beginning of the year — '* Open your Galleries and 

 the pictures will come " ; whilst its bearing upon 

 the future may be summed up in another observation 

 that was made — " The Galleries are large, and will 

 take a lot of filling." Looking, however, upon what 

 has been accomplished, the Committee, and the Council 

 generally, cannot be too thankful that so many of 

 their fellow citizens have, by their handsome gifts, 

 contributed to the marked success of the year. 



At the risk of seeming a little premature, the 

 amount in question not yet having been received, the 

 Committee feel that they must refer to the generous 

 bequest of a thousand pounds from their late friend, 

 Mr. Alfred Capper Pass. The gift is as opportune as it 

 is generous, because, on account of their necessary expen- 

 diture in other directions, the Committee have been able 

 to do very little in the way of picture buying. With 

 the help of this bequest, and with time to recover from 

 the financial strain of the first year, they hope to do 

 much more. They fully realise that they must help 

 themselves through their regular income, if others are 

 to help them beyond it. 



So far, reference has been made only to the Art 

 Gallery, but the Committee have also felt that a great 

 responsibility rested upon them with regard to the 

 adjoining Natural History Museum. It was felt that 

 this must not be left to suffer by comparison with the 

 splendid and well-equipped Art Gallery, with which it 

 is connected, but that both structurally, and in the 

 arrangement of its contents, it should be made to 

 present as bright and orderly an appearance as possible. 

 To this end the Committee have carried out the many 

 improvements which are mentioned in the Curator's 

 report. Judging by what has come to their knowledge, 



