THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE. 61 
Scientific bodies, perhaps above all others, are impatient of 
official control, and for their expansion and vigorous progress 
the most perfect freedom of action is necessary. But the consti- 
tution of the Institute as pourtrayed here is that essentially of 
a Government department, its Board being almost exclusively 
nominated, and the powers of the incorporated societies reduced 
toa minimum. It may be urged, of course, that at the date of 
its formation, in order to make a start and to foster the growth 
of a scientific society in our midst, it was necessary to secure a 
definite constitution and nominate a controlling body which 
would be composed of names well-known to the ruling powers 
as those of men of intelligence and ability. There may be some 
truth and force in this, but there should have been sufficient elas- 
ticity in the Act to allow of more representation of affiliated so- 
cieties when these were able to take their place as members of 
the central body. To-day the N.Z. Institute is an anomalous 
body ina community so imbued with democratic principles as 
this is; and above all it is an anomaly among scientific societies. 
Science seldom thrives under too much official patronage, and 
the Institute is an exemplification of this principle. Evidently 
the first alteration required is that of its Board of Governors, 
which, trom being chiefly nominated, should be made chiefly 
elective. An elected Board would probably attend much better 
to its duties than a nominated one. It would also be much 
more independent in its action, which is a point of great import- 
ance, as a Government, like a private individual, is often the 
better of being stirred up, which is not likely to be done for it by 
its nominees. | 
If we now seek to find out how far the principles of the In- 
stitute are being fulfilled at the present time, we learn that while 
its officials are all busily employed, the Board itself is little more 
than a myth. On turning to the fourteenth annual report of the 
N.Z. Institute—that for 1881 (Trans. Vol. XV.), which is the last 
published—we read that the Board held meetings an the 28th 
July and 11th November. How many of the twelve members 
were present is not said. It is, however, quite manifest that at 
these two meetings, the whole business of the Board—which in- 
cludes the management of the museum, of the geological survey, 
of three libraries (apparently), of meteorological stations, of the 
Wellington observatory, of the Colonial laboratory, and of the 
various publications of the Society—for the past twelve months, 
could not be satisfactorily disposed of. It may be that the Board 
appoints committees to look after each of these departments in 
detail; but if such is the case, the fact is not stated in the re- 
ports. It would appear from this, that the Board has allowed 
its functions to lapse entirely, meeting probably as a matter of 
form on very rare occasions to hear what their manager has to 
tell them. That the work of the Institute has gone on at all, is 
due not to the energy of the Board, but to that of the manager 
and his assistants. | 
When we look more into detail we find great room for im- 
