146 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



materials already accumulated. For years past an immense amount of 

 material illustrating the natural history of these islands must have come 

 into the hands of the Museum authorities, but without means, no 

 Curator can do anything in the way of preserving and suitably exhi- 

 biting such material, and so its educational value is entirely lost. The 

 collections of the geological survey alone are mostly stored in boxes 

 where no one ever sees them. 



Another direction in which the action of the present House and 

 Government will be critically surveyed both within and outside the 

 Colony is in its bearing towards the proposed Antarctic Exploration 

 expedition. The important additions to be made to a knowledge of the 

 unknown regions surrounding the South Pole will hardly commend 

 themselves to our present rulers as a raison cV etre for the proposed 

 expedition. But the possibilities of opening up valuable whale and 

 other fisheries which from their geographical position would probably 

 be largely controlled from New Zealand ports is an argument which 

 may carry considerable weight. 



We hear sinister rumours about the intention of certain Hon. 

 members to move in the direction of repealing the New Zealand 

 Institute Act. The total cost to the Colony under this Act is a sum of 

 ,£500 voted annually for the publication of the volume of its Tran- 

 sactions. We venture to affirm that there are few amounts for which 

 the Colony gets better value, and which bring equal credit on the 

 community. The suppression of the annual vote would be stigmatised 

 and properly so, as the result of ignorance. 



There have been already, on the part of the so-called "labour" 

 representatives in the present House, indications that they will give 

 careful consideration to questions of the nature hinted at above. The 

 real danger to enlightened administration does not, however, lie so 

 much with this class as with that very considerable section of " clap- 

 trap " politicians, who will do anything to catch a little cheap applause, 

 and who are the most dangerous class when questions of education 

 and science are concerned. 



SOURCE OF THE GOLD AT THE THAMES. 



BY CAPTAIN F. W. HUTTON, F.G.S. 



The geological structure of the Thames district is as follows : — 

 A sedimentary formation composed of dark coloured sandstones and 

 slates, which are not younger than Triassic, is overlain quite uncon- 

 formably by a younger volcanic formation, in which all the gold 

 mines are situated. So far nearly all New Zealand geologists are in 

 agreement; but opinions differ as to whether any long interval of 

 time separates the volcanic rocks into two distinct series, the older of 

 which is alone auriferous, or whether all should be considered as 

 parts of one series. 



