5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia

The 5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia represented Nova Scotia between May 1770 to 1784, its membership being set in the 1770 Nova Scotia general election.
The 5th General Assembly is known as Nova Scotia's "Long Parliament" as it sat for fourteen years, throughout the length of the rebellion of the thirteen colonies. William Nesbitt was chosen as speaker in 1770. Thomas Cochran became speaker in 1784 after Nesbitt's death.
A writ for the election of the 5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia was issued on 18 April 1770. The assembly convened on 6 June 1770, held seventeen sessions, and was dissolved on 20 October 1785.
It is known as the "Long Parliament" as it sat for fifteen years, throughout the length of the rebellion of the thirteen colonies.
Due to the extreme length of this assembly, there were a very large number of seats declared vacant and by-elections. The house journal sometimes makes note of the circumstances, oftentimes coloured by political rhetoric of the time.

Sessions

Dates of specific sessions are under research.

Governor and Council

According to Allison, page 481, in 1774, the composition of His Majesties government in Nova Scotia was:

Governor: Lord William Campbell -absent 30 October 1771 – 13 July 1772.
*Lieutenant Governor: Michael Francklin -absent 30 October 1771 – 30 June 1772, served as acting governor 30 June 1772 – 13 July 1772 during the absence of Gov. Campbell.
**Administrator: Benjamin Green -served as acting governor 30 October 1771 – 30 June 1772 during the absence of both Gov. Campbell and Lt. Gov. Francklin.
Governor: Francis Legge -named 8 October 1773.
*Lieutenant Governor:
**Michael Francklin -confirmed
**Mariot Arbuthnot -named 27 April 1776
**Sir Richard Hughes -named 17 August 1778
**Sir Andrew Snape Hamond -named 31 July 1781
Governor: John Parr -named 9 October 1782
*Lieutenant Governor:
**Sir Andrew Snape Hamond -confirmed
**Edmund Fanning -named 23 September 1783

Note: this data is preliminary and is a work in progress. Many editors have gotten confused about the role of the Lt. Governor, and acting governor. They are not the same. Most but not all acting governors were Lt. Governors, and most but not all Lt. Governors served as acting governors for part or all of their terms. This section is subject to further research.
The members of the Council are currently under research.
The information below comes from an earlier version of this article and has not been verified:

House of Assembly

Officers

Speaker of the House:
*William Nesbitt of Halifax County -retired 7 November 1783.
**Henry Denny Denson of Kings County -speaker pro tern from 20 October 1773 to 12 November 1773 during Nesbitt's illness.
*Thomas Cochran of Liverpool Township -elected 1 November 1784.
Clerk of the House:
*Isaac Deschamps of Newport Township -appointed to Council
*Richard Cunningham of Londonderry Township -elected 6 October 1783.

Division of seats

As in previous assemblies, there were 4 seats assigned to Halifax County, 2 seats to the other counties and to Halifax Township, and 1 seat to the other townships. There were 33 seats at the beginning of the assembly. During the assembly, Amherst and Windsor Townships, and Hants County were added, for a total of 37 seats.

Members

Note: Unless otherwise noted, members were elected at the general election, and took their seats at the convening of the assembly. By-elections are special elections held to fill specific vacancies. When a member is noted as having taking their seat on a certain date, but a by-election isn't noted, the member was elected at the general election but arrived late.