13

H.—33

great deal of time, and necessitates ample space, which should therefore be provided in the proposed new buildings. Acquisition of specimens by purchase should be used chiefly for filling gaps in series obtained in other Ways. It is, of course, in many cases the only possible way of acquiring what is desired, particularly in the case of rare historical documents or works of art. Until the scope of the Museum is definitely decided it is impossible to give an estimate of what sum should be devoted annually to this purpose. The improvement of the exhibition galleries by the construction of models and the making of drawings and maps is a growing feature of museum activity, and may be largely availed of in the Dominion Museum. V. SCOPE OP THE DOMINION MUSEUM COLLECTIONS. It is most particularly in the matter of the classes of specimens which the Museum should endeavour to obtain and exhibit that the need of a definite plan is most urgent. Until this is settled it is impossible to design a building satisfactorily, or to state the approximate number of staff required and the income that will be necessary. All museums but those of the most wealthy nations find it necessary to specialize, either in the classes of specimens collected, or in the locality from which they are drawn. It goes without saying that the Dominion Museum must specialize in collections relating to New Zealand, but its usefulness would be very greatly limited if foreign specimens were excluded. En order that the peculiarities of the Maori people and the fauna and flora of New Zealand may be understood it is necessary to exhibit collections from other countries by way ol contrast. Further, it is desirable that a national museum should make up to the public as much as possible the lack of opportunity to travel in distant regions, by the exhibition of collections ol all kinds from abroad. Again, in order to exhibit many relationships, such as geographical distribution, evolution, mimicry, adaptation to environment, &c, the use of foreign specimens may be necessary. But to prevent the acquisition of more material than the Museum can profitably deal with, some principles of limitation must be found. This will be discussed under the different departments of the Museum. New Zealand History. Any specimens, manuscripts, log-books, old newspapers, photographs, prints, or pictures which illustrate earl) . New Zealand history are manifestly within the scope of the Museum collections. The only points to be decided are as to how far the Museum should endeavour, to collect, also material for the early history of Pacific and Antarctic exploration, and of the whaling industry in the Southern Hemisphere generally. So far at least as books are concerned, such a broader collection should unquestionably be made in New Zealand. Ethnology and Ethnography. The Museum possesses the nucleus of a collection of easts of Palaeolithic skulls and a few skulls of Native races. These collections, which are easily displayed and are of general interest, may profitably be extended as opportunity offers. In particular it is desirable to obtain as many skulls as possible of the Maori and of the Melanesian and Polynesian peoples for purposes of future study, as the problem of the origin of the Maori may be thereby advanced. The ethnological section may also be improved by the exhibition of a series of pictures and models of the Maori and South Sea Island peoples. To prepare those models it may be necessary to send a Museum officer to the islands. Such models also serve a purpose in ethnography, as they may be made to hold implements or weapons, and may be draped with the national costumes. Ethnographic collections may be exhibited in either of two ways or by a combination of both.* The objects relating to each race may be kept separate, or the objects of similar use in different races may be grouped together to show the evolution of civilization. Ethnographical collections require a large amount of space, and an attempt to acquire and exhibit collections illustrative of all the races of the earth is quite beyond the prospective means of the Museum. It is, however, practicable and desirable to illustrate the ethnography of the South Sea Island peoples in addition to that of the Maori, and the Museum already attempts to do this in a small way. The purchase of the additional specimens necessary to make the existing collections representative should be included in the policy of the Museum, and the matter should not be long delayed if economy is to be considered. Besides these racial exhibits, comparative series of objects of similar use in different races may well be attempted, and in this section may be placed various small collections already possessed by the Museum, chiefly of Asiatic origin. While the number of such series that could be made up is very large, the Dominion Museum may well restrict itself at present largely to those classes of objects used by the Maoris, such as stone implements, weapons, fishing implements, ceremonial implements, clothing, ornaments, utensils for food, musical instruments, and toys. In these comparative series many of the classes of specimens already exhibited in the racial collections of the Maori and South Sea Island peoples would be shown over again, but in different relationships and conveying different ideas. The additional materials necessary for such comparative series could probably be obtained largely by exchange of the many duplicate Maori specimens which the Museum possesses. One advantage of such a comparative collection is that isolated specimens from any race find a logical place in the Museum, without the need to attempt a complete collection of the objects of that race.

* Cf. H. IS. Harrison : " Ethnographical Collections and their Arrangement," Museums Journal, vol. 14 (1915), pp. 220-25.