First Reports Of The Bureau Of Archives

Author : Alexander Fraser
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331934837
Total Pages : 76 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (348 download)

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Download or read book First Reports of the Bureau of Archives written by Alexander Fraser and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from First Reports of the Bureau of Archives: For the Province of Ontario The documents appertaining to the history of a country are now classed among its most valuable possessions. But history has assumed a new meaning with the advance of civilization, and, to-day, the Records of Government, once the student's richest mine, share their importance with the ephemeral memorabilia which concern the life of the people. The historian's point of view has undergone a radical change. A knowledge of the social conditions of a nation is a first requisite to the study or writing of history; hence the high value now placed upon family papers, diaries, account books, etc., which contain the humble records of social and family life. This change has arisen naturally from the gradual widening of the political suffrage, and its reaction upon legislation. The laws reflect the public needs, and in order to legislate wisely and intelligently, the social "atmosphere" and environment, the sequences in social development, must be known. Hence also the importance of documentary history in which a traveller's journal may rank with a political despatch; and the reason why papers from private sources, municipal, educational, and ecclesiastical reports and documents on the one hand, and State papers on the other, are given a place among public archives. The one is the raw material for the general historian, the other for the history of public affairs. Legislation is the expression in legal form of the hopes, ambitions, and necessities of a people. The public archives should furnish material to show how political and social exigencies influence the laws, and how, in turn, the laws affect the common weal. Kingsford: Looking forward to a time when Canadian Archives would receive further recognition at the hands of the Government, Kingsford wrote (Arch. pp. 10. 11.): "It is mere commonplace to point out that every country acts but with ordinary prudence, and fulfils a simple duty, when it preserves its archives and the written materials for its history. So much depends on the fact that history be honestly and truthfully written. Much of our personal liberty of the present time comes from the consideration of the past. We are never so wise as when we profit by the teaching of experience. Everything to be permanent must be slowly and gradually produced. Constitutions may be granted, but they can alone obtain strength from time and usage. They grow to maturity. Hence we require the means of studying their advancement, and we best watch the future by knowing perfectly the trials and difficulties of former days. .... When the sources of original information are accessible to all, .... inquiry is stimulated by it, .... and the historical student who has industry to seek out facts, pushes investigation into the remotest sources." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.