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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4944, 26 January 1877, Page 2

Some time ago a project was mooted for the establishment of a Colonial Museum in England, and occasionally we_ have referred to what is being done in the matter. The idea has germinated in Victoria, and from the interest taken in the matter there would appear to be every prospect of success. It would seem by the Melbourne papers that a scheme has been forwarded Home by the Governor of Victoria. The proposed site, as has been previously stated, is on the Thames Embankment, having an area of 110,000 square feet. The shape of the ground is somewhat irregular, and the greatest length would be 500 feet, and the greatest depth 260 feet* or an- average depth of 200 feet. There would he a frontage to the embankment and along Whitehall-place, both main lines of communication. The value of the land is estimated at not less than £200,000. Separate museum space would be provided for each of the great colonies, and the offices of the Agent-General and the Crown Agents for the Colonies would be iucluded in the building. It is estimated that from 50,000 to 75,000 square feet would be required for museum purposes for the colonies, and 35,000 square feet for the offices. About 20,000 square feet would be required for apace for a colonial reading-room and library, for lecture and meeting-rooms, and for a “ trade museum,” in which the products of all the colonies, and of India, would be shown by the side of each other, and in comparison- with all the corresponding products to be found in the market of the world. These requirements would be met by a three-storied building consisting of a basement, ground floor, and top floor, forming, in combination with the India Museum, a quadrangle built round a court. It is estimated that the cost to each; colony of every square foot of ground (internal measurements, enclosed by its section) would amount roughly to £5 10s. : New Zealand has intimated that it would require about 6000 square feet for museum purposes. On this basis, the share of New Zealand in the Colonial Museum would amount to £22,000, the payment of which would be spread over three years. A building affording 180,000 square feet ot space would cost about £250,000. The cost of the annual maintenance of the institution is roughly calculated at about £IO,OOO, of which one-half would be provided by the mother country, and the other half by the colonies jointly, amounting to about 2,1 per cent, on the total outlay of each colony for its share in the museum.