The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-27 00:00:00

WORK PREPARING FOR PRESS.

VlL—Materials for a history of Britain,
.fro»:
the earliest period to the Accession of Henry VIII.
—Mr. Petrie and Mr. Sharpe.
The first portion, reaching to the year 1066, will
make five volumes. Two of these are ready for
press immed;ately ; the printing and paper for an
edition in folio, of 750 copies, the number at pre-
sent ordered by the Board, will cost about 1,350/.
pe•r volume ; on the supposition that each volume
will contain 1,000 pages, the work, it is conceived,
cannot be contained in less than from 20.t0 25_vo-

tomes : with respect to the expenses of editorship,
Mr. Petrie and Mr. Sharpe, to whom the publica-
don is intrusted, state their inability to set forth the
probable amount, before the first portion be com-
pleted; and they decline accepting any remuneration
until that period arrives; neither are they able to
state with certainty the length of time which the
work will require to its completion ; not less than
kone year, however, for each volume, will be requite
The above statement has been made by the
Editors, Messrs. Pettie and Sharpe.

VIII. REPARATIONS OF RECORDS IN PUBLIC REPO-

SITORIES.

This necessary operation commenced by order of
the Board on the Ist July, 1819, and has been con-
tinued to the present time, and is still in progress.
The following arc the names of the offices in which
these operations have taken place
I. The Office of the First Fruits.
11. The Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer.
111. The King's Remembrancer.
IV. The Duchy .of Lancaster.
V. The Rolls Chapel.
VI. The Chapter House, \Vestminster.
VII. The Augmentation Office.
The documents which required reparation in the
Office of First Fruits, and in that of the Lord Trea-
surer's Remembrancer, have been completed; those
in the King's Remembrancer's Office have only in
part been completed, (viz. about six hundred bundles
of Exchequer proceedings), on account of great part
of the records in the office having been removed into
Westminster Hall, as a place of temporary deposit,
in the year 1821, and the consequent disability of
carrying on the work properly, until a more fit place
of deposit could be provided for them.

THE OFFICES STILL REMAINING INCOMPLETE, ARE,

1. The Duchy of Lancaster, in which office '240
volumes have been formed from bundles and bound,
containing inquisitions post mortem, pleadings, sur-
veys, &c., from Henry VIII. to the 23d of Elizabeth.
2. The Rolls Chapcl.-162 bUoks, comprehend-

ing the series of inquisitions post mortem, from the
reign of .Henry VII. to the 12th year of Queen
Elizabeth, have been bound in folio, which pre-
viously were in bundles, and consequemtly not easy
of reference.

3. The ',Chapter house, IVestminster.-303
volumes' have been bound in folio and quarto, con-
taining valuable historical and other• papers, surveys;
rentals, &c., of various periods from early time.
4. The Augmentation Office.-287 volumes, in
folio and quarto, of a similar nature. with those at
the Chapter House, including also more than 5,000
deeds, have been bound, and neatly 16,000 rolls,
most or them previously unarranged,.unknc4n, and
obscure, have been completely repaired, newly with
parchment backs, and labelled, and endorsed with
the titles of their contents. To the _operations
above-mentioned the Secretary to the Board has
given his general superintendence over all the works
here described, and his more particular attention to
the two last-mentioned offices ; every book and roll
having been inspected and marked by him, for all
which, however, as yet, he has received no remune-
ration whatever.
It will be observed, that ten years nearly have been
employed upon these reparations, the whole amount
of charge during that period has been 6,1371. 6s. 7d.:
consequently these works have very little exceeded
in expense, one year with another, the sum of 6001.,
and the whole has been paid for binding and mecha-
nical labour.

......... ___ _
How much longer it may take to put the present
offices in a state of complete arrangement, cannot be
stated with any degree of precision.

SCOTLAND.--WORKS IN PROGRESS AT TILE PRESS.

1.--The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland.

Of this work ten volumes are already printed ;
viz., from the second to the eleventh inclusively.—
The first volume, with its introductory prolegomena,
is in progress at the press, and may probably be com-
pleted within the present year. The indexes of
matters to the whole work will constitute the twelfth
and last volume, but cannot •be in readiness for the
press in less than two years from this time. Each
of these volumes will extend to about GOO pages ;
the printing and binding of each volume will cost
about 1,5001. The expence of transcription and
other editorial expences cannot be exactly ascertained,
but in addition to those already incurred and provided
for, they may be estimated at under 1,0001.
IL—Collection of Ancient Royal Charters.

Of this work a part is already printed, which is
intended ultimately to form the first part of the

second volume of a work which will extend to three
volumes in folio. The expense of printing the por-
tion of this work above alluded to exceeded 1,000/.,
but if the number of copies should be reduced from
1,000 to 500, the expence of the whole that remains
to be executed would probably not exceed '2,000/.
The expellees of transcription and other editorial
expences would amount to at least an equal. From
the peculiar nature of the work, four or five years
would still be required for its completion.
M.—Abridgment of the Registers of Seisins.

This is a work not intended for general circula-
tion, but solely to facilitate researches in the Gene-
ral Register House, which are at present of a most
laborious, tedious, and expensive kind ; and of
which the difficulty has long been progressively in-
creasing. The abridgment commences with the
year 1781, and the first 20 years have been nearly
completed at press ; and this portion of the work
will amount to 3,500 pages in folio. The second
series of 20 years, will, in extent, exceed the first
by at least one-hallTand cannot be safely completed
within less than four or five years. It is a work
which must afterwards proceed progressively at
nearly the same rate. Only 21 copies are printed,
and the expence on that head amounts to about
2/. 108. per sheet. The expences of compiling, tran-
scribing, &c., amount at present, to about 1,100/, per
annum, and cannot be greatly diminished till the
an•ear be fully brought up.

WORKS PREPARING FOR THE PRESS.

I.—Abridgment of the Re,gister of thc Great Seal.
The compilation of this work has been in regular
progress since the year 1821; its probable extent,
when printed, has been calculated at two closely
printed volumes in folio, on the supposition of its
being brought down to the Union ►n 1707. The
state of the actual compilation, however, which
comes down only to the reign of Queen Mary, ren-
ders this conjecture uncertain. Several years, not
less than four, must be required to complete the
abridgment, but in the mean time it will be sent to
the press; and on the supposition of its amounting

to two closely printed volumes of 700 pages each,
the expellee of printing may be e:timated at 3,000/.,
and the other editorial expences at from 1,6001. to
2,0001.

11.—An Abridgment of the Register of Entails.
A selection from the records of Privy Council.
An index to the Register of Entails.
Considerable preparations for these works have
been made, but at present their completion remains
suspended.

JOHN CALEY,
Secretary to His Majesty's Commisioners on the
June 11, 1529. Public Records.

APPENDIX.

!G, Duke-street, Westminster, May 12, 1829.

In obedience to the Order of the House of Com-
mons of the 6th instant, the undersigned transmits
the particulars of the New Edition of the Rolls of
Parliament now in progress, and on which he is en.
gaged, under the direction of the Board.

THE WORK COMPREHENDS

I. Assizes, ordinances, and legislative and judicial
proceedings of the great councils and of the " Curia
Regis," from the reign of Henry IL. to the period
when the series of Parliament Rolls, properly so
called, begins.
11. The writs of summons to the end of the reign
of Henry VII. when the Rolls of Parliament ter-
minate.

111. The proxies of the spiritual and temporal
lords, and all documents affording evidence of the
attendance given by peers or others specially sum-
tnont,d to Parliaments or great councils.
IV. The writs of election for the Commons, to-
gether with the returns thereto. The writs de ex-
pelvis, and all other documents relating to the at-
tendance of the members of the Commons, and their
parliamentary character and privileges.
V. The Rolls of Parliament corrected and re-
vised, the former edition not being a faithful trait-
Ecript from the original record.
VI. Petitions or bilis presented to Parliament or
to the council ; pleas in Parliament or before the
council, (very many of which are not entered on the
existing Rolls of Parliament); proceedings in in-
' ferior courts which originated in Parliament or in the
council, or were returned into Parliament or before
the council ; all inquests taken by virtue of parlia-

mentary commissions, and all other documents sup-
plying the numerous chasms in the Rolls of Parlia-
ment, or arising out of or elucidating the proceed-
ings of Parliament or the council, from the reign of
Jolan to the reign of Henry VII.
VII. Writs of military service, and other docu-
ments relating to military service.
The text, composed of the before-mentioned ma-
terials, is accompanied by a full alphabetical digest;
by a chronological abstract, and by such tables (c. g.
tables of the returns of the writs of election) as are
required by the nature of the text of each volume;
this apparatus being added for the purpose of ren-
tiering the contents more accessible to the reader,
who may not be conversant with ancieat records.-
The extent and magnitude of the work may in
some measure be estimated from the general view
of the materials ; but it is Rot in the power of the
editor to state at present the exact number of vo-
lumes which.the whole will form, inasmuch as the
records for the reigns of HenrylV. V. and VI.
_

'eve only been partially examined, and the collec-
ions for the reigns of Edward 111. and Richard 11.

are not completed. So far, however, as he can eal.
culate, the work, to the conclusion of the Parlia
mentaryWrits of the reign of Edward 111. will ex.

tend as follows ; viz. - •
See Statement c Henry 11. Richard I. and John 1 vol.
of Searches Henry 111 1 vol.
See State Meat Edward I. Parliamentary Petitions,
Rolls, &e. 1 vol.
Published Edward I. Parliamentary Writs, &c.
See Statement Edward 11. Parliamentary Petitions,
_ .

Rolls, &c.
In the press,
Edward 11. Parliamentary Writs, &c. 1 vol. divided

into two parts
Edward 111. Parliamentary Writs 2 vols.
The editor was appointed a sub-commissioner for
the purpose of executing the Work, on the 27th
April, 1822 ; and the printing of the First Volume,
entitled "Parliamentary Writs, &c. of Edward 1."
began in October, 1825, and was completed in July,
1827: it contains 288 sheets, or 1,152 pages. The
printing of the Second Volume began in October
1827. On account of the bulk of important matter,
it has been divided into two parts, of which 367
sheets, or 1,468 pages, are worked off. The First
Part is nearly completed, and the Second is expected
to be ready for delivery in the course of the year:
In calculating the progress of a work intended to
embrace all the materials evidencing the legal and
political history of the constitution, derived from so
many sources, and of which the materials are scattered,
not only in the different repositories of public re-
cords and in public libraries, but also in ecclesiastical
registries and other repositories, partaking of a pri-
vate character, allowance must be made for unex-
. .

pected difficulties, and also for the loss of time and
inconvenience occasioned by the great dispersion of
the materials. When practicable, the proofs have

always been colla'ed three times by the editor with
the original records, and it has frequently happened,
that when one portion of a sheet has been taken
from originals at the Tower, other portions are taken
from originals at the Chapter House, or the Mu-
seum, or Lambeth Library. The collation is also
rendered very tedious by the necessity of verifying
the names of persons and places by comparison with

other documents.
Other delays arise from the necessity of investiga-
tions which are suggested as the work proceeds, and
which are not to be foreseen when its general plan
is formed. On the average, however, judging from
what has been effected, and calculating upon the
same scale, the editor thinks that in each year he
can complete a volume, containing from 250 to 300
iheets, or from 1,000 to 1,200 pages, at an expense
intAacceeding 2,0001. for each volume. In ordinary
it Is expected that the expense will not exceed
• per volume (and which sum includes tran-
s, the salaries of clerks employed in copying
digests, stationery, and all other disbursements).
In order to insure the steady and expeditious
publication of the work it is necessary that the editor
should, as lie has hitherto done, continue to employ
himself unremittingly upon the same; and that the
collection of materials, the working off of the text,
and the composition of the abstracts and digests (the
latter being by far the most important and laborious
portion of the task), should all advance pani passu,
for if any one of these processes be interrupted the
break occasions a loss of time which cannot be after-
wards recovered.
It is also highly important that the editor should
be able to secure the assistance of clerks, who must
be specially trained to the work, and qualified for
the employment by habit and practice ; the pecu-
liarities of the language (particularly the Norman
French), and of the character, rendering it impos-
sible to employ persons whO are not so educated.
For the farther information of the House as to the
magnitude and extent of the work, the editor adds
a statement of the searches and transcripts which
have been made, arranged according to the reposi-
tories of records; such of the transcripts as are not

Edward 111. ann. 28, and of various years, of
which the exact date is not yet ascertained.
Richard 11. ann. 1,5, 7,11, 13, 17, and of various
years, of which the exact date is not yet asect-
tained.
Henry IV. ann. 3, and of various years, of which
the exact date is not yet ascertained.
Henry V. ann. 2,9, and of various years, of which
the exact date is not yet ascertained.
Henry VI. ann. 1,3, 4,6, 7,8, 9, JO, 15, 28, and
of various years, of which the exact date is not
yet ascertained.
Edward IV. Various years, of which the exact
date is not yet ascertained.
The petitions of various years are the most
numerous. The first set, consisting of upwards of
4,000, was produced to the editor in 1822, and the
transcription and.collation thereof was completed io
1825, as appears by the alphabetical lists delivered
to yott, they belong, principally, to the earlier reigns
A second set, which consists of about 1,000 bills
and petitions, chiefly of the reigns of Henry IV., V.,
and VI., was produced to the editor in 1826.
Several bags and hampers of unsorted petitions, since
brought from the White Tower, remain to be
examined. The petitions of ascertained years to the
close of Henry VI., and all those of Edward IV.,
remain to be transcribed.

Many parliamentary proceedings remain upon files
in the White Tower, intermixed with judicial writs,
&c.; these also require examination.
IVrits of Elcclion, and Returns and Writs de .E.r.

penis.

Edward-I. ann. 18, 25, 26, 28'5. 29, 30, 33, 31,
35. All the above are printed in the first
volume of the Parliamentary Writs.
Edward 11. ann. I, 2,5, 6,7, 8,9, 10, 12, 11,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. All printed in the

second volume of the Parliamentary Writ!.
Edward 111. ann. 1,2, 4,5, 6,7, 9, 10, 11, I,J,
14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31,
34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 46, 47, 50, tran-
scribed and prepared for the press.
Richard 11. ann. 1,2, 3,5, 6,7, 8,9, IC), 11, 12,
13, 15, 16, 17, 20, the I;ke.
Henry IV. ann. 1,3, 7,8, 12, the like.
Henry V. ann. 1, 2.
(The remainder of the writs and returns for the
reign of Henry V., and the whole of Henry VI. and
Edward IV., remain to be transcribed.)

Proxies.

Edward Land 11. Various years, printed in the
two volumes of Parliamentary Writs.•
Edward 111. Various years.
General Parliamentary Collections.
John. Close, patent and other rolls of Chancery
searched, and part of matter transcribed.
Henry 111. Rolls searched, &c. Scutage rolls
:ranscribed. _ _ _

Edward I. Rolls searched, and all the matter re-
lating to parliamentary proceedings and to mi-
litary service transcribed. Orig►nal military
returns transcribed. In part printed in the
First Volume of the Parliamentary Writs.

Edward 11. The like. In part printed in the
Second Volume of the Parliamentary Writs.

Edward 111. and subsequent reigns. Roll, par-
tially searched and documents transcribed.
Thirty-three and 35 Edward I. and'l4 Edward
11. Proceedings in Parliament transcribed from
the Vetus Codex, or Black Book..
CHAPTER HOUSE.
Richard I. John and Henry 111. Rolls of the
• " Curia Regis" searched for documents expla-
natory of the origin and jurisdiction of the
Great Council and .Parliament and matter in
part tranrcrilSed.
Fifty-two Henry 111. Rolls of proceedings pur-
suant to the Edict of Kenilworth, transcribed.
Edward I. and H. Rolla of Placita coram Rege
searched, and Inrohnente relating to Parliament
and Parliamentary Proceedings transcribed. In
part printed in the First and Second Volumes
of the Parliamentary Writs.
Rolls of Parliament, 18, 23, 26, 2 3,2 P, 30, 33,
and 35 Edward I. transcribed.
Two Edward I. Taxation Roll of the Borough
of Ipswich transcribed.