Parliamentary Papers

Parliamentary Papers is the generic term used for four sets of publications: House of Lords Bills and Papers, House of Commons Bills, House of Commons Papers and Command Papers. The Commons Papers are mainly reports or returns and include the proceedings of the Commons standing or select committees. Command Papers relate to matters of policy or subjects on which the government wished Parliament to be informed. Constitutional and political developments feature prominently in the parliamentary papers but there is also much material on social and economic matters, notably the reports of the Royal Commissions on agriculture and labour. In addition to those directly concerned with India and Burma, the list contains a number of papers on other areas and subjects in which Indian interests were involved. These include the condition of Indians overseas, opium consumption in China (which was directly connected with the limitation of supplies from India) and trade reports of the agencies in the Persian Gulf which were maintained by the Government of India. A sharp reduction in the number of Parliamentary Papers was made in 1921 as an economy measure. Annual Indian returns affected were the financial statement, home accounts, statement of net income and expenditure, and the review of trade, which were subsequently published by the Stationery Office as non-parliamentary papers. The decline in the number of Indian papers also reflects the increased degree of autonomy given to the central and local governments in India by the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935.

Early parliamentary papers on Indian affairs are included in the Parliamentary Branch collections (L/PARL)

Unrestricted

The procedure in the India Office for presentation to Parliament was that the initiating department, having obtained the approval of the Permanent Under Secretary and the Secretary of State, passed the papers to the Parliamentary Branch of the Record Department which was responsible for presentation in the proper form. After presentation the papers were returned to the originating department. In some cases the departmental files reveal the editing of sensitive passages that took place before publication.