The fonds consists of two series of records. One series contains miscellaneous administrative records such as minutes, commissions of court officials, rules, regulations and tables of fees, and some miscellaneous correspondence. The second series is comprised of case files which include documents filed, evidence and transcripts of testmony. They deal with some criminal matters such as murder and the intention to wreck vessels as well as infringement of international fishery agreements, and civil disputes arising from collisions and failure to pay seamen. Case files are arranged by year and, in the early years, alphabetically within the year. In 1891 the files were consecutively numbered by the court and arranged accordingly.