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1 8 NOTES AND COMMENTS [November 



infected eveu the Trustees, and their Eeport for the year 1898 puts 

 the case as strongly as can be expected from so decorous a body. 

 They " regret that for some years past the funds voted for the main- 

 tenance of the museum have been inadequate. In 1892 the museum 

 vote, leaving out of account special items, was £7201. In 1893 the 

 trustees were compelled to submit to considerable reductions, rendered 

 necessary by the financial pressure of the time, and they endeavoured 

 to adapt their work to the rates allowed. They expected, however, 

 that with returning prosperity, not only would former votes have been 

 restored, but that some material consideration would have been given 

 to the natural advancement of the institution." This has not been the 

 case, since the appropriation for 1898-99, although showing slight 

 increase, was over £2000 less than that for 1892. "As regards 

 members of the scientific staff, no steps have been taken towards 

 restoring the salaries to the rates existing before the retrenchment of 

 1893, although, in the public service generally, considerable increases 

 have been granted to officers. In 1892 the vote for purchases was 

 £1250; since 1893 only £200 a year have been allowed, including 

 purchase of books as well as specimens." Such a sum would be 

 ridiculously small for a metropolitan museum, if assigned to books 

 alone. " Consequently, many desirable specimens have been lost to 

 the Museum, and therefore to the Colony, while no collecting, so 

 necessary for maintenance as well as increase of the exhibits, has been 

 done, and the Library has also fallen into arrears. The insufficiency 

 of the funds provided for the Museum by the statutory endowment of 

 £1000 per annum, together with the irregularity both in amounts 

 and in detail of the Annual Votes of Parliament, supplementary to 

 the endowment, prevent anything like an effective promotion of 

 the interests of science in connection with the natural history of the 

 Colony. As those interests have an important relationship to the 

 development of the resources, and, consequently, to the future pros- 

 perity of the community, the Trustees are exceedingly anxious to be 

 placed in a better position for carrying out the purposes for which the 

 Museum has been established." 



With all this, needless to say, we heartily sympathise. We do 

 not overlook the fact that last year a sum of £1500 was placed on 

 the Estimates for certain much-needed repairs, or that on the Loan 

 Estimates for 1898-99 a further sum of £13,500 has been voted for 

 museum extension, the intention being to build the superstructure 

 over the newly-erected workshops as a portion of the south wing. 

 But we observe that " very great and unnecessary delay has arisen in 

 the carrying out of the renovations," and we emphasise the contention 

 of Mr. Etheridge that, as the collections and the buildings grow, it is 

 necessary to increase the staff, and to provide at least sufficient money 

 for cases and for locks to them. The admirable work carried out by 

 this excellently-administered museum has often been alluded to by us, 



