Archibald Hinshelwood came to Halifax in 1749 as one of Governor Cornwallis's clerks and performed the duties of Deputy Secretary for many years. The majority of the drafts of the correspondence sent to England by the first three Governors were written by him. He was also a lawyer and a merchant. Hinshelwood was a major source of gossip about government affairs, as drafting official correspondence made him privy to most of the province's political and military affairs. John Salusbury, who considered Hinshelwood an "Imprudent sorry fellow", described him as "Preying into Every Affair" and "Know to tell about town Every transaction in the office." He was first elected to the provincial assembly in a by-election held in 1759 for Lunenburg, but he was unseated after an appeal; Hinshelwood was elected in the general election that followed later that year, but he was arrested by order of the House after insulting another member in the street, only to grant him freedom after an abject apology. He was elected again in 1765. He was appointed to the Council In 1773 by Governor William Campbell, but he died before taking his seat. His property on Argyle Street, afterwards occupied by the City Water office, ended up with his nephew, as he had no children. The old property was purchased by Mr. William A. Black, who resided there for many years (Akin 1895, 50).
As an interesting point, the famous Thomas Pichon, Spy of Beauséjour, also known as Thomas Tyrell, was placed in Hinshelwood's custody on October 9, 1755. Hinshelwood was Acting Secretary for Governor Charles Lawrence at the time. (Murdoch 1867)