For information on the origin of the minutes copied into this series, and their relation to the business methods of the Colonial Secretary, see p. vi of the General Introduction of Section 1 of the Guide To The Public Records of Tasmania. The minutes, which are numbered from 1 annually but later running on, convey instructions to the Colonial Secretary for his action in administrative affairs, and often indicate the substance of letters to be written, either in reply to letters received, or initiating a transaction. The memoranda, which are not numbered, deal with the same type of matters, but usually at greater length than the minutes. The series is closely related to the Colonial Secretary's correspondence in CSO1; one of the indexes to that series (CSO3/2, pp. 74-83) contains a list of the minutes, relating them to the files in the correspondence. The volumes themselves contain indexes to subjects, with sub-entries expanding the key-word, for the period August, 1828-August, 1834; and there is a register indicating subjects for the period August, 1826 - August, 1827. The first and second volumes to some extent duplicate one another; the last volume, which overlaps its predecessor by eight months, is in the form of an index, but it is probably the only type of copy kept of the minutes, to which it refers exclusively. The arrangement is: key-word, date, full summary of contents, minute number, reference to despatch, if any.

These records are part of the holdings of the Tasmanian Archives