[riddell] upper CANADA A CENTURY AGO 5 



John Beverley Robinson, the able Attorney-General, had now more 

 influence with him- — ^by no means so great as was generally supposed, 

 however. 



Already there were movements looking towards responsible 

 government; the Legislature had in 1816 voted £2,500 towards the 

 expense of the administration of the civil government of the Province :^^ 

 and this entitled the people's representatives to a say in who should 

 spend it. But nothing seemed further from the official mind than 

 this; and the Executive Council was still responsible to the "Crown" 

 alone. The Eighth Parliament was sitting. The Legislative Council 

 was nominated; as in the case of the members of the Executive 

 Council, a mandamus was issued by the Home Administration, and 

 the nominee was entitled to be sworn in. In the Legislative Council 

 the practice was that the Chief Justice was the Speaker; and Powell 

 was the incumbent from before his appointment as Chief Justice in 

 1816 until he retired in 1825.^2 



In the Legislative Assembly every county with a population of 

 1,000 had one member, those with a population of 4,000, two each, 

 the representation of no county to be reduced, and every town in 

 which the Quarter Sessions sat had one member — 41 members in all.^' 



7. London, formed 1798, 38 George III, c. 5. 



8. Newcastle, authorized by same Act, formed de facto, 1802. 



9. Ottawa, formed 1816, 56 George III, c. 2. 

 10. Gore, formed 1816, 56 George III, c. 14. 



(Provision was made (1821), 2 George IV, c. 3, for the Counties of Carleton 

 and Simcoe to be proclaimed Districts.) 



"The Statute granting this money is (1816) 56 George III, c. 26 (U.C.); it has 

 not, me judice, received the attention which it deserves. Before 1816, the Mother 

 Country paid the whole expense of the civil administration of the Province and it 

 would have been illogical for Canadians to ask to dictate who should spend the 

 money. The opposition of Weeks, Willcocks, Thorpe, etc., in 1806 seems to have 

 been simply factious. 



'^In addition to the (1) Speaker there were present during the Session of 1821-22: 



2. James Baby. 



3. John McGill. 



4. Thomas Scott (former C.J.)- 



5. William Claus. 



6. William Dickson. 



7. Revd. John Strachan. 



8. Angus Mcintosh. 



9. Joseph Weeks. 



10. Duncan Cameron. 



11. George H. Markland. 



(They were paid £100 a year except when they were Honorary members.) 

 "This was provided by the Act (1820), 60 George III, c. 2. (U.C.). 



