Richard Southwell Bourke (1822-1872), 6th earl of Mayo, was viceroy of India from 1868 until his assassination in 1872. This collection consists of official papers from this last phase in a distinguished political career. It is contained in 19 boxes and 18 volumes of letter books.
Mayo's own work is represented by letters, memoranda, annotations to correspondence and papers, and notes to colleagues in the government of India. Principal figures in the central government of India, provincial and native governments are also represented by a considerable quantity of correspondence, memoranda and notes. Most of the papers are manuscript, but there is also much printed material, including published works by Indian government officials and private individuals.
The collection is arranged into divisions. Some of the divisions consist of material relating to a given subject, and some of correspondence with particular individuals.
Divisions organised by subject
The bundles of documents which make up these divisions appear to have been created in Mayo's office, for reference in connection with specific business in Council meetings, or on other occasions when a readily accessible collection of relevant papers was required. The evidence for this is provided by the documents in bundle 146 in the collection.
Divisions organised by correspondent
These consist of bundles of letters received, listed here as CORRESPONDENCE; volumes of copies of letters despatched, listed as LETTER BOOKS; and volumes of letters received from the Duke of Argyll, listed as LETTERS FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE. Material relating to almost all the topics in the divisions organised by subject is also to be found in these sections.
There is a detailed catalogue of the collection on the ArchiveSearch database describing the collection at the level of individual documents or small groups of documents (rarely more than 3). There is also a hard copy catalogue available in the Manuscripts Reading Room.
The collection is open to all holders of full Library reader's tickets.
Contact: John Wells (01223 333055; jdw1000@cam.ac.uk).