58 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
carvings, and implements—domestic, warlike, and industrial—to 
illustrate the former habits of the people, the collection contained 
some objects of special historical interest ; for example the iden- 
tical human-bone flute on which Tutanekai played to his lover, 
Hinemoa, on the banks of the Rotorua Lake, three hundred 
years ago; the curiously carved nose flute on which in ancient 
times the tohungas of the Ngatiraukawa practised their sacred 
music ; the genealogical stick by which “ King Tawhiao ” traces 
back his ancestry to the earliest of ¢apunas; and so forth. He 
had also employed the well-known Austrian artist, Lindauer, to 
paint life-size portraits of several of the more prominent chiefs ot 
the day, all in Maori costume, and typical faces of both sexes. 
The work had been admirably executed, and he felt sure that 
this series of pictures would possess great interest in after times. 
It must be remembered, however that individual effort laboured 
under many disadvantages, and it appeared to him that an ex- 
position of this kind, possessing a kind of national interest, 
should be undertaken by the Government and on a far more 
comprehensive scale. Dr. Buller concluded by saying that it was 
his intention, during his presidential year, to do his utmost to 
promote and encourage this particular branch of local research, 
and he then resumed his seat amid general applause. 
The Hon. Mr. Waterhouse said he had listened with great 
pleasure to the address, but he was surprised to hear so decided 
an opinion expressed as tothe rapid decline of the Maori people. 
He thought this view was scarcely borne out by the official stat- 
istics; but that, on the contrary, the Maoris throughout the 
colony were rather on the increase. The census returns might be 
accepted as relatively correct, and it appeared to him, from an 
examination of these returns, that there was a larger percentage 
of children among the Maoris than among the French. If true, 
this would go to prove that the Maoris were really on the increase. 
The subject was one of great interest, and he was glad to hearfrom 
Dr. Buller that he intended, during the coming year, to contribute 
some papers to the “Transactions,” because there was probably no 
one more competent to deal with the matter. As to the value of 
the “Transactions,” he entirely agreed with the president. He had 
long thought that it would be a wise thing to reprint the more in- 
teresting of the papers in a popular form for general circulation. 
The Hon. Mr. Hart said he took the same view as the last 
speaker. He believed that the general notion of rapid decrease 
among the Maoris was premature. It had yet to be proved that 
there was anactual diminution. So far, the statistics pointed to 
an opposite conclusion. 
Dr. Newman said he entirely agreed with the president. He 
had himself on a previous occasion expressed his belief, at a 
meeting of the Society, that the Maoris numbered only 35,000. 
He thought Dr. Buller was probably right in placing the number 
somewhat lower. On all hands were proofs of decrease, especi- 
ally in the Hawkes Bay district, with which he had been more ‘ 
intimately connected, He had no faith in census returns. Even 
