In August of 1858, the Colony of British Columbia was formed from the union of the Mainland colony and Vancouver Island colony, both of which were at the time Crown colonies of Great Britain. The impetus for this union was the discovery of gold near Barkerville, British Columbia and the concern of Great Britain with the influx of miners primarily from the California goldfields over its sovereignty of the area and some concerns about Russian expansion in Alaska. As Crown colonies, they were the owners of the lands and all mines and minerals located within their boundaries. This is significant because of disputes that subsequently arose between the federal and provincial governments over the ownership of minerals in what became known as the Railway Belt or Railway Grant Lands.

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* Brian Abraham issued this article in conjunction with his presentation titled "Update on Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Coal Bed Methane Development in British Columbia" at the 2008 Pacific Canada Gas Forum held in Vancouver, September 24 and 25, 2008.