"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Monday 1 September 2014

If the deed is done

I have heard of documentation of an agreement with Queen Victoria when that corner of Mosley Park was made available for the Aurora Armouries.

Everything I know leads me to believe such an agreement exists.

I have asked if there was a record of transfer on the land title. I was told there was.

Then a report noted an appraisal of the land was done without a title search.

The agreement with the Feds apparently states the property can never be used for anything except storage of military equipment. The document is apparently in the historical collection.

It means the Armouries cannot be sold into private hands.

If  no transfer of land on title exists, it means the federal government has nothing to sell.

I can talk until I'm blue in the face about these pesky details. Nobody needs to pay a damn bit of attention. They can proceed to do what they intend to do as if I have never spoken.

Unless I tell you what is going on.

If you know about it that's a different story.

We can hand over a bundle to the Feds, take possession of an old shed that has occupied the town
Park for a hundred years.

So that we can hand it over to a group to make them happy before the polls open for the election even while stating we have no use for it.

Once the deed is done, it won't likely be undone.

Once again the community's interest will have been ill-served.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

A transfer such as that would require legal representation for any and all groups involved. Council cannot act unilaterally. Nor can such a process be done swiftly.

David Heard said...

You are correct about documentation regarding use.My understanding is the stipulation was for military training

Anonymous said...

From Instrument 515, between Corporation of the Village of Aurora and Queen Victoria, made 14 September 1874 and registered 15 September 1874, "“To Have and to Hold unto Her Majesty and her successors for the purpose of being used as a place of drill by Her Majesty’s Militia and for such other military purposes as Her Majesty and Her successors may see fit.”

Anonymous said...

The land transfer by John Mosley is most important.

Anonymous said...

The town's legal dept. seems solid but this might require that they have outside assistance dealing with a possible transfer.
[ I can't believe I just suggested getting an external legal opinion ! ]

Anonymous said...

@13:57
In history and law, it ALL is important

John B said...

Most has many contexts 15:19.

Anonymous said...

16:36
& interpretations.

Anonymous said...

I am just guessing here because I do not know what kind of alliances have been created over the term. but I would suspect that both Cllr Thompson and Cllr Gallo will want to see an impressive amount of paperwork about the feasibility of this concept. I also expect Cllr Buck to take her time studying any paperwork from the legal gurus.

Anonymous said...

We had been members of Timberlane for years and were in favour of the bubble. This is a huge costly step for the town and tennis players.

Anonymous said...

How about this for an idea? Ditch the Lawyers, consultants and heritage enthusiasts...Tell the Rangers to move it, get rid of it or whatever the hell they want to do, then have them give us the parcel of land since they're getting a deal of lifetime in the lease of the Hydro building and then turn it into a parking lot. We can't afford anything else!!

Anonymous said...

ok - Does anyone else recall the rush to lock in the Heritage Park plan because one or more of those buildings " might " be sold ? Brookfield is not shutting Timberlane any time soon.

Anonymous said...

19:59- Yeah, I remembered that one. Anyone in real-estate will tell you that nothing is sold until the closing date and all funds have been transferred over.

Anonymous said...


How did we get from Queen Victoria to Timberlane and tennis?

Anonymous said...

Today in Canadian Tennis we had two winenrs .One was Rosnic ;: the other Junior who played her heart
out

Anonymous said...


Following the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, who was less than 5' tall, entered into a lifelong relationship with John Brown, a Scot, who was her constant companion and bodyguard.

There are rumours that the two were secretly married and that the queen gave birth to up to three children, sired by Brown.

Whatever documents might have existed in connection with this liaison were all ordered destroyed by other members of the royal family.

So all that remains of the queen who ruled an empire, as mother, is conjecture.

Anonymous said...

We need to get a Royal Commission created and let's find this "Queen Victoria" chick and ask her what she was thinking.

Anonymous said...

20:55
Wasn't that little Junior great ? Right after she won her match in the first round, she was back on court playing doubles. Amazing on such a humid,ugly, N.Y day.

Anonymous said...

However, people connected to John Mosley still live here.

Anonymous said...

Going back to Labour Day 13:57's comment about the importance of John Mosley's transfer of the Town Park lands to the Town (actually, village) . . .

Instrument 4702, made and registered in November of 1867, covers this sale. It is a straightforward fill-in-the-blanks printed legal form, with dates, names, and the property description filled in by hand. There are no restrictions about how the land will be used or even any comment. The corporation paid $1,000 for the land, something of a bargain at the time but certainly not a gift.

The description does mention the town hall and market block -- the future site of the drill shed -- but only because the plan of subdivision did not give that corner any lot numbers. (You can see Plan 68 on page 10 of John McIntyre's "Aurora: a history in pictures.")

John Mosley may well have hoped that the town hall, etc., would be built there, but it is not stated in the instrument. Nor are there any attachments.

Anonymous said...

@13:36
We have to let all the lawyers sort it out - as usual. But representatives from all parties are going to have to be involved. The current Council might be able to make a suggestion to the next about a use for the property but there is not sufficient time to placate all those who might have an interest.