Some members of the old
Board were retained for the, expected, value of their experience, and
amongst the new members were Mr. Richard Potter and Sir Curtis Miranda
Lampson, a rival fur trader of eminence and knowledge, and an American.
A seat at the Board was left vacant for me.
It may be interesting here to quote what the Duke of Newcastle said, in
explaining, in the House of Lords, the recent transactions with the
Hudson's Bay Company.
TIMES, July 3, 1863. [HOUSE OF LORDS.]
"The DUKE OF NEWCASTLE, in moving the second reading of the British
Columbia Boundaries Bill, said that he should give some further
information as to an extension of the means of communication across
that great interval of country between British Columbia and Canada.
After referring to the system of government which then existed both in
Vancouver's Island and British Columbia, and to the revenues of both
colonies for the previous few years - that of British Columbia being
most remarkable, having nearly doubled itself in two years (the imports
in 1861 being $1,400,000, and in 1862 $2,200,000) - the noble Duke
proceeded to say, that the greatest impediment to the future prosperity
of the Colony was a want of communication with the outer world.
