No. 39

1. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 2
of the 1st of July
last,

and observe with feelings of indiscribable satisfaction that Her
Majesty's Government approve of the measures which I conceived it
necessary to resort to, in order to assert the dominion of the Crown
Crownrights to gold
over the gold Districts of Fraser's River, and the rights of the Crown
over the precious metals.

2. The measures subsequently taken with the view of introducing
public order and Government into the gold regions and reported to you in
my later communications, being part of the same general system, will
therefore I feel assured also meet with the support of Her Majesty's
Government.

3. The latter like the initiatory measures, were introduced
under the pressure of necessity, without adequate means, and therefore
necessarily imperfect, but in adopting them we had solely the great
object in view of protecting British interests, and developing
the resources of the gold regions.

4. It was necessary for that purpose, that we should maintain
a proper control over the mixed multitude that have literally
forced an entrance into the British Possessions; That Americans
and other foreigners, should on certain conditions, be admitted
into the gold regions; That stocks of food should be thrown into
those Districts; that for want of British ships, Foreign vessels
should as a temporary arrangement, be allowed under a sufferance

renewable at the close of each voyage, to navigate the inland
waters of Fraser's River, for the purpose of supplying the Miners
with food and clothing; that roads should be opened to render the
gold districts accessible to the miner and to the merchant; that
Courts of Law should be established and Officers appointed for the
administration of Justice, the punishment of offences, and the
protection of life and property; and that the powerful native Indian Tribes who inhabit the gold Regions should be at once
conciliated and placed under proper restraint.

5. All this I have attempted to do, and I trust that
Her Majesty's Government will see, in those attempts only a
profound desire on my part to promote the interests of the Empire
without any admixture of other motives.

6. I have duly weighed the important communications made in
your despatch respecting the views of Her Majesty's Government
on this country, and I will use every means in my power to carry
them fully into effect.

7. I understand from those instructions that you do not deem
it advisable to compel the miners to take out Mining Licences for
Mininglicenses
Licensesmining
the present; and that no obstacle whatever is to be opposed to
their resort to Fraser's River; that the national right to
navigate Fraser's River, is a question which Her Majesty's Government
deems it proper to reserve; and that you enjoin caution and
delicacy in dealing with those manifest cases of international
relationship and feeling, which are certain to arise, and which but
for the exercise of temper and discretion may easily lead to serious
complications between two neighbouring and powerful states; and that
finally, I am directed to exercise whatever influence and power I
may possess, in the manner best calculated to give development to the
country and to advance Imperial interests.

8. I have to inform Her Majesty's Government, that as a general
rule, the taking out of Licences by the miners of Fraser's River,
Licensesgoldnonenforcement of
has not yet been enforced except to the extent of levying on each
miner, leaving Victoria for the gold diggings the sum of Five
dollars, for one months mining licence in advance.

9. The object of that payment was to assert the rights of
the Crown, and at the same time, to form a fund to meet the current
expenses of the Government, and my reason for not sooner enforcing
the taking out of licences, was the fact that I have no direct
authority from Her Majesty's Government, to impose taxes in the
Governorcommissions
Fraser's River District; as my Commissions from the
Crown

extend only to the Colony of Vancouver's Island and to Queen Charlotte's
Islands, and I moreover felt satisfied of the inability of the
miners to pay the tax, during the high stage of Fraser's River,
when the auriferous Bars were inundated, and the miners
consequently lying idle and entirely out of employment.

10. The River is now falling rapidly and the miners in many
Fraser Riverlow water
Miningreturns
places are doing well and are able to bear the tax, though as a
general rule, the great body of the mining population are still
unemployed, or barely making money enough to pay for their living.
We shall therefore in consequence of your recommendation, grant
them a further respite until their mining claims become more
productive, and they can afford to pay the regular licence duty for
digging gold.

11. As there is however no other means open to me of raising
a revenue for defraying the expense of the Officers and Police
employed on Fraser's River, and of opening roads and other necessary
expenses connected with that country, and being moreover exceedingly
anxious to avoid drawing on the Imperial Treasury and to make the
country bear as much as possible its own burdens, I established
a regulation before my departure from Vancouver's Island with the
consent of the Agents of the Hudson's Bay Company, authorizing the
Customs duties
importation of foreign goods of all kinds into Fraser's River, at
an ad-valorem duty of 10 per cent, to be levied at Victoria, the
proceeds of which are to be exclusively applied to the service of
Her Majesty's Government, and to meet the expense of governing Fraser's
River.

This course appears in all respects advisable, the duty being a fair and
equitable tax, easily collected and bearing equally on the consumers, I
therefore trust it will meet with the approval of Her Majesty's
Government.

12. I Have to observe for the information of Her Majesty's
Government that all foreigners and especially American citizens who have
HudsonsBayCompany exclusiverightstotrade
visited Fraser's River since the commencement of the gold excitement,
have been treated with kindness, and protected by the laws. The rights
of the Crown as well as the trading rights secured by statute to the
Hudson's Bay Company, have been broadly asserted in my several
proclamations, with the object of maintaining British supremancy, by
establishing a moral control over the masses of foreigners, who, under
the false impression that the country was free and open to all nations,
and that we had no military force at our disposal, were rushing
defiantly, and without ceremony into Her Majesty's Possessions, and we
succeeded by that means, in securing respect and obedience to the Laws,
at a time when a policy of concession would have been mistaken for
weakness and have proved injurious to British interests.

13. I may also remark that the wants of the mining population in
Fraser's River, have been abundantly supplied, both in respect of food
and the other necessaries of life, as the miners were allowed to carry
with them from Victoria an unlimited supply of food, mining tools and
clothing, even to the extent of a six month stock for their personal use,
so that they are not under the necessity of making purchases from the
stores of the Hudson's Bay Company, though they frequently do so, in
consequence of getting a better quality of goods at a lower price than
can be procured from other parties. In short I think I may venture to
assert that the Miners as a body are satisfied with the kindness they
have received from the authorities since their arrival in the British
Territory.

14. Being now engaged in visiting the various Districts of Fraser's
River, with the intention of reporting to you on their present state and
condition and being exceedingly busy with various matters of detail, I
will bring my present despatch to a close after informing you that the
mining population in this quarter continue quiet orderly and submissive
to the
Laws.