Haast. — On the Early History of the Canterbury Museum. 513 



large as possible, I appealed, by circular and through the newspapers — the 

 proprietors of which have always lent me a willing hand — to the inhabitants 

 of the Province, and in a few months I raised the sum of £483 lis. The 

 list of subscriptions was headed by our fellow- citizen, Mr. George Gould, 

 with £30, and was the first of the many valuable gifts with which this large- 

 hearted man, always willing and ready to render assistance at every oppor- 

 tunity when help is required, enriched the Canterbury Museum. We had 

 therefore a sum of £1,683 lis. at our disposal, and as the Provincial 

 Government gave also the stone wanted for the building, we were enabled 

 to erect a room 70 feet long and 35 feet broad, with a gallery running round 

 the walls, thus giving additional space, and a lean-to 35 feet long and 12 

 feet broad for an office and a work-room. The building was begun in March 

 of 1869, and handed over by the contractor at the end of the same year. 



Like a number of observing men, I had long ago come to the conclusion 

 that the days of Provincialism would soon be numbered, and that Centrali- 

 zation would supersede the former system. The Superintendents, Members 

 of Executives, and Provincial Councils in the General Assembly, formed 

 such a powerful party that any Ministry, even with the most Provincial 

 tendencies, found it impossible to steer the General Government barque 

 without suffering constantly from the influence of Provincial cross seas. 

 At the same time it became evident that at the rate the waste lands were 

 being sold, such an easy source of revenue would some day come to an end, 

 and that then those institutions which were more or less regarded as a 

 luxury would suffer most seriously, the more so if central institutions of the 

 same character had to be maintained at the public cost. 



Consequently, at the end of February, 1869, I handed another memo- 

 randum to the Provincial Secretary, in which the cause of the Museum in 

 connection with technical science and education was pleaded, urging upon 

 the Government to make reserves for the purpose in good time. However, 

 the proposal of the Provincial Government in that direction, made to the 

 Council in May of the same year, did not lead to any result, although only 

 an endowment of 5,000 acres of agricultural land was asked for. Never- 

 theless we did not lose all hope, and the Philosophical Institute, together 

 with other friends of science, continued to move in that direction, till at 

 last — thanks to the enlightened policy of the Executive of which Mr. Walter 

 Kennaway was the head, and Mr. W. P. Cowlishaw the Provincial Solicitor — 

 the necessary reserves of waste lands were made for that purpose in the 

 session of 1872. 



The first step towards this desirable object was, however, made on the 

 24th November, during the meeting of the Provincial Council in 1870, 

 during which Mr. W. Kennaway succeeded Mr. E. Jollie as Provincial 



57 



