10

8.—7

difficult to pick out one deserving more praise than another. The work carried on in this class has been freehand, model, geometry, perspective, mechanical, building, construction, and architectural drawing, cast and still life, drawing in black and white, design and drawing from the figure and the life (nude and draped). A few of the students have been engaged making designs for the illustration of the " Southern Cross Eeaders," now being published by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. The designs were considered very satisfactory, and served as an illustration of what can be done by the students in the way of applying art to industry. One of our students is now taking up the work of wood engraving as a profession, and is making good progress. Life Classes. —The " draped " class has been carried on as usual, with a slightly increased attendance for the year. It is held four times a week—twice in the morning and twice at night. A competition for entrance into the life class is held at the beginning of each term. One is admitted, and all those drawing from the cast are allowed to compete. The " nude " life class was commenced early in 1887, and for the present is held twice a week—on Tuesday evening and Saturday afternoon. This has been of the greatest benefit to the students, as there is nothing equal to it for teaching drawing and proportion. I trust the Board will be able to grant an increased bonus to this class next year, so that I may increase the number of tim.es it is held. Some drawings from this class were shown in the annual exhibition. Dunedin Exhibition. —Two silver medals—the only prizes offered by the Otago Art Society—■ wore won last year by two of our students for a head from life, in chalk, and a figure from the antique, also in chalk. I quote these to show the result of work in the life class and the benefit derived from them. Melbourne Exhibition. —Over thirty drawings and paintings by the students, illustrating all branches of instruction, have been sent to this exhibition. Annual Exhibition. —This was held last February, when a selection of students' works done during the year was shown. All the work of the various classes was fully represented, and according to outside judgment was an advance on former years. Three branches of the work had not been shown before, viz., book illustration, modelling, and drawing the full figure from life. Boys' High School. —The numbers on the roll for the two past sessions are: 1886-87, 55 ; 1887-88, 92. Classes have been held as follows : Geometry, on. Friday afternoon from 3 to 4. Freehand, two hours per week, Monday and Friday. Model, four hours per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The time now devoted by the boys to drawing has been increased from two hours to seven hours per week. There has thus been a corresponding increase in the efficiency of the work, for the original time, two hours, was too short to hope for much good resulting from the teaching. The benefit was also seen in the examination which I held as usual last December, when the standard of work was much higher than formerly. Annual Examination. —This was held as usual last December. The results are as follows for the last two years : —■ Freehand. Model. Geometry. Perspective. Blackboard. 1886 ... ... 48 ... 27 ... 13 ... 7 ... 7 1887 ... ... 84 ... 42 ... 31 ... 5 I have, &c, E. Beetham, Esq., Chairman, Board of Governors. G. Heebeet Elliott.

S.—CANTERBURY MUSEUM.—ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR 1887-88.! Sic,— 2nd July, 1888. I have the honour to report that on the death of Sir Julius yon Haast I was placed temporarily in charge of the museum on the 16th August, 1887. I found that large collections, chiefly ethnographical, had arrived, but had not yet been arranged for exhibition to the public, and that other collections were expected to arrive shortly. Under these circumstances, it was necessary, in order that the new collections might be displayed, either to put up a new gallery with cases in the main hall, or else to make an extensive rearrangement of the contents of the museum. After consultation with the museum committee it was resolved to adopt the second plan, and I was instructed to propose a scheme of rearrangement. This scheme was approved by the museum committee, and the museum was closed to the public on the 17th October in order that I and my assistants might carry it out. On Monday, the 28th November, the museum was again opened to the public, with the exception of the technological room and the geological gallery, and these were opened on the 6th January and the 6th February, 1888, respectively. It was found that the open doorway admitted large quantities of dust and damp into the building, much to the detriment of the collections and to the annoyance of visitors. The committee therefore resolved to correct this by putting up an inside porch with folding spring-doors. This was done during the second week in April, immediately after the Easter holidays. The good effects of this alteration are very noticeable. During the year new lead has been put on the stairs leading to the geological gallery, the whole of the outside woodwork has been painted, and twenty-four cane chairs have been bought and distributed through the different rooms. The leakage in the roofs of the New Zealand room and the ethnological room is a constant source of anxiety, and must be attended to before long. The principal changes in the collections which have been made diiring the year are as follows; the names of the rooms being the new ones which the rearrangement of the collections has made necessary:— Art Gallery. —Last September the Canterbury Society of Arts deposited the whole of its pictures, forty-six in number, in the museum; and in order to show them it became necessary to make more wall space. The statues were, therefore, moved into the centre, and the hand-rail was placed nearer the wall. The pictures belonging both to the museum and to the Society of Arts have been hung on the walls, and the vacant space has been temporarily filled with engravings which have been brought up from the corridor and from the ethnological room. The pictures were hung by Captain C. Garsia, honorary secretary of the Society of Arts, to whom I am much indebted for the assistance he has given me. The tickets for the society's pictures are not yet written. An autograph of