H.—7a

1874. NEW ZEALAND.

COLONIAL MUSEUM IN LONDON, (PAPERS RELATING TO).

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by command of His Excellency.

No. 1. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaet. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S."W., Sin,— Ist April, 1874. As I was instructed to retain possession of the geological specimens and the Government property in the Vienna Exhibition " for the Colonial Museum, London," I inferred that it was the intention of the Government to give effect to the suggestion made by myself, in letter No. 109, of 21st February, 1873, that the colony should take part in the proposed Australasian Exhibition at South Kensington; and, on the application of the Agent-General for South Australia to join him in securing the necessary space, I decided on anticipating the instructions of the Government by agreeing to take one of the divisions in the Belgian Annexe on behalf of New Zealand. As the case did not admit of any reference to the colony, I adopted this course on my own responsibility, and made an intimation accordingly to the authorities at the South Kensington Exhibition. Mr. Cole, C.8., the president (with whom, in company with Mr. Dutton, I inspected the site), having, however, at the last moment raised a difficulty about letting us have a part of space unless ho had from us some guarantee that the whole of the Belgian Annexe would be taken up, and the delay thus occasioned having made it quite impossible to do anything in time for the forthcoming exhibition, I have now determined to stay my hand altogether till I can hear from the Government on the subject. Ido so the more readily as lam informed by the Agent-General for Victoria (who took part in a similar exhibition last year) that the necessary expenses of such an undertaking would be considerably heavier than I had been led to suppose. The enclosed schedule, kindly supplied by him, will give you an idea of what the expenditure would be. As soon as I had decided on having our colony represented, I put myself in communication with gentlemen who were likely to assist me with loans and donations. Mr. James Brogden, whose collection of birds attracted so much attention at Vienna, at once placed it at my disposal, as a deposit; and others signified their ready willingness to contribute. Allowing sufficient time for the purpose, I think I should have succeeded in getting up a very respectable show of New Zealand products, &c. But while I fully realize the value of such an exhibition, from every point of view, I think it quite possible that the expense of keeping it up would be more than commensurate with the advantages to the colony. At any rate, Ido not feel justified in taking any further step without specific instructions from the Government. In the meantime the collections received from the Vienna Exhibition are safely stored in these offices, although I have found it necessary to hire an additional room (at a rental of £40 per annum) for that special purpose. I have, &c, I. E. "Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, "Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 1. AIISTKALIAN ANNEXE, KENSINGTON, 1873. Statement of Expenditure made by the Agent-General for Victoria in connection with the Australian Annexe of the International Exhibition, London, 1873, on behalf of New South "Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. £ s. d. Manager's salary ... ... ... ... ... ... 181 0 0 "Wages ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 236 7 5 Cases ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 176 4 8 Furniture; blind?, looks, carpenters' work, &c. ... ... ... 144 1 11 Police 143 4 0 Stationery, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... 19 2 9 Sundry expenses ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 16 6 £920 16 3