Rogers to Merivale (Permanent Under-Secretary)

I have to acknowledge Lord Carnarvon's Letter of the 17th
instant  enclosing a memorandum from Mr Bridges actuary of the
Mitre Life Assurance Office containing a project for colonizing
Van Couvers Island.

2. Mr Bridges proposes that a Company should be formed with a
capital of £100,000 to 
which the Government should assign
(without any immediate consideration) 1000,000 acres or about
1562 square miles of land in Vancouvers Island.

3. The Company are to advance money from their capital to be
expended at once (that is I suppose as rapidly as may seem
prudent and practicable) in the transmission of laborers to the
settlement and their employment in surveys, roadmaking and other
operations preliminary to the occupation of the land. These
first Immigrants are to receive moderate allotments of land
gratis.

4. The Company's Land is to be sold at a fixed price namely
Town lands at the rate of £10 for a section of an acre or
less—suburban Lands at £100 for 25 acres—and Country lands at
£1 an acre. Payment may be made by instalments spreading over
"(say)" 10 years.

5. The receipts on account of Land are (if I understand the
project aright)

to be divided as follows—10 per cent is to be paid to the Crown
to be applied to the expenses of the Local Government—40 per
cent is to be applied to the preliminary expenditure already
described and of course in the first instance to repay the
Companys Advances and the remaining 50 per cent is left
unnoticed and is I presume to constitute the Companys profits.

6. Lastly the Crown is to engage not to sell any Land in the
Island at less than £1 an acre and to employ 50 per cent of its
receipts in "labour or adaptation".

7. I am unable to recommend that this plan should be
entertained. In the first place I can scarcely imagine anything
which would 
create a keener dissatisfaction among the multitudes
who are now flocking to the neighbourhood of Vancouvers Island,
than to be informed that 1562 square miles of land (selected I
presume from the most attractive parts of the Island) had been
set apart by Government in order that one half of the purchase
money amounting (if the land were sold) to considerably more
than half a million of money might serve to enrich, not the
Settlers whose industry will give it value but a Company in
London; while four fifths of the other half was to be
irresponsibly expended by the same body. And these complaints
will be much increased if the laborers imported by the Company
make their way to the diggings and the operations undertaken by
them (as is likely to be the case and almost certain to be
alleged) are injudiciously chosen.

8. Those therefore who purchase land from the Company will
complain that the purchase money is not expended (as it would be
by Government) for their benefit. Those who are disinclined to
purchase will complain that a large proportion of the best Crown
Land is virtually removed from the public Land sales. Both
alike will complain that the Home Government has sacrificed the
Colony.

9. The chance that the Company will be unable to recover from
their grantees the money which they allow to be paid by
instalments spread over ten years and after protracted disputes
will be obliged to compromise on the most disadvantageous terms—
that they will sell Land in Europe which cannot be
identified or is found to be misdescribed or has been already
sold in America and thus confuse themselves and paralyse their
Colonists—that they will be unable to retain the services of
the laborers whom they import, to keep their land free from
Squattors

or to secure economy or sound judgment in surveying, draining,
roadmaking, bridging or building operations carried on on the
other side of America, and that they will break down like other
Colonizing Companies under these 
and other mischances is one
with which, it may be said, the Government has no concern. But
the failure of a Company which by that failure locks up and
embarrasses the disposal of 1500 square miles of the best land
in a rapidly increasing Colony is a public danger, for which the
Government ought not without strong reasons to make itself in
any degree responsible. And I must add that as the terms which
have been accorded to one Company can hardly be refused to other
applicants, it will be almost impossible to prevent the Colony
from being divided among rival enterprises some of which can
hardly fail to run through the course which I have described.

10. On these grounds it seems to me that the contentment of the
Colonists—the simplicity of the Land sales—and the proper
expenditure of the money derived or to be derived from them
would be far best secured by giving no privileges to any Company
which is not open to every one of Her Majesty's subjects—by
keeping the conduct of the Land Sales in the hands of
responsible Government Officers and by leaving the conduct of
the emigration (for the present) to the Emigrants themselves who
appear likely to throng to the neighbourhood in fully sufficient
numbers.

11. Thus far I have submitted objections to the principle of
the scheme. Even if this were admitted various objections of
detail would remain to be considered and omissions to be
supplied.

(1) Is the Company to select its land in a single block or in
separate blocks. If the latter—how selected—in what
shape—and within 
what time. These are points of detail but of
great importance and some difficulty. For if restrictions are
imposed on selection the Company will complain that it is
deluded, if they are not it will be enabled to select scattered
spots which will give it the command of the Colony.

(2) What is to be provided about Minerals?

(3) What about Land in the possession of Indians?

(4) What about land which though not actually purchased is 
very
valuable to existing Settlers as adjoining their property or
otherwise.

(5) Is the proposed Government share of the proceeds of the Land
Sale (1/10th) sufficient.

(6) Considering the price at which Land is selling in Van
Couvers Island are the fixed prices especially that of £10 an
acre for town Land high enough. If not they will induce a wild
rage for buying on speculation which is always productive of
mischief.

(7) Will not the system of 
payment by instalments encourage men
to become at once possessors of land before they have acquired
the small capital and skill which experience shews to be
necessary to success.

(8) What need is there now of importing Immigrants into Van
Couvers Island? What hope that they will remain in the employ
of the Company?

(9) What security is there that the Company's almost
irresponsible Agents will expend judiciously what is in fact
public money.

(10) The only consideration which the Company give for their
possible gains of (say) £500,000 is the temporary advance of
£100,000 for preliminary expenses. What security is to be taken
for its being really advanced and properly expended.

(11) Is it desirable that free allotments should be granted
during the first year
to the labouring class. It is generally held I think that to
place an inexperienced person at once on land is the way to ruin
him.

(12) Can the Government possibly consent (for no greater
consideration 
than I have described)
not only to part with 1560 square miles of
land but to place itself under obligations to the Company in
respect to the disposal of the rest of the Crown (that is the
public) property.

(13) Does Mr Bridges represent capitalists ready to advance all
or an adequate part of the proposed capital or is it the mere
suggestion of a 
Gentleman who has still to find the means of
carrying it into effect.

([14])  On the whole it is quite clear that no Company can be
expected to take up any operation of this kind except with a
view to profit. That profit must be derived from the labor of
the Colonists and is therefore a tax on them. This is
pro tanto
an evil. But it is an evil which may be well borne if it is a
necessary condition of peopling a Country which would otherwise
not be peopled. Reasons might exist for allowing a privileged
Company 
to colonize the Falkland Islands or the less attractive
parts of Australia or (six months ago) the Western Coast of
America. But it appears to me that a Company for the
Colonization of Vancouvers Island would now be superfluous
because the work will be done without it—and it would be
mischievous because as I have attempted to shew a Company
possessing great exceptional advantages (and very great
advantages are needed to give it a chance of success) will cause
certainly discontent and probably confusion and trouble. And I
would again submit that 
the selling of the Crown Lands like
other branches of administration will be conducted with most
ease to the Government and satisfaction to the community by an
adequate body of efficient public officers on the spot—adapting
their operations to the wants of the community—and by giving to
no person or body of persons any privilege which is not
obtainable by all.