Open Road — Guides — Railroads — Canals — Bridges 



out expense. Sir Peregrine was resisted by an American, who 1841 

 kept the great hotel, and took possession of the public property ; B °n n y c «'Ie 

 and finding he could pocket a dollar or so for each person passing 

 down to the Table Rock, fought the government a long time with 

 success; and, owing to the engineer officer having employed an 

 unarmed working party of soldiers to level the obstacles this per- 

 son had purposely made in the paths, a most lucrative and excel- 

 lent case of grievance was got up, which fed the traitor Mackenzie 

 for years, and, I believe, is scarcely yet ended. The juries of 

 the district, however, did not agree with the American hotel- 

 keeper and ultimately gave a verdict in favour of the government. 



Sir John Colborne, desirous to open the Falls to the travelling 

 world, gave a license of occupation revocable at pleasure, to 

 Messrs. Clarke and Street, merchants of some wealth residing at 

 the Falls, with the express understanding that they were to offer 

 no obstacles to the public, were to keep the staircases and roads 

 in order, and to plant and beautify the banks. They had a 

 great interest in the locality; and having, with others, planned 

 the construction of a pleasure city, if I may use the term, at the 

 Falls of Niagara, which should become the most fashionable 

 place of British North America, and having commenced a rail- 

 road to bring the American travellers and produce from Buffalo, 

 they began erecting baths, a museum, etc., on the military reserve, 

 and contrary to the express articles of the agreement which had 

 been made with them — probably because they were the parties 

 who had most strenuously resisted the American hotel-keeper in 

 his endeavours to make Niagara a closed raree show. 



The lieutenant-governor immediately took active measures to 

 put a stop to the proceedings of these worthy merchants, one of 

 whom was a Scotchman, the other originally from the United 

 States. With this view, he employed the officer of engineers in 

 charge of the reserve, to require them to desist from enclosing and 

 building and that officer warned by the fate of his predecessor, 

 taking care not to employ the military in any shape, caused one 

 small stone to be removed publicly from the walls. On this, the 



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