512 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
arrangements might be made for the purpose—an offer which was accepted 
by the Provincial Government. A new Executive had in the meantime 
taken the reins of the Government, of which Mr. W. Montgomery was the 
head of the Executive, and Mr. E. Jollie, Provincial Secretary, who con- 
sented to try again if they could not obtain a vote for the erection of a 
proper museum. The Provincial Council having the year previous refused 
a vote of £2,500 for a substantial building in stone, only the sum of £800 
was placed on the estimates for a wooden building. 
That portion of the Provincial Council which looked upon museums, 
libraries, and similar institutions as luxuries, in which the Province could 
only indulge after more than ample provision had been made for roads and 
bridges, demurred again, this time on the ground that the collections belong- 
ing to the Province were now too valuable to be placed in a building of such 
dangerous character, so the Executive seeing its way to carry the object in 
view, at once raised the proposed vote to £1,200, promising at the same 
time to erect a stone building, and carried the vote rather unexpectedly m 
that form. And thus the accomplishment of such a desirable object, 
towards which a great deal of energy had been expended, was at last 
brought to a favourable termination. A further sum of £150 was voted for 
show-cases, and during the same session I was appointed Director of the 
Museum. 
If there had been a proper bridge leading into the park near Christ's 
College, a piece of ground in the park would have been set aside for museum 
purposes, but as it did not exist the only other desirable position available 
was in the Public Domain. One or two members of the Domain Board, of 
whom Mr. C. C. Bowen was principal spokesman, thought that the Museum 
should not only be erected in the centre of the grass-plot near the chief ae 
entrance of the garden, but that a plan for a more extensive museum build- 
ing should at once be adopted, of which a small portion could be built with 
the amount voted, and as new grants of money were obtained, further build- 
ings would be added. Mr. E. Jollie, howéver, whose opinion was shared 
by other members of the Domain Board, knowing, from his own experienc? 
with what trouble the vote for the building had been carried, firmly believed 
that, at least for a considerable time to come, no more money for farther 
additions could be obtained. He therefore decided that the building should 
be erected on a small triangular piece of grass-land in the north-eastern 
corner of the domain, and that the small path leading to the murseri@S 
should not be disturbed. OF cs 41. d 7 a ds to be removed, a S 
