Fane to Under-Secretary of State

I am directed by the Board of Trade to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 11th ultimo, forwarding, with reference to
previous Correspondence, a Copy of a further Despatch from the
Governor of Vancouvers Island, relative to the loss of the Mail
Steamer "Labouchere" (on the Coast of California)—and to the
Inquiry held in the matter.

With reference to the opinions of the Chief Justice and the Acting
Colonial Attorney General (referred to in the Despatch) as to the
power of the Governor of V.C. Isld to hold such Inquiry—and to
the request of the Governor for Information as to the propriety or
otherwise of the course he has pursued—and for any Instructions
that may be deemed necessary for his future guidance.

I am to offer the following observations for the consideration of
Lord Carnarvon:

In most of the British Colonies there are Colonial Acts authorizing
Inquiries into Wrecks—but it would appear, from the opinion of the
Acting Colonial Attorney General, that there is no such Act in
Vancouvers Island:

Even where there are these Acts the Board of Trade are led to doubt
whether they would apply to such a Case as the present, as it seems
at least questionable whether a Colonial Legislature can authorize
an Inquiry into the loss of a British Ship not registered in the
Colony, if the loss of such Ship happens outside the limits of
Colonial Jurisdiction—and this is a point which will be borne in
mind when the Imperial Act is amended.

In the present Case however the Board of Trade are of opinion that
notwithstanding the want of Statutory sanction the conduct of the
Governor in holding the Inquiry in question should be approved.