Microform Collection

Title: Cabinet Reports by Prime Ministers to the Crown
Call Number: MICROFILM 4088
Publisher:  Brighton, England. Harvester Press, 1978
Description: 18 microfilm reels

Subject(s):

Great Britain. Cabinet Office--Records and correspondence
Prime ministers--Great Britain--Correspondence.
Great Britain--Kings and rulers--Correspondence.
Great Britain--Politics and government--1837-1901.
Great Britain--Politics and government--1901-1936

Notes: The reports,  from 1837-1867 are comprised of British prime ministers' handwritten reports to the monarch on proceedings of cabinet meetings. These reports are sourced from the Royal Archives and the Windsor Castle. These manuscript letters represent the sole official record of the deliberations of Cabinet. Prime Ministers such as Melbourne, Peel, Russell and Palmerston wrote confidential memoranda for Queen Victoria on all major questions of the day. Their reports cover the three decades when the Great Reform Acts of 1832, civil disturbances and the Chartist Riots contributed to unprecedented economic and social change. The reports from 1867-1916 include 1,700 confidential manuscript letters preserved in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. These letters are the only official record of cabinet meetings, decisions and discussions for this time, as no other historical record was allowed to be kept. The Prime Minister, as the Crown's first confidential adviser, was required to send a report to the sovereign after every cabinet meeting. Only he was permitted to take notes of Cabinet proceedings, and his personal letters were written the same day and prepared in his own hand. They range from short statements to detailed accounts of arguments put forth and decisions taken. A wide range of subjects is covered, with the greatest emphasis on political activity in Great Britain

Publication type: Cabinet reports
Country: Britain
Time period: 1837-1916

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