Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick: 1833-, Fredericton, N.B., var. gov. printers, series continues. (The Colony of
New Bruns-wick was granted a legislature immediately after its severance from Nova Scotia in 1784. The first session met in 1786. The legislature
consisted of two chambers, a nominated Legis-lative Council and an elective House of Assembly. The legislature had little effective power, partially
because the members of the Legislative Council also comprised the governor’s Executive Council. As important was that the legislature didn’t control the
colonial budget. Broad areas of the best land in the colony had been placed in reserve by the Imperial Gov-ernment for the production of masts for the
Royal Navy. Large sums were charged for licenses to cut timber on crown lands, and this revenue was under the direct control of the governor. With the
entire civil list paid for with revenue from the crown lands, the legisla-ture lacked power of the purse. In addition, New Brunswick had been a major
refuge for British Loyalists from the United States; refugees from revolution who had little appetite for the type of “responsible governance” that
in their eyes had led to such calamity below the border. As late as 1842, even though the governor of the day publicly supported liberali-zation,
opponents of responsible government won a majority in the House of Assembly. Finally, in 1854, under prodding from London in the person of a progressive
Secretary for the Colonies, Earl Grey, the House of Assembly was prodded into assuming a responsible role, with members of the majority party assuming
ministerial positions. The lower chamber became supreme in 1891 when the legislature became unicameral, with the Legislative Council abolished, and the
House of Assembly restyled the “Legislative Assembly.”)
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