THE Legislature of New Brunswick met for the first time in St. John, on the 3rd January, 1786. As there were no legislative buildings in St, John, the assembled wisdom of the Province had to resort to an inn, the Mallard House, which seems to have been the principal hotel in St. John at the time Only thirteen members put in an appearance the first day and no business was done. On the following day Amos Botsford, one of the members for Westmorland, was elected Speaker, and the House adjourned to the 9th January. Botsford remained Speaker of the House of Assembly until his death in 1812, but his election m the first place was due to something like an accident. The intention of the Governor's friends was to make Jonathan Bliss, Speaker, but as he was one of the St. John members who was petitioned against,, this could not be done. When it is remembered that Bliss was Attorney General at the time it was proposed to elect him Speaker, the difference between the ideas of that day and the present will be better understood.

The long adjournment after the election of the Speaker, was taken on the Governor's advice, so that there might be a larger attendance of members. By that time seven more had arrived but six were still absent, three of the Westmorland members, one of Kings and the two Northumberland representatives being still missing. As there were no roads in the Province and the distances were long, the absence of some of the members can be readily accounted for. One or two did not attend the first session at all. With respect to the Westmorland election return, a singular question arose with regard to the right of the French inhabitants to vote. The objection taken to their votes was, that they were Roman Catholics, who were not entitled to vote under the laws of England. This objection was sustained, the votes of the French were thrown out, and in this way Charles Dixon, one of the Westmorland representatives, secured his election.

Elias Hardy, a resident of St. John, had been elected one of the representatives of the County of Northumberland, as the colleague of William Davidson, the first English settler on the Miramichi who had established an extensive salmon fishery there as early as 17(55. Hardy was a lawyer, and as he had been consulted by some of the St. John people who were aggrieved at having to wait so long for their lands, he was blamed by Governor Carleton for being the cause of the opposition to the government candidates in St. John; no doubt he thought the Governor's friends would stick at nothing to defeat him, but he offered for the County of Northumberland and was elected through the influence of Davidson. I5enjam^;n Marsden, one of the Governor's friends, who had been made sheriff of Northumberland, desired the election of two residents of St. John

George Leotard and Stanton Hazard, and considered it a great outrage that Davidson, whom he describes as "an ignorant, cunning fellow" should have been able to secure his own election, and that of his friend Hardy. Marsden. although sheriff of the county and the man who was sworn to conduct the election impartially, admits in his diary, that he endeavored to secure the election of Leonard and Hazard. He was much grieved at his failure to accomplish his purpose, but he deserves some credit for not resorting to the methods of Sheriff Oliver, who struck off the names of enough voters to secure the election of the men he favoured. Hardy did not appear to to be sworn in until the 10th of January, almost a fortnight after the House first met, although he had been in St. John all the time, because, until the 13tli January, he had received no intimation oi his election. As the election was held in November, nearly two months elapsed before the news oi it reached St. John. There could be no better illustration than this of the condition oi the means of communication in the province at that time.

The Governor's speech was made to both houses on the 9th January. It does not contain anything very remarkable, and is rather a commonplace production considering the circumstances under which it was delivered. He told the houses that he had called them together that they might put a finishing hand to the arduous task of organizing the province, by re-enacting such of the Nova Scotia laws, as were applicable to their situation and passing such bills, as they should judge best calculated to maintain their rapid advance towards a complete establishment. He recommended to their first consideration the laws relating to crimes and misdemeanors, and those relating to the administration of justice. He advised them to pass hills providing for the election of members to serve in the General Assembly, and for the registering anew of all Nova Scotia grants. In concluding his speech the governor spoke in a very hopeful spirit in regard to the prospects of the Province. He said, "The liberality of the British government to the unfortunate Loyalists in general, and the peculiar munificence and parental care of our most gracious sovereign, to those of them settled ^;n New Brunswick, call loudly for every return that an affectionate and favored people can make; and I am persuaded you cannot better show your gratitude on this behalf for the many unexampled instances of national and Royal bounty, than by promoting sobriety, industry, and the practice of religion, by discouraging all party distinctions among us, and inculcating the utmost harmony between the newly arrived Loyalists and those of His Majesty's subjects formerly resident in the province. And gentlemen, it is with real pleasure I declare that our prospects are so favorable, that your exertions for those beneficial purposes can scarcely fail to render this asylum of loyalty the envy of the neighboring states, and that by exercising the arts of peace, they who have taken refuge here will not only be abundantly recompensed for their losses, but be enabled to enjoy their connection with the parent state and retain their allegiance for the best of Kings, which. their conduct has proved they prize above all considerations."

The legislature went very industriously to work to pass the necessary acts for the proper organization of the province. In all sixty-one acts were passed, all of them of a public character and nearly all of them general acts. Their measures provided the province with a body of laws both civil and criminal, which covered nearly every subject on which legislation was required. As the four judges were members of the Council and as the Attorney General and Solicitor General as well as several other lawyers were members of the House of Assembly there was plenty of legal talent available for the passing of necessary laws. Even if this had not been the case the laws of Nova Scotia, which had been tested by experience, were a tolerably safe guide, and some of the New Brunswick acts were copied from the statutes of that province. Others were copies of the laws of New York and Massachusetts. Few of the acts passed were of a contentious character, or called for divisions. Perhaps the one that was most warmly debated was the act for raising a revenue by the imposition of duties on certain articles. An attempt was made to impose a duty of 2s. 6(1. on each barrel of flour and Is. on each barrel of meal imported from the United States but this section of the bill was defeated and the bill withdrawn. A new revenue bill, which was immediately introduced and became law Imposed a duty of one penny a gallon on spirits, 2s. 6d. a hogshead on malt liquors and 5% ad valorem on other goods, except importations from Great Britain, including breadstuffs. By the same bill magistrates in sessions were authorized to grant licenses for the sale of liquor in their counties, and, In addition to the license fee, the retailers of liquor were required to pay an excise duty on the amount of their sales. Tins revenue act was only for one year, expiring on the 1st April, 1787.

Another measure of some importance that was passed at tills session was entitled "An act for preserving the Church of England, as by law established in this province, and for securing liberty of conscience in matters of religion. The body of the act did not by any means accord with its title. The act did not establish the Church of England, but it established a system of universal toleration and liberty of conscience. It required every minister of any denomination, who had not been chosen by a congregation, to take the oath of allegiance and obtain a license from the Governor. Clergymen of the Church of England were required to read prayers iji their churches at least once a month, and they were forbidden to use any other form of prayer but that prescribed. A clause in the second section of this act might be taken to signify, that any clergyman, who was presented to a benefice must be approved by the Governor and. this interpretation was actually adopted. From that time, until after the Confederation of the Provinces, appointments to Rectories were made on the recommendation of the Bishop, by the Governor as representative of the Crown. Even so late as October, 1807, we find the Bishop of Fredericton applying to the Lieutenant Governor, for the appointment oi a clergyman as Rector oi Prince William. The matter was referred to the Governor General of Canada, who sent the Bishop the necessary authorization. It was not until the legislative session of 1869, that an act was passed which relieved the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and the Governor General of Canada from any further responsibility in regard to ecclesiastical appointments, and vested presentations to Rectories in the Bishop on the nomination of two thirds of the parishioners.

As the construction of roads between the various centres of population was a matter of the utmost importance, the passing of a highway act, Was naturally one of the first objects of the legislature, the act authorizing the appointment of Commissioners for the laying out of roads to Fredericton from St. John by the west side of the river, from St. Andrews and from Sackville, and a road between the River Miramichi and the River St. John. Provision was also made for the laying out of a road from St. John to "Westmorland. All these roads were to be not less than four rods in width. As there was but little cash available for road making in the public treasury, the Commissioners appointed to lay out the roads were authorized to solicit subscriptions and donations from private individuals, and each person so subscribing was entitled to receive one hundred acres of land on the road for which he had subscribed, for each live pounds so given by hi in. These inducements were the means of obtaining a considerable sum in subscriptions. The accounts of 1786 show that £190 was thus obtained tor the Westmorland road, of which General Arnold gave £50. But even with liberal private help the work of road making was necessarily very slow, and it was many years before even the great lines of communication were in a satisfactory condition. At the present time there are about ten thousand miles of roads in New Brunswick, and tour thousand bridges, but when the legislature met in 178fi it is doubtful if there, was a mile of good road in the entire province.

The measure of the session which must be regarded with the greatest regret, was one arising out of the St. John contested election. The petitions of the candidates who were cheated out of their election, and of the voters whose names were improperly struck off, having been rejected, other petitions from the voters of St. John asking for redress followed to the extreme annoyance of the friends of the Governor. One of the petitions which was signed by nearly two hundred persons, was addressed to the Governor and asked him to dissolve the House. It arraigned the conduct not-only of the Sheriff, but of his advisors 'n very severe terms. This petition has been characterized as a production of men whose education was deficient, in the matter of spelling and grammar, but their ideas of what was just and right seem to have been more correct than those of the learned men who committed the outrages of which they complained. They say:

"We have publicly seen British subjects confined in irons, carried into a garrison, and there examined under the authority oi a military guard; and prosecutions still hanging over their heads for supposed offences. One of our legal representatives in the Assembly confined in a sentry box at the discretion of a private soldier, the military introduced and unnecessarily and unlawfully patrolling the streets during an election to the terror and alarm of the peacable, inoffensive inhabitants; Crown officers neglecting and refusing to discharge their duty ; the freedom of election violated by corrupt and undue influence in the most public manner; the returning officers behaving with the most unconstitutional and unprecedented conduct; irreligion and immorality, instead of being punished, encouraged both by precept and example ; the House of Assembly declaring the election for this City and County to have fallen upon Jonathan Bliss, Ward Chipman, Christopher Biilop, William Pagan, Stanton Hazard and John McGeorge, whom they have admitted and sworn in as members for this City and County, notwithstanding Tertullus Dickinson, Richard Lightfoot, Richard Bonsall, Peter Grim, John Boggs and Alexander Reid were chosen by a decided majority according to your Plxcellencv's own regulation."

As the substantial accuracy of the statements contained in this petition could not be questioned, it was resolved by the Governor's friends, to put a atop to such appeals, by taking away the right of petition altogether. Accordingly, a bill was introduced in the Council by Chief Justice Ludlow, which was entitled, "An act against tumults and disorders, upon pretence of preparing or presenting public petitions or other addresses to the Governor or House of Assembly. " This bill enacted that no person should obtain signatures above the number of twenty, to any petition or complaint to the Governor, Council, or Assembly, tor alteration of matters established by law, in Church anil State, unless the matter thereof had been first consented to, and ordered by three or more justices of the County, or by the majority of the grand jury of the County in which the matter arose. The penalty for violating this law was a line of one hundred pounds and three months imprisonment. This infamous bill was passed in the Council without any opposition, the members present when it passed being the Chief Justice, and Messrs. Willard, Ludlow, Hazen, and Odell, but it encountered some opposition in the Assembly. It was considered in Committee, on the 1st of March, and passed on a division, ten members voting for it, and four against it. The four who thus obtained an honorable record for defending the rights of the subject were, Mr Hardy, Capt. Clinch, and Messrs. Hazard and Dickinson. The ten who voted that the right of petition should be thus taken away were, Speaker Botsford, Attorney General Bliss, Solicitor General Chipman, Major Coffin, and Messrs. McGeorge, Hubbard, Dixon, Foster, Davidson, and Paine. Three of the ten owed their seats to the wrongful conduct ot the sheriff at the election. One of the six St. John members, Stanton Hazard, had manliness enough to refuse to agree to a bill taking away the right of petition. But the bill became law, and although wholly ignored for more than half a century, it is the law of New Brunswick at the present clay. It is printed in the volume of the Acts of the Assembly published in 1838. In the Revised Statutes of 1854, the act is not printed but it was not repealed. It seems to have been treated as an obsolete act, so absurd in its provisions as to be not worth repealing. The fact that such an act should have been passed by the first legislature of New Brunswick, is the best proof that could be supplied of the despotic, character of the Governor and his friends, and the low ebb to which the cause of the people had fallen.

The spirit of the House was illustrated in another way which will seem curious in these days of free speech. Among the persons who took an interest in the St. John election proceedings was one George Handyside, whose handwriting, which is to be seen on one of the petitions, shows him to have been a man of education. On the evening of the 24th of January, Mr. Handyside went into McPherson's coffee house in a state of high indignation. That very day a majority of the House of Assembly had voted that the sheriff of St. John in giving the seats to the candidates who had a minority of the votes, had "conducted himself legally, fairly, and with impartiality." Mr. Handyside publicly expressed his opinion of this transaction, and of the members of the House of Assembly. Christopher Sower, who was doing the printing for the House, happened to be present, and being very anxious to curry favor with that body, he reported Handyside's words to the House. Upon this a warrant was issued for the arrest of the culprit, and he was brought before the House, and compelled to ask pardon, on his knees, for his contempt and breach of privilege. He was then reprimanded by the Speaker, and discharged after paying fees. The House of Assembly, although not above committing a gross wrong on the largest constituency in the province, was not willing to have its conduct criticised or brought into question. The public had to suffer wrongs in silence, for while pimps like Sower were about, no man's liberty was safe. The House of Assembly continued to claim and exercise the power to arrest and punish persons in this summary fashion, for almost sixty years, until an able lawyer, David S. Kerr, interposed, and it was suddenly discovered that the House had no such power, and that in arresting and imprisoning people for supposed breaches of privilege, it hail been acting legally The case of Hill vs. Weldon settled the standing of the old Legislature for all time, Speaker's warrants ceased to be issued, and yet it does not appear that the House of Assembly has lost anything by the change either n dignity or public esteem.

Among the measures which were recommended by the Governor, was one for regulating the elections of representatives to the General Assembly and for limiting the duration of Assemblies. A bill of this character was introduced in the House of Assembly and passed, and it was also passed by the Council witii a clause suspending its operation until the King's pleasure should be known. It took a long time for the King to make up his mind about this bill. Four years passed away and still nothing could be learned of the fate of the New Brunswick elections bill. Communications were constantly passing between the provincial agent in London and the House of Assembly In regard to the bill, but no satisfaction on the subject could be obtained. Tire people had to be content with the thought that the King was still engaged in studying over this wonderful bill. At length he, or his advisors, seem to have made up their minds and in August, 1790, the Secretary of State sent a despatch to Governor Carleton informing him that the bill had been disallowed. The reason given was that the qualification of the electors which was the ownership of a freehold worth twenty pounds, was too low. The King's advisors in London thought that they were better judges of what the qualification of a voter in New Brunswick ought to be, than those who lived in the province, and were familiar with the circumstances of its people.

The Attorney General brought in a bill respecting marriage and divorce, which passed the House and the Council with amendments, and was ordered to be sent back to the House for concurrence. As there is no further mention of it in the journals of either House we are left to presume that it was suppressed by some powerful hand. The same bill was passed at the following session of the legislature, with a suspending clause. This act, however, never came into force, for after having been referred to the home authorities, the Bishop of London and the Bishop of Nova Scotia, it was superseded by another act passed in 1791. The suppressed act seems to have been objected to mainly because it was not specific enough in its terms. Marriages were being celebrated in the province by clergymen of all denominations, as well as by Justices of the Peace, and it was desired by those ^:n authority, to limit this privilege to clergymen of the Church ol England and Justices in parishes where there was no clergyman. This marriage question was destined to become a very important one in the politics of the province at a later day.

The session did not pass without attempts at legislation of a doubtful character, such as the Tea a Office bill, and the bill for establishing a Bank. The Loan Office bill was to authorize the province to issue a large sum in bills of credit, which were to be loaned to private individuals on interest. The so called Bank bill also provided for emitting Bills of credit to the amount of £10,000 in notes of small denominations, from five shillings to thirty shillings. Of these bills oi credit, five thousand pounds were to be loaned to half pay officers who had served in the American war and who were residents of the province, the sum loaned not to exceed one year's half pay. Two thousand pounds were to be loaned to the Counties for the purpose of budding gaols or for other public uses. Two thousand pounds were to be loaned to the paymaster of His Majesty's forces, and one thousand pounds were to be expended in the purchase of live stock. Both these bills were defeated in the House. The Loan Office bill was petitioned against by the merchants of St. John and that settled the fate of both bills. The introduction of such measures may be taken as a proof of the poverty of the people and the lack of money from which all suffered. Another bill which had its origin from the same cause, provided that suits or actions were not to be maintained against debtors for debts due before January 1st, 1781, until after three years from the 1st January, 1786. This bill, after being referred to a select committee, was defeated. Such legislation would have been no doubt improper, but the harshness of creditors who put their debtors in gaol for sums they could not pay, was a real evil which demanded a remedy. At subsequent sessions the House of Assembly received many petitions from debtors who were in prison, and who could obtain no relief through the courts of law.

The legislation of the session provided for a uniform system of weights and measures and fixed the value of certain coins which were to be a legal tender. The English guinea was to be received for twenty-three shillings and four pence, the English or French Crown piece for five shillings and six pence, and Spanish milled dollars for five shillings each. The latter coin was the principal circulating medium in the early days of the Province, and indeed Spanish and Mexican coins were in circulation as late as the year 1860, when a change was made in the currency. As the Province was without a bank until the year 1820, great inconvenience resulted from the state of the currency and the number and variety of the foreign coins in circulation.

During the first session of the legislature, there were no serious differences between the Council and the House of Assembly. The House was so much under the control of the friends of the Governor, that very little was likely to be done in the popular body, that the Council did not approve. The friends of the people were outnumbered and they were not well organized. It took time to gather together a body of reformers, anxious to have grievances redressed and the constitution brought more into harmony with the principles of liberty. The constitution was new, the Governor almost untried, and some who afterwards became zealous reformers were in an expectant attitude and kept silent. The session was therefore more distinguished by its hard work than by displays of eloquence or the discussion of new ideas. During the fifty-six days that the session lasted, the legislature passed a body of laws, which placed the province in a condition to carry on its business efficiently, and which covered every department of government. This -was no small achievement, and while some acts were passed which ought not to have been placed on the statute book, most of the legislation was of a useful and creditable character, and such as the needs of the province demanded.