whose domed ceiling shelters a gallery of portraits representing kings and their consorts, war heroes and judges. The magnificent picture above the dais is said to be the joint work of Sir Joshua Reynolds and his pupil, Allen Ramsay. The painting of Chief Justice Strange is by Benjamin West. A modern portrait of Edward VII is in painful contrast. The kindly, clever face of Judge Thomas C. Haliburton companions a painting of Sir Brenton Halliburton who was in no way related to the creator of Sam Slick, and who is remembered principally for his Tory hatred of Joe Howe. His son John challenged the latter to a duel in his father's defence.
In the Assembly Room at the opposite end of the hall from the Council Chamber there are portraits of Howe and his rival, Johnston, whose silent presentments are hung in peaceful proximity. The Library, a rare old room facing out toward Hollis Street, was formerly the seat of the Provincial Supreme Court. Here Howe, greatest of Haligonians, stood his memorable trial for libel. In the same balconied room Richard Uniacke and his seconds, Stephen De Blois and Edward McSweeney, were tried and acquitted in July, 1819, following a bitter duel in which Uniacke's opponent, William Bowie, was killed. According to the archives of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, this was the first important crime tried in the new Province Building.
