Young to Under-Secretary of State

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 15h
Instant, in reply to my application of the 4h Instant, for an
extension of my leave of absence from the Colony of Vancouver's Island.

It is with extreme concern I learn that the Secretary of State does
not deem it expedient to accede to my request, for I anticipated that
after my long service in the Colony, I would be classed as entitled
to the indulgences generally extended to Colonial Officers, as laid
down in the Colonial Regulations with respect to leave of absence,
and I had made my arrangements accordingly; the more expecially as my
advices from the Colony led me confidently to believe that my post
during my absence was efficiently filled, and much to the
satisfaction of the Governor. The decision of the Secretary of State
causes me, I regret to say, serious embarrassment, and will entail
pecuniary loss, but while bowing to it with all due submission, I
would most earnestly but respectfully solicit an extension of leave
for six or seven weeks even, to enable me now somewhat more
satisfactorily to arrange my private affairs.

I can assure the Secretary of State that after his decision against
an extension of leave for the period I first asked, I would not again
venture to trespass upon his attention were I not compelled to do so
by sheer necessity to avoid considerable personal sacrifice: nor
would I do so were I alone concerned, but I have a large family,
which renders so long a journey as we have to take a most serious
matter, and which, of course, considerably complicates all my
personal affairs. I hope it may be remembered that I have been
absent from England for a period of eight years, that in the great
distance I have travelled and shall have to travel from and to my
Colony—nearly Eighteen thousand miles—a large portion—quite, if
not more than one third—of my leave is consumed; that the expense of
travelling so far with a family is very heavy indeed, and will
preclude my visiting England again for many years to come; and also
that during the period I have hitherto served in the Colony I have
not only never before had one single days leave of absence but that
I, to the injury of my health, performed my arduous duties under
circumstances of unusual pressure, continuously, and without scarcely
ever seeking the least relaxation. The Colony too, through me, has
greatly benefitted pecuniarily, by not only being relieved from the
cost of my passage out in the first instance, but by my only taking
for five years
half the amount of Salary allotted to my office.

I earnestly trust that what I have represented, and these facts,
which are capable of easy proof, and which I only allude to, most
reluctantly, for the reason that they may, perhaps, not be known to
the Secretary of State, will cause him to view my request with
favourable consideration, and that should he be not disposed to
reconsider his decision upon my first application, he will so far
assist me as to sanction my departure from this Country being
deferred until the end of April or beginning of May next.