570 Proceedings. 



pataka, and also an item of £112 10s., balance of the Mackechnie bequest 

 for the purchase of groups of animals. Deducting these sums, the ordinary 

 revenue was £1,033 8s. 3d., and of this the receipts from the Museum 

 endowment amounted to £419 13s. 2d. The invested funds of the Costley 

 bequest yielded £355 12s. ; interest on the Mackechnie library bequest, 

 £96 10s. ; and the annual subscriptions, £147. The total expenditure 

 has been £1.236 2s. 4d., including £158 Is. 3d., balance of cost of the erec- 

 tion of the Maori house, and £139 18s. 3d. on account of the groups of 

 animals for the Museum. The credit balance in the Bank of New Zealand 

 is, therefore, £654 0s. 2d. The total amount of the invested funds of the 

 Institute is £16,308 4s. 3d. 



Ten meetings were held during the year, at which the following papers 

 were read : — ■ 



1. Introductory address by the President, Mr. E. V. Miller. 



2. " The Passing of the Maori," by the Rev. Archdeacon Walsh. 



3. " Science and Metaphysics," by Dr. R. Briffault. 



L " On the Vegetation of Mount Hector, Tararua Range," by D. Petrie. 



5. " Description of a New Species of Veronica," by D. Petrie. 



6. " Botanical Nomenclature," by T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S. 



7. " Translation of Dumont D'Urville's Account of his "Visit to Tasman 

 Bay," by S. Percy Smith. 



8. " The Composition of the Sun," by F. P. Worley, M.A. 



9. " The Disposal of City Sewage," by W. E. Bush, C.E. 



10. " The Struggle for Foreign Trade," by Professor H. A. Segar. 



11. " Maori Forest Lore," by Elsdon Best. 



12. " Contributions to a Fuller Knowledge of the New Zealand Flora," 

 by T. F. Cheeseman. 



13. " The Canoe that brought the Maoris to New Zealand ; or. a 

 Glimpse of Polynesia in the Past," by K. Watkins. 



14. " Additions to the New Zealand Fauna," by the Rev. W. H. 

 Webster. 



15. "Notes on the Destruction of Kumaras by Beetles," by Major 

 T. Broun. 



16. " On a Fungus {Cordyceps sp.) destructive to Scale Insects," by 

 Major T. Broun. 



17. "Notice of the Occurrence of certain Marine Reptilia in New 

 Zealand," by T. F. Cheeseman. 



18. "Notice of the Occurrence of the Lesser Frigate-bird in New 

 Zealand," by T. F. Cheeseman. 



The attendance of the public at the Museum for the past year is esti- 

 mated at 68,055, as against 62,551 for the previous year. After defraying 

 the balance due for the erection of the .Maori house, a sum of £500 re- 

 mained for expenditure in the Museum, and of this amount about £400 

 is being spent in providing a properly equipped workroom. Provision 

 is also being made for the exhibition of the collection of foreign (mainly 

 Polynesian) ethnographical specimens. The Hon. E. Mitchelson lias de- 

 posited his valuable collection of kauri-gum, probably the most com- 

 plete ever formed, and likely to possess still greater interest when the 

 trade in kauri-gum has become a memory of the past. 



Election of Officers for 1908. — President — E. V. Miller ; 

 Vice- Presidents— Professor F. D. Brown, M.A., and Professor 

 A. P. W. Thomas. M.A. ; Council— L. J. Bagnall, H. Haines, 

 IT. T). M. Haszard, J. Kirker, T. Peacock, D. Petrie. J. A. Pond, 

 .1. livid, Professor H. W. Segar, M.A., J. Stewart, C.E., J. H. 

 Upton; Trustees— Professor F. D. Brown, M.A., T. Peacock, 

 .1. Reid, J. Stewart, C.E., J. H. Upton ; Secretary and Curator— 

 T. F. Cheese,,,;, u, F.L.K., F.Z.S. ; Auditor— W. Gorrie. 



