1802. A considerable outlay of money appears to have been made on the streets of the town about this time. The commissioners appointed for this purpose were Charles Morris, J. G. Pyke, Lawrence Hartshorne, Michael Wallace and William Lyons. The expenditure this year on the streets amounted to £930, and in the two succeeding years to £696 and £808. The sum of £500 had been granted in 1801 towards the expense of paving some of the streets; the remainder probably was raised by assessment.
The names of the town magistrates in 1802, were John Newton, Custos, Jonathan Binney, Geo. W. Sherlock, J. G. Pyke, Dr. Michael Head, W. Taylor, Stephen H. Binney, Jas. Gautier, Wm. Cochran, Charles Morris, Junior, Daniel Wood, William Thompson, Michael Wallace, Charles Hill, Richard Kidston, P. Marchington, Jonathan Tremain, James Clarke, William Schwartz, Hibbert N. Binney and John Bremner. These are the Magistrates for the County of Halifax. They all appear to have been residents in the town. Lewis M. Wilkins was Sheriff; John Newton and H. N. Binney were joint Collectors of the Customs; Daniel Wood, Inspector; John Cleveland, Collector of light duties; and John H. Fliegar, Gauger. The Firewards of the town were Mr. Pyke, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Hill, Mr. Cleveland, Mr. Clarke, William Millet, Elias Marshall, Thomas Fillis, Andrew Liddell, John Fillis, Wm. Lyons, Thomas Boggs, John Howe and Garret Miller.
The Royal Nova Scotia Regiment on being disbanded this year, presented an address to Sir John Wentworth, their Colonel, in August. The names of the officers of this Regiment were Lt. Cols. Francis Kearney and Samuel V. Bayard,[62] Major Geo. Thesiger, Capts. John Solomon, Jones Fawson, Alexander Howe,[63] John Allen, William Cox and Joshua W. Weeks, Capt. Lieutenant John G. Degreben; Lieutenants Thomas Morris, Otto W. Schwartz, Phillip Kearney, Eric Sutherland, George H. Monk, Michael Pernette, Charles Rudolf, John C. Ritchie, John Emerson, Timothy Ruggles, Richard Green, Isaac Glennie, Hebbert Newton, Thomas A. C. Winslow, Alexander Hamilton, Charles W. Solomon and John Fraser; Ensigns James Moore, Robert Bayard, Henry Green, Thomas Wright, Richard Gibbons; Paymaster Benning Wentworth, Surgeon John Fraser.
Governor Wentworth directed his reply to this address from "the Lodge."
The population of Halifax had again decreased towards the end of the year 1802. The returns of the number of inhabitants in the town and on the peninsula were as follows:—
| Men. | Women. | Boys. | Girls. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whites | 1924 | 2489 | 1790 | 1669 | 7872 |
| Blacks | 96 | 166 | 81 | 108 | 451 |
| In Naval Yard | 25 | 36 | 27 | 27 | 115 |
| Dutch Village | 15 | 16 | 30 | 33 | 94 |
| Total | 8532 |
There were 1000 dwelling houses in the town and peninsula. In taking the census, the wards of the town were distinguished as follows: North Barracks Ward, Pontac Ward, Market House Ward, Governor's Ward, Meeting House Ward, South Barracks Ward, South Suburbs and North Suburbs.
The sum of £8,900 had been expended by the Commissioners on the building of Government House, and but the first story had been completed. Much dissatisfaction was expressed in the House of Assembly with the course pursued by the Commissioners. Belcher, Hutchinson, Cochran and Beckwith had kept no minutes of their proceedings. Wallace appears to have had the principal supervision. He was censured by the House for having acted without the concurrence of those associated with him, and for exceeding the limits prescribed him by law. But his zeal and ability were commended and no corrupt motives were attributed to him. In 1804 an additional sum of £2,500 was voted to complete the building, a considerable sum having been voted and expended the previous year.[64]
Several fires occurred in June which were supposed to be the work of incendiaries. It had been proved beyond all doubt that buildings in several parts of the town had been set on fire. A patrol of militia under Colonel Pyke was ordered to patrol the streets from sunset to sunrise, and all suspected persons who could not give a good account of themselves at night were ordered to be arrested. A reward of £100 was offered for discovery, and several arrests were made. A boy who confessed to having attempted to set fire to the Dockyard was sent out of the province.
On the 2nd September the 97th regiment arrived in the harbor and landed immediately at the King's Wharf. On the 14th the fleet arrived from Jamaica under the command of Commodore Baynton, consisting of the Cumberland, 74, Bellerophon, 74, Ganges, 74, Vanguard, 74, Goliah, 74, Thesis, 74, Elephant, 74 and the Pelican, Brig. The 7th regiment embarked shortly after, and the town people presented a farewell address to Col. Layard and Lieut.-Col. Edwards. In April the Governor and Council were prevailed on to grant a press warrant to Capt. Bradley of the Cambrian for ten days in the town to enable him to fill up the number of his crew, it being 50 short of its complement.