Undertake the responsibility of managing the
Indian tribes, and excluding the introduction of ardent spirits. I make
this suggestion solely on behalf of the Indians, upon whom free
intercourse with white men will, in my opinion, be ultimately
destructive.
"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,
"17th Augt. 1863.
"MY DEAR MR. WATKIN,
"Along with this I send you a letter which, though marked private,
treats only of our affairs, in such a manner that it may be laid before
the Duke of Newcastle. It ought, I think, also to be laid before Sir
Edmund Head, and I shall refer him to it for my views. It is very
important that the whole of Johnstone's letter, and of my
account of affairs at Red River, in regard to the Corbett riots,
addressed to the Board, should be read along with the above letter. I
do not think that we can ever make anything out of our lands,
[Footnote: Experience has shown that this was an error.] and I am
therefore strongly of opinion that they should be transferred to the
Government upon certain terms, excepting only such lands around our
forts as may be necessary for our business, and our farms, &c. in
actual occupation.
"Although a great outcry has been raised against us on account of our
being a 'stop in the way,' and enjoying a monopoly of trade, the cry is
groundless. It may, therefore, be well for you to know that for a
number of years past we have enjoyed no monopoly of trade
whatever, and that there is no impediment to the settlement of the
country by any one who pleases. A settler may squat wherever he thinks
fit, without question, or being called upon to pay for lands yet
unsurveyed, and of which the Indian titles are not yet extinguished.
The small portion of surveyed land in the district of Assiniboin has
been all long since occupied, though not paid for. With a recognized
Government, there would be no difficulty in obtaining payment for these
lands from the occupiers.
"In erecting the telegraph, the Indian titles to the land ought to be
extinguished by annual payments; but the absence of a recognized and
respected Government will be of itself a great bar to the successful
erection of the apparatus, and the preserving it and the various
stations in good order. Though, by increased energy and supervision,
the fur trade may for a time be maintained, yet you must not
count upon increased profits, as with the opening up of the
country the furs are costing us more, and many of our posts are so
distant that they cannot, from that and a variety of causes, be placed
all at once upon a proper footing, and it is very difficult to exercise
a proper supervision over them. It behoves the Company, therefore, to
look out for other sources of profit. One of these is that of banking
operations, both here and at Red River, and probably also at Victoria
and at St. Paul, or other suitable locality in the U. S. On this head I
may again address you from Red River, and Mr. Hopkins will afford you
every information in regard to the prospects at this place, which are
represented to be very great, when you come out in September.
"I am just about starting for Lake St. John's on the Saguenay River,
and shall be absent about ten days. Upon my return I shall be ready to
return to Red River - say, about the 1st September.
