Contents—Kingston—First capital—First act of government—Niagara—Selecting the capital—Niagara in 1788—Carrying Place—Landing Place—Newark—In 1795—Mr. Hamilton—The inhabitants—Little York—The Don—The Harbor—Survey—De la Trenche—London—Inhabitants of the Don—Yonge Street, a military road—Governor at York—Castle Frank—York in 1798—The Baldwins—In 1806—Buffalo—York, 1813—Taken by the Americans—The Combatants—Toronto—“Muddy York”—A monument required.
The site of the old Fort Frontenac, the first township to be surveyed, and the place whereon to form the first village in Western Canada, was in reality the first capital of Upper Canada. Here the first Governor was inducted solemnly upon a Sabbath to his office; here he formed his first cabinet, the Executive Council; here he selected the gentlemen to form his first Legislative Council; here he issued his proclamations forming the province into counties and arranging the representation. Although the first Parliament did not meet here, the first acts of government were here performed, and public documents were dated at “the Government House, Kingston, 1792.”
We have elsewhere spoken of Niagara River and the early French Fort here erected, and its capture by the English. We have learned that the place was garrisoned by troops during the rebellion, and that many refugees here found a safe retreat.
Lord Dorchester desired Simcoe to make Kingston the capital of the new province. But he was unwilling to do so until he had informed himself of the advantages which other places might offer. It seems that he became impressed with the belief that the seat of government should be placed in the peninsula of Upper Canada, and finally determined to fix it at the mouth of the River Niagara, notwithstanding the recommendation of Dorchester, the wishes of Bouchette, the Commodore of the Navy, and the urgent requests of the Kingston merchants.
Collins in his report 1788, speaks of Navy Hall, near Niagara; that the buildings of Navy Hall, are for the most part in exceeding bad repair, and the wharf is in ruins. Of the Ranger’s Barracks one pile has been so far dismantled as to be past re-establishing, one end indeed, might perhaps, with some fitting up, be made to serve for some time as a blacksmith’s shop to the Indian Department, which they say is much wanted; the other pile is capable of being repaired, and might also answer for a temporary accommodation, (at least in part) this same department, their storehouses, &c., on the Niagara side as already observed being in absolute ruin and not repairable; the fitting up of this pile of buildings would cost about £35. The storehouse at the landing place, which is of round log work, is mostly rotten, and altogether in exceeding bad repair, and should be rebuilt; the dwelling house is much out of repair. The ways, wharf, cradle, and capstan, want some repair, which may be done for about £20, all the picketing and small platforms in the angles of Fort Schlosser, are rotten and in a tottering state, part of the wharf has been washed away, and the remainder cannot last long. The barracks and store houses are not in much better condition, they have been kept standing by the temporary repairs which have been annually performed, merely to keep the weather out.
“From Niagara to the landing place, below the Falls, is about seven miles and a quarter, there is a tolerable good road, but the merchandise, store, &c., are carried up the river in batteaux or vessels, there being sufficient depth of water all the way up, and also alongside the wharf to unload, beyond this place the current becomes too strong to proceed any further by water without great difficulty, boats, indeed, but not vessels, go about half a mile higher, but no advantage can be obtained from it as the shore then becomes impracticable, being a precipice of loose rock about three times as high as where the present landing is. From the wharf at the landing, goods are drawn up the side of the bank about fifty feet high upon ways, on easy slope by a capstan fixed at the top; from this place there is a waggon road of seven miles to Fort Schlosser, a mile and a half above the Falls, where the goods are again put into boats and carried up eighteen miles to Fort Erie, from whence they are conveyed in vessels across Lake Erie to Detroit.
“I think a better situation for a landing place might be chosen below the present one, about half a mile distant by land, and three-quarters by water. The bank of the river here is not half the height of the other; the water is sufficiently deep at a short distance from the shore for vessels to unload; and by raising a wharf and lowering some of the bank for a road, the labor and delay of hauling goods up by ways, as is the present practice, and would be avoided; it would also be much more convenient and expeditious for vessels to come up to, as the worst part of the navigation would be avoided, which in passing round a point between this place and the landing. The length of road to be made from this proposed landing place, will be about half a mile, but it is mostly good ground and will not require much expense. The real length of land carriage, however, to Fort Schlosser, will not be increased, or at most more than 100 or 150 yards.”
The original British fort at Niagara was upon the east side of the mouth of the Niagara River, upon the present site of the American Fort. By a treaty entered into in 1794, Great Britain was to vacate this fort, with others situated to the south of the lakes, namely, Oswego, Detroit, Miami, and Michilmacinac, which was done in 1796. Upon the west side of the river, upon a point known as Mississauga Point, had sprung up a small village. This, it is said, was the largest collection of houses after Kingston when Governor Simcoe arrived, and here he decided to make his residence, and the permanent capital of the new province. He lived “in a small frame house, half a mile from the village.” To this place he gave the name of Newark. There was up the river, at the end of navigation, and at the commencement of the portage around the falls to Lake Erie, a small village which had arisen from the course of travel upwards to the western lakes. The boats which left Kingston, on their way westward, were here unloaded. And this place had taken the name of Queen’s Town, a name which it retains to the present day. Rochefoucault says, in 1795, “The different buildings, constructed three years ago, consist of a tolerable inn, two or three good storehouses, some small horses, a blockhouse of stone, covered with iron, and barracks. Mr. Hamilton, an opulent merchant, who is concerned in the whole inland trade in this part of America, possesses in Queen’s Town, a very fine house, built in the English style; he has also a farm, a distillery, and a tan-yard. The portage was formerly on the other side of the river; but as this, by virtue of the treaty, falls under American Dominion, government has removed it hither.” The same writer, speaking of Newark says, “About a hundred houses, mostly very fine structures, have already been erected, but the progress of building will probably be arrested by the intended removal of the seat of government. The majority of the inhabitants, especially the richest of them, share in the administration; and consequently will remove to whatever place the government may be transferred. In point of size and elegance, the house of Colonel Smith, of the 5th Regiment, is much distinguished from the rest, being constructed, embellished, and painted in the best style.”
York.—Governor Simcoe was thoroughly English; unlike Governor Maitland, who gave foreign names in his time, he was intent upon erecting another England in America. One new England had alienated itself, and he determined another should arise in its place, and hence he gave to his new capital the name of York. The present New York had been named York, after James Duke of York, brother to Charles the II. The term new being prefixed to distinguish it from old York of England. To distinguish the new capital of Canada from both of the others he designated it Little York.
As soon as Simcoe learned that the Niagara fort was to be delivered to the United States, he saw the necessity of removing the capital, as it would never do to have it under the guns of a foreign government. The extreme dislike with which he saw the fort pass into the Republic’s hands no doubt led to the haste with which he set about the removal of the Seat of Government. After examining several points upon the upper lakes, and Lake Ontario, he selected the present site of the City of Toronto, back of which was a fort of the same name, or rather Taranto. Upon this spot, which then had for inhabitants but two families of Mississauga Indians, Governor Simcoe immediately quartered one division of his old regiment, the Queen’s Rangers, which came the 1st July, 1793. The same summer Bouchette, of the Royal Navy, surveyed the harbour or bay.
The harbour of Toronto was first examined, by Deputy Surveyor Collins, in 1788, when he made a survey of all of the waters of the Upper Lakes, and the several forts, by instructions from Lord Dorchester. In his report he says, “The breadth at the entrance is about half a mile, but the navigable channel for vessels is only about 500 yards, having from three to four fathoms water, the north of the main shore the whole length of the harbour, is a clay bank from 12 to 20 feet high, and rising gradually behind, apparently good land and fit for settlements. The water is rather shallow near the shore. The shoalness of the north shore as before remarked, is also disadvantageous as to creating wharfs, quays, &c. In regard to this place as a military post, I do not see any striking features to recommend it in that view, but the best situation to occupy for the purpose of protecting the settlement and harbour would, I conceive, be on the point A, near the entrance thereof.”
Subsequently however, Simcoe relinquished the intention of making York the Capital, and determined to erect one at a central point in the peninsula lying between Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron. He selected a site upon the river De la Trenche, which he named the Thames, and, to the intended Capital he gave the name of London. He also gave the name to the town of Chatham, a place intended by him, in carrying out his plan of forming a navy, for a navy yard, which he intended to have communicate with a route between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. In the mean time he kept troops to work, to cut a military road to the Thames, which he called Dundas Street after the Home Minister. At the same time he “intended York the centre of the naval force on Lake Ontario.” In 1795 there had not been more than twelve houses built in York, which stood on the bay near the Don. This year the land was surveyed into lots. “The inhabitants” says Rochefoucault do not possess the fairest character, to which Gourlay adds, in spite, “Nor have they yet mended it.” The River Don was an old Indian route to the waters of Simcoe Lake and the Huron. The portage to a Lake, subsequently named after the Governor, was thirty miles. The barracks, where Simcoe’s regiment was stationed, was two miles from the Don, the present site of the old barracks. At that time, in a circumference of 150 miles, the Mississauga Indians were the only neighbours of York.
The desire of Simcoe to fix the capital at London was overruled by Lord Dorchester, who, although a true friend of Canada, seemed to oppose Simcoe. Having decided upon Toronto as the capital, Simcoe proceeded to have constructed a military road from the waters of Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe. This road is now Yonge Street. From 1794 the Governor resided at York, part of which time was in his camp tent, until his departure.
Governor Simcoe caused to be built at York, upon the Don River, about three miles up, on a beautiful eminence, a somewhat large frame building, which he named after his son, Castle Frank. This building was standing in 1829.
By the kind favor of Mrs. Murney, relict of the late Hon. E. Murney, of Belleville, and her most estimable parent, Mrs. Breckenridge, sister of the late Hon. Robert Baldwin, we are able to give some particular notice of the appearance of York at a later date. Mrs. Breckenridge’s father, with his family of three sons and four daughters, arrived from Ireland after innumerable delays and losses, dangers, and escapes by sea and land, at York in 1798. They found it composed of about a dozen houses, “a dreary dismal place, not even possessing the characteristics of a village. There was no church, school-house, nor in fact any of the ordinary signs of civilization, being in fact a mere settlement. There was not even a Methodist chapel, nor does she remember more than one shop. There was no inn; and those travelers who had no friends to go to, pitched a tent and lived in that so long as they remained. My grandfather and his family had done so during their journey. The Government House and the garrison lay about a mile from York, with a thick wood between. After remaining a few days at York, the family proceeded to take possession of a farm in the township of Clarke. They traveled in an open batteau, when night came pitching their tent on the shore of the lake.” The following year Mrs. Breckenridge, then a young girl, accompanied her father and sister to New York, whither the latter was going to be married to Mr. Morgan, grandfather of Gen. Dix, the United States Minister to France. She returned in 1806, and found many changes and improvements—“where cities now stand, there was then only woods,” for instance, at Buffalo, where she passed a night, was a solitary inn with a swinging sign. But York was mostly changed, there was a church, a jail, a light-house building, and many nice houses, and the woods between the garrison and town were fast disappearing. Governor Gore was then there.
On the 27th April, 1813, 2,700 Americans landed a little west of Toronto. Two companies of the 8th, or King’s Own, with some Indians, one company being the grenadiers, the other being the 3rd company, under Capt. J. H. Eustace, both being led by Capt. McNeale, were sent to oppose the landing. The portable magazine of the advance battery was accidentally blown up killing some twenty of the grenadiers, Capt. McNeale, was also killed. This accident led to Sir R. H. Sheaffe’s retreat, and the destruction of the magazines. The total loss was 97, including two officers and four non-commissioned officers. “The force engaged, including the two companies of the 8th, consisted of one company of Newfoundland Fencibles, one company of Glengarry Light Infantry, a detachment of Royal Artillery, Militia, Volunteers, and Indians—in all about 600 men. Among the volunteers was the present highly esteemed Chief Justice of Upper Canada, Sir J. B. Robinson, and Sir Allan McNab.” The gallantry of these two gentlemen was most conspicuous. The unequal contest continued for 4 hours. The month following the remnant of the 8th was nearly annihilated at the attack upon Sackett’s Harbour. The above facts and eulogium upon two distinguished Canadians are derived from Edward Hincks, who was Lieut., and who was present in charge of a two gun battery, and “Another of the surviving officers of the 8th regiment,” published in London in 1860, upon the discovery of human remains near the old fort at Toronto, which proved to be some of the grenadiers who were killed by the explosion of their magazine.
The name of York continued to belong to the capital till 1834, when it received the more appropriate name of Toronto, an Indian word we are told, which signifies “trees growing out of the water,” referring to the low level shore, with the trees at the waters edge. For many years before the name was changed; from the vast quantity of mud which made the streets almost unpassable, the place obtained the designation of “Muddy York.”
In 1820 a Parliament House was built near the site of the present County Jail, at the front of the present Parliament Street; this building was burned down in 1824.
In 1830 an address was carried by the House, to be presented to the Governor, “to remove the Seat of Government from York to a place of security,” but no action was taken in the matter.
The wisdom in the choice of selecting this situation upon which to found a capital for Upper Canada cannot be questioned. The proof is found in the handsome and richly circumstanced City of Toronto. Should not Toronto, now again the Capital of Ontario, the seat of learning, of magnificent Universities, the home of refinement, the abode of wealth, erect a monument to the memory of its founder, the illustrious first Governor of the Colony?
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.
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.
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.”
Thus was the new-born colony, whose germ had been planted in the wilderness eight years previous, ushered into life, and thus the functions thereof were commenced.
Simcoe, it would seem, wrote frequent despatches to the Colonial Secretary; and in one he gives his opinion of this first meeting of the representative body of Upper Canada: “At this first meeting they were active and zealous for particular measures, according to the promises they had made, or the instructions they had received. Many bills were accordingly framed, which required only a little time to evince their impropriety or futility. Having offices to create and salaries to bestow, they were rather too liberal of their patronage, and pledged their credit to £174 annually to different officers. The Legislative Council made no engagements, but, of course, their expenses must be equal. The sum of £348 was, therefore, the first item.” “Upon the whole, I have no reason to be dissatisfied with the disposition and conduct of the Assembly, considering that it is composed of persons of not any restrictive method, and unacquainted with power. I hope that by treating them with temper and moderation, they may become a beneficial establishment to the Province.” McMullen says, by way of contrast, that “the Upper Canadian Parliament, with its “home-spun” members, took five weeks to do what had taken the Lower Canadian Seigniors seven months to accomplish.”
How great the change wrought by seventy-five years! As the log hut in the wilderness has been superseded by the elegant mansion, handsome villa, with thriving towns and cities, so has the tented capital of Newark been forgotten in surveying the magnificent proportions of the buildings at Ottawa; and the camp stool, and nature’s carpet of green, in the elegant halls. And as the Legislature, whose infant days were passed within the sound of the majestic Niagara, where its waters are precipitated over a stupendous fall, and sweep on to fill a mighty lake, has, after numerous mutations, and many uncertainties, found a safe home upon the rugged cliffs overlooking the Ottawa, where still may be heard the swelling sound of falling waters, as they rush down the Chaudiere; so may the confederated Provinces forming the New Dominion, after many changes, and frequent political uncertainties—hope alternating with fear, not alone meet in formal union,—not as incompatible elements of an unwise and unequal connection, but as one people; even as the waters of the great Ottawa, mighty in itself, meet and unite with the farther coming St. Lawrence, and, commingling, form the grand stream of the Lower Lawrence, upon whose bosom the proudest ships rest, and which is a highway of trade, unsurpassed in the world.
The second session of the parliament of Upper Canada, was opened at Newark, 31st May, 1793; prorogued 9th July, following. At this sessions were passed thirteen bills, most of which were important and useful measures. The first was “for the better regulation of the Militia;” the second, respecting the appointment of town officers; the third, having respect to assessments and rates, and payment of assembly-men; the fourth, about highways; the fifth, concerning marriage; sixth, of courts of Quarter Sessions within the several districts; the seventh, a most important one—an everlasting one of honor, “to prevent the further introduction of slaves,” and to limit the time of servitude of those in slavery; the eighth, respecting courts of Probate; ninth, to establish regulations about duties between Upper and Lower Canada; tenth, for paying salaries of officers of Legislative Council and Assembly; eleventh, to encourage the destruction of wolves and bears; twelfth, returning officers of the several counties; thirteenth, also about officers, and taxing wine and spirituous liquors.
The places fixed for the holding of Quarter Sessions were Cornwall, New Johnson, Kingston, Adolphustown, Newark, and Michilmacinac. For the Midland District, it was enacted that they should “commence and be holden in Adolphustown, on the second Tuesday in the month of July, and on the second Tuesday in the month of January; and in Kingston on the second Tuesday in the month of April, and on the second Tuesday in the month of October.”
The third session of the 1st parliament met at Newark, on the 2nd June, 1794, and prorogued 9th July following. At this session there was a continuation of that wholesome legislation which had characterized the two previous sessions. Twelve acts were passed.
The fourth session was at Newark, commencing 6th July, 1895, when four acts were added. It was prorogued 10th August, following.
A fifth session of first parliament met at Newark, 16th May, 1796, and was prorogued 3rd June following. Seven acts were passed. This was the last meeting of parliament under the governorship of Simcoe.
The second parliament opened at York, 16th May, 1797, under the presidency of the Hon. Peter Russell. It was prorogued 3rd July, following. Eighteen measures passed.
Second session under Hon. P. Russell, met at York, 5th June, 1798, prorogued 5th July. Passed eight bills. Among these bills was one “to ascertain and establish the boundary lines of the different townships of the province.” Stone or other durable monuments to be set up, to mark the corners of lots; and any person wilfully defacing or removing such, to “be adjudged guilty of felony, and to suffer death without the benefit of the clergy.” Another important act, which the growing province demanded, was “for the better division of the province,” into townships, counties and districts. According to this, there were formed eight districts, with twenty-three counties, and one hundred and fifty-eight townships. The districts were the Eastern, Johnson, Midland, Newcastle, Home, Niagara, London, and Western. The Midland district, with which we have more particularly to do, “was composed of four counties, with land in their rear to the northern limits of the province.” The first county was Frontenac. In this we have Kingston, as well as the townships Pittsburgh, Loughborough, Portland, Hinchinbroke, Bedford, and Wolfe Island. The second county, the incorporated counties of Lenox and Addington; consisted of the townships of Ernesttown, Fredericksburgh, Adolphustown, Richmond, Camden, Amherst Island, Sheffield. The third county, Hastings; contained Sydney, Thurlow, Mohawk land, Tyendinaga, Hungerford, Huntingdon, and Rawdon. The fourth, Prince Edward, had Marysburgh, Hallowell, Sophiasburgh, and Ameliasburgh.
The third session met at Newark, 12th June, 1799, and was prorogued 29th of the same month; five acts having been passed.
The fourth session met at York, 2nd June, 1800, prorogued 4th July, under Lieutenant-General Hunter. Six acts were passed, the first of which was “for the further introduction of the criminal law of England, and for the more effectual punishment of certain offenders.” The third clause is as follows: “That whereas the punishment of burning in the hand, when any person is convicted of felony within the benefit of clergy, is often disregarded and ineffectual, and sometimes may fix a lasting mark of disgrace and infamy on offenders, who might otherwise become good subjects and profitable members of the community; be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from, and after the passing of this act, when any person shall be lawfully convicted of any felony, within the benefit of clergy, for which he or she is liable by law to be burned or marked in the hand, it shall, and may be lawful for the court before which any person so convicted, or any court holden for the same place with the like authority, if such court shall think fit, instead of such burning or marking, to impose upon such offender such a moderate pecuniary fine as to the court in its discretion shall seem meet; or otherwise it shall be lawful, instead of such burning or marking, in any of the cases aforesaid, except in the case of manslaughter, to order and judge, that such offender shall be once or oftener, but not more than three times, either publicly or privately whipped; such private whipping to be inflicted in the presence of not less than two persons, besides the offender and the officer who inflicts the same, and in case of female offenders, in the presence of females only; and such fine or whipping so imposed or inflicted, instead of such burning or marking, shall have the like effects and consequences to the party on whom the same, or either shall be imposed or inflicted, with respect to the discharge from the same or other felonies, or any restitution to his or her estates, capacities, and credits, as if he or she had been burned or marked as aforesaid.”
In 1801 the salaries of the officers of the parliament stood thus; per annum.
Clerk of Legislative Council, £145. Usher of the Black Rod, £50. Master in Chancery, attending the Legislative Council, £50. Chaplain of the Legislative Council, £50. Door-keeper of ditto £20. Speaker of the House of Assembly, £200. Clerk of ditto, £125. Sergeant-at-Arms, £50. Chaplain of the House of Assembly, £50. Door-keeper of ditto, £20. Copying Clerks, £50. Total, £805.
The first tax raised by statute in the province, was to pay the members, who received $2 per day.
The revenue of the whole province the first year was £900.
Elsewhere the fact has been stated that many of the settlers were devoid of a liberal education; while the stern duties of pioneer life precluded the possibility of any mental culture whatever. At the same time competent school teachers for the young were not to be had. With a population made up of such material, the question might be asked with becoming seriousness, “Where are we to get our representative men to carry out responsible government as accorded to the young province of Upper Canada?” Many of the first Assembly men were not possessed of book learning, and all along the list of those who have been M.P.P.’s, up to the present, may be found very many who were limited in their education. Yet, the first members convened in the tent, on the green slopes of Niagara, discharged their duty with much decorum and despatch.
It would be an interesting chapter to introduce some account of the first members of Parliament, and the political contests in the early days of Upper Canada. In the absence of complete information, we give such items relating thereto as have come under notice. We have already given the names of those elected to the first Parliament.
Among the early members was James Wilson, of Prince Edward, he was first elected in 1808, or 9, and remained a member for some twenty-four years. Simeon Washburn, was also a member for a time. Allen McLean, in a notice dated Kingston, 18th May, 1812, says “To the independent electors of the County of Frontenac. Having had the honor of representing you at three successive Parliaments, I again make you a tender of my services, and beg leave to solicit your votes and interest at the ensuing election.”
Amos Ansley, Esq., says, in an address, dated at Kingston, May 20, 1812: “To the Electors of the County of Frontenac. Having had the honor to represent this County in the first foundation of its happy constitution, I again make you a tender of my services, and beg leave to solicit your votes and interest, &c.” James Cotter, of Sophiasburg, was elected to Parliament in 1813, and served four years.
A man of sterling integrity, and good common sense may make a useful Member, if he be not egotistical. In recording the early events of the Bay, we must not hesitate to mention an incident which, at the time, created no little comment with the public, but brought chagrin to an M. P. P. A member, who shall be nameless, whose early advantages for education had been extremely limited, but with any amount of self-confidence, was, on one occasion, sarcastically, but humorously, brought to task in the Kingston Herald, by an anonymous writer. The member replied, and in so doing, “copied verbatim, nearly the whole of the first part of Sir William Draper’s letter to Junius, dated Jan. 26, 1769, in defence of his friend Lord Granby, over his own signature. Macaulay, a young lawyer of Bath, noticed the plagiarism, and exposed the M. P. P.,” which we believe, resulted in the political demise of that individual.
For two years, Upper Canada, after becoming a distinct Province, was without any lawyers. But, in 1794, such a number of Acts were found upon the statute books, that it was necessary to create some to interpret, not mystify the law. It was provided that his “Majesty should appoint not more than sixteen, whom he should deem, from their probity, education, and condition of life, best qualified to receive the license to practice law.” This appointment of lawyers by the Executive, gave rise to an expression of derision in after days, of “heaven-born lawyers.”
The first lawyer appointed in Johnson District, was Samuel Sherwood, who had studied law two or three years with lawyer Walker, of Montreal. Jacob Farand, was the first lawyer in the Eastern District. Allen McLean, the first lawyer for Kingston, and Mr. Hagerman, the first for the Bay Quinté.—(See U. E. Loyalists). James Clarke was appointed for Niagara District; also, William Dickson, of Niagara, and Angus McDonald for Cornwall.
After the formation of Upper Canada into a Province, a number of magistrates were appointed to each District, to form a Court of Quarter Sessions. The four gentlemen who had been the judges of Lunenburgh, Mecklenburgh, Nassau, and Hesse, respectively, no longer had so extensive a jurisdiction. We have no further information of Robertson, in this respect, and Duncan left the Province. But Cartwright and Hamilton continued to fill the same positions, as chairmen of the Quarter Sessions, in their respective Districts. After the death of Cartwright, in the Midland District, Colonel Thompson was appointed to the office, and his successor was Alex. Fisher, of Adolphustown. John Ferguson was also Judge of the District Court.
Among the first appointments for magistrates, was Thomas Sherwood, of Leeds. Also, Dr. Solomon Jones, who was afterward Judge of the District Court.
Charles Stuart, Esq., was, for many years, Sheriff of the Midland District; he died while yet young, in 1816. The first Sheriff of Niagara District, was Alex. McDonnell; the next was Barrack-master Clark, and afterwards Thomas Merritt was appointed.
Among the first, probably the first, magistrates appointed in Thurlow, were Col. Wm. Bell, Col. Hazelton, and James McNabb. Most likely Bell had the commission before the others. Bell generally held his Court of Requests at Mrs. Simpson’s Inn. On 19th April, 1822, it was held at the house of John Taylor.