43 Vic. Correspondence—Lighthouses. 367
PAPERS
Relating to the Claim made by the Imperial Government for re-payment of
Advances made to the Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island for
the construction of Lighthouses.
By Command,
T. Basil Humphreys,
Provincial Secretary.
Provincial Secretary's Office,
12th April, 1880.
The Secretary of State for Canada to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Ottawa, 5th February, 1879.
Sir,—I have tbe honour to transmit to you herewith a copy of a Despatch, with
enclosures, from the Bight Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, with
reference to a claim of Her Majesty's Treasury of £6,246 19s. 10d., for advances made
to the Provinces of British Columbia and Vancouver Island for the erection of
Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour, Vancouver Island.
I have to request that you will bring these documents under the early notice of
your Government, and that you will inform me whether they will approve of the claim
being paid by the Government of the Dominion and charged to account of British
Columbia. I have, etc.,
(Signed) J. C. Aikins,
Secretary of State.
Enclosure, No. 1.
Sir M. Hicks-Beach to the Earl of Dufferin.
Downing Street, 30tb August, 1878.
My Lord,—I have the honour to transmit to Your Lordship herewith a copy of a
letter from the Treasury enclosing a correspondence which has taken place between that
Department and the Board of Trade in regard to advances made from moneys voted by
Parliament between the years 1859-60, and 1862-63, inclusive, for the erection of
Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour, Vancouver Island.
The enclosed Memorandum, which has been prepared in this Department, fully
explains the circumstances in which these advances were made to the Provinces of
British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and as tbe amount which is now claimed, viz.,
£6,246 19s. lOct, has never been repaid, I request that you will bring this matter to the
notice of your Government in order that steps may be taken for the payment to the
Imperial Treasury of the amount due.
A schedule of the correspondence which took place with tbe Governors of British
Columbia and Vancouver Island upon the subject of these advances is annexed.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) M. E. Hicks-Beach.
27 368 Correspondence—Lighthouses. 1880
Enclosure, No. 2.
The Treasury to the Secretary of the Board of Trade.
Treasury Chambers, 4th June, 1878.
Sir,—I am directed by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to
request you to inform the Board of Trade that the attention of the Lords Commissioners
of Her Majesty's Treasury has been directed to the following sums which were voted by
Parliament for the erection of Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour,
Vancouver Island, upon condition (as expressed in a foot-note to the Estimates for
Lighthouses abroad for the years in question,) that one-half the same should be
eventually repaid from the Bevenue of the Colony of British Columbia, viz.:—
In 1859-60 £ 7,000
In 1861-62      5.000
In 1862-63        494
£12,494
My Lords request to be informed what was the actual expenditure in respect of the
above grant, and whether, so far as the records of tho Board of Trade may shew, any
sum has been yet recovered from the Colony, or any correspondence, has taken place,
since 1863, regarding the re-payment or remission of the debt?
Their Lordships would be glad to obtain this information in time for its insertion
in the "Statement of Unrepaid Advances made to Colonial Governments from Votes of
Parliament," which is to be appended to the Financial Accounts for 1877-8, now in course
of preparation. I am, etc.,
(Signed)' Wm. Law.
Enclosure, No. 3.
The Board of Trade to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Board of Trade, 16th July, 1878.
Sir,—With reference to your enquiry of the 4th June, 1878, relative to the votes of
Parliament for the erection of Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour,
Vancouver Island, in the years 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862 and 1862-63, amounting to £12494,
I am directed by the Board of Trade to acquint you, for the information of tho Lords
Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, that the total of the votes, less 3rd surrendered
to the Exchequer, viz., £12,493 19s. 7d., was expended, of which no sum has been
recovered by the Board of Trade from the Colony, nor has any correspondence taken
place with this Department regarding the repayment or remission of the debt.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) A.Stoulham.
Enclosure, No. 4.
The Treasury to the Under Secretary of State.
Treasury Chambers, 22nd July, 1878.
Sir,—I am directed by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to
transmit to you copy of a correspondence which has taken place between the Board of
Trade and this Department in regard to advances made from moneys voted by
Parliament between the years 1859-60 and 1862-63, inclusive, for the erection of
Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour, Vancouver Island, and 1. am to
request that the same may be laid before Secretary, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach.
I have to state that my Lords presume that when British Columbia wasincorporated
with the Dominion of Canada, tho latter became responsible for the liabilities of that
Colony, inclusive of the debts owing by the Government of Vancouver Island, and my
Lords would request, therefore, that the subject may be brought to the notice of the
Government of Canada with a view to some arrangement lor the repayment to Imperial
Funds of the sum on account of the Lighthouses, viz, £6,246 19s. 10i., which will be
represented in the Financial Accounts as due by the Dominion of Canada.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) William Law.
« 43 Vic. Correspondence—Lighthouses. 369
Enclosure, No. 5.
The Colonial Office to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Downing Street, 31st July, 1878.
Sir,—I am directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant requesting that application may be made to
the Government of Canada for repayment of the sum of £6,246 19s. 10d., being one-half
the expenditure of moneys voted by Parliament between the years 1859-60 and 1862-63,
for the erection of Lighthouses in the Straits of Fuca and in Esquimalt Harbour,
Vancouver Island.
You state that this sum will be represented in the Financial Accounts laid before
Parliament as due by the Dominion of Canada.
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach will at once cause an investigation to be made into this
claim, and will, if it snould prove to bo well founded, communicate with the Governor-
General of Canada upon tho subject, but he desires me to request that you will represent
to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury that the claim has been for many years
outstanding, and is one of which tho Government of Canada are probably entirefy
ignorant, and that therefore it appears to him that it should not, without previous
communication with that Government, be included in the Finance Account as a debt due
from tbe Dominion. 1 have, etc.,
(Signed) B. G. W. Herbert.
Enclosure No. 6.
Memorandum.
In a despatch of 26th October, 1858, as to the progress of the Colony of British
Columbia, Governor Douglas transmitted a report from Captain G. H. Bichards, of
H.M.S.Plumper, on tho harbours of Vancouver Island and the coast of British Columbia.
In this report Captain Bichards called attention to the necessity of lighting the British
side of the Straits of Fuca, the American side being already lighted, and he particularly
recommended tho immediate erection of certain lights.
Copies of this report were communicated to the Admiralty and Board of Trade by
this Office.
The Board of Trado replied by stating that as the lights in question did not appear
to belong to the class of Imperial lights, it did not fait within the province of that
Department to form an opinion or to give any recommendation as to the propriety of
their being established. At the same time, however, they enclosed a memorandum from
their professional officer, Captain Sullivan, B.N., strongly supporting Captain Bichards'
recommendation. In tho meantime, however, Governor Douglas had brought the
question of lighting tho approaches to Vancouver Island and British Columbia directly
tinder the consideration of this office, and he pointed out the necessity for the immediate
erection of lights at the Bace Bocks, in Fuca Straits, and on Fisgard Island, at the
entrance of Esquimalt Harbour, but as tbe Colony had no means for such a work he
strongly recommended the matter for the favourable consideration of the Imperial
Government.
Governor Douglas' despatches were referred for the consideration of the Board of
Trade, who were asked to reconsider whether they could not include the required
Lighthouses within the class of "Imperial Lights," and give the Colony some assistance
towards their erection.
To this the Board of Trade replied that although there could be no doubt of the
importance of the proposed lights, they were required for the trade of the Colony, and
not for general passing trade, and that, therefore, they could not be properly considered
as belonging to the class of Imperial Lights, and that if it were determined to assist tbe
Colony in their erection, application should be made to the Treasury by the Colonial.
Office rather than by the Board of Trade. They would, however, be happy to give their
best advice and assistance in tho matter, and they enclosed a memorandum from Captain
Sullivan, B.N., estimating tho cost of tho proposed Lighthouses at £7,000.
Meanwhile the Hydrographer of the Admiralty and the Naval Commander-in-Chief
on the Pacific Station had pressed upon the Admiralty the urgent necessity for the
erection of the lights, and the matter having been also privately pressed upon this Officej 370 Correspondence—Lighthouses. 1880
the Secretary of State, Sir. E. B. Lytton, determined to take tbe course suggested by
the Board of Trade, and ask the Treasury to advance the necessary funds.
The whole of the correspondence was therefore sent to the Treasury with a recommendation that a vote should be taken for tbe amount of the estimated cost, £7,000, of
the proposed Lighthouses, on the understanding that one moiety of that amount would
be recoverable from the Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and that
tbe Colonies should bear the whole charge of maintaining the Lighthouses.
The Treasury assented to this course, but stipulated that the whole responsibility
for the selection of the sites for the lights and the construction of the light towers
should rest with the Governor, and that the Board of Trade could only assist with advice
and information, and by sending out the lighting apparatus. It was also subsequently
settled that the Governor should draw on the Board of Trade for the money, and that
the Board should keep the account of the expenditure. The whole of the correspondence
was then sent to Governor Douglas for his information and guidance, and with the
necessary instructions, and he was informed that the Secretary of State must leave it to
him to decide tbe proportion in which it would be equitable that Vancouver Island and
British Columbia should contribute towards the payment of the moiety of the advance
of £7,000, but that the debt should be repaid within the earliest practicable period.
Governor Douglas replied that he was highly gratified to receive intelligence of the
intended advance, and that measures would be adopted for the repayment of the moiety,
for which Vancouver Island and British Columbia were jointly responsible.
The original estimate, £7,000, was, however, found to be insufficient as the works
proceeded, and it became necessary to advance further sums from time to time, which
were subsequently included in tbe Imperial Estimates for 1861-2, 1862-3, but advanced
on tho same condition as the original £7,000,—that one-half should be repaid by
Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
The Lighthouses were finished in December, 1860, but it was some time before the
total expenditure on them became known, and it was not until the 24th December, 1863,
that the Board was able to render an account of the whole sum expended in the work,
viz., £12,493 19s. 9d., and to request that measures might be taken for the recovery of
one-half of that sum, viz., £6,246 19s. 10d., from Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
The Board of Trade account was sent to the Governor of Vancouver Island on the 2nd
January, 1864, with instructions to cause this sum to bo repaid by Vancouver Island
and British Columbia in the proportion which be should think proper.
No answer seems to have been returned to this Despatch, but British Columbia and
Vancouver Island, having ceased to be under one Governor, a difference arose between
the two Governments as to the cost of maintaining the Lights, and from the correspondence that then took place, and which was submitted for the consideration of the
Secretary of State, it appeared that Governor Douglas, when Governor of tbo two
Colonies, had decided that the cost of the maintenance of the Lighthouses, and also the
repayment of the moiety of the cost of their erection, should be defrayed in equal
portions by Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and that British Columbia disputed
tho fairness of such a decision. The Governor of British Columbia (Mr. Seymour) being
about to return to England on leave of absence, the papers were referred to him for
report, but ho returned to tho Colony without replying to the letter addressed to him on
the subject. Meanwhile, however, it had been decided that British Columbia and
Vancouver Island should be united in one Colony, and a Despatch was addressed to
Governor Seymour, of British Columbia, who was about to become Governor of the
united Colonies, reminding him that the adjustment of the respective liabilities of
Vancouver Island and British Columbia would now devolve upon him, and requesting
him to consider and report the arrangements which he might think best for the
settlement of the claims.
To this Governor Seymour replied on the 15th January, 1867, that he had not
previously been satisfied that the claims advanced against British Columbia by
Vancouver Island were well founded, and had therefore resisted them, but that now,
however, that the Colonics had been united with a common Treasury, the matter
necessarily settled itself.
No steps, however, appear, since that date, to have been taken for the payment of
the amount, and there the matter seems to have rested until the present day.
Colonial Office, 9th August, 1878. 43 Vic.
Correspondence—Lighthouses.
3^1
Schedule op Correspondence respecting Vancouver Island Lighthouses.
No.
From whom or to whom.
Despatch No.
Date.
1
6
76
90
63
78
194
32
8
17
53
57
6
9
14
19
29
31
31
50
47
35
36
66
8
4
15
45
71
72
17
19
28
1858, 26th October.
2
1859, 15th January.
1859, 4th February.
1859, llth May.
1859, 16th June.
3
4
Colonial Office	
5
Do	
6
1859, 23rd July.
1859, 8th August.
1859, llth August.
1859, 21st October.
7
8
9
Do.                            	
'0
1859, 5th November.
11
Do.                   do	
1859, 10th November.
12
1860, 3rd Februarv.
13
Do	
1860, 7th February.
1860, 15th March.
14
Do	
15
1860, 7th April.
1860, 15th May.
1860, 18th June.
16
Do.                       do	
17
Do.                     do	
18
1860, 28th August.
1860, 5th December.
1861, 4th March.
19
20
21
22
Do.                       do	
1861, 2nd May.
1861, 9th Mav.
23
24
1861, 14th August.
1862, 10th February.
1862, 9th February.
1862, 21st May.
1864, 2nd January.
1865, 23rd August.
1866, 4th September.
25
Colonial Office	
26
27
28
29
Do.                        do	
30
31
32
Colonial Office to Gov. Vancouver Island
Colonial Office to Gov. British Columbia
1866, 10th November.
1866,14th November.
1867, 18th January.
Copy of a Report of a Committee of the Honourable the Executive Council, approved by His
Honour the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on the 7th May, 1879.
The Committee of Council have had under consideration a despatch from Ottawa
dated the 5th of February, 1879, referring to a letter from the Colonial Office of the
30th of August, 1878, with enclosures, in which a claim is preferred by the Imperial
Treasury against tho Province for £6,246 19s. 10d., being a moiety of the cost incurred
by the Treasury in constructing Eace Bocks and other Lighthouses. In reply to the
request of the Dominion Government as to whether they will pay it and charge it to
the Province, the Committee advise that the Secretary of State be informed that the
payment of the claim cannot be recommended without further inquiry, as no record of
it appears in the Provincial Treasury. They also advise that a copy of this minute be
forwarded to tho Dominion Government.
Certified,
(Signed)       T. B. Humphreys,
Clerk Executive Council.
The Under-Secretary of State to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Ottawa, 8th October, 1879.
Sir,—With reference to your letter of the 9th May last, enclosing a Minute of your
Executive Council dated 7th of same month, on tho subject of the claim of Her Majesty's
Treasury for £6,246 19s. lOd. for advances made to tho Provinces of British Columbia
and Vancouver Island for tbe erection of lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt
Harbour, I am directed to transmit to you herewith a copy of a despatch received from 372 Correspondence—Lighthouses. 1880
the Bight Honourable tbe Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 9th August last,
with reference to the statement made in the Minute of Council above mentioned
appended to your letter, that payment of the claim could not be recommended without
further inquiry.
I have, &c.,
(Signed)       Edouard J. Langevin,
Under-Secretary of State.
Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach to the Governor-General.
Downing Street, 9th August, 1879.
My Lord,—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 190,
of the 10th ult., transmitting a copy of an approved report of the Committee of the
Privy Council on tho subject of the claim preferred in my Despatch No. 240 of the 30th
August last for the repayment of the sum of £6,264 19s. 10d., expended for the erection
of Lighthouses in Fuca Straits and Esquimalt Harbour, British Columbia.
I regret a more satisfactory reply has not been returned to this claim after the
lapse of nearly a year from the date of my despatch, within which time there has been
ample time for the verification of the claim, the circumstances of the case having been
fully set forth in the memorandum which accompanied my former despatch, wherein
also the fullest references were given to the correspondence which had passed on the
subject between the Department and the Governor of British Columbia.
I trust that an examination of the correspondence which is in your possession,
having been transferred to Canada from the Province at the time of its annexation to
the Dominion, as appears from the Secretary of State's Despatch No. 11 of the 16th
January, 1872, will enable the Dominion Government to satisfy themselves of the justice
of the claim and to take such steps as may be necessary for its prompt settlement.
I have, &c,
(Signed)        M. E. Hicks-Beach.
The Secretary of State to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Ottawa, 14th January, 1880.
Sir,—Adverting to previous correspondence upon the subject of the claim of Her
Majesty's Treasury of £6,246 19s. lOd. for advances made to tbe Province of British
Columbia and Vancouver Island for tho erection of lighthouses in Fuca Straits and
Esquimalt Harbour, and particularly to Mr. Under-Secretary Langevin's letter and
enclosure of the 8th October last, I have the honour tO'transmit to you herewith, for the
consideration of your Government, copies of tbe despatches and correspondence in the
case enumerated in the enclosed schedule, and to state that it would appear from those
papers that there is no reasonable doubt of the correctness of the demand of the
Treasury.
I have now to request that a speedy answer may be given by your Government in
reference to this claim, and to add that in case no answir is received showing reasonable grounds for holding that the Province of British Columbia should not properly be
called upon to pay tho money, His Excellency tho Governor-General will take it for
granted that the Province agrees to the payment of the claim.
I have, &c,
(Signed)       M. Bowell,
for Secretary of State.
Copy of a Report of a Committee of the Honourable the Executive Council, approved by His
Honour the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on the 12th February, 1880.
On a memorandum dated llth February, 1880, from the Minister of Finance,
reporting upon a despatch dated Ottawa, 14th January, 1880, enclosing copies of certain
despatches and correspondence upon which tho recent claim made against tho Government of Canada by Her Majesty's Treasury for £6,246 19s. lCd., for one-half the cost of
erection of lighthouses on Bace Bocks, Straits of Fuca, and on Fisgard Island at the
entrance to the harbour of Esquimalt. in the years, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, and 1863 is 43 Vic Correspondence—Lighthouses. ST 3
based, and which amount it is now claimed the Province of British Columbia should be
called upon to pay.
The Minister reports, after a careful examination into the circumstances connected
with the erection of the lighthouses in question:—
That in the year 1859 Sir James Douglas, who was then Governor over the Crown
Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and Bear-Admiral Baynes, C.B.,
Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, brought to the notice of the Imperial Government
the great necessity of lights on the north shore of the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
That the Imperial Government undertook the construction of these lighthouses,
mainly for the protection of Imperial interests, it being conceded at the time by Sir E.
B. Lytton that " their construction was a matter of national importance, as they were
" requisite for the safe navigation of the waters; that losses from shipwreck which,
" failing sucli protection, were highly probable, would fall on the British merchant, and
" on the country at large in the event of the loss of any of the ships of war, the amount
" of which would far exceed the cost of the lighthouses."
That Esquimalt was then, as now, the only British Naval Station in the North
Pacific, and that those lighthouses were, and are, as much an Imperial necessity as the
Dockyard and other Imperial property at Esquimalt.
That Governor Douglas was informed in July, 1859, that Her Majesty's Government
would advance the sum of £7,000 for the construction of these lighthouses on the condition that one moiety should be repaid by the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British
Columbia jointly, and that he (Governor Douglas) promised that measures would
accordingly bo adopted for that purpose. That in January, 1864, the Imperial Government informed Governor Douglas that tho cost of these works had amounted to £12,493
19s. 9d., and requested that the sum now claimed—viz., £6,246 19s. 10d.—be repaid to
Her Majesty's Paymaster-General.
That Governor Kennedy, the successor to Governor Douglas as Governor of the
separate Crown Colony of Vancouver Island, placed $15,148 95, being one-half of the
sum claimed, in tho Estimates of 1865, to be paid out of Colonial revenue, but tbe Assembly refused to vote the amount. That Sir Edward Cardwell, in a despatch dated
12th October, 1865, when commenting on the above fact communicated to him by Gov-
.ernor Kennedy, stated that if the Assembly thought proper to adhere to their decision
the charge must bo defrayed out of Crown revenue. That the question appears to have
rested there, and that the amount was either paid out of Crown revenue or the debt
was remitted, as statements of the assets and liabilities of both Colonies were regularly
transmitted to the Imperial Government, this amount not appearing as a liability, and
its omission called forth no comment from the Imperial authorities. That the accounts
rendered by Her Majesty's Treasury Department to the Colony of British Columbia
claimed only £10,704 16s. 7d. as due from that Colony for the buildings at the Camp,
New Westminster; that the Colonial accounts for the same period show definitely that
liability as then unpaid.
That the accounts of the Colony of Vancouver Island at the same date show over
$10,000 as due by tbe Home Government to the Colony, and over $50,000 in the bands
of tho Crown Agents, London.
The Minister remarks that the claims referred to in Earl Carnarvon's despatch to
Governors Kennedy and Seymour in November, 1866, were claims advanced by Vancouver Island against the Colony of British Columbia on account of the maintenance of
lighthouses and the conveyance of mails, thus being totally different accounts from tho
claim now advanced for construction of lighthouses, and that consequently Governor
Seymour was no doubt fully justified in reporting that the claims (for maintenance of
lighthouses and conveyance of mails,) were well founded, and that union of the Colonies,
with one common treasury, necessarily settled the question. But it must be 'obvious
that such a report cannot have any bearing upon the claim now advanced for lighthouse construction, further than to strengthen the opinion that the claim had either
been previously paid or that the debt had been remitted.
That this view is further supported by the fact that this amount does not appear as
a liability upon the union of the Crown Colonies of Vancouver Island and British
Columbia in 1866, or at the subsequent Confederation, in 1871, of the united Crown
Colonies with the Dominion of Canada.
The Minister further remarks upon the latter portion of the despatch under con- 374 Correspondence—Lighthouses. 1880
sideration, which states "that in case no answer is received showing reasonable grounds
" for holding that the Province of British Columbia should not properly be called upon
" to pay the money, His Excellency the Governor-General will take it for granted that
" the Province agrees to the jiayment of the claim."
That it must be admitted that a claim of such a character as could not be paid by
an Imperial Governor of a Crown Colony without the direct sanction of the Colonial
Assembly is not one that the Executive of British Columbia, under full representative
institutions, could agree should be charged to the debt account of the Province by the
Dominion Government without the sanction of the Legislature.
Tho Committee respectfully submit that this claim is not one that should now be
paid by the Province through the Dominion Government charging the amount to the
Debt Account, as it is incontrovertible that even if not previously paid or formally remitted, that it has been abandoned by the Imperial Government for the last fifteen years,
and under any circumstances was expenditure incurred more of Imperial than Colonial
necessity, and has undoubtedly been the means of preserving many vessels of Her
Majesty's Navy from destruction.
The Committee concur with the views contained in the above memorandum, and
recommend that if this report be approved a copy thereof be forwarded to the Hon. the
Secretary of State, Canada.
Certified.
(Signed) T. Basil Humphreys,
Clerk Executive Council.
VICTORIA: Printed by Richard Woltokdeu, Government Printer.
at tho Government Printing Office, James' Bay.