"Having already impressed upon you the necessity of procuring from Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies such instructions to the Governors of Vancouver's Island and British Columbia as may put an end to all proceedings against us in the local courts, and place us in possession of proper titles to our lands, I have now, in reminding you of the importance of the matter, to hand you the enclosed extract of a private letter which I received yesterday from Mr. D. Mactavish, senior member of our Board of Management in Victoria, which speaks for itself.
"Though I have marked this communication 'private,' I shall be obliged by your laying it before Sir Edmund Head, as I am so very hurried that I have not time at present to write officially to the Board.
"I remain, dear Sir, yours faithfully,
"A. G. DALLAS.
"E. WATKIN, Esq., London.
"P.S.—The undoubted discoveries of gold diggings in the Saskatchewan and other portions of the territory is another strong reason why the land should revert to and be administered by the Crown. Large grants to the Company would be looked upon with great disfavour by the public.
"A. G. D."
Extract private letter from D. Mactavish, Esq., to A. G. Dallas, dated
Victoria, Vancouver's Island, 13th July, 1863:—
"We hear nothing of our land question from the Governor, and there is no getting him to give titles for the Company's lands at Hope, Yale, and Langley. Orders have come out for the Royal Engineers to go to England immediately after the new year, so that Colonel Moodie and his staff of surveyors will do no more work, their time being so nearly up—this is worrying, but cannot be helped. The Governor has so much to do, making roads and so forth in British Columbia, that there is no drawing his attention to our matters, and when we do call on him to act, his invariable answer is, that he cannot get Moodie to do anything, and I daresay there is some truth in it, as it is shrewdly surmised that His Excellency has had more to do with the recall of the Engineers home than anyone else, and they all feel that they are leaving under a cloud."
"MONTREAL, "17_th Augt._ 1863.