A.—2.

the Bureau on the 19th May, 1926. The Director was of opinion that in spite of the reduced funds available it would be possible to make a start with this work on a smaller scale than had been proposed, and the committee accordingly empowered him to make arrangements to begin the work, on the understanding that the average annual expenditure would be £1,000, and not £1,440, as stated in the estimate on page 22 of the report of the Conference, and that for the present this expenditure would be met as regards £500 per annum from the annual income of the Bureau, and as regards the remainder from the accumulated balance of the Bureau. In this connection it may be recalled that the Conference recommended that, should the Bureau be requested to undertake the supply of a parasite which involves investigations of a costly nature, it should be open to the Director to represent to the Government concerned that the work cannot be undertaken without an additional grant for the purpose. 4. As regards the finances of the Bureau during the period of five years from 1926-27 to 1930-31, inclusive, I may say that the Governments of the Irish Free State, the Bahamas, and Basutoland have now intimated their willingness to make an annual contribution to the Bureau, in addition to the Governments which have previously given financial support to this institution. I enclose a list of the annual contributions which the managing committee of the Bureau hope to receive during the period in question. 5. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 15, of the 21st January, 1926, from which I note that your Ministers proposed to consider at the earliest opportunity the question of the annual revenue of the Bureau. I hope to learn from you in due course that they will be prepared to continue the grant from New Zealand funds as in previous years. I have, &c.. L. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosures. No. 1. Report of the Director of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology for the Year ended 31st March, 1926. At the Imperial Entomological Conference held last summer it was intimated that the Secretary of State for the Colonies would suggest to various contributing Governments certain alterations in the amounts of their grants for the upkeep of the Bureau, and these have now been agreed upon. In the great majority of cases the contributions remain the same as before, and the following statement shows the changes that have been made, last year's grant being given in brackets : — New contributions —Irish Free State, £50 ; Bahamas, £50 ; Basutoland, £25. Increased contributions —India, £500 (£300) ; Mauritius, £300 (£250) ; Straits Settlements, £250 (£200) ; Northern Rhodesia, £150 (£100) ; Palestine, £75 (£25). Reduced contributions—Hong Kong, £200 (£300) ; Zanzibar, £150 (£250) ; British North Borneo, £50 (£100) ; Leeward Islands, £40 (50). The result is a net increase of £265, giving a total income of £12,162, or, with the return from our investments and interest on deposits, approximately £12,500. We are thus still £500 short of the £13,000 which it was hoped to obtain, and this is due to the fact that India has not seen its way to raise its contribution to £1,000, as suggested, but is contributing only £500 for the current year. A statement showing the sums received and expended during the past year will be found in Appendix I. Nearly all the items are much the same as usual, and accord fairly closely with the estimates, except the expenditure on office furniture, which was much higher than was anticipated ; three old typewriters had to be replaced by new machines, and a large bookcase and two filingcabinets had to be purchased. The £200 in the Suspense Account is the amount paid in advance to the Stationery Office for printing charges in accordance with our arrangement with them. Interest on deposits was £83 higher than in the previous year, and the credit item under the Tropical African Fund mainly represents sales of our Tsetse book. Appendix II shows our present cash resources and outstanding liabilities, the unexpended balance being £7,379. With regard to the Carnegie Fund, it may be recalled that a sum of £200 was granted to a South African student, Mr. Schlupp, who subsequently abandoned entomology and settled in the United States. Upon representations from Mr. C. P. Lounsbury, Mr. Schlupp agreed to repay our grant, and a first instalment of £70 has recently been received from him. An estimate of the revenue and expenditure for the current financial year will be found in Appendix 111, the probable surplus being £887.

6 —A. 2.

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