Colonial Despatches

I have received your Despatch marked Separate of the 10th of October, requesting my sanction for your drawing half of the Colonial Secretary's salary in addition to half of the Governor's salary during Governor Seymour's absence from the Colony. The Colonial Regulation on this point, to which you attention has beendrawn drawn by the Treasurer, is explicit. It provides that a Civil Officer called on temporarily to administer the Government shall receive half of the Governor's salary, but none of his own. It is therefore impossible for me to sanction the arrangement which you describe. On the other hand however you will have learned since you wrote your Despatch that the Governor's salary has been raised from £3000 to £4,000, of which the effect will be that the half of the governor's salary alone will give you a larger income by £100 per annum than you were drawing in the shape of half of the Governor's former salary, added to half of your own.

In order to conform to the Colonial Regulations, your proper course will be to refund any amount which you have drawn as part of the Colonial Secretary's salary, but on the other hand you will be entitled to draw from the time you assumed the Government a moiety of the increase of £1000 per annum which has been made to the salary of the Governor. The Ordinance on that subject provides that the increase shall take effect from the passing of the Ordinance which occurred on the 11th ofApril April last.