No. 84, Miscellaneous

1. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No
29 of the 1st August 1864 in reference to former Despatches on the
subject of the Bute Inlet and Bentinck Arm massacres, and requesting
to know what steps if any were taken by the Government of this Colony
or by Mr Waddington or his Agents to provide either directly or
through Governor Seymour for the safety of the second party who were
murdered on the Bentinck Arm route.

2. I will shortly state the facts as far as I know them.

3. On Wednesday 11th May a coasting steamer arrived from Nanaimo
bringing intelligence of the massacre at Bute Inlet, together with
the three survivors two of whom were wounded.

4. The wounded men were immediately removed to the Hospital and the
particulars of the murders elicited by the Police.

5. On reviewing their Report I immediately directed Mr Wood, a
barrister then acting for the Stipendiary Magistrate (who was
confined to his bed) to proceed to the Hospital and take the
depositions of the wounded men which occupied the remainder of that
day (the 11th) and a great part of the night in completing.

6. I enclosed the Depositions so taken without delay to Governor
Seymour, and sent them for transmission to New Westminster by a
steamer which was advertised to sail on the following morning,
Thursday 12th May.

7. My letter was returned to me on the same afternoon with an
intimation that the sailing of the steamer was unavoidably postponed
till Friday morning the 13th May when it was sent.

8. On that day Mr Waddington at my request proceeded in the same
steamer to afford Governor Seymour any additional information in his
power.

9. I at the same time cordially tendered my services to Governor
Seymour and suggested that parties of volunteers (the only force at
my disposal) should be sent simultaneously from New Westminster to
Alexandria, and from Vancouver Island to Bute Inlet and Bentinck Arm,
and offering to find volunteers for the two latter expeditions.

10. I received a private note from Governor Seymour in reply which I
enclose dated the 17th and 18th May which explains itself. You
will observe from this letter, that Governor Seymour was in
communication with
Sir James Douglas who was residing here but did not
*

communicate with me, and also that Mr Waddington at Governor
Seymour's request proceeded to Bute Inlet where his presence was
useless to save life instead of proceeding to Bentinck Arm where
there were lives still (as far as we then knew) which might by
possibility have been saved.

11. You will thus observe that I sent forward the information I
received to Governor Seymour at the earliest moment in my power and
sent Mr Waddington also by the same opportunity.

12. The accompanying letter from Mr Waddington in reply to my
inquiries explains his own conduct, and is I believe strictly in
accordance with truth.

13. I will not conceal from you (what your Despatch confirms) that
some unworthy attempts were at the time made to attach blame to me in
this matter, and some vituperative articles (attributed to an officer
lately connected with this Government in a double sense) were
published in a violent partizan newspaper having that tendency. It
will be for you to judge from the foregoing statement how far they
were well founded.

14. The statements adverted to being wholly devoid of truth I did
not see it expedient to contradict them and thereby raise a
discussion which could only result in an increase of the ill-feeling
which unhappily existed between the two Colonies.

15. It was my duty as well as desire to render Governor Seymour and
Mr Waddington all the aid in my power and this I did cordially and
earnestly as far as my authority and the means at my disposal would
permit.

16. With the information now before me I do not believe it would
have been possible to avert the unhappy fate of the Bentinck Arm
party after the receipt of the intelligence of the Bute Inlet
murders. The distance, time, and insufficient means at the disposal
of either Government I think prove this. But if such possibility
did exist, the case of these unhappy men is only one of the
miscarriages which have arisen, and will arise from a divided
authority in dealing with Indians who migrate between both Colonies.

17. I enclose herewith two local newspapers of the 12th and 29th
May which contain particulars and comments upon these melancholy
occurrences. I also enclose a copy of Mr Waddington's depositions
which I sent to Governor Seymour together with those of the survivors
of the Bute Inlet party, which you will observe discouraged the hope
of saving the Bentinck Arm party at the time those depositions were
taken, namely, the 11th May.