Phillimore to Carnarvon

I am honoured with Your Lordship's commands as
signified in Sir Frederic Rogers's letter of the 23rd
instant, stating that with reference to my letter of the
4th of October last on the subject of the Marriage Ordinance
passed by the Legislature of British Columbia, he was
directed by Your Lordship to transmit to me a copy of a
Despatch which Your Lordship's Predecessor addressed to the
Governor of the Colony, together with a copy of a
Confidential Report of the local Attorney General on the
questions raised in that despatch. And Sir Frederic Rogers
was to request that I would furnish Your Lordship with my
opinion whether the explanation afforded by the Attorney
General of British Columbia removes any doubts I may have
entertained as to the propriety of submitting the
Ordinance for Her Majesty's confirmation.

In obedience to Your Lordship's commands, I have the
honour to Report,

That it appears from the opinion of the
Attorney General ofColumbia that the difficulty which I
had felt about the operation of this Act on the Indian
community has been generally considered by the Columbian
Authorities, and though the question raised in my former
report, as to the operation of the 17th Section on
Indian Marriages, is not perhaps directly answered, I
think it does appear that the Act will be beneficial on the
whole to Columbia, and that the special difficulty as to
the Indian Marriages cannot be immediately and completely
overcome by any legislation, while there is a reasonable
prospect that eventually such Marriages will be brought within
the reach of the provisions of this Act.