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Many classes
of record produced by, or presented to, the British Parliament (at
Westminster) have been made public since the early 1800s in printed
volumes, normally referred to as parliamentary papers. They contain
a great deal of information for many types of researcher and fall
into several categories: Debates (Hansard), Journals, and Sessional
Papers.
DEBATES
Normally referred to as Hansard, these attempt
to publish a verbatim record of debates in parliament. Since Hansard
has been printed and widely published. Most local authority reference
libraries receive copies.
JOURNALS
These constitute the official record of parliamentary
proceedings, recording decisions taken (but not everything said
in debates).
SESSIONAL PAPERS
From 1801 onwards , the papers produced and
presented to the House of Commons have been printed and published
as 'sessional papers.' (i.e. all the papers for one session of parliament
are bound together). Until 1979 sessional papers were arranged and
referred to by sessional volume and page number. From 1922 onwards
some reports and papers began to be printed separately by HMSO as
non-parliamentary publications. Sessional papers include parliamentary
bills, reports from parliamentary committees, and a wide range of
documents presented to parliamentary committees by ministers and
officials (e.g. HM Inspectors of Constabulary) called Command Papers.
Reports from Committees and Royal Commissions contain evidence presented
on specific subjects (well known ones are nineteenth century commissions
on child labour, education and poor relief).
Bibliography
The best guide to material in parliamentary
papers relating to Scotland is: J A Haythornthwaite (ed.) Scotland
in the Nineteenth Century: an analytical bibliography of material
relating to Scotland in Parliamentary Papers 1800-1900 (Aldershot,
1993). Other useful works are: General Index to the Reports from
Committees of the House of Commons, 1715-1801, printed but not inserted
in the Journals of the House, 1803 (Chadwyck-Healey, 1973);
P Cockton, Subject Catalogue of the House of Commons Parliamentary
Papers, 1801-1900 (5 vols, Chadwyck-Healey, 1988); A General
Index to the Sessional Papers Printed by Order of the House of Lords
or Presented by Special Command, 1801-1859; 1859-1870; 1871-1885
(3 vols, HMSO, 1938, 1872, 1890). P Ford and G Ford, Select List
of British Parliamentary Papers, 1833-1899 (Basil Blackwell,
1953); P Ford and G Ford, A Guide to Parliamentary Papers
(Irish Univ. Press, 1972); J E Pemberton, British Official Publications
(Pergamon Press, 1973); F A Rodgers, A Guide to British Government
Publications (H. W. Wilson, 1980).
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1.
Where can I find copies of parliamentary papers in Scotland?
2.
How can I find evidence in parliamentary papers relating to particular
subjects?
3.
Where in parliamentary papers is the (oft-quoted) evidence relating
to child labour in Scottish mines?
4.
Where in parliamentary papers are the ‘returns’ giving information
about each school in Scotland in 1838?
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