FIRST ANNUAL REPORT BY THE GOVERNORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1869 Session I, D-09

D.—No. 9.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT BY THE GOVERNORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY COMMAND OP HIS EXCELLENCY.

WELLINGTON. 1869.

D.—No. 9.

TnE first meeting of the Governors for the transaction of business was held on the 21th January, 1868, and since then on the following dates :—l2th and 25th February, 10th June, 22nd October, 2nd November, 1808 ; and 14th May, 1869. The rules which the Governors are empowered to make under the Act of Incorporation were framed and published in the New Zealand Gazette on 9th March, 1868, as required by law. An arrangement has been made with the Government with respect to the custody of the Museum and Laboratory, and although it was not considered advisable that the present buildings, which are of a character that will require constant repair, should be conveyed in the terms of the Act, the management of the collection is entirely in the hands of the Governors, who have therefore power to make the necessary exchanges and distribution of duplicates, for the purpose of enriching other Museums in the Colony. The Manager's Report on the Museum and Laboratory, hereto appended, shows that the state of the Institute is satisfactory. The endowment voted by the Legislature for 1867-8 was applied by Government towards defraying the building charges, as there were at that time no Incorporated Societies, and the Institute property then belonged wholly to Government. The endowment for 1868-9 of £500 was applied in the manner shown in the appended accounts. The largest item is the expense of printing the Transactions for the year ; the size of the volume being nearly doubled by the addition of the New Zealand Exhibition Essays, which were placed at the disposal of the Governors by the Colonial Government for publication. The volume was issued in May last, and contains 400 pages of print and thirteen illustrations. ■ A copy of the volume has been distributed to each member of the affiliated Societies, 270 in number; 25 copies have been presented to public libraries in New Zealand; 50 presentation copies have been distributed in England and other countries, including the Colonies; 100 copies have been allotted for sale at 15s. each; and the remainder of the edition of 500 copies has been reserved to complete the sets of future members. Various sums have been expended in procuring collections of specimens useful for exchange, and the amount of £51 6s. has been granted in aid of the Museum funds of affiliated Societies, while a balance of £33 9s. Bd. remains in the hands of the Treasurer. Pour Societies were granted incorporation on the following dates :■ —■ Date. No. of Members. Wellington Philosophical Society ... ... 10th June, 1868. 104 Auckland Institute ... ... ... „ 68 Philosophical Institute of Canterbury ... 22nd Oct., „ 57 Westland Naturalists' and Acclimatization Society „ 29 In March, 1868, oue of the first Governors, the Hon. Mr. W. B. D. Mantell, retired from the Board to allow of the appointment of the Manager as a Governor, with a view of facilitating business. In accordance with the Act the following Governors retired from the Board, but were renominated, viz.:—Sir David Monro, A. Ludlam, Esq., J. E. PitzGerald, Esq. Notices were received from the Wellington Philosophical Society on 3rd November, 1868, and the Auckland Institute on sth January, 1869, that they had elected, respectively, J. C. Crawford, Esq., and Dr. D. Pollen, to be Governors according to the Act. The other two Societies having joined at too late a period of the year to permit the provision of the Act being carried out, they are not represented at the Board during this year. Seven meetings were held during the Session of the Assembly of 1868, in the Colonial Museum, at which addresses and lectures were delivered by the following gentlemen: —His Excellency Sir G. P. Bowen, Mr. PitzGerald, Hon. Mr. Mantel], Mr. Travers, Dr. Hector, and Mr. Wakefield. D. Monro, Chairman.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT BY THE GOYERNOKS OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

D.—No. 9.

4

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OE THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

Accounts of the New Zealand Institute, 1868-69.

T. M. Haultain, 16th June, 1869. Treasurer, New Zealand Institute.

Museum. During the year ending the 31st July, 1869, the collections in the Museum have been increased by the addition of 2,159 specimens, making now a total of 19,473 specimens, from which number, however, must be deducted the collections sent in exchange. The crowded state of the Museum has rendered it necessary to modify the arrangement of the cases, and has delayed the preparation of the Descriptive Catalogue in a form that will be useful as a guide to visitors. The Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks, however, is almost ready, and fossil specimens have been figured and will be lithographed in groups according to the geological formation and the localities where they are found, as a supplement to the Index Geological Map, which is in course of preparation. This map, together with the descriptive letterpress and the above plates of fossils, will, it is hoped, form a guide to the structure of practical geology in New Zealand. The additions to the Geological Collections have been very considerable, and among others attention may be drawn to the specimen of reptilian remains from the Waipara beds ; fossils from the older New Zealand rocks ; rock specimens from the Chatham, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, and other Islands in the more remote parts of the ~New Zealand group : tertiary fossils ; and mineral specimens from the various mining districts. The Natural History department of the Museum has been enriched by a splendid donation illustrating Economic Botany from Dr. Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. A fine series of the birds of Queensland has also been received as a presentation from Mr. A. Lempriere. The Museum is indebted to Dr. Knox for many valuable preparations illustrating the anatomy of several rare reptiles and fish of New Zealand; and a most interesting addition is the collection of birds' nests and eggs collected and presented by Mr. Potts. The Herbarium has been increased by the addition of over 6,000 specimens of plants, chiefly collected by Mr. T. Kirk and Mr. Henry Travers. Specimens have been transferred as exchanges and presentations to other Museums, according to the appended list. The collections of recent and fossil shells, which have been sent to England for the purpose of receiving correct names and being compared with the collections from South America and Australia, at the Geological Society's Museum, have not yet been reported on. During the past year 6,260 names have been entered in the Visitors Book, but this does not by any means represent the total number of persons who have visited the Museum, as many neglect to enter their names. James Hector, Manager.

Receipts. Expenditure. rovernment Grant in Aid iontributions from Wellington Philosophical Society £ s. d. 500 0 0 Class 1.—Expenses of Meetings ... „ 2. —Purchase of specimens for exchange, andincidental expenses „ 3. —Publication of Transactions, &c. „ 4.—Assistance to Museums of affiliated Societies Balance in hands of Treasurer of New Zealand Institute ... £ s. d. 58 11 0 34 11 9 43 17 10 347 14 3 51 6 0 33 2 8 534 11 9 534 11 9