London Correspondence Inward from Eden Colvile, 1849-1852

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cxv+300+[xiv members list] pages with frontispiece from drawing by Henry J Warre, appendix, bibliography and index. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 6 3/4") bound in original publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering and pictorial insignia to spine. Assisted by A M Johnson, introduction by W L Morton. Hudson Bay Record Society Volume XIX (19). First edition. Eden Colvile s personal connection with the Hudson s Bay Company began in 1848, when, having left his post with the NACAI, he accompanied Sir George Simpson, governor of the HBC, as far as the Red River settlement and Norway House. After the inspection tour he returned to Britain, but not for long. His father, deputy governor of the HBC, was the most powerful member of its London committee, which was not pleased with recent events in the northwest. The trial of Pierre-Guillaume Sayer at the Red River settlement in 1849 marked the end of the company s monopoly of the fur trade. Aggressive free traders had an alternative outlet for their furs at the post of Norman Wolfred Kittson in Pembina (N. Dak.). The community at Red River, moreover, was disrupting the company s affairs. In small, isolated societies events otherwise considered trivial can generate much animosity. A festering quarrel, which concerned the reputation of Sarah McLeod*, wife of Chief Factor John Ballenden*, had erupted into a lawsuit for conspiracy to slander, brought by Captain Christopher Vaughan Foss, the alleged lover of Mrs Ballenden, against HBC clerk Augustus Edward Pelly, his wife, and others who were accused of defaming Sarah. In addition, demands by Presbyterians for a clergyman and church of their own, as well as compensation for their contributions to the Anglican parish over the years, had created a deep rift between the two religious groups [see Alexander Ross*]. The settlers were also increasingly dissatisfied with the administration of William Bletterman Caldwell*, governor of Assiniboia. In response to Simpson s request to be freed of responsibility for the settlement and to be obliged to travel less, and concluding that a firm hand was required at Red River, the London committee turned to Eden Colvile. The decision was not surprising, considering his father s position. On 3 Feb. 1849 Colvile was made governor of Rupert s Land, resident at the Red River settlement, with a mandate to exercise all the powers of Simpson in his absence, in all places where trade is authorized to be carried on by the Charter. Colvile was also appointed to the Council of Assiniboia. His first task, however, was to straighten out the troubled affairs of the Puget s Sound Agricultural Company and he thus spent the winter of 1849 50 on the Pacific coast. Condition: Pages unread with uncut pages, small inked note at front heal gutter else very good. N° de ref. del artículo BOOKS005286

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