TIILIC.O.
1
885
14
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
Initialled
R.E.W. Initialled E.C.
Initialled
R.E.W. Initialled.E.C.
hibition and not counterbalanced by an excess of enhanced profit due to the same
cause.
4. Such direct loss, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, would not include · loss of prospective profit from the sale of skins which might or might not have been eaught by means of such-outlay-captured.
5. It must be remembered that the modus vivendi was agreed to by Her Majesty's Government only after they had received strong evidence that the seal species in the North Pacific had largely declined in numbers owing to excessive killing, and the prohibition, therefore, was in the best interests of the industry.
6. Her Majesty's Government have no intention of receding from the offer already ́ made, but they consider that, as the industry in the interests of which the arrangement was made is entirely in the hands of Canadian subjects, may fairly be left to the Dominion Government to bear the cost of any compensation which they may wish to see paid beyond the actual or direct loss with which Her Majesty's Government have consented to charge themselves.
Her Majesty's Government propose to send shortly an officer or officers to receive on the spot any claims for compensation that may be made in consequence of the promise made by them in my Despatch of June 13, and to report thereon to Her Majesty's Government, by whom the compensation due in each case will be determined.
(Initialled) R.E.W.
I have, &c. E.C.
6472.
No. 8.
(LAGOS.)
LAW OFFICERS to ADMIRALTY.
CASE.
FREIGHT ON TREASURE CARRIED IN QUEEN'S Ships.
By 59 Geo. 3. c. 25. it is provided that the rates of freight on treasure carried in Her Majesty's ships shall be fixed by Proclamation.
By Proclamation dated 12th July 1819, issued in pursuance of the Act, rales of freight are fixed "for treasure belonging to the Crown and to other parties." The rates for Crown treasure are lower than the freights payable by other parties." Subsequent Proclamations were issued from time to time."
46
"O
In 1888 it was decided by the Admiralty and the Treasury that for the future no froight should be payable on Queen's treasure conveyed in Her Majesty's ships," and on 10th August 1888 an Order in Council was passed cancelling all previous Procla- mations, and regulating futuro payments of freight by Proclamation attached to the Order.
This Order and Proclamation were approved by the Law Officers, and a copy is attached hereto.
The Proclamation specifies the rate of freight to be paid for the conveyance of treasure" belonging to parties other than the Crown."
A question has arisen if freight is payable to the Commander of H.M.S. "Sparrow for the conveyance of 5007. in silver coins from Accra to Lagos for the use of the Lagos Government.
It appears to the Admiralty that inasmuch as the Lagos Government raises its own revenue and draws no grant from Imperial sources, the treasure in this case belongs "to parties other than the Crown," and that freight is therefore payable.
The Colonial Office do not accept this view. They maintain that as the words "the Crown" in this Proclamation do not refer to the Sovereign personally, they must be taken to mean the public as represented by the public servants of the Crown, and in the absence of words of limitation they contend that the words "the Crown
SI must include the public service in all parts of the dominions of the Crown.
The Executive Government of every Colony is vested in the Queen, and is carried on on Her behalf and in Her name by a Governor appointed under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet. As regards Canada, these facts are specifically expressed in sections 9 and 10 of the British North America Act, 1867.
The Legislative Acts of every Colony require the final approval of the Queen acting through one of Her Principal Secretaries of State. Her disallowance of, and in some cases the Royal Assent to, Colonial Laws is signified by Her Majesty in Council.
In nearly every Colony the criminal law is administered by the Queen's Attorney- General for that Colony, or in a few by a Law Officer styled the Crown Advocate or the Queen's Advocate.
The unalienated land in every Colony is vested in the Crown; in Australia the waste lands of the Crown have been frequently the subject of legislation in the Imperial Parliament, e.g., see 18 & 19 Vict. c. 56.
In Crown Colonies, such as Lagos, the intervention of the Queen, through a Secre- tary of State, extends to every branch of the Administration, which, except in minor details, is carried on under the direct instructions of the Secretary of State. The revenue cannot be expended unless he has approved the estimates of expenditure, and this approval is not always given. After the estimates are approved, the expenditure further requires to be legalised by an Appropriation Ordinance passed by the Colonial Legislature and approved by the Queen, and payment of freight under such an Ordinance would consequently involve an admission by Her Majesty that out of the United Kingdom the Crown is not the Crown.
Without multiplying instances, the Colonial Office contends that enough has been shown to establish that the Government of Lagos (or of any other Colony) is the
0 70451.-10. 25.-4;92.
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