No. 18

I have the honor to enclose herewith a letter addressed
to Your Grace by Mr J.B. Gaggin, a stipendiary magistrate
of British Columbia, representing and complaining of an act
of injustice, which he alleges he has received at my hands,
by being suspended from the exercise of his functions pending
an investigation into his accounts.

2. In accordance with rule I proceed to report upon his
complaint altho' it seems to me that the papers he himself
furnishes sufficiently exhibit the cause of his suspension,
the reason of the suspension being removed, and justify the
course adopted.

3. I must first explain that one of the capacities in
which Mr Gaggin acted was that of Collector of Roads Tolls
at Douglas, a service from which a considerable amount of
Revenue is received; and Knowing the difficulties and risks
attendant upon the conveyance of money from the Collectorate
to the Treasury, I gave special orders to the Treasurer to
instruct the outstation Collectors to take advantage of
the trips of the "Gold Escort" to remit to the Treasury.

4. On the particular occasion referred to by Mr Gaggin
I had expected, and calculated upon, a large sum from Douglas.
To my Surprise, upon the arrival of the "Escort," instead of
such sum coming to hand, a report is made by the Treasurer, copy
enclosed herewith, that no money had been remitted from
Douglas, but, that instead, Mr Gaggin had informed him that
he did not expect the "Escort" for several days, and that when
he got his Books satisfactorily balanced he "would send a
large sum to the Treasury." I was aware that, by the returns,
a sum of £4000 should be at Douglas. I enquired as to the
stay made by the "Escort" at Douglas, and found that Mr Gaggin was afforded a period of over two days in which to
carry out the instructions he had received. He not only did
not comply with these instructions, but, he excused himself
in a most unsatisfactory manner. So serious a dereliction,
connected as it was with public money, I could not overlook,
and I therefore took such steps as seemed to me right and proper.

5. I instantly despatched Mr Nind, accompanied by an
accountant from the Treasury, to investigate the whole of
Mr Gaggin's accounts, and to enquire into the state of his
District, and pending the investigation, I interdicted Mr Gaggin from the performance of further duty.

6. Mr Nind's report, a copy of which I enclose, relieved
my mind as to any defalcations existing; but, it will be
seen from the reply to Mr Nind that his explanations upon
some points were not satisfactory, and I naturally awaited a
further report before I could decide upon the whole case.

7. As soon as I was in a position to give a decision, I
did so. There was no deficit of public money, and, therefore,
Mr Gaggin was cleared from the main charge against him. I
could not however acquit him of inattention and negligence
in the performance of his duties. After a careful consideration
of all the circumstances I came to the conclusion that the
suspension should be removed, but, that it would be for the
interest of the public service that Mr Gaggin should discharge
his duties as an Assistant Gold Commissioner and Stipendiary
Magistrate in another part of the Colony.

8. In the whole of this matter I believe I have acted
strictly in conformity with my instructions, and as was
required of me, in the just exercise of the charge committed to my care.

9. Mr Gaggin may, I can well understand, feel aggrieved
at being suspended from his duties, but that feeling should
be exercised against himself, and not against those, who, in
the interests of the public service, were, owing to his own
conduct, compelled to discharge an unpleasant duty in respect of him.