Peel to Rogers (Permanent Under-Secretary)

With reference to your letter of the 25 April last, I am
directed by the Lords Commissoners of Her Majesty's Treasury
to acquaint you, for the information of the Duke of Newcastle,
that before giving any directions for the repayment to Naval
Services of the sum of £98.10, being freight claimed by the
owners of the "Thames City" for certain Hay and Oats shipped for
British Columbia but landed at Gravesend under orders from
Colonel Moody, Their Lordships wish to be informed whether Col
Moody's proceedings in the matter have been approved of by the
Department under whose instructions he was acting when making
arrangements for the departure of the Party of Royal Engineers
to that Colony.

My Lords would observe that at the request contained in
Mr Elliot's letter of the 11 November 1858, They paid to Col Moody the sum of £183.3.1 the value of certain Hay and
Oats purchased by him.

It now appears that the Forage was landed at Gravesend,
but it is not clearly shown how it was then disposed of or
whether the value, if returned to the contractor as surmised
in the letter from the War Department of 12 April last, has
been accounted for. My Lords request that enquiries may be
made into this matter, and that the value of the Forage, in
whatever manner it may have been accounted for may be repaid to
the Paymaster General on account of the Board.

Apart from this question it appears to Their Lordships that
the sum of £98.10 is a very high charge for the freight to
British Columbia of Forage of the value of £183.10, and They would wish to be furnished with an explanation from the Naval
Department in regard to the fairness of the charge.