the offices of the Principal Secretaries, whence they are transferred from time to time to the Public Record Office.
The five Principal Secretaries of State—Home, Foreign, War, Colonial and Indian.It would exceed the limits of a lecture to trace the various changes and developments of the office of Secretary of State since it was first known by that name, but the chief outlines are indicated in the table before you. There are at present five Principal Secretaries of State, one for the Home Department, one for and Indian. Foreign Affairs, one for War, one for the Colonies, and one for India.
The Records of the old East India Company were, however, delivered 'into the care and custody of the Secretary of State in Council'—the 'Council' being the Council of India appointed in accordance with the Act by which the Company's possessions were transferred to the Crown. The Indian Records are thus not on the same footing as those belonging to other Departments of the Secretary of State, and with regard to them the Master of the Rolls has not exercised any jurisdiction.
He has, however, the charge and superintendence of the documents of the Home Office, and its various subordinate departments, abounding with all kinds of information relating to internal affairs; of the documents of the Foreign Office, including most precious correspondence and treaties; of the documents of the Colonial Office, which are of course essential to the history of our Colonies, and of the documents of the War Office.
