Colonial Despatches

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 desireto 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 allMining 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.