The secretary of state shall require town clerks or other town officials having the custody of town or parish records, plans, documents or public papers, prior to the year 1825, to deposit the same in his office in the state house at Concord, for the purpose of being copied and indexed. Such records shall be known as Ancient Records of Towns, Parishes and other Divisions of the State of New Hampshire. The expense of transportation thereof to and from the secretary’s office, and the expense of copying and indexing the same, shall be borne by the state, and paid upon the warrant of the governor, from any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. After the same have been copied they shall be returned to the officials of the towns from which they were received.