From the archives: McGill had a rocky start

This story was first published on June 25, 2006, in the Montreal Gazette.The opening of McGill College took place yesterday, when the Lord Bishop of Quebec … desired the Secretary of the Institution, Dr. Mills, to read His Majesty’s Charter granted in 1821.
The Gazette, June 25, 1829
The movers and shakers struggling to get McGill University off the ground were putting a brave face on things. But there was no disguising the air of makeshift that hung about the official opening in 18