Moberly, "History of Cariboo Wagon Road", continued
(Part 9 of 13)

During my absence very good progress had been made in the work of construction, but as I received no news from either Victoria or New Westminster, and as my men were getting clamorous for their wages, I demanded certificates from the Government official who was in charge of the supervision of the work, which he declined to give, and on my pressing him for them to enable me to draw the money now overdue, and telling him if he would not grant them I should be compelled to stop the works, he shewed [sic] me a written order he had received from headquarters instructing him on no account to grant certificates until further orders.

This peculiar order appeared to me to be tantamount to an effort on the part of the Government to force me into such a position that the Government could claim that the charter was forfeited, and enable them to take immediate possession of the road. I afterwards found out that it was owing to the Imperial Government refusing to grant the loan to the colony that Governor Douglas had applied for and the Government had not any money to pay the amounts that any certificates it granted would call for.

I now felt certain that there was something seriously wrong at the seat of government about financial matters. I therefore started on horseback for Yale, leaving Lytton in the afternoon and arriving the following morning at Yale, where I only stopped long enough to hire a canoe and six Indians to convey me to New Westminster, where I arrived at 8:00 o'clock the following morning. As soon as Colonel Moody's office opened I sought an interview with him, when I learnt that Governor Douglas was at his house and that I would have to see him, as Colonel Moody declared that he was altogether irresponsible for the non-payment of the different sums of money as they became due, or for the order with which the Government superintendent over my work had been furnished, instructing him not to grant me any certificates.

I saw Governor Douglas and made a new arrangement by which the sum of fifty thousand dollars was to be paid to me in a few days. This money he could get from the Bank of British Columbia which was then commencing business in British Columbia. I also made arrangements for future payments, and then, knowing how important it was that I should be back at my works as soon as possible, I got the Governor to let me have on account the few thousand dollars then in the treasury at New Westminster and in the collectorate at Yale, amounting in all to six thousand dollars, and then having very unfortunately left a general instead of a specific power of attorney with the Attorney-General to sign for me for the balance of the fifty thousand dollars, I left by steamer to return to the road camps.