excellency having remounted, the Guard of Honour marched, with Band playing and Colours 

 flying, from right to left, in front of .the whole line, and then proceeded to lodge their Colours 

 at the Government House. The day was raw and cold," it is added, " and the ground being 

 very wet and uneven, the men could neither form nor march with that precision they would 

 otherwise have exhibited. We were veiy much pleased, however, with the soldier-like appear- 

 ance of the Guard of Honour, and we were particularly struck by the new uniform of the officers 

 of the West York, as being particularly well-adapted for the kind of warfare incident to a 

 thickly-wooded country. Even at a short distance it would be difficult to distinguish the gray 

 coat or jacket from the bole of a tree. There was a very full attendance on the field ; and it 

 was peculiarly gratifying to observe so much satisfaction on aU sides. The Colours, which are 

 very elegant, are inscribed with the word Niagara, to commemorate the services rendered by 

 the Incorporated Battalion on that frontier ; and we doubt not that the proud distinction which 

 attends these banners win always serve to excite the most animating recollections, whenever 

 it shall be necessary for them to wave over the heads of our Canadian Heroes, actually formed 

 in battle-array against the invaders of our Country, At 2 o'clock His Excellency held a Levee, 

 and in the evening a splendid Ball at the Government House concluded the ceremonies and 

 rejoicings of the day." — The Lieut. -Goverhoi? on this occasion was Sir Peregrine Maitlaiid, of 

 whom fully hereafter. 



The building on King Street known as " Govefuihent House" was originally the private resi- 

 dence of Mr. Chief Justice Elmsley. For many years after Its purchase by the Government it 

 was still styled "Elmsley House." As at Quebec, the correspondence of the Governor-in-Chief 

 was dated from the "Chateau St. Louis," or the " Castle Of St Louis," so here, that of the Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor of the Western Province was long dated from " Elmsley House." Mr. Elmsley 

 was a brother of the celebrated classical critic and editor, Peter Elmsley, of Oxford. 

 ^ On the left, opposite Government House, was a very broken piece of ground, denominated 

 " Russell Square ;" afterwards, through the instrumentality of Sir John ColbOrne, converted 

 into a site for an educational Institution. --Sir John Colbome, on his arrival in Upper Canada, 

 was fresh from the Governorship Of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. During his admin- 

 istration there he had revived a decayed Public School, at present known as Elizabeth College. 

 Being of opinion that the new country to which he had been transferred was not ripe for a 

 University on the scale contemplated in a royal Charter Which had been procured, he addressed 

 himself to the establishment of an institution which should meet the immediate educationatl 

 wants of the cohimunity. — Inasmuch as in the School which resulted — Or " Minor College " as 

 : it was long popularly called — we have a transcript, more or less close, of the institution whiCi 

 Sir John Colbome had been so recently engaged in reviving, we add two or three particulats in 

 regard to the latter, which may have, with solne, a certain degree of interest, by Virtue of the 



