Sclater Booth to Under-Secretary of State
Treasury Chambers
30th March 1868
Sir,
The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury have had before them your letter of the 19th ulto enclosing copies of two Despatches from the Governor of British Columbia; the first enclosing the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 1867 and the Appropriation Ordinance No 13 1867, and the second, the SupplementaryEstimatesManuscript image Estimates for 1866 with an ordinance No 27, 1867.
I am to state, for the information of the Secretary of State, that adverting to the date at which these Estimates have been submitted to this Board—it appears to My Lords that there is no alternative but to signify their approval of them.
They observe with regret that the same sum is inserted for repayment ofTemporaryManuscript image Temporary Loans as that specified in the estimates of 1866—and, although some explanation is afforded in the Report of the Assistant Colonial Secretary (which is enclosed)—from the financial difficulties which have resulted from the union of the two Colonies—they trust that the Secretary of State will call the attention of the Governor to the extreme importance of bringing the Expenditure within the Revenue—andthatManuscript image that that officer should be urged to make further reductions in salaries and other items of expenditure so as to relieve the Colony from this temporary liability.
With this understanding My Lords will not refuse their assent to the Estimates vizt:
Revenue $675,350
Expenditure 701,710 to the Ordinance No 13 Mar 11 1867, appropriating the sum of $566,658.30 for the year 1867, and to the OrdinanceNo 27Manuscript image No 27 Apr 2, 1867 appropriating a further sum of $96,918.11 for the service of the year 1866.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant
G. Sclater Booth
Minutes by CO staff
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Sir F. Rogers
The Estimates for 1867 must be sanctioned & also the Supplementary ones for 1866—& the two Appropriation Ordinances must be confirmed.
The Financial state of B. Columbia is in abeyance—& it appears from letters from Govr Seymour to the two leading Representative Members of the Council (the letters are in a newspaper of Jany) that Govr Seymour does not intend to call the Council together until he receives some important financial despatches from the D. of Buckingham which he is expecting. The result is that whatever payments are being made out of the local Ty are being made without Estimate, Vote of Council or Appropriation Ordinance. Whether Govr Seymour would proceed with his Estimates on the receipt of His Grace's despatch of the 14 Dec. remains to be seen. But I should think not. The postal question is also in abeyance.
CC 1 April
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I wd send this out and request a definite report upon the retrenchments wh have been made in order to meet the difficulties of the Colony, and the periods at [which]Manuscript image they were made—whether by way of reducing salaries & offices, or by way of stopping public works, and also the steps wh have been taken to increase the Revenue either by imposing fresh Taxes or by providing for their better collection.
FR 2/4
CBA 4/4
B&C 7/4
Other documents included in the file
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Draft reply, Buckingham to Seymour, No. 22, 10 April 1868.
Sclater Booth, G. to Adderley, C. B. 30 March 1868, CO 60:34, no. 3274, 366. 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/B685TE01.html.

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