On the division of the old Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, John Graves Simcoe was appointed the first Governor of Upper Canada; and the first Parliament met at Niagara on the 17th day of September, A.D., 1792. With a due regard for the wishes of the people, the first Act placed upon the statute book abolished the French code, and declared that "in all matters of controversy relative to property and civil rights, resort shall be had to the laws of England." This was a longed-for boon welcomed by all classes. At the same session, there was passed an Act for establishing Courts of Request for the recovery of debts up to forty shillings, whereby it was declared to be lawful for any two or more Justices of the Peace, acting within the respective limits of their commissions, to hold a court of justice on the first and third Saturdays of every month at some place fixed within their respective divisions, for the purpose of adjudicating upon these small claims. It was essentially a justices’ court. They appointed their own officers, devised their own forms, and laid down their own method of procedure. These courts afforded the magistrates an opportunity of appearing upon the bench and taking part in judicial proceedings, without calling for the exercise of any superior legal knowledge. This was a privilege which many of them greatly enjoyed and of which they took full advantage, as is shown by the fact that as many as ten have been known to preside at a sittings, although only two were necessary.[#] [#] I find upon an examination of the records of the Court of Requests, held at Bath, covering a period of eight years from 1819, that rarely were there less than four justices present, frequently there were more than that number, and at the four sessions of March and April, 1827, there were seven, ten, six, and eight, respectively. There were no court houses at the disposal of the justices when the Act first came into force, and only one in each district when buildings were afterwards erected; so they were forced to hold their courts in private residences, taverns, or any convenient room that could be secured. When we endeavour to picture a row of justices behind a deal table across the end of a low-ceiling kitchen, crowded with litigants, any preconceived notions of the dignity of the Court of Requests are speedily dispelled. In 1816 the jurisdiction of the Court of Requests was extended to claims of £5, where the amount of the indebtedness was acknowledged by the signature of the defendant, or established by a witness other than the plaintiff. It did not take the merchants long to discover that it was greatly to their advantage, in more ways than one, to take from their customers promissory notes in settlement of their accounts; for by thus obtaining a written acknowledgement of the debt, an action for the recovery of the amount within the increased jurisdiction could be brought at a trifling expense in this court.