336 OPENING ADDRESS.—MACGREGOR. 
would need to have a corps of local collectors. A corps of paid 
collectors is perhaps out of the question, but a corps of volunteer 
collectors may perhaps be organised among the members of the 
Institute, which could give him very material assistance, pro- 
viding him not only with specimens to fill up lacunz in his 
local collections, but with duplicates which he could utilise in 
obtaining from abroad, by exchange, specimens which are required 
for his typical collections and which cannot be obtained at home. 
And finally, the Institute may be of assistance to the museum 
in discharging its functions as the nucleus of a technical school, 
by providing volunteer lecturers in departments of science in 
which the curator may need assistance. In efforts which have 
been made in this direction in the past, our members have been 
ready to assist, and in an effort such as I have sketched, which 
would have less of discouragement and more of hope, they may 
be relied upon to put their shoulders to the wheel. 
I think I owe you no apology, though I have occupied so much of 
your time this evening with a discussion which adds nothing to the 
sum total of human knowledge, but is of an essentially practical 
nature. For the maintenance and adequate development of our 
Provincial Museum is of the very greatest consequence in the 
work in which we are engaged, of increasing, so faras our efforts 
can increase it, the knowledge of our local natural science. But 
while we have this strong scientific interest in urging upon the 
government a progressive policy in this respect, we have also the 
interest of all good citizens, believing, as I have no doubt we all 
do, that scientific interest and practical interest go in this case 
hand and hand. 
