THE WELLINGTON LITERARY ASSOCIATION.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3192, 9 October 1867, Page 4

THE WELLINGTON LITERARY ASSOCIATION.

To tht Editor of the Daily SotrrHiKN Cross. Dejlb Mb. Editor, — I was not all surprised to see the flippant reply, in your issue of to-day, to the capital letter on the above Association signed " Ignorance." What does " A Member" wish to say ? His letter is very weak, and a mere jumble of words, winding up with a piece of witticism at old as the hills. Eut still it is a very literary composition, for does he not commence with quoting Shakespeare, and then drag in an extract from Talleyrand to justify what the members of the Association understand ? And then we are told, in an ungrammatical sentence, that the " Inspired Tinker of Bedford" — a very literary way of speaking of Bunyan, but by no means new — " has handed down to our times a portrait of a youth bearing the same name." What name ? Bunyan or Bedford, Tinker or Ignorance ? Which you like, I suppose. It does not matter ; you can take your choice. This elegant style of writing is, of course, excusable when you think of the amount of literary work "a member" has to go through. Having mounted Pegasus, he must fly on with his steed, and cannot stop even >to think — let alone to write correctly. Ignobance No. 2.

that any set of individuals should attempt the almost hopeless task of creating a public spirit in this city. I have not the slightest doubt that * Igaoranoe" is a " poor benighted creature," not to see that onr public men in the Provincial Covtncil and Legislative Assembly art the poorest set of sticks that ever got a colony into debt; and I Ofrtaiuly do think any change in this respect would be for the better, for it oould not well be worse. As for the Association Wing "a coramon-pUce institution," all I can say is this, that it has the uncommon quality in New Zealand of not getting, into debt, and they do the best they can to enlighten one another. Of course this is very uncolonial, and therefore mmt be very distasteful to that poor fellow "Ignorance." Happy would, it be for our Provincial and General Legislative Assemblies if, they learnt the happy seoret of keeping out of debt, and of enlightening the public mind by wise counsels. I trust that " Ignorance 1 ' will soon cease to be one nf those who "are too low-minded to know the extent of their, own depravity," by becoming a member of the Wellington-street Literary Association, — Tours, &c, , Jem Bark. Auckland, Ootober 8, 1867. [We must close this correspondence.-— Ed, D.S.O.]