The 1st Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1871 to 1875. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in October 1871. John Foster McCreight was called upon to form a cabinet. In December 1872, the government was defeated on a confidence motion and Amor De Cosmos subsequently formed a new cabinet. After De Cosmos was elected to the House of Commons in February 1874, George A. Walken became premier.
There were four sessions of the 1st Legislature: SessionStartEnd 1st February 15, 1872 April 11, 1872 2nd December 17, 1872 February 21, 1873 3rd December 18, 1873 March 2, 1874 4th March 1, 1875 April 22, 1875
James Trimble served as speaker.
Members of the 1st Parliament The following members were elected to the assembly in 1871: MemberElectoral districtFirst electedNo.# of term(s)George A. WalkemCariboo18711st termJoseph Hunter18711st termCornelius Booth18711st termJohn George Barnston (1872)18721st termJohn AshComox18711st termWilliam SmitheCowichan18711st termJohn Paton Booth18711st termA. Rocke RobertsonEsquimalt18711st termHenry Cogan18711st termJohn Andrew MaraKootenay18711st termCharles Todd18711st termAndrew T. JamiesonLillooet18711st termT. B. Humphreys18711st termWilliam Saul (1872)18721st termWilliam M. Brown (1874)18741st termJohn RobsonNanaimo18711st termHenry HolbrookNew Westminster City18711st termJosiah Charles HughesNew Westminster District18711st termWilliam Armstrong18711st termRobert BeavenVictoria City18711st termJohn Foster McCreight18711st termSimeon Duck18711st termJames Trimble18711st termAmor De CosmosVictoria District18711st termArthur Bunster18711st termWilliam Archibald Robertson (1874)18741st termWilliam Fraser Tolmie (1874)18741st termRobert SmithYale18711st termJames Robinson18711st termCharles A. Semlin18711st term
By-elections By-elections were held for the following members appointed to the provincial cabinet, as was required at the time. All cabinet members were re-elected by acclamation:
A. Rocke Robertson, Provincial Secretary, acclaimed November 28, 1871 Henry Holbrook, Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, acclaimed November 28, 1871 George A. Walkem, Minister of Finance, acclaimed February 23, 1872 John Ash, Provincial Secretary, acclaimed January 11, 1873 Robert Beaven, Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, acclaimed January 6, 1873 William Armstrong, Minister of Finance and Agriculture, acclaimed March 21, 1873
By-elections were held to replace members for various other reasons: Electoral districtMember electedElection dateReasonCaribooJohn George BarnstonJune 22, 1872C. Booth appointed judgeLillooetWilliam SaulDecember 21, 1872Death of A.T. Jamieson in October 1872Victoria DistrictWilliam Archibald RobertsonFebruary 26, 1874A. Bunster and A. de Cosmos elected to federal seatsWilliam Fraser TolmieLillooetThomas Basil HumphreysNovember 17, 1874both members resigned in a "dispute between the two gentlemen as to which represents the popular feeling of the district"William M. Brown
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