By another Act of 1792 the German names of the four districts were changed respectively to the more acceptable English ones. Eastern, Midland, Home, and Western; and provision was made for the erection of a gaol and court-house in each of them. Before these very necessary public buildings were erected, even the higher courts were held in cramped and uncomfortable quarters. It is said that the first sentence of capital punishment imposed in Upper Canada was pronounced in a tavern on the shore of the Bay of Quinte at Bath, and, as summary execution was the recognized method of carrying into effect the judgment of the court, the convict was immediately hanged to a basswood tree on the roadside, only a few rods distant. The pathetic part of this tragic incident is that it was afterwards learned that the poor victim was innocent of the charge of which he was found guilty, the theft of a watch. Such a stigma attached to this particular basswood tree that it was adopted and used for years as a public whipping-post.[#] [#] This incident was, I believe, first published by Dr. Canniff in 1869 in his _Settlement of Upper Canada_. I am unable to point to any official record bearing out his statement; but up to a few years ago old residents, including descendants of the tavern-keeper, told the story and evidently believed it. In the early courts the parties before them were occasionally represented by counsel; but the only recognized standard of admission to the bar was under an ordinance of the old Province of Quebec, and few were called. Under such conditions it can readily be conceived that it would be difficult to maintain any uniformity in the practice. In 1794 the Legislature empowered the governor, lieutenant-governor, or person administering the affairs of the province, to "authorize by license, under his hand and seal, such and so many of His Majesty’s liege subjects, not exceeding sixteen in number, as he shall deem from their probity, education, and condition in life best qualified, to act as advocates and attorneys in the conduct of all legal proceedings in the province." In 1803 the demand for lawyers had become so pressing—at least so it was alleged—that an Act was passed making it lawful to add in a similar manner six more practitioners to the roll. Neither of these Acts called for any educational test or professional experience. It is not therefore a matter of surprise to learn that the gentlemen of the long robe, who were thus admitted to the bar, were sometimes alluded to as "heaven-born lawyers", though some of them were of the highest standing, one becoming a judge of the King’s Bench, another treasurer of the Law Society.