No. 55
27 July 1868
Sir,
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 5 of the 5th of June forwarding an Address to Her Majesty the Queen, signed on behalf of the Municipal Council and people of New Westminster by the Chairman of the Committee appointed to celebrate Her Majesty's last Birthday, in which theyexpressManuscript image express their horror and indignation at the recent attempt to assassinate His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at Sydney.
I am commanded to instruct you to assure the Municipal Council and people of New Westminster that Her Majesty cordially appreciates the spirit of loyalty to the British Crown and of attachment to the Person and Family of the Sovereign displayed in their Address.
I regret greatly the disappointment of the hopes, naturally entertained by the inhabitants of New Westminster, that their Town would be the Capital of aBritishManuscript image British Colony, and I am aware that all your own prepossessions would have led you to select that town for the seat of Government of the United Colony of British Columbia. But the choice of a capital must be determined by political and commercial considerations affecting the welfare and convenience of the whole Community. After careful enquiry and consideration Her Majesty's Government is satisfied that the choice which has been actually made is that which the public interest requires. And I trust that the founders of New Westminster will not allow anyfeelingsManuscript image feelings of irritation to affect their conduct towards their fellow Colonists, with whose prosperity, they may be assured, their own is most closely allied; or to prevent that hearty and general cooperation for the common good, which the circumstances of the present time so eminently demand; and with which I feel little apprehension for the ultimate fortunes of the Colony.
I have the honor to be
Sir,
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Buckingham & Chandos