Hamilton to Merivale (Permanent Under-Secretary)
Treasury Chambers
16 March 1860
Sir,
In compliance with the request contained in Mr Elliot's Letter of the 14th Instant, I am directed by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to transmit to you, herewith, for the information of the Duke of Newcastle, Copies of two Statements which have been received from the Paymaster General, dated respectively the 31st October last and the 10th Instant, being in continuation of the Statement forwarded in Manuscript image in Their Lordship's Letter of the 1st February 1859, of all advances and payments on account of British Columbia, together with an abstract thereof.
In the absence of any Accounts from British Columbia, Their Lordships are unable to determine how far the total amount of the advances and Payments are chargeable upon the Parliamentary Grant.
They consider that the payments, amounting to £4,000, on account of the occupation of the Island of San Juan, as well as the Regimental Pay of the Royal Engineers sent out to the Colony, are recoverable from the War Department.
They are also of opinion that the payment of Manuscript image of £1,800 to the Master of the Mint, on account of the preliminary expenses of the Assay Office, should be considered as an advance to be hereafter repaid out of the local Revenue of the Colony.
I am etc.
Geo. A. Hamilton
Minutes by CO staff
Manuscript image
VJ 17 March
From a memo: of Mr H. Irving's placed herein, I gather, in round numbers, the following facts:
Total payments by Treasury £74,000
Deduct—
Votes by Parlt 43,000
Recoverable 12,000 55,000
Deficiency £19,000
I am not without hopes however that the deduction to be made on account of regimental pay which is to be contributed by the War Office may prove larger than conjectured by Mr H. Irving. On this ground I have assumed the deficiency for this year at £16000 and have prepared accordingly the Estimate for B. Columbia which will exhibit the following amounts:
For current services . . £14.000
For arrears . . . . . . 16.000
Total . . . . . . . . . £30.000
TFE 21 March
CF 24
N 25
Mr Blackwood
I have prepared the Estimates accordingly. This may be put by.
TFE 26/3
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
Manuscript image
Abstract: "Advances and Payments on account of British Columbia and Van Couvers Island," Treasury, 16 March 1860.
Manuscript image
"Statement of the Advances which have been made to any persons, on account of British Columbia, since the last return dated 31 October 1859," M.H. Foster, Paymaster General's Office, 10 March 1860.
Manuscript image
"Statement of the Advances which have been made to any persons, on account of British Columbia, since the last Return dated 24 January 1859," M.H. Foster, Paymaster General's Office, 31 October 1859.
Hamilton, George Alexander to Merivale, Herman 16 March 1860, CO 60:9, no. 2910, 179. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. James Hendrickson and the Colonial Despatches project. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/B605TE09.html.

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