LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE.
On Friday, the 31st of July, 1874, the foundation stone of the new
Shingwauk Home was laid by the Earl of Dufferin, Governor-General of
Canada.
It was fortunate that his Excellency had planned a trip to the Upper
Lakes just at this very time. Two days before his arrival a telegram
was received from Col. Cumberland, Provincial A.D.C. who was
accompanying his lordship--"I have his Excellency's commands to say
that it will give him much pleasure to lay the corner-stone of your
School on his arrival, which will probably be Friday afternoon." All
now was bustle and excitement, and great preparations were made;
triumphal arches erected, flag-poles put up and flags hoisted, and a
cold collation prepared in the carpenter's shop, which was the only
building at present erected. The ladies of Sault Ste. Marie most
liberally gave us every assistance, and the "spread" of good things was
complimented by the Governor-General, who remarked that he had never
before seen a luncheon so tastefully laid out in Canada.
On Friday, at 1 p.m., the steamship _Chicora_, which had been
chartered by the vice-regal party, drew up at the Sault dock. The
leading inhabitants of the place welcomed his Excellency on landing,
and presented him with a loyal address, to which he made a suitable
reply. During the procession a salute was fired by a company of
volunteers. The guns were two handsome brass field pieces, strongly
mounted, bearing the date 1776. An old Highlander who accompanied the
party remarked, "Captain Wilson's guns are twa sma' pieces, but they
make a tremendous noise;" and certainly the reports, as they followed
each other with the utmost regularity, justified the remark.
After some introductions to the Governor-General, he and Lady Dufferin
embarked for the Shingwauk Home. They were followed by quite a fleet of
other boats, and in due time all landed at our own newly-made dock.
Here we met the distinguished party, and accompanied them to the site
of the new buildings. Our Bishop being away, the responsibility of the
occasion all rested on myself. After a short service, conducted by the
two visiting clergymen, Lord Dufferin advanced and gave us the
following address:--
"It is with great pleasure that I have taken an humble part in the
interesting ceremony of to-day. I am always glad to have an opportunity
of showing the sympathy which I feel and the interest which I take in
the welfare of our Indian fellow-subjects. We are bound to remember
that we are under the very gravest obligations toward them, and that
the white race, in entering their country and requiring them to change
their aboriginal mode of life, incurs the duty of providing for their
future welfare and of taking care that in no respect whatsoever are
their circumstances deteriorated by changes which are thus
superinduced. It must also be remembered that, although we ourselves
have the advantage of living under Parliamentary institutions, and that
the humblest person in the land is able to feel that his representative
is in a position to plead his cause and watch over his interests in the
High Court of the Parliament of the Dominion, for obvious reasons these
advantages have not yet been extended to the Indian population. On that
account, therefore, if on no other, we are bound to be very solicitous
in our endeavours to advance civilization, to settle the country, and
to bring it under cultivation, that we do them no wrong or injury. I
must say that no better or surer method could be adopted to secure
those results than that which we have now assembled to inaugurate. It
is very evident that so great a change as that from the wild life of
the hunter to the occupation of the cultivator could scarcely be
effected at all, unless those who are thus invited to alter all their
habits of thought and life are educated with that intent. For this
purpose it is obviously the best method to lay hold of the younger
generation, by instructing them in the arts and habits of civilized
life, and to put them in a position to join with us on equal terms in
our endeavour to build up this great country, so that the various races
may be united by common interests and in a common cause. I am happy to
think that with this intent there is further joined the interest of
religion, which is even a greater and stronger means of cementing the
hearts of men together than that of patriotism. But when the two are
united and combined, as they are upon this occasion, it is impossible
but to anticipate the happiest and most successful results. I can
assure you, Mr. Wilson, on behalf of those (and there are, perhaps,
many more than you can imagine) who take a deep interest in this work,
and on behalf of your Indian friends, that you deserve our heartiest
and warmest sympathy. I can only conclude these imperfect observations
by saying, on behalf of Lady Dufferin and myself, that we both wish
this Institution and those engaged in promoting it all the success that
they themselves could desire."
At the close of this address, I, in a few words, tendered my grateful
thanks for the honour his Lordship and Lady Dufferin had conferred on
us by paying us this visit and laying the foundation stone of our
Institution, and then we repaired for luncheon to the carpenter's shop,
which was ornamented with flowers and scarlet bunting.
All passed off most agreeably, and there were many hearty cheers when
the little steamboat crossed the great river under a salute to deposit
her noble freight on the other side.
Twenty men were at work at the foundations of the new Home the day
after this visit, and all went forward with vigour. It may be well here
briefly to describe the general plan and appearance of the building.
The main building has a frontage of 75 feet, facing the river; it is
built of stone, and is three stories high; there was a wing at the
eastern extremity, and other additions have been added since; the
original cost of the building was 7000 dollars, and the additions have
made it worth about 3000 dollars more. At first all was swamp and
stumps, but the earth taken from the excavations helped to fill up the
low spots, and in time, after considerable labour, the place began to
look quite presentable, and a picket fence was put up along the roadway
in front. On the side nearest the river were the carpenters cottage and
shop (in one), which have already been mentioned, on the right, and on
the left another cottage of the same dimensions, intended at first for
an infirmary, but afterwards used as a laundry. These two cottages were
quickly erected at a cost of about 600 dollars each, and were found
very useful while the larger building was gradually rising into
existence; indeed, we were enabled, by making use of these cottages, to
re-open the Institution in a small way that very same autumn.