608 Proceedings. 



more than two consecutive years. The Council would point out that 

 the chief aim of the Institute — the maintenance of a free public museum 

 for the instruction and entertainment of the people of Auckland — is one 

 which appeals to the sympathies of all classes, and should command a 

 liberal amount of support. 



Finance. — The total revenue of the General Account, excluding the 

 balance of £123 9s. 3d. in band at the commencement of the year, has 

 been £2,108 2s. Id. In comparing this amount with that received during 

 the previous year, it is necessary to bear in mind that it includes the two 

 exceptional items of £1,000 (being the Government grant for the erec- 

 tion of the new hall) and £150 received on account of the Mac- 

 kechnie bequest for the purchase of groups of large animals. Deducting 

 these two sums, the ordinary revenue is seen to have been £958 2s. Id., 

 showing an increase cf £85 3s. 6d. on the receipts for 1903-4. Of the 

 separate items, the largest is the interest derived from the invested funds 

 of the Copley bequest, amounting to £371 19s. Last year the receipts 

 under this head were £357 10s. The Museum endowment, in rents and 

 interest, has jielded £310 5s. 10d., a sum almost precisely equal to that of 

 the previous year. The members' subscriptions show a slight decrease, 

 although not one of any great moment. The remaining items call for no 

 special remark. The total expenditure has amounted to £2,231 lis. 4d. 

 It includes several items of an exceptional nature, the largest being the 

 cost of the new hall, amounting to £1,082 2s. 3d., a sum considerably in 

 excess of the Government grant. A payment of £147 7s. 3d. has been 

 made in connection with the groups of large animals being prepared for 

 the Museum, while the erection of the Maori house has drawn largely on 

 the funds of the Institute. It has also been necessary to incur a consider- 

 able expenditure in repairs to the caretaker's house, and in alterations to 

 the windows at the eastern end of the main hall. Adding all these pay- 

 ments to the ordinary expenditure required for the maintenance of the 

 institution, the year's operations show a debit balance of £29 7s. 6d. 

 There is no change of importance with respect to the invested funds of 

 the Institute, the total amount of which is £16,263 12s. 5d., showing an 

 increase of £36 9a. 3d. during the year. 



Museum. — The register kept by the janitor shows that the total 

 number of visitors on Sundays has been 13,716, or an average of 263 for 

 each Sunday. The greatest attendance was 474, on the 12th February; 

 the smallest 91, on the 31st July. For the six principal holidays of the year 

 — New Year's Day, 2nd January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, King's 

 Birthday, and Boxing Day— the total attendance was 1,869, being an 

 average of 313 for each day. On week-days the \isitors can only be 

 occasionally counted, and the attendance varies so much, according to 

 weather and other circumstances, that it is not easy to form a reliable 

 estimate, but the average daily attendance cannot be far from a hundred. 

 This would make a total of 30,700, or of 46,285 for the whole year. Last 

 year the estimated number was 45,360. A hall 50 ft. square has been 

 erected in the space between the statue-hall and the main hall. One- 

 half has been reserved for the Maori carved house, Rangitihi, which is 

 now being erected on it; the other half will form an exhibition gallery 

 for foreign anthropological specimens. The total cost of the building, 

 including architect's fees and all other expenses, has been £1,082 2s. 3d., 

 the surplus over the Government grant being provided for out of the 

 ordinary revenue of the Institute. The Council trust that the present 

 year will see the completion of a new and important exhibit in the shape 

 of the Maori house Rangitihi, the carvings of which have been in their 

 possession for several years past. A start was made with its erection 

 immediately after the completion of the new hall, and the elaborately 

 carved side-posts are now all in position. The ridge-post, together with 

 the central post, or poutokomanawa, has been set up, and the rafters are 

 now being prepared. Arrangements are now being made for obtaining 



