E.—

To many my thanks are due for assistance aud support during the past year, notably the Bailway Commissioners, Locomotive Superintendent, officers of the locomotive department, and Messrs. Scott Bros., who received matriculated students in their works during the vacation free of charge. I have, &c, Bobt. J. Scott, The Chairman, Board of Governors. M. Inst. M.E., A. M. Inst. CE. lII.—REPORT OP THE CURATOR OP THE MUSEUM. Sic,— Ist July, 1893. I have the honour to submit my report on the work done in the Museum during the past year. The chief improvements have been: (1.) The rearrangement of the collections in the antiquity and ethnological rooms, which I pointed out in my last report as being necessary. (2.) The addition of new cases to the New Zealand room, which has enabled me to rearrange the gallery and to exhibit to the public a large collection of moa bones ; and (3.) The mounting and labelling the collection of foreign fossils, a work on which Mr. H. Suter was engaged for seven months, and which he has completed in a most satisfactory manner. Satisfactory arrangements were made with Dr. H. de Lautour last July for retaining the collection of moa bones from Enfield; and three skeletons of moas were mounted by Mr. Sparks and taken by him to Oamaru last August, where they were handed over to Dr. de Lautour, Mr. W. Meek, and the Oamaru Athenaeum, according to agreement. A skeleton of Dinornis robustus was sent to Sir Walter Buller last February for the New Zealand Court at the Imperial Institute in London. It it is to remain the property of the Canterbury Museum until the Institute sends in exchange a group of Maoris —man, woman, and girl— modelled- in wax of life size. Several cases of petty larceny having occurred in the mineralogical room during the last few years, I removed all the valuable gold specimens and diamonds into a specially secired case, placed, in a conspicuous position in the ethnological room, which is rarely without visitors, and I have improved the fastenings in the mineralogical room. Since these were done there have been no further losses. During the year exchanges have been made with the Museums in Auckland, Wanganui, Dunedin, Brisbane, and Copenhagen, as well as with Mr. Aug. Hamilton, Mr. J. J. Kinsey, Mr. E. G. Sealey, and Mr. J. Brazier. Others are in course of arrangement. I have to report satisfactorily of the way in which the members of the Museum staff have performed their several duties. I have to acknowdedge the kindness of the Agent-General in selecting a series of wood carvings in London, and also for receiving and forwarding cases for the Museum. I have also to thank the Inspector of Police for allowing a constable to be present in the Museum on Sunday afternoons. Statuary Boom. —In this room the pictures have had printed labels attached. A portrait in oils of the late Bey. James Buller has been presented by Mr. W. Moor, and three more pictures have been deposited by the Canterbury Society of Arts. lam given to understand that the Society of Arts is about to build a gallery for the reception of the pictures belonging to it now deposited in the Museum. When they are removed considerable changes will have to be made in the arrangement of this and the antiquity rooms. Antiquity Boom. —The modern china and glass have been removed from this room, and the pre-historic antiquities have been brought up from the ethnological room and rearranged. The four large Etruscan cinerary urnS have been placed in a glass case, to prevent them from being damaged. The principal additions are a large engraving of Trajan's Column, presented by Mr. Dominick Brown, and a plan and diary of the Siege of Colchester, printed in 1648, presented by Mr. F. H. Satchell. Mr. B. W. Mountfort has deposited a set of plaster casts of the celebrated statuettes of the twelve Apostles, from the shrine of St. Sebald at Nuremberg, the originals of which were modelled by Beter Vitken in a.d. 1505. Ethnological Boom. —The pre-historic antiquities have been removed to the antiquity room, and the modern china and glass have been again placed in the cases they occupied in 1888. The principal additions are a large and valuable collection of articles illustrating the manufactures of the Indians of Alaska, which was presented by the Veil. Archdeacon Lingard. These articles were collected by Mr. W. E. Lingard, who formed part of the expedition to survey the boundary-line between British and American territory. Also some Japanese bronzes, and a small collection of wood carvings, chiefly Scandinavian, presented by the Curator, and selected for him in London by the Agent-General. Foreign Natural History Boom. —Coloured maps showing the geographical distribution of the principal groups of mammals and birds have been placed in the cases, and a glass case which had been left unfinished for the last two years has been finished, and filled with marsupials. The collections of Crustacea and echinodermata have been mounted on wooden tablets. The only additions to the collection in this room are a young fur seal, and the skeleton of a Cape Barron goose, which has been articulated and placed with the birds. Mineralogical Boom. —The type collection of rocks has been moved into the geological room, and some of the more valuable minerals have been placed for safety in a special case in the ethnological room, but no attempt has been made as yet to arrange the minerals. This I hope to undertake as soon as the University session is over. The principal additions are : Uranium ores, presented by Mr. J. D. Enys, and silver-ore from Chili, presented by Mr. Josiah Harding.

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