Exteriorly, little
can be said for Osgoode Hall, whereas the exterior of the Four
Courts in Dublin is very fine; but as an interior, the temple of
Themis at Toronto beats hollow that which the goddess owns in
Dublin.
In Dublin the courts themselves are shabby, and the space
under the dome is not so fine as the exterior seems to promise that
it should be. In Toronto the courts themselves are, I think, the
most commodious that I ever saw, and the passages, vestibules, and
hall are very handsome. In Upper Canada the common-law judges and
those in chancery are divided as they are in England; but it is, as
I was told, the opinion of Canadian lawyers that the work may be
thrown together. Appeal is allowed in criminal cases; but as far
as I could learn such power of appeal is held to be both
troublesome and useless. In Lower Canada the old French laws are
still administered.
But the University is the glory of Toronto. This is a Gothic
building, and will take rank after, but next to, the buildings at
Ottawa. It will be the second piece of noble architecture in
Canada, and as far as I know on the American continent. It is, I
believe, intended to be purely Norman, though I doubt whether the
received types of Norman architecture have not been departed from
in many of the windows. Be this as it may, the college is a manly,
noble structure, free from false decoration, and infinitely
creditable to those who projected it.
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