No. 137

I regret to state that no small amount of injury has
undoubtedly been caused to the Colony of British Columbia by
the owners of the Steam Boats, which are now, and have been for
some time past running on Fraser's River.

These individuals are citizens of the United States and they
oppress alike the Miner and the Merchant by their exorbitant
charges for passage and freight.

2. The rate now levied for the transport of a Ton of goods
from this place to Fort Hope is Seventy-two dollars, or more
than £14 Sterling. The charge made last summer when I possessed
the power of regulating prices was Twenty-five dollars or £5 a
ton from this place to Fort Yale, which is fifteen miles of
difficult navigation beyond Fort Hope, and large profits were
made at that rate.

I fear the owners are now continuing to perpetuate the
evil by taking out British Registers for their vessels, by means
of transfers to British Subjects which there is every reason to
believe are only nominal and fictitious, although all the
requirements of the law being complied with it is difficult to
establish legal proof of that fact.

3. In this part of the world competition is not allowed
to produce its legitimate effects; it is the practice to buy up
every rival line or to pay them handsomely for allowing their
ships to be idle, and the public are charged a higher rate to
cover the additional expense which their oppressions have incurred.

The American Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company is a notable
example of this method of proceeding, this Company having
hitherto bought off every line established to compete with it.
I will instance another case. Last year a Steamboat called the
"Maria" was started on the Sacramento River in opposition to the
Boats of I believe the California Steam Navigation Company. She
was bought off by that Company. Her proprietor immediately brought her
up to this place to run on Fraser's River, buying off another boat which
he, on arrival found on the River, and sending this second boat down to
San Francisco to commence another opposition on the Sacramento River
in order to be again bought off.

4. The Victoria Steam Navigation Company, a British Company,
who have one large River Steamer employed between this port and
Langley, are now engaged in building a smaller vessel for the
higher navigation of Fraser's River. The Directors of this
Company lately applied to me for the protection of Government
against the machinations of these Foreign speculators. I
commented upon the extravagant rate of freight and suggested a
large reduction as the best means of meeting their competitors,
whereupon the Directors offered to provide vessels in sufficient
numbers to perform the whole transport business on Fraser's River
at the rate of Twenty-five Dollars or £5 Sterling a ton,
provided they were secured against these, in reality American
owners of British registered vessels, in the exclusive privilege
of navigating the River until the end of next September.

Monopoly would in such a case be a public gain, but being
illegal I could not entertain the proposal, though I cannot but
regret that under such circumstances I have no power by which I
could protect the public interest.

5. The Directors further assured me that they had been
invited by the American Owners to join in the combination for
maintaining the high rates of freight; but as the Directors
declined making the Statement in writing no legal use could be
made of it.

6. The Government legal authorities here are of opinion that
we have no power to refuse the change of Register from American
to British even for vessels employed in British Inland waters.

7. I transmit a copy of two letters from the Secretary of
the before mentioned company, and as the matter is one of much
importance to the interests of the Colony, as well as being a
National question, I should feel obliged if it were submitted for
the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, and that I may be
informed whether I should be justified in withholding a British
Register from Vessels becoming British under such circumstances
as those described, which appear to me simply an evasion of the law.