Peel to Rogers (Permanent Under-Secretary)

I am commanded by the Lords Commissoners of Her Majesty's Treasury
to acquaint you, for the information of the Duke of Newcastle, that a
claim has been made upon this Board on behalf of Mr F.C. Hansen,
Master of the Ship "Granger" for the subsistence, during a passage of
160 days from Vancouvers Island to Queenstown, of Thomas Burke a
Distressed British Subject;

This Person was received on board the "Granger" under an order signed
by Edward Stamp, Justice of the Peace, and the claim has been
presented upon a printed form adopted by the Board of Trade for
claiming the expenses of the conveyance of "distressed British
Seamen" pursuant to the Act 17918 Victoria [Capnt?]

104 Section 212.

The word "Subject" has been substituted for "Seaman" throughout the
document.

My Lords have, under the circumstances, given directions for the
payment of the claim—but they request that the Magistrate who signed
this Order may be informed that he was in error in assuming that
Thomas Burke was entitled to a passage home at the expense of the
Government, and that he was not justified in altering a form of
Document which is applicable only to Distressed British Seamen;

My Lords are also of opinion that the Governor should cause notice to
be given in case any erroneous impression should prevail in that
Colony, or in British Columbia, on this subject that Persons in the
Colonies are not entitled to passages to this Country at the expense
of the British Government.