Colonial Despatches

Banister was one of the opposers of Cameron's appointment to Chief Justice of the Peace in 1856.1 Banister, in a letter to Clarendon, believed that the conflict with First Nations and Americans in Oregon could spread to Vancouver Island if the HBC provided weapons to the First Nation forces.2 In 1857, Banister suggested that a railway should span from Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay.4

• 1. Banister to Labouchere, 2 July 1856, 5911, CO 305/7, 426; Banister to Labouchere, 2 May 1856, 3900, CO 305/7, 421.
• 2. Hammond to Merivale (Permanent Under-Secretary), 1 February 1856, 1008, CO 305/7, 162.
• 3. Royal Society of Arts, Meetings for the Ensuing Week, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, (Vol. 5) pg. 112.