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General. As will be seen from the reports of the Committees of Management of the National Art Gallery, Dominion Museum, and Carillon appended hereto, the year has been one of activity and interest in the respective spheres, and the institutions under control of the Board have carried out their function of disseminating knowledge of art and science amongst the community. Special attention has been given to the educational side, in the form of lectures and addresses to students. The special exhibitions of pictures and museum exhibits have attracted large numbers of visitors, and the attendances during the intervening periods have been well maintained. The installation of a lift in the Carillon Tower has increased the popularity of the ascent of that structure. The Lecture Hall has been used frequently for lectures and moving-picture exhibitions, and the tea-rooms attached to the Art Gallery have been engaged on a number of occasions for special luncheons and tea functions. The grounds surrounding the buildings have been further improved by the formation of grass plots at the rear and on the western and eastern sides, and the levelling and planting of the western bank facing Tasman Street. In this connection grateful acknowledgment is made of the assistance received from the Employment Division of the Labour Department, the City Council, and the Wellington Beautifying Society. The Treasurer's report and accounts, appended hereto, reveal a deficit of £37 ss. sd. in the Revenue Account. Owing to increased running and maintenance costs, the question of providing the necessary finance to carry on the Board's operations has become an acute and difficult one. With the aim of explaining the activities and objects of the institutions under its control and their financial needs, the Board convened a meeting of local bodies within a certain radius of Wellington (including also Blenheim, Nelson, and Wanganui) in December last. The Conference was well attended, and after the position had been explained and discussed a resolution was unanimously passed whereby the delegates present pledged themselves to recommend to their respective local bodies support of a scheme of annual contribution based upon a scale varying according to distance and population. The Right Hon. the Prime Minister promised a further contribution of £1,000 from the Government. The minimum amount considered necessary to provide salaries and wages and other running-expenses, educational facilities, and to build up a Repairs and Renewals Fund was £14,000, which, under the proposed scheme, would be contributed to as under : — £ Government .. .. .. .. .. 8,000 Wellington City Council .. .. .. .. .. 2,000 Wellington Harbour Board .. . . . . .. .. 500 Boroughs up to twenty-five miles, at 3d. per head . . 445 Boroughs beyond twenty-five miles, at 2d. per head . . 825 Counties at Id. per head .. .. . . . . 275 1,545 Other sources .. .. . . . . . . 1,955 £14,000 A report of the Conference, with details of the scheme, was circulated to the various boroughs, Town Boards, and County Councils, but, while favourable replies were received from the Wellington City Council, Wellington Harbour Board, and nearby boroughs, the majority of the counties and more distant boroughs have not consented to make a contribution, and in consequence the revenue will fall considerably short of the total required. (This is dealt with in further detail in the Treasurer's report.) Unless further contributions are forthcoming from public or private sources, the activities and usefulness of the institutions must therefore be considerably restricted, particularly in the direction of providing travelling collections of pictures and museum exhibits for display in the country towns and schools. A number of valuable gifts has been made to the Art Gallery and Dominion Museum during the year ; and a residual bequest made by the late T. Lindsay Buick will later on provide a handsome fund for the purchase of pictures. The Board records its thanks for and appreciation of help and assistance received during the year from many quarters, including, inter alia, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Toe H, the Wellington Philosophical Society, Wellington Harbour Board, Railway Department, New Zealand Shipping Co., Ltd., and Union Steam Ship Co., Ltd. ; and the press and National Broadcasting Service for valuable publicity. M. J. Savage, Chairman. F. H. Bass, Secretary.

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