No. 32

I have the honor to forward to you herewith at the desire
of the Assay Department of British Columbia, certain correspondence
respecting a claim put forth by them to an increase of salary.

2. I regret that these Gentlemen should have assumed the
position that these Documents will disclose, for it appears to
me to bear very much the complexion of an attempt upon their part
to coerce the Government into a compliance with their demands, at
a moment when they believe their services are indispensable, and
the Government wholly in their power to carry out an important
measure in connection with their Department.

3. Your Grace is aware of the project I entertained of issuing
Gold pieces from the Assay Office of the value of Ten and Twenty
dollars American currency, and Her Majesty's Government have approved
the scheme. To carry it out I consider the Staff at the Assay Office
ample, in short that is proved by the fact that a large number of
these pieces have for practice been produced by that staff, and
indeed the Gentlemen themselves do not pretend to assert that they
are unequal to the labor. They consider however the operation as
one in no way connected with their duties, and before undertaking
any of the work, apply for an increase of salary. I inform them
that when the contemplated arrangements are carried out I will
take their case into consideration, they reply by refusing to
"take any part" in what they term "Mint operations."

4. They also endeavour to support their claims to increased
salary by referring to "promises of the Home Government" made
through the Master of the Royal Mint at the time he engaged them.
For these assertions I cannot find the least foundation. The
reports of Professor Graham respecting the engagement of
these Gentlemen are full and precise. An increase of
salary is promised after the first year of their engagement if
that increase was duly accorded; therefore perfect faith has been
kept with them in the promises made by Professor Graham, and not
only so, for they have since their arrival in the Colony been
provided with free quarters, an advantage which does not appear
to have been promised by Professor Graham, and one which is not
to be lightly estimated in a Country where most of the other public
Officers have had to incur a heavy outlay in purchasing land and
building Houses for themselves. It is, however, not improbable
that Professor Graham did hold out hopes to these gentlemen that
in time they would obtain larger salaries than he could offer,
to an increase the legitimate result of their own exertions
and integrity, but such a circumstance would form no ground on
which to assert so positive a claim as that put forth by these
gentlemen, nor to justify them in the course they have adopted.

5. I cannot therefore consider that these gentlemen have
any case of complaint to present to your Grace, and I trust your
Grace will support me in the action I have taken. The period for
which their salaries were assured to them by Professor Graham
will expire next month, and it was my intention then to remodel
the Establishment for it has been a most expensive one, the entire
outlay in connection with it having exceeded £9000, while the
receipts are little more than £900. The staff has been a double
one and capable of conducting the most extensive operations, but
40,000 ounces of gold only having passed through their hands in
2 years, these gentlemen have in consequence been leading a life
of comparative idleness. Now, when there is a prospect of their
services being remunerative, they refuse to render those services
unless specially paid for them.

6. Your Grace will observe that when first requested by these
Gentlemen to refer their case to you, I declined to do so, considering
that there was no necessity to trespass upon your Grace's time with
a matter of detail which was left to me to settle. As however, they
have claimed their right to such reference, I have only to comply
with the regulations of the service and to forward the correspondence
with this my report.