VPRS 1096 Inwards Registered Correspondence

Full description

As originally the Lieutenant Governor (1851 1855) and under the 1855 Victorian Constitution the ultimate executive power in the State is vested in the Governor as the representative of the Crown. Under the Constitution, this executive power is exercised through and with the advice of the elected Government and its Ministers, although prior to 1855, the Lieutenant-Governor had full executive authority.

This series consists of the Inwards Registered Correspondence of the Governor with registration found in VPRS 1097 Registers of Inward Correspondence. Not all correspondence registered is found in the files of VPRS 1096 as , from the registers, it is possible to identify pieces of correspondence referred to Ministers or Government Departments which were not returned to the Governor and filed. These pieces of correspondence may be able to be found in the relevant Departments correspondence registers or files.

Correspondence received was from Ministers, from other Governors and officials, from diplomatic representatives accredited to Victoria and from citizens seeking the Governors favour or intervention in matters. A number of pieces of correspondence are annotated with the substance of the reply which the Governor wished to be made or with comments from the Department or official to which it had been referred.