RCS OP Project - Colonial Blue Books

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

RCS OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS PROJECT

COLONIAL 'BLUE BOOKS'

The colonial ‘Blue Books’ originated in a request from the Commons Select Committee of Finance in 1817 for returns of offices in the colonies. A book asking for the return of statistical information was first sent to each governor in 1822 and similar returns were to be made in future as soon as possible after the close of every year. The earliest ‘Blue Books’ consist of manuscript entries upon printed forms. Later volumes are completely printed.

Contents include, among other topics:

Taxes, duties and other sources of revenue

Military expenditure

Civil establishment, including names, ranks, and salaries

Legislation, laws, and proclamations

Population statistics, marriages, births and deaths

Import and export statistics

Gaols and prisons

Meteorological observations

Cover of 1870 Prince Edward Island Blue Book

For a more detailed outline of information held in the Colonial Blue Books please click here

Online catalogue records for all colonial 'Blue Books' held in the Royal Commonwealth Society collection can now be found in the University Library's online catalogue, Newton (http://ul-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/), or via Library Search (http://search.lib.cam.ac.uk/).

Requests for colonial 'Blue Books' should be made in the Commonwealth Room.

Some of the more interesting finds from the RCS collection of 'Blue Books' can be found below:

Water-colour illustrations of plants found in the Gold Coast Blue Book, 1858


	Dar Es Salaam Water Aerodrome Tanganyika Blue Book, 1938		Corradino Prison, Malta Malta Blue Book, 1875

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