Colonial Despatches

Nothing of any importance has occurred since I had last the honor of addressing your Lordship;

As two years have expired since Vancouvers Island was granted to the Hudson's bay company, and the conditions of that grant bind them to deliver a report of the state and progress of the colony at the end of such period, I beg that your Lordship will allow me a copy of such report, that I may compare it with my own remarks.

The only real sale of land that has taken place so far as I am informed, is one of one hundred hundred acres of land to a Captain Grant at Soke harbour. Mr Grant left the island some months ago, leaving a labourer in charge of his farm. Nothing has been heard of him since, and as his affairs here are in a most hopeless state, I do not think he will return. More than a year ago he executed an assignment of his title to the Hudson's Bay Company. A Mr Todd, (still a servant of the Hudson's Bay company's) has ploughed up a few acres near Fort Victoria, under a verbal arrangement with the company's agent Mr Douglas, that he should be allowed to purchase one hundred acres, to be furnished with a title, finding that he cannot obtain the said title; nor even a written promise to furnish it, he is becoming alarmed has discontinued the house he was beginning to build, and talks of leaving the colony.

With the exception of a Canadian who has squatted near Rocky point, there is not another cultivator cultivator on the Island.

I have written to Sir John Pelly, the governor of the Hudson's bay company, requesting some information respecting a large tract of land called the Hudson's bay company's, and Puget Sound company's Reserve, but no notice of my letter has been taken yet. Their Agent here professes ignorance of every arrangement, but has admitted that they do not intend to pay for it; This tract contains I am informed nearly thirty square miles of the best part of the Island, and they are already attempting to sell small lots to their own servants at greatly advanced rates.

I consider this as an extremely unfair proceeding. The terms of the grant of the Island expressly state that "All lands shall be sold except such as are reserved for public purposes," and in consideration of the trouble and expense this may incur the Hudsons bay Company are allowed the very handsome remuneration of ten per cent on all sales they may effect, and on all Royalties, not satisfied with this they are grasping at the whole price of the land, by monopolizing this vast district making it a free gift to themselves, and then selling it for their own profit, as they are attempting to do; in proof of this I may mention that, an Englishman of the name of Chancellor arrived here from California a few weeks ago, with the intention of settling. The Agent offered to sell him land on the "company's reserve," which he declined as he preferred another part of the Island but found so many difficulties thrown in the way that he at last pronounced the purchase impracticable, and is leaving the colony in disgust; He told me that he was the forerunner of a party of several British subjects at present in California who were merely waiting for his report to decide 2 decide whether they would settle in California or the United States.