Cooper to Carnarvon
Forest House, Forest Row
Dalston
Septr 26th 1866
My Lord,
Upon the 15th instant, Governor Seymour addressed me as follows;
I have written to the Colonial Office about your half salary and expressing my belief that there is no foundation for the charge which has been brought against you.
I have the honor to request that the Crown Agents for the Colonies may be instructed to hand to me, my half salary Two hundred and thirty three Pounds, six shillings and eight pence (£233.6.8) upon my application.
Referring to the letter addressed to me in October last by Sir F. Rogers, I have the honor to stateManuscript image that the legal proceedings mentioned have not yet terminated, the case though set down for the last sitting of the Court, did not come in, and is to be heard in November next.
I have the honor to be,
Your Lordship's obedt Servant
John Cooper
Chief Clerk of the Treasury
of British Columbia

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Carnarvon
&c &c &c
Minutes by CO staff
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Mr Elliot
Inform Mr Cooper that the Governor will be reminded of this arrear & be called upon for a report. In the meanwhile the S. State does not feel himself at liberty to order Mr Cooper the payment of his 1/2 salary.
ABd 27 Sep
I confess that on looking into this matter I see no justification for witholding Mr Cooper's 1/2 salary. Nakedly stated the matter stands thus.
The Government owes Mr Cooper a certain sumManuscript image of money.
There is a question whether Mr Cooper does or does not owe a sum of money to a certain institution in B. Columbia called the Royal Columbian Hospital.
There are no means of knowing whether the Hospital is right or Mr Cooper is right as a matter of account, nor does the Royal Hospital ask us to interfere. Nor is it alleged Mr Cooper will be unable to pay any sum due from him, if it is due.
But a year & a half ago the Govr wrote to us recommending that Mr Cooper's salary shd be witheld—not till the matter was settled but till he had been called on for an explanation. The explanation (wh perhaps he was not very distinctly called upon to explain) was furnished—& of course we are quite unable to guess how much it was worth. It was sent to the Colony more than a year agoManuscript image (July 1865). The Colonial Govt have taken no further notice of this matter (it being in fact no affair of theirs or ours but the affair of the Governors of the Hospital who, if anybody, shd have applied to us to stop Mr Cooper's salary) and Mr Cooper remains accordingly without money.
It is very probable that Mr Cooper has misbehaved & quite true (as Mr Jadis says) that Mr Cooper's statements do not relieve him from responsibility. But that responsibility is not to us but to the Institution—from whom we have received no request to interfere, & who could not with any reason request that we shd refuse payment of our debts for a year & a half while they are carrying on their legal proceedings.
I shd be therefore for paying Mr Cooper at once.
FR 28/9
C 3 Oct
Other documents included in the file
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Record of Cooper's extended leave of absence, prepared by colonial office staff.
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Rogers to Cooper, 12 October 1866, advising his half salary would be paid, and requesting an explanation of his unauthorized leave of absence.
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Rogers to Crown Agents, 12 October 1866, authorizing payment of Cooper's half salary.