Parliamentary and Sessional Papers
Sessional Papers of the House of Commons
Each session, a vast array of documents is laid before Parliament for its consideration. Bills, minutes of proceedings of Standing Committees, annual administrative reports, command papers, such as Royal Commission and committee reports, treaties, etc. all comprise sessional papers. These are documents that furnish information on questions of policy and administration.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (from ProQuest)
Accessible to MUN students and faculty
This online database indexes and provides full text to Commons parliamentary papers from 1715 to the present as well as Lords sessional papers from 1714-1805 and Journals of the Commons and Lords from 1688-1834.
House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth Century. [1715-1800].
Edited by Sheila Lambert. 145 vols. 1975.
J 301 K625 Bookstacks Oversize
The introduction in the first volume contains a detailed, scholarly account of government record keeping in the eighteenth century. (There is a duplicate copy of this volume in the Reference area, J 301 K2 1975 vol. 1 QEII Reference.) Volumes 1 and 2 contain a chronological list of sessional papers from 1715-1800 divided into parliamentary sessions. Within each session the entries are classified as bills, reports, and accounts and papers. References are given to the location of documents within the collection. They are arranged in the same manner as they are listed, except that the last two categories are combined.
Selected 19th century sessional papers in print
The library has a small selection of some of the 19th century sessional papers published by the Irish University Press (IUP), covering subjects such as Canada, juvenile offenders, the Irish potato famine, fisheries, stage and theatre, customs tariffs, national finance, and shipping safety. They appear in our catalogue and are shelved in the Oversize stack area on the 4th and 5th floors. The content of the IUP volumes is indexed in the Checklist of British Parliamentary Papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume series, 1801-1899 (J 301 A1 I75 1972 QEII Reference).
Sessional Papers of the House of Lords
U.K. Parliamentary Papers 1714 - 1805.
Contains the lords papers from 1714-1805.
Accessible only to MUN students and faculty
House of Lords Sessional Papers, [1714-1805]. Edited by William Torrington. 60 bound vols. Republished in facsimile between 1972-1978. J 301 J2 QEII Oversize
This set is organized on the same plan as the Commons papers of the eighteenth century. It is accessed by:
A General Index to the Sessional Papers Printed by Order of the House of Lords . . . 1714-1805.
J 301 M4 1986 QEII Reference
In addition to the 1714-1805 index volume, there are 4 volumes that cover the years 1801-1885, but with no corresponding sessional papers for these years. Nevertheless, these indexes shed some light on the Lords' activities during this period and also enable the reader to obtain a citation for a bill or report that can be requested through inter-library loan.
Indexes to Sessional Papers
The best starting point is ProQuest's U.K. Parliamentary Papers described above at the beginning of this section. It is an online database that conveniently spans the period from 1715 to the present, provides full-text of the documents and also includes Lords papers from 1714-1805. While in most cases, it should suffice, the following print indexes are also available:
Hansard's Catalogue and Breviate of Parliamentary Papers, 1696-1834. Reprinted in Facsimile with an Introduction by P. Ford and G. Ford.
J 301 K1 G74 1953 QEII Reference
This source, commonly known as Hansard's Breviate, is a reprint of a catalogue issued by the Hansard family in 1834. As the original work was based on the House of Commons papers, it did not contain references to the House of Lords papers which were not communicated to the Commons. The reprint edition includes a three-page list of important Lords papers that were brought to the attention of the Commons. Entries are grouped under twenty-six broad subject headings and accessed by means of an alphabetical subject index.
Subject Catalogue of the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1801-1900. Peter Cockton.
J 301 M26 1988 vols. 1-5 QEII Reference
This five-volume set is divided into 19 subject sections and contains a subject index in the last volume. The index indicates the volume and page number where the sessional paper is cited. The citation identifies the sessional year, volume and page numbers of the sessional papers.
Index to British Parliamentary Papers on Canada and Canadian Boundary, 1800-1899.
F 1026 I742 1974 QEII Reference
This index is published by the Irish University Press (IUP) and can be used to locate documents in the library's IUP volumes on Canada, shelved in the Oversize section of the 5th floor, in call number ranges F 1027.5 - F 1031.5. The subject index identifies the sessional year, original document number and the IUP volume containing the paper.
General Index to the Bills . . . 1801-1852.
*Z 2009 I73 1968 v. 5 QEII Reference
Bills are classed under subject headings and the paper number, sessional year, volume and pages are identified.
General Index to the Reports of Select Committees . . . 1801-1852.
*Z 2009 I73 1968 v. 2 QEII Reference
Select List of British Parliamentary Papers, 1833-1899. P. Ford and G. Ford.
J 301 M3 1969 QEII Reference
This is a useful tool for identifying reports and other materials issued by commissions and committees on economic, social, constitutional and legal questions. Papers dealing with foreign policy, diplomacy and colonial questions are not included. Entries are arranged chronologically under subject headings with an index at the end.
General Alphabetical Index to the Bills, Reports, Estimates, Accounts . . . 1852-1899.
J 301 M32 Pts 1 & 2 QEII Reference
All sessional papers are listed chronologically under subject headings. Bills are listed first followed by reports and accounts and papers. Despite the omission of paper numbers in the entries, the sessional volume and page locations provide easy access to the collection.
General Index to the Bills, Reports and Papers . . . 1900-1948/49.
J 301 M325 1960 QEII Reference
Same arrangement as in the previous index.
Websites
House of Commons Publications
Provides selected House of Commons publications from the recent session, such as Standing Committee debates on bills, private and public bills before Parliament, and Committee publications.
House of Lords
Contains the same publications as above for roughly the last ten years.