Elections for the New Ulster Province had already been held when news was received that the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 had been passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The initial members were Hobson as governor, Willoughby Shortland as colonial secretary, Francis Fisher as attorney-general, George Cooper as colonial treasurer, and a number of JPs: William Wakefield, William Cornwallis Symonds, James Reddy Clendon, Edmund Halswell, and George Butler Earp.
[3] James Coates was clerk to the general Legislative Council during the entire time of its existence.
[4] The sessions in Wellington were held in a room in the court house:[5] The general Legislative Council had 41 members during its existence.
There was no public announcement of the general Legislative Council having ceased to exist, but based on the New Zealand Constitution Acts and the date of writs received, it is likely that membership terminated on 28 September 1853.