Contents—Parliament—Simcoe’s Proclamation—Nineteen counties formed—Names, and boundaries—First elections—Names of members—Officers of the House—A Quaker member—Chaplain—Meeting of Parliament—The Throne, a camp stool—Address—To both houses—Closing address—Acts passed—Simcoe’s confidential letters—A contrast—A blending—2nd Session The Acts—Quarter Sessions—3rd, 4th, 5th Sessions—New division of Province—1798—Modes of punishment—Burning the hand—Whipping—Salaries of officers—Revenue first year—The members of Parliament—Education—Offering for Parliament—A “Junius”—Early administration of justice—“Heaven-born lawyers”—First magistrates.
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.
Upon the 16th July, 1792, Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe issued a proclamation in the name of the King, having for its object the organization of a Legislative Assembly composed of persons, to be elected by the people, of which there should be sixteen, and dividing the province into counties. It was as follows:
“Know ye, that our trusty and well-beloved John Graves Simcoe, Esquire, our Lieutenant-Governor of our Province of Upper Canada, hath, and by this our proclamation doth, divide the said Province of Upper Canada into counties, and hath and doth appoint and declare the number of representatives of them, and each of them, to be as hereinafter limited, named, declared, and appointed,” &c.
Nineteen counties were formed, namely: “Glengary, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville, Leeds, Frontenac, Ontario, Addington, Lenox, Prince Edward, Hastings, Northumberland, Durham, York, Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent.”
For the purpose of representation in Parliament, the following arrangements were made: Glengary was divided into two ridings, each riding to send a representative to the Legislative Assembly; Stormont, to send one member; likewise Dundas and Grenville each to have a representative; Leeds and Frontenac together, to send one representative; Ontario and Addington to send one representative; Prince Edward, together with the late township of Adolphus, in the County of Lenox, to send one member; Lenox (except Adolphustown) with the Counties of Hastings and Northumberland, to elect one member; Durham and York, and the first riding of Lincoln, to be represented by one member; the second riding of Lincoln to have one member; the third riding of Lincoln to have one member; the fourth riding of Lincoln, and the County of Norfolk, to have one member; Suffolk and Essex to have one member; the County of Kent, which included all the west not Indian territories, to the Hudson’s Bay, to have two members. The proclamation was dated Government House, Kingston, 16th July, 1792, William Jarvis, Secretary.
The elections must have followed hard after the issuing of the proclamation, as Parliament met on the 17th of September following. They probably took place in August. Simcoe writing in November, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, speaks of the elections in these words:—“On my passage from Montreal to Kingston, I understood that the general spirit of the country was against the election of half-pay officers into the Assembly, and that the prejudice ran in favour of men of a low order, who kept but one table, that is, who dined in common with their servants.”
The names of those first elected to Parliament were John McDonnell, who was elected Speaker; Joshua Booth; Mr. Baby; Alexander Campbell; Philip Dorland, (but being a Quaker, he would not be sworn and did not take his seat, and Peter VanAlstine was elected in his place); Jeremiah French; Ephraim Jones; William Mocomb; Hugh McDonnell; Benjamin Pawling; Nathaniel Pettit; David William Smith; Hazleton Spencer; Isaac Swazy; —— Young; John White—16. Simcoe, in a despatch, spoke of the last mentioned:—“It was by good fortune that the temporary residence I made at Kingston created sufficient influence to enable us to bring the Attorney General White, into the House.
The oaths to the members were administered by the Governor’s Civil Secretary, William Jarvis, Esq., who was also the first registrar of the Province. McDonnell, the member for Glengary, was unanimously elected to the speakers chair. Angus McDonnell was clerk to the Assembly; George Law, Sergeant-at-arms. In the matter of Philip Dorland, of Adolphustown, a Quaker, who refused to take the oaths, a resolution was unanimously passed by the House, that he was incompetent to sit and vote in Parliament unless he took the necessary oath, and consequently a writ was issued for a new election.
A chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Addison, was elected to the House of Assembly, and he, on the day of prorogation, preached a sermon to them before they were summoned to meet the Governor in the Legislative Council Chambers. Mr. Addison continued a chaplain for thirty years, and was then granted a yearly pension of £50.