Parliamentary Documents

Debates / Hansard

Parliamentary Debates of the House of Commons, also known as Hansard. The Mirror of Parliament reported proceedings in Parliament for 1828 - 1840 and is fuller than Hansard for the period 1828 - 1833.

Journals

A detailed "diary" of House proceedings - written description of each day's events, including all votes, summaries of discussion, written answers and papers tabled before the House (Parliamentary Papers) - Indexed.

Parliamentary Papers / Sessional Papers

The British Parliamentary papers, also known as Sessional papers, provide Parliament with information for its consideration or arise out of Parliament's deliberations. They are comparable to Canadian Legislative and Parliamentary documents and U.S. Congressional reports and documents. The Papers include: bills, reports, minutes, and evidence taken by committees, and estimates and appropriations. Papers are produced for each session of Parliament for the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Parliamentary Paper Reprints

Queen's has two main reprint series: Scholarly Resources (18th Century) and the Irish University Press (IUP) set (19th Century). Users are advised to consult these sources where possible, before undertaking research using Readex Microcards.

State Papers - Domestic -- Microfilm -- UK1 PR75 S71 (Compact)

Legislative Documents

Statutes

Other Documents

Times of London:

Provided newspaper coverage of parliamentary activity. Indexed by Palmers Index to the Times.

Royal Commissions:

Substantial reports on many topics, including: Poor Laws, Public Schools, Coal Mining, Motor Cars, and many others (see list of Royal Commissions).

Cabinet Reports:

These are confidential letters from the Prime Ministers to Queen Victoria, and then King Edward. They constitute the only continuous contemporary record of cabinet business and the only official record of cabinet meetings. Originals are stored in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.

Internet Resources

There are a wide range of internet sites providing access to UK documents. Suggested sites are provided below:

• www.parliament.uk/
• UK Official Publications on the Internet
• UK National Archives
• UK State website

Help / Hints

Finding a Parliamentary Paper

Look up an entry of interest using one of the indexes to the Parliamentary Papers.

Sample Entry: 1870 (448) LV.93 mf 76.523

*Bills and House of Commons Papers in parentheses -- Command Papers in square brackets.

Then, using this reference:

• Go to the Compact Stacks in Documents, to Call No. UK1 XS P16 which is the Readex Microcard set.
• Find the microcard box with the year 1870 and containing volume LV.
• Find the card with the volume page 93 (volumes and pages are on the top right corner of each microcard).
• Go to the microcard reader in the Documents Microform area (to the East of the Documents Reference Desk).
• Put the microcard between the glass plates on the top of the reader and turn the reader on.
• Move the image using the handle on the front of the glass plates.
• Focus the image using the knob on the right side of the reader.

Hints on using the indexes

• There are several overlapping indexes available for UK publications - try several.
• Take down ALL the information in the index (particularly identifying numbers/letters) - these will be essential when looking up the actual document (in paper, microcard, or fiche).
• Try different headings.
• For example, the subject "Great Reform Bill of 1832" is found using a "see reference" under "Reform", pointing to "Parliament and Parliamentary Representation".
• Another example: To find information on the rebellion in India in 1857 - 58, you look up "India", get referred to "East Indies", and finally to "Army (East Indies)", under which you will find "Mutinies in the East Indies" as a subheading.
• There are indexes in the back of many of the documents you will be using - you may find they provide additional points of access.
• For Palmers Index, the term "leaders" refers to "editorials".