In
1862, Burke was mistakenly given passage from
Vancouver Island to Queenstown, Ireland at the expense of the British Government.
1 Justice of the Peace
Edward Stamp awarded him passage believing it customary for a
distressed British subject
, such as Burke, to be granted passage home.
2 As this custom only applied to distressed British soldiers,
Stamp had substituted
subject
in for “soldier” on the official document.
3 Requesting that
Stamp be informed of his error, the British Government paid for Burke’s passage;
Stamp had left his position prior to
Newcastle's reply, however,
Douglas informed
Stamp’s successor of the mistake.
4