4th General Assembly of Nova Scotia

A series of writs for the election of the 4th General Assembly of Nova Scotia were issued February 2-19, 1765, returnable by March 13, 1765. The assembly convened on May 28, 1765, held eight sessions, and was dissolved on April 2, 1770.

Sessions[]

Dates of specific sessions are under research.

Governor and Council[]

• Governor: Montague Wilmot -died May 23, 1766
  • Lieutenant Governor: vacant
• Administrator: Benjamin Green served as acting governor after Wilmot's death
• Lieutenant Governor: Michael Francklin -named August 23, 1766, served as acting governor until Campbell arrived
• Governor: Lord William Campbell -named November 27, 1766
  • Lieutenant Governor: Michael Francklin

The members of the Council are currently under research.

House of Assembly[]

Officers[]

• Speaker of the House: William Nesbitt of Halifax County
• Clerk of the House: Isaac Deschamps of Falmouth Township

Division of seats[]

An order in Council on January 30, 1765 allocated seats as follows:

• 4 seats: Halifax County
• 2 seats each: Annapolis, Lunenburg, Kings, Cumberland, and Queens Counties, and Halifax Township
• 1 seat each: Horton, Cornwallis, Falmouth, Cumberland, Granville, Annapolis, Lunenburg, Liverpool, Onslow, Truro, and Newport Townships

making a total of 27 seats.

During the assembly, Sunbury County was created with 2 seats and Londonderry, Sackville, Yarmouth, and Barrington Townships were created with 1 seat each, for a total of 33 seats.

(Cape) Breton County was also created, and 2 members were elected, but the seats were held not to exist due to insufficient freeholders.

Members[]

• Annapolis County
  • Joseph Winniett
  • John Harris
• Annapolis Township
  • Jonathan Hoar
• Barrington Township
  • -initial by-election March 24, 1766, took seat July 1, 1767, seat declared vacant November 8, 1769.
• (Cape) Breton County
  • initial by-election, writ issued December 16, 1765, returned March 21, 1766. Election declared invalid June 14, 1766 due to insufficient freeholders, and these two members were never seated.
• Cornwallis Township
  • John Burbidge
• Cumberland County
  • Benoni Danks -took seat June 21, 1766
  • Gamaliel Smethurst
• Cumberland Township
  • -attended, seat declared vacant November 8, 1769
• Falmouth Township
  • Isaac Deschamps
• Granville Township
  • Henry Munroe -resigned June 21, 1768.
    • John Hicks -by-election, took seat October 31, 1768.
• Halifax County
  • William Nesbitt
  • Benjamin Gerrish -resigned June 27, 1768 after being appointed to the Council.
    • John Fillis -by-election, took seat October 22, 1768.
  • John Butler
  • William Best
• Halifax Township
  • Charles Procter
  • Richard Wenman
• Horton Township
  • -attended, seat declared vacant August 1, 1767.
    • Charles Dickson -by-election, writ issued September 28, 1767, took seat June 18, 1768.
• Kings County
  • Winckworth Tonge
  • Charles Morris (1731–1802)
• Liverpool Township
  • Elisha Freeman -attended, resigned due to age October 19, 1767.
    • Ephraim Dean -by-election, August 17, 1768, but election disputed October 28,1768. Apparently did not serve.
• Londonderry Township
  • Alexander McNutt -initial by-election, October 26, 1767, seat declared vacant November 8, 1769.
• Lunenburg County
  • Joseph Pernette
  • Philip Augustus Knaut
• Lunenburg Township
  • Archibald Hinshelwood
• Newport Township
  • John Day -attended, seat vacated in 1769, but no record in the journal why. Other sources indicate he left for Philadelphia.
    • Henry Denny Denson -by-election October 7, 1769, took seat October 16, 1769.
• Onslow Township
  • James Brenton
• Queens County
  • William Smith
  • Simeon Perkins -seat apparently declared vacant July 1766, but not directly noted in the journal.
    • John Doggett -by-election, August 17, 1768, but its not clear if he ever took the seat.
• Sackville Township
  • -initial by-election 1766, took seat October 27, 1766; seat declared vacant November 8, 1769
• Sunbury County
  • -initial by-election, writ issued May 30, 1765, returned Aug. 1, 1765 but never took seat.
  • -initial by-election, writ issued May 30, 1765, returned August 1, 1765 but never took seat.
    • -by-election, September 20, 1768
    • -by-election, September 20, 1768
• Truro Township
  • Charles Morris (1731–1802) -elected for both Kings County and Truro Township, gave up this seat.
    • David Archibald -by-election, writ issued February 19, 1766, returned May 24, 1766, took seat June 5, 1766.
• Yarmouth Township
  • Malachy Salter -initial by-election, took seat October 24, 1766; did not attend after 1768.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, members were elected at the general election, and took their seats at the convening of the assembly. By-elections are special elections held to fill specific vacancies. When a member is noted as having taking their seat on a certain date, but a by-election isn't noted, the member was elected at the general election but arrived late.

References[]

• Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes. p. 455.
• A Directory of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758–1958, Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1958)
• Elliott, Shirley B. (1984). "Appendix A: Assembly Lists". The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1983: a biographical directory (PDF). Halifax: Province of Nova Scotia. p. 245-247. ISBN 0-88871-050-X.