Obituary. - vii 



When he died, Augustus Hamilton, though nut an old man, was the 

 hist of the old generation of New Zealand naturalists. He had, in some 

 degree, made a name as a botanist, as a geologist, and as a zoologist ; but 

 his fame, if fhe future holds fame for him, will come to him as one who 

 made a national collection as no one else could have done, and as one who 

 laid the foundations on which will rest the science of Maori technology and 

 Maori art. 



In closing this brief review, a student of that subject which Augustus 

 Hamilton made his own may pay a tribute to the unfailing kindliness which 

 put at the service of the youngest inquirer his immense stores of information, 

 and to his exhaustless patience in rendering accessible the treasures placed 

 with such inadequate equipment under his guardianship and control. 



H. I). Skinner. 



JAMES STEWART, SVl.Enst.C.E. 



James Stewart was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1832, and was 

 educated at the Perth Academy. After practising for some years as a 

 civil engineer in Perth he came to Auckland in 1859 and entered upon the 

 practice of his profession. Here he was successful in obtaining the award 

 offered for a design for the Auckland waterworks, and in 1862 he was 

 appointed Engineer to the Auckland City Board of Works. After render- 

 ing useful service in the Waikato War, he held various public offices and 

 prepared the designs for many important works, and in 1874 the whole 

 of the railway-works in Auckland were placed under his charge as District 

 Engineer. In 1881, owing to the need for retrenchment, he was retired 

 from the public service and recommenced private practice, and for many 

 years was looked upon as the leader of his profession in Auckland, and 

 few important engineering-works were carried out without his opinion being 

 first obtained. 



During this strenuous career he still found time to devote his attention 

 to subjects outside his profession, and from the first took an active interest 

 in the proceedings of the Auckland Institute. Mr. Stewart was one of the 

 original members of the Institute, having joined it on its formation in 1868. 

 With two short intervals, he has been a member of the Council since 1871. 

 He was President in 1890, and again in 1901. Since 1903 he has been one 

 of the representatives of the Institute on the Board of Governors. In 1906 

 he was appointed a Trustee of the Institute, a position which he occupied 

 at the time of his death. His sound practical knowledge and good common- 

 sense were of great service to the Institute, and his opinions were always 

 received with respect. In the Index to the first forty volumes of the Tran- 

 sactions of the New Zealand Institute Mr. Stewart's name appears as the 

 author of fifteen communications printed in the Transactions, 



