Colonial Despatches
The colonial despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871
Despatch to London
Douglas, James to Stanley, Edward Henry 19 June 1858, CO 305:9, no. 7832, 116.
Abstract
Despatch to London.
Minutes (1), Enclosures (transcribed) (1), Enclosures (untranscribed) (1).
This document contains mentions of Indigenous Peoples. The authors of these documents
often perpetuate a negative perspective of Indigenous Peoples and it is important
to look critically at these mentions. They sometimes use terminology that is now considered
hurtful and offensive. To learn more about modern terminology pertaining to Indigenous
Peoples, Indigenous ways of knowing, and decolonization, please refer to the Glossary of terms.
Douglas gives another update on the gold discoveries in the British territories. He reports
that more gold is being found along the Fraser River and a new discovery of gold had been made in the Cowichan Valley. Douglas also confirms that the arrival of American miners
continues unabatedwith American steamers taking passengers as far as Fort Hope.
The minutes refer to Douglas’s despatch of 10 June 1858.
Enclosed are the proposed terms under which the agents of the HBC agree to license steamers on the Fraser River.
No. 28
1. I fear the frequent and desultory nature of my Despatches
will give you much trouble, but the pressure of business compels
me to address you in this form.
2. Reports are continually arriving here confirmatory of the
extent and value of the Fraser's River Gold region, and Captain Stuart of the Hudson's Bay Company's servicehas
has just reported
the discovery of Gold in the Cowetchin valley Vancouver's Island, on the authority of Indian testimony.
has just reported
the discovery of Gold in the Cowetchin valley Vancouver's Island, on the authority of Indian testimony.
3. Another report has just been made officially by Mr Brotchie,
that he saw and examined the contents of a purse containing about £20
worth of gold dust, which an Indian had collected in Howe's Sound or
Burrard's Canal situated in the Gulf of Georgia, a little north of
Fraser's River, a fact which adds force to the opinion expressed in the
18th paragraph of my despatch No 24 of the 10th of June 1858,
respecting the impression I entertained of the auriferous character of
the country to the eastward of the Gulf of Georgia, as far north as
Johnstone's Straits.
4. Your Lordshipwill not
will not be surprised to learn, that under
these circumstances, the gold excitement throughout this Colony,
California and Oregon continues unabated.
will not be surprised to learn, that under
these circumstances, the gold excitement throughout this Colony,
California and Oregon continues unabated.
5. Crowds of people are coming in from all quarters. The
American Steamer "Commodore" arrived on the 13th of Instant
from San Francisco with 450 passengers and the Steamer
"Panama"1
came in yesterday from the same Port with 750 passengers, and
other vessels are reported to be on the way.
6. Two River Steamers the
"Surprise"2
and "Sea
Bird,"3
both owned by American citizens, ply with passengers between this Port
and Fraser's River, the former having made her way up that stream as
far as Fort Hope, one hundred and ten miles fromthe
the sea. The
Miners by that means reach their destination with safety and despatch.
the sea. The
Miners by that means reach their destination with safety and despatch.
7. The quantity of gold collected by the Hudson's Bay Company
up to the present time, rather exceeds £10,000 in value, and I saw during
my recent excursion, a large quantity of gold among the miners.
8. I herewith forward for your information a copy of the Terms,
on which it is proposed to allow Steam vessels to ply upon Fraser's
River, enforcing at once the Revenue Laws of the Empire, and respecting
the Trading rights of the Hudson's Bay Company. Those terms are not
exclusive, but open to acceptance by any parties undertaking the
performance of the proposed conditions. The object of all those measuresis
is to give facilities to miners, and to secure the trade of the gold
region for our own country, as it will otherwise take the direction of
the Columbia River, into American Oregon.
is to give facilities to miners, and to secure the trade of the gold
region for our own country, as it will otherwise take the direction of
the Columbia River, into American Oregon.
10. We have commenced levying the duty on mining licences; all
parties entering the River by the licenced Steam vessels, being required
to pay one month's Licence in advance. We have collected about £420, a
revenue that I will hold subject to your instructions.
11. When Fraser's River now greatly swollen, subsides and the
miners get fairly to work, I propose to appoint a Commissioner and Local
Collectors for those dues, as soon as fit and proper persons to fill
those offices can be found.
12. Mr William A.G. Young at present in Her Majesty's serviceas
as Secretary for the Boundary Commission is highly qualified, in every
respect, for the office of Gold Commissioner, and I should be glad to
obtain your permission to secure the services of that Gentleman.
as Secretary for the Boundary Commission is highly qualified, in every
respect, for the office of Gold Commissioner, and I should be glad to
obtain your permission to secure the services of that Gentleman.
13. I have no doubt that your Lordship will send out a body of
Troops for the service of this Colony, and the Fraser's River District.
14. The miners have applied to me for protection against the
natives, and when that is accorded, will have no hesitation, in
paying the Licence duty, otherwise it will be paid with reluctance.
15. They have also applied to me for negotiable orders, in
payment of gold delivered to Government Agents in the Mines, and
for the organization of a Postal system for thetransmission
transmission of Letters.
transmission of Letters.
16. Will you kindly give me instructions on those subjects
herein referred to.
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
Proposed terms under which the agents of the Hudsons Bay
Company agree to license steamers on the Fraser River, 18 June 1858.
Documents enclosed with the main document (transcribed)
The agents of the Hudsons Bay Company agree to license one or more
Steamers to ply from Victoria to and on Frasers River on the following
terms.
1st To receive and transport no goods to, on, or from
Frasers River, except the goods of the Hudsons Bay Company, or such as
they may permit to be shipped, and that for the transport of such
goods, that the freight do not exceed the following rates viz
Victoria to Langley $10 per ton of 2,000 lbs
Langley to Fort Hope $10 or 40 feet
Fort Hope to Fort Yale $10 Measurement
return rates to be on the same scale. 2nd To carry no passengers to or on Frasers River who have not taken out a mining license and permit from the Government of Vancouvers Island, and paid one months advance thereon. 3rd To pay head money to the Hudsons Bay Company, at the rate of two dollars for such passenger proceeding into Frasers River or taking passage from Fort Langley upwards. A settlement to be made at the end of each trip, and[d] an Officer of the Hudsons Bay Company to be received on board without charge
to attend to such business if
required by the Hudsons Bay Company.
4th That all vessels plying to, or on, the River, be
commanded and owned by British subjects.
5th That permits on said terms will be continued till expiry
of the Companys License of trade in the month of May 1859.
18 June 1858
Victoria to Langley $10 per ton of 2,000 lbs
Langley to Fort Hope $10 or 40 feet
Fort Hope to Fort Yale $10 Measurement
return rates to be on the same scale. 2nd To carry no passengers to or on Frasers River who have not taken out a mining license and permit from the Government of Vancouvers Island, and paid one months advance thereon. 3rd To pay head money to the Hudsons Bay Company, at the rate of two dollars for such passenger proceeding into Frasers River or taking passage from Fort Langley upwards. A settlement to be made at the end of each trip, and[d] an Officer of the Hudsons Bay Company to be received on board without charge
to attend to such business if
required by the Hudsons Bay Company.
4th That all vessels plying to, or on, the River, be
commanded and owned by British subjects.
5th That permits on said terms will be continued till expiry
of the Companys License of trade in the month of May 1859.
18 June 1858
Footnotes
- The Panama, Capt. W.L. Dall, was one of the first steamers built for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for the Pacific coastal trade. Built at a cost of $211,000 by William H. Webb in New York, and launched on 29 July 1848, it measured 200' by 34' by 20', with 888 tons displacement. It arrived at San Francisco on 4 June 1849 and served the San Francisco to Panama run until 1853. It made only one voyage in 1854 and in 1856-57 served as a spare steamer in Panama. From 1858 to 1861 the ship ran between San Francisco and Puget Sound; in February 1861 she was sold to Holladay and Flint. Holladay and Brenham ?? gave the ship to Mexico in 1868 as part of a mail contract agreement; the Mexican government renamed her the Juarez and used her as a revenue and transport steamer on the Mexican coast. Heyl, Early American Steamers, pp. 339-40; see also J.H. Kemble, Panama Route, 1848-1849 (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1943), p. 242.
- The Surprise, 456 tons and 181 feet long, was built by Lawrence & Foulkes in Williamsburg, New York, in 1854. Brought to San Francisco in 1856, when the California Steam Navigation Company obtained it for service between San Francisco and San Diego. Capt. Thomas Huntington .us !brought the !Surprise! to Victoria on 31 May 1858 and used it to convey passengers and supplies between Fort Victoria and Hope, returning to San Francisco in August 1858. The Surprise was replaced on the Fraser by the Wilson G. Hunt and in 1860 was sold in China. See Norman R. Hacking, 'Steamboat Round the Bend,' American Steamers on the Fraser River in 1858, BCHQ 8, no. 4 (October 1944): 255-80. See also Wright, ed., Lewis & Dryden's Marine History, p. 72; and Narrative of a Trip up the Fraser River on the First Trip of the Steamer Surprise, Daily Alta California, 20 and 27 June 1858.
- The steamer Sea Bird, 225' long and 450 tons, was brought from New York to San Francisco in 1850-51. It was owned by Capt. J.T. Wright & Sons and brought to the Fraser River in 1858 by Capt. Francis Connor to transport miners to the gold fields. On 7 September 1858, the vessel caught fire near Victoria and burned to the water line. The wreck was sold as salvage for $1,200. Hacking, 'Steamboat Round the Bend'; Wright, Lewis & Dryden's Marine History, p. 72; and the Victoria Gazette, 8 September and 15 October 1858.
- Douglas to Stanley, 10 June 1858, No. 24, 7828, CO 60/1, p. 29.