No. 64

Referring to your Despatch No 19, 11th July 1864 relative to the
payment of certain fees to the Attorney General of this Colony I have
the honor to enclose the copy of a letter addressed by the Acting
Colonial Secretary to the Attorney General and his reply thereto.

2. I applied to the Chief Justice personally to know whether he
could afford me information on the subject. His Honor informed me
that he always considered the charges under consideration irregular
and unauthorized, and that he had on one occasion stated his opinion
to this effect in open Court.

3. In the interval since my Despatch No 25 dated 13th May 1864 was
written, this question has acquired additional importance. The facts
are as follow—

4. On or about the 23rd July 1864 Bills of Costs were sent in by
Mr Drake a Solicitor in the cases of The Attorney General v The
Hudson's Bay Company and Trimble v Pemberton (Surveyor General)
amounting to a considerable sum.

5. Having no guide or standard whereby to judge the accuracy or
propriety of this charge, I consulted the Attorney General and
finally sent the Bills to the proper Officer of the Court to be taxed.

6. These Bills included fees to the Attorney General amounting to
$170 dollars which were reduced by the taxing officer to eleven pounds
three shillings sterling.

7. Mr Drake applied to me in writing, and subsequently called upon
me to remonstrate against this large deduction from sums he was
actually out of pocket, and produced the Attorney General's
receipt for the amount of fees charged in his Bills $170, and
which amount he informed me Mr Cary, the Attorney General, had
himself fixed and demanded contrary to Mr Drake's expressed
opinion that the fees were excessive.

8. While this matter was under consideration, and before I made any
reference to the Attorney General, he addressed the Colonial
Secretary in the letter dated August 6th 1864, which was followed by
the letters named in the margin.

*

9. Since this branch of the question was concluded the Attorney
General has sent in a further Bill dated 5th August 1864 ($355) a
copy of which I enclose. This account I have held over pending your
decision.

10. I will only remark in conclusion that this system holds out a
direct inducement to the Attorney General and the solicitors he may
please to employ, to involve the Government in litigation with a view
to their own gain and frequently to the detriment of the public
service.

11. I find on reference to the Treasurer's accounts that from the
1st January 1864 to the 9th August 1864 fees to Crown Prosecutor
and Solicitor have been paid to the amount of $1621 dollars and there
is an additional sum of about $500 dollars now unpaid and pending
your decison, all being in addition to the Attorney General's fixed
salary.