Julyan to Elliot (Assistant Under-Secretary)

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 16th Inst, relative to the negotiation of the Loan
authorized by the British Columbia Loan Ordinance of the 10th
 March 1864, amounting to £100,000, and conveying to the Crown
Agents for the Colonies Mr Secretary Cardwell's authority for
their proceeding to raise this Loan in such portions and at such
times as they may find compatible with the state of the Money
Market, and with the interests of the Colony.

In reply I beg to inform you, for Mr Cardwell's information,
that although the Crown Agents have received instructions from
the Colonial Government to place one half the amount on the
market forthwith, and they have furthermore reason to believe
that the money is urgently wanted, yet they are so strongly
convinced that it would be prejudicial to the interests of the
Colony to attempt to place their Debentures on the market just
now, that they propose to abstain from making any such attempt
until there shall appear to be some reasonable prospect of success.

The high price of money, and the attraction of capital to
the great Financial and Banking Companies which are daily brought
before the public, coupled with the strong indications given
by the Press and by Parliament of a desire for a change in the
Colonial policy of this Country, have had the effect of
seriously depreciating Colonial Government Securities, and
have rendered it impossible, at the present moment, to
negotiate a loan of any considerable amount unless at a great sacrifice.

The Crown Agents will at once make all the preliminary
preparations for raising the Loan, so as to be ready to
take advantage of the first favorable turn in the Markets;
but they propose with Mr Cardwell's Sanction to allow
the matter to stand over until that time arrives.