with
the whites will surely follow the accession of numbers, which the latter
are now receiving by the influx of adventurers from Vancouver's Island
and the United States territories in Oregon; and there is no doubt in my
mind that sooner or later the intervention of Her Majesty's Government
will be required to restore and maintain the peace. Up to the present
time, however, the country continues quiet, but simply, I believe,
because the whites have not attempted to resist the impositions of the
natives. I will, however, make it a part of my duty to keep you well
informed in respect to the state of the gold country.

6. The extent of the gold region is yet but imperfectly known, and I
have, therefore, not arrived at any decided opinion as to its ultimate
value as a gold-producing country. The boundaries of the gold district
have been, however, greatly extended since ay former report.

7. In addition to the diggings before known on Thompson River and its
tributary streams, a valuable deposit has been recently found by the
natives, on a bank of Fraser River, about fifty miles beyond its
confluence with the Thompson, and gold in small quantities has been
found in the possession of the natives as far as the great falls of
Fraser River, about eighty miles above the Forks. The small quantity of
gold hitherto produced--about eight hundred ounces--by the large native
population of the country is, however, unaccountable in a rich
gold-producing country, unless we assume that the want of skill,
industry, and proper mining tools on the part of the natives
sufficiently account for the fact.

8. On the contrary, the vein rocks and its other geological features,
as described by an experienced gold miner, encourage the belief that the
country is highly auriferous.

9. The miner in question clearly described the older slate formations
thrown up and pierced by beds of quartz, granite, porphyry, and other
igneous rocks; the vast accumulations of sand, gravel, and shingle
extending from the roots of the mountains to the banks of Fraser River
and its affluents, which are peculiar characteristics of the gold
districts of California and other countries. We therefore hope, and are
preparing for a rich harvest of trade, which will greatly redound to the
advantage of this colony.

10. I have further to communicate for your information that the
proclamation issued by me, asserting the rights of the Crown to all gold
in its natura