Colonial Despatches

With reference to your letter of the 26th September last, and to that part of my reply of the 11th November, in which I stated that the Postmaster General would at once place himself in communication with the United States' Post Office, in order to obtain, if possible, better terms for the Colony of British Columbia in dividing the postage upon correspondence transmitted between that Colony and the United States, I am directed by the Marquis of Hartington to transmit to you, to be laid before Earl Granville,copy copy of a correspondence which has taken place between this Department and the United States' Post Office upon the subject.

By the letter from Washington dated 29th January, it would appear that the Government of British Columbia is mistaken in supposing that the United States' Post Office pays nothing towards the maintenance of Mail Packet communication with the Colony.

The terms proposed by the United States' Post Office for the exchange of Mails with British Columbia are as follows:

1. The single rate of inter-national postage on letters exchanged in either direction to be 6 cents per half ounceor or under if prepaid, and 10 cents if unpaid.

2. Newspapers and printed matter of all kinds despatched from either side to the other to be subject to the regular domestic rates of postage to and from the frontier in the United States and in the Colonies respectively.

3. No postage accounts to be kept between the respective Offices on the correspondence exchanged; each Office retaining to its exclusive use all the postage it collects both upon prepaid matter sent and unpaid matter received.

I am to request that Earl Granville will be good enough to communicate these proposals to the Governor of British Columbia, instructing him to state whetherhe he agrees to them, and, if so, on what date he will be prepared to carry them into effect.

Sufficient time, say three months at least, should be allowed to enable this Department to communicate to the United States' Post Office the date fixed upon and also to enable that Office to issue the necessary instructions on the subject.