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Consolidation and Amendment Act, 1913, giving the Government power to deal with historical monuments, should be passed u\New Zealand. The provisions in the Scenery Preservation Act are altogether inadequate for tho purpose. It should not be difficult to do, in connection with these monuments, at least as much as already has been done for the care of old soldiers' graves and some historical cemeteries Mosquitoes. —In 1917 the services of Mr. Miller, Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce, were obtained for an investigation of mosquitoes. In the short time at his disposal—one month, during which he was hampered by almost continuous bad weather—he was unable to make more than a preliminary investigation. In December last he resumed the. workvisiting North Auckland, where the climate conditions favour the establishment of not only the malaria species but the yellow-fever mosquito. The opening-up and increasing use of the Panama Canal route to and from England and the eastern States of America has made it incumbent on New Zealand to take all necessary precautions against the introduction of the yellow fever. Mr. Miller's full report, which is now being prepared, will furnish much information of value, in any preventive measures it may bo found necessary to take, Scientific and Technological Library. —The manner in which research work is hampered by the lack of a and accessible scientific library has made it necessary that, at as early a date as possible, a scientific library be established by the Governor. The material for the beginning of a library is here in Wellington now, but scattered in a number of smaller libraries (notably those maintained by the New Zealand Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, and the Geological Survey Branch of the Mines Department), themselves greatly handicapped by lack of space. By bringing these together a fairly efficient scientific and technological library would be immediately available, and considerable economy m administration would be effected. Many suggestions have been considered, but no suitable accommodation has yet been found. Records of New Zealand Company. —The cases containing records of the New Zealand Company, received from England through the High Commissioner, havo been opened and the contents arranged on shelves and indexed. Several requests from students of New Zealand history for permission to inspect these records have been received. It is hoped at an early date to be able to allow access to them. Phonographic Records and Cinematographic Films of Maori Life. —Arising out of a suggestion made by the Hon. A. T. Ngata, the Minister directed that Messrs. Eldson Best and James McDonald, of the Dominion Museum, and Johannes Andersen, Librarian of tire 'Turnbull Library, should proceed to Gisborne and attend the great Maori gathering held there in March last, for the purpose of making phonographic records of songs and speeches and taking films of various phases of Maori life. The reports of these three officers, which are contained in the report of the Director of tho Museum, show that very valuable records were made, the phonographic ones in particular passing all anticipation. Mr. Best attributes the success to the untiring efforts of Mr. H. R. H. Balneavis, Private Secretary to the Hon. the Native Minister, and I desire to place, on record the Department's indebtedness to him. (10.) Turnbull Library. The most notable public bequest of recent years was the gift to the people of New Zealand by the late Mr. A. H. Turnbull of the library which he had spent so many years in gathering together. To suitably house the gift Mr. Turnbull's residence in Bowen Street was purchased by the Government, and immediate steps were taken to make it thoroughly fire-proof. No time was lost in appointing a librarian and a staff to assist him. Mr. Johannes Andersen, of the General Assembly Library, was the successful applicant for the position, and for some months now has been engaged in the task (the magnitude of which may be gathered from the Advisory Director's report in the appendix) of indexing and arranging the books. The Department is greatly indebted to Mr. Charles Wilson, Chief Librarian of the General Assembly Library, for his valuable, advice and help, and his consenting to act as Advisory Director of the library has removed many difficulties in the way of satisfactory administration at the critical stage of the library's existence as a public institution. Mr. Wilson's estimate of £80,000 as the present, selling-value of the library indicates clearly the magnificence of Mr. Turnbull's bequest, and his right to be considered one of the world's great collectors. (11.) History of New Zealand Wars. During the year the work of gathering and collecting material for a national history of the wars of the pioneering period in New Zealand has been continued by Mr. James Cowan. Most of the battlefields and other localities associated with the history of the campaigns from 1845 to 1871 have been visited, and careful field notes have been made with a view to describing in detail the topography and fortifications' in conjunction with the narrative, and fixing the exact scenes of the numerous engagements, which year by year are becoming more difficult to identify with precision. With these objects in mind the historian has, wherever possible, enlisted the co-operation of veterans of the ■wars, and a great deal of most useful assistance has been given by European and Maori survivors of the battles. In many cases the scenes of engagements, sites of pas and redoubts have been pointed out by those who shared in the fights and occupied the positions, and the actions have been described in detail on the spot. Many disputed or obscure historical points have in this way been cleared up, and a very large amount of valuable data has been noted down for comparison with the documentary evidence already received. The districts in which this work has been carried out include the Bay of Islands country, south Auckland, Waikato and Waipa, Rotorua and Bay of Plenty districts as far as Opotiki, and the west