Arey

46 The Fraser River Mines.

The Court-house here is held in the barracks, wch contain nearly
twice the accommodation of the new proposed parsonage, Court-house,
and church all put together. It would have been well to have taken
them over for that purpose, wch they wod suit very well, and they are
about the best-built wooden buildings and neatest-looking I have seen
either here or in V. I.

I beg that you will apologize to Mr. Anderson® for my intrusion
upon his orders, wch I admit, of course, to be altogether unauthorized
and impertinent, but the case comes, I think, so completely within the
spirit (though not in time to come within the letter) of your late Procla-
mation that I have with some hesitation ventured to direct Mr. Bevis
to depart from the rigor hitherto observed, reserving to him his full due:
or at least reserving the proportion wch wod have come to him had the
seizure gone to a sale, and wch you may deal with at your pleasure.

Friday, 7 am. The “ Beaver” is starting 4 hours earlier than
I expected, and I must close precipitately and can only send Jones, not
having given judgment in the other case.

Believe me,
Yours faithfully,
Mart. B. Brcsie.

QUEENBOROUGH,”
12th March, 1859.

Dear Sir,—I sentenced the prisoner Niel’ this morning to four
years’ penal servitude, to be undergone for the present in Victoria.
I took the opportunity of making a few observations wch the occa-
sion seemed to call for, pointing out the leading vices wch seemed to
have led to the crime and showing the audience what the law of homi-
cide is; not unluckily, I happened to find a United States law-book,
from wch I read some of the more decisive passages. I never saw
a Court conducted with more propriety; there was a tolerably large
audience.

After the conclusion of the trial I wrote to Captn. Sinclair, of
the “ Beaver,” who was advertised to leave Fort Langley at 10 a.m.,
informing him that there would be two prisoners ready for him at
1] a.m. if he could remain so long. However, he left at 7 a.m., leaving
several disappointed passengers, as I afterwards heard at the Fort; and
of course leaving also the prisoner Neil. Captn. Sinclair wrote me
eENCos Wexander Caulfield Anderson, the Collector of Customs at Victoria, which under Doug-
las’s Proclamation of December 8, 1858, had been created the port of entry for British Columbia.
By the Customs Proclamation of March 5, 1859, vessels bound for Fraser River could enter at
Queenborough (New Westminster).

(66) One of the first names of New Westminster before the present name was selected by

Queen Victoria.
(67) Judge Begbie gave an account of this man’s crime in the preceding letter,