The Press. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1868.

Press, Volume XIII, Issue 1730, 24 September 1868, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1868.

The Committee of the Literary Institute are, we believe, taking into serious consideration the best means of rescuing the institution from its present unfortunate condition, and making it once more a centre of public attraction. The matter is one in which every inhabitant of Christchurch iai interested, and a little enquiry as to the causes which have led to the present state of affairs will not be out of place. As is usual when matters go wrong now-a-days, the depressed condition of the province obtained the credit for tbe great falling off in tbe number of subscribers to the Institute ; but although this may have something to do with the matter, it can only be looked upon as a secondary cause, and the primary cause of the declining popularity of the Institute must rather be sought for in the fact that it does hot meet the wants of those for whose benefit it was founded. At present it is anything but a cheerful place to pass an hour or two in. Deep in the recesses of the building is a small, chilly room, destitute of every comfort, aud half warmed in winter by a few embers smouldering in the grate. For the entertainment of the visitor a very scanty supply of magazines and periodicals, many of them a long way behind date, are provided. In an adjoining room, the door of which is always kept carefully shut, is the library. A subscriber, upon opening the door, finds himself in a sort of box, with a small counter in front, over which he may look at the books, but must not hope to be allowed to touch them. A knowledge of the contents of the library may,

with some difficulty, be obtained by means of a very ill-arranged catalogue, the labour of toiling: through which is poorly compensated by the.''loan :: of some ancient work of a "heavy " character or dilapidated novel. The reading room and the library at present form the only attractions of the Institute, and when these are so badly kept who can wonder that people prefer to subscribe to circulating libraries, where at least some of the latest published I works are to be had, rather than to an institution which entirely fails to carry out the objects for which it was estab- | lished ? People may, in the heat of I enthusiasm, be induced to support a local institution merely because il is local, and is established for a good end ; but their ardour will speedily nbate unless substantial advantages are offered them in return for their money; and the common-sense question of " What is the use of an institution bearing the name of Literary Institute if it does not fulfil the purposes of one ?" will speedily determine its existence. This is exactly the question which the people of Cnristchurch are now asking. ~

The committee, we believe, recognise this fact, and are endeavoring to meet it. To do so effectively, they must

first ascertain what is expected of the i Institute. And let them not be led I away by any sentiment about " edu- 1 eating the people." A great deal of 1 nonsense on this subject is constantly 1 talked by persons who are only half- i educated themselves, and in whose 1 minds there is generally lurking an 1 idea that the process of " educating 1 the people," will" be of much advan- ' tage to their own pockets. It is simply : absurd to suppose that a " Mechanics" or " Literary Institute " can be made to act as a large school, where grown up people will attend for regular instruction. The public, practically, never look at it in that light j but as a place where they can obtain intellectual amusement. A man who wishes to educate himself will riot go to a Mechanics' Institute in order to attain his object, which can generally be much better effected by study at home ; although, at the same time, the Institute may be made very useful to him by supplying him with works of reference. Experience proves this. Even in the large cities of England, it is with the utmost difficulty that classes for the study of various sub- | jects can be kept up; and it is a ! notorious fact that out of the numerous Mechanics Institutes which have been founded at home since the project of establishing them was first started by Dr. Birkbeck, but comparatively few, and those only the largest, survive. The cause of this is probably to be found in the fact of the managers of the institutions making them of too severely intellectual a character ; and forgetting that education, whether of the young or of adults, is only to be accomplished by very slow degrees. Therefore, although it is very desirable that the committee should encourage the formation of classes in connection with the Institute, still it would be inadvisable to look upon this as a means of making the place attractive, Generally speaking, classes should not be started until asked for by the members themselves. What the committee have to do, it appears to us, is Bimply to provide intellectual amusement for the public, and of such a character as to make it not a sacrifice, but a pleasure, to any one to partake of it. First and foremost, they should reorganise the library, and get a fresh stock of books. Most people who subscribe to ' the Institute do so for the sake of the 1 library, and if that be neglected, funds will very soon diminish. The library should be thrown open, and persons ; allowed to select books for themselves, instead of being, as now, obliged to do so through the intervention of the clerk. It is a general rule in the colony to allow books to be selected in this manner, and, reasonably or unreasonably, people do not like the restrictions now imposed. 1 The catalogue, too, wants revising, although this would be of less consequence if our last suggestion' were carried into effect. We think, also, the committee might very properly ask the Government to deposit the Provincial Council library in the Institute, to be used as a library of reference by the members, on the understanding

. that the books should lie" as free of access to the Provincial Councillors asthey are now. No doubt we shall .shock the " powers that be " by the proposal; but the books were paid for out of the public funds, and there is no valid Reason why, if the privileges of the Provincial Councillors are not interfered with, the public should not also have the use of the books. Then, the reading room wants looking to. There should be a more plentiful supply of magazines and papers, kept np to current date. The'room ought also to be a little more comfortably fitted up. It has been suggested that subscriptions should be taken for the reading room alone. This plan has been tried elsewhere and found to answer very well; there would at any rate be no harm in making the experiment here. One room in the building should also be set apart for smoking; and chess, draughts, &c, so placed as to be easily got at—at present they are invisible. We are rather inclined to think that if light refreshments were supplied in the smoking room in winter, if not all the year round, it might prove an attraction. It is unfortunate that the building is so far from the centre of the town as to be out of the way of young men lounging about tbe streets of an evening, and who, if the Institute were an attractive place, might be induced to go in there for an hour or so, in the same manner as they now do into hotels; but much might be done towards making it a place of popular resort by fitting up the rooms in a comfortable manner, aud divesting the building of that air of frigid propriety which now surrounds it. No doubt it is a striking instance of the perversity of human nature, but it is nevertheless a fact, that people have a strong inclination for freedom in their hours of leisure; and he who wishes to lead young men to cultivate their minds instead of debasing their faculties in acts of dissipation must boldly attack the charms of the latter and offer still greater pleasures. If people are to be raised to a higher in-

tellectual standing, the work must not be begun openly and with a flourish of trumpets, but old and bad habits must be gradually modified into new and better ones. Of course there are other means of rendering the Institute attractive, such as musical and like entertainments, but what we have mentioned appear to us to be the chief things to be done. We may remark in passing, however, that it was rather unfortunate that the late "Winter Entertainments which proved so successful were not got up in connection with the Institute, as they would not only have brought the latter into notice, but have also aided its funds. Perhaps the Committee will remember this next year. But to accomplish these objects, money is needed. And this is the grand difficulty which the Committee have to contend with. The Institute has reached that stage of poverty when its very penury prevents it taking steps to retrieve its position. It is only with the utmost difficulty that it pays its way; and there appears a strong probability that it will not be able to do even that for long. Under these circumstances, there appear to be only two courses open to the Committee by which to raise the necessary funds: a public subscription, or an appeal to the Government. No one, we think, will venture to suggest the former, and if the Institute is to continue in existence help from Government seems inevitable. We are sure that the whole population of Christchurch will join with us in saying that the dissolution of the Institute would be in every way to be deplored. The sum required cannot be very large. We have no means of ascertaining its exact amount, but it can scarcely exceed £250 or £300. The Government may possibly take its stand on the ground that if assistance be given to the Christchurch institute, other institutes may justly demand grants. But the circumstances of the present case are peculiar, and we do not see how it can be drawn into a precedent. Of course, if the committee can see their way out of the difficulty without Government aid, so much the better for all parties concerned; but if not, we trust the Government will do what it ' can to save what might be made so useful an institution from ruin. Woodbnd Vo_,y__BßS.—At a meeting of this corps on Tuesday last, Mr T. Pavitt was elected lieutenant of the company. Accumatisation Society. —We have much pleasure in announcing that already some hundreds of the ova are hatched, and that a very small proportion of the ova have turned out bad since they were placed in the ponds. A meeting of the society will take place on Friday afternoon at the usual place. Boat Race.—The race between four-oared boats for Mr C. Oram's prize of £5 will take place at Kaiapoi on Friday week. The start and finish will be at the swing-bridge and over •a course- of six miles, rounding a boat at the fisherman's hut. Two entries have been made. New Zealand Statistics.—We take the : following interesting particulars from tables laid before the General Assembly. We have already stated that the population according to the last census was 218,668 (exclusive of natives) ; the population according to the last census in 2864 was 172,158, showing an increase 0f'46,510. The total number of immigrants in 1867 were 11,126, and the emigrants 6267. The total net excess was therefore 48591 \ The births registered in the "sameyear were 8918, arid deaths 2702. The total excess therefore of births over deaths was- 6216, and during a period of thirteen years from 1855 inclusive, there was an excess of 38,281. In ; 1867, there were 2050 marriages. High School Lbcttsbbs.—The second of this series of-lectures was given on Tuesday . evening in the —iterary Institute; : Mr W. Montgomery occupied the chair. The lecture wals devoted to pointing out the various proofs which go to show that the nations of Europe and India originally migrated from a common source in Central < Asia. The»e nations had followed generally the great river valleys, and driven the original inhabitants before them. Traces of ? an earlier race-were to be found in many parts of Europe, the most noticeable being the remains of the lake cities in Switzerland j and the remains of an earlier race found buried seventy feet below the recently excavated city* Herculaneuin. Rivers were divided into two great classes, those which Sow across the level continents, and those which flow at right angles to the mountain chains. The latter class are generally rapid and of little value as means of communication. The lecturer concluded by reading an interesting extract by Henry Eingsley, describing the early exploration of the Australian continent, and the-discovery of the Murrumbidgee, the Darling, and the Murray. Philosophical IfcSTrr&TE. — ''A" special meeting of the members was held in the Literary Institute yesterday evening, for tho election of officers and council for the ensuing year. Present—Dr Haast (president), Revs. C. Eraser and J. Wilson, Drs. Turnbull, Coward and Powell, Messrs Fereday, Nottidge, Carruthtrs, Dbbson, and Bealoy. Dr. Haast was-elected president, and in returning thanks for the honour conferred upon him, said that he intended to remain in the province. Mr Dobson and Dr Turnbull were elected vicepresidents. The latter gentleman, -in reply to the president, said he intended shortly to read two papers to the Society. The Rev. J. WilBon, Messrs E. Jollie, Tancredj;. Davie, Packe, and Nottidge were chosen as a council. No gentlemen had been nominated for the offices of hon. sec. and treasurer, but the Rev. Mr. Fraser was appointed to act in the former capacity, and Dr Coward in the latter, Mr Nottidge said that it was not likely any members of the society not present would object to these appointments, on the ground of no nominations having being made, but, supposing they did, he presumed that Mr Fraser and Dr Coward weuld not object to resign their offices when the Institute wa» incorporated with the New Zealand Institute. Both gentlemen expressed their perfect readiness to do so. Dr Haast stated that a room in the Government buildings had been fitted up for the accommodation of the society, and was ready for use whenever the members chose to take possession. Some conversation ensued respecting the annual dinner of the society, which it was finally decided, Bhould take place on Wednesday evening next, the 30th instant. Dr Turnbull and Messrs Carruthers and Nottidge were appointed a committee to make the necessary arrangements, being instructed not to allow the expense to exceed £1 Is per bead. The Rev. Mr Wilson suggested that it might tend to promote the prosperity of the Institute if dinners, got up in an economical way, were held during the course of the year. The meeting then adjourned.

Kaiapoi Institute.—The room being let for the annual meeting of the Temperance Society, the quarterly meeting of members will be adjourned till the following evening. Wesleyan Mission.—A meeting of the Lyttelton branch of the Wesleyan Missionary Society was held in the Wesleyan Chapel on Monday evening. The chair was occupied by Mr J. G. Fvfe who, after a few remarks, called upon the Rev. A. Reid to read the report, which we regret is too lengthy to publishThe following resolution was then moved by the Rev. T. Buddie, seconded by the Rev. P. Knowlcs, supported by the Rev. J. Aldred, and carried—" That the report now read be adopted ; und this meeting hereby records its devout thanks to Almighty God for the success which has attended the evangelistic efforts of this and other Protestant churches in the islands of the Pacific This meeting would also express its admiration of the fidelity and zeal displayed by the missionaries in the prosecution of their arduous and self-denying enterprise; its heart-felt fympathy with them in their work, alike in their seasons of trial and days of triumph ; and its unfaltering conviction that, notwithstanding all opposition, the gospel of Jesus which they preach is proving, and will continue to prove, the power of God unto the full salvation of the heathen." The second resolution was proposed by the Rev. R. Bavin, and carried as follows—" Believing the evangelisation of the world to bo at once a most solemn duty and a most blessed privilege, this meeting acknowledges the necessity for more frequent and thoughtful consideration of its important claims; recommends the more careful instruction of our children with respect to their responsibilities and advantages in connection with the mission work; and pledges itself to increased prayerfulness and more abounding and systematic liberality in sustenance of a cause so intimately connected with the glory of our adorable Redeemer." The sum of £25 has been collected in Lyttelton in aid of the fund, of which about £7 was collected at the meeting. The pr/ceedings, which comprised several excellent addresses, interspersed with hymns in wluch the congregation joined, terminated about half-past nine p.m., with the benediction.

Sttpbemb Cot/bt House.—We have had an opportunity of inspecting Mr Lean's plans, &c, for a new Court-house, which is to be erected near the Government buildings. There are two sets of plans, one showing all the requirements for the Court complete, and the other the portion proposed to be erected at present. The leading feature in the complete plan is the distinct classification of tho whole into three general divisions for the public, the Court officers and persons summoned to attend the Court, and the prisoners. The entrance to the portion for the use of the public is from Chester street, from which a commodious stair leads to a gallery occupying a space equal to about one third of the body of the Court. It contains seats for one hundred and twenty, and standing room for eighty more. The entrance to the portion allotted to the court is facing the river. The interior is a hall sixty feet in length by forty feet in width, with a height to the walls of twenty-five, and to the top roof tree fortyeight feet. The roof is of timber of open construction, showing the timber, supported by semicircular ribs of laminated boards The light is obtained from windows above the side walls, five in number on each side, and three in the further gable above the head of the judge. Tho bench is a platform raised three feet above the floor of the Court, communicating on the one hand with the judge's present chamber and with the judge's retiring room on the other. This room is to be fitted up for the transaction of chamber business. The grand jury have an entrance in the south front. This room is twenty-fire feet byfifteen.and has access to the court by a door just below the bench, while at the lower end, and divided from it by the lobby, is a waiting room for the attendance of witnesses. The petty jury aire provided with seats below the bar till called. When called they proceed to the box assigned on the left hand of the bench. Their retiring rooms are on the first floor, and are gained by a stair immediately behind the box The female witnesses have a separate waiting room. The counsel enter their retiring room by a door leading from-: the court entrance lobby, and it as, well as all the other retiring rooms, are fitted up with every convenience. The reporters' tables are to be placed below, aid on either side of the bench. The prisoners enter the building by a door on the south side, and are conducted up a staircase to a perfectly distinct portion of the building, forming in itself a prison containing cells in which the prisoners may bo classified. The portion proposed to be carried out, although a temporary arrangement, requires no temporary buildings, except one small room for the sheriff, and a passage. The body of the court, the public gallery, and the petty jury retiring room will be complete. The grand jury, the witnesses, and prisoners will be. provided for temporaailyj withonfc extra construction, and the accommodation for the sheriff and council will be better than in the Town Hall. The judge's retiring room is to be that. attached ito the present chamber, and connected by a temporary passage. The style of the bidding is Pointed, with the openings of the doors and windows treated in such a manner as to secure every advantage of light, and the convenience of ample sash windows to all the subsidiary portions of the building. The ordinary objection to buildings in the Pointed style is thus obviated, and an effeotive ornamentation is obtained at a far lower cost than would be entailed by building in the Italian or olassical styles. Cantebbt/by Teomanby CaTA-BY. — A meeting ol the, members of this corps was held in the orderly room on Tuesday evening. Captain Moorhouso, who presided, stated that he had that day received a circular from Captain Rhodes asking if any of the men under his command would volunteer for active service at the front. This being a miliUry communication it was not for them to muke any comment upon the matter ; all they, knew was that the Government wanted volun- j teers for the front ; but if they did not like i to volunteer they were not obliged to do so. j Under ordinary circumstances, they ought upon such an appeal as this to volunteer en masse ; but if he was asked his opinion as to whaf. the corps ought to do under present he would say that, as they had to protect the particular district in which they lived against foreign enemies, and also to assist' the civil authorities in repressing any disturbance here [hear, hoar] ; .and although there was an implied undertaking on their part to go to any part of the colony if required, yet the military authorities did not order them to go to the front, but merely asked trominanders of troops, bat- | teries, &c, if any of their men were willing to ! volunteer for active service—the corps might I very properly use its own discretion in volunteering. If they thought the circumstances of the colony were in such a desperate condition as to require their services, they ought to volunteer j but he was bound to say that he did not think they were so. However much he might regret the state of affairs in the North" there were plenty of men there who had more leisure-on their hands than the business engagements of the members of the corps left them. He was sure that not one of those present would shrink from risking life and property if an express or implied duty required him to do so (hear, hear); but* as it was he considered they would be justified in sending word to head-quarters that if their services were imperatively necessary they would go; otherwise they wouid refrain from doing so. (Cheers) Immediately upon tho circular coming into his hands , he had telegraphed to the commanding officer , of the corps, Major Wi'son, asking h» opinion I as to what-course they ought to^adopt; but had not yet received a reply. A short dia- j cussion ensued, which showed tne general , feeling of the members to be that the state of . affairs in the North was not such as to require their making the great sacrifice *j»J T oh«. teering for active service would entai upon them T and Captain Moorhouse w« requested < to write to head-quarters to *»***%?£ man in the room, however, requested Captain Moorhousetoput his name dow£» jg™' , teer. Th* meeting then dected Cornet &lee,

Cornoral Manning, and Trooper Judge, mem- * y Fof t j, e General Committee. Captain Moorhouso stated that the bandmaster was about to retire from the corps and would give fl concert in a fortnight, which he hoped would bo 1 rgoly attended by members of the corps.

Pafßß Ct/R-BSCY. — Paper currency is established by law in Brazil, the United States, Austria, Turkey, Italy, and Russia. In Brazil it is at 50 per cont. discount, in the United States at 40, in Turkey at 20, in Italy ut 15, and in Russia at 12. 4.KOTUER Thamks Tt/nnk!.—By the close of this year London may expect to havp a second tunnel beneath the Thames open for passenger traffic. Mr Peter Barlow, jun., has drawn the plan for a new cutting near the Tower ; a Bill has been carried through Parliament ; and a contract has been all but completed for executing this important work. Of the urgent need for some better means of communication between the two banks of tho Pool, there can be no doubt. The plan is to sink a vertical shaft on each side of the river to a depth of fifty feet, furnished with an hydraulic lift, to raise and lower a carriage and ten passengers ; to drive a tunnel in the clay under the river, not exceeding eight feet in diameter, between these shafts,.and to line it as driven, partly with Staffordshire blue bricks, and partly with cast-iron, by which means it can be rendered air-tight, and all danger from the river avoided. The time necessary to complete the work is not expected to exceed six months, so that the metropolis may really hope to have the new Bub-way opened by New Year's Day. New Zkaiand Flax.—From the following paragraph in the "Saturday Review" it appears that this plant is largely cultivated in France for ornamental purposes. That paper of the 20th June last, in a notice of a work j entitled " Gleanings from French Gardens," makes the following allusion to the subject :— But the plant of which our author would have us borrow the out-door use from the French is the phormium tenax or New Zealand flax. " They grow it by thousands for the decoration of rooms," and in the great nursery of the city of Paris, at Passy, there are ten thousand plants of it, chiefly used for the embellishment of the Hotel de Ville." It does well out of door, in the southern and western districts, and looks beat plunged in the grass, or for the centre of a bed. But all these need a greenhouse, more or less. Mr Robinson has made his notes of comparison among the herbaceous plants at the Jnrdin dos Plantes and at our Botanical Gardens, to meet the needs of those who have not this luxury. Our readers will he surprised to hear that the phormium tenax has become popular in France. The next thing we may expect to hear about it is, that the market for the raw material as well as the manufactured article is forestalled by French agriculturists, while New Zealand growers are puzzling their intellects as to what they should do with their native plant.

v American Incomes.—An English paper , gives the following account of some of the f taxes on incomes and profits on trade in f America:—Mr W. B. Astor is taxed for . municipal purposes on a property valued at . £3,000,000 and upwards; he returned his V income last year at about £200,000, and he , actually paid altogether during the year 1867 3 a sum exceedingJ-80,000 in direct taxes alone. 3 One opulent citizen was taxed upon property 3 assessed at £1,500,000, and three others were i rated on a capital of nearly £1,000,000 each. . Some of the trading incomes, however much t they may have been reduced, are stiil niagni- ! ficent in amount. Mr J. G. Bennett, of the r " New York Herald," returns between £30,000 B and £35,000 for the profits of the year ; Mr Bonner, of the " New York Ledger," little 9 short of £50,000. Mr R. M. Hoe, the man ut facturer of the printing presses which bear his i name, cleared over £20,000 in 1867; and Mr j Dehnonico, the hotel-keeper, about £14,000 ; while the Rev Henry Ward Beechor returns I an income of nearly £8000, or about twice that of an English bishop. From Cincinnati the f largest return for last year is about £24,000 ; s from Chicago, £40,000—this was cleared by Mr M'Cormick, the maker of the reaping r machines; but a manufacturer of " sleeping 1 cars" reported his profits at nearly £15,000. } The " Chicago Tribune," too, must bo a flourishing country paper, for it returns . £5500 to one of its proprietors, and £5200 to } another. CoMPtrwoßY Education.—The Adelaide 5 Philosophical Society, Bays the " Wellington J Independent," has passed a resolution in favor » of compulsory education. The fact is inter--1 esting, as public attention in New Zealand is 1 just now directed to the subject of popular 1 education and the establishment of University " scholarships. It is an easy thing to pass a 5 resolution in favor of compulsory education j > but a difficult thing to devise means for on- > forcing it. In Prussia, a man is sent to prison 1 if he persists in not sending his children to r school. But New Zealand is not Prussia, and I Mr Stafford is not, although he would like to ' be, Bismarck. Compulsory education is as 5 knqtty a point as compulsory religion; as to ' the latter, the London "Times" of a recent " date gives a report of what was recently said j in the House of Commons A member asked ' the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether it * was a fact that a prisoner in Mountjoy Prison ' was ordered by the Governor to select his religion as Anglican, Roman Catholic, or ' Presbyterian, and that on declining to do so Ihe was sentenced to the penal ccl 1 , with bread ' and water diet. Then the Minister replied " that the facts of the case were these : —The I Governor of the prison enquired in the usual manner what wa9 the religion of the convict, who stated that he was of no religion whatever, and that he never attended any place j lof worship. Ho added that he was a Pagan— j[A laugh]—and refused to be instructed in i religion of any kind. Tho Director, being a 1 military man, ordered him to select his religion immediately. [Loud laughter.] The ' Governor Btatea that he told the prisoner what was required of him, but he objected to go to any place of worship, as he did not believe in any religion. He was therefore put on penal diet for three days. [Much laughter.] Two days afterwards he was removed to the hospital, and after he left the hospital he was again placed on penal diet for three days— [Oh, oh!] —at the expiration of which time he selected the Roman Catholic religion. [Renewed laughter.] This remarkable way of making a prisoner religious by placing him on a short allowance of food must have been borrowed from some edict of the Diet of Worms!