COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 23 July 1863)

§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE
, in moving that the House should go into Committee on the Bill, stated, that its object was to extend the boundaries of British Columbia to the north, so as to include a tract of country in which there were indications of rich gold veins, and to extend till the end of next Session the Act of 1858, under which the Colony was constituted. Hitherto the executive and legislative government of British Columbia had both been carried on by the Governor; but within the last few months, Her Majesty had exercised the power which was reserved to her by the Act of 1858, and had by Order in Council created a Legislature. His noble Friend the Secretary of State, having to decide whether he should introduce representation into the system, had, considering the circumstances of the country, in which there was but a small fixed and a large fluctuating population, many of the settlers not being British subjects, decided that for the present such a step would not be expedient. The Order in Council created a legislative council, on the model which had been established with success in other Colonies, and more closely following the legislative council of Ceylon than any other which he could mention. That council would consist of fifteen members—five of the principal officials of the Colony, five district magistrates, taken from different portions of it, and five independent members, whom the Governor was instructed to select from different districts of the Colony, with the view of choosing such gentlemen as might be pointed out by their respective neighbours as deserving the confidence of the population, and capable of representing their interests and views in 1323 the legislative council. Another important change which it was proposed to effect was that the Colony should be completely separated from Vancouver's Island, and should be ruled by a resident governor of its own. That was a point on which he was ready to admit considerable difference of opinion prevailed. His noble Friend at the head of the Colonial Office had felt anxious to unite the two colonies if possible, believing that an increase of their strength and resources would be the result, as well as an enlargement of the field from which the members of a united Legislature should be selected. The obstacles, however, in the way of the adoption of that course were found to be insuperable, as it was thought that the interests of the two Colonies were different, and in British Columbia there was a strong feeling, if there was but one Government, their interests might be sacrificed to those of Vancouver's Island. It had therefore, upon consideration, been deemed the wisest course to take to give each Colony a separate governor. He had every reason to think that the arrangement proposed, which was avowedly of a temporary charcter, would give great satisfaction to British Columbia, and would, on the whole, meet the views of the most enlightened portion of the colonists. It must not, he might add, be supposed, that under the comparatively rude government under which she had hitherto existed, British Columbia had not made considerable improvement. The progress of that colony had, on the contrary, been most remarkable. In the midst of a motley population, there had been a singular observance of law and a remarkable absence of crime. The miners appeared to be well satisfied with the mining laws under which they worked, and which gave them a large power of making regulations for their own benefit; and the land system, moreover, which had been introduced, had given great satisfaction to the permanent settlers. The original price of land in Vancouver's Island was fixed by Lord Grey at £1 an acre, which was well known to be the Australian charge; but that price it had been found impossible to maintain in the face of the competition in the United States, where land was sold at a dollar an acre. He was therefore happy to say that the £1 an acre system had been put an end to, and that land could now be obtained in British Columbia on as easy terms as to price and immediate occupation as was the case in the neighbouring territory of America. He might further observe, 1324 that the success which had attended the exertions of Governor Douglas in the construction of roads had been most remarkable. In all young Colonies the construction of such works was of great importance, but in no colony was it, he would venture to say, of such vital interest as in British Columbia, as the gold regions were separated from the coast by mountain ranges which could be only traversed by roads, the Fraser being in that part of its course unfit for navigation. Impressed with the conviction of the necessity of roads. Governor Douglas had devoted the whole available revenue of the colony to the purpose, and the consequence was, that there was now no less than 1,000 miles of road being constructed, penetrating into the interior of the country, and bringing the necessaries of life within the reach of the mining population at comparatively reduced prices, instead of those famine prices which had until lately prevailed, and which had the effect of driving miners back to the coast to avoid actual starvation. The effect of those measures had been to encourage the immigration of miners, and also the taking up of land for the purposes of permanent settlement. Another result had been that the revenue of the Colony had risen during the last year by about £100,000, and thenceforward the Colony would, be hoped, disappear from the Votes of that House, as no more money from this country would be wanted. In fact, he behoved there never had been a colony which cost this country so little as British Columbia. An event had lately happened which had excited much attention in this country, and would have a great influence on the future prospects of the Colony. There had been a transfer of shares from the greater number of the old proprietors and directors of the Hudson's Boy Company to new proprietors and new directors, and among the objects aimed at by the new company was the construction of postal and telegraphic communication between British Columbia and Canada, across the Rocky Mountains, to which his noble Friend the Secretary of State attached the greatest importance. The Government hoped and believed that the company, under its new direction, would not lose sight of that great object; and they had the assurances of the eminent chairman, Sir Edmund Head, that their attention would be directed to the settlement of the country, and to opening communication across the Continent. The last letter of the company 1325 announced that they had directed a very able and energetic gentleman, Mr. Watkin, to proceed from Canada to the Red River, to make himself acquainted with all the circumstances of the country, and to report on his return as to the best means of carrying out the great scheme of passenger communication between Canada and British Columbia. He thought they might look forward to a not very distant time when British Columbia would be far more accessible than at the present moment, when the British element in the population would rapidly increase, and when it would be one of the most powerful and prosperous, as it was already one of the most interesting Colonies under the British Crown.

§ MR. WYLD
said, it was very late in the Session to deal with a measure which was of so much importance in view of the great events which were happening in America, and which must have an effect upon our own possessions. He was glad the Bill was to remain in operation only for one year, because he was sure the Government of Vancouver's Island could not last longer. Although the hon. Gentleman had given the House such a glowing account, the fact was, that the success of the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island had not been as great as it would have been under better management and a better constitution. The Hudson's Bay Company had exercised too much influence over the Colonial Office; and, as an instance of it, of the fifteen members given by the present constitution to Vancouver's Island twelve were the nominees of the company. In the two Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island the population, instead of increasing, had decreased. The total population was 12,000, and it was proved that although large numbers went temporarily to search for gold, they did not become settlers and colonists. The grievances of the people were such that they had sent two delegates, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Maclure, to this country, with a petition which the governor had not transmitted; and although, in the technical language of the Colonial Office, these gentlemen were not sent "officially," they represented the largest public meeting ever held in the island. The maladministration of the finances of the Colony had been unparalleled, and there had been defaulters in almost every department. The amount of their defalcations was enormous. In 1326 1858 a gold commissioner absconded with many thousand dollars; in 1862 the postmaster absconded with large sums; then the treasurer of the colony was convicted of embezzlement; a bankrupt draper from Perth, who had been insolvent in Demerara, having been appointed Chief Justice, was arrested for debt and mysteriously liberated, and had escaped to the adjoining American provinces; and the chief police clerk had run away with a large sum of money. There was hardly an official who did not retain a large grant of land for his own benefit. The people were loyal, and there was a strong feeling in favour of the Sovereign of these realms; but the people saw a better Government under the United States in neighbouring territory, and far less corruption. He gave credit to the Duke of Newcastle for the attempt to form a road to the Pacific. There was no scientific man who would not feel interested in the proposed line of communication which it was intended to effect across the continent, and the communication with China; but he thought those communications should never be carried out by the Hudson's Bay Company, who had ever sacrificed the public to their own interests. The pretensions of the company, he believed, were not legally sustainable. As he understood, the noble Duke at the head of the Colonial department proposed to grant to the new company a million acres on a portion of the land proposed to be traversed by the telegraph, but he was undertaking a great responsibility, seeing that the country along the Red River was occupied by hostile Indians. He was afraid, if the Colonial Office guaranteed this extent of country to the new company, that it would lead to great trouble and expense, and probably to Indian wars. In putting an end to the Hudson's Bay Company the noble Duke had done good suit and service. The deputy chairman of the Hudson's Bay Company was the sole agent for the fur traders of New York. The company was connected with the Credit Mobilier, and with the German settlers in America, and he thought they ought not to have the sole power of granting licences to trade over the extensive territories dealt with in the Bill.

§ MR. AYTOUN
said, he objected to the Bill chiefly on the ground of the effect it would have on the interests of the tax payers in this country. He believed the Bill formed part of a great scheme for colonizing the western portion of North America, and for 1327 forming a great road to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. He believed that this intercolonial railway, as a commercial enterprise, was one of the wildest dreams that had ever entered into the brain of a railway engineer. The projected line passed through a most difficult country, and the work would be of a most expensive character, much more expensive than the estimate. The country was almost uninhabited, and the food for the workmen would have to be carried to them from a great distance. But even if it were carried out, it would not be a remunerative undertaking. When the St. Lawrence was closed in the winter, there might be a considerable number of passengers; but when the river was opened, there would be very few, and at no time would there be any goods. In Case of war, it would be perfectly easy for an enterprising American general to cut the railway in two, so that in a military point of view, it would be of little use. The finances of the Colony were not in a position to bear so expensive a guarantee; and if the intercolonial railway were carried out in the manner projected, it would be a great burden on the Colony. Looking, moreover, to the tendency in the Colony to treat these works as Imperial matters, he was afraid that the burden of the guarantee for such a work, carried out at the persuasion of the Colonial Secretary, might sooner or later be thrown upon this country. Anything which tended to burden Colonial finances must be a disadvantage to the mother country. As to the Pacific road, if it were constructed, he did not see of what advantage it would be to Canada, to Columbia, or to England. He thought the construction of such a road was premature at present, for it would have to pass through a country to a great extent without population. It might be said that this would be opening up new territory, but he did not see the necessity of the people of this country spending their money in that way. At least, we ought to wait till Canada and the other Colonies were more fully peopled before we threw away money in opening up new fields of emigration. Canada, for instance, although eight times the size of Scotland, had less population. Such a measure ought not to have been brought in at so advanced a period of the Session, when there was not sufficient time for its consideration, and when the attendance of members was so scanty. At present our military expenditure on behalf of the Colonies was very large, and was rather in- 1328 creasing than diminishing, and the new country which was proposed to be colonized would add to that outlay, as we should probably be brought into conflict with the Indians,

§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE
said, the Bill was merely for the continuance of an existing Act and the annexation of a tract of country to the North of Columbia, and did not require much discussion.

§ MR. MASSEY
said, the hon. Gentleman should confine himself to the clauses of the Bill, as in Committee he could not make a general statement on the Bill.

§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE
said, he would move to expunge the clause, to which he did not attach any importance. It had been inserted as a matter of convenience, in case it should be found necessary to make any correction in the boundaries of the Colony.