Mrs. E. A. Mackechnie, who died on November 7th, 1902, bequeathed by direction of her deceased husband, to the Auckland Institute and Museum the sum of £2500, of which £2000 was to endow a library and £500 to purchase cases of animals. A similar amount, £2500 was left to the Auckland Society of Arts to erect a gallery. The Institute received also by this bequest the late Mr. Mackechnie's library. The Leys Institute was founded by the will of the late William Leys, who died on the 5th October, 1899. The funds available being inadequate for the early realisation of the testator's benevolent purpose, Mr. Thomson W. Leys, a brother of the deceased, and one of his trustees, offered to defray one-half of the entire cost of erecting and equipping a building, and to furnish the institution with a library, on condition that the Corporation provided a suitable site. This condition was readily agreed to by the City Council, and on the 29th March, 1905, the institution was officially opened by the Mayor, the Hon. E. Mitchelson. Mr. R. M. Watts was the architect, and the cost of erecting and equipping the building, exclusive of books, was £3234. The Leys Institute consists of a reference library and reading room, a lending department, boys' room and recreation rooms. The course of winter lectures and entertainments has been a feature of its work since the commencement. The gymnasium has recently been converted into a large boys' hall, probably the largest boys' institute in the Dominion. Mr. T. W. Leys has been president of the institute since its inception, and its success is due mainly to his personal interest and benefactions. Charitable institutions were also fortunate in the assistance they received from benefactors. By the will of the late William Arrowsmith, who died in 1902, a sum of about £23,000 was bequeathed, in equal parts, to the Orphans' Home and Mrs. Cowie's Women's Home. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Smith presented in March, 1907 to the Hospital Board a property at Russell Crescent, Ellerslie, containing over three acres and a two-storey dwelling, formerly the home of the donors, for the purpose of founding a convalescent home for women and children, which was named the Alexandra Convalescent Home. At the time the gift was made the estate was valued at about £5000. A number of Auckland institutions benefited by the will of Mrs. Knox, widow of the late Charles Knox, both pioneers, who arrived in New Zealand in the 'forties. Mrs. Knox died on the 19th October, 1908, bequeathing £70,000 to charities, including £20,000 for the erection of a building for the treatment of poor people suffering from incurable diseases. This institution, which bears the donor's name, is situated at Tamaki.