9 December 1829
Listen to David MacKenzie perform The Welland Canal Celebration Song
Loud let the thund’ring cannons roar ;
The R. H. Boughton nears our shore :
Sound the trumpets—rattle all the drums—
The Briton’s Ann and Jane, rejoicing comes :
They come from the blue wave of Ontario fair,
With canvass beaming bright, and streamers waving rare !
See ! the vessels climb the mountain side ;
Anon, they dash into the Welland’s tide ;
Ontario’s daughters spin Niagara’s wave ;
Ontario’s daughters in Lake Erie lave.
Send aloft the glowing strains of Handel[i] ;
Roar away the guns of Captain Randall[ii] :
Tell the world there’s Merritt in that work,
By which our pots and pearls, our beef and pork,
Shall find a ready sale at Montreal—
[i] Was Handel’s “Water Music” actually played at Buffalo’s harbour as the Ann & Jane and the R. H. Boughton approached?
[ii] Upon arrival in Buffalo harbor, the two vessels were honoured with discharges of artillery from the Terrace.
First published in the Buffalo Republican, 12 December 1829, 3
Published in Spirit of the Big Ditch: The Story of the Welland Canals in Pictures, Poems and Songs. Compiled, edited and annotated by Robert Ratcliffe Taylor. St. Catharines: The Historical Society of St. Catharines, 2024
David MacKenzie:
actor, musician, playwright
author of “Don’t Tell ‘Em You’re Irish”, a play about the workers on the first Welland Canal
portrayed the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt from 1979 to 2004
The Historical Society of St. Catharines 