application was recommended by the Principal.
The Board replied that there were legal and insuperable objections to
the granting of such a request and that they had no power under the law
to give a lease for a longer period than 21 years. They agreed to give
Pelton a lease for that period, and they guaranteed "that the same
shall be renewed for each subsequent term until the whole period of 99
years shall be accomplished." The lease seems to have been actually
entered into, but because of difficulty over the security offered,
combined with legal obstacles, it was cancelled soon afterwards. It
transpired later that Pelton was merely the agent of the Governors and
that in order to secure possession of the property, they had engaged him
to act on their behalf, on the understanding that he was to transfer the
lease to them when he received it.

Of the Governors' connection with this plan the Board was obviously not
aware at the time. The details were frankly and clearly outlined in an
interesting letter written by acting-Principal Bethune to the Hon. R. A.
Tucker, Principal of the Royal Institution, on November 4th, 1845, when
Pelton tried without success to establish a claim to some of the
property. Extracts from this letter give further indication of the
bitterness and hopelessness of the controversy:

"After the sale of the 99 years' lease had been advertised, it occurred
to me that a good opportunity was thereby afforded to the Governors of
the College for getting the management of the property into their own
hands, by purchasing the lease. I need hardly say that the difficulties
which had occurred between the late Board of the Royal Institution and
the Governors of the College with regard to the right of possession
naturally led to such a desire. Being the only Governor then resident in
Montreal, and His Excellency, the late Sir Charles Bagot, having left
the management with reference to that sale to me, I took upon myself the
responsibility of making the purchase for the Governors;--but I felt
convinced that if I did so in my own name, the Board of the Royal
Institution would throw difficulties in the way. I therefore employed
Mr. Pelton to purchase the property for me, and he did so on the perfect
understanding that the property should, in the first instance, be
conveyed to him, and afterwards by him to me, as he supposed, but really
to 'the Governors, Principal and Fellows of McGill College.' In that
transaction th