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The College exhibitions, given for excellence in honours work at the College annual examination, were awarded to Miss M. L. F. Edger, for mathematics ; B. M. Connal, for English and Greek ; H. B. M. Watson, for Latin and mathematics; T. S. Foster, for Latin ; Charles Chilton, for natural science; and to J. B. Wilkinson, for chemistry, physics, and geology. The College Library has been increased this year by the number of 656 volumes, including a complete set of the " Annales des Sciences Naturelles " from 1824 to 1879, and Transactions of the Boyal Society (Philosophical) from 1665 to 1880. It having been found necessary that the teacher of biology at the School of Agriculture should reside there, arrangements were made with that object in view, and, in consequence, Professor Hutton was relieved of that portion of his duties which necessitated his attendance at the school two days in each week, and is now engaged solely in College work. Buildings. The want of a hall in which examinations could be conducted, degrees conferred, and lectures and addresses given, having been long felt, the Board decided that the erection of such a building could not be longer delayed. The necessity of another class-room and rooms for Professors also was apparent; and, in consequence, the architect was instructed to prepare plans of the proposed buildings. The plans having been approved by the Board, tenders were called for and contracts entered into for the foundations of the buildings and for the erection of the hall. The total amount of contracts entered into was £7,240. The foundations have been completed, and the erection of the hall commenced ; the building should be finished by August, 1882. Museum. Numerous and valuable additions have been made to the natural history and ethnological department during the past year, by exchanges and contributions from other institutions, by presentations from individuals, and by purchases. Presentations were received from ninety-six contributors, and many of their contributions were of considerable value and interest. The most important were from the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury (collection of imitations of ivory-carving procured from the Arundel Society) ; the Commissioners at the Melbourne International Exhibition for New Caledonia, Queensland, and South Australia ; the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society ; Dr. Otto Finch, of Bremen ; Dr. Hector ; Mr. J. D. Enys, F.G.S.; Mr. Bobert Gillies, of Dunedin ; Mr. E. L. Holmes, F.M.S., Bua, Fiji; and the Bajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Calcutta. The specimens of buildingstones and timber, moa skeletons, and the series of specimens illustrating the ethnology of New Zealand and foreign countries during the stone age, which were sent to the Sydney and Melbourne Exhibitions, have been returned to the Museum. Forty-three volumes and ninety-six parts of larger works have been added to the library. Technological Department. In order to obtain space for the exhibition of objects of interest in this department, the Board decided to throw a roof, composed partly of glass, over the quadrangle formed by the old and new buildings, and, by the addition of a wall, to connect the two buildings at the northern end. A spacious room, 90 feet by 48 feet, has been added to the Museum at the small cost of £1,536, which includes the expense of* removing and re-erecting the Maori House. Five hundred pounds having been appropriated by the Board for mechanical models, orders were sent to Carl Schroder, of Darmstadt, and Paul Lochmann, of Zeitz, in August, 1880. These orders have been duly executed. The models, &c, have been shipped, and should shortly arrive in Lyttelton. Sixteen contributors made presentations to this department, of which those of Mr. George Gould (specimens of the ceramic art), of the Commissioners of Austria, Germany, and India, of the Plumbago Crucible Company, Battersea Works, London, and of Messrs. Munn and Co., New York, are the most important. The Director, Dr. Julius von Haast, at the request of the Board, visited the Exhibitions at Sydney and Melbourne, and obtained many objects of great interest for the Museum. Some of these were gifts, others were purchased by funds placed at the Director's disposal by the Board. School of Mines. Since last report further extensive collections illustrating the mining and metallurgy of valuable ores have been received from Professor von Hochstetter. From Professor Ward, of Bochester, New York, a collection of raw ores and minerals was obtained. A number of mining models, purchased at Freiburg, Germany, through the Eegistrar of the School of Mines, London, and a collection from Sandhurst, illustrating the timbering of mines in Victoria, have arrived. The specimens and models belonging to this important branch will be exhibited for the present in the technological room when it is completed. The Director expects to have the room and everything in it ready for the inspection of visitors before the close of 1881. The daily attendance of visitors at the Museum during the past year has been much in excess of previous years. An instrument for registering the number of visitors will shortly be provided, so that the exact number may be daily ascertained. School of Art. At the last annual meeting I stated that the Museum Committee was then making out a list of articles to be procured from England for this School. That list was forwarded to Mr. Kennaway, who very kindly gave his valuable services in carrying out the views of the Committee. He entered into communication with Sir Cunliff'e Owen and the authorities of South Kensington Museum, and the result has been the purchase and shipment of twenty-three cases containing books, models, and casts. Four cases have arrived, and nineteen cases are on board the ship " Opawa," daily expected. In accordance with the decision of the Board I wrote to Sir Julius Vogel and Mr. Kennaway on the 31st December, 1880, requesting them to select a competent master for the School of Art. By last advices received from Mr. Kennaway, dated the 19th May, he states that Sir Julius Vogel and himself issued