No. 20

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Despatch
No. 93 of the 25th November, forwarding a Letter from the Lords
Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, in which their Lordships
desire to be furnished with some explanation as regards the apparent
falling off in the Receipts under the Head of "Revenue from Collectors."

2. The "Revenue from Collectors" is derived chiefly from Road
Tolls and Mining Receipts. During the winter months our communications
with the Upper Country are interrupted by the amount of Snow which
annually falls in the valley of the Fraser, and the severity of the
 winter in our Northern Mines puts a stop to all Mining operations.

3. For these reasons it is not to be expected that the receipts
from this branch of the Revenue will compare favorably with the
Receipts during the quarters referred to in the Treasury Letter.
I enclose a Return of the Amount of Revenue received under this
Head, from which it will be seen that there is an actual increase
for the first quarter of 1865 over similar periods of previous years.