6th Parliament of Upper Canada
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The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was the composition of the Parliament of Upper Canada between June 1812 and April 1816. Following the Westminster model, it consisted of
- The Crown of the United Kingdom, as represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Francis Gore, and six administrators acting in his absence from 1812 to 1815, and advised by the Executive Council of Upper Canada
- the appointed members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada that were in office during that time
- members elected to the House of Assembly of Upper Canada in elections held in June 1812.
The previous was dissolved by Isaac Brock, the administrator of the colonial government, on May 1, 1812 and election was held in June. These events were slightly ahead of schedule and were triggered by Brock being frustrated in his efforts to pass legislation preparing the colony for war with the United States. On 12 July, an American army under Brigadier General William Hull crossed the Detroit River and occupied Sandwich (later known as Windsor). The incursion provided Brock with a compelling reason to convene the 6th Parliament in the last week of July for an extraordinary session. Approval for Brock's defense measures was quickly obtained, and Brock prorogued parliament on August 5 and set out on August 6 for the front line.
While references to "parliament" in modern Canadian and British political discourse generally refer to the elected chamber of the legislature, the elected assembly of Upper Canada wielded relatively little power relative to the unelected legislative council and was afforded little deference by either the Lieutenant Governor or the Legislative Council. Accordingly, the Crown and the upper house were both significant elements of parliaments in its role as the legislature of the colony.
The 6th Parliament convened for over five sessions. In addition to the brief extraordinary session in later July 1812, it held regular sessions between February and March of each of the years 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1816.All sessions were held in York, Upper Canada (now City of Toronto). [1]
The first and second sessions were held at the Palace of Parliament located at the intersection of Front Street and Parliament Street (Parliament Street was so named for that reason, though Front Street abutted the bay at the time). It would be the last parliament to be in session at the site. The Palace of Parliament was set ablaze and destroyed by American Troops in the plundering following the Battle of York on April 27, 1813.
The House of Assembly then met once in 1814 in the ballroom of Jordan's York Hotel (about two blocks away from the previous site, on the south side of King Street East, west of Parliament Street).[2] It then held session at the home of Chief Justice of Upper Canada William Henry Draper at the northwest corner of Wellington Street and York Street for the remainder of this parliament.[3] This parliament was dissolved 18 April 1816.
This House of Assembly of the 6th Parliament sat in five sessions 27 July 1812 to 1 April 1816:[4][5]
| Sessions | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | July 27, 1812 | August 5, 1812 |
| 2nd | February 25, 1813 | March 13, 1813 |
| 3rd | February 15, 1814 | March 14, 1814 |
| 4th | February 1, 1815 | March 14, 1815 |
| 5th | February 6, 1816 | April 1, 1816 |
No known copies of the journals for the first (1812), second (1813) and fourth (1815) sessions of this parliament have survived to the present day. Accordingly, some aspect of the 6th Parliament cannot be definitely explained or determined.[6][4]
Composition
The House of assembly remained at 25 seats, with some slight redistribution of electoral division.
| 1792 districts[a] | Electoral divisions in 5th Parliament |
Electoral divisions in 6th Parliament |
|---|---|---|
| Home (Niagara) |
West York | West York, Saltfleet, Ancaster (duo-member) |
| 1st Lincoln & Haldimand (duo member) | ||
| 1st Lincoln |
Members
House of Assembly
| 1792 districts[a] | Riding | Member | First elected/ previously elected | Additional term(s)
in parliament |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (7) (Johnstown) |
Glengarry | Alexander McMartin | 1812 | 7th, 8th, 11th |
| Glengarry | John Macdonell (of Greenfield)[8] (died October 1812) | 1812 | ||
| Alexander Macdonell (of Collachie) (1812) | 1800, 1812 | 3rd, 4th, 5th | ||
| Prescott | Thomas Mears | 1808 | 5th | |
| Dundas | John Crysler | 1804, 1812 | 4th, 7th, 9th | |
| Stormont & Russell | John Beikie | 1812 | ||
| Grenville | Gideon Adams | 1812 | ||
| Leeds | Levius Peters Sherwood | 1812 | 8th | |
| Midland (6) (Newcastle) |
Frontenac | Allan McLean, Speaker | 4th–8th | 1804 |
| Hastings & Ameliasburgh Township | James Young | 1812 | ||
| Lennox & Addington | Benjamin Fairfield | 1812 | ||
| Lennox & Addington | Timothy Thompson | 1812 | 2nd, 3rd | |
| Prince Edward except Ameliasburgh Township | John Stinson | 1811 | 5th | |
| Northumberland and Durham | David McGregor Rogers | 1800 | 2nd–5th, 8th | |
| Home (9) (Niagara, London) |
East York & Simcoe | Thomas Ridout | 1812 | |
| West York, Saltfleet, Ancaster | Abraham Markle (deserted to US) | 1812 | ||
| James Durand (Feb 1815) | 1815 | 7th, 12th, 1st (Province of Canada) | ||
| 1st Lincoln | Joseph Willcocks (deserted) | 1812 | 4th, 5th | |
| Robert Nelles (Feb 1816) | 1816 | 3th, 4th, 7th | ||
| 2nd Lincoln | Ralfe Clench | 1796, 1812 | 3rd, 4rd, 7th | |
| 3rd Lincoln | Thomas Dickson | 1812 | ||
| 4th Lincoln | John Fanning (died January 1813) | 1812 | ||
| Isaac Swayze (Feb 1814) | 1792, 1804, 1814 | 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th | ||
| Norfolk | Robert Nichol | 1812 | 7th, 8th | |
| Oxford & Middlesex | Mahlon Burwell | 1812 | 7th, 8th, 11th, 13th | |
| Western (3) | Essex | Richard Pattinson | 1812 | 7th, 8th |
| Essex | William McCormick | 1812 | ||
| Kent | John McGregor | 1804 | 4th, 5th |
Legislative Council
The Legislative Council was the appointed upper house of the parliament. It held veto power over all legislations passed by the elected assembly and exercised it regularly with little deference to assembly democratic mandate. Members were appointed for life (but were subject to removal for non-attendance), therefore the date for the end of their term were usually the date of their death.
| Member | Town | Appointed | Term ended | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Baby | Sandwich | July 12, 1792 | February 19, 1833 | |
| Richard Cartwright | Kingston | July 12, 1792 | July 27, 1815 | Died during this parliament |
| Alexander Grant, Sr. | York | July 12, 1792 | May 8, 1813 | Also a member of the Executive Council, died during this parliament |
| Æneas Shaw | York | June 19, 1794 | February 6, 1814 | Died during this parliament |
| Jacob Mountain | Quebec City | July 1, 1794 | June 25, 1825 | Member ex officio Anglican Bishop of Quebec, did not attend any sitting |
| John McGill | York | June 10, 1797 | December 31, 1834 | Also a member of the Executive Council; Inspector General (1801–13); Auditor General of Land Patents (1813–18) |
| Thomas Scott | York | August 7, 1806 | July 29, 1824 | Speaker of council ex officio Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench (1806–16) |
| Thomas Talbot | Port Talbot | September 1, 1809 | February 10, 1841 | |
| William Claus | Niagara | February 1, 1812 | November 11, 1826 | |
| Thomas Clark | Chippawa | November 16, 1815 | October 13, 1835 | Member of the House of Assembly in the 2nd and 5th Parliament |
| William Dickson | Niagara | November 16, 1815 | February 10, 1841 | Council was dissolved in 1841. |
| Thomas Fraser | Ernestown | November 16, 1815 | 1819 | Status unknown after 1819; died in South Dundas, Ontario in 1821 |
| Neil McLean | Cornwall | November 16, 1815 | Never attended | |
| William Dummer Powell | York | March 21, 1816 | September 6, 1834 | Also a member of the Executive Council, succeeded Thomas Scott as Chief Justice during this parliament. |
Officers of Parliament [9]
| Office | Office holders |
|---|---|
| Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada | Francis Gore (in office 1806–1817, absent 1811–1815)
Administrator acting in Gore's absence:
|
| Speaker of the House of Assembly | Hon. Allan McLean, Esq. |
| Speaker of the Legislative Council
ex officio Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench |
Thomas Scott (1806–1816)
William Dummer Powell (1816–1825) |
| Clerk of the House of Assembly | Donald McLean (May 1801 – May 1813)
Grant Powell (May 1813 – May 1821) |
| Sergeant-at-Arms | Allan MacNab[c] (1813-1828) |
| Librarian and Keeper of the records | George Mayer |