Confidential
24 October 1859
My Lord Duke,
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential Despatch of the 29th of July, in reply to mine of the 4th of May last, upon the subject of the insufficiency of the Salary of my Office.
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2. I have to return my most sincere thanks to your Grace for the very kind manner in which you have expressed yourself upon this matter, and I beg to acquaint you that I am perfectly satisfied with the Salary now allotted to me by Her Majesty's Government, but I trust that the condition which is attached to that portion of the Salary payable from the Revenues of British Columbia may be removed, for it must be evident to your Grace that if the yearly Revenue of the Colony falls short of Fifty Thousand Manuscript imagePounds per annum, that circumstances can make no difference in my expenditure and when my whole annual Income is not more than is necessary for my support, I cannot regulate my expenses upon the mere probability of receiving so large a portion of that Income as Twelve Hundred Pounds (£1,200).
3. I trust your Grace is assured that no exertion has been wanting, or shall be wanting on my part to produce from British Columbia the largest possible Revenue, and I doubt not that the Revenue for Manuscript imagethe current year will attain the prescribed limit, but your Grace cannot fail to understand how serious and embarrassing to me is the condition imposed, and upon this representation and under the consideration that the Mother Country has incurred no expense for the Colony on Civil account, except for a portion of my salary, I trust your Grace will see fit to remove this condition.
4. I have recently received an offer from the Governor and CommitteeManuscript imageCommittee of the Hudson Bay Company to purchase my retiring interest in the Company at the price I named, so should Her Majesty's Government not desire to avail themselves of the offer I made, all difficulty upon that head is removed.
I have etc.
James Douglas
Minutes by CO staff
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Mr Merivale
In a despatch of May last, Govr Douglas was informed that he might draw an addition of £1200 to his salary for the current year if the Local Revenue shd amount to £50,000.
In a subsequent despatch he was told that he might draw this addition annually on the same condition.
He now requests that the increase of £1200 may be made unconditionally.
The question of the purchase of his interest in the fur Trade is standing over till the matter Manuscript imageof the expenditure incurred on the public Buildings of V.C. Island is explained (vide 7063) and perhaps therefore the question of any permanent increase of the Governors salary should also be postponed?
But the revenue of the Colony not having amounted to £50,000, some decision seems called for as to the amount of Governor Douglas' salary for the current year. Is he to be allowed to receive the extra £1200.
HT Irving 22 Dec
I suppose it must be decided in Govr Douglas's favour.
HM D 22
N 23
Other documents included in the file
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Draft, Merivale to G.A. Hamilton, Treasury, 24 January 1860, providing information relating to the salary of the governor, and advocating that the raise be sanctioned.
Minutes by CO staff
I find that none of this correspondence has gone to the Treasury and therefore submit this Draft for approval.
Other documents included in the file
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Draft reply, Newcastle to Douglas, Confidential, 13 February 1860.