Auckland Institute. 631 



Abstract of Annual Report. 



In accordance with the rules of the society, the Council have now to 

 present to their members their thirty-sixth annual report on the financial 

 and general condition of the Institute, and its progress during the past 

 year. 



Members. — Sixteen new members have been elected during the year. 

 On the other hand, fourteen names have been withdrawn from the roll, 

 six from death, four from resignation, and four from non-payment of 

 subscription for more than two consecutive years. There is thus a net 

 gain of two, the number on the roll at the present time being 165. The 

 members removed by death are Messrs. A. D. Austin, W. Berry, A. 

 Buckland, J. Chambers, L. Cussen, and J. Hume, nearly all of whom 

 have been associated with the Institute for many years. 



Finance. — For full information respecting the financial position of 

 the Institute reference should be made to the balance-sheets appended 

 to this report, but the following abstract may be useful : The total 

 income of the Working Account, omitting the balance of £.59 18s. 6d. on 

 hand at the commencement of the year, has been £872 18s. 7d. This 

 shows a slight increase on the amount realised last year, which was 

 £851 14s. 8.1. Examining the separate items, it will be seen that the 

 Museum Endowment, which now constitutes one of the chief sources of 

 the revenue of the society, has yielded £344 13s. 4d., the amount for the 

 previous year being £375 15s. 7d. The invested funds of the Costley 

 bequest have contributed £357 10s., the sum for 1902-3 beiug £325 

 13s. 9d. From the members' subscriptions £131 5s. has been received, 

 showing a reduction of £10 10s. on the amount for last year. The total 

 expenditure has been £809 7s. lOd., leaving a balance of £123 9s. 3d. in 

 the Bank of New Zealand. The Council are glad to report that the 

 invested funds of the society are in a satisfactory state. The total 

 amount at the present time is £16,226 12s. 5d., showing an increase of 

 £2,230 6s. 3d. during the year. The addition consists of the Mackechnie 

 bequest of £2,000 for the endowment of the library, presently to be 

 alluded to, and a sum of £2.30 derived from the sale of certain portions 

 of the landed endowment of the Museum. 



Meetings. — Nine meetings have been held during the year. 



Museum. — With the exception of a short period devoted to cleaning 

 and rearrangement, the Museum has been open daily to the public 

 throughout the year during the usual hours — from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 

 week-days, and from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The attendance of visitors 

 has been satisfactory. The register kept by the janitor shows that on 

 Sunday afternoons 13,377 people entered the building, being an average of 

 2.57 for each Sunday. The greatest attendance was 378 on the 23rd 

 August ; the smallest 80 on 5th July. On the five chief holidays of the 

 year — New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, King's Birthday, 

 and Boxing Day — the total attendance was 1,181, or an average of 236 for 

 each day. On ordinary week-days the visitors can only be occasionally 

 counted ; but the average attendance is certainly not less than 100 per 

 day. With the number previously given, a calculation on this basis 

 would make the total attendance to be 45,360. Last year the number was 

 estimated at 43,956. It is worthy of remark that the average attendance on 

 Sunday afternoon, when the Museum is only open for three hours, is in 

 excess of the average for the chief holidays, when the Museum is open for 

 the whole day. 



In the report for the previous year the Council stated that an applica- 

 tion had been made to the Government for a pound-for-pound subsidy 

 equivalent to the amout (£1,000) subscribed by the citizens of Auckland 

 for the purchase of the Mair Collection of Maori Antiquities. During the 



