The Hudson’s Bay Company board disciplined its chief factor of the Columbia District for decisions it disputed and because of his fight with Sir George Simpson (1792-1860) about fumbling a murder investigation.

The British corporation withdrew Dr. John McLoughlin’s pay and decreased his authority, deciding the district was so expansive that it required a three-person board. Then, it set his departure for May 1846.

Wanting faster returns on their money, the fur trading company’s directors chastised McLoughlin for loaning 6,000 pounds to American settlers without a payoff date. They debated his joining the emerging American governmental alliance, believing it weakened the British claim. McLoughlin countered, saying that until the resolution of the U.S.-Canadian border dispute, his action a

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