There had been no theatrical performances worthy of mention in the town since the Duke of Kent's old theatre in Argyle Street had been appropriated to the school under Mr. Bromley. In the autumn of this year a company of players, Messrs. Price, Chamock, Placide, etc., fitted up an old store on Fairbank's wharf as a theatre. Placide, Price and Mrs. Young were considered good performers and attracted large audiences. At the close of their career the manager got into jail for debt, when Placide, the best comic actor of the company, distinguished himself by escaping from prison and passing the sentry at the jail gate in the night, who supposed it was a Newfoundland dog, Mr. Placide being famous for imitating the bark and whine of the canine species. 1817. The winter of 1816-17 was much more severe than that of the preceding year. The south-east passage was closed with ice all winter, and the ice remained until late in April. Great distress prevailed in the town as usual among the laboring classes during this winter, which was also the case throughout the whole Province. The sum of £600 was contributed this winter by the inhabitants of Halifax for the support of destitute emigrants who had been brought up from Newfoundland. An attempt was made by the Legislature in their session of 1817 to relieve the pressing necessities of the county by an Act authorizing the Governor and Council to procure copper coin to the value of £2,000 to be issued from the provincial treasury. The Act was disallowed by the Colonial Secretary in England. No good reason appears to have been assigned for its rejection. The circulating medium at this time in the town and throughout the country was Spanish doubloons, old Spanish dollars, pistareens and other small Spanish coins, with a mixed collection of copper coinage, English and Spanish, with all kinds of half-penny tokens issued by private individuals in the town. No British coinage ever reached Halifax except the old English Guinea. The troops were paid in old Spanish money, which was brought from South America and the West Indies by the merchants in exchange for their cargoes of fish with occasional importations of Spanish silver by the British Government for the troops, etc. An issue of paper money was at this time made under an Act of the province. It was in the year 1817 that the project was first broached for the establishment and erection of a college on the Grand Parade.