one situated where the Provincial Building now stands. In this period Government House shifted with its occupant. Patterson established his residence on , and his successor, Edmund Fanning , resided on the block bounded by Richmond , Prince, Sydney and Great George Streets . The first barracks were built on the east side of King and Queen Streets, and later replaced by new quarters where the Char- lottetown Hospital now stands. Alexander Richardson ran what was probably the first school in the St. John's Coffee House at the corner of Queen and Dorchester Streets, and for many years schools were conducted in private homes. Chil¬ dren were expected to pay the schoolmaster a substantial fee and contribute to his supply of tallow candles and firewood. The harbour at Charlottetown was considered by early surveyors to be beautiful and easily defended. With its three arms and its background of rolling hills covered with virgin timber, it presented an inviting appearance to observers look¬ ing for a place to settle. The narrow harbour mouth could be protected and there were convenient locations for fortifica¬ tions, an important factor in the decade between the end of the war with France and the American Revolution. It was realized from the first, however, that the harbour would be of limited use as a port, because it was not deep like those at Halifax and Saint John, and a fleet could not manoeuvre in it because of numerous shoals. The only significant action of war the harbour has seen was the raid of American privateers who sacked the town in 1775, took away Phillips Callbeck, the Administrator of the Government, as prisoner, and made off with much plunder, including the Great Seal of the Colony. The harbour was first served by sailing packets which came over from Nova Scotia with settlers and provisions and put up at the little thirty foot stone and timber wharf below the town. Ships increased in number as coastal trade de¬ veloped with Princetown , Georgetown and other small ports on the Island and with the chief trading ports on the main¬ land. And each year saw more ships coming direct from over¬ seas with new colonists and returning with mails and timber. 15