Neio Zealand Institute. 681 



Memorandum begaeding the New Zealand Institute. 



The first scientific society in New Zealand was founded in 

 1851, the first President being Sir George Grey, K.C.B., 

 D.C.L. It was named " The New Zealand Society," and was 

 located in Wellington. 



In 1862 a second society was established in Christchiirch 

 as the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, the first President 

 being Mr. Julius Haast (since Sir Julius von Haast, K.C.M.G., 

 Ph.D.). Much useful work was done by these societies, but 

 they met at very irregular intervals, and the funds collected 

 were inadequate for the proper publication of the papers that 

 were communicated by the members. They therefore lan- 

 guished, owing to their being merely local societies, not having 

 the sympathy of the colony. 



The Exhibition held in Dunedin in 1865 brought promi- 

 nently before the public the advantage of a more general 

 organization for the development of the resources of the 

 colony, and soon after the establishment of a scientific depart- 

 ment by the General Government the New Zealand Institute 

 x'^ct was passed in 1867, and its administration was placed 

 under the present Director of the Geological and Natural 

 History Survey. 



The New Zealand Institute has now been in operation for 

 twenty-four years, which is a sufficient period in the history of 

 a new country to indicate how far the practical results ob- 

 tained by the working of one of its institutions have fulfilled 

 the anticipations of its original promoters. 



The object sought was to foster public interest in the col- 

 lection and discussion of original observations respecting the 

 resources and natural history of the country. This is done to 

 best effect by the organization of a scientific society ; but it 

 was obvious that the geographical circumstances of the colony 

 precluded the formation of any strong central society capable 

 of stimulating and directing such investigations by frequent 

 meetings of its members, as can be done in other colonies pos- 

 sessing a chief centre of population, where all social institu- 

 tions become naturally concentrated. The constitution of the 

 New Zealand Institute was therefore intended to provide for 

 the combination of local efforts in this direction by enabling 

 the joint publication of the papers read and discussed before 

 local societies. 



Experience has shown that in old countries the subscribed 

 funds are generally insufficient for the proper publication of 

 the transactions of small societies; and this drawback is still 

 more felt in the countries where the number of members is 

 small, while the field for original I'esearch is large, so that in a 

 few years such societies languish after accumulating much 



