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
  • Francis White -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.
    • Gregory Townshend
    • John Grant
• Cornwallis Township
  • John Burbidge
• Cumberland County
  • Benoni Danks -took seat June 21, 1766
  • Gamaliel Smethurst
• Cumberland Township
  • Josia Troop -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
  • William Welch -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
  • Benjamin Mason -initial by-election 1766, took seat October 27, 1766; seat declared vacant November 8, 1769
• Sunbury County
  • Beamsley Perkins Glasier -initial by-election, writ issued May 30, 1765, returned Aug. 1, 1765 but never took seat.
  • Thomas Falconer -initial by-election, writ issued May 30, 1765, returned August 1, 1765 but never took seat.
    • Richard Shorne -by-election, September 20, 1768
    • Phineas Nevers -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.