6 TOURING QUEBEC AND THE MARITIMES

Sir John A. Macdonald. Then we passed the beautiful home of Sir Robert Borden. Next of interest was Laurier House, a present to the late Sir Wilfrid Laurier from his friends and admirers. Sir Wilfred gave it to Lady Laurier, who willed it to the successive Liberal Prime Ministers. Right Honourable W. L. Mackenzie King is now the occupant.

Our drive around the city ended with a tour of the Parliament Buildings.

The corner-stone of the old buildings was laid by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, in 1860, and in 1867 the initial session of Parliament was held in the [new buildings, the Government of the day having Sir John A. Macdonald as the first Premier of the Dominion of Canada. '

On February 3rd, 1916, these stately Gothic buildings were destroyed by fire. They were rich in historic mem- cries and bound up with deep patriotic sentiment.

Soon after the fire, the work of reconstruction of the Parliament Buildings was begun. To Mr. Pearson, a . Toronto architect, was entrusted the great task of retain- ing the semblance of the old buildings in the construction of the new, but at the same time embodying the best features of modern architecture.

The cornerstone was laid Sept. Ist 1916 by .H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, while that of the Tower was laid in 1919 by H.R.H.the Prince of Wales. Most of the mater- ials used in the building were obtained from Canadian sources. Nepean sandstone, quarried near Ottawa, faces the entire exterior. Tyndal limestone from the Winnipeg district, was used in the very beautiful interior stone work. '

The Victory Memorial Tower of the new Houses of Parliament is two hundred and ninety-five feet high. In