Report of Committee.
Introductory
Existing Publications
Proposed Reports by Trade Commissioners
Classes of Readers for whom provision is required
Requirements of British Manufacturers and proposed publication
of Handbooks of Standing Information
Requirements of persons interested in Colonial Products, and
functions of Trade Commissioners
Paragraph.
l'age.
1, 2.
3.
3.
3, 4.
4.
4.
5.
4, 5.
6, 8.
5, 6.
9, 10.
6, 7.
Attraction of Capital for investment in Colonies and Protectorates Official and Parliamentary Requirements, Annual Blue Books,
Blue Book Reports and Administrative Reports
11.
7.
12, 13.
· 7.
Requirements of the General Reader
14.
Reports and Duties of the Trade Commissioners...
15.
~ od od
8.
8.
Handbooks of Standing Information-Compilation and Pub-
lication...
Benefits which the Colonies may expect from proposals Concluding Remarks
16, 17.
18.
8.
8, 9.
19.
.9.
x ci si
Appendix I. Report by Sub-Committee on Blue Books
10.
*
Appendix II. Report by Sub-Committee on Blue Book Reports
and other Colonial Statistical Publications
29.
Appendix III. Handbooks of Standing Information—
(1) Table of Contents
**
(2) Draft Instructions
32.
•
35.
REPORT
TO THE
RT. HON. WALTER LONG, M.P., SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.
SIR,-
By a Minute of 10th April, 1917, you appointed us to be a Committee- "(1) To consider the recent correspondence with Sir W. Clark of the Com- mercial Intelligence Department* arising out of enquiries from certain Public Bodies and to report to what extent Blue Books and Blue Book Reports meet existing requirements, and whether any steps can be taken to improve or supplement them or make them more accessible. (2) To consider whether any steps should be taken in this country to furnish the Colonies, &c., with any kind of quid pro quo for their Blue Book Reports."
2. We have held fourteen meetings at which the different aspects of the subject have been analysed. Through the presence of Mr. Shelford and Mr. Oldham on the Committee we have been able to ascertain the views of merchants and of manufac- turers. Through that of Sir William Mercer and Mr. Glenny, the experience of the Crown Agents and a knowledge of the proposals of the Board of Trade have been placed at our disposal. We have corresponded with the principal public libraries and with the Imperial Institute, and we have examined as witnesses Sir William Taylor, representing the Malay States Information Agency, and Mr. Wellesley of the Foreign Office.
3.
In some of the smallest or least developed of the British possessions, Blue Books, though prepared and forwarded to the Colonial Office and Board of Trade, are not published; and the Blue Book Report is the only annual official publication giving an account of the work of the local administration and the condition of the Colony. In the larger or more developed Colonies or Protectorates, however, the official reports and papers which are annually published generally comprise :-
(i) The annual Blue Book. This volume is prepared under the direction of the Colonial Secretary and contains, inter alia, statements of the Colonial revenue and expenditure, particulars as to taxes and fees levied by Government, and various statistical returns including full details of Imports and Exports. The instructions are that it should be completed as soon as possible after the close of each year.
(ii) Administrative Reports. These are rendered each year by the various Departments to the Colonial Government and deal comprehensively with their work.
(iii) Statistical Tables and Trade Reports. Statistical Tables are published by a number of the larger Colonies, the most elaborate being those compiled by the Nigerian Government. In certain cases, e.g., Nigeria and the Gold Coast, Trade Reports, or as they are sometimes styled Customs Reports, are also published annually and give a general survey of the trade and production of the Colony.
(iv) Blue Book Reports. The Colonial Secretary (or equivalent officer) in each Colony or Protectorate is responsible for the compilation of the Blue Book Report. It is in effect a condensed synopsis of the general work of the local administration during the year. Since 1899 all such reports have been based on a uniform plan, and contain sections devoted to different departments of government, together with a short general survey of the chief events of the year, which constitutes, as the case may be, either the introductory or the concluding section of the report. Each report when received in the Colonial Office is published in the form of a Parliamentary Paper.
Board of Trade Publications. Together with the foregoing should be mentioned the Colonial Statistical Tables and the series of Statistical Abstracts annually prepared by the Board of Trade.
These are well known and require no further description.
Other publications include:-
(i) The Colonial Office List.
(ii) The hand books of the Emigrants' Information Office.
(iii) Handbooks, published locally and primarily intended for local use or
for tourists.
Now merged in the Department of Overseas Trade (Development and Intelligence). (15023r.) Wt. 6189-8. 30, 3, 10 & 2, 8, 24. 3/18. D & S. G. 1.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
885/26
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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