This volume brings the Domestic Calendar to the end of the secretaryship of Sir Charles Hedges, and the appointment of Lord Sutherland in his place. Drawn from several categories of State Papers, the records contain the usual mixture of high politics and local concerns, though they are far from insular: Marlborough's second great victory, at Ramillies, is reported and celebrated, for example, and communications are improved with the forces in northern Europe. The volume also summarises papers relating to the American plantations, and the evolving debate on the application there of English Law; such entries complement and enhance what has already been published in the Calendar of Treasury Books, and the process of referral and evaluation can often be followed through to an executive decision. Recurring items include army commissions and other formal appointments, payments to envoys, patents for inventions, and passes to individuals and ships. The records are complemented by an extensive and analytical index.
Dr DAVID CROOK is Assistant Keeper of Public Records, the National Archives, London.