Colonial Despatches
The colonial despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871
Despatch from London
Carnarvon, Earl to
Douglas, Sir James 11 May 1859, CO 398:1, 282.
Abstract
Despatch from London.
Carnarvon writes to Douglas in response to Douglas’s earlier correspondence on proposed lighthouses for Juan de Fuca Strait and Esquimalt Harbour, noting that, ultimately, Douglas is responsible for their construction and the colonies their cost.
No. 63
Downing Street
11 May 1859
Sir,
I have received your despatches No. 76 of the 15th of January,
and No. 90 of the 4th of February, on the subject of the erection of
Lighthouses in Fucas Straits and the approaches to Esquimalt Harbor.
I transmit for your information and guidance the copies of a
correspondence which has passed between theAdmiralty
Admiralty, the Board of
Trade, the Treasury and this Department on the subject.
Admiralty, the Board of
Trade, the Treasury and this Department on the subject.
You will perceive that the expense of the construction of the two
Lighthouses suggested by Captain Richards has been estimated by Captian Sulivan of the Board of Trade at Seven thousand pounds (£7,000), and in
compliance with my recommendation the Lords Commissioners of the Trasury
have consented to advance this sum on condition that one moiety of it
shall be repaid by the Colonies of Vancouver's Island and British
Columbia jointly.
The Board of Trade have been requested to send out immediately from
this Country the necessary apparatus and to give you any advice or
information
in their power, and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
have been requested to instruct the Naval Officers on the spot to give
you every assistance by their advice or otherwise to facilitate the
work. But you will distinctly understand that the responsibility of the
works rests with yourself, and I need not impress upon you the necessity
of promptness and energy in carrying out an undertaking which is
calculated so materially to promote the commercial progress of the two
Colonies under your Government.
in their power, and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
have been requested to instruct the Naval Officers on the spot to give
you every assistance by their advice or otherwise to facilitate the
work. But you will distinctly understand that the responsibility of the
works rests with yourself, and I need not impress upon you the necessity
of promptness and energy in carrying out an undertaking which is
calculated so materially to promote the commercial progress of the two
Colonies under your Government.
With regard to the repayment by British Columbia and Vancouver's
Island to the Imperial Treasury of the Moiety of the
advance of Seven
thousand pounds, I must leave it to you to decide the proportion of that
sum which it would be equitable that each Colony should contribute, but
I must instruct you that this debt should be repaid within the earliest
practicable period.
advance of Seven
thousand pounds, I must leave it to you to decide the proportion of that
sum which it would be equitable that each Colony should contribute, but
I must instruct you that this debt should be repaid within the earliest
practicable period.
Footnotes
- The original form of this correspondence can be viewed here. Please note that the original was marked initially as part of the Vancouver Island collection, and changed thereafter, presumably after receipt, to the British Columbia collection.