This first Upper Canadian Parliament assembled at Newark, now Niagara, on the 18th September, and was prorogued 15th October following. The circumstances of this infant legislation were well fitting the new-born colony. The Governor himself was a soldier by profession. Most of the members elect had been inured to the life of the camp, though subsequently to the settling of the wilderness, and they could, with no ordinary interest, and with appropriate intelligence, direct themselves to the work of legislation. The first Parliament of Upper Canada met in no stately hall; the proceedings must have borne some resemblance to a court-martial. The collective wisdom of Upper Canada assembled in a camp-tent on the plains of Niagara. On the 18th September, the Governor, with his Secretary, and probably adjutant, took his seat, not upon the throne, but a campstool, and delivered the following address:

Honorable Gentlemen, &c.—​I have summoned you together under the authority of an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, passed last year, which has established the British constitution, and all the forms which secure and maintain it in this distant country.

“The wisdom and beneficence of our most Gracious Sovereign and the British Parliament, have been eminently proved, not only in importing to us the same for government, but also in securing the benefit, by the many provisions that guard this memorable act. So that the blessing of your invaluable constitution, thus protected and amplified, we may hope will be extended to the remotest posterity. The great and momentous trusts and duties which have been committed to the representatives of this Province, in a degree infinitely beyond whatever, till this period, distinguished any other colony, have originated from the British nation, upon a just consideration of the energy and hazard with which its inhabitants have so conspicuously supported and defended the British constitution.

“It is from the same patriotism, now called upon to exercise with due deliberation and foresight, the offices of civil administration that your fellow-subjects, of the British Empire, expect the foundation of that mien of industry, and wealth of commerce and power, which may last through all succeeding ages.

“The natural advantages of the Province of Upper Canada are inferior to none on this side of the Atlantic; there can be no separate interest through its whole extent. The British form of government has prepared the way for its speedy colonization; and, I trust, that your fostering care will improve the favourable situation; and that a numerous and agricultural people will speedily take possession of the soil and climate, which, under the British laws, and the munificence with which His Majesty has granted the lands of the Crown, offer such manifest and peculiar encouragement.”

The session was closed the 15th October. The Governor delivered the closing speech.

“Honorable Gentleman, &c.—​It is with very great satisfaction that I have considered the acts which you have found it expedient to frame, and to which, in consequence of the power delegated to me, I have this day given my assent, that they shall become laws of the Province of Upper Canada.

“As the division which His Majesty, in his wisdom, thought proper to make of the late Province of Quebec, obviated all inconveniences, and laid the foundation for an establishment of the English laws in the Province, it is natural to presume, that you would seize the first opportunity to impart that benefit to your fellow-subjects; and by the act to establish trials by jury, and by that which makes the English law the rule of decision, in all matters of controversy, relative to property and civil rights, you have fully justified the public expectation. Your other acts seem calculated to promote the general welfare and commerce of the Province, &c.

“Honorable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen.—​I cannot dismiss you without earnestly desiring you to promote, by precept and example, among your respective counties, the regular habits of piety and morality, the rarest foundations of all private and public felicity; and, at this juncture, I particularly recommend to you to explain, that this Province is singularly blest, not with a mutilated constitution, but with a constitution which has stood the test of experience, and is the very image and transcript of that of Great Britain, by which she has long established and secured to her subjects, as much freedom and happiness as is possible to be enjoyed, under the subordination necessary to civilized society.”

The modest and matter-of-fact Parliament passed eight Acts at this the first session. Chapter I., An Act to Repeal certain parts of an Act, passed in the fourteenth year of His Majesty’s Reign, entitled, “An Act for making more sufficient provisions for the Government for the Province of Quebec, in North America, and to introduce the English Law as the rule of decision in all matters of controversy relative to Property and Civil Rights.” Chapter II., “An Act to establish Trials by Jury.” Chapter III., “An Act to establish the Winchester Measure, and a Standard for other Weights and Measures.” Chapter IV., “An Act to Abolish the Summary Proceedings of the Court of Common Pleas in actions under Ten Pounds Sterling.” Chapter V., “An Act to prevent Accidents by Fire.” Chapter VI., “An Act for the more easy and speedy Recovery of Small Debts.” Chapter VII., “An Act to Regulate the Toll to be taken in Mills, not more than one-twelfth for Grinding and Bolting.” Chapter VIII., “An Act for Building a Gaol and Court-house in every District within the Province, and for altering the names of the said Districts. The District of Lunenburgh to be henceforth called the Eastern District; Mecklenburgh, the Midland District; Nassau, the Home District; Hesse, the Western District.”