brought the unauthorized encroachment to the notice of the then Governor.
As Captain Nolloth, then Senior Naval Officer, was seriously unwell at that date, and unable to attend to business, Mr. Mercer directed the matter to stand over.
The point for notice however is not the delay in interference, for the Surveyor General expresses objection to the Pier itself but to the want of authority for its erection.
It appears undesirable that any encroachment in the harbor should have been commenced without the permission of the local Government, which alone is competent to give the same. Your Excellency will understand therefore why it is that with every wish to promote the convenience of the Naval Authorities, and without objection to the Pier in course of Construction, nevertheless I feel it my duty to guard against my silence being construed hereafter into sanction of what might be a very injurious precedent.
I have, &c.
(Signed) Richard Graves MacDonnell
Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
(True Copies.)
Henschen Ball
Acting Colonial Secretary.