The Law Society of Upper Canada, which has now its headquarters at Osgoode Hall, Toronto, may properly be classed among the pioneer institutions of the province. It came into being under the provisions of a statute of 1797, which made it lawful for all persons then practising at the bar to form themselves into a society, under the name which it still retains. The declared purpose of the society, in addition to caring for the needs of the legal profession, was "to support and maintain the constitution of the said province." It was created a body corporate by an Act of 1822, and its affairs are administered to-day upon somewhat the same lines as those upon which it was first formed. Before the arrival of Governor Simcoe, many of the communities had organized their town meetings and appointed their local officers, such as clerks, constables, and overseers of highways. The provisions of the first statute authorizing such meetings were based upon the organizations already in existence, so that the idea of local self-government did not originate with the Legislature. Parliament merely legalized and made general throughout the entire province the holding of just such town meetings as had already been organized in many of the older townships.[#] [#] For instance, the town meetings of the township of Sidney date from 1791, and those of Adolphustown from 1792, although the statute authorizing them was not passed until July, 1793. It is no particular mark of superiority to-day to be enrolled as a Justice of the Peace. Not so in the early days of Upper Canada. The humblest citizen may now in correspondence be addressed as "Esquire"; but, a hundred years ago, all hats were doffed when the "Squire" passed through the streets of a village. He was a man of some importance. He tried petty offences in his own neighbourhood; as a member of the Court of Requests, minor civil actions were heard by him; but, as a member of the Court of General Sessions, he rose to his greatest dignity. This body of justices, assembled in General Sessions, not only disposed of criminal cases, except those of the gravest kind, but were clothed with executive power as well. They enacted local legislation for the districts which they represented, they levied and disbursed the taxes, granted licenses, superintended the erection of court houses and gaols, the building of bridges, and generally performed the functions of our municipal councils of to-day. They met periodically in the leading village of the district and sometimes remained in session for a week, and, considering the amount of business they transacted, they were very expeditious, as compared with the modern county council. Few would gainsay the statement, if I were to add that the municipal legislators of to-day frequently do not, in many other respects, attain the standard of a hundred years ago. [Illustration: PIONEER STAGE COACH. The Weller Line from Toronto East]