British Parliamentary Papers, Journals, Debates and Compilations
Guides | Finding Aids | Debates | Sessional Papers | Rolls of Parliament | Journals | State Papers | Compilations on the American Revolution |
This is an exhaustive guide for British Parliamentary Papers at the UC Berkeley libraries. It includes information on Parliamentary Debates (often referred to as "The Hansard") as well as the sessional papers of the House of Commons, often referred to generically as "Parliamentary Papers."
The House of Commons Parliamentary Papers database includes the full-text the 19th century sessional papers. The CD ROM index for the sessional papers (accessible on library workstations) can also be used to locate 20th century parliamentaty papers, which we have in print volumes in Doe library.
GUIDES
- A Guide to British Government Publications. Frank Rodgers. H.W. Wilson Co., New York, 1980.
- J301 A12 FR58 GREF
- A guide to parliamentary papers; what they are, how to find them, how to use them. P. Ford and G. Ford 3d ed.
- J301.A12.F6 1972 GREF
- Debates and proceedings of the British Parliament : a guide to printed sources. David Lewis Jones. London : H.M.S.O., 1986.
- JN682.J761 1986 GREF
FINDING AIDS and Catalogs
- A numerical finding list of British command papers published:
- 1833-1961/62 J301.A13.D5 GREF
- 1962/63-1976/77 J301.K62 GREF
Breviates (annotated bibliographies)- 1696-1834 fJ301.K6.A2
- 1833-1899 J301 M3 1953 GREF
- 1900-1916 JN549.F59 GREF
- 1917-1939 JN549.F6 GREF
- 1940-1954 JN549 F62 1979 GREF
- Catalogue of papers printed by order of the House of Commons, from the year 1731 to 1800. [London, H. M. Stationery Off., 1953].
- J301.K6A2.A38 1807a GREF
- British Government Publications, an index to Chairmen and authors.
- J301 A12 R535 GREF (3 vols, 1900-1978).
British Parliamentary papers relating to India, 1662-1947 / compiled by Adrian Sever. Delhi : B.R. Pub. Corp. ; 1992- J301.A12 B75 1992 GREF (3 vols)
DS452.A12 B75 1992 REF SSEAL (3 vols)
UK Public Records Office homepage.- National Archives of the UK. Includes access to "The Catalogue" (formerly PROCAT) of over 9 million files, organised by government department. They also have some excellent parliamentary finding aids.
- British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Service (BOPCRIS).
- Contains thousands of references to key British Official Publications 1688-1995, along with abstracts and subject headings. Limited full-text.
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DEBATES
1066-1660 | 1066-1803 | 1803-1908 | 1909-1996 | 1996 - present |
Parliamentary debaites or "The Hansard" are a record of what has been said on the floor of Parliament. UC Berkeley owns the entire print run for the 19th century and most of the 20th in print. From 1996 to the present they are online and on microfiche.-
1066-1660
- The Parliamentary or constitutional history of England; from the earliest times, to the restoration of King Charles II. Collected from the records, the rolls of Parliament, the journals of both houses, the public libraries, original manuscripts, scarce speeches, and tracts; all compared with the several contemporary writers, and connected, throughout, with the history of the times. By several hands. London, Printed for J. and R. Tonson [etc] 1751-1762.
- JN505 P3 Bancroft . Vols 22-23 contain an edition of the diary of the Convention Parliament, 1660. The volumes covering 1640-1660 reprint a large no. of rare pamphlets and newsletters.
1066-1803
The Parliamentary history of England from the earliest period to the year 1803. London,- J301.H2 (v.1-36) Main, Library lacks: v.15
- Also known as: Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England. From the Norman conquests, in 1066, to the year 1803 v.1-12.
1803-1908
Hansard's parliamentary debates.- J301.H2 Main, Room Use Only
- 1(1803)-41(1820);
- ser.2:1(1820)-ser.2:25(1830);
- ser.3:1(1830)-ser.3:356(1891)//;
- ser.4:1(1892)-ser.4:199(1908)//
- Indexes are found at the end of each session except for the cumulative index for 1803-1830 shelved after the 1830 session.
- 1909--
The Parliamentary debates (Official report). Lords. - J301.H2 ser.5 Main, Room use only;
- Ser.5, v.1(1909)-537(1991/92), 539(1992/93)-540(1992/93)-
- Indexes are found at the end of each session.
1909 -- 1996
The Parliamentary debates (Official report). Commons.- J301.H2 ser.5a Main, Room Use Only;
- 1(1909)-1000(1980/81)//.
- J301.H2 ser.6a Main, Room Use only;
- 1(1980/81)-178(1989/90), 180(1990/91)-196(1991/92), 198(1991/92)-205(1991/92), 207(1991/92)-212(1992/93)- 276(1995/1996)//.
- Indexes are found at the end of each session.
1996 -- present
The Parliamentary debates (Official report). Commons and Lords.- Official Report of the House of Commons on microfiche.
- House of Commons: News/Micro MICROFICHE 26914
- House of Lords: News/Micro MICROFICHE 26913
- These fiche continue the paper copies of the previous two entries (see above).
- Indexed in the British Parliamentary Papers CD ROM located on the Berkeleu Library Information Network: ask at any library reference desk for assistance.
-
Hansard Online - Searchable online database of Parliamentary debates, available from 1988 to present. Volumes from 1999 are indexed. See also the Hansard Advanced search engine.
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SESSIONAL (PARLIAMENTARY) PAPERS
1688-1800 | 1801-1900 | 1902-1991/92 | 1991/92 - present |
-
Sessional Papers are
papers presented to Parliament.They include bills, reports of committees, and papers presented by Royal Commissions and government departments, and "accounts and papers",
which include treaties, internatiaonl agreements, and statistics. Many of these papers are command papers.
- 1688-1800 18th Century British Parliamentary Papers Digitisation Project.
- This project (currently under construction) aims to create a comprehensive digital library of parliamentary papers from 1688 - 1800. From the British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (BOPCRIS).
1715-1800
Reports from committees of the House of Commons, which have been printed by order of the House, and are not inserted in the Journals.(1715-1801).- fJ301.K8 1803
Main 15 vols. & index
Also known as the "first series." Report os P arliamentary Committees investigating problems of interest to the House; good source for information on the East India company . -
House of Commons sessional papers of the eighteenth century. - J301.K62 1975 Main, Room Use Only
- The initial volume (has an asterisk on the spine) in the set contains a list of papers of the period 1715-1760, as well as in introduction to the entire set. The "definitive set."
-
1801-1900 COMPLETE
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. Provides full-text access to thousands of 19th Century Parliamentary Papers. Includes all the "sessional papers" of the British Parliament: bills, reports of committees, papers presented by Royal Commissions and government departments, treaties and international agreements, command papers, and statistics.
- House of Commons Parliamentary papers, 1801-1900. Cambridge, England ; Alexandria, VA : Chadwyck-Healey, 1988.
- INDEXES: J301.K63.C63 1988 GREF (v.1-5)
- TEXT: Microfiche 7594 Main
- Also indexed on Index to the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers CD-ROM 1801-1997 (mounted on library local area network); user manual in CD-ROM Technical Documentation area (J301.A12.I5 Guide).
1801-1900 SELECTED
Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers.
Shannon : Irish University Press, 1968-71.- INDEXES: J301 K63 GREF
- TEXT: J301.K63 (1801-1899) v.1-1000 Main
Checklist of British parliamentary papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume series, 1801-1899.- J301.K63.A2 GREF
- 1902-1991/1992 Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Sessional papers.
- INDEXES: J301 K6 GREF
- TEXT: J301.K6 Main, Room use only
- 1892-1894 Scattered holdings
- 1902-1991/92.
- Also indexed on Index to the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers CD-ROM 1801-1997 (mounted on library local area network); user manual in CD-ROM Technical Documentation area (J301.A12.I5 Guide).
Command papers are a distinct category of sessional papers. They include important documents on government policy ( "white papers"), reports of studies or programs, or other reports presented by government departments to Parliament. Before 1833 command papers were printed in or as appendices to the Journal of the House of Commons.
-
1991/1992 -- present
- House of Commons bills. Microfiche 23410, 1992/93-
- House of Commons papers. Microfiche 23411, 1992/93-
- Command papers. Microfiche 23412, 1992/93-
- Indexed on The British parliamentary papers index CD-ROM 1990-
- (Accessible through Berkeley Library Information Network on public
- workstations throughout the library system); for user manual ask at
- Doe Reference Desk (J301.K63.A15 Guide Doe Refe).
- Also indexed on Index to the House of Commons Parliamentary
- Papers CD-ROM 1801-1997 ( Accessible through Berkeley Library
- Information Network.on public workstations throughout the library
- system); for user manual ask at Doe Reference Desk (J301.A12.I5 Guide
- Doe Refe).
House of Commons sessional papers. (microfiche in News/Peri)
-
Office of Public Sector Information
- Contains numerical and alphabetical lists of command papers from November 2001.
- The Stationary Office Official Documents.
- Includes From Command Papers and House of Commons Papers from May 2005. A selection of key papers published before May 2005 are also available for free in the archive.
- British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Service (BOPCRIS).
- Contains thousands of references to key British Official Publications 1688-1995, along with abstracts and subject headings. Limited full-text. Limit the search to Sessional Papers and browse by subject and in chronological order.
ROLLS OF PARLIAMENT
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Earliest official records of the meetings of the Parliament from 1272 t0 1509, after which succeeded the Journals of the House of Lords and Commons.
The Parliament rolls of medieval England 1275-1504. Boydell Press ; London : National Archives, 2005. Vols. 1-16. This is the only modren english translation of the rolls available. UC Berkeley owns the 16 volume set and accompanying CD ROM in the Doe Library Reference collection. - JN515.P37 2005 Main
- JN515.P37 2005 Doe Refe (CD ROM)
- Great Britain. Parliament. Rotuli parliamentorum; ut et petitiones, et placita in parliamento. [London, 1767-77].
- fJ301.H12 Bancroft v.1-6
- fJ301.H12 Index Bancroft
Great Britain. Parliament. Rotuli parliamentorum Anglie hactenu inediti MCCLXXIX-MCCCLXXIII. London, Offices of the Society, 1935. (Royal Historical Society. Publication Camden third series. v. 51) .- DA20.R8 ser.3, v.51 Main
- Contains Parliament Rolls 1279-1373 omitted from the Rotuli Parliamentorum (see previous entry).
JOURNALS
-
Journals are the official
account of the proceedings of Parliament, including records of motions, records of papers laid before each house, lists of members appointed to committees, etc. For some years important arguments of speeches are included. For Parliamentary speeches see debates.
- Journals of the House of Commons.
- v.1(1547)-12 (1699) Via British History Online
- v.1(1547/1628)-55(1801): J301.K3 Bancroft (at NRLF)
- v.56(1801)-90 (1845) : fJ301.K3 Main (shelved as folio)
- v.91-244(1987/88): J301.K3 Main
- v.246(1989/90)- Microfiche 24052 News/Micro
Cumulative Indexes: 1(1547)-155(1900), 195(1939/40)-225(1969/70). The Commons resolved in 1742 to print the journal for 1547-1741. For detailed information on the history of the Journal see: The Journal of the House of Commons; a bibliographical and historical guide. JN673.M451 Main
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Reports from committees of the House of commons, which have been printed by order of the House, and are not inserted in the Journals... Vol. 1-4; 1715-1773. [London, 1773]- fJ301.K8 Main
- Journals of the House of Lords.
- v.1(1509)-20(1717) via British History Online
- v.1(1509)-42(1800): J301.J3 Bancroft (see NRLF for details)
v.43 (1801)-100: fJ301.J3 Main (shelved as folio)
v.101-: J301.J3 Main
INDEXES 1(1509)-52(1819), 166(1934)-
In 1980/81 the Select Committee on Procedure of the House authorized major reforms in the compliation of the Journal. Select Committee reports were excluded from the Journal except for those dealing with; "matters of domestic concern to the House". This change took effect from v.214 (80/81). In the next session, further changes were introduced. Amendments bills and proceedings on them were to be briefly summarised.
- v.1(1509)-42(1800): J301.J3 Bancroft (see NRLF for details)
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. The history and proceedings of the House of Lords, from the Restoration in 1660 to the present time. Containing the most remarkable Motions, Speeches, Debates, Orders and Resolutions. Together with all the Protests during that Period. and the Numbers Pro and Con upon each Division. Together with the Debates in the Parliament of Scotland relating to the Union. To each Volume are added proper Indexes. London, Printed for Ebenezer Timberland, 1742-1743.
- J301.J45 v.1-8 (1742-43) Main
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. The parliamentary register; or, history of the proceedings and debates of the House of Commons, (House of Lords) an account ... London: Printed for J. Almon, 1775-1780.- J301.K2 14th 17 v. Bancroft (shelved in NRLF)
- Vols. 2, 5, 10, 14, 15 contain Lords proceedings, the other vols. Commons proceedings. For a detailed description, see item #3, p. 59.
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. The parliamentary register; or, history of the proceedings and debates of the House of Commons, [and House of Lords] ... London, Printed for J. Almon and J. Debrett, 1781-1796.- J301.K2 15th v. 1-8, 13 Bancroft (selved in NRLF)
- Vols. 4, 8, 11 contain Lords proceedings, the other vols. Commons proceedings. For a detailed description, see item #3, p. 60.
The Senator; or, Parliamentary Chronicle. Containing an Impartial Register; Recording the Proceedings and Debates of the Houses of Lords and Commons.- J301.H38 1-7, 1790-93 Main
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STATE PAPERS: Complilations & Digital Texts
The term "state papers" refers to texts from Great Britian Government Offices (e.g. the Colonial, Foreign and Public Records Offices) charged with foreign and domestic affairs. As part of the Stanford University Cooperatice Collections agreement Stanford University houses more comprehensive collections, chiefly on microfilm, of these papers. Berkeley subscibes to selected databases as well as print compilations of these collections, listed below.
State Papers Online. Resource for the study of Early Modern Britain and Europe. Reunites the State Papers Domestic and Foreign with the Registers of the Privy Council and State Papers in the British Library. The database reproduces the original historical manuscripts in facsimile linking each manuscript to its corresponding Calendar entry. Access to Part I (The Tudors, 1509-1603), and Part III (The Stuarts and Commonwealth, 1603-1714), only.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1949-1980. The complete British Foreign Office Files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in this period from 1949 (when the Chinese Communist Party won power) to 1976 (the year of Mao Zedong's death). These resources are from the National Archives, Kew, the UK government's official archive.
British documents on foreign affairs--reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print.
The UCB library houses multiple sets of volumes containing selected declassified British documents from the Foreign Office (similar to the U.S. Department of State) for different regions and time periods. Some of these are listed below. For more items do a leyword search in Oskicat using the terms "British documents on foreign affairs." All series below are located in the Main Library.
Part I, from the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series A, Russia, 1859-1914. JX632 .B74 1983.
Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series A, the Soviet Union, 1917-1939. DK266.A3 B68 1984.
Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series B, The Near and Middle East, 1856-1914. JX632 .B745 1984.
Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939.
Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series D, Latin America, 1845-1914. JZ632 .B744 1991.
Part II, from the First to the Second World War. Series D, Latin America, 1914-1939. JZ632 .B7645 1989.
Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series E, Asia, 1860-1914. JZ633 .B745 1989.
Part III, From 1940 through 1945. Series E, Asia.JZ632 .B765 1997.
Part IV, From 1946 through 1950. Series E, Asia. JZ632 .B775 2000.
Part III, From 1940 through 1945. Series F, Europe. JZ632 .B766 1997.
Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series G, Africa, 1848-1914. JZ632 .B747 1995.
Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series G, Africa, 1914-1939. JZ632 .B757 1994.
Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series H, The First World War, 1914-1918. D621.G7 B75 1989.
Part III, From 1940 through 1945. Series L, World War II and general. JZ632 .B7694 1998.
COMPILATIONS about the American Revolution
- Proceedings and debates of the British parliaments respecting North America. Ed. Leo Francis Stock.
- AS32 C3 v.338:1 MAIN (Carnegie Publication #338)
- v.1. 1542-1688; v.2. 1689-1702; v. 3.1702-1727;
v.4. 1728-1739; v.5. 1739-1754.
Great Britain. Colonial Office. Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783; (Colonial Office series). Edited by K. G. Davies. Shannon, Irish University Press [c1972- ].