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LORD DUFFERIN CAME TO WELLAND
[The Welland Tribune and Telegraph, 6 April 1922]
Back in 1874-Governor-General was Given Royal Welcome
It was a gala day in the village of Welland. A large rosy sun climbed up in a clear sky early in the morning and for miles around at that hour scores of farmers were washing buggies, horses and in many other ways busily preparing to spend the day in the village.
There was a bustle of excitement in the precincts of Welland itself-for at three o’clock on that afternoon of Monday, August 28th, 1874, the Governor-General , Lord Dufferin and Her Excellency, Lady Dufferin, were due to arrive to pay a vice-regal visit.
Long before the special train pulled in with its engine gaily arrayed with evergreens and numerous flags, hundreds of people of Welland county were gathered at the Welland railway station, anxious to get the first look at the representative of the Queen. The Welland Brass Band was there and a troop of cavalry commanded by Captain Buchner. At three o’clock three thousand loyal citizens were on the scene.
As the train pulled in, the band struck up the National Anthem and the populace lifted their hats and cheered lustily. The cavalrymen gave the royal salute as Lord and Lady Dufferin stepped on the platform.
Their Excellencies were met by the notables of the village and county. And J.H. Price, the reeve, read an address, in which the Governor-General was reminded of the Battle of Lundy’s Lane and others of 1812 which were fought within the borders of the county, and that many veterans of the war were present.
Loyalty Not Exceeded
“We need hardly assure your Excellency that you are in the midst of a people whose loyalty to the Queen and attachment to the mother country is not excelled in any other part of Her Majesty’s dominion,” the address read.
“Situated as we are upon the great thoroughfare between the East and the West, and having within the limits of our village one of the greatest architectural works of its kind in the Dominion, Your Excellency will pardon our honest pride in stating that we are prosperous and happy in the enjoyment of our many privileges and rights as citizens of this great empire.”
Replying, Lord Dufferin declared that he was well aware that in coming to the County of Welland he was visiting a locality which had been rendered illustrious by the warlike deeds of the forefathers of many of those present, and he rejoiced in his privilege to become acquainted with some of the surviving heroes of those glorious days.
After which many of the prominent men were presented to their Excellencies and Lord Dufferin spent some time talking with the veterans of 1812.
The vice-regal party then took a drive through town, where three arches had been erected. On the first was the Irish motto: “Cead Mille Failthe,” which meant a hundred thousand welcomes; on the second was “Peace and Prosperity,” and on the third, “Trade and Commerce” and “The Welland Canal, the Eastern and Western Connecting Link.”
The aqueduct was inspected and the party then returned to their carriages and were driven back to the train accompanied by the band and the cavalry escort.
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