In
1862, Burke was mistakenly given passage from
Vancouver Island to Queenstown, Ireland at the expense of the British Government. Justice of the Peace
Edward Stamp awarded him passage believing it customary for a
distressed British subject
, such as Burke, to be granted passage home. As this custom only applied to distressed British soldiers,
Stamp had substituted
subject
in for “soldier” on the official document. Requesting that
Stamp be informed of his error, the British Government paid for Burke's passage;
Stamp had left his position prior to
Newcastle's reply, however,
Douglas informed
Stamp's successor of the mistake.