t.

A few words of explanation are necessary by way of prologue.

In the year 1786, before the setting apart of Upper Canada as a separate
Province, and just after the commencement of the settlement of the
Niagara Peninsula by Butler's Rangers, the territory contiguous to the
west bank of the Niagara River was surveyed and laid out into lots by
Augustus Jones, a surveyor whose name is familiar to all students of the
early history of this Province. In pursuance of instructions received
from the Government, Mr. Jones, in laying out these lots, made a
reservation of a chain in width--sixty-six feet--along the top of the
bank.

The reservation was made partly with a view to the military defence of
the Province, and partly for the purpose of preserving a convenient
communication.[90] It was expressly specified in the Crown Patents to
the owners of adjoining lands, and embodied in all subsequent deeds upon
successive transfers. It may therefore be conceded that the Crown's
title to the reserved land was indisputable.

In the year 1827, and for some time previously, the principal inn on the
Canadian side of the river at Niagara Falls was owned and kept by one
William Forsyth. The man and his establishment were well known to
travellers, and "Forsyth's" had a high reputation as one of the most
comfortable houses of public entertainment in the country. During the
heat of summer, many residents of York paid more or less frequent visits
to the Falls, not more to enjoy the change of air and the majestic
scenery, than to partake of "mine host" Forsyth's hospitality. The inn
was in close proximity to the great cataract, and was known as the
Niagara Falls Pavilion. It was built on ground that bordered upon and
ran up to the Government's reservation, which alone intervened between
it and the top of the bank.

[Sidenote: 1827.]

Mr. Forsyth drove a flourishing business, but, like some of his
successors at the same spot, his greed grew with his increasing gains,
and he was not content to grow rich by degrees. He determined to augment
his income by the erection of a high post and rail fence, placed so as
to shut out visitors from approaching near to the Falls, and rendering
it necessary for them to pass through his house before the desired view
could be obtained. It should be mentioned that Mr. Forsyth, in addition
to the Pavilion and its immediate grounds, owned the adjoining lands for
a considerable distance, including all the poi