346 Proceedings. 



AUCKLAND INSTITUTE. 



Seven meetings were held during the year 1917, at which the following 

 lectures and papers were read: — (11th June) 'Berlin, Bagdad, and the 

 Balkans — Germany's Eastern Ambitions," by Professor J. P. Grossmann : 

 (9th July) "The Kermadec Islands, their Plant and Bird Life,'* by Mr. 

 W. R. B. Oliver : (6th August) " Some Present Aspects of the War,*' by the 

 Rev. W. G. Monckton : (3rd September) '" Natural Sources of Power, their 

 Importance to New Zealand," by Mr. F. E. Powell. C.E. : (1st October) 

 " Heredity," by Professor A. P. W. Thomas, F.L.S. : (19th November) 

 " The Civic Spirit of Roman Architecture," by Mr. T. G. Price : (11th 

 December) "A New Species of Hy pole-pis," by Mr. H. Carse ; "The Extra- 

 ordinary Rainfall of 1915-1916," by Mr. EL B. Devereux ; "On the Dis- 

 tribution of the Pentatonic Scale in Britain," by Professor J. C. Johnson ; 

 " On the Sporophyte of Rhipogonum scandens," by Miss A. C. Tizard (com- 

 municated by Professor J. C. Johnson) ; ' Descriptions of New Native 

 Flowering-plants," by Mr. D. Petrie. 



At the annual meeting (25th February, 1918) the annual report and 

 audited financial statement was read to the meeting, and ordered to be 

 printed and distributed among the members. 



Abstract. 



The report which the Council now presents to the members marks the completion 

 of the fiftieth year of the existence of the society. At the conclusion of such a period 

 it is natural that the governing bod}', while paying full attention to the requirements 

 of the present, should also concern itself with the demands of the future ; or, in other 

 winds, take into consideration the subsequent aims and development of the Institute 

 and Museum. The first part of the report will therefore contain the customary account 

 of the activities of the society during the past year, while in the second will be given a 

 brief statement of those views regarding future development that have been discussed 

 at various meetings of the Council, and also (lie final conclusions that have been 

 arrived at. 



Members. — Mainly through a special canvass undertaken by the Hon. E. Mitchelson 

 and another member of the Council, no less than eighty-eight new members have been 

 elected during the year. On the other hand, twenty-nine names have been withdrawn— 

 fourteen from death, ten from resignation, and five from non-payment of subscription 

 for more than two consecutive years. The net gain is thus fifty-nine, the number on 

 the roll at the present time being 450. 



Finance. — Full information respecting the financial position of the society is given 

 in the balance-sheets appended to the report ; hut the following brief synopsis may be 

 useful. The total revenue of the Working Account, after deducting the balance in hand 

 at the beginning of the year, has been £1,827 16s. 7d. This compares favourably with 

 the amount for the previous year, which was £1,741 12s. (id., showing an increase of 

 £86 4s. Id. Examining the various items, it will be seen that the members' subscrip- 

 tions have yielded £420, being an advance of t46 4s. on last year's figures. The receipts 

 from the .Museum Endowment, consisting of rents and interest, have amounted to 

 £713 12s. lid., evidencing a slight decrease. On the other hand, the receipts from the 

 invested funds of the Costley Bequest, which have yielded £453 18s. Id., are slightly 

 larger than last year's amount. The remaining items call for no special remark. The 

 expenditure has amounted to £1,763 lis. 4<l. 



Proposals suggesting a reform of the New Zealand Institute were submitted for 

 the consideration of the Council by the Wellington Philosophical Society. The most 

 important of these involved changes in the membership of the Institute which, if carried 

 out in their original shape, would have injuriously affected most of the incorporated 

 societies. The proposals were considered at the recent meeting of the Hoard of 

 Governors in Wellington, and it is now regarded as probable that most of the objection- 

 able features will be eliminated. 



