The Winnipeg Tribune from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada • Page 33

THE WINNIPEG TRIBUNE PAGE The New ''House Of France In Canada" SATURDAY, JAN. 28, 1939 By Charles Bruyere BEHIND the somewhat austere walli of the new French legation building In Ottawa, which was officially inaugumted January 3 In the presence of Their Excellencies the Governor General of Canada and Lady Tweeds muir, are concealed some of the fineit specimens of decorative art to be found on this continent. A fine monument dedicated to an everlasting friendship between France and Canada, the new home of the French legation has been erected at the corner of Sussex and John streets at a cost of more than half a million dollars. The cornerstone was laid two years ago last July by Rt. Hon.

W. L. Mackenzie King. The whole enterprise was successfully achieved through the close co operation which hns animated both the French and Canadian collaborators of Eugene Beaudouin, chief architect of civil buildings for the French government. Mr.

Beaudouln conceived the plans and personally supervised the work. He The Hunt For Captain Swede's Island Treasure By Berton E. Robinson IT Is told that an American tourist who had journeyed along part of Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast said, with a sort of rapture, "There just has to be treasure buried Indeed, so It would seem. Long inlets, almost like Norwegian fjords, shoot unexpect edly inward from the sea; clusters of small Islands fill snug and tidy anchorages for any craft whose master might be anxious to avoid other craft for a day or two or longer. There Is a mystic wildness along the whole const that simply reeks of pirates and fell deeds and gold buried by moonlight and all that sort of thing.

The real Bluenose doesn't ordinarily give utterance to such thoughts as these; he acts on them. He doesn't advertise to the world that he believes there's treasure buried somewhere; he goes quietly and digs for It In some cases, he even takes the treasure Idea seriously enough to make use of the latest mining, scientific, and pseudo scientific devices to locate and unearth the alleged treasure. Take Plum Island, for example. This Is a small, wooded knoll rising steeply from the waters of Shad Bay, about twenty miles from Halifax. Wild and uninhabited, It looks like just another of the thousands of Islands along the const whose only visitors are an occasional fisherman, or a rum runner chased by a too persistent R.C.M.P.

cutter. Legend, however, tells that one Captain Swede, a pirate of the late eighteenth century, once fled to Nova Scotia to dodge the King's ships. Fearful of capture and consequent loss, Swede put in at Shad Bay, and concealed much of his loot somewhere on Plum Island. Then he sailed away, never to return. Such legends persist In Nova Scotia.

Hence It was that, a few years ago, when Texas Allan discovered a map purporting to be Swede's treasure chart, he already knew of the story of Plum Island, and he went there at once to see If the place conformed with the rough sketch map, which was without points of reference, or bearings of latitude and longitude. Plum Island seemed to be the place, and after months of search, Allan located the spot where It seemed Swede had buried his treasure. He went to work, dug down about fifty feet, and stopped. That was the end of his treasure hunt; he left with the Intention of returning to continue his search, but he never came back. For several years there was no activity on Plum Island, and Swede's treasure slipped back Into legend.

Then upon the scene came James P. Nolan, a seventy year old prospector. Nolan had devised a curious gold finding machine In which he had and still hns complete confidence. It's worked perfectly every time he's tried It, he says. Nolan heard the legend of "Plum Island, managed somehow to get a copy nf Texas Allan's old treasure chart, and, armed with this and his machines, went to the island.

Carefully he explored the part which seemed to be the treasury area. The treasure bug hit him hard when he discovered that no matter where he went, the little aiuminum rods which are his gold finder led him to one spot, about two hundred yards from the landward shore, and about fifty feet from the spot where Allan had dug his fruitless shaft. This, said Nolan, Is certainly where Swede buried the gold. XTOW Nolan was no piker. When he went a huntlng for treasure, it had to tie done right.

He went to Halifax and convinced a mining engineer and several hard headed business men that his gold finders would work. Then, with despatch and orderliness that would probably have left poor Captain Swede aghast, the engineer, Ian MacKay by name, and the men formed a company, with No'nn cut in for a share for locating the hoard, and the scene was set. All this was done In proper Nova Scotia treasure hunt fashion in deepest secrecy; and the work went on so until a newspaperman hoard of it, unearthed a ghost to go with the Island as if the story were not bizarre enough as It was and the whole, thing wastabroad. foon after that, with others been me interested in the venture, and, at Nolan's Invitation, a small party of us went to Plum Island to see for ourselves just what was happening. I took my camera.

As soon as we arrived at the landing place from which we were to take the boat to tht island, trouble began to dog us. A number of the business men who had shares In the venture were gathered at the landing place, nd Indignation was expressed at our mera was assisted by Antolne Monette ond Marcel Parizeau, Montreal architects. Collet Brothers, Montreal contractors, undertook the whole of the building operations. For the Interior decorations of the reception halls, duiy authorized by Mr. Huisman, general superintendent of the Fine Arts at Paris.

Mr. Beaudouin selected some of the foremost exponents of modern decorative art, Louis Leygues, sculptor; Alfred Counties, painter, and Charles Plnson, engraver. Robert Caml, engraver, and Bizette Lindet, sculptor, also contributed to the artistic decorations, Mr. Leygues Is the author of the sculptures framing the Gobelin tapestry cf the XVIIth Century which adorns the ballroom. The tapestry represents the Triumph of Constantine.

The artist had the of creatine around It an allegorical ornamentation spreading largely In stucco low reliefs, the Interest of which Is heightened by statues In high relief. Although a mere decorative matter the ensemble relies on an Ideological theme, a complement of the subject of the tapestry. A great freedom In the conception together with an agreeable fantasy In the execution are the dominating qurtllties of this work which develops on a length of fifty feet. On the left hand side, the artist reproduced In figures the forces which brought about the victory of the Great Emperor: the Patriarch Abrahnm, personifying Faith: Samson, Strength; Joshua, Determination and the young David, Courage, In the foreground are to be seen Adam and Eve and Heathen Love. On the right hand side, he has called forth the remote consequences of the victory: Arts (the Renaissance under the features of Appollo and the Muses; Wealth (the Great Century and its abundance, in the cornucopia held by a Cen tauress) and higher up the Spiritual Intercourses of the XlXth Century.

In the foreground. Sacred Love (the Middle Ages) and Pence. Above the tapestry, the action of which Is carried on, outside the canvas, by a retinue of soldiers on each side, a frieze of subdued Phot( by Karsli BEAUTIFUL MURALS ADORN WALLS OF LEGATION DINING ROOM Magnificent paintings adorn the walls of the stately dining room of the new French legation building. Part of the extensive decorations executed by Alfred Courmes, noted Paris painter, are pictured above. Symbolizing "A Merry France" this great mural, comprising more than 200 figures, is executed with wax to resist the sometimes humid climate of Ottawa.

presence. Then someone spotted the camera, and everything else paled into Insignlcance. Did I propose to take Not If they knew it. All the native suspicion of the Nova Scotinn welled up and overflowed. At last, however, we were permitted to go on the island, and I was given permission to take a few pictures provided I left the films with Nolan until such time as the treasure should be found and safely removed.

Then we rowed the half mile that separated us from the Island, and scrambled up the steep bank to the site of the treasure hunt. Here was a treasure expedition with a vengeance! If I hadn't known better, I should have thought I was visiting a working gold mine. An air compressor stood to one side of a shaft superstructure, from which a runway led to a dump for earth and rock. A sputtering, protesting donkey engine provided the power to hoist from the shaft an old oil barrel containing the excavated material. A stream of muddy water pouring from a hose told of a pump in the shaft capacity 2,500 gallons a minute, I learned.

Seated on a bank beside the shaft, two men prepared dynamite charges to blow away the granite which lay between the workers and the hypothetical treasure. I went to the workings and peered down the shaft about 125 feet of it. It was shored and propped with great care. I turned to Nolan, standing beside me. "Don't you think it would be asking a little too much of even Swede to dig through all that grcnite to bury gold?" I asked, dubiously.

"After all, Swede didn't have pneumatic drills, and The anwer came from MacKay, the engineer, standing on the other side "There's a cavo down he said. "We found1 it with a diamond drill. The drill brought up refined metal from the cave. This is a sinking coast, you know; probably In Swede's day that cave could be reached through a tunnel from the beach." "Besides," said Nolan, peering through thick lenses, "the gold finders said there's gold down there." "Ah!" agreed MacKay. "Indeed they did." 1 1 Photo by Karstt IN THE MINISTER'S OFFICE The whole history of New France is depicted in tht unique wall engravings of the French minister's office, part of which is reproduced above.

Charles Pinson, talent' ed Paris engraver, is the originator of this new decorative process. This great work was entirely engraved out of the stone horses recalls that spiritual forces over rule the material ones. CHARLES Pinson carved on walls of tht minister's private office scenes from the French Canadian peaple. From left to right are eeen a panel of dancing Indians holding scalps, then, on the main wall, the landing of Mi "There's a treasury down there," said Nolan. "Maybe millions!" MacKay said nothing; but his eyes showed what he thought.

the face of such faith there was nothing more to say; anyway, It's useless to talk to men bitten by the treasure bug. I turned away to take some pictures. Immediately a man appeared whose purpose in life, it seemed, was to prevent me from taking pictures, even if he had to smash with a shovel a fairly valuable camera. I convinced him that everything was all right, however, and then, just as I was about to press the release, MacKay appeared. "You'd get a much better picture over there," he said, pointing to a spot from which nothing but ocean and trees could be seen by the eye, either camera or human.

"But I'd like "It'd be better there." An unpleasant gleam came into his I went where he directed me. He stayed beside me until I'd expostd the last bit of Aim. Then he sent for Nolan, and they relieved me of every picture. To this day I have never seen my films, although I doubt if there's anything more interesting on them than Nova Scotia scrub spruce and Jack pine. Swede's treasure is hard to reach.

There is still, I believe, about three feet of granite between the workers and the cave where, they firmly believe, millions in gold await them. To add to the difficulties, water from the Atlantic is pouring in faster and faster, demanding bigger and bigger pumps. But the work still goes on and visitors are still unwelcome. And at that, who knows? one day the treasure seekers may flash into prominence as the only persons who ever profited from their belief in a Nova Scotia treasure legend. They may be the lucky ones among the thousands who have tried in one place or another to find buried cold along the rocky shore.

9 1.1' i French pioneers (Jacques Cartier holds the banner of King Francis I), a scene at Henry IV's court, concerning the expeditions of Car tier and Champlain to Canada. Then, back into Canada, on the panel facing the entrance door, Is seen one of the first weddings of settler being celebrated. Further on, Maidens, called the King's daughters, arrive from France. Children are taught by monks and nuns. Then the scene Is enlarged: here Ls the discovery of Western Canada, the Rockies; In the foreground, allegorical figures are symbolical of the hardships of La Verendrye and Caveller de la Salle and of their ultimate success.

Lastly, a large country scene In old Quebec, with, In the foreground, two women personifying French Canadian folklore and the sacrifice of Montcalm and Wolfe. This great work Is entirely engraved with the graver, and, for the first time, out of the stone itself and thus In only one copy. In the small sitting room are found three terra cotta panels decorated by Mr. Llndet and representing three of the most glorious characters of the French history: the valiant knight Roland, King St. Louis and Joan of Arc, the maid of Orleans.

These subjects are derived from poems by Fernand Gregh, The general them of Alfred Courmes' A CORNER The exotic ballroom legation building the Gobelin freedom in the fantasy in the the ornamentation Safe As The Bank Of England By J. XJOTHING is more unlikely than a run on the Bank of England In these days, but it was not always so, and the chief financial institution of the country has had some narrow escapes. There was an exciting time In 1745 when the Young Pretender was invading England. Great throngs pressed round the counters demanding repayment of their money, and the governors had recourse to a stratagem to save the day. They gave orders for the depositors to be paid in small change, shillings and sixpences, and in this manner sufficient delay was caused to tide the bank over Its difficulty.

The bank panic of 1672, however, was directly caused by the actions of the King or his advisers. The King was In the habit of anticipating the supplies voted by Parliament, by borrowing from the London bankers and goldsmiths, allotting them some branch of the revenue for the repayment of tht loans. Having obtained over a million pounds l.n this manner, he decided that It was insufficient to carry on the Dutch war, so a proclamation on January 2, 1672, announced th.it the exchequer was shut. In other words, the government was not going to roiay the loans, but merely the Interest on them. A great panic followed, as the bankers were unable to meet their obligations, and many of the banks failed.

Crowds clamored for days for the return of their money, but without avail, and many poor annuitants were reduced to poverty. In the days before banks were established, folk took charge of their own savings and valuables, and when danger of war or fire approached, men often hid their treasure It the ground. In this connection however, an early 13th century writer states that "many country people, either from trusting their memories or not knowing the art of making an accurate memorandum, were never able to find what they had hidden." An English sailor, before leaving for foreign service, buried a box containing bank in the back garden of his mother's residence. Upon returning three years later, the sailor found, to his dismay, that they were so dilapidated with damp at to be almost undecipherable. The bank clerks, however, could make out sufficient of the printing to hand over an equivalent amour of new notes.

The lows to the Bank ef England by forgeries have been considerable, but. on the other hand, this has been In part reeouprd by the profit sccrulng on lost or accidentally destroyed notes. The bank, however. Is always prepared to pay on evidence of accidental destruction. One of the exhibits in the hank library li the remains of a 50 note which was burned In I Photo by Kama OF THE GREAT BALLROOM or festive hall of the new French is shown above.

Sculptures framing tapestry of the XVIIth century are by conception together with an agreeablt execution are the dominating qualities ot which develops on a length of SO feet. decorations for the walls of the stalely dining room Is "Merry France," which subject matter he develops In large encaustic paintings. They are moslly landscapes of Provence, wherein people enjoy themselves after a day's work; on the large centre panel, fruit bearers come along with baskets, other personages art conversing while drinking wine, child: en are playing with pigeons while, on one side, horses are being taken to the stable, and on the other, a large group of men are playing the Provencal game of "Cochonnet." There are ruins of a Roman triumphal arch, cartwrights, a shepherdess, a shepherd and some cheep. On the other panels are represented young men on their way to the village to appear before the recruiting board, fishing sceneries, hunting and grape gathering. This great decoration, comprising more than 200 figures Is executed with wax to resist the sometimes humid climate of Ottawa.

A strictly Canadian atmosphere reigns in the smoking room, the walls of which art made of birch bark with cedtr frames and trimmings. The furniture Is upholstered with calf skin. It was In those marvellous surroundings that Count Robert de Damplert and his charming wife entertained to inauguratt tht new "House of France In Canada." W. Ford. a big fire In a city warehouse.

The date and number and amount can be traced on the cinder, and the bank paid. The oldest banknote known to be In existence may be seen by privileged persons at the Bank of England in a glazed frame. It is for 555 and bears the date "19th Xber, Banknotes at that period were printed from engraved plates with blanks for the amount, date, number and signature. In texture and appearance they were similar to the present day 5 note, and tht watermark can be distinctly seen.i Many curiosities are to be seen in the Bank of England library. One, a note for 125, had lain hidden for 111 years before it was discovered between the pages of an old ledger, and was presented and duly paid, It Is stated that only four notes of the valut of 1,000,000 each have been issued by tht Bank of England.

One of these, dated 1 2. forms part of the library collection. Two of the others were held respectively by Meisri. Rothschilds and Messrs. Coutts and whllt the fourth was the property of Samuel Rogers, the 18th century poet.

A unique curiosity is the 1.000 note paid by Lord Cochrane as a fine Imposed upon him In connection with the part he played in artificially raising the price of public funds. On the back of the note appears the following: "My health having suffered by long and close confinement, and my oppressors having resolved to deprive me of property or life. I submit to robbery to protect myself from Murder, In the hope that I shall live to bring the delinquent! to Justice. COCHRANE. Grated Chamber, 3 July, 1813 King's Bench Prison.

A 5 note In the bank archives hat tht following endorsement: "If this note gels Into the hands of John Dear, of Longhlll, near Carlisle, his brother Andrew is a prisoner In Algiers." The component parts of a banknote are the paper, the watermark, the Ink. the engraving, the printing and the signature. The watermark it to much an Integral pari of the note that it was specially protee'ed by Act of Parliament In 17G1. Any attempt 'o imitate the watermark, sayt the Act, Is to be punched with death. The Act still remains on the Statute Book, but the sentence is now penal servitude.

All Bank of England notes are printed in the bank, where a number of machines are constantly at work. The notes are printed In pairs and art of varying values up to 11,000 and the average value nf the stock at the bank Is from seventy to eighty million pounds. (Copyright, 1939).