Colonial Despatches

Mr Elliot
Sir F. Rogers?

Mr Blackwood
This is a question which requires departmental enquiry as to matter of practice.

Can you tell me or ascertain whether as a general rule the Law Officers of the Crown in the Colonies are expected to perform gratuitious all the Law work of Govt. Mr Cary's view is that he is to give advice gratuitously & be paid like any other counsel for work done. In a Colony where there is much to do it wd be unreasonable to expect more for 300£ a year.

Is that his salary?

If in any other Colony it is known that Law Offrs are (as I conceive to be the case) expected to do the Law work gratuitously—are not there cases in which the L.O. is prohibited from taking private practice and receives a high salary instead. Is there anything in the terms of Mr Cary's appointment or in the correspondence with him wh throws light on the subject?

Sir F. Rogers
With respect to the Office of Attorney General in B. Columbia & Vancouver Island see Mr Ebden's Minute annexed.

The North American Provinces under the present system of responsible Govt are scarcely I think cases in point. The Office of Attorney General is a political one, and the tenure very uncertain & precarious. The Attorney General is always a leading Member, & not unfrequently the Prime Minister of the Administration of the day.

The Salaries are borne on the Civil Lists and are as follows
Canada £1050
N. Scotia 400
N. Brunsk 600
Newfdland 500 No fees or other emoluments are returned, and it is therefore to be presumed that they receive nothing beyond the Salary.

We have no information as to the conditions on which the office is held, or whether they retain the right to practice as Barristers during their tenure of the office of Attorney General.

See the Minutes on 9779 & 9942.

Mr Cox
See Sir F. Rogers' enquiry on this Desp: 9628 Van Couver Island.

The Australian Colonies, with the exception of Wn Australia, are very much in the same position with the North American Colonies—enjoying Representative Institutions with Responsible Government. The information contained in the Statistical returns sent home from these Colonies in place of the Blue Book does not enable me to state with any certainty that the Attorney General receives no fees for work performed for the Government though I have no doubt that he does not.
In Victoria the salary is £1500 per annum
In N.S. Wales . . . . . . £1500
In S. Australia . . . . . £1000
In Tasmania . . . . . . . £ 900
In Queensland . . . . . . £ 850
In New Zealand . . . . . £ 600 The Salary of the Attorney General in Wn Australia is £400 per annum. He receives no fees.

Sir G. Barrow

I have this day forwarded a despatch from S. Leone, respecting claim of the Queen Advocate for Fees under similar circumstances, with previous papers which show that his claim ought not to be entertained.

Memo, Sir F. Rogers
You will find this S. Leone case waiting for you, for there seems room for some doubt, as to cases tried in Court.

In Ceylon there is no Attorney Genl but there is a Queens Advocate whose duties are analagous to those of the Attorney Genl in England. His Salary is £1500 & he is allowed private practise. His duty is to conduct & assist in all Govt legal matters.

In Hong Kong the Attorney General receives a £1000 a year, is allowed Private practise, & receives a special allowance of £350 per annum for services rendered to the Superintendancy of Trade & Consular Establishments in China. For this remuneration he is expected to do whatever legal business may be on hand so far as regards the Consulates. The Attorney Genl of Hong Kong is not however, in the absence of any special understanding either express or implied, bound to perform gratis the Law Work which may be placed in his hands by a Dt of the Imperial Govt.

West Indian Division
The Attorney Generals in the West Indian Colonies are returned in the Blue Books as receiving no fees. They are allowed private practice.

The Salaries of the Attorney Generals of the principal W.I. Colonies are as follows:
Jamaica £ 740
B. Guiana £1100
Trinidad £ 800
Barbados £ 500
Antigua £ 400
Bahamas £ 400

Mauritius. The Pro: General receives Salary of £1500. Also £400 p. an. as standing counsel for the Govt Railway Dt & receives fees as a Barrister, when employed as Counsel for the War & Admiralty Depts. The Sub: Pro: General has £800 & is allowed Private practice as a Barrister.

Memo on office of Attorney General in British Columbia and in Vancouver Island:

B Columbia—The Emoluments were £400 salary with private practice and are £500 salary with private practice. There has also been an allowance of £200 for a clerk &c. Fees were never proposed as part of the Emoluments nor does the Att Gen. appear to have ever received any. When the office was created in 1859 it was intimated that the Salary should be increased whenever private practice was found incompatible with public duty.

Vancouver I—Mr Cary was the first Att. Gen. In 1861 he was strongly recommended by the Governor for the office, the duties of which [he] had been performing gratuitously whilst Att: Gen: of B. Columbia. There was no correspondence about the emoluments or conditions of the office. In the proposed civil list £300 salary with private practice are assigned to the Attorney General. The following Extracts from the Returns of Rev. & Exp. exhibit Mr Careys [Cary's] receipts from 1 January 1862 to 30 June 1863
Salaries‹‹ Contingencies‹‹Total
Fixed‹ Prov & Tempy
Year 1862 £300 £200‹‹ £27.5.6‹‹‹£527.5.6
1st Quarter 1863 $242.50 $166.66‹‹ $409.16
2nd Quarter do $242.50 $249.99‹‹ $60‹‹‹‹ $552.49
In the Blue Book for 1863 the Emoluments are put down as £300 Salary, £98.7 fees received in 1863, private practice: whilst in the Expenditure for 1863 £506.97.9 fixed, 22.17.9 contingent, 529.15.8 total is put down on account of the attorney generals dt a total almost the same with that of 1862. In the appropriation act for 1863 $1000 about $200, or more, is provided for the Attorney Generals Clerk.

From which I should infer that Fees are not included under the head "Salary provisional & temporary" and contingencies which probably relate to office expenses such as clerk &c.

"Schedule of Enclosures in Despatch No 64, 31st August 1864," eight entries.

Henry Wakeford, Acting Colonial Secretary, to G.H. Cary, Attorney General, 9 August 1864, returning an account of charges sent to the government for $355 and asking for clarification of the amount and the authority under which it was submitted.

Cary to Wakeford, 9 August 1864, providing a detailed explanation of the reasons why his charges should stand.

Bill of Costs for the Supreme Court of Civil Justice in the case of the Attorney General versus the Hudson's Bay Company, signed by Richard Woods, Acting Registrar, 23 July 1864.

Bill of Costs for the Supreme Court of Civil Justice in the case of Pemberton versus Trimble, signed by Richard Woods, Acting Registrar, 23 July 1864.

Cary to Wakeford, 6 August 1864, discussing the question of his fees in relation to the Trimble case, and advising that he would no longer be able to act "for the Crown, in cases where Counsel are required."

Wakeford to Cary, 6 August 1864, advising that the Governor had taken his letter of the same date to be notice of his resignation of the office of Attorney General.

Cary to Wakeford, 8 August 1864, explaining his earlier statements and advising that he did not intend to resign his position as Attorney General.

Wakeford to Cary, 11 August 1864, accepting his offer to repay the sums in dispute.

Authorization of the Governor to pay Cary $355.00 for services rendered, issued by the Colonial Secretary, 5 August 1864.