Although expansionists are concerned with only a small part of its total holdings, chiefly the records of the Colonial and Foreign Offices, the archives of the Public Record Office in London are nonetheless vital to researchers concerned with aspects of 18th and 19th century British imperalism. Hence it is that any change in the location or accessibility of these documents is bound to be of interest, even though nearly all of us trust the English and might assume that if documents are to be moved, it is probably because the old building at Chancery Lane finally ran out of space and that something more modern will await us.

Last May, when we received a cordial letter from Dr. Peter J.Marshall of King's College, London, the co-editor of The Journal of Commonwealth and Imperial History, we replied immediately. Dr.Marshall had expressed interest in Itinerario and suggested we remain in contact because the two publications obviously had so much in common. It so happened that we were to be in London early in the summer, and so we proposed a meeting, which actually took place on July 10. Present were George Winius, of the Leiden staff, Dr. Tikiri Abeyasinge, Itinerario's corresponding editor from Sri-Lanka (en route to take up a Gulbenkian Foundation grant in Portugal), and Drs. Marshall and Glynwr Williams, the other co-editor, of Queen Mary College. The gathering began over lasagna in a crowded London pub, but it adjourned to Dr. Marshall's offices.