Catalogue description Secretaries of State: State Papers Domestic, Channel Islands: Entry Books

Entry book of correspondence of the Secretary of State concerning the Channel Islands. The volume contains only 37 pages of entries, the remainder of the volume is blank. The book contains, for the most part, copies of letters from the Secretary of State in Whitehall, or copies of royal warrants sent by the Secretary of State, to the Governors (or Lieutenant Governors) in Jersey or Guernsey, or the Commander-in-Chief of the Militia in Alderney.

The papers relate to a variety of subjects, but many are regarding appointments (including those of the Governors, the Bailiff of Guernsey and the Procurator General of Jersey), or refer to foreign vessels arrested or allowed to anchor, or give warning to the islands that plagues have broken out in certain foreign ports (Lisbon, Algiers or Smyrna) and that the set procedures should be followed to ensure the preservation of public health, should a ship from the infected port seek anchorage. Although the entries cease in June 1760, a short minute dated 20 January 1781, regarding the appointment of Colonel John Reid as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, appears on the last page on which entries are made.

Entry books for the Channel Islands for 1760 to 1921 are in HO 99