Before he came to
Victoria, Webster lived in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, where he had a contract supplying
the British government with spars. The letter reports that Webster intends to establish
a similar timber trade between England and
Fort Rupert.
In another
despatch,
Douglas mentions two cases that involve Webster,
a crafty American Adventurer
who wanted
to secure a monopoly of the timber exports from Soke.
In the first case, Webster had two cargo ships unjustly arrested; in the second case,
he sued the Muir family, his competitors.
Douglas cites these cases, in which Webster exploits British Columbia’s nascent legal system,
as part of his argument to establish a supreme court.