H.—22

7

Additions. —Two hundred and seventy volumes were added to the library during the year. The additions embrace works in classic tongues (Latin and Greek), Dutch, German, and French. Donations.—Eighty-five volumes were donated during the year by twenty-eight individuals, some of whom made donations at two or three different times. The principal donations were as follows : Mrs. W. G. Mantell, many additional volumes, MS. letters, notebooks, and also a valuable microscope formerly belonging to G. A. Mantell; Mrs. S. Potter, " Satires of Juvenal," by Dryden, and other books ; Hon. Sir George Fowlds, two volumes of " Statesman's Year-book," 1925 and 1926, supplementing set already presented ; R. J. Barton, " Earliest New Zealand," being the journal and correspondence of his grandfather, Rev. J. Butler ; Maggs Bros., seven volumes, morocco, of their illustrated catalogues for 1927 ; Mrs. R. Parnham, Fiji, various privately printed publications, mostly dealing with Fiji; Miss B. E. Chaytor, historical sketches by Rev. Wyvill ; Sir Apirana Ngata, " Nga Moteatea,' v lately published ; E. A. Gerrard, " Elizabethan Drama and Dramatists " ; G. Fitzgerald, " Verses " ; J. C. Beaglehole, " Captain Hobson and the New Zealand Company " ; H. E. Holland, various pamphlets; A. B. Chappell, " The Stir in Samoa " ; Hon. W. H. Triggs, numerous pamphlets and miscellaneous publications ; Kate Gerard, " Original Verses," privately printed ; E. R. Allen, " John Hugh Allen " ; Donbank Philatelic Society, " Junior Monthly News-letter " ; Rev. W. J. Comrie, Proceedings and other publications of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ; Public Library of New South Wales, Bibliography of books on Captain Cook in Mitchell Library, in celebration of sesquecentennial; J. H. L. Waterhouse, " Roviana-English Dictionary " and other publications : also miscellaneous donations by E. W. Arnold, the Cawthron Institute, Miss Moss, E. J. D. Hercus, J. A. Ferguson, of Sydney ; Secretary of the Great Synagogue, Sydney ; and P. J. Marks, of Sydney. Special attention is again drawn to the further donations of Mrs. Mantell. The microscope is a fine instrument which was presented to G. A. Mantell by his admirers in England in 1842. With this instrument he did most of the work on which his geological publications were based. A large number of microscope-slides accompanies the microscope. Incunabula. —The third volume of " Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke," the list of the world's incunabula (books printed before 1500), published at Leipzig, was received during the year. It includes names from As to Bern. The New Zealand list for that publication was prepared in this library. Philanthropic Bodies.—Over two hundred philanthropic bodies were written to with a view to securing complete sets of their annual reports, many broken sets and odd reports being in the library. There was a very good response, so that many of the sets have been completed, and others nearly so. The material for a history of the various philanthropic movements is accordingly available. Readers and Students. —Sixty-one new readers' permits were issued, and students have been working in the library regularly through the year, day and evening. The principal subjects studied were Pacific problems, influence of missions in New Zealand, New Zealand railways, gold-mining in New Zealand, biographies of various statesmen, histories of particular districts, &c. The classics and English literature, including drama, and poetry, have also been much used. Visitors. —There were about 750 visitors during the year. Bulletins.—There are still inquiries for Bulletin 1, " List of One Hundred Representative New Zealand Books." Of Bulletin 2 another sixty-eight have been sold, making 543 to date, which sales have more than paid for the cost of printing. Bulletin 3 (McCrae manuscripts of a visit to New Zealand in 1820) has been printed, sixty-eight copies being sold so far. Bulletin 4, dealing with the Mantell Collection, is in course of preparation. Correspondence. —Many inquiries have been received regarding books and pictures and their values, historical subjects, &c., inward and outward communications amounting to upwards of 2,500. Census and Statistics Office. The efficiency and usefulness of the Census and Statistics Office have been well maintained during the year, which has witnessed the usual steady expansion of activities to meet the demand for statistical information and to keep the Office in line with the social and economic life of the Dominion. Several new branches of inquiry have been undertaken and there have also been numerous minor extensions of existing branches of work. Mortgage Statistics. —During the year just closed arrangements were made for the compilation of statistics on probably the most important aspect of the mortgage question, and one on which no information at all has hitherto been available—viz., the total amount of mortgages owing on farm lands and business premises. The machinery for this lies in the annual returns of lands furnished to the Commissioner of Taxes, particulars as to mortgages outsanding at the 31st March now being added to those re unimproved value, &c., entered on the cards from which the existing land-tax statistics are compiled. Weekly Banking Statistics. —In last year's report reference was made to the institution of a system of weekly statistics of bank debits, clearings, advances, deposits, metal reserves, legal-tender notes, &c. The figures, which have been regularly published in the Monthly Abstract of Statistics, are invaluable, as showing seasonal and other movements which were disclosed only approximately or not at all by the quarterly statements, which hitherto provided the only source of information on the subject. Business Statistics. —The collection and analysis of statistics relating to the current trend of production and economic conditions generally have in recent years been greatly extended. Statistics of current business, with forecasts based thereon, are now being published by numerous private agencies throughout the world. Various Government statistical bureaux (notably those of the United States and Canada) and several international organizations are also issuing periodical reviews of general statistics, which give special attention to the problem of business trends,