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appointed and the house is available to bona fide research, students, preferably but not necessarily of biology. The house can accommodate up to six students at a time, and the only fee charged is to cover actual expenditure. The garden, for which Miss Baker was awarded the Loder Cup, specializes in native flora and has attracted the attention of a great number of visitors. C. Pompallier House, Russell The work of restoration has now been completed and suitable period furniture is being sought to place in the house, which is to be established as a museum specializing particularly in local history. Many thousands of visitors have been shown the house by the resident caretaker during the year. The gardens make a good setting for the historic building. D. Cultural Fund During the year financial assistance was given from surplus art-union moneys to a number of cultural organizations and individuals studying the arts overseas. It is gratifying to note that a number of these students are distinguishing themselves in their particular fields, and that grants made to organizations such as the New Zealand Drama Council are being wisely used to foster the arts in New Zealand. E. New Zealand Literary Fund During the year, on the recommendation of the New Zealand Literary Fund Advisory Committee, 12 grants involving a total expenditure of £1,786 were made to assist chosen books and writers. The grants include subsidies on publication, travel grants, and typing costs. F. Licensing of Cinematograph Operators One hundred and forty-nine new applications for provisional and assistant operator's licences were considered, as compared with 136 for the previous year. Fifty new provisional licences and 86 new assistant operator's licences were issued. Fifty-nine grade licences were issued to operators who qualified during the year. Since the coming into force of the Cinematograph Operators Licensing Regulations 1938, 1,543 operators and 1,144 assistant operators have been licensed. XXI. ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY The library's use and service continue to grow apace, and it is probably as much that its resources and accessibility are becoming better known as that advancing education, especially at the higher levels, leads more people to research as well as study for its own sake. This latter is culturally the healthier sign, for study to a specific end such as a degree can be construed as mercenary, whereas post-graduate or other private research often makes contribution to the common store of knowledge. Moreover, the greater range of research aids in the Turnbull Library to-day provides facilities and access to mines of information that could not have been quarried so well before the war. The demand for genealogical information and for illustrated materia] is a matter for astonishment, and increases to the full physical capacity of the staff and building. It is appropriate here to stress the congested state of the building, which has rendered working conditions difficult and often uneconomic. In addition staff turnover has been phenomenal, with several losses and five absent on protracted overseas leave.

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