spend only one and a half millions for the preservation at the other end of an object of natural beauty, not made by human hands and which has no counterpart in the world. Happily, public sentiment on this subject has advanced materially during the past twenty-five years; and notions which a quarter of a century ago were popularly regarded as the products of romantic imagination are now coming to be recognized as the indices of a higher stage of social culture. To appreciate the obstacles formerly encountered, therefore, we must remember that the sentiment which now gives its unqualified approval to the creation of the Niagara Reservation was then only in embryo.

At length, the leaders of the movement communicated with the Earl of Dufferin, then Governor-General of Canada, in relation to the establishment of an International Park on both sides of the river. The Earl of Dufferin took up the suggestion con amore, and at a meeting of the Ontario Society of Artists, held in Toronto, September 26, 1878, spoke as follows:

"And now, gentlemen, before I sit down, there is another topic to which I would for a moment refer. I am about to confide to you a mission which I think sufficiently connected with your prosperity to justify me in asking your assistance. In your neighborhood there exists, as you are aware, one of the most wondrous, beautiful and stupendous scenes which the forces of nature have ever constructed. Indeed, so majestic is the subject, that though many skillful hands have endeavored to transfer it to canvas, few have succeeded in adequately depicting its aweinspiring characteristics. I allude, of course, to the Falls of Niagara. But I am sure that every one will agree with me in thinking that the pleasure he may have derived from his pilgrimage to so famous a spot, whether as an artist or as a simple tourist, has been miserably marred and defeated by the inconvenience and annoyance he has experienced at the hands of the various squatting interests that have taken possession of every point of vantage at the Falls; who tax the pockets and irritate the nerves of the visitor, and by whom, just at the moment when he is about to give up his whole being to the contemplation of the scene before him, as he is about to feel the inspiration of the natural beauties around him, his imagination and his poetic faculties are suddenly shocked and disorganized by a demand for ten cents.

"Some few weeks ago I had the good fortune to meet His Excellency the Governor of the State of New York, and I then suggested to him an idea which has been long present to my mind that the governments of New York and Ontario or Canada should combine to acquire whatever rights may have been established against the public and to form around the Falls a small public International Park, not indeed decorative or in any way sophisticated by the penny arts of the landscape gardener, but carefully preserved in the picturesque condition in which it was originally laid out by the hand of nature."

THE FIRST OFFICIAL UTTERANCE.

Up to this time, suggestions and discussions had been entirely personal and informal in their character, and it remained for Governor Robinson of this State to earn the distinction, in his message to the Legislature in 1879, of giving the first official utterance on the subject. In that document, he wrote as follows: "The civil jurisdiction over the Falls of Niagara, as well as the shores and waters of Niagara river, is divided between the State and the Province of Ontario, Canada. But in one

sense, the sublime exhibition of natural powers there witnessed is the property of the whole world. It is visited by tourists from all quarters of the globe, and it would seem to be incumbent upon both governments to protect such travelers from annoyance on either side. It is, however, well known, and a matter of universal complaint, that the most favorable points of observation around the Falls are appropriated for purposes of private profit, while the shores swarm with sharpers, hucksters and peddlers who perpetually harass all visitors. In the course of the last summer, in a casual meeting and conversation with Lord Dufferin, Governor-General of Canada, he suggested the propriety of some steps on the part of the State of New York and the Province of Ontario to remedy these abuses which he had seen and deeply regretted. His proposition was that a sort of International Park should be established, enclosing a suitable space on each side of the river, from which all the annoyances and vexations referred to should be excluded. Contemplating no attempt at landscape ornamenting in the vain hope of adding to the natural attractions of the Falls, he thought that each government might obtain control of a sufficient area to be kept sacred for the free use of those who, coming there from all parts of the world, desire to view the grand scenery without molestation. He believed that all this could be accomplished at small expense, each government of course retaining jurisdiction of its own proportion of such park, but with a mutual understanding as to the general regulations to be enforced on either side.

"Subsequently, the Governor-General called the attention of the government of Ontario to the same matter and recommended co-operation with the State of New York in accomplishing the purpose in view. The proper course, if such a plan were deemed tourist, has been miserably marred and defeated by the inconvenience and annoyance he has experienced at the hands of the various squatting interests that have taken possession of every point of vantage at the Falls; who tax the pockets and irritate the nerves of the visitor, and by whom, just at the moment when he is about to give up his whole being to the contemplation of the scene before him, as he is about to feel the inspiration of the natural beauties around him, his imagination and his poetic faculties are suddenly shocked and disorganized by a demand for ten cents.

"Some few weeks ago I had the good fortune to meet His Excellency the Governor of the State of New York, and I then suggested to him an idea which has been long present to my mind that the governments of New York and Ontario or Canada should combine to acquire whatever rights may have been established against the public and to form around the Falls a small public International Park, not indeed decorative or in any way sophisticated by the penny arts of the landscape gardener, but carefully preserved in the picturesque condition in which it was originally laid out by the hand of nature."

THE FIRST OFFICIAL UTTERANCE.

Up to this time, suggestions and discussions had been entirely personal and informal in their character, and it remained for Governor Robinson of this State to earn the distinction, in his message to the Legislature in 1879, of giving the first official utterance on the subject. In that document, he wrote as follows: "The civil jurisdiction over the Falls of Niagara, as well as the shores and waters of Niagara river, is divided between the State and the Province of Ontario, Canada. But in one

sense, the sublime exhibition of natural powers there witnessed is the property of the whole world. It is visited by tourists from all quarters of the globe, and it would seem to be incumbent upon both governments to protect such travelers from annoyance on either side. It is, however, well known, and a matter of universal complaint, that the most favorable points of observation around the Falls are appropriated for purposes of private profit, while the shores swarm with sharpers, hucksters and peddlers who perpetually harass all visitors. In the course of the last summer, in a casual meeting and conversation with Lord Dufferin, Governor-General of Canada, he suggested the propriety of some steps on the part of the State of New York and the Province of Ontario to remedy these abuses which he had seen and deeply regretted. His proposition was that a sort of International Park should be established, enclosing a suitable space on each side of the river, from which all the annoyances and vexations referred to should be excluded. Contemplating no attempt at landscape ornamenting in the vain hope of adding to the natural attractions of the Falls, he thought that each government might obtain control of a sufficient area to be kept sacred for the free use of those who, coming there from all parts of the world, desire to view the grand scenery without molestation. He believed that all this could be accomplished at small expense, each government of course retaining jurisdiction of its own proportion of such park, but with a mutual understanding as to the general regulations to be enforced on either side.

"Subsequently, the Governor-General called the attention of the government of Ontario to the same matter and recommended co-operation with the State of New York in accomplishing the purpose in view. The proper course, if such a plan were deemed