VI - ABOVE AND BEYOND
Articles collected from January 21st, 1954 - April 29th, 1954

JANET CARNOCHAN - ABOVE AND BEYOND
[From a Speech given by Joseph E. Masters on Wednesday, June 24th, 1953 at Parliament Oak School]

My Friends:

We are gathered here today to pay a tribute to the memory of Niagara's most noted woman, Janet Carnochan. She was one of our busiest women, her active spirit taking her into many of our local organizations, where she had the enviable faculty of making herself useful.

My acquaintance with her began with my school career. When I entered Public School at the ripe age of six years in the spring of 1878, she was then Principal of the School. After the Summer Holidays of that year, she moved over to the High School as Assistant to Mr. Albert Andrews. Just four years later, I passed into High School and became one of her pupils. We came to admire her greatly, as we found her kindly and helpful and infinitely patient.

Even then, her best subject was History and I well remember her reading to us, her poem called: "Has Canada a History?" Another subject on which she was carefully painstaking was the English Language. The science of Orthoepy, we had drilled into us and if a question of pronunciation came up, she was sure to look up at least three dictionaries. There was never anything slipshod or careless in her methods and her teaching. And best of all, we all came to look on her as a friend. I am proud to say that between her and myself, friendship of the most cordial continued to her life's end.

She had many interests besides making her livelihood by teaching. She was a devoted adherent of St. Andrew's Church, where she taught in Sabbath School for many years. Another of her interests was the Public Library, where she served as Secretary for a period of thirty-five years. This was where I really came to know her best, as I was for a long time on the Library Board and was its President for years while she was alive and active.

During her later years, her chief interest was History and we are indebted to her for her "History of Niagara." She was most painstaking in her search of the truth in compiling that history. I enjoyed many a chat with her on people and events pertaining to our Town.

As most of us know, she founded the Niagara Historical Society and was its Head for many a year. She came to be known far and wide as an eminent historian and was respected by many on both sides of the International Boundary.

She was the author of a number of poems of great merit. If you had known her, as we her pupils knew her, you would not be surprised at this, as one of her favorite studies was poetry and we were greatly indebted to her for her far reaching knowledge of poets and their poetry. We studied with her, Scott's Lady of the Lake and Marmion, Goldsmith's Traveler and The Deserted Village, Gray's Elegy, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and we were expected and encouraged to commit long passages of these to memory.

What shall I say more? Janet Carnochan was a useful woman. A teacher can be more than a teacher of the young. She can be a friend and a neighbour. She can take an interest in the affairs of the Town in which she has her abode. Such persons as Miss Carnochan were not birds of passage. They made their influence felt by those about them. Janet Carnochan has left behind her a record of unselfish devotion to the people of this Town and it is eminently fitting that we should place this tablet to her memory in such an institution as this school. Truly a fine woman in hereby commemorated and it is the earnest hope of all those who have contributed to this memorial that it will help keep alive her memory and also to serve as an incentive to us all to strive to be like her.

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He records the Minutes of Council Meetings.
He conducts all correspondence.
He must be conversant with the terms of the following Acts:
The Municipal Act
The Local Improvement Act.
The Assessment Act
The Public Health Act
The Line Fence Act
The Jurors Act
The Public Utilities Act
The Voters List Act
The Marriage Act and a few others.

He receives complaints.
He advises Members of Council.
He selects Jurors along with other selectors.
He complies the Municipal Voter's List annually.
He acts as Clerk of the Court under the above Act during the Hearing of Appeals.
He acts as Returning Officer at Municipal Elections.
He serves various officials with copies of the Voters' List annually.
He issues all Marriage Licenses in the Municipality.
He records all Births, Marriages and Deaths in the Municipality.
He forwards all reports of the above to Toronto.
He records all comings of Communicable Diseases.
He needs the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job.
He must learn to be quick to think and slow to speak.

In short, he is the handy man of his Community. He is expected to be able and willing to advise anybody on anything that may come into their minds, whether it be wise or foolish. For instance, I once had a strange woman come into the office. She said she had been sent to me for advice. I, of course, assured her of my willingness to advise on anything coming within my scope of knowledge. Whereupon she told me she was leaving her husband and wanted to know what she could carry away with her. Fortunately, I was able to tell her quite gravely that only a Lawyer could tell her that, and unfortunately I was not a Lawyer.

Most of the small Municipalities combine the offices of Clerk and Treasurer, which was my case and I did all Bank business and paid all accounts and salaries. The Clerk and Treasurer has a multiplicity of Reports to be made to the Provincial Government at Toronto.

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WINTER WEATHER
Well, here we are in the midst of a winter that has already brought us many varieties of weather, whether we like it or not. We are too often bombarded over the air by commentaries on the winters of this year and that year. Personally, I have seen many years and no two of them just alike. It seems to me, however, that the winters have shifted somewhat. When I was going to school, we had plenty of winter before the Christmas holidays. After a time, one saw no sleighs and heard no sleigh bells. What a merry jingle those bells did make. But Old Man Winter came back after a time, though a little late in taking his opening bow. Winters I have seen with absolutely no snow or frost and some with plenty of rain. As to what causes this endless variety, I couldn't even hazard a guess. And by the same token, a good deal of the weather predictions we are treated to are more or less guesswork. Having spent many years around the water, we learned a certain amount of weather wisdom. Nowadays, these weather prognosticators of ours get news from Ultima Thule or Timbuktu or Tommy's Corners, and there we get absotively certain weather dished up for our delectation.

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TOWN COUNCIL
So we got us a new Council, did we. Not as new as some people would have liked. Without taking any sides in the matter of a Council, I should like to make a few remarks about the subject. Every Council that takes office has a variety of matters with which to deal as they present themselves. I always found it wise to not trouble too much about the troubles ahead, but just to deal with them as they come before any Council. And they will come. To be sure, one must have some thought for the future, but after you have dealt with the everyday things that come along, you cannot get too ambitious. There is a bottom to the pockets of the people whom you represent and I mean represent. No man or woman has a right to occupy a seat in Council for selfish purposes, such as putting over some pet project or to spite some person or persons. I have seen that spite business carried on more than once. Lately, we had a very spirited campaign for seats in Council and I heard plenty of talk about what the newcomers were after. I am not in the confidence of those men who went to so much trouble and expense to get themselves elected and if they had some object in view that was not advertised, I am sure I don't know what it was. But, I would say this. If they had something that they wished to see carried out for the good of the people of the Town, why in tarnation didn't they come out into the open and spill the beans. If their objects were good, why not let the people know what they had in mind. After all, it is the people who pay. Getting elected or getting defeated is not the be all or end all. Come out in the open with your ideas and let us all in on your programme.

Being a member of Council is a much more complex problem than it used to be. Take the Board of Works for instance. When Spring came along and the mud dried up, you took a look at the roads and you found that this one or that one needed a bit of scraping and perhaps a few wagon loads of gravel, collected on the Beach. As for sidewalks, Joe Eares and Frank Clark or one of the Connollys, each with a wheelbarrow laden with some two-inch pine planks and a few four-inch cut nails, did all the repairing needed. Or perhaps, a block or two needed replacement. Once in a while, it was found expedient to clean out a roadside ditch. In wintertime, nobody dreamt of plowing a road to clear it of snow. Nobody lost any sleep over it. If you couldn't get through, why you just stayed put till things opened up. Streetlights with their overhead wires were unheard of and water mains never burst, for there just were none of these critters. To be sure, there was a Police Force. If Bob Fizette or Bill Curtis or Bob Reid could come back from over there, they would smile at the troubles of Council. Why, they would tell you, we took all the troubles off your shoulders. We policed the Town. To be sure, we had no traffic to control, but we did our Job. We were Town Foreman, Fire Chief, Tax Collector and about forty-eleven other things. We really were the whole works. "Them were the days." Councils in those days didn't have to worry too much about where the money was to come from. Fifteen mills or so covered the whole business. Yet, who would want to go back to those days?

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PASSENGER SHIP SINKS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE
I thought the readers of the Niagara Advance might be interested in something that has nothing to do with our Town. A good many years ago, a large passenger ship was sunk in a collision in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and a great many lives were lost, among them members of the Salvation Army who were on their way to a gathering in England. I well remember reading in the daily papers an account of the sinking. It was related that the Salvation Army Band played "Nearer, my God, to Thee, " as the ship was sinking. I noticed a few days ago, several letters about the matter, some people apparently confusing the Titanic's sinking with that of the Empress of Ireland. We listen quite often to the Gospel Singers on the radio and some time ago, he was singing "Nearer, My God, To Thee," and he said it had been played at the sinking of the Titanic by the Ships Band, the tune he was using being the usual one "Excelsior."

I wrote to Mr. MacHugh and pointed out his error and I received a very noncommittal reply from the Templetons for whom he broadcasts. Whereupon, I wrote to the salvation Headquarters in Toronto and got no satisfaction from them. I wasn't satisfied to drop the matter and I borrowed a book from my niece, Mrs. Woodruff, on the sinking of the Titanic. On Page 88 of that book it is stated that as the ship was sinking, the Band gathered on the upper deck and as the ship went down, they were playing the hymn, "God of Mercy and Compassion," to the tune of "Autumn".

A short while after the disastrous fire that destroyed the Noronic in Toronto, a Memorial Service was held for those who perished in the fire. Right Reverend Dr. Brewing, while addressing the meeting, spoke of having addressed a similar meeting in 1914 for those who died when the Empress of Ireland was sunk in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He told how the Salvation Army Band had stayed on the upper deck and played "Nearer, My God, To Thee". He said that a survivor of that Band was then on the platform. He did not mention his name, but I believe that he was Brigadier Green of the Army. I remember that in the newspaper account of the sinking of the Empress, the tune mentioned was "Horbury". I suppose it was none of my business, but I hear so many errors of one kind or another on the radio, that it annoys me sometimes. Those fellows have such a wide field for their audience and it would do a lot of them some good if we who listen could just talk back once in a while.

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COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS
I wonder if any of us ever stop think what a favoured spot is this Niagara of ours. We had a rain recently, but it came down and flowed away into that drainage ditch which the Lord gave us for our comfort and relief, the Niagara River and its pool into which it flows, Lake Ontario. I think you know that we did pretty well for ourselves when we came to live here. We have much to be thankful for. We get some snow, we get some frost, and occasionally we get some heat, in the proper season, of course.

It has been often said that Heaven helps them that help themselves, but we get many blessings through human agencies. Those who laid out our Town site and built our Town thereupon; those who built our sidewalks and roads and planted our trees; those who gave us sewers and waterworks and electric lights, to all of these we owe a debt of gratitude, most of whom have passed away. We surely have a lot to be thankful for. We didn't have ice piled up in our streets; we didn't have to get out of our homes to escape floodwaters; we never get it 40 or 50 below zero. We can grow a profusion of flowers and plants and all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Best of all are our people. It is a pleasure to walk along our streets and meet people who are friendly and courteous. I've sojourned a lot in Toronto and coming from a small Town, one cannot help noticing the cold way in which people wade along the streets and paying no more attention to those they meet than if they were just so many obstructions to be got around. A proverb from the Good Book says that a man that has friends should show himself friendly. That is a prime necessity in a small town and if you stop to think, we are a friendly people.

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ANNOYANCES
Well, darn that Toronto, anyway. No wonder some people call it Hogtown. They gobble about everything in the Province. They took away our being the Capital, and they grabbed off our Provincial Fair. They don't even let us run our own schools any more. I could go on world without and enumerating the things Toronto has taken to itself. And what do you know about this. We had a Fort of our very own and darned if they haven't moved it over into the States, the meanies. The only tourist attraction we had left too. When I think of the dozens of motor cars that parked outside Fort George, with money burning holes in their pockets, I could shed tears, bitter tears. I for one was not aware of the deprivation that we suffered until I heard someone on the radio discussing a swim across the Lake from FORT GEORGE, NEW YORK, to Toronto. And the Globe and Mail even published a map showing Fort George on the American side of the River. I really believe you find more fool ignorance in the City of Toronto about people and places outside their own burg than any place in Canada.

And while we are talking about some of those Toronto "Know It Alls", now that they are moving our Fort George, why not take Fort Mississauga too while they are at it. They can find all kinds of money to spend elsewhere, why not dig a little deeper and fix up our remaining Fort. And why not resurrect the Half Moon Battery while they are at it. They carefully erased every trace of the old Battery when they made the new road. I would suggest to the Mayor and Council that they take a trip to the Falls in a body and give the Parks Commission an earful.

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OLD FORT MISSISSAUGUA
I was at the last meeting of the Niagara Historical Society and Mr. Yates, who is a member of the Executive of the Society and also President of the Niagara County Historical Society, showed slides that were very interesting. They were mostly about the early days of Toronto but some of them were about our own locality. Among them was one showing the interior of Fort Mississauga as it used to be.

This was made from an artist's drawing made in 1852. I was particularly interested in that one, as at that time my grandfather was in Garrison there and my father and his brother were attending the Fort School there. The old tower is shown with vines growing up its walls and several of the other buildings are discernable. All these old log buildings were taken down in 1886 to make a breakwater in front of the Queen's Royal Hotel, a piece of vandalism that should never have been allowed. Of course, I do not suggest that it was done surreptitiously, but was done by Government permission. Our people had not become historically minded at that time. We have received some education along those lines, largely through the efforts of Miss Carnochan and of William Kirby.

FORT MISSISSAUGUA [From April 22nd, 1954]
There seems to be a story about the Parks' Commission contemplating the long overdue restoration of Fort Mississaugua. I don't yet know how much truth there is in the story, but I happened to meet Mr. Gullion at the Post Office and we had quite a chat about the matter. He was rather concerned about it as it affected the Golf Club and various things about the Club were discussed. For instance, he asked me about the date of the founding of the Club, the erstwhile title of Royal, the question of an underground passage across the Common to the Drope house.

I have devoted quite a lot of time and space to things of a historical nature the past year or so. Much valuable information I have gleaned from Historical Society publications and from Miss Carnochan's History of Niagara. When I was a small boy, I remember the Fort George Common being used as a Golf Course. Nothing very elaborate was done in the way of greens and approaches, but you must remember that in those days, both Commons were the free range of Cattle, Horses and Geese. A great many people kept these creatures and made use of the Government domain. You will understand that the grass would be kept well cropped thus making the whole terrain usable for all sorts of diversions.

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OUR AMERICAN COUSINS
We are very apt to belittle our own Community and our own People. There are some things about our cousins to the south of us that I do not particularly admire. There is their tendency to brag and blow about our America. I was listening to a broadcast on the radio a few days ago and a girl was delivering an address that seemed to meet the entire approval of her audience. She began by saying very expressively as if it were a sacred thing, "I am an American," and this was repeated at intervals throughout the address. All right, she was an American, but so are we Canadians. As a matter of fact, we cover more territory than they do, but that doesn't make us regard other people as inferior. We live too close to our neighbours to get the distant view that lends enchantment. True, the United States is a great country, marvelously rich. But let us not forget that they hung back and gathered in the gold of the world while we of the British brotherhood were pouring out our blood and treasure to keep the flag of freedom and justice flying. It gives me infinite pleasure to see Uncle Sam sacrificing some of that same gold for the less privileged peoples of the earth. We don't need to laud them too much, although they deserve it. They are fully aware of their goodness and greatness.

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THOUGHTS OF CANADA
I wonder if we ever stop to think about what a blessed country we live in and call home. We have one of the most wholesome climates to be had anywhere. We escape the earthquakes that beset some of the most favoured countries. We, in our neck of the woods, do not get the tornadoes and cyclones that other people do. We have free elections and make our own laws. If we don't like a Government, we turn it out. We have free speech and a free press. We are pretty free from class or race prejudice. Where would you find a country where Poles and Germans, Italians and Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians, English and French, Irish and Scots and Welsh, can be so easily made into one big family. Let's give ourselves a pat on the back occasionally and say, "I AM A CANADIAN". I remember that in my young days, the whole advice given to many other youths and me was to go to the States, you'll never get anywhere in Canada. And many, many of the best of our young people did so, and most of them made good. It seemed to me a strange thing that American employers, while they were ultra American in their pride of race and country, were favorably glad to avail themselves of the services of Canadians when they could get them. One thing that has always struck me forcibly, is the amount of the silliest, ignorance among Americans about Canada and Canadians. By the way, I understand that Les Wilson, who has just returned from a sojourn down south, has something to say about it. I myself have come across many instances of the same thing. For instance, I was once approached by an American soldier stationed at Fort Niagara and he asked me if I have ever met his brother who had been stationed at Fort Niagara. He said, "I thought you might have met him, as he went over to Canada. I asked him where the brother had gone in Canada. His reply was "I don't know how you say it, but its spelled ONT. "I once met an Irishman named Hennessey, who hailed from Boston and he told me of some of the experiences while fishing out of Boston, and while doing so, he casually mentioned Canada and remarked in the most casual way, "Ye see, Canada's an island belonging to Britain."

Our soldiers and sailors have build up a splendid reputation among the peoples of the world. Nor have our ambassadors and diplomats been behindhand in the good work. Our country has become known and respected far and wide. We are members of that great brotherhood of nations known nowadays and the British Empire. Now I ask you, has there ever been a race or nation that has done so much for the world as that same British Empire. One always finds them doing their bit for others and in many cases getting small thanks. Who was it that freed Egypt and the whole of the modern Arab nations? Who went into the First Great War for the Poles? Who poured out its treasures of men and food and armaments for the cause of freedom and independence and almost came to beggary in doing their bit? Who made a nation of India and gave it its independence? Who gave the United States its laws and its common language? It is all very well to laud Uncle Sam for his greatness and wealth and to regard Britain as a has been but the world can never repay the British Brotherhood for its great services to mankind. "By their deeds ye shall know them."

And do you know that we are a part of that same brotherhood. And we live in about the best part of this Canada of ours. We have no reason to be ashamed of our own little Town. We have most of the advantages of the city dwellers and we escape some of the irksome things that pester the city dweller. I think you know that we have a pretty good place to live. To be sure, it is quiet but who wants to live in a hurly-burly all the time. If you feel in need of excitement, there are plenty of cities within easy reach. Here we have room to breathe. We have water second to none, in spite of the hullabaloo that some jittery person kicks up every once in a while. I know a lot of very nice people who live here and after all, it is the people that make a Town. We have no great scandals to plague us and no serious crime.

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THE SPANIARDS AND THE U. S.
I should like to recall a couple of incidents that affect our Uncle Sam and us. Sam got into a muss with the Spaniards. They had a go at the Spanish Naval forces in Manila Bay. There were lying in the Bay, Squadrons of the British and the German Navies. The German admiral proposed to the British that they interfere on behalf of the Spaniards whose force was far inferior to the American fleet. The response of the British Commander was to quietly up anchor and move in between the Germans and the Americans. Of course, Commodore Dewey was hailed by his countryman as about the greatest that ever sailed the sea. The poor Spaniards were so hopelessly outclassed in armament that Dewey was able to call off the engagement for his men to get breakfast and afterwards they were able to resume action and finish the job at their leisure.

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TAXES
In writing about our Town, it is oft times a bit difficult to find something about which to write that would be useful or entertaining. I have tried to say nice things about our Town and there are many such that can be said. Every Town has some things that might be approved or improved. Take the matter of taxes, which have been and are soaring skyward. One cannot blame the Town Council too much, for after all Council only controls a small part of the total tax bill. There are so many things that people demand and must have and that have to be paid for. Look at the item for public schools, add that to the levy for high school pupils and tack on the County of Lincoln demand and the whole blamed thing takes your breath away.

We should have a great deal more taxable property, but in this regard, we are rather hemmed in by Government non-taxable property. Personally, I see no reason why the Dominion Government and the Niagara Parks Commission should not pay their fair share. We have to police them and give them Fire Protection and keep up roads and streets which their people and their traffic use free of cost. Just take your Map of the Town and you will see what a disadvantage it is to you and me to have a non-taxable neighbour on each side of us who won't do a darn thing to help keep up the necessary services that they use free. That's one thing.

Then compare the acreage our Town covers with that of Towns like Merritton, Grimsby, Port Dalhousie, or any Town of comparable size. They run to two hundred and fifty to three hundred acres, while we cover something over eleven hundred acres. Think what that acreage means in electrical services, water mains, sewers, sidewalks and roads. These things cause one "furious to think." What would you suggest by way of bettering conditions? I don't suppose anything can be done about the Government lands, but it wouldn't hurt to put the problem that our local authorities face up to the Governments concerned. After all, there is a limit to what the local taxpayers can pay. I am going to open up a question that has been discussed before. We have about the best piece of property in Town lying idle and producing not a red cent to ease the tax burden. You know very well that I refer to the Queen's Royal property. I said before and I repeat that one vital thing the Town lacks is a good first-class summer hotel. When the matter came up before, prospective buyers of the site were refused a decent spread of ground for such a hotel. I would not say one word derogatory of the Lions who control the property at present. They are a fine organization and do a splendid work. But I would suggest that if they were allowed to retain two hundred feet of frontage on Front Street from King, it would leave them plenty of room for a Bathing Beach and Sports and there would still be a sizable stretch of land for a Hotel. It is worth thinking over and should not be dismissed too summarily.

I would suggest to the people generally that they have an eye out for things that they observe and which need attention, because Councilors cannot be expected to notice every little thing that needs to be done. I am sure that they would welcome such help from you and me, because they and we are interested in the Town and anything that would help to make it better. For instance, I was talking to the Mayor a few days ago and I was telling him about the sidewalk on Wellington Street. You see, the sidewalks there were laid before either Byron or Wellington were graded and paved. When they were so improved and built up, it left the walk from Byron towards Picton in a hole, so that whenever it rains, the part of the walk near Byron is a mud puddle. There is a considerable amount of foot traffic, particularly since the new Hospital was built. People attending St. Vincent Church use it a lot. Not many of the Council members have occasion to travel that way on foot, so unless we tell them, how are they to know. I am sure Councilor Boyle and his committee would not want their ladies to tramp through mud and water and get their tootsy-wootsies soiled, nor their temper riled. I am sure no lady likes traveling through dirt. And while you are fixing that small matter, there is a driveway into the Liddicoat and Powell properties that needs attention. We have had considerable rain lately and ditch has overflowed and allowed the water to flow down the road surface, which is not good for a road. Don't all speak at once, but I suggest that if you can see your way to help, that you do so.

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NIAGARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
I was attending a gathering of the Niagara Historical Society last week and Mr. Yates, who is the President of the Niagara County Historical Society and a member of our own Society showed pictures of great historical interest. In case you don't know your frontier, Niagara County is the County in New York opposite our County of Lincoln. It is regrettable that so few of our people attend these gatherings, as they are not only very interesting but also informative and educational. Nothing impresses one more when you come to study and read about things that have happened in our country's past, that to see the places where things have happened and the people who made our country in actual pictures. Of course in our day, we are accustomed to pictures of places and people; ones' interest must be quickened and intensified. These meetings should be of value and interest to the students of our day and it is most important that they should know all that there is to know about the early days and early people of our Country and particularly of our own corner of the same Country. It is gratifying to read of the late tour of our Prime Minister and of the respect of the world for him as Head of the Government of this Canada. Then, too, where will you find a man today whose words are listened to with more respect than our Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lester Pearson. We certainly have grown in wisdom and stature as a nation. I should like to see our young people showing more interest in our public affairs, because they will be the men and women who will be running things in a few more years. Life, after all, is not getting a good job and making a lot of money. It is rather making oneself useful to his fellows, his town, and his country. Don't forget that "we are only remembered for what we have done."

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THE GOLF CLUB
Now, Miss Carnochan tells us that the original Golf Club was formed in 1877, Mr. Charles Hunter being very prominent in the matter. They first made use of the Mississaugua Common, but then moved to the larger Common where they had an eighteen-hole golf course. Sometimes the ladies used the smaller Common. The present Club was formed in 1905 by the Queen's Royal Hotel people and it was commonly known as the Queen's Royal Club. Now, as to the appellation of "Royal" attached to the older Club, I have never been able to find anything as to its right to the title, but I do know that the term was in common use from very early in the life of the Club.

May I speak of an event that may have some bearing on the matter? When I was a small boy attending public school, the Governor-General, the Marquis of Lorne, visited Senator Plumb whose house stood on the site of the Parliament Oak School. We were allowed out of school to witness the arrival of the party of distinguished guests by train. You must remember that the wife of the Marquis was Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. The Marquis' term of office was from November 25th, 1878 to October 23rd, 1883. You will see that the Golf Club had been but a short time in existence and most of the prominent men were in it. And as Senator Plumb was quite a man politically, being Speaker of the Senate, what more likely than through his influence and the fact that the Governor-General visited his home, in plain sight of the Golf Club, was the title 'Royal' conferred on the Club. He was the son-in-law of the Queen and her representative in Canada. As I was quite a new pupil at School, the date of the visit must have been in the summer of either 1879 or 1880.

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UNDERGROUND PASSAGE
Now, as to that Underground Passage, I was asked if I had ever heard of it. My answer is decidedly no. My father must have known the old Fort well, as he attended school there while his father was in Garrison there. I never heard him mention such a thing. Mind you, I am not going to say that there was no such passage, but I cannot see why there should have been a connection between the Fort and the House mentioned. As far as I can find out, the house was built by Charles Richardson, who was a prominent Lawyer of the Town. While he may have, at some time, worn the King's Uniform as most men of that day did, he does not seem to have had any tangible connection with Fort Mississaugua. So why an underground tunnel? There may, however, have been what was called an "oubliette," under the land somewhere in close proximity to the Fort. An oubliette was an Underground Dungeon, which in this case, would take the place of an undersurface place of confinement or punishment. There is something of the kind at Fort Niagara, under the eastern wall of the Fort. Mrs. Billups might be able to tell us something about this matter, as her father, the late Fred Paffard was living there when I first knew anything about the place and she must have lived there as a girl.

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SPEED DEMONS
I used to be very fond of walking, that is, not going someplace, but just taking a stroll. Nowadays, walking seems to have gone out of fashion. Everybody has to ride in a car or bus or even to fly. I was sitting at my window on a Sunday afternoon, trying to read, but found my eyes turning onto the street corner where there was a lot of motor traffic. I though of counting the vehicles as they passed and for a half an hour I did so, and they numbered one hundred and seventy. After a while, the traffic seemed to be increasing, and in a ten minute period from 4:20 to 4:30 p.m., I counted seventy vehicles passing. Most of them seemed to be in a deuce of a rush to get nowhere. There always seems to be a tendency for drivers coming into town on our street to go too fast.

I often see cars passing me as I walk and quite often someone waves a hand to me, but I must confess that while I make it a practice of waving in reply, I very often just catch the merest glimpse of the person so greeting me. That's one more effect of the modern craze for speed. Some darn fool is proposing to make it a punishable offence to drive under a certain speed on our highways. Gone seems to be the leisurely drive to view the beauties of our countryside. Blossom Sunday will be coming along and I'll bet you that not one in a score of the motorists who throng our rural highways on that day will even so much as think of pausing in his breakneck career to view and to inhale the fragrance of the blossoms.

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PEOPLE WATCHING
I usually make a pilgrimage to Her Majesties Mail in the forenoon and I usually meet all sorts and conditions of people. There usually are a lot of wee ones on the street at that hour. They are too young for school. Did you ever meet a young mother wheeling a pram with her first child in it? There is a look of pride on her face that it would be hard to match anywhere. I sometimes meet one young matron with a flock of three about her and she usually wears a bored look. But if you want to see someone who is important, just watch Grandma's smoke. She makes the kids toe the mark and no fooling.

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TEENAGERS
Then you meet the young miss, the Teenager. She is very important and expects the whole street, if she happens to be in company of others of like ilk. And the boys, I wonder why it is that when a bunch of those young men get together, they always have to shout and blow and they seem to be sadly lacking in manners. When I was a lad, we were strictly required to be polite, especially to our elders. People seem to have forgotten to educate their offspring in that respect. Not being familiar with modern day school practice, I should like to know if teachers do anything about manners among their pupils. Of course, I do not suggest that this comes within their province, but between teachers and parents, I think they could bring about an improvement in the manners and deportment of the young.

We hear and read of so many acts of violence nowadays, many of them committed by the young ones who are not long out of school. Can one wonder at it. You see little kids with so-called cowboy hats and belts and armed with pistols, some of them nearly a foot long. And can you wonder, then, that so many of our youths succumb to the impulse to stick up a bank or a store, and glory in the pluck and daring they imagine they are showing? Parents are very much to blame. They allow their children to feast on the most lurid of tales; they are not at all mindful of the company their children keep, nor how they spend their leisure hours. Children do not seem able to amuse themselves any more. We had all sorts of games and sports with which to pass the time, both outdoors and indoors. I suppose than any young people who come across this article, will regard its writer as very much out of date. There are, however, some things that are never out of date, such as honour and decency, dignity and decorum, the realization of one's duty to his fellows. One does not live to oneself. The selfish fellow is a mighty poor neighbour. I remember a man who lived here many years ago, who had as his motto, "Self first, and if there is anything left, self again." He ended his life by means of a borrowed shotgun and died as he had lived, unlamented and forgotten.

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