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Letters inward to John Clapperton, Government Agent, Nicola
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1885 (Creation)
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- British Columbia. Government Agent (Nicola)
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1 cm of textual records (3 pages)
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A government agency was established at Nicola in 1907, but an agent may have been based there as early as 1885. The Nicola office was vacant by 1920, when it was likely moved to the nearby and newly opened Merritt government agency. The Merritt office existed from 1920 until at least 1979.
The government agency system of British Columbia has its origins in the two colonial offices of Gold Commissioners and Stipendiary Magistrates. Over time, the title "Gold Commissioner" became restricted to those officials performing the administrative and judicial duties laid out in mining legislation (Gold Commissioners held their judicial responsibilities until they were repealed by the Mineral Act of 1897). The more general title "Government Agent" was increasingly used for those officials with broader responsibilities and was consistently used to describe these multifunctional roles by the 1880s.
The several functions of a Government Agent are legally separate powers and appointments, which were often, but not always, held concurrently by the same individual. After confederation, Government Agents continued to fulfill a multitude of roles. By the turn of the century, a single agent’s duties could include:
Government Agent, Supreme Court Registrar, County Court Registrar, Sheriff, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Water recorder, Welfare Officer, Vital Statistics Recorder, Meteorological Recorder, Provincial Registrar of Voters, Federal Registrar of Voters, Game Warden, Land Commissioner, Assessor, Collector of Revenue Taxes, Financial Officer, Marriage Commissioner, Local Board of Health Sanitary Inspector, Cattle Brand Recorder, Maintainer of Government Buildings, Coroner, Gaoler, Constable, and Court clerk.
New functions were added as government services were created. For example, during prohibition, agents issued permits to purchase liquor. They also became involved with the administration of the Motor Vehicle Act by registering vehicles and licensing drivers. By 1900 policing functions were formally removed from Government Agents and transferred to police forces, though they continued to work closely with some police constables, particularly in rural areas, until the BC Police force was replaced by the RCMP in 1950.
Into the twentieth century, the staff in government agencies was growing substantially from one person who fulfilled all government functions, to offices with multiple staff supervised by the Agent.
The location of agencies and the headquarters of each agency where an Agent was located changed over time, based on the movement of population. There were often sub-offices or other outposts throughout a district with other government officials, such as Mining Recorders, who reported to the Government Agent at the district's headquarters.
Agents reported directly to the Provincial Secretary in Victoria until 1917 when they were became part of the Department of Finance, as one of their primary roles was tax collection. Starting in 1920 and increasingly after 1945, the role of the Government Agent was reduced and eroded by the growth of other more specialized and centralized branches of government. For example, Agents provided social services and acted as informal Social Workers by dispensing income assistance and child welfare responsibilities until they were replaced by trained Social Workers in the 1930s.
Custodial history
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Letter inward to John Clapperton, Government Agent, Nicola, from William Smithe, Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, 15 September 1885, concerning a water dispute between Messrs. Palmer and Scott.
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Transferred by the Government Agent, Merritt, 1977.
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Accession number(s): GR-0369
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Name access points
- British Columbia. Government Agent (Nicola) (Subject)
- Smithe, William, 1842-1887 (Subject)
- British Columbia. Dept. of Lands and Works (Subject)