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Warm appreciation is expressed to all tlie donors who have been so liberal in times when the collection otherwise can be added to only sparingly. Readers and Sudents. —Sixty-five new readers' permits were issued, and students have been working regularly in the library through the year, day and evening. The principal subjects studied were Relations of New Zealand with other parts of the Empire, general history, aspects of Maori life and history, provincial and district histories and biographies of various New Zealand statesmen, histories of New Zealand dependencies and other Pacific Islands. English literature, including drama and poetry, have as usual been much used. As noted before, students come from the chief towns of New Zealand to obtain information for theses, and authors for information of various kinds. Missionary Letters. —The Church Missionary Society, responding to a request to that effect, sent out for copying several hundred letters and journals of missionaries stationed in New Zealand, nearly all in the North Island. These date from 1830 to 1869, and as the period concerned is a very important one in the history of New Zealand, and the missionaries reflect more or less of what was happening around them, these letters are of great interest to students of our history. The letters are now being copied. Visitors.^-There were 850 visitors, as compared with about a thousand in the preceding year. Correspondence. —Many inquiries have been received regarding books and pictures and their values, historical subjects, &c. Inward and outward communications number about nineteen hundred. Accounts Section. Cash. The accounting system has been framed to show separately the financial result of subdepartments, branches, and activities, and each is regarded as a separate entity. The dissection and classification of revenue and expenditure necessary to produce analysed financial statements is comprehensive, as is indicated by the varied branches, &c., controlled—namely, Head Office, Advertising Office, Government Actuary Branch, High Commissioner's Office (London), Dominion Museum, Explosives Section, Turnbull Library Section, Censorship of Films Section, War Graves Division, and Fresh Water Fisheries. In addition trading accounts for each trading venture are prepared annually. These include the Rotorua and Taupo fishing activities (production and sale of fry and ova, license issue, camp-sites, &c.), Explosives and Dangerous Goods Section, and Censorship of Films Section. The expenditure of the Prime Minister's Department is recorded also. The net debit to vote, " Internal Affairs " for the financial year 1933-34 was £320,415. Sjores.—The purchase, issue, record, and disposal of stores is wholly supervised in the Accounts Section. Consumable stores to the value of £5,000 are purchased annually for distribution and usage in various parts of the Dominion —in fact, in every town where charing or similar work is undertaken by the Department. Where possible, purchases are arranged in bulk and central markets are exploited ; costs are thus reduced to the minimum. Government-owned transport organizations are utilized for distribution. The consumption of stores is recorded by means of a specially designed stores system, and where stores are issued to groups of employees—namely, charwomen—the periodical supply of each class of article is made uniform. All writings-off are approved from Head Office. Revenue. Practically all the incomings to the Department are classified as revenue and are not reflected within vote, " Internal Affairs." The revenue aggregates approximately £32,572 per annum and is derived from—Naturalization, censorship of cinematograph films, issue of land-agents and auctioneers licenses, passports, explosives and dangerous goods licenses, sale of fishing and opossum licenses. General—The staff of the Department numbers 833 throughout the Dominion, and the annual salary bill amounts to £138,925. In addition to non-consumable stores, the Department has on charge land and fixed assets, including buildings, Turnbull Library, museum exhibits, motor-vehicles, &c., at a total valuation of £375,236. The existence of these assets is verified each year, and the valuations are periodically adjusted to maintain conformity with residual values. The policy of the Government in respect to assistance to stranded New-Zealanders necessitates a proper record of all loans made and repayments thereof. At 31st March, 1934, the live accounts under this heading totalled 99, whilst during the year 51 accounts were finally closed, including 28 written off as irrecoverable. Writing-off takes place only after every effort to obtain payment is found to be fruitless, and then with Parliamentary approval. The financial affairs of all racing and trotting clubs are reviewed annually with a view to advising whether the extension of Government assistance is warranted or otherwise. The accounts of acclimatization societies likewise are examined and reported upon. The estimates and annual accounts of Fire Boards are referred for review, and it has now been possible to bring the accounts of practically all the Fire Boards into uniformity. The amount of subsidy paid to Fire Boards for the financial year ended 31st March, 1934, was £3,306. Conclusion. 1 wish to express my appreciation of the willing and efficient service rendered to me by officers of the Department at all times. The valuable assistance rendered by other Government Departments is also gratefully acknowledged.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (465 copies), £15.

Price 6d.j

By Authority : G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington. —1934.

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