Colonial Despatches

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th Inst, relative to the negotiation of the Loan authorized by the British Columbia Loan Ordinance of the 10th March 1864, amounting to £100,000, and conveying to the Crown Agents for the Colonies Mr Secretary Cardwell's authority for their proceeding to raise this Loan in such portions and at such times as they may find compatible with the state of the Money Market, and with the interests of the Colony.

In reply I beg to inform you, for Mr Cardwell's information, that althoughthe the Crown Agents have received instructions from the Colonial Government to place one half the amount on the market forthwith, and they have furthermore reason to believe that the money is urgently wanted, yet they are so strongly convinced that it would be prejudicial to the interests of the Colony to attempt to place their Debentures on the market just now, that they propose to abstain from making any such attempt until there shall appear to be some reasonable prospect of success.

The high price of money, and the attraction of capital to the great Financial and Banking Companies which are daily brought before the public, coupled with the strong indications given by the Pressand and by Parliament of a desire for a change in the Colonial policy of this Country, have had the effect of seriously depreciating Colonial Government Securities, and have rendered it impossible, at the present moment, to negotiate a loan of any considerable amount unless at a great sacrifice.

The Crown Agents will at once make all the preliminary preparations for raising the Loan, so as to be ready to take advantage of the first favorable turn in the Markets; but they propose with Mr Cardwell's Sanction to allow the matter to stand over until that time arrives.