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Ethnology. —During the year two monographs have been issued, anil the; printing of Bulletins Nos. 7 and 10, and Manual No. 4 of the Board of Science and Art, " The Maori as he; was," has been proceeded with. Bulletin No. 8, "Games, Exercises, and Pastimes of the Maori," has been brought up to date by the insertion of fresh data obtained since it was written. Bulletin No. 9, " The Maori System of Agriculture," has likewise been revised. A number of illustrations are still required for these and for No. 6, " The Pa Maori," before going to press. The somewhat difficult task of translating data concerning Maori life and institutions, &c, of olden days has been continued with, as also a consielerable amount of collation. Library. —Among the books added to the library during the past year is a valuable collection of 273 publications presented by the Trustees of the British Museum. The Dominion Museum has now been added to the list of institutions receiving the publications of the British Museum. Several new serials have been received during the year in exchange for the New Zealarul Journal of Science and Technology. Registrar-General. Registration of Europeans. —Births, 27,967; deaths, 11,51.1; marriages solemnized, 10,091. Of the marriages solemnized 1,941 were; conducted by Registrars. Registration of Maoris. —Births, 1,208; deaths, 725; marriages, 262. Medical Register. —Total number, 1,138. During the year there were 77 additions, 59 having New Zealand qualifications. There were 12 removals. Dentists' Register. —Total number 765. During the year 17 additions and 1 removal were made. Officiating Ministers. —On the 31st December last there were 1,788 Ministers authorized to solemnize marriages in New Zealand, as follows : Church of England, 448 ; Presbyterian Church, 396 ; Roman Catholic Church, 280 ; Methodist Church, 259 ; Congregational Independents, 34. ; Baptist, 67 ; Church of Christ, 37 ; Salvation Army, 155 ; other denominations, 112. Searches. —Those on behalf of Government Departments number 10,840, and 7,978 for the general public. Certificates. —6,727 certificates were issued. Finance. —The revenue is in excess of the expenditure. Dominion Analyst and Chief Inspector of Explosives. Laboratory. —During the year samples were received from the; following sources:—Customs, 446 : Explosives Branch, 75 ; Justice; (Police), 81 ; Marine, 5. Mines —Geological Survey, 76 ; Head Office, 138 ; Engineers and Inspectors, 81 ; prospectors, 246. Post and Telegraph Department, 172. Public Health —Auckland, 50; Christchurch, .140; Dunedin, 19; Napier, 290; Wanganui, 238; Wellington, 2,283 ; Whangarei, 5. Public Works, 14. Railways, 13. Other Departments, 137. Public bodies, 9. Miscellaneous, 63. Total, 4,581. Customs. —A great variety of samples was analysed for the Customs Department, chiefly to determine their classification for tariff purposes, but frequently also to ascertain whether they complied with the regulations under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. The substances most frequently examined under the latter heading were boric acid and cream of tartar. Some of these samples contained more than the permitted amounts of lead or of arsenie;. Explosives Branch. —The laboratory work of the Explosives Branch consisted principally of the routine examination of consignments of explosives and fuse. Some samples of calcium carbide were also examined to assist in determining the cause of the explosion of an acetylene-generator. Justice. —The Superintendent of Police submitted a much larger number of samples than in previous years. They comprised liquor, medicated wine, horse-medicines, and. exhibits relating to cases of suspected poisoning. Strychnine and aconite were found in. one case, strychnine only in two others, hydrocyanic acid in two more, and arsenic in another. The medicines consisted of carbolic acid and mercury ointments much under B.P. strength. Mines. —The Geological Survey staff required the analysis of samples of coal, carbonized wood, dolomite, limestone, marble, mineral waters, natural gas, silver-ore, and many typical rock formations. Some of the specimens came from a reported gold-find in Fiji. Prospectors' samples showed a falling-off in numbers, and disclosed little of value, apart from limestones and clays. The Head Office and inspection staff submitted samples of fireclay, coal from various mines anel from bores, mine-dusts and mine-airs, and quartz from various localities. To facilitate research on the utilization of waste coal, the Department purchased a small hydraulic briquetting press, which has been set up in the Laboratory. Department of Health. —lnspectors under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act were active during the; year, and forwarded a great variety of foodstuffs and some medicinal preparations for analysis. The list comprises : Apples, beer, boric acid, bread, butter, carbonate of potash, carbonate of soda, corned beef, Bartlett pears, cheese, cherries, chocolate-creams, cocoa, coffee and chicory, condensed milk, cordials, cream, cream of tartar, custard-powder, Dominion sausage, dried figs, fish, rag-flock, flour, fly-exterminator, Germatin, Glaxo, ground cocoa-shell, honey, ice-cream, invert sugar, jam, jelly, Kolacafe, Foam-spirit, Kruschen salts, lemonade, liquors, liquid paraffin, malt-extract, oatmeal, oliveoil, Ovoline, oysters, pepper, potassium-iodide tablets, raspberry-pulp, salmon, salt, Salunol, sausages, Semolina, tea, tomato-sauce, vanilla-essence, vinegar, wheats, whitebait, whitebait-preservative, White's table creams, wine. In consequence of the detection last year of small amounts of arsenic in beer, samples were examined from every brewery in the Dominion. The permissible limit, one-hundredth of a grain of arsenious oxide per gallon, was exceeded in three cases only, and in these steps were at once taken to effect a remedy. Various consignments of boric acid were also examined for arsenic, which in two cases excecde;d the standard.