inventories, calendars, or indexes, throughout
the several offices, and the condition of the
whole mass of documents was disgraceful. Mr.
Hardy recommended that the documents in
each repository belonging to the crown should
be sorted into classes and catalogued, before
their removal to the new building constructed
for their reception. Durham is the seat of a
university; its bishopric was one of the richest
in England; the county gentry are affluent,
and proud of their ancient lineage. They were
supposed to be interested in the preservation
and accessibility of the public records. Mr.
Hardy naturally thought his suggestions would
be adopted. He returned to London, heard
that the records had been transferred to the
new building, and then for several years the
officials were untroubled by inquiries.

The records, however, might have been
allowed to continue, as the deputy-keeper of
the rolls states, "in their present disgusting
state of decomposition and filth until they had
been entirely destroyed," but for an accident.
Mr. Scott F. Surtees, on an important trial,
had occasion to consult the Registry and
Record Offices at Durham. One document,
very important to his case, could not be found,
and it was not until Mr. Surtees had secured
the services of Mr. Langstaffe, "the only
person who knew anything about the Durham
records"—at an expense of five pounds—that
the document was forthcoming. Mr. Surtees
added to his statement that the state of the
Registry and Record Offices at Durham is a
disgrace to the age in which we live; and,
addressing the Master of the Rolls, expressed
a hope "that for the benefit of those who are
interested in the history of the north Humber
principality, these valuable papers might be
more accessible to the historian and the
archaeologist."

Mr. Surtees' letter was dated in June 'Sixty-
seven, and on the first of October, Mr. Duffus
Hardy again proceeded to examine the condition
of the records in the episcopal and university
city. Thirteen years before, he had reported
that "the records in the office of the clerk of
the peace are in a lamentable state of disorder.
Papers, books, and parchments are littered
about the floor more than knee deep, some
strewn upon tables, chairs, and window-seats;
others huddled together on shelves and in
cupboards." He had to state, after his last visit,
that "their present state of neglect is, if
possible, worse than it was thirteen years ago,
when that report was made. The documents
have the appearance of having been pitched
into the rooms with a fork because they were
found too filthy to be handled." The present
clerk of the peace has frequently called the
attention of the justices of the peace for the
county of Durham to the discreditable state of
the office, "but no attention has been paid to
Mr. Watson's remonstrances."

The records of the county palatine of
Lancaster having been found in a condition
somewhat resembling that of the records of
Durham, were transferred to London, where they
are admirably kept and accessible to all. The
records of Chester, similarly circumstanced,
have been arranged, repaired, and the greater
portion of them brought under public knowledge
by a printed calendar. The Master of
the Rolls proposed either that the Durham
records should be transferred to London, or that
the people of Durham should secure the services
of a competent keeper and a clerk to aid him,
at the expense of about seven hundred pounds
a year. The justices of the peace and many
of the gentry object to the transfer of their
ancient muniments to London.

Nevertheless they will not pay for their keep.
The interest of these papers is almost wholly
local. They are not to be confounded with the
ecclesiastical documents belonging to the
bishopric, or with the valuable illustrations of
our early history and literature which are
carefully preserved in the cathedral. They are
records of proceedings in which the bishop was
concerned of old time as a secular prince of
Durham, of great local value, but on the whole,
probably of slight national importance. But,
according to an Act of Parliament providing
for such cases, they will have to be brought to
London because Durham declines to pay for
the due custody of its own papers.

     FAREWELL SERIES OF READINGS.
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