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the history the collection is exceedingly valuable, since its collection of Pacific literature is most comprehensive. The students are mostly young people from the colleges and the schools, and the subjects read during the year have been for biographies of New Zealand statesmen, educational periods in the history of New Zealand, labour movements, local administration —the pamphlet literature being found very useful and valuable. One advanced student has, been .comparing the various Cook journals, and from the Cook manuscripts in the library has gleaned material not contained in books so far printed. Another advanced student has interested himself in incunabula and various schools of printing—Kelmscott, Ashendene, &c. Visitors. —Five hundred and fifty persons have signed the visitors' book, and it is gratifying to hear the number from abroad who speak with a knowledge of the library gained from others from abroad who have been here. Schools also send classes from time to time ; arrangements for occasional lecture-talks are made, when subjects of interest to the children are dealt with. A good deal of time is taken up in the work of showing visitors over the library. Carter Collection. —During the year the valuable Carter collee:tion of books and pamphlets was moved from the Museum, anel is housed in the top room of the library. Value of lAbrary. —Seeing the mounting prices paid for various rare books, copu.s of which are in the library, it may be realized how quickly the commercial value of the library is increasing, apart from, its essential value as a reference library of Pacific works. Miscellaneous. —Besides visiting students, others resident in distant towns e>f the Dominion write for particulars either of books to read, or information on various subjects. Very many inquiries, both personally and by letter, are, made as to book-values. Work of the Staff. —Besides the ordinary work of cataloguing, making books ready for binding, arranging books on the shelves, and showing visitors over the library, the correspondence entails a large amount of typing and searching for information. A bibliography of Australian and New Zealand poets is being prepared by P. Serle, Victoria, and the text is being sent to the library, portion at a time, so that it may be compared with the collection here, and additions be made. A photostat collection of Mei-yon letters was obtained from the British Museum, and these letters are being transcribed and translated, from the French. They contain valuable information about Banks Peninsula during the period about the year 1842. Census and Statistics Opptce. The principal item during the last twelve months has been the compilation of the census results. All other branches of work have been carried on as usual, and several new departures have been made, the principal of which are referred to below. Census of 1921. —The compilation of the census statistics is proceeding apace, and so far the following publications have been issued : — Part I, Population ; Part 11, Ages ; Part VI, Race Aliens ; Part IX, Conjugal Condition. Interim Return No. I—Religions, Birthplaces, Allegiance, Race, Ages, Conjugal Condition ; Interim Return No. 2 —lndustries, Life Insurance, Orphanhood, Dependency, Length, of Residence. Appendix A, Maoris ; Appendix B, Cook and other Pacific Islands ; Appendix C, Western Samoa ; Appendix D, Libraries ; Appendix E, Religious Denominations ; Appendix F, Poultry and Bees. Three other parts (Religions, Birthplaces, and Nationalities) are in the press, and the remaining parts are; all in process of preparation. Port, Statistics. —The system of allocating exports to district of production, which had been in operation, from 191.4 to 1921 inclusive, was abandoned from the beginning of 1922, and the former system reverteel to. Under the system in force up to 1913, and now resumed, each port is simply credited, as regards overseas exports, with, the goods placed on the eiverseas vessel at the port. With a view to ascertaining the actual trade of each port, however, a complementary system has also been introduced whereby statistics are compiled of the total inwards anel outwards trade of each port, whether overseas or coastwise. Under this system each port is credited, on a tonnage basis, with all goods passing over its wharves, irrespective of whether goods shipped are inteneled for export abroad or for consumption in another part of the country. The difficulty with the district system in force from 1914 to 1921 was that it was not always possible to allocate exports to district of production. Again, the; principal argument advanced in favour of the district scheme was that it would show the relative productivity of the various districts. This it quite failed to do : it did not even show the surplus production, as surplus commodities produced in one portion of the country —as, for instance, Canterbury's wheat crop—might be used in other parts of the country and not exported at all. The proper source of information as to productivity of districts is the annual statistics of production. Fire-insurance Statistics. —When the present system of fire-insurance statistics was inaugurated in 1919 that portion of the regulations providing for the collection, of data from which to compile an experience for the various classes of risks wa,s held in abeyance, pending the preparation of a classification suitable to all. the offices concerned. The matter was left in the hands of a sub-committee representing the Fire Underwriters' Association, the State Fire Insurance Office, and this office, and a classification has now been evolved acceptable to all parties concerned. It has been arranged to commence the collection of data*from January next. Local-governing-body Statistics. —For some fifty years past statistics concerning the; activities of local governing bodies have been collected on a more or less voluntary basis. Power for the collection of these statistics exists in the Census and Statistics Act, the Municipal Corporations Act, and the Counties Act, and regulations have recently been made setting out the form of return and specifying the, obligations of local-body officials in regard to the furnishing of the returns. This course has been adopted to obviate the difficulties and delays experienced in the past in completing the statistical tables on account of the: unwillingness or neglect of a few officials to assist.