No. 22
Downing Street,
5 May 1860
Sir,
I transmit for your infon and guidance the copy of a letter from the Board of Treasury and of the answer which has been returned to it by my direction, on the subject of the repayment of the advances that have been made from the Treasury Chest on account of British Columbia.
You will observe from this correspondence that in order to arrive at an adjustment of the accountsManuscript imageaccounts of the advances made, it is essential that full accounts with vouchers should be transmitted to this country of all sums received and disbursed on account of Bills drawn upon the Paymaster General and I request that instructions may be given for this being done with as little delay as possible. You will also call upon Colonel Moody to supply accounts for the advances made to Captain Grant R.E. and Captain Parsons.
I enclose the statements referred to in the letter from the Treasury of the Bills accepted by their Lordships down to the 10th of March last. It would be desirable that the accounts to be supplied byManuscript imageby Captain Gosset should include the Bills drawn, down to the close of the financial year on 31st March last, and, for the future, that the Accounts should be transmitted quarterly.
I have to call your special attention to the observations of the Lords Crs of the Treasury on the system to be followed in accounting for the ordinary Revenue and expenditure of the Colony. British Columbia being, for the present considered as a Crown Colony, both the means by which its revenue is raised and the appropriation of that Revenue fall under the supervision ofManuscript imageof H.M.'s Govt. It is therefore essential that I should be supplied with full information respecting the financial condition of the colony. It will be your duty to transmit to me quarterly returns of the Revenue and Expenditure and, at the close of each year a similar return for the past twelve months.
It will also be necessary that as soon as possible after the commencement of each Calendar year you should transmit to the Secretary of State Estimates of the Revenue andManuscript imageand Expenditure for the ensuing year. These Estimates will be submitted to the L. Crs of the Treasury and on their receiving their Lords000hips approval will regulate the expenditure of the year. Any further or different appropriations of the Revenue which you may be led subsequently to consider desirable must be specially reported by you for the sanction of H.M.'s Government. On this subject I have to refer you to the general rules contained in the Book of Colonial Regulations and to the instructions communicated to you with my Predecessor's despatches No. 58 ofManuscript imageof 24th December 1858 and No. 3 of 6th January 1859.
These Estimates will enable the Secretary of State to decide upon the amount of aid to the colony for which it will be necessary to apply to Parliament. For the ensuing year I have come to the decision that it will be sufficient to provide, in addition to your salary as Governor, for the Colonial Pay of the Royal Engineers which, in the absence of any specific information has been estimated at £11,000. The assurances conveyed in your recent despatches that for the civilManuscript imagecivil Expenditure of the Colony the local resources are sufficient satisfactorily to provide, convince me that by relieving you for another year from the burthen of the colonial as well as the Regimental pay of the men the increasing Revenue of the colony will enable you to defray it's remaining military charges. I therefore confidently rely on your being enabled to limit your drafts upon H.M's Treasury to the amount of the colonial Allowances of the Royal Engineers.
With respect to the Audit in the colony of the Treasurer's accounts I refer you to my Predecessor's despatchManuscript imagedespatch No. 28 of the 3rd March 1859 in which it was stated that the Colonial Secretary might at the same time perform the duties of Auditor. It will accordingly devolve upon Mr Young to examine these accounts previously to their transmission to England. You will observe that I have requested the Lords Crs of the Treasury to furnish Mr Young or the Colonial Secretary for the time being with instructions for his guidance should any be requisite beyond thoseManuscript imagethose afforded by the enclosures of Sir. E. Lytton's despatch of the 6th January 1859 above referred to.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your Obedient Servant
Newcastle