H.—25.

Sess. 11.—1891. NEW ZEALAND.

NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE, 1890-91. (TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Meetings of the Board have been held on the following dates : 29th November, 1890 ; 10th April and 3rd August, 1891. The following gentlemen were elected Governors of the Institute by the incorporated societies in conformity with the Act: Mr. J. McKerrow, Mr. S. Percy Smith, and Mr. A. S. Atkinson. The members who retired from the Board in conformity with section 6 of the Act are the Hon. Mr. Mantell, Mr. W. T. L. Travers, and Mr. T. Mason, and all these gentlemen were reappointed by His Excellency the Governor. During the year the following gentlemen have been elected honorary members of the Institute: Professor C. V. Eiley, of Washington; Professor Otto Nordstedt, of Sweden; and Professor Liversidge, of Sydney. The Board regret to have to record the loss by death of one distinguished honorary member— viz., Sir Frederick A. Weld, G.C.M.G., who was elected in 1877. The members now on the roll of the Institute are: Honorary members, 28 ; ordinary members —Auckland Institute, 205; Hawkes Bay Philosophical Institute, 99 ; Wellington Philosophical Society, 151; Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 98 ; Nelson Philosophical Society, 38 ; Westland Institute, 76 ; Otago Institute, 117; Southland Institute, 72 : making a total of 884. The volumes of Transactions now in stock are —Vol. I. (second edition), 266; Vol. V., 28; Vol. VI., 28- Vol. VII., 120; Vol. IX., 120; Vol. X., 153; Vol. XL, 43; Vol. XII., 48; Vol. XIII., 48; Vol. XIV., 70; Vol. XV., 183; Vol. XVI., 180; Vol. XII., 200; Vol. XVIII., 163; Vol. XIX., 175; Vol. XX., 175; Vol. XXI., 100; Vol. XXII., 100; Vol. XXIII., not yet fully distributed. The volume of Transactions just published (XXIII.) was issued in July, and contains sixty-four articles, also addresses and abstracts of articles which appear in the proceedings. The volume contains 680 pages of letterpress and 49 plates. The following is a comparison of the contents of the present with that of last year's volume : — 1891. 1890. Pages. Pages. Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 136 142 Zoology ... ... ... ... ... 236 244 Botany ... ... ... ... ... 72 56 Chemistry ... ... ... ... 4 Geology ... ... ... ... ... 144 62 Proceedings ... ... ... ... ... 48 52 Appendix ... ... ... ... ... 44 47 680 607 The cost of printing Vol. XXII. of the Transactions was £284 6s. 9d. for 607 pages, and that for Vol. XXIII. £296 12s. 6d. for 680 pages. The Honorary Treasurer's accounts for the year is appended, and shows a balance in hand of £51 10s. Id. The amount devoted to the printing of memoirs, in accordance with resolution of May, 1885, is £525; and the sum of £150 has been allotted for the printing of papers postponed from previous years. A memorandum giving an account of the work done by the Institute since its organization is appended hereto. Approved by the Board, Jambs Hectob. W. B. D. Mantell, Manager. Chairman. 3rd August, 1891.