No. 19

In my letter No 15 of the 22nd of July I made known to Her
Majesty's Government that a not unreasonable degree of alarm existed in
the minds of the inhabitants of this Colony, in consequence of the great
number of northern Indians congregated in the settlements. A gang of
Queen Charlotte Islanders, who had been several months resident here,
soon after the date of that communication, attacked and nearly destroyed
a native "Cowegin" village situated about 50 miles north of this place.
The "Cowegins" few in number fought desperately and were all slaughtered
on the spot; and the assailants made off toward their own country with a
number of captive women and children.

When tidings of that disaster reached the Colony, the remaining
northern Indians, though still numerous were greatly alarmed, and the
Cowegins incensed by the loss of their friends, were only restrained
from attacking them en masse, by their respect for Her Majesty's
Government, and the dread of giving us offence. They however hovered on
the borders of the settlements, and shot every northern Indian without
respect to Tribe or person, who ventured abroad. In those circumstances
it became necessary to apply a remedy, as the excited passions of the
hostile savages would have eventually brought on a collision within the
limits of the settlements, where the northern Indians had assembled for
protection, and they were afraid to leave the Colony as the route to
their distant homes leads directly through the "Cowegin" Country. There
was also great cause to fear that so large a number of Indians united by
a common sense of danger, if permitted to leave in a collective body,
would in all probability, from a feeling of their own strength, become
dangerous, and commit numberless depredations on the less powerful
native Tribes of Vancouver's Island, who might be surprised and cut off
in detail.

I therefore adopted a plan which without displeasing the Cowegin
Tribe, was considered by the northern Indians as a mark of peculiar
favor; this was to despatch them on their return homeward, under the
escort of the Hudson's Bay Company's Steamer "Otter," and according to
that arrangement, fifteen large canoes manned with about 300 northern
Indians were sent away from this place on the morning of the 7th of
August, and were conducted as far as River de Grullas, about 150 miles
north of Victoria, where they were left to make their own way. The
Colony was thus delivered from the greater number of the northern Tribes
who have been resident at this place since the end of spring, and I am
in hopes they will not renew their visits next year, in bodies so
formidable.

I have now the satisfaction of announcing the arrival of Rear Admiral Bruce in Her Majesty's Ship "Monarch" at Port Esquimalt on the
evening of the 11th of Instant; and the "Trincomalee," Captain
Houstoun, arrived the following day. The "Alarm" and "Brisk," are also
under orders to repair to Vancouver's Island, and are daily expected
here. The health of the squadron is generally good, and there is an
abundant stock of vegetables and fresh provisions in the Colony for
their use.

Admiral Bruce proposes to prolong his stay till the first week in
September, and one of the ships will remain here after his departure for
the protection of the Colony.

The House of Assembly was opened on the 12th of the present
month. The affair passed off quietly, and did not appear to excite much
interest among the lower orders.

I herewith forward a copy of my address to the assembly on that
occasion, which I can only hope will meet with your approbation. As
mentioned in one of my previous communications, the House of Assembly
consists of seven Members vizt

John Muir Soke District

John S. Helmcken ) Esquimalt District

Thomas Skinner )

J.D. Pemberton )

James Yates ) Victoria District

E.E. Langford )

John F. Kennedy ) Nanaimo District

J.S. Helmcken has been elected speaker of the House, but nothing
further has been done; in consequence of objections having been raised
to the validity of the election in one instance, and to the property
qualification in two cases, making three out of the seven members,
against whose return, petitions have been sent in, leaving only the
speaker and three members at liberty to act, and that number is
insufficient to form a Committee of enquiry, the House therefore hardly
know how to get over the difficulty. One of the petitions is evidently
got up for mere party purposes, and if that were withdrawn there would
be four members and the speaker, who might proceed to regulate the
affairs of the house. In the Territorial Governments of the United
States, the practice in such cases, is for the Governor to grant
certificates of qualification to a majority of the Members; who then
proceed to constitute the house, but I am not certain if such a course
would be in harmony with English law; nevertheless if the House should
appeal to me on the subject, I will have recourse to that expedient.