1

Permit to be obtained before landing.

V. No goods other than the produce of the colony and passengers' luggage shall be landed from any vessel in Victoria or Esquimalt until the same and the value thereof shall have been first reported to the harbor-master of Victoria, and the permit to land the same shall have been received from the said harbor-master, or his deputy or deputies, and there shall be charged and paid for such landing permit the sum mentioned in Schedule D, to this act annexed.

Penalty of landing without permit.

VI. Any person landing any goods, save as aforesaid, shall be liable to a fine of not more than fifty pounds, (£50,) to be recovered by a summary process before any justice of the peace, and, in default of payment, to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a period not exceeding one month, and the goods so landed may be confiscated to the use of her Majesty, her heirs and successors.

Appropriation of amounts payable.

VII. The sums arising from all the above sources shall be paid into the treasury of Vancouver's island, and carried to a separate fund, to be called "the harbor fund."

Short title.

VIII. This act may be cited as "the Victoria and Esquimalt harbor dues act, 1860."

Passed the house of assembly the 26th day of October, A. D. 1860.
Passed the council the 21st day of November, A. D. 1860.
Received my assent the 19th day of December, A. D. 1860.

JAMES DOUGLAS, Governor.

Schedule A.

Fees for entrance and clearance for vessels entering and clearing the ports of Victoria and Esquimalt.

All vessels under 15 tons...
All vessels between 15 and 30 tons.
All vessels between 30 and 50 tons..
All vessels between 50 and 100 tons.
All vessels between 100 and 200 tons.
All vessels between 200 and 300 tons.
All vessels between 300 and 400 tons.
All vessels between 400 and 500 tons.
All vessels between 500 and 600 tons.
All vessels between 600 and 700 tons.
All vessels between 700 and 800 tons.
All vessels between 800 and 900 tons..
All vessels between 900 and 1,000 tons.
All vessels of 1,000 tons and upwards.

All steamers bona fide carrying mails to pay half the amount of the above

scale of fees, according to their tonnage.

Wherries and skiffs plying for hire, and licensed to carry not exceeding six passengers, per quarter, one pound.

Row-boats and yawls plying for hire, and licensed to carry more than six passengers, and under ten tons burden, per quarter, one pound ten shillings. Lighters and scows employed in freighting or discharging vessels, or otherwise, for hire, under ten tons burden, per quarter, two pounds.

Lighters and scows exceeding ten tons burden, two pounds per quarter, with one shilling additional for every ton exceeding ten tons and up to one hundred tons burden.

SCHEDULE D.
Landing permits.

For invoices under £100 in value....

For invoices above £100 and under £250 in value.
For invoices above £250 and under £500 in value.
For invoices above £500 and under £1,000 in value.
For invoices above £1,000...

I have the honor, in accordance with instructions, of submitting the following report:

This city has two harbors, Esquimalt and Victoria. Vessels drawing_eighteen to twenty feet water can enter the former, and those drawing twelve to fourteen the latter. There is no law establishing a pilot commission, but vessels generally take on board a pilot before entering either harbor. The cost of pilotage is two dollars per foot draught. The distance between the two harbors is about two and a half miles, and a good macadamized road has been constructed by the colonial government between the two ports.

This consulate includes only two ports of entrance and clearance, Victoria, Vancouver's island, and New Wesminster, British Columbia. So far as I can learn, only four or five sailing vessels have entered the latter port since the 1st January last.

Victoria appears to be the great depot for Vancouver's island and British Columbia. The number of vessels under the American and other national flags entering this port since the 1st January, 1862, to the 30th June, their tonnage and number of crew, will be found in table No. 1.

Victoria, in one sense, is a free port; that is, no duties are collected on imports, but all merchandise, produce, &c., before landing, are required to take out "landing permits," the cost of which is governed by their value.

For the entrance and clearance of vessels, under the new act of September 2, 1962, the charges are as follows:

For the statistics of imports into and exports from Victoria, from the 1st January, 1862, to the 30th June, I am in part indebted to Mr. Henry Wotten, harbor-master and collector. They exceed $200,000 in value more than for the same period last season. I am enabled to give only their description and value. H. Ex. Doc. 63-10

TABLE No. 4.

Imports into Victoria from January 1, 1862, to June 30, 1862.

From Port Townsend, Washington Territory, live stock, provisions, &c.....

From Portland, Oregon, live stock, provisions, &c..

From London, England, merchandise, liquors, &c...
From British Columbia, furs and skins...

From New Zealand, merchandise and liquors

From Sandwich Islands, sugar, coffee, mules, &c

$516 1,693 10, 642

75

7,773 500 7,000

5, 204 382, 117

1, 263, 128

$115, 608 43, 845 168, 125

6, 550

2,505

96, 643

Coal, furs, skins, hides, and a small amount of wool, are the only productions exported from Victoria, Vancouver's island, and from the 1st January, 1862, to 30th June, their aggregate value amount to only about $85,000.

No authentic data can be had as to the amount of gold taken from this port to San Francisco since the 1st January, 1862. It is computed that seven and a half millions of dollars were last year raised in British Columbia, and that about half the amount found its way to San Francisco and the States. This season the yield will not be so large, it is thought, by one-third, though the number of adventurers to the British Columbia mines is estimated at ten or twelve thousand more than last year. The reckless rush into the gold region, in advance of provisions, had the effect of putting up their price so high before mining operations could be commenced, that a large majority became destitute. The consequence was thousands returned. Those having means and remaining during the mining season have done well. From all that can be gathered as regards the yield of the mines in British Columbia this season, the result can only be figured up to $4,850,000.

The region this season attracting the most attention has been that of Cariboo, which is nearly 800 miles north of Victoria. The route is represented very difficult for the transportation of provisions, costing from sixty to eighty cents per pound before reaching that point. Until towards the close of the season, provisions, such as pork, beans, flour, &c., sold from $1 25 to $1 50 per pound. During the past season the government of British Columbia have constructed on the route some 150 miles of wagon road, and another season the cost of transportation will be materially lessened.

Discoveries of new gold fields in British Columbia, during this season, are announced, some of which are proving very rich. The Stickeen river country, in the Russian possessions, drew some 1,200 miners thither, and the prospects obtained are said to be encouraging. Another year's exploration there will doubtless develop a rich mining country.

Other valuable minerals besides gold are known to exist in British Columbia and Vancouver's island, but attract as yet little attention. Copper, lead, silver ore, and coal, are found in many localities, and steps are being taken to test their richness and extent.

On the Island of Vancouver quite a business is carried on in coal. At Nai