THE Otago Daily Times SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1872.

We heartily congratulate tiie Council, Professors, 'and students of Jthe Otago University on the encouraging success which has attended the inauguration of the Reference Library. It is a seed of good promise, and even had it been much less auspicious it should have by no means been despised. Good old George Buchanan bestowed on the Glasgow University Library twenty volumes of books—a donation which he no doubt highly valued. In 184!) the number of volumes which that library contained was 58,09 G. We have the greater confidence in the success of the Otago University Library, that it is proposed to conform it to that liberal and generous .system on which the University itself has been founded; and which it is the intention of the Council in good faith to c irry out. As the Otago University in this nineteenth century is not a cloistered reproduction of the exclusiveness of the sixteenth, neither is it intended that the advantages of its library should be confined to a few. It is to be open to the public by annual £1 tickets of admission. The first resolution passed at the meeting on the 3rd instant, not only set forth ' That in the opinion of this meeting the establishment of a siiitable library of reference is essential towards the success of the Otago University,' but also ' that it would tend to elevate the intellectual tone of the whole community.' This is a long way ahead of the conservative exclusiveness that still reigns in many of the .great educational establishments of England. From the sombre atmosphere of their lettered halls but slight recognition is given to the popular need that the last fifty years has created. It was not till the year 1780 that the practice* which had hitherto prevailed, in Bras3nose College, Oxford, of chaining the books to the shelves, was abandoned. Not only was there then no reading, public to whom its treasures might have been made partially accessible, but to this semi-barbarous extent were the privileges of even the students limited. To estimate the measure of distance intellectually that separates us from that time were impossible. Diffused knowledge has developed latent power, and the result as regards England has been, that it lias laid the world under, contribution, to..'the products of her industry and skill. We are now in the days not only of cheap literature, but of free libraries -—- the means of intelligence (at least at home) being as the very air that is breathed. Absolute ignorance is as decided an evidence of degradation and misfortune as was the barest knowledge of philosophy and science a distinction in former times. The passing of the Public

Libraries Act, in 1850, was a move in. this direction. And now, free libraries are to be found in all the leading towns of Great Britain. .They were late in the start, but so successful have they been, that they bid fair to be the first at the goal. The Liverpool Free Library was opifned in 1852 with a collection of 11,877 volumes. By 1857 the reference collection had increased to 21,000 volumes, and the two lending collections to 13,254 34,254 volumes. The first stone of a new building, to cost .£25,000, was laid in April, L§§7. Our readers are aware of how Victoria hasT distinguished herself by the munificence Avhich has been displayed in the Fi-ee Library in Melbourne.

But we would not desire to arrogate for the public alone the pi-oposed library. Jt is started, not without the help of the public, but in connexion with the University. It. will be a valued boon to all whose qualifications or attainments lead theni to desh-e and fit them to' appreciate such a collection as will be formed; . but it is indispensable to the Professors and students. No University can efficiently perform its functions without such aid. It is essential to it, as are the leaves to the tree, or the lungs to the living animal. It is the medium of life to the instructed mind—the sun and air of its existence. It is the student's greatest want, and if well equipped and well managed, his greatest joy. Let the acquirements of the JProfessoi- be ample as they may, and his mental stores ever so great, lie must still refer to books, and by them seek to enrich and illustrate his leetutes. And impossible must he find it to direct the studies of his pupils with advantage if he be stinted in the means of directing their reading. Equally difficult and impos- i sible, in the same circumstances, is_ it for the student to follow up with advantage the prelections. of his Professor. He can neither verify them to his mind by research, nor amplify them by the arguments and applications that he would find in books. Our readers, we are confident, apprehend that a library is a sine qiul non to the completion of our already prosperous University. For it is no peripatetic University with the flavour of a fanciful dilettantism that is desired, or that the Council contemplated, but a bond fide teaching institution where all the honours and advantages, won by industry and talent, may be obtained. It may serve to illustrate how intimately associated with literature is the high civilisation to which we have attained, if we cursorily refer to a few of the great and valuable librai-ies that exist. First of all, in England there is the library of the British Museum, which contained, in 1857, 562,000 volumes, and in the year 1864, 41,675 manuscripts and 14,788 charters, about 13,000 vols. being the average yearly addition. Tills magnificent national library has gathered around the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which in 1753 was secured by Act of Parliament for the xuse and. edification of the public to all posterity, at a cost of £20,000,' and consisted of 70,000 vols. of printed books and manuscripts^ and

70,000 articles of vertu. The Cottonian and Harleian libraries were subsequently added In 1759 a . choice lot of 180 Hebrew books : was given to the libraiy by Mi- Salamox Da Costa, a. Jew broker of Amsterdam, a quaint but generous savant. And in the year 1762, George 111. presented the Thomason collection of political and miscellaneous tracts, which were published in the eventful reign of Charles I. and during the Commonwealth, amounting to upwards of 30,000, and which, as stated by Mr Nichols, in his 'Handbook for Readers at the British. Museum,' are very frequently enquired for. But by far the most extensive addition was -the donation made by Geoiige IV. of the King's Libraiy formed by George 111., wliich amounted to 70,000 volumes, and which cost £130,000. The Bodleian Library is estimated to possess upwards of 256,000 volumes of printed books, and about 22,000 volumes of manuscripts. The expenditure on this library from 1826 to 1842 was £3600 a-year. The books are not lent out..; but men of reputation and position have access to them. The library of Trinity College, Cambridge, contains 43,000 volumes,

: A correspondent encloses the envelope of a letter addressed to him, which was posted at London on the 22nd December. The letter was, fortunately for the recipient, "missent to Adelaide," as he received it by the Albion oil Monday last. If it had come with the ordinary Suez mail, he would have got it three days later. Our correspondent, therefore, has no reason to complain. It wonld appear that mistakes on the part of the postal authorities, like misfortunes, «1« not come single. A package of English newspapers, bearing dates up to the end of December, plainly addressed to the office of the Otago Daily Times, via San Francisco, was received by the Suez mail, and we will consequently be enabled through this accident to give our- readers items of intelligence wKich, but for it, we conld not have given for another month.

The race between the p.s. Nebraska and s.s. Wellington from Wellington to Lyttelton, has. terminated in favour of the former. They both left Wellington close together, about 4 o'clock 'on Thursday afternoon, and it will be seen by our shipping telegrams that the Nebraska arrived in Lytteltoh at 6 a.m. yesterday, while the Wellington put in an appearance three hours and ten minutes later. We would remind our readers that all desirous of having their names placed on the Electoral Roll must lodge their claims, at the latest, on the 31st March. To recapitulate the often repeated conditions, we may say that they are shortly these :—The claimant must be at least 21 years old, a born or naturalized subject, having a freehold estate in the district for which the vote is claimed of the clear value of £50, and to which he has been entitled for at least six months before the 30th April; or, a leasehold estate under a three years' lease, and of the clear annual value of £10; or,

occupying a house for six months prior to the 30th April of the clear annual value of £10, if within the limits of Dunedin, or £5 if outside the city. Out of a population of some 14,000, there are 3719 whose names are on the roll for 1871-72. There are many within the city possessed of the necessary qualifications, but who have not yet registered themselves, and up to the present very few claims have been lodged for the coming electoral year.' The Committee of the Early-Closing Association met in the lower hall of the Athenaeum last evening—Mr E. B. Cargill, M.P.C., in the chair. Resolutions to be proposed at the public meeting, to be held in the Masonic Hall on Tuesday evening, were placed before the meeting, and approved of. It was stated that a deputation had waited upon His Honour the Superintendent, His Honour Mr Justice Chapman, and His Worship the Mayor, and other leading gentlemen, and had not only received offers of pecuniary assistance, but all had expressed their hearty sympathy Avith the movement, and had signified their willingness to come forward on the platform on Tuesday evening. The total number, up to the present, who had pledged themselves by signature not to puis chase after one o'clock on Saturday was stated to be 4669.

and has among its MSS. Sir Isaac Newton's copy of his Principia, a copy of Paradise Lost, and other interesting MSS. in the handwriting of MI^TON. The University or Public Library of Cambridge"contains over 197,000 volumes] among its MSS. is Magna Charta written on vellum. Itliashadmany donations in books and money. Among tltese are recorded, at separate times. 1092 and 30,000 vols, £1500, £2000, £6000, •and £16,000. The Advocate's Library in Edinburgh contained, in 1857 172,000 voLs. Glasgow "College, in 1849, contained 58,096 vols. Tlie University of Edinbtngh has 100,000 vols., and 400 MSS. The University n. { , , o k AAA ~ , of Aberdeen La* 37,000 vols. and 74 MSBL ; the. septate hbrary of ManschalCollege 12,000 volcano! 100 MSS. 7^ n n L Coll ege ' Bublin > in 1856 > had. - 126,095 vols. X and 1600 MSS. The Imperial Library-to. the Louvre Paris, STn^Q rl Pl'mte(l V°k) mid 84,000 MBS. Literary men of known respectability were permitted to take books to their own residences. The splendul library of the VaticaiUJhas never been officially or precisely re-co)-ded. There is no catalogue, and the books are kept in close cases. The number of volumes is estimated at 100,000. It is not increased, as other gveat libraries are, by extensive and systematic purchases. Its great value consists in its MSS. The Imperial Library of Vienna has 365,000 vols., and 20,000 MSS. In 149 Collegiate Institutions in the United States of America there are estimated to be 1 083 954 volumes Such are a few of the priceless treasures which are accessible, and readily accessible, to every one iv Europe, *md that are invaluable to i-i v ;.'imt . , hteraiy men. The manuscript collections are the very fountain heads from whence hfetorLs and others" draw their inforniation, andvei-ifytheii-•a- T\-ir i i i-ii wntmgs. Diifused and popularised by them, the wisdom of all ages becomes the property of Represent. We cannot expect such literary gems in the treasure-house that it is proposed to torm in Dunedin. But we may and ought to obtain the cream of the whole ltt a careful and good selection. And such would sufficiently enable a commercial community to keep pace with the intelligence and cultivation thafc prevail in the older countries ©f the world. One additional sentence in. regard to selection. Literature in the most extended sense of the word means tlie whole written thoughts of man. A library is formed of works of literature proper, science, and art. The proportions, of course, vary with the leading design and object. For a Uiiiversity library, it has been suggested that a Compi-ehensive classification would be:—Theology, Jurisprudence, History, Philosophy^ and Literature. The Manchester Publib J'Library contains— in Theology 1062, Philosophy 421, Histoiy ll>7l, Politics 6830, Arts and Sciences 2885, Literature and P Q , lygmphy 10,004. The works of the proposed Library we are confident will be well and carefully selected. And x»\, Q « ¥• i ill i i j. when fiurl y stertecl, and lustre completeness have \>een thus added to the University of Otago, it will further serve, we trust, to elevate the standard Of learning m all parts of New Zead- !

The Battalion parade called for yesterday morning was very thinly attended. All the staff were present, together with the band, and a fair sprinkling of officers ; but there was a "beggarly array" "of only about 40 volunteers in the raiiks. The men were marched to the South Dunedin Recreation Ground, and after being put through various movements, were dismissed at 7 o'clock shar P» a few remaining for skirmishing drill uncler the Adjutant for half an hour. Six o'd«fcwaii the hourfor which the parade was called ' but<win S to the unpunctuality of the ™» did not foil in- imttt about 6.30. Anot^ l^ade is to be held .ott Monday inorai»g hour benig fixed at 5.30, T'" *° vfV y "".^ trust that the Volunteers, for the sake of their tati and in oyder that th in ood tra i nillg f or Colonel Harington's ; unction, will see the error of their ways, au d-be both more punctual and more numeroHS in their attendance for the future. A matcll wiU be j e(1 to . day befcween Bides chos™ from the following member, 'of the Dunedin Oicket Club:-Messrs Rcade, Allen, Collinson, Fulton, Thomson, Sale, Holmes, M'Fariane, Macdonnell, Rattray, Smith W. D., Turton, Tait, Cairns, Morrison, Kettle C. C, Brown R., I ambert> Buchanan, Strode, Smith J., Muir J., Muir T., Webb, Fuller, Henderson, Creagh, Begg, Ward, Braitliwaite, and M'George. Play will commence at* 2 o'clock sharp. The return match between the Albion and Citizens' Cricket Clubs will be played on the ground of the latter to-day, wickets to ibe Peeked at 1.30 p.m. Members are requested to be punctual on the ground at 2 °'clock- The teams wiU be chosen from the Messrs Morrison, Cole > Aris ' Clark > <*eddes G. W., Lambert, Gl6U> FerZason> West > M'Jlillan, JJ arsden > .I?*™* ™£ Keys- Albion • M.J^ Lf^ K-k Thomas WellaSut- <^ Tmh * " \ JT*' Mmr ' JLlioinson, Urant, Miller, and Peters, „,, ...■• ' The "^ of,^, e T^ I£* f *he f f dm* *»*■ / the X^YT^ti^ry^r^^ BX?Ir^?" delivered in that building, last evening, by Mr James Black who c f; se M his » J »Astronomy." The Rev. Dr Copland occupied the chair, and there'was a fair attendance. The lecture was well received and at its close a hearty vote of thanks was upon the motion of the Rev. Chairman passed to Mr, Black. A lecture is to be delivered in the church on Wednesday, the 20th inst., by Mr Hawthorne, on "The Physical and Chemical Properties of the AtnUlphere." The f ollowmg is a return of the arrests made by the police in the Province during the month of February on the various charges stated :--- Violent assaults, 2 ; common assaults, 3■' assault with intent, &c, 1 ; .assault with inteut to do bodily harm, 1; attempted snic'de» ! 5 arson, 1; breach of the peace, 3 ; damaging property, 5 ; disobeying summons, * 5 8e pretences, 1; feloniously receiving obtained by false pretences, 3 ; furious l'i(linS ailtl driving, 2; horse stealing, 2; "le S aUy on premises, 2; indecent exposure, 4; larceny from the person, 3 ; larceny, 0 ; malici««Bly shooting a cow, 1; resisting the v°hce> lj shlP desertion, L The whole of the Persons on these charges were .lnale?' V™ms of hm se*es were mcwUA f "fJ 310 {o}}™ mZ^ c}iar SeS anl JjT JTS- "^ .76' 1 fem;i! e8 8 ' 8 Vt"?^ T ' iT^ ' female; habitual drunkenness, 1 female: larceny imm d 2 female larcen ; from dweUings, 1 male, 1 female ; obscene language, 2 males, 2 females; vagrancy, 6 ma i es , i female. The total nrtiLtti dauL upon which persons were arrested was 146. ! Besides these 4 male children and 1 female cliild were arrested as neglected and criminal children, and 2 males as lunatics. The reserved portion of the town of Forbury is to be put up for sale td-uay by1 Messrs Driver, Stewart, and Co. Judging by the eagerness displayed of late for the acquisition of freeholds in the suburban townships, there will be doubtless some keen competition for sections in this favourite locality. . The eighth annual anniversary of Court Enterprise, A.0.F., was celebrated by a supper at the Royal George Hotel, George street, last evening. The District Secretary, Bra Woodland, occupied the chair, and there were iif fey brethren and visitors present. After supper, Bro. Thomas Goodman, the Secretary of the Court, read the financial (report, from which it appeared thafc at the opening of the Court, in 1863, 14 memberAvere initiated. It had at first met with some slight reverses, but the members, nothing discouraged, continued the work of fulfilling the objects for which they were banded together, and had steadily increased in numbers and in funds up the present. The Court now numbered 94 members, all <sf whom were financial, and accordingly entitled to the privileges of the Court, and to participate in the monetary benefits; The accumulated funds of the Court nowamonnted to £550. The Courts, in addition to providing medical attendance and medicine for its members during the past year, paid to sick brethren £71, and yet made an increase to the accumuiated funds, in the same year, of £64. It had often been made a matter of reproach against that Court and others, that they. met in public-houses. This, the members knew, Avas too often unavoidable, but it might not be known, though it deserved to be, that after the night of making a new member, that member, so long as he forwarded his payments,

needed never attend the meetings again, and ' yet all the time was entitled to the full benefits of membership. There were Foresters, who were old members, and yet who were never seen in a Conrt-room from 3'ear's end to year's end, although those who did attend did not approve of this. The report was well received The usual toasts were given and responded to, amongst them being the "Mayor and Corporation;" to which His Worship and Mr Barnes replied. With the speeches made, songs giveu, and instrumental music, the evening appeared to pass pleasantly. )

The evening class at the School of Arts is now being largely availed of. There is an average attendance of betweeu 30 and 40, and in fact, the accommodation is not quite sufficient. The teachers' aud pupil teachers' clas3 is also well attended.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Port Chalmers, yesterday, Sarah. Ann White, who had been twice before the Coiiit and discharged* with, a caution, was sentenced to four weeks' hard labour for vagrancy. Mr T. Tayler was on the Bench.

The nomination of candidates for the representation of the Wakatip District in the House of Representatives takes place at Queenstown to-day; The candidates areMr J. Miller, of Amnvtown,- Mr Hallenstein, of Queenstown; and Mr James Macassey. The poll, if demanded, will take place on Wednesday, the 13th iiist. It is anticipated that the contest will be between Mr Hallenstein and Mr Macassey. The friends of the latter are confident of success, but their candidate has strong opponents in the local paper, the Wakatip Mail, and in the supporters **f the anti-denominational system of education.

A new seam of coal has just been discovered on Government ground recently leased by Messrs Macfarlane. and E. Martin, in the Kaitangata district, and within half a mile of the river bank. It is at present being opened out for the lessees by Mr A. Reid. The seam was found cropping out a"t the foot of the hill, and a depth of 7J. feet has been opened, but it is not bottomed. It is thought to be a lower seam than that wrought by other parties in the district, and the coal is said to equal the Grey River coal. No doubt we shall* shortly have samples of it in town.

The members of the Field Naturalist Club are requested to meet at the Museum at a quarter to two to-day, for their excursion to the Forbury district.

The attention of Volunteers is directed to a General Order appealing in another column.

The D.V. Artillery Battery will parade for Gun Drill this afternoon at 3 o'clock.

The German Pastor Meyer, of .Nelson, will preach in ot. George's Hall, morning and evening, to-morrow.

The secretary of the Permanent Building Society of Otago will be in attendance at Waikouaiti this evening, and on Moiiday morning, for the reception of applications for new shares, &c, and for the purpose of explainiug the principles and working of the Society.