Murdoch to Merivale (Permanent Under-Secretary)

I have to acknowledge Mr Elliot's letter of
21st ultimo, enclosing a Despatch from Governor Douglas
on the subject of the disposal of Crown Land in Van Couvers
Island and British Columbia.

2. On the 14th August last Sir E. Bulwer Lytton
directed Governor Douglas to report his views as to the
future disposal of Land in British Columbia, authorizing
him in the meantime to sell land for agricultural purposes
at the price which might appear to him reasonable but
recommending that Town land should not be sold at too low
a sum. Sir E. Bulwer Lytton also directed him to keep
a separate account of the Revenue arising from sales of Land
and to apply it for the present to purposes of survey and
communication, to facilitate the naturalization of Foreigners,
and especially to avoid any appearance of favoritism towards
the servants of the Hudsons Bay Company.

3. Governor Douglas' despatch of 27th October
No. 7 is the answer to these instructions. It is accompanied
by a Report from Mr Pemberton the colonial Surveyor of
VanCouvers Island explaining the course which has been
adopted in that Island and suggesting the arrangements to
be made in British Columbia. Mr Pemberton states that
in Vancouvers Island lands have been divided into

1. Country Lands

2. Mineral

3. Town

4. Suburban

That Country Lands are sold at £1 per acre, formerly in
lots of 20 acres and upwards but now not in lots of less
than 100 acres, that the purchase money is paid by
instalments, that for unsurveyed Lands applicants are
allowed to pay a deposit and obtain priority of choice
according to the date of their deposits, that Lands
containing Coal were sold without any deduction for
unavailable land, and that reserves are made for main lines
of Roads but for no other. For the disposal of Land in
British Columbia Mr Pemberton proposes that the 49th
parallel of latitude should be taken as the base of a
series of sections of a square mile each, that each square
Mile should be divided into 6 or 8 Lots (i.e. 80 or 107 acres,)
that Mineral Lands should be reserved, that Town and Suburban
lands should be sold unconditionally, that all lands should
be sold at an upset price, and where competition exists by
Auction, that Trigonometrical Surveys should not in the
first instance be required, and that duly qualified
Assistant Surveyors should be sent from England. Mr
Pemberton further suggests that the system of payment by
instalments which exists in VanCouvers Island should not
be introduced into British Columbia, but from this Governor
Douglas dissents. He also proposes that the Law Officers
should be entrusted with the necessary means of making
meteorological observations, and that steps should be
taken for publishing Maps and general information for the
use of intending Emigrants.

4. In respect to the sale of Land it appears to me
that the regulations adopted in Vancouvers Island might, with
some slight modifications, be introduced into British
Columbia. As regards the time of commencing a trigonometrical
survey and the mode in which lots should be divided off, those
questions may be safely left to be decided by Colonel Moody
who since this Despatch was written has proceeded to the
Colony as Surveyor General. As the commencement of the
Trigonometrical Survey is only a question of time, it will
be for him to decide whether the means at his command will allow
of its being undertaken at once without inconveniently
retarding the opening of Lands for Sale.

5. In respect to the mode of Sale I understand Mr
Pemberton to state that in Van Couvers Island Country Lands
have hitherto been sold at a fixed price (he does not mention
Town or Suburban Lands) but to recommend that all Lands in
British Columbia should be sold by Auction "if competition
exists." The question of selling Land by auction or by
fixed price has been much debated of late years and the
preference has been differently accorded in different Colonies.
The advantage of Sale by Auction is that it takes the best
precaution that can be taken against the sale of Land at an
inadequate price and that it prevents all jobbing and the
suspicion or imputation of it. The objections to it are
that it discourages enterprize in the exploration of a new
Country by exposing the discoverer of an eligible lot to be
outbid at the sale, and that in the case of fresh Land, it
involves a delay in putting the purchaser on his purchase.

6. It cannot be denied that these objections are
entitled to much insight. But they do not apply, or in a very
minor degree, to Town and Suburban allotments, the situation
of which must be decided by the Government, not by an
individual. I would, therefore, recommend that whatever
decision we come to in regard to Country Lands, the sale of
Town and Suburban Lands should be exclusively by Auction
at an upset price. The size of Town Lots should not
exceed half an Acre, nor of Suburban Lots 50 acres. The
size of Country Lots must depend on local circumstances,
but probably the size of 100 Acres adopted in VanCouvers
Island, or the 6th of a square Mile suggested by
Mr Pemberton, will be well suited to British Columbia.

7. In respect to the mode of payment Mr Pemberton,
as I have stated, recommends that payment by instalments
should not be allowed, while Governor Douglas takes the
opposite view. The Governor alleges that the system of
paying by instalments has been a benefit and relief to
poor settlers in VanCouvers Island, and he proposes,
therefore, to introduce it in British Columbia for sales
of Country Lands above 50 Acres. On the other hand it
cannot be denied that the "benefit and relief" to which the
Governor alludes has in fact the effect of converting
into Landowners those who ought properly to be laborers,
that it tempts persons of little capital to buy more land
than they can cultivate, and that it is next to impossible
to recover the unpaid instalments from a dishonest or
insolvent owner, and equally impossible to eject him from
the Land. The difficulty of ejectment would be especially
great in British Columbia where a large portion of the
population would have been accustomed to the squatting
rights of the United States and the encouragement they
give to the irregular occupation of Land. I have no
hesitation, therefore, in expressing my opinion that
prompt payment is better in all cases, and especially in
British Columbia, than payment by instalments. But it
must be added that payment by instalments has never
been reestablished in some Colonies, especially in Canada,
by the Colonial Governments, and that the point cannot,
therefore, be regarded as free from question. In Australia
and New Zealand the system of prompt payment has as a general
rule been maintained.

8. The reservation of Mineral Lands and the disposal
of them on different terms from Agricultural lands is of
course proper. In respect to Coal and the baser Metals
the best arrangement would probably be to establish liberal
regulations for encouraging explorations and for leasing
to the discoverer lands under which minerals may be
discovered for a certain period and at a certain small
royalty. In several Colonies the terms for Mineral lands
are a lease of 21 years at a Royalty of 1/15th. Whether
those terms would be sufficiently favorable in British
Columbia, or whether it would be desirable to make them
easier by postponing the payment or reducing the amount
of the Royalty, Governor Douglas would be best able to
decide. I mention them only as showing what has been
considered fair to all parties in other of the British
Colonies. But it is obvious that the revenue to be
derived from such Lands is the least important element of
the question and that it should not be allowed to interfere
with whatever maybe necessary to stimulate the development
of the natural resources of the colony. In case of more
than one application for the same Mineral Land the lease
should be put up to Auction, the bidding being, not on the
amount of rent or royalty, but on a premium to be paid
down for the lease.

9. Auriferous Lands are distinct from what are usually
termed Mineral Lands and must be dealt with on different
principles. In the case of Coal and the baser Metals the
possession passes to the owner of the surface soil unless a
special reservation is inserted in the Crown Grant. In the
case of Gold and Silver the right remains in the Crown whether
there is any reservation in the grant or not. I do not
think that much assistance could be afforded to Governor
Douglas in this matter by any suggestions from home. The
question to be decided is not so much what is the best mode
of dealing with auriferous Lands and securing a revenue
from Gold digging, but what is the most practicable and
satisfactory plan having regard to the means at the Governor's
disposal. Upon this point the Local Authorities alone can
form a competent opinion. Up to the present time Governor
Douglas appears to have found no difficulty in carrying out
a system of Licenses, and as long as he can continue that
system it offers great facilities for the collection of a
Revenue. The experience of Victoria, however, suggests a
doubt whether that system can be permanently established.

10. The publication of Maps and of other information
concerning the lands open for settlement will be very
useful, and Governor Douglas will no doubt furnish the Home
Government with copies of all such documents. The
establishment of a series of Meteorological observations will
be much facilitated by the presence in the Colony of a body
of educated Officers and men, to many of whom, probably, such
observations are familiar. Perhaps Sir E. Bulwer Lytton may
think it right to communicate to the Admiralty Governor
Douglas' intentions in this respect, in case the Lords
Commissioners should wish to make any suggestions for his
guidance in the matter.