H.—22.

12

Additions. —1,301 volumes, including 1,219 donated, were added to the library. The additions embrace works in classic tongues (Latin and Greek), Dutch, Swedish, Italian, German, and French. Donations. —These comprise 250 volumes relating to politics (principally Italian) from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, presented by Mr. M. Trimbell of Masterton ; an anonymous gift of 364 publications in Maori; 500 war-books from the British Government; and 135 volumes from various sources. Of the last-mentioned donations the principal were as follows : Messrs. Maggs Bros., seven volumes ; Mrs. E. J. Ashwell, Magazine of Art (Vols. 1-21), and Cowden Clarke's " Shakespeare " (3 vols.) ; anonymous, " Opfindelsernes Bog," a Danish cyclopedia of invention (7 vols.) ; Dr. Coombs, England, original MS. of Lee and Kendall's New Zealand Grammar ; Mr. Clement H. Eggleton, " New Zealand Illustrated, 1889 " ; Mr. Alex. Robertson, " Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter " ; The Swedenborg Society, Diarium Spirituale (Vols. 2 and 3), Biblicus (Vols. 1 and 3) ; Rev. W. J. Durrad, " Sermons by G. A. Selwyn " ; Mrs. Parham, privately printed publications, mostly dealing with Fiji; Brother George, publications in connection with Solomon Islands Mission ; Captain R. C. C. Steele, " Wellington " (Duke of) ; Miss Margaret Hunter, " History of Lyttelton from a Social Aspect " (typescript) ; Mr. H. Lundius, " The Bible in Swedish " ; and Mr. C. R. Allen, " Three New Zealand Bird Songs." In addition to these, gifts of books, pamphlets, or pictures were made by Miss Isabella Rowbotham, Miss B. E. Chaytor, Mr. T. W. Brown, Miss Kate Gerard, the Librarian (Invercargill Library), Mr. A. G. Shrimpton, Messrs Angus and Robertson, Mr. John Castle, The Dominion Museum, Mr. F. J. Halse, Mr. P. J. Marks, Miss Ruth Phillips, Archives of Hawaii, the Hon. Sir George Fowlds, Mr. A. Eccles, Mr. J. A. Ferguson, Mr. G. A. Hurley, Mr. A. Pearson, Government Publicity Office, Sir Joseph Kinsey, Mr. E. W. Arnold, the Hon. W. H. Triggs, Mr. A. E. Hefford, Mr. H. E. Holland, Mr. J. Macdonald, Australian Ex Libris Society, Misses Ellison, Mr. A. Brettell, Mr. F. W. Reed, Mrs. A. C. Ewen, the Commonwealth Parliament Library. The Maori collection referred to above is especially valuable, as the books included fill gaps in the library collection, thereby making it as near complete as any in existence. The works on Italian politics, which are written in Latin, Italian, and German, as well as in English, are a good collection. They contain good examples of printing from many Italian presses, and included among them are some excellent Aldines. The set of twenty-five volumes of the Magazine of Art is in particularly good preservation, binding half-calf, the three large Shakespeares being half-morocco. The donation of greatest historical interest is that of the original MS. of Lee and Kendall's New Zealand Grammar, published in 1820 —the first Maori grammar and word-book compiled by Professor Lee, of Cambridge, from information supplied by the lay missionary Kendall and the two Maori chiefs Hongi and Waikato, all three of whom visited England in 1820. Words obtained from Tui and Titere, who visited London in 1818, also contributed to the making of this book. The MS. is in the writing of Professor Lee. The Swedenborg Society added four further folio volumes to their former donation of facsimile Swedenborg manuscript. Readers and Students. —Thirty-eight new readers' permits were issued, and students have been working regularly in the library through the year, day and evening. The principal subjects studied were New Zealand politics, New Zealand literature, provincial history, and biographies of various New Zealand statesmen, &c. The classics and English literature, including drama and poetry, have also been much used. Visitors. —There were about seven hundred visitors. Correspondence. —Many inquiries have been received regarding books and pictures and their values, historical subjects, &c. Inward and outward communications number about 1,500. Values. — The market value of the books, particularly in English literature, is increasing enormously. As an indication thereof, it will perhaps suffice to say that six publications for which the donor of the library paid about £1,650 are now worth about £25,000. When the number of rarities of the kind that are in the library are remembered it will be seen that the value of the library as a whole is becoming noteworthy. The increases in values are not solely on the books of early writers ; the moderns, such as Browning, Hardy Conrad, Stevenson, and Kipling, are also increasing fast, while there are indications of younger writers like Milne and Galsworthy joining the ranks of the collected. War Gbaves. Great War Graves in New Zealand.—Notifications of the death in New Zealand of 465 returned soldiers were received, of which 120 were accepted as war graves—i.e., that death in these cases was due to disabilities sustained on or aggravated by war service. This brings the total number of war graves in New Zealand to 2,456. The number of headstones ordered was 163, inclusive of forty-one for graves in the Cook Islands of members of the various Cook Islands contingents who have died since their return to their homes. Temporary wooden crosses to mark the graves until such time as the permanent headstones are prepared, were placed on 184 graves. A Cross of Sacrifice similar to those in overseas cemeteries was erected in the Featherston Military Cemetery, where 182 members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force are buried, and work on laying out the approach and surrounds to the cross is now in progress. The following additional work on soldiers' cemeteries has been undertaken during the year : — Wellington : An extension of the existing Soldiers' Block at Karori Cemetery has had to be provided, and this has already been brought into use. Christchurch : Arrangements were made with the Christchurch City Council for laying out in grass and planting in flowering and hedge plants that portion of Bromley Cemetery set aside for soldiers' burials. Timaru : The Cemetery Trustees having agreed to set aside a special block in their cemetery for the burial of returned soldiers, permanent work on a portion of this block sufficient for some years to come was carried out.