Sheriff Gray, one of the managers, had probably chosen his friend Mesplet for the job, as he did for many of the printing jobs assigned by the sheriff's office. When Mesplet was forced to sell his belongings to pay his debts in 1785, it was Gray who bought his printing press and lent it back to him until the printer's death. According to J. Douglas Borthwick, the prison was built but was destroyed by fire in 1803. Other historians are not so sure, and maintain that it was the old prison which went up in flames in 1803. The Quebec Gazette carries no news of the building, and the Montreal Gazette did not begin publishing until 1785.
More research is needed to clarify the mystery.
The exhibition is located in the main exhibition room at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa and is open until January 7, 2000. Admission is free. From Darkness to Light. History of the eight prisons which have been, or are now, in Montreal, from A.D. 1760 to A.D. 1907. A Bibliography of Canadian Imprints, 1751-1800 .