Colonial Office 325, like its "colony" counterparts, comprises a miscellaneous grouping of material. Deriving from the "General" Department of the Colonial Office and its predecessors, it resembles CO 323 in terms of the sources of the contents. The class as a whole consists of tracts and histories of the colonies, returns of colonial appointments, registers of applications for colonial appointments, statistical returns, various papers designated "private", reports and précis, memoranda and other papers. Selections from CO 325 including published papers, returns of colonial appointments, papers on the timber trade, précis and memoranda on various subjects. This material is available on microfilm reels B-1558 to B-1560 and B-1940.
The following is a more detailed description of the content of the material copied. Volume 7 (1718-1793), reel B-1558 contains various published papers, observations on the colonies, material relating to the constitutional history of Quebec, 1759-1789, the fishery off Newfoundland 1793, the harvest in Scotland 1792, addresses of the Board of Trade respecting Newfoundland 1718, 1765-1766, 1786 and 1790, and other papers.
Volumes 8-11, 14-15, 18 (1809-1817), reels B-1558 and B-1559, B-1940 contain returns of colonial appointments listing the duties of colonial officials in North America, the name, office, when and how persons were appointed, as well as under what conditions, whether the office was executed by a deputy, emoluments and deductions. Oversize documents from volume 11 (1809) are available on microfilm reel B-1940.
Volume 30 (1813-1831), reel B-1559 contains papers on the timber trade. Volume 32 (1825-1826), reel B-1560 consists of a précis and memoranda of various legal cases touching on matters including the Crown Revenues of Lower Canada, appropriation of customs revenues and naval officers' pensions. Volume 34 (1826-1827), reel B-1560, consists of private papers from various individuals including observations on the corn and timber trades, Jesuit estates, control of revenues in Lower Canada, Cape Breton Island coal mines, numbers of troops in Canada in proportion to its population, naturalization bills, water communications, the value of North American colonies, clergy reserves and land regulations.
Volume 41 (1830-1850), reel B-1560 consists of a précis and memoranda which include correspondence, enclosures, reports and memoranda on such topics as the military situation in Canada, clergy reserves, responsible government, the Canadian militia, the Roman Catholic Church in Canada, the civil list, emigration, Navigation Acts, executive councillors in Nova Scotia, fisheries off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, French fishery rights, land regulations in Prince Edward Island, customs duties in New Brunswick, the constitution and government in Newfoundland, reciprocity, the Anglican Church, etc.
