d first to
General Fox, who had been in command at Halifax in 1783,
and then to General Musgrave; but was declined by both.
It was eventually accepted by Colonel Thomas Carleton,
a brother of Sir Guy Carleton, by whom it was held for
over thirty years. The chief offices of government fell
to Loyalists who were in London. The secretary of the
province was the Rev. Jonathan Odell, a witty New Jersey
divine, who had been secretary to Sir Guy Carleton in
New York. It is interesting to note that Odell's son,
the Hon. W. F. Odell, was secretary of the province after
him, and that between them they held the office for
two-thirds of a century. The chief justice was a former
judge of the Supreme Court of New York; the other judges
were retired officers of regiments who had fought in the
war. The attorney-general was Jonathan Bliss, of
Massachusetts; and the solicitor-general was Ward Chipman,
the friend and correspondent of Edward Winslow. Winslow
himself, whose charming letters throw such a flood of
light on the settlement of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,
was a member of the council. New Brunswick was indeed
_par excellence_ the Loyalist province.

The new governor arrived at Parrtown on November 21,
1784, and was immediately presented with an enthusiastic
address of welcome by the inhabitants. They described
themselves as 'a number of oppressed and insulted
Loyalists,' and added that they had formerly been freemen,
and again hoped to be so under his government. Next spring
the governor granted to Parrtown incorporation as a city
under the name of St John. The name Parrtown had been
given, it appears, at the request of Governor Parr himself,
who explained apologetically that the suggestion had
arisen out of 'female vanity'; and in view of Governor
Parr's unpopularity, the change of name was very welcome.
At the same time, however, Colonel Carleton greatly
offended the people of St John by removing the capital
of the province up the river to St Anne's, to which he
gave the name Fredericktown (Fredericton) in honour of
the Duke of York.

On October 15, 1785, writs were issued for the election
of members to serve in a general assembly. The province
was divided into eight counties, among which were
apportioned twenty-six members. The right to vote was
given by Governor Carleton to all males of twenty-one
years of age who had been three months in the province,
the object of this very democratic franchise being to
include