362 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 



Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Hobart 

 should communicate with the Secretary of State for the Colonies 

 asking that duplicates of the despatches that passed between the 

 Governors of the Colonies and the Secretaries of State up to a date 

 to be fixed upon by the Secretary of State should be placed in 

 their charge " 



In compliance with the terms of this resolution, the General 

 Secretary of the Public Library of South Australia wrote through 

 the Minister of Education to the Secretary of State asking that the 

 duplicates of the despatches up to the year 1855 should be trans- 

 ferred from Government House to the Public Library. We fixed 

 upon that date because it was the year in which Responsible 

 and Representative Government was granted. 



I enclose copies of several of the letters written and received by 

 the General Secretary, which will enable you to follow the pro- 

 cedure adopted in this State in order to give effect to the resolution 

 passed by the Association for Science. 



You will see that the Secretary of State in England wrote a 

 despatch to His Excellency the Governor of South Australia, com- 

 plying with the request, provided the Governor and his Ministers 

 had no objection. I am glad to be able to inform you that the ar- 

 rangements for the transfer are now complete, and that two officers 

 are employed at the expense of the Public Library Board to do the 

 work indicated in the enclosed letter from the General Secretary of 

 our Public Library to the Librarian in each State. 



The time has come when a study of the history of the different 

 States in the Commonwealth is likely to be entered upon in a sys- 

 tematic way by University and other students ; and if the results of 

 that study are to be authoritative a knowledge of the contents of 

 these despatches is indispensable. That knowledge can hardly be 

 acquired unless the despatches are transferred to some institution 

 which is accessible to students. The Governor of this State in- 

 sisted that regulations should be drawn up for the proper super- 

 vision of these ciuplicates so that no irresponsible person might 

 have access to them. A copy of the regulations drawn up by the 

 Public Library Board, and accepted by His Excellency and- his 

 Ministers, is enclosed. 



If we are to give full effect to the resolution of the Association, 

 it will be necessary for these duplicate despatches to be made avail- 

 able in every State of the Commonwealth, and also in New 

 Zealand. 



The General Secretary of the Public Library of South Australia 

 has written to the Librarian in each capital of the Commonwealth 

 and New Zealand, suggesting that he might ask for a transfer of 

 the despatches up to the time at which Representative and Respon- 

 sible Government was granted to the State in which he resides. 



