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in their support of the Museum. For example, he mentions that the Council used rooms in the Museum for the accommodation of classes while their buildings were being erected, leaving him from his £600 to pay for their coal and candle. I can state that had he asked the Council to pay the whole Museum bill for coal, and candle for 1878 and 1879 —amounting only to £5 17s. in one year and £7 or £8 in another—they would have done so, on the principle that it was not worth while making two bites of a cherry. The Council, besides paying Professor Hutton as Curator, laid out on the Museum, between 31st December, 1877, and 31st March, 1879, £1,017 4s. Id., including the £295 3s. Id., which strictly belonged to an earlier period. 2. Dr. Jlfacdonald.] Do you wish to remark on the answer to question 6828 ?—Having failed to obtain a refund of the assessments and other sums which the Council considered to be due —at all events, in equity —our Treasurer reported that the state of our funds required strict economy, and we considered that the services of the articulator —not the taxidermist—might be dispensed with for a time without much detriment to the Museum, and I was requested to give the necessary notice. On Captain Button's strong representations of the value of the articulator's services, the notice was given to the taxidermist, instead of the articulator, but was not acted upon.

Sev. Dr. Stuart, "~Z~

Thuesdat, 12th Febkuaky, 1880. Mr. GtEObge R. Babe sworn and examined. 3. The Chairman."] Are you a civil engineer ? —Yes. I have been in independent practice at Dunedin for seven years. Before that I was Provincial Engineer of Otago for four years. Previous to that I served an apprenticeship of seven years at Glasgow, and attended the lectures of Professor Rankine, in civil engineering, at Glasgow University. 4. Did you receive any diploma from the University ?—No. The University does not grant diplomas in engineering. I have certificates of attendance, and also of having gained two first prizes. 5. We understand that you wish to make some suggestions on the subject of the education of civil engineers ?—Yes. I have made some notes which, with your permission, I will read. I start with the assumption that young men intended for this profession will have their decision for it made not later than fifteen, and that from that time forward their training either at college, or in the office of some practising engineer, or both, will be specially for the profession. I take it for granted, also, that, at such age, the pupil will undergo an examination such as the Junior Civil Service, to test his proficiency in general subjects. I would propose that not later than eighteen he should be submitted to examination upon the following subjects, and that considerable knowledge of the general principles in each case should be required: Mathematics (Euclid, Algebra, and Plane Trigonometry); Natural Philosophy (including Statics, Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Hydraulics, Heat, Electricity, Optics, Astronomy, Pneumatics); Geology and Physical Geography; Mineralogy; Chemistry; Botany. At not later than twenty-five years of age he should be submitted to further examination in the above subjects, and especially be able to work out in figures special cases in Natural Philosophy, so as to insure that he understands the putting the various rules in practice. Also, in Geology, he should be able to identify the most of the rocks, and to construct geological plans and sections of a district. In Botany, to identify the most useful plants and trees, and especially, with the latter, to describe their characteristics and their value as to durability, strength, &c. In Mineralogy, ho should have a knowledge of the principal minerals, including the treatment and reduction of ores. In Chemistry, he should be practised in the laboratory so as to be able to perform analyses of rocks, water, sewage, &c. In addition to the above subjects, he should, at this age (twenty-five), show considerable proficiency in Principles of Construction in Masonry, Bridges, Foundations, Carpentry, Strength of Materials, Manufacture and Qualities of Cements and Limes, and Railway Engineering ; and in Mining Engineering so far as the principles of drainage and ventilation are concerned. For parts of natural philosophy, principles of construction, &c, no better textbook than Rankine's Manual of Civil Engineering could be got. Advancement in all the above subjects would require a considerable amount of time, and the practical carrying out would depend upon the relation between a University course and the practical work in an engineer's office. This is a matter of detail which would have to be settled by itself, and I do not think there would be any great difficulty in doing so by arrangement of hours of classes in the afternoons and evenings. If the above programme had to be broken for want of time, or any other cause, it would be well to insist upon considerable proficiency in Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and the Principles of Construction, and allow the pupil to take special honors in any two of the other subjects he might please. In any case, I think it would be well to allow special honors in the following, if the student should choose specially to study for them: Chemistry, in connection with Sanitary Engineering; Chemistry of Metals ; Hydraulics, with special reference to Irrigation and Supply of Towns; Mechanical Engineering; Marine Engineering; The natural products of the colony or particular district. 1 hare omitted any mention of surveying in the above, as all of it that can properly be learned at college would bo included under "Mathematics." The student should acquire a practical knowledge of it by regular apprenticeship, and before passing in civil engineering should undergo the already-established examination by the Government Survey Department. For higher-class certificate, however, I think it would be well to extend it so as to include geodesical surveying. It would not be compulsory that the candidate should pass the whole of the above at one examination; but he might do so session by session, so long as the whole are completed before the age of twenty-five. The machinery for accomplishing the above, and for certifying to the qualifications of an engineer, would require to be partly academical and partly practical, and the difficulty of the whole plan would probably consist in the amalgamation of these. I believe, However, that such difficulty would disappear if the work were earnestly taken in hand and improvements or modifications adopted as experience showed to be necessary. Ido not apprehend that there would be any difficulty in establishing examinations in the purely theoretical parts ; but there might

Mr. G. M. Barr. Feb. 12, 1880.