NIAGARA TOWN, 
89 
seat of government was ultimately to have 
been fixed. The spot marked out for the scite 
of the* city possesses many local advantages. 
It is situated in a healthy fertile country, on a 
fine navigable river, in a central part of the 
province, from whence the water communica¬ 
tion is extensive in every direction. A few 
settlements have already been made on the 
banks of the river, and the tide of emigration 
is setting in strongly towards that quarter; at 
a future day, therefore, it is by no means im¬ 
probable but that this spot may be deemed an 
eligible one for the capital of the country ; but 
to remove the seat of government immediately 
to a place little better than a wilderness, and 
so far from the populous parts of the province, 
would be a measure fraught with numberless 
inconveniencies to the public, and productive 
apparently of no essential advantages whatso¬ 
ever. 
The town of Niagara contains about seventy 
houses, a court house, gaol, and a building in¬ 
tended for the accommodation of the legisla¬ 
tive bodies. The houses, with a few excep¬ 
tions, are built of wood; those next the lake 
are rather poor, but at the upper end of the 
town there are several very excellent dwellings, 
inhabited by the principal officers of govern¬ 
ment. Most of the gentlemen in official sta- 
