No. 11
29th December 1866
My Lord,
I have had the honor to receive Your Lordship's despatch No. 14 of the 16th October, informing me that the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury have approved of my drawingtheManuscript image the sum of four hundred pounds (£400) as a contribution toward the expense of my return to New Westminster.
2. I beg respectfully to thank Your Lordship for Your interference in my favor, and to request that the Amount may be paid to my Bankers Messrs Coutts & Co.
I have the honor to be,
My Lord,
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Frederick Seymour
Minutes by CO staff
Manuscript image
Mr Elliot
Copy to Treasury—saying that Messrs Coutts have been told to apply for the money at the T-y. Inform Messrs Coutts accy.
ABd 26 Feb
At once.
TFE 26/2
Other documents included in the file
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Colonial Office to G.A. Hamilton, Treasury, 9 March 1867, forwarding copy of the despatch and asking that the necessary authority for payment of the money be given to the paymaster general.

Minutes by CO staff
[Minute on above:]
Mr Blackwood
Had not we better wait till the Treasury answer us before writing to Messrs Coutts? Otherwise Messrs Coutts may apply for the money before the Treasury have given the Paymaster the authority to pay.
Other documents included in the file
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[The following is a collection of miscellaneous documents inserted at the conclusion of the despatches for 1866:]

Minutes by CO staff
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Mr Cardwell
As Governor Seymour is on his road home, & may present himself here at any moment you will perhaps wish to examine these despatches relating to the Union of British Columbia and Vancouver Island before giving him an interview.
In order to facilitate matters I have carefully extracted, from the despatches of both Governors, the opinions which they respectively entertain on the subject. These extracts are in the memorandum herewith. The observations were added by me chieflyManuscript image for my own convenience, and not from any impression that they would not more readily comprehensively & usefully occur to yourself.
ABd 16 Oct
Vide a minute wh I have written by mistake on Mr Elliot's memo of 20 July.
FR 17/10
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
*
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 9 July 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 18 July 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 19 July 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 2 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 3 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 6 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 6 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 7 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 7 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 9 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 9 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, The British Columbian, 11 August 1866. Two copies.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 11 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 12 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 13 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 14 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 14 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 15 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 16 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 18 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 22 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Evening Telegraph, 21 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, Colonist and Chronicle, 23 August 1866.
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Newspaper clipping, San Francisco Weekly Bulletin, 11 August 1866.

Other documents included in the file
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Draft reply, Carnarvon to Seymour, No. 15, 26 October 1866.
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Seymour to Blackwood, 19 December 1866, reporting at length on events in the newly unified colony and enclosing a memorandum reporting events at a recent meeting held in the colony.
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Memorandum detailing the events of a mass meeting as noted above, September 1866, discussing various political questions.
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Memorandum on the union of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, prepared by Blackwood, 10 August 1866.
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Memorandum on the civil establishment of British Columbia, prepared by Blackwood, 8 September 1866.
Minutes by CO staff
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Put these mema by. They may perhaps be useful to refer to hereafter.
ABd 20 Sep/66
Other documents included in the file
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Return comparing the civil establishments of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, with office holders and their salaries detailed.
Minutes by CO staff
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Schedule concocted by Mr Seymour and Mr Blackwood. August.
Submitted to Lord Carnarvon August. Copy furnished to Mr Seymour.
ABd 8 Sepr
Other documents included in the file
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Outline of a constitution and civil establishment prepared at request of W.E. Forster, May 1866 (two copies).
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Seymour to Blackwood, 7 September 1866, making enquiries as to his instructions regarding the seat of the unified government, the protection of the colonies from Fenian attack, the disposition of crown lands and the status of the San Juan dispute.
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Copy, Blackwood to Seymour, 8 September 1866, responding to his enquiries as noted above.
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Returns showing briefly the estimated revenue, expenditure and debt for British Columbia in 1864, 1865 and 1866, and the estimated debt for Vancouver Island in 1864.
Minutes by CO staff
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Put by.
ABd 5 Sep 66
Other documents included in the file
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Extracts from the despatches of Seymour and Kennedy on the subject of unification, prepared by Blackwood, 16 October 1865, and containing his own observations on the subject.
ABd 16 Oct./65
Minutes by CO staff
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This Memm contains the opinions of Govr Seymour & Govr K-y on the proposed Union. These opinions are extracted from their despes.
It also contains some observations of my own.
The paper is a little out of date—Oct./65—and since it was written Govr S. has considerably modified his opposition to the project of Union. See P 34 P.P. 31 May/66. But I think on the whole you will derive infn from a perusal of the paper.
ABd 23 July
Other documents included in the file
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Return of financial information contained in Vancouver Island and British Columbia Blue Books for 1864.


Minutes by CO staff
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Lord Carnarvon
I should suggest yr reading, first, a sketch on quarto paper I wrote for Mr Adderley. It is only an outline but it will supply you with dates and facts.
2. Read the P.P. No 2, 31 May/66 & especially Govr Seymour's Letter from Paris, P. 34.
3. Read a short mem. of mine headed Van C. Isld. It will give you an idea of the behaviour of the Assembly. For detailed infn as to the conduct of that Body look at the printed papers on the Finances of V.C.I. Those papers are confidential & have not been communicated to Parlt—see especially Govr Ky's confidential despes.
4. & 5. are 2 other mema of mine which explain themselves.
6. A desp. of Govr S. No. 36. 29 Apl/65 contains a good deal which you shd know as to B.C., & V.C.I.
7. The Pamphlet called B.C. and V.C.I. is worth looking at as supplying infn.
8. Finally I shd suggest your reading Sir E.Manuscript image Lytton's speech in Hansard on introducing the Bill making B.C. a Colony.

I think the preceding papers will tell you nearly every thing you will wish to know. But I may perhaps add as a summary that the reasons which commend the project of uniting these two Colonies are firstly of an Imperial nature. It is inconvenient to have to deal with two separate Governments when one would suffice. It is desirable to have one system of commerce, one code of Laws & one policy for dealing with the Indians. Union will destroy the feelings of envy & rivalry which have subsisted in the two Colonies towards each other. With the adjoining districts of the United States it is better that a single Governor should act than two—whose views might not be always in harmony. These motives the Duke of Newcastle was fully alive to, & they wd have led him to unite the Colonies under one Governor in 1863, but he was prevented by the bitter feeling of animosity existing in the twoManuscript image communities against each other. His ideas are explained in his despatch P. [blank]. The desire for Union comes now from only one side. B.C. has made no sign in favor of the measure. V.C.I alone asks for it. And she only does so because she is in a state of ruin. So long as the Officials of B.C. resided at Victoria & spent their Salaries there & the miners passed the winter & wasted their hard gained earnings the Victorians were content. But when the B.C. Officials were obliged to live in the Colony, & a Governor was appointed who made it his business to develope B.C. & not smother it, as Sir J. Douglas had done then the Victorians began to be dissatisfied. They had to raise money for their Civil Establishments—the Merchants had overspeculated—the public Officers were defaulters—the Assembly employed their time in uttering scurrilous & personal invectives—their Sessions lasted 9 months, but produced no measures, and seeing no other way of escape H.M. Govt was finally solicited to grant them Manuscript image unconditional Union with B.C. as an escape for their difficulties. I have conversed with Naval & Military Officers—merchants & individuals private and public and I have not met with any second opinion on the subject. One & all are in favor of Union. The Governors, moreover of both Colonies (now) recommend it. Under these circes I conclude that the measure is a wise one. At any rate affairs cannot be worse in V.C.I than they are now & they may be better. As for B.C. I think there is little doubt that she must thrive—so that we need feel little anxiety about her. But still she may derive advantage from Union though in a less proportion than V.C.I.
Other documents included in the file
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Blackwood to Adderley, 16 July 1866, providing a brief history and description of the two colonies.
Seymour, Governor Frederick to Carnarvon, Earl 29 December 1866, CO 60:25, no. 1936, 430. 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/B66211.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)