Hudson's Bay House
February 29 1856
Sir
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
M Ball's letter
of the
22 Instant, enclosing, by your directions, copies of
Correspondence between the
Colonial Office and the Governor of
Vancouver's Island on the subject of certain proceedings in the
Island of San Juan in the
Canal de Arro: Stating that
M Douglas appears to
have given somewhat inconsistent information with reference to the
Settlement of that Island, and requesting the
Hudson's Bay Company to
furnish Copies of such Correspondence as may have passed between
themselves and
Governor Douglas upon the subject.
In accordance with this request I have the honor to forward
Extracts of various letters addressed to
Governor Douglas
Douglas, with his
replies thereto and at the same time beg to lay before you the
circumstances connected with the occupation of the
Island of San Juan by
the servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
The proceedings of
Governor Douglas in this matter were from time
to time reported to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, as will
appear by the accompanying copies of letters; and on this point, I beg
leave to request your particular attention to the letter received by
the Governor and Committee from
Lord Clarendon under date the
21
May 1855 and
and to the communication made to
Governor Douglas by
Sir George Grey, alluded to in the letter from the former addressed to the Governor
and Committee, dated
20 April 1855.
But the
HBC had a fishery on
S Juan before this. See p. 3 [of
the extracts]. It was established in 1850. p 12 [
HM].
The Directors of the
Hudson's Bay Company are convinced that after
a reference to the Chart of the
Straits of De Fuca, and a perusal of the
whole of the correspondence that has taken place, you will be of opinion
that the
Hudson's Bay Company have been actuated solely by a desire to
cooperate with Her Majesty's Government in retaining for the British
Crown a portion of territory secured to it by Treaty; and I may mention
to you that these Islands are of little advantage to the
Fur Trade business of the Company,
"There is now a flourishing
Fur Trade settlement on the
isl
of San Juan"
26 May 1854 p 15 [
HM].
though it is obvious that a Settlement of lawless American citizens so
near to
Vancouver's Island would be a great detriment to the peace and
prosperity of the Colony.
And of the Fur Trade [
HM].
With reference to
M Griffin's report to
Governor Douglas on the
subject of the outrage committed by the authorities
of
of the United
States, I beg to request your attention to my letter of the
24 July
1855 to
Lord Clarendon, and to an extract o f the Committee's letter to
Governor Douglas, dated
30 July 1855; by the former you will
perceive that the Directors of the
Hudson's Bay Company lost no time in
informing Her Majesty's Government that the property seized by the
American authorities belonged to the Company, and by the latter that
they disapproved of, and censured
M Griffin for the ambiguous terms
of his Report.
The Directors have no doubt that both
Governor Douglas and
M Griffin were of opinion that the claims of an independent British
subject would be more likely to be respected by the authorities of the
United States, than those of the servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company;
and this may be considered some extenuation of
their
their proceedings under
very trying circumstances.
In reference to the last paragraph of
M Ball's letter, I beg to
assure you that the Directors of the
Hudson's Bay Company have at all
times been most anxious to communicate with Her Majesty's Government
without reserve upon all matters forming the subject of correspondence
between them.
They are well aware that in the peculiar position in which the
Hudson's Bay Company stand with regard to the Colony of
Vancouver's
Island, it is essential to the proper conduct of the affairs of that
Colony that entire confidence should exist between Her Majesty's
Government and the Company, and they venture to think that in this
respect you will find the accompanying correspondence with the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs
completely
completely satisfactory.
I have the honour to be Sir
Your most obed Servant
John Shepherd Dep
Gov
Minutes by CO staff
M Merivale You will, I think, scarcely want the mass of papers on
this subject. They are at hand, if you do.
M Ball The Directors admit & apologize for the duplicity of the
Governor's statements & shew that they had already censured him for it
(see enclosures p. 45)
But the matter by no means ends here. It is plain, 1. That the
HBC.
occupied this island with the very deliberate consciousness that they
were likely to provoke a collision with the U.S. without our being in
the slightest degree informed thereof until the collision took place,
and then in an incorrect manner calculated to deceive. 2. That matters
of great importance to the island government have been habitually
transacted in corresp between the Governor and the Company without
any information to us. 3. That the Company have been in the habit of
corresponding directly with the
Foreign Office respecting the important
political questions arising on the frontier of
Vanc. I without our
being informed. (Insomuch that, as will be seen from the last pages of
the

second [set of] enclosures, the Company were pressing the For.
Office to get reparation from the Am Government for damage done to
their property on the
I. of S.Juan, at a time when
we had only
intelligence of certain injuries inflicted by U.S. citizens on a
M Charles Griffin.)
I certainly think this ought to cease at once. So long as the
Governor is a servant of the H.B.C so long we cannot compel him to
confine himself to the colonial office as his correspondent: we can
only urge on both the necessity of frankness. But with regard to the
For. office, I think the Company should be told plainly that they must
desist altogether from the practice of corresponding with that
department on Vancouvers' Island affairs. The H.B.C. have a long
American frontier in the interior of the continent, and have I daresay
been accustomed to consult the
Foreign Office only as to its affairs.
But
Vancouver's Island is a colony; the
Sec of State here is the
person responsible for its government: and I do not see how he can
execute that trust unless its affairs, international as well as
internal, are placed before him in the first place, & before the Foreign
Office through him & him only where he finds it necessary.
M
Labouchere will consider whether this matter is best settled by official
or private correspondence: but I should think the former: in which
case the best way might be to write a letter to the Directors, & submit
it, in draft, to
Lord Clarendon for his Concurrence.
I think so & perhaps the letter
sh state that it is written
with
Lord Clarendon's concurrence.
I agree with
M Merivale. Let a Letter be prepared
and registered. I think M Merivale might speak privately to
Mr Hammond before it is sent. & send a Copy of it to
Lord Clarendon either
perhaps ends "& [private?] to the [Clinsal?]
before & [or] after, as he advises.
Other documents included in the file
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
P. 1, Secretary of
HBC to
James Douglas,
1 September 1853, stating
the Company had referred American claims to the
San Juan Islands to the
Advocate General for an opinion, and requesting "all the information
that can be obtained respecting these Islands."
P. 3,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
21 November 1853, providing
information about
the San Juans and describing initial efforts by
squatters, beginning in
1851, to settle in the vicinity of the Company's
fishing station.
Minutes by CO staff
The fishery therefore was established before then.
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
P. 9, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
16 September 1853, forwarding a
copy of an American map showing the boundary in
Rosario Straits and
instructing him to occupy the most easterly part of the islands by the
Company.
P.11,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
5 December 1853, promising to do
what he could to occupy the islands, including
Lopez Island, and stating
the Company's fishery was first established on
San Juan Island in 1850.
P. 13, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
24 February 1854, approving
taking possession of
Lopez and authorizing him to make grants of land on
the islands of up to 500 acres each, reducing the price of land if
necessary to secure its occupation.
P. 15,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
26 May 1854, reporting that the
farming operations on
San Juan under
Charles Griffin were thriving but
that he had not been able to sell any land there but had offered 50
acres free to the Seargent commanding the Voltigeurs as a reward for
services but was not sure he would accept.
P. 16, extract of a letter from
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
27 December 1853.
P. 17,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
30 January 1854, reporting that
Governor Stevens had visited
Victoria for a day and said nothing about
the San Juans, but the American collector there had threatened to sieze
the Company's sheep so he had commissioned
Griffin a J.P. and "directed
him to apprehend, and commit to Jail, any person who may attempt to
commit a breach of the peace, or any other unlawful act, within the
District of
San Juan.
P. 21, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
21 April 1854, stating the
information about occupation of the
San Juans was being referred to the
Foreign Office, and if any Americans attempted to take forcible
possession of the islands to apply to the Admiral commanding the
Pacific Station for assistance.
P. 23,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
27 April 1854, reporting
Collector
Ebey of
Washington Territory was enroute to
San Juan to seize
British property there, so
Douglas had "immediately dispatched the
'
Otter' with a force of whites and Indians to support the magistrate in
the discharge of his duty, and to prevent breaches of the Queens peace."
P. 27,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
30 October 1854, reporting an armed US revenue cutter was stationed about
San Juan and appeared "resolved to gain forcible possession of the disputed Territory, and
I
hardly know how to prevent them."
P. 29,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
19 December 1854, stating they
had resisted American attempts to collect taxes on two occasions, and a
recent despatch from
Sir George Grey had approved his proceedings with
respect to the sovereignty of the islands.
P. 33, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
20 April 1855, conveying the
director's satisfaction that "your proceedings in regard to the
occupation of Isle
San Juan have been approved by the Secretary of State
for the Colonies and trust that a commission may ere long be appointed
to finally determine the Boundary line and put an end to all disputes in
that quarter."
Minutes by CO staff
Not at all. The SS approved his proceedings knowing nothing
whatever about the agricultural occupation.
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
P. 35,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
27 February 1855, reporting no
further incidents had occurred at
San Juan since Christmas, and that
Stevens had again visited
Victoria and suggested the settlement of the
dispute should be left to the governments of both nations.
P. 37, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
11 May 1855: "The account of
the proceedings of
Mr Griffin . . . is very interesting and it is hoped
that Her Majesty's Government may take the proper steps to secure the
possession of these Islands to this country ."
P. 39,
Douglas to Secretary,
HBC,
19 April 1855, reporting the
siezure of sheep by American authorities. "This is an exceedingly
annoying affair, and I most heartily regret that our people though
dispersed at their various occupations, and taken by surprise, did not
shew a more resolute bearing. The "
Beaver" was dispatched to their aid,
and was within two hours of catching the fellows in the act, and had she
given chase, might have overtaken them and recovered the abstracted
property."
P. 41, Secretary,
HBC, to
Douglas,
16 July 1855, stating news of
the "outrage" by
Sheriff Barnes has been transmitted to the Foreign
Office with a request that "prompt measures may be taken for defining
the boundary . . . and preventing a collision with the lawless citizens
of the United States."
P. 5,
Colvile to
Clarendon,
22 April 1854, enclosing extract of
Douglas's letter,
30 January 1854, and urging the settlement of the
boundary.
P. 7,
W.G. Smith, Secretary,
HBC to
Clarendon,
26 June 1854, enclosing extract of
Douglas's letter,
27 April 1854, and requesting his early attention to the subject.
P. 9,
Colvile to
Clarendon,
22 January 1855, enclosing extract of
Douglas's letter,
30 October 1854, for information.
P. 13,
Shepherd to
Clarendon,
11 July 1855, enclosing extract of
Douglas's letter,
19 April 1855, and urging adoption of such measures as would resolve the issue.
Minutes by CO staff
At this time we had no idea of any occupation by the
HBC at all.
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
P. [19,] Wodehouse to
Shepherd,
21 May 1855, stating "the officers
of the Company appear to have adopted a proper course with respect to
the question of disputed sovereignty which has been raised by the
Authorities of the United States . . . and . . . that
Lord Clarendon
will express that opinion to Her Majestys' Minister at Washington."
P. [21,] Queen's Advocate to Secretary,
HBC,
10 August 1853,
requesting attendance of some gentleman well acquainted with the
locality and issue raised, plus some map or sketch.
P. [23,]
Barclay to
J. Harding, Advocate General,
2 September 1853,
enclosing a map published by the U.S. Senate accompanying the surveys
of
John C. Fremont,
1848.
People in this document
Ball, John
Barclay, Archibaldus
Barnes, Sherriff
Blackwood, Arthur Johnstone
Blanshard, Richard
Clarendon, Earl
Colvile, Andrew Wedderburn
Douglas, James
Ebey, Isaac Neff
Fremont, John Charles
Grey, George
Griffin, Charles John
Hammond, Edmund
Harding, John D.
King, Edward Hammond
Labouchere, Henry
Merivale, Herman
Shepherd, John
Shepherd, John
Smith, William G.
Stevens, Isaac Ingalls
Wodehouse, John
Organizations in this document
Colonial Office
Foreign Office
Hudson's Bay Company
Vessels in this document
Beaver, 1835-1888
Otter, 1852-1861
Places in this document
Haro Strait
Juan de Fuca Strait
Lopez Island
Rosario Strait
San Juan Island
San Juan Islands
Vancouver Island
Victoria
Washington Territory