19th-century observers to be the finest neoclassical building in North America; 20th-century Canadian architectural historians have evaluated the Charlottetown building as the finest Georgian building in Canada. While both points of view could be debated, the enthusiastic opinions reflect the extraordinary high standards created in both the interior and exterior design elements. • Both buildings “exhibit an important interchange of human values....” The values reflected in the buildings as noted include ancient Greek and Roman philosophical values as well as architectural values. They also reflect 18th- century British American philosophical and artistic values. The connection with British values is dominant in both buildings. The interchange is profoundly reflected in the values the buildings share with their counterparts following the Westminster system of government prevalent throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. The buildings, as currently functioning, have also blended the various cultural traditions prevailing in the two provinces. • Do they demonstrate a uniqueness essential to meet the criteria? Yes, as the most complete examples of 18th-century British colonial legislatures they are unique. Indeed, the spacial layout in which they were built became integrated in the 1850s into Barry and Pugin’s rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster thus reflecting the cross pollination that occurred within the British parliamentary system, now known as the Westminster system of government. The two buildings are not only outstanding but are unique for the reasons advanced above. • As to their significance in historical terms, both are exceptionally important. The Nova Scotia building is recognised to be the oldest extant legislative building in the Westminster system of government. Among its numerous claims for historical
The Palace of Westminster is one of the notable exceptions that shared its 1987 UNESCO designation with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s Church.
significance is its central role in hosting the trial (the buildings originally housed the Supreme Court of the colony) of journalist Joseph Howe for defamation rising from editorial comments made during a mid 19th-century election. The issue was freedom of the press. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia established the principle of freedom of the press which became the jurisprudence for supporting freedom of the press throughout the British Empire – a huge achievement by any standard. Several governors general of Canada were sworn in at Province House in Halifax, as the first point of disembarkation for
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governors general arriving from Britain. The legislative buildings in Halifax also hosted the second meeting of the Fathers of Confederation of which greater emphasis shall be given in commenting on the historical significance of the legislative building in Charlottetown. In 1864 following a series of
meetings among representatives of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick (named in the sequence in which they were created), it became clear that the three colonies would be unable to reach an agreement for a union. The last of those meetings was
held in Charlottetown at Province House (known then as the “Colonial Building”) in September 1864. The Prime Minister of the federation of the United Province of Canada, (Ontario and Quebec) heard of the scheduled meeting and invited himself and representatives of the Legislature of the United Provinces to the meeting in Charlottetown. They served initially as observers outside the bar of the house until the Maritime union talks failed. Prime Minister John MacDonald invited himself and his delegates onto the floor of the legislative council chamber with the proposition that union talks continue but expand to