No. 34, Financial

I have had the honor to receive Your Grace's Despatch No 123
of the 13th May, upon the financial condition of the Colony of
British Columbia.

2. I trust Your Grace will accept my very sincere acknowledgments
for your kind endeavours to assist me in the embarrassing position in
which I am placed for want of funds to carry on the work of opening
the communications of the Country.

3. My Despatches of the 13th May, Nos 25 and 26, and 29th
May, marked Separate, detail and discuss very fully the measures in
progress towards this most important end and represent the precise
state of affairs, in a pecuniary point of view, and the extent to
which I had pledged my Government upon the strength of obtaining a
Loan in England under the "Roads Loan Act 1861". I therefore need
not occupy Your Grace's time by a repetition of these matters in
this Despatch. I will only say that I have according to Your Grace's
suggestion, passed an Act to raise a Loan of £50,000, (which Act
I forward for Her Majesty's confirmation in another Despatch of
this date) and Your Grace may depend upon me with confidence to
regulate my proceedings to the best of my ability in accordance
with the scheme sketched in Your Despatch.

4. Upon the subject of the expenses of the Royal Engineers
serving in British Columbia, I propose to address Your Grace in a separate Despatch, and I trust then to be able to remove the impression which I regret to find is entertained, that I have
appropriated British Money to the use of the Colony without leave,
by drawing unauthorized Bills upon the Imperial Treasury.