No. 77

At the earnest solicitation of Captain Gosset the Treasurer
of British Columbia I forward herewith to your Grace, copy of
a correspondence having

reference to his appointment to the
Office of Colonial Secretary.

2. Under the circumstances of the style and tone of Captain
Gosset's letters I would willingly refrain from any comment,
but as established rule requires me to report upon the
application, I am con

strained to offer a few remarks on certain
prominent points.

3. Your Grace will observe that Captain Gosset endeavours
to establish a grievance because I have not appointed him to an
Office which is not vacant, or at all events because I will
not bind myself to create the vacancy and

appoint him at an
early period, and, while having done no more than his duty, he
would strive to shew that he has thereby been conferring a
great obligation upon me, which I was bound speedily to
repay. It is unnecessary for me to dwell upon this point,
Your Grace is perfectly aware of the

circumstances under
which the British Columbia Treasury was originally established
and continued for a period, at Victoria. It was not out of
"complaisance to me" that Captain Gosset opened his office
here; and I leave to the judgement of your Grace his
misapplication of these circumstances, circumstances that
did in reality

save him from much of that hardship and
inconvenience which he labors to prove it has been his
misfortune to experience.

4. I do not presume that Captain Gosset when accepting
the appointment of Treasurer had any assurance given him
that he would be appointed

Colonial Secretary upon arrival
in the Colony, and I therefore am at loss to conceive where
he has cause of complaint, for he has been enjoying the
appointment conferred upon him by Her Majesty's Government,
and neither he nor his family have been exposed to any
greater inconvenience than they must have anticipated when

leaving England, probably far less.

5. I must further remark that were the Office of
Colonial Secretary vacant, I could not appoint Captain
Gosset to it, for my experience of him during the last
eighteen months has shewn me that he is not fitted either
by habit or

disposition, for a post where tact, discretion,
and a conciliatory manner are important specialities.

I give this opinion reluctantly, but it is forced
from me by the course Captain Gosset has adopted.