486 Proceedings. 



closer touch, with the people, and that the relation of the Institute to the 

 progress of the Dominion, both materially and intellectually, should become 

 more fully understood. 



The New Zealand Institute had its beginnings in certain small societies 

 which were formed at Nelson and Wellington respectively in the early days 

 of those provinces. The colonists had brouglit with them the freedom 

 and the manners and customs of the Motherland, and, so equipped, their 

 intention was to form a Britain in this far south. Evidently some of 

 these colonists were not forgetful of those splendid British learned societies 

 which had their origin in that small coterie — soon to become the Royal 

 Society — which met in London in 1651, even while the Civil War was 

 raging. Therefore quite early certain scientific bodies were established . The 

 Nelson Society yet remains as the Nelson Institute. The New Zealand 

 Society founded in Wellington in 1851 by Sir George Grey soon became 

 defunct owing to the departure of its gifted founder from New Zealand. 

 In 1859 a new society, but bearing the same name, was formed in 

 Wellington. Some years later, at the instance of Bishop Abraham, the 

 name was changed to the " Wellington Pliilosophical Society."' In 1862 

 the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury was founded, and, later on, the 

 Auckland Institute. All the above bodies had as their main, though ]iot 

 their sole, object the prosecution of scientific research. Amongst the earliest 

 workers the names of Buchanan, Buller, Colenso, Haast, Hector, Monj-o, 

 Sinclair, and Travers stand out prominently. These small societies were 

 greatly hampered not only through lack of funds, but for want of a local 

 journal in which the results of the investigations of their members could 

 be published. This crying need was met by the establishment in 1867 of 

 the New Zealand Institute by means of an Act of the General Assembly. 

 The Institute as thus constituted consisted of a Board of Governors, three 

 of whom were members ex officio, six were nominated by the Government, 

 and three were elected by the Board of Governors from nominees of the 

 incorporated societies. Dr. (afterwards Sir James) Hector, F.E.S., was 

 appointed Manager — a position unknown in learned societies in general. 

 This important post he filled most ably until his retirement from the Public 

 Service in the year 1903. 



The societies originally incorporated with the New Zealand Institute 

 were the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Auckland Institute, the 

 Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, and the Westland Naturalists" and 

 Acclimatization Society. A year later (1869) the Otago Institute was incor- 

 porated, and in 1874 and 1875 the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute. 

 Each incorporated society had by statute to consist of " not less than 

 twenty-five members, subscribing in the aggregate a sum of not less than 

 fifty pounds sterling annually for the promotion of art, science, or such 

 other branch of knowledge for which it is associated." Moreover, each 

 incorporated society had to spend not less than one-third of its annual 

 revenue towards a local public museum or library, or towards the exten- 

 sion or maintenance of the museum and library of the New Zealand 

 Institute. 



This provision has led to the building-up of scientific libraries in 

 Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, which, though inade- 

 quate for many classes of research, have been and still are of no small 

 benefit to New Zealand science. 



The most important feature of the New Zealand Institute was, however, 

 that it provided, and at first adequately enough, for the publication of 



