The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-06-05, Page 16OPEI I kiSIGMA 'Mu'
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P RSDAY, ,IE 5, 1975
{41
When E.C. Taylor bought from the Canada Company in 1834
these lots at the'Crescent and Waterloo, the maples in the
picture were on the land and had been tor perhaps a century.
Clare F. Baechler, whose residence is nearby, estimates
their age at between 200 and 300 years. When Horace Horton
built his house about 1872 he would merely have to clear the
bush, leaving at intervals a few good-looking maples.
Lord Mayor of London
Ok'd deed to Goderich lots
BY W. E. ELLIOTT
The Lord Mayor of London,
with some assistance 'tom his
late Majesty King George III,
his late Majesty King William
IV and a .London law firm,
Bischoff, Coxe and Bompas,
saw to it that a transfer of real
estate in St. George's ward,
Goderich, was perfectly in
order. Whereupon the Lord
Mayor .affixed "the seal of the
office of the mayoralty" on the
ninth day of November, one
thousand eight hundred and
fifty-five. At a later stage there
took part in the proceedings one
G. Bayley, notary public, of the
City of Edinburgh, "in that part
of the Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland called Scotland."
The overseas documentation
was required because two
parties concerned in the sale of
four lore nn ct George's
Murray Gaunt expresses concern
for saving prime agricultural land
Crescent in Goderich were at
the time residents of Britain.
ItP all began when Edward
Christopher Taylor, factor of
the Baron van Tuyll, d ought
from the Canada Company on
August 8, 1834, "lots 9 and10 in
front of the Crescent and Lots 9
and 10 in rear of the Crescent,
being one acre and 10 perches."
He paid 20 pounds sterling for
the site upon which Horace
Horton built his big house about
37 years later.
Taylor held the four vacant
lots for six years, then on May
4, 1840, transferred them" "in
trust to the Rev. R. F.
Campbell .and Thomas Mercer
Jones. Mr. Campbell ' was
rector of St. George's Church
and Jones was Canada Com-
pany Commissioner, possibly
also a churchwarden.
Registered in the land `titles
Ontario's cities and • towns
continue to , grow at an alar-
ming rate and unfortunately
that growth spills beyond
designated boundaries and into
fartri1 tnd.
Huron -Bruce, MPP Murray
Gaunt raised the point in the
Ontario Legislature admitting
that the province cannot -fighi`t
growth but it must reconsider
its priorities and fight for
sensible growth.
The Province of Ontario has
98 per cent of its agricultural
land in 'the 4,5 and 6 class
bracket with good agricultural
land being very Limited. In
Ontario less than seven per
cent of the land is arable and
-only 21/2 per cent is class 1 and 2
land. This percentage coupled
with climate conditions under
which good crops can be
produced `narrows down the
good soil available in the
province:
"I say these high quality
lands must be preserved,"
Grant said, "I think good land
is;. a .productive renewable
source, second only in im-
portance to people""
The largest losses of
agricultural land ,are now
coming in the counties having
the most class 1- and 2 land.
Over the last 20 years Southern
Ontario has lost 20 per cent of
its top farm land which
represents over four million
acres.
From 1966 to 1971 the
removal of improved land of
high fertility has increased by
600 per cent while the unim-
proved land dropped to slightly
over 10 per cent. Good
agricultural land immediately
adjacent to big. cities cannot
and will not be saved since it
will only be a. matter of time
before urban sprawl gobbles it
up" "
"The ~land, which must be
protected is land with the
capability of top crop
production, situated away from
the large cities. I think it is
important to realize that the
actual acreage required for
agriculture ' . depinds on
population, diet, agricultural
products exported and im-
ported, as well.as productivity:
There are a lot of things which
go into the total mix." ,
In an agricultural ° paper
released by the University of
Guelph it was calculated that
1.15 acres of improved land is
required to produce the basic
food needed for o,►e human
being. Using that figure only
nine million people could be
supported on the 10.5 million
acres of class 1 and 2 land that
remains.
The progress of technical.
adyances_ in the field . was
tremendous" over the last 20'
WELCOME
SERV10Eitt,
would like td Coll y.
"housewwtlrn'iing gifts" and in-
tor/Minor, .about yetit new
ioceilon. Tho Hostese will' be
glad to arrange y O u'r' subecrip-
tlt ri to the Signal-gtsr ,
Call' her. at 5244854
years but that progress has now
slowed since the available
technology hasbeen used and it
is unlikely that anything better
will come along to help farmers
produce more. Therefore in-
creased production due.. to
technological advances will be
`limited in the future in com-
parison t� what -'rec T
p eded"`it nY
the past.
Out of the. 53 counties and
districts in Ontario, eight.
counties which include, Bruce,
Huron, Perth, Lambton,
Waterloo, Wellington, Mid-
dlesex• and Oxford, which ac-
count for only two per d Gent of
the land area in the province,
produce, 48 per cent of the
province's.barley, 59 per` cent of.
the total mixed grain, 83 per
cent of the total dried beans, 46
per cent of the shelled corn, 46
per cent of the fodder corn, 50,
per cent of the cattle and 63 per
cent of the hogs marketed in the
province. •
However these eight counties
•
have also been affected by
'ribbon development over the
past couple of'years. Mr. Gaunt k
explained that farr'ners who are
bought out for one reason or
another in other counties are
making their way into'the eight
producing counties with a
pocket full of money and buying
Cand'at'great:er prices th-an`the
local farmers could pay. This
he explained • is keeping
younger people off the farm..
"As a result you get this
tremendous ripple effect that is
affecting • land prices "right
across the prod ince and the
ability of farmers tostay on
their land and of young people
to get into the business of
farming," he said. "It certainly
has a tremendous bearing '
throughout hi terms of
capitalization of farming
today."
Mr. Gaunt then pointed out
that since a high percentage of
quality soil and half of
Ontario's food production .
comes from these counties and
also that a' good 'percentage_of
the province class 1 and 2 land
is within the boundaries of
these counties it is important
that the land be protected by.
the Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Gaunt re-emphasized his
point in his closingremarks_
u ging cflmplete� Protection of
class 1 and_2
`"I am" not talking about
classes 5,6,7 kand 8,- I am not
worried about those at all. We
can build houses on that land.
We can put roads thiough it. -We
can do all kinds of things with
it. That's fine by me. I don't
care about that, But I do care
about the class 1 " and 2
agricultural " land. When
someone says to me, `Don't
worry about it. We,,have lots of
land to go around. We will
never run out of land.' frankly
and with the greatest respect to
the people who say that,. I think
they missed the point Com-
pletely." .c,
office was a "memorial" of an
indenture, or written
agrcemerit, "in. which," it was
stated, "the intents and pur-
poses more fully will appear."
The consideration received
by Taylor was five shillings
"and for divers other good
causes and considerations him
thereunto moven." The
document conveyed any
buildings on the land add 10
shares in the Huron...,bishery
Company, "254 pounds, Q
shillings or a larger,sum as by
the books may appear," ,being a
dent due to Taylor. Witnesses to
this meniorial were John
Strachan and Charles W idder.
Nothing in the phraseology
makes certain that the
property was intended for
parish ase, but that is a
reasonable supposition, as the
first St. George's church had
not been bui,leat the time. It will
do until a better theory comes
along. •
The church was built in 1843,
on the. north side of the
Crescent, on. lots granted to the
Bishop of Toronto for a church
site and burial -ground. Mr..
Campbell and Mr. Jones held
their lots until 1855, then sold to
John Archibald Callendar: By
this time, though he is.
described in the deed as of
Goderich, Mr. Campbell had
long ago moved to Bayfield,
and Jones was no longer
.Canada Company Com-
missioner. E. C. Taylor had
died�his:'widow.had, remarried.
and was now Antoinette Grant.
Furthermore, she was residing
at °No. I Brunswick Place,
Brompton, Middlesex, Great
Britain. Campbell . and Jones
were parties of the first part,
Mrs. Grant rhe party, of the
second part, and Callendar,
purchaser of the lots, was
resident at I3 Claremont Villas,
Belsize road, St. John's Wood,
county of Middlesex, Britain.
The parties resident in
England went to the office of
Bischoff, 'Coxe and Bompas at
19 Coleman street in London,
where George.Hertzel, clerk to
the firm, made out the desired
"memorial." Here appears. an
allusion to an indenture "and
considerations therein men-
tioned". 'At no stage previously
or hereafter. do we see this
"indenture.," It is not
registered.
Anyway, Hertzel takes the
con41eted document to the
Lord Mayor at the Guildhall,
who proceeds "pursuant to' an
Act of his late Majesty George
III for the easy recovery of
debts in his Majesty's plan-
tations and colonies in
America" and alsoa statute of
King William IV "for the more'
effectual abolition of oaths and
affirmations." Thus supported,
he signs "David Splomons,
LordMayor:"
Mr. `Callender was owner of
. the lots from 1855 until August
9, 1871, by which time he had
become a resident of Newton
1 -louse, parish of Crawford,
county of Lanark, Scotland. He
is now described as a mer-
chant. He and his wife are the
vendors, and the. buyer is
Horace Horton, a native of
Kent, longtime member of
Goderich council._ and future
member of Parliament. The
lots cost him $1168. The big
house was built for him in 1872-3
by William Sharman. It was his .
horse for 30 years. ' When he
died in 1902 .he still owned the'
four lots, now numbered 485,-
486, 567 and 570, also other real
estate in Ontario, Manitoba and
Dakota.
Mr. Horion's. 'deed was
"subject nevertheless to the
resery.ations, limitations,
provisions in_the original grant
thereof fronithe Grown." This.
does not take us anywhere;
whatever provisions may have •
existed in the Crown grant to
'the Canada Company of
1,100,000 acres, there is nothing
in the grant to Taylor other
than the routine phraseology of
an ordinary deed.
The Horton property was
acquired in 1905 by Dr. J. B.
Whitely, who was interested in
trotting horses and hada stable
along the' south -side, More
recently the James ' Bisset
residence, it is owned and
occupied now by J. M. Don-
nelly, Q.C.
DW to waste energyji without
YOUR FIRST TAP LESSON.
Why bother shutting a tap off? Show
your friends what an affluent person you
are: After all. wasting as much as 40 gal-
., 1 . Ions of hot water a day. and a .k t of pure
K.. Natural gas energy certainly makes an
. impression.
G1'11 :1 't>>
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Order now for earliest possible
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LIMITED
AGENT - DON DENOMME
66 HAMILTON ST. GODERICH 524-8761
Frank Mcllwain '
200 Gibbons St. 524-9465 .
LET YOUR LITTLE'LIGHT SHINE.
Here's a bright
idea! Leave vour.
- indoor 1iii.hting on ,
all nightlong. It may
be a waste of electric-.
ity. but You'll he a
guiding; light to lost
:Aircraft. Besides:
you'll never have to
waste your own
energy flicking
them oil'.
- THE GREAT ESCAPE. -
Don't bother insuktting. Let \ our
walls breathe. Of course. heat may be
escaping in winter and 'air conditioning
in summer. But tli.ptt insulation stuff ,is So
itchy anyway.
BRING' THE OUTDOORS INDOORS.
Never Iit't a tingerto shut the window.
Once again, you May he wasting heat, but
all that fresh air will qualify vou as a gen-
uine nature boy, with a, genuine year
'round cold
THE SWEAT -130X.
By lettingyourdryer run on endlessly.
your permanent press will he permanently,
Wrinkled. But at ..least you'll be setting a •
whole new trend .in fashion. Think of the
individuality you'll achieve as {..prune.
'CREATE A BURNING SENSATION..
A. •
•
Hem's a new quickie recipe idea vou
cane"reate just by never turning the gas
down on your stove. Let the flame cook
the sides elf your pan as well as the handle
furan unusual flavour sensation. Charcoal
flavoured steamed yegetahles.Thev're sure
to jar even -the least discriminating: taste
bud,
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE:
'Pick a n'umhcr. Any number. But
'keep that thermostat wheel, spinning. 1t'
you're lucky. you might even reach 100.
in any case you're hound to win a fortun.c
in heating hills.
•
IInuonons
Natuia- Gas.Eiirgy that's worth Savin;
r
If you fail to see the' logic in all
4
of this. then Tilt a linger. Now point
it at yourself.
Energy conservation starts with
you. Anal, you can he a. great help.
Just by remembering to ,do all those
little things that are so hard to re-
member.
'And much as we hate to ,preac h. ,
we have to. Because some people
- art_ still wasting energy.
So think before you waste. it's your
own money you're savin4.
Remember. Lift tt finger to 'keep that
-spot from boiling over. Shut the windows.
Keep the thermostat set at a constant temper-
, ature. Insulate. Shut the taps eompletek o.tE
In other words. do Your part.
Now lift your whole hand and give your- -
self a pat on. the hack. from all of. us. at •
.Union Gas.
�1