DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 189 



in Washington from 1816 to 1819, and, as the first minister after the 

 war of 1812, did much to smooth over ruffled surfaces and prepare 

 the \vay for permanent peace. Copies of many of his papers of that 

 period, and some originals, are in Ottawa, in the Public Archives of 

 Canada, and the Director had the opportunity to examine them there 

 in November, through the kindness of Dr. Arthur G. Doughty, 

 C. M. G., public archivist, and of Mr. David M. Parker, keeper of the 

 manuscript room, formerly a member of the staff of this Department. 

 But the main store of the originals, outside the Public Record Office, 

 is in the possession of Sir Charles Bagot's heir, Richard Bagot esq., 

 of Levens Hall, by whose kindness the Director was offered the fullest 

 opportunity to make use of these interesting manuscripts. 



Besides collections in the hands of descendants of diplomatic minis- 

 ters, other sources would be those which have come down from 

 foreign secretaries of the time — the period before 1830 — to which the 

 present search was limited. During the greater number of the years 

 from 1791, when the first minister to the United States was appointed, 

 to 1830, three men occupied that position — Lord Grenville, George 

 Canning, and Lord Castlereagh. Grenville's very numerous papers, 

 now in the possession of Mr. J. B. Fortescue of Dropmore, have mostly 

 been printed by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and though 

 Mr. Fortescue very obligingly sent to the Public Record Office, for 

 the Director's use, the portfolios thought to be relevant, they con- 

 tained no letters of British ministers in Washington or Philadelphia 

 additional to those printed by the commission named. Lord Lascelles 

 kindly gave permission to examine at Chesterfield House such papers 

 of Canning as are in the possession of the family. That collection, 

 which the Director was apparently the first historical scholar to 

 examine, is but the surviving portion, though an important and valu- 

 able one, of the whole mass of Canning's papers; it contains only a 

 few letters germane to the present purpose, but those (letters from 

 Canning's intimate friend Charles Bagot and from his cousin Strat- 

 ford Canning) are interesting. 



Lord Londonderry has expressed similar willingness to aid, in the 

 matter of Castlereagh' s papers, but his duties as a member of the 

 Cabinet of Ulster, exacting duties at the present time, have up to 

 the date of this report prevented action on his part. Correspondence, 

 of the sort desired, coming down from those who held the office of 

 Foreign Secretary during briefer portions of the period contemplated, 

 seems not to be extant, except that some of Wellesley's is in the 

 manuscript department of the British Museum. 



On the other hand, two important collections of the private papers 

 of men who were British ministers in Washington have been presented 

 by their heirs to the Public Record Office and are rich in material for 

 our purpose. They are those of Francis James Jackson, minister 

 from 1807 to 1809, and of Stratford Canning, minister from 1820 to 



