Sclater Booth to Under-Secretary of State

The Lords Commissoners of Her Majesty's Treasury have had
before them your letter of the 19th ulto enclosing copies of
two Despatches from the Governor of British Columbia; the first
enclosing the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 1867 and
the Appropriation Ordinance No 13 1867, and the second, the
Supplementary Estimates for 1866 with an ordinance No 27, 1867.

I am to state, for the information of the Secretary of State,
that adverting to the date at which these Estimates have been
submitted to this Board—it appears to My Lords that there is no
alternative but to signify their approval of them.

They observe with regret that the same sum is inserted for
repayment of Temporary Loans as that specified in the estimates
of 1866—and, although some explanation is afforded in the
Report of the Assistant Colonial Secretary (which is
enclosed)—from the financial difficulties which have resulted
from the union of the two Colonies—they trust that the
Secretary of State will call the attention of the Governor to
the extreme importance of bringing the Expenditure within the
Revenue—and that that officer should be urged to make further
reductions in salaries and other items of expenditure so as to
relieve the Colony from this temporary liability.

With this understanding My Lords will not refuse their assent to
the Estimates vizt:

Revenue $675,350

Expenditure 701,710

to the Ordinance No 13 Mar 11 1867, appropriating the sum of
$566,658.30 for the year 1867, and to the Ordinance No 27 Apr
2, 1867 appropriating a further sum of $96,918.11 for the
service of the year 1866.