In the early years of the colony, those in power, both in London and in Halifax, did their best to stifle any attempts to put into general effect the system of town meetings that many of the early colonists had brought with them from New England. The governor and council prescribed local administrative arrangements, and appointed most local officials. The grand jury, another aspect of the court system, was composed of those who owned property of a fairly high value, chosen by lot from among their fellows. The grand jury nominated persons for office, presented the estimates of the sums that they considered were necessary to carry on local government, and periodically checked the adequacy of the system. There was thus some local representation, though not democratic the way we use the term today.
Historians disagree on just how representative the system was.
One considers it a very unrepresentative system based on wealth and privilege, and dominated by the government in Halifax. Another, of equal reputation, considered that the grand jury was fairly representative and that the justices would not go against the wishes of the majority of people. It was a long way to Halifax in those days, and the justices had to remain on good terms with their neighbours. In any event, the grand iury and court of sessions systems prevailed in local government, with relatively few changes, until 1879. There were substantial efforts made to obtain elected local governments, but they had no effect on the Legislature, which was dominated by members from Halifax who thought in the English manner.