THE ATHENAEUM.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 827, 11 August 1876, Page 7

THE ATHENAEUM.

(To the Edilor.J

Sir, — I think the time has come when some slight effort should be made to drag the affairs of our Athenaeum out of the slough of confusion into which they have fallen, owing to the " muddling " propensities of the late Committee, and tbe apathy of the public. I did think that the paucity of membership could be fairly attributed to the supineness of the late Committee, until Mr M'Latchie informed me at the Committee meeting on Tuesday last, jn his usual bland and winning manner, that every exertion had been made to increase the number of members. That gentleman even went so far as to say that the seventeen members of the late Committee had gone round with subscription lists, but I should imagine they did not use any superhuman efforts, as I find that only fifty-seven people now subscribe to the library. If Mr M'Latchie means to say that seventeen canvassers could do no more than has been done, it follows that the people of the district are both excessively mean and ignoiant. They evidently do not appreciate the benefits which flow from tbe spread of knowledge, or they grudge a trifling sum towards the support of an Institution, whose powers for good should be second only to" that of the school. If seventeen Committee-men did so little, what can be done by seven:? If I accepted Mr M'Latchie's version of what has been done in the past. I should bave but small hope for the' future of the Athenapum. I should say it would be much better if it were closed for a decade or two, as it is lin a very decayed state, did I not think that through some means other than the Committee the publip may yet be induced to come forward in support of tbe Institution, and thus fling off the disgrace which the present state of the Athenceum reflects on them. But, sir, I am afraid that the members of the late Committee, of whom Mr M'Latchie is one, do not like to be forced to admit that they are in a great measure responsible for the present

dirgraceful state of matters. The " fact remains, nevertheless, that they have stood by .and allowed the property, of the Athenaeum to be lost and injured. They have to answer for every book unaccounted for, and their number is legion. In fact, I intend to ask Mr M'Latchie and his late fellow-committeemen to pay for all missing books. I do not think Mr Brookes is responsible for the books lost through the pernicious system of "flyleaves" and the stump of a lead pencil being sxxbstituted for the records used by the less reckless managers of similar institutions elsewhere, as that peculiar system had received the tacit assent of the late Committee, and, I am sorry to say (through the action of Mr R. R. Jones), the temporary assent of the present Committee. Sir, it will scarcely be believed that, for daring to propose tbat all damaged books should be immediately withdrawn from circulation, I was looked upon (principally by Messrs Hay and M'Latchie) as one who wished to inflict an irreparable injury on tbe members of tbe Athenaeum. Ido not think that Mr Hay, whose views about books seem to my mind to be most condemnable, and worthy of a savage, has yet recovered from the shock given to bis finer feelings by my audacious proposal. lam sorry for him. Perhaps he will feel quite happy when there is not a book in the library that does not want its covers and half of its leaves. I am amazed at any rational man wishing to continue tbe circulation of a damaged book. In such a case, circulation is synonymous with destruction. And yet Mr Hay advocates the gradual mutilation of the library. The system of unchecked waste has been going on for the last year under the careful supervision of Messrs Hay and M'Latchie, and I am regarded as an iconoclast for desiring to attempt to check it. But notwithstanding the biting sarcasm and grim irony of Messrs Hay and M'Latchie, I do not despair of yet preventing the library from earning the name of the Ragged Book Depot. In passing, I would caution these gentlemen not to be carried away by an erroneous impression that they can dictate to me as to what I am to do or say. They may have found tbe members of previous Committees subservient to the emanations from what they are pleased to call their minds ; but I would have them to know that I shall pursue the course I deem best for the good of the Institution, just as if their existence had been antedated a century or two. Messrs Hay and M'Latchie appear to possess a fund of information about things in general, and shreds of books in particular. Perhaps they can tell me the name of the individual who took the first volume of ' Carlyle's Cromwell ' out of the library about a year ago and forgot to return it ? Mr M'Latchie objects to the 'New Zealand Magazine ' being subscribed for, as it is " unpopular." According to Mr M'Latchie's logic, we ought to take in the ' Police News ' as it is " popular " with a certain class. I protest against the dictum of even Mr M'Latchie on this point. Did he ever I read the ' Magazine ' ? Who told him it is " unpopular " ? I am not an admirer of that ' Magazine,' but I think the members of the Athenroum have a right to expect that it should be placed on the table. They now know who to thank for being deprived of such an intellectual treat as Professor Salmond's article on Evolution. Mr R. R.Jones shook his head ominously, and questioned the propriety of paying 10s Gd a year for tbe ' Magazine,' and yet that gentleman talked about paying a man to catalogue the books, which would have been done for nothing by members of the Committee if a motion proposed by me had not been negatived. The Athenseum will be £80 in debt at the end of the current year, assuming the revenue and expenditure to be the same as last year. It may interest a few of your readers to know that a sub -committee, consisting, I think, of Messrs Chisholm, R. R. Jones, and M'Latchie, has been formed, to investigate everything and report at the next meeting. This report will show to what a beautiful state of perfection the late Committee have brought the art of " how not to do it." The report should be engrossed and framed, and then made heirlooms in the families of Messrs Hay and M'Latchie. I did intend to propose that the Athenasum should fulfil its long dormant function of imparting knowledge to the people by a system of well chosen lee? ture3, but I saw that such a spirit of stagnation pervaded the minds of some of the'members of the Committee that it would have been useless to do so, and in the classical language ol Mr Hosea Biglow, I had better keep my breath for cooling my soup. If clergymen would be so kind as to preach an annual sermon in aid of the funds of the Athenroum, and recommend their eongregatiops to support the institution, I have no doubt it would lead to a large increase of members. There are 700 electors in the district. There are 250 burgesses in this Municipality. There are 87 subscribers to a library of 1200 volumes. Comment is needless. I expect to meet with the common fate of all reformers of abuses. But if I do not suffer anything worse than the disapproval of Messrs Hay and M'Latchie, I shall be satisfied ■ and (as has been said before) "let the heathen rage." I am, &c, W. Sinclair. Tokomairiro, 9th August. 1876.