Diaries, correspondence, genealogical papers, photographs and press cuttings, 1793-1966, of Edward Charles Mackintosh Bowra and Cecil Arthur Verner Bowra.

A signed holograph proposal, 1739, for preventing the illicit practice of wool, tea and brandy smuggling, submitted to both Houses of Parliament.

Authorisation, 1668, to seize upon contraband Irish beef and other provisions, on the attempt being made to import them into Scotland.

Manuscript letterbooks, 1898-1906, containing copies of letters from James Duncan Campbell in London to Sir Robert Hart.

Records, 1926-1951, of the Chinese Government Purchasing Commission (CGPC), including information on the state of Chinese communications; the workings of the Chinese Ministries of Communications, Railways and Industries; Chinese banking; construction and engineering technology and the work of British manufacturers; and some information on Chinese educational and cultural institutions in receipt of subsidies from the Board of Trustees for the Administration of the Indemnity Funds Remitted by the British Government.

Records, 1926-1951, relating to the foundation and constitution of the CGPC comprise printed report of the Anglo-Chinese Advisory Committee (China Indemnity Advisory Committee), 1926; correspondence, largely letters from the Board of Trustees to the CPGC, 1931-1950, concerning the constitution of the Commission, procedural issues, personnel and financial matters; file on procedure on appointment of a new member of the Commission, 1947-1948; correspondence concerning events preceding the winding-up of the Commission, 1951.

Financial records, 1931-1951, comprise papers on the Board Account, 1937-1950; papers on the Chin Fund (apparently a grant paid to Constance Chin, a patient of the Bethlem Royal Hospital), 1945-1951; summaries of expenses relating to purchase orders made by Chinese ministries, 1931-1951; Indemnity Fund cash books, 1937-1950; invoices and receipts relating to CGPC business, 1937-1951; financial statements and correspondence relating to banking matters with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 1931-1951, the subjects including investments and tax.

Operational records, c1928-1951, relating to the administration of purchase orders, comprise register of tenders/purchase orders, 1942-1946; contract registers (not comprehensive), 1931-1949, recording the management of contracts for the supply and delivery in China of plant, machinery and other materials manufactured in the UK for the Chinese government, and over 1,000 related contract files for engineering companies and manufacturers for industrial, construction, railway and other projects; tender forms, 1934, issued to contractors by the CGPC; specifications and standards, c1928-1937 and undated, largely for the construction of railways and carriages; correspondence concerning administration of purchase orders, 1932-1951, relating especially to delivery of locomotive spare parts and related materials; registers of export licences issue to British manufacturers under wartime regulations, 1941-1946; applications for export licences, 1939-1945; registers of shipments, insurance, freight and inspection fees, 1931-1951; shipping letters, 1937-1950, issued for CGPC shipments; general correspondence concerning the administration of the CGPC, 1931-1951, including correspondence with solicitors and correspondence concerning the CGPC premises in Tothill Street, London.

Annual reports and accounts, 1931-1950, comprise typescript accounts and reports, 1931-1950, of the CGPC and published annual reports, 1931-1950, including summaries of receipts and payments; and annual reports of the Board of Trustees, 1931-1938.

Miscellaneous records, c1932-1950, comprise one file including papers on subjects including railways, training Chinese students, Japanese imperialism, and CGPC records, a photograph of ships in harbour, and maps of China and the Far East.

Records, 1939-1943, of the China Purchasing Agency Ltd comprise standing regulations of the Board of Directors, undated; correspondence, 1939-1943, concerning various purchase orders; miscellaneous items, c1939-1940, including list of tenders passed for acceptance, 1939, and an undated schedule of materials shipped.

The collection consists of chapters, drafts, notes and correspondence of Ralph Davis on published works (1971-1979); tables and statistics concerning overseas trade, exports and imports in the 18th and 19th centuries; teaching materials, course notes, etc (1964-1975); correspondence (1965-1978).

A volume giving information on the quantity and value of goods imported and exported to and from England, 1696-1701. The volume has the book plate of John Holroyd, Earl of Sheffield.

Records, 1869-1975, dating largely from the 20th century, of the Guthrie Corporation, its predecessors and associated companies, comprising letterbooks and financial records, relating chiefly to plantation interests in Malaya and Singapore.

Correspondence to and from Frederic and Ethelberta Harrison, including family correspondence and photocopies of Harrison's correspondence with Edward Spencer Beesly; Frederic Harrison's writings and speeches, including diaries on subjects such as the cotton famine in Lancashire, essays on subjects such as positivism, peoples education and the French Revolution, autobiographical notes, and ephemera; and press cuttings.

Volume of typescript copies of Sir Robert Hart's letters to J D Campbell, 1903-1907.

Volume of typescript copies of Sir Robert Hart's letters to Sir Francis Arthur Aglen, 1888-1911.

Papers of and relating to Sir Robert Hart, 1866-1954, comprising two series of private letters from Sir Robert Hart to his personal representative in England, J D Campbell, one dating from 1868-1879 and one from 1879-1906; a run of semi-official letters to Campbell, 1874-1906; a file on the Chinese Fleet, 1876-1894; correspondence and papers, 1866-1954, concerning the letters, including their ownership. A run of Campbell's letters to Hart, 1874-1877, is also included in the collection.

Papers of John Holroyd regarding imports and exports of Ireland, 1764-1783.

Letter from John King of Whitehall to William Fawkener, Esq, 9 Nov 1799. Covering letter stating that the Duke of Portland [Home Secretary] had referred a petition on Irish oat and bean exports to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Charles Cornwallis]. Enclosing a copy [missing] of Cornwallis's letter on the subject, sent 'for the information of the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council'.

[Written in another hand and] signed by John King. Endorsed: 'Letter from Mr. King transmitting Copy Letter from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, upon the subject of the petition of the proprietors of mail coaches, praying that the exportation of oats and beans from Ireland may be allowed in favour of Great Britain only'; endorsement dated 20 Nov 1799.

Papers, 1780s-1790s, largely of Captain Francis Light, including several hundred Malay letters, primarily letters received by Light and his business partner, Captain James Scott, from rulers and dignitaries of the Malay Sultanates.

The letters cover the history of relations, negotiations and conflicts between Light, the rulers of Kedah and the Governor General in Bengal leading up to and including the settlement of Penang in 1786 and the armed conflict of 1791. There are also letters dealing with business affairs between Light and Malay nobles such as the purchase, shipment and sale of commodities, ammunition, slaves and opium, and the maintenance of good political and economic neighbourly relations; letters from the Sultanate of Selangor; letters from royal merchants at the Malay courts; and letters concerning trade from various rulers and nobles in the Peninsula and Sumatra, especially from Aceh, Asahan and other North-Sumatran states.

In addition, the collection contains several dozen letters and documents from the same period relating to Bencoolen (Benkulen) and the West Sumatran Presidency, which are unrelated to Light.

Papers, 1951-1981, of Maurice Alfred Maybury, relating to his professional posts.
Papers relating to Uganda, 1951-1962, comprise government publications and reports, 1951-1959, on the Uganda Protectorate, including trade and commerce; unpublished manuals, 1952-1954, relating to trade; handbooks, 1955-1958 and undated, largely relating to trade; press cuttings, 1956-1957, the subjects including community development, banking, and official visits; miscellaneous papers, 1955-1962 and undated, including an invitation, economic survey on Uganda, and calendars.
Papers relating to Ethiopia, 1963-1974, comprise reports, 1970-1972 and undated, documenting his advisory work on commerce, industry and tourism; written accounts of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, undated; miscellaneous reports and proposals, 1963-1974 and undated, the subjects including prices, grain, and foreign and domestic trade.
Papers relating to Lesotho, 1954-1981, comprise Maybury's offer of employment as Export Promotion Adviser, 1975; general United Nations staff information, 1954, 1973-1977; UNCTAD/GATT International Trade Centre briefing papers, 1973-1974; Maybury's official project reports, 1976-1977 and undated, on export promotion in Lesotho; correspondence relating to the same project, 1977; additional reports and papers by Maybury, 1977, relating to trade promotion; miscellaneous reports and proposals, 1971-1981 and undated, relating to trade promotion.

Papers, 1882-1943, of Sir Frederick Maze, including personal and semi-official letters, letter-books, reports and circulars, relating to his work with the Chinese Maritime Customs.

Papers of Walter Edward Guiness, Lord Moyne, relating to his chairmanship of the West India Royal Commission (WIRC), 1938-1939; comprising speech notes by Moyne for the first public session of WIRC; annotated notes for preparation of the WIRC report; copies of published Colonial Office reports including Report of the West India Sugar Commission, 1930, Report by Lord Moyne on Financial Mission to Kenya, 1932, Report of Enquiry on the Trinidad and Tobago disturbances, 1937, Report by G St J Orde Browne on Labour Conditions in the West Indies, 1939, WIRC Report on agriculture, fisheries and veterinary matters by F L Engledow, 1945; memoranda submitted to WIRC by interested parties in Trinidad and Tobago, on means of improving the social and economic conditions of the people, including the Port of Spain Ministerial Association, the Civil Service Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Port of Spain Nurses and Midwives Association, the Railway Workers Trade Union, Captain C R Williams, Church Army, the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad, the Trinidad Labour Party, Port of Spain City Council, the British West Indies and British Guiana Teachers' Association, the Trinidad and Tobago Teachers' Union, Trinidad Federation Workers Trade Union, the Guianese and West Indies Labour Congress, the Chinese Commercial Association, Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, South Trinidad Cane Farmers Association, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on agriculture, forestry and fisheries and social welfare, the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad Asphalt Operating Company, the Coconut Growers Association, the Petroleum Association of Trinidad, memorandum by Arthur Calder-Marshall on Trinidad, impressions of the social situation in Trinidad by A E Jeffery, the Trinidad and Tobago Union of Shop Assistants and Clerks and the Trinidad Landowners' Association.

Philippine Republic Government Presidential Economic Staff Industrial Programmes Office Reports and Projects Department Position Papers and related papers and press cuttings, 1965-1969, collected by Ernest A Findorff, including information on industrial production and manufacturing, agricultural production and processing, and mining; correspondence, comprising 138 letters, 1969-1970, between Findorff and importers and exporters in south east Asia, largely those in the Philippines seeking markets in Europe.

Letters and accounts from Gunter, Greenway & Co. to Joseph Previté concerning the import and export of groceries. The account books cover the period March 1840 to March 1843.

Records, 1909-1932, of Serdang Central Plantations Ltd, comprising Articles of Association, correspondence, annual reports and agreements relating to the voluntary liquidation and reconstruction.