No. 5, Legislative

With reference to your Grace's Despatch Seperate of the 15th
June last, and to Her Majesty's Order-in-Council, of the
11th day of June 1863, authorising the Governor of British
Columbia to establish a Legislative Council composed of 15
Members; and to your Grace's instructions in the aforesaid
Despatch, directing that one third of the Members of the said
Legislative Council should consist of persons nominated by the
Residents in the Colony and recognized as representing their
feelings and interests, I have to inform your Grace that
these instructions have been now fully carried into effect,
and that the Legislative Council was convened, at this place,
and formally opened by me on the twenty first day of January Ultimo.

2 I will not occupy Your Grace's time by entering into a
detail of the steps by which the nomination of the five
elective Members was effected, but will merely mention
with reference to that subject, that the Magistrates were
instructed in a letter from the Colonial Secretary dated
16th September last, to promulgate among the inhabitants
of the respective Districts the change authorised, in the system
of Government, by Her Majesty's aforesaid Order-in-Council,
and to desire them to select and forward, through the
Magistrates, for my approval, the names of five persons
of good character and approved Loyalty, to serve and to
represent their interests in the Legislative Council, and
I further directed that the Members should be apportioned
as follows, to wit:

District of New Westminster
1 Member

Districts of Hope, Yale, & Lytton
1   "

   do     do Douglas & Lillooet
1   "

   do     do Carribou East
1   "

   do     do Carribou West
1   "

3. For obvious reasons I did
 not consider it expedient to
prescribe the mode of election, or fix the qualifications of
Members or Electors; leaving to the Residents, in every case,
free and unbiased liberty of choice. The proceedings were
conducted in a perfectly orderly manner, and the nominees
are persons of unexceptionable character; I had therefore the
satisfaction of being able in every instance to approve and confirm them.

4. The Legislative Council now consists of the following
Official and Unofficial Members vizt:

The Colonial Secretary

 "  Attorney General

 "  Collector of Customs

 "  Treasurer
)
These Offices temporarily held

 "  Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works
)
by Mr Chartres Brew

Chartres Brew

Chief Inspector of Police

Peter O'Reilly

Gold Commissioner & Magistrate

Edward Howard Sanders

Asst do           do

Henry Maynard Ball

Asst Gold Commissioner & Magistrate

Philip Henry Nind

         do      do        do

Joshua Attwood Reynolds Homer

New Westminster

Robert Thompson Smith

Hope Lytton & Yale

Henry Holbrook

Douglas & Lillooet

James Orr

Carribou East

Nomination announced by the Magistrate but not yet appointed

Black

Carribou West

5. I herewith forward a copy of my Speech on the opening
of the Legislative Council and of their address in reply.

6. I have, in conclusion, to state that these proceedings
have given great satisfaction to the people of the Colony at
large, and will, I trust, meet with your Grace's approval.