Godley to Merivale (Permanent Under-Secretary)

With reference to your Letter of yesterdays
date

in which
you state that it is proposed to divide the Detachment of
Royal Engineers under orders to proceed to British Columbia,
sending a portion in the supplementary Freight Ship which
has been taken up for the conveyance conveyance of Stores, and conveying
the request of Sir E.B. Lytton that the services of a Naval
Surgeon should be obtained to accompany one of the Parties;
I am directed to transmit to you, for the information of the
Secretary of State, the enclosed copy of a Letter written by
the directions of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty,
from which it appears that the "Briseis," the vessel engaged
for the conveyance of Stores, having no accommodation for
Passengers; if Colonel Moody's suggestion is to be adopted,
the whole of the arrangements which have been made must be cancelled.