[JAMES ] FIRST LEGISLATORS OF UPPER CANADA 99 
The nineteen counties may be arranged in two groups, the first 
consisting of eight, the second of eleven. The first eight, Kent to 
Northumberland, in the order given, are also the names of the eight 
eastern counties of England; the townships making up these eight 
counties Were named after important towns in the similar counties 
of England. Thus Newark, the name then given to the township 
and the settlement in which the Legislature was to be convened, was 
so-called after the town of Newark in Lincolnshire. 
The next question that presents itself for our consideration is, 
who were the men selected by our people as their representatives, and 
what ridings did they represent? This election took place only 110 
years ago; it was the first legislature of the province that was to be 
formed. One would think that it would be easy to turn up some 
record that would give us this information, but I could not find 
it, and I decided to try to work out the answer to this question, and 
this paper is the result. It will, I think, be admitted that we should 
if possible, determine who were the first representatives and whom 
they represented. Every printed record that I have found is either 
incomplete or incorrect. The writers of our history have told us 
what these men did, but they have told us very little as to who they 
were. The first printed list that I have found in our historical 
works is contained in Dr. Canniff’s Settlement of Upper Canada, pub- 
lished in 1869, and the writers since have copied it in its incomplete 
or only partially correct form. It would take too much space to 
recount the interesting search that has been made for the facts that 
are to follow. 
To show further what meagre material we have to work on, it 
may be stated that the first legislature held five sessions as follows, at 
Newark or Niagara:— 
Ist session, 17th September to 15th October, 1792. 
2nd “, 81st May to 9th July, 1493: 
3rd " 2nd June to 9th July, 1794. 
4th ii 6th July to 10th August, 1795. 
5th mee koth) May to: -ard; June, 011796: 
Of these five sessions we have very condensed typewritten reports 
or journals of the 1st and 2nd. There is no record available here 
or in England of the 8rd, 4th and 5th. What became of the reports 
sent home by Simcoe? The journals of the Legislative Council are 
missing for the same years as those of the Assembly, and the surmise 
has been offered that the vessels carrying these records may have been 
captured by French corsairs, in which case search in the archives of 
Paris might bring interesting results. It may be that some day they 
