ained within the British territory,
forming a valuable outlet for British manufactured goods, and at once
creating a lucrative trade between the mother country and Vancouver's
Island.

Taking a view of the subject, simply in its relations to trade and
commerce, apart from considerations of national policy, such perhaps
would be the course most likely to promote the interests of this colony;
but, on the contrary, if the country be thrown open, to indiscriminate
immigration, the interests of the empire may suffer from the
introduction of a foreign population, whose sympathies may be decidedly
anti-British.

Taking this view of the question, it assumes an alarming aspect, and
suggests a doubt as to the policy of permitting the free entrance of
foreigners into the British territory for residence, without in the
first place requiring them to take the oath of allegiance, and otherwise
to give such security for their conduct as the Government of the country
may deem it proper and necessary to require at their hands.

The opinion which I have formed on the subject leads me to think that,
in the event of the diggings proving remunerative, it will now be found
impossible to check the course of immigration, even by closing Fraser
River, as the miners would then force a passage into the gold district
by way of the Columbia River, and the valuable trade of the country in
that case be driven from its natural course into a foreign channel, and
entirely lost to this country.

On the contrary, should the diggings prove to be unremunerative, a
question which as yet remains undecided, the existing excitement, we may
suppose, will die away of itself; and the miners, having no longer the
prospect of large gains, will naturally abandon a country which no
longer holds out any inducement for them to remain.

Until the value of the country as a gold-producing region be established
on clearer evidence than can now be adduced in its favour--and the point
will no doubt be decided before the close of the present year--I would
simply recommend that a small naval or military force should be placed
at the disposal of this Government, to enable us to maintain the peace,
and to enforce obedience to the laws.

The system of granting licences for digging gold has not yet come into
operation.

Perhaps a similar method of raising a revenue would be to impose a
customs' duty on imports, to be levied on all supplies brought into the
country, whether