Colonial Despatches

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 46 of the 9th May, forwarding copies of an Ordinance passed at the last Session of the Legislature of British Columbia, entitled No. 4 "An Ordinance in aid of the Trustees Relief Act."

There appear to be one or two errors of language in this Ordinance which it may be worth while to point out to you.

In Section 1 after the words "in the name" it would be proper to insert "or to the account."

The first phrase of Section II "all payments heretofore made" does not clearly show what payments the Clause was intended to cover. This should be made clear. It was probably intended to protect "all such payments andtransfers transfers heretofore made in the manner aforesaid." But whatever was the intention of the Legislature, the language should, I think, be more accurately adjusted to it.

Your Government will also do well to consider whether such an Act as that of 10 and 11 Victoria Cap: 96 would be extended to the Colony by the general words of the Proclamation of the 19th November 1858. It appears to me very advisable to obviate any doubt on this point by specifically enacting that theImperial Imperial Statute with certain specified substitutions (including those provided for by this Ordinance) should be deemed to have been in force in the Colony, from the 19th November 1858, and declared in terms that the Supreme Court of the Colony should be competent to exercise all powers conferred by that Act on the Court of Chancery, the Lord Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls.