Thomas Fawcett (1848 – 1920)
Thomas Fawcett was a Dominion Topographical Surveyor before he came to the Yukon.1) He was appointed Land Agent and Gold Commissioner of the Yukon on 21 May 1897 (P.C. 1190). Fawcett arrived in Dawson on June 15, 1897. He reported that conflicts between the miners were frequent and difficult to resolve and he slept in his office to protect it from thieves.2)
In November 1897, Dominion Creek was closed to staking and chaos resulted in an effort to reopen the ground.3) Fawcett closed Dominion Creek to staking because of claim jumping and recording errors. In April 1898, prospectors staked hill and bench claims. Newly arrived Commissioner Walsh decided, although Fawcett disagreed, to close these claims as well. Responding to public pressure, Walsh decided to open all claims on the creek on July 11 but only to those with special permits and an order was posted. Walsh was later convinced by Fawcett to reserve some areas for those who had staked the area before and only allow staking on the hills and benches. A new order was posted. Rumours spread that some men knew about the orders beforehand and took advantage by staking before the general public could. One of these men was Walsh's cook.4) Fawcett was not a good administrator, and his office was poorly run. Walsh was implicated but Fawcett was blamed, principally because he had offended the editor of the Klondike Nugget. In August, the ministry received a petition from a committee of Klondike miners to hold a commission of inquiry.5)
Commissioner Ogilvie’s special Commission of Inquiry found most of the charges of malfeasance again Fawcett and his administration to be unfounded.6) However, Fawcett was demoted in October to chief of surveys. The Yukon’s legal advisor did not arrive until January 1899 and the Commission did not sit until February. One clerk was found guilty of accepting bribes and admitting people to the Gold Commissioner's office out of turn. Several clerks had accepted money for work done before and after hours.7) It was determined that, for the most part, Fawcett was just overwhelmed by the job. In June, there were 800 claims registered and by September there were 17,000.8) Fawcett left the territory in March 1899, before the inquiry ended.9)