VPRS 19 Inward Registered Correspondence

This series consists of the correspondence received by the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District.All local correspondence and returns intended for the Governor of New South Wales (of which the Port Phillip District was a part) were addressed to the Superintendent who then forwarded those letters or extracts from those which he thought necessary to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, often with comments or minutes. The Superintendent was entitled to communicate with the heads of departments in Sydney only in regard to the detail or fulfilment of instructions previously conveyed through the Colonial Secretary.The Superintendent was the immediate head of all civil officials in the District, those whose appointments were purely local received all their instructions through him. Those, like the Surveyor-in-Charge, who reported to officials in Sydney received separate instructions but were obliged to communicate the nature of their instructions and the measures they proposed to the Superintendent and to assist him in any way he required. In matters to do with the preservation of the peace or enforcement of convict discipline the Superintendent was entitled to call for assistance from the Military, but could not interfere in purely military matters.