THE AUCKLAND FREE LIBRARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9040, 19 November 1892, Page 3

THE AUCKLAND FREE LIBRARY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sißj—Having recently arrived in this beautiful city of Auckland, from Southland, after visiting all the principal towns in the colony, I feel I cannot leave without commenting on the great advantages and blessings Aucklanders have in being possessed of such a magnificent institution as the Free Library. It is without exception the largest and best in New Zealand, and is an institution that the citizens of your fair city may justly be proud of. In the matter of structure and of the valuable works and documents contained therein, it is quite in harmoney with the standard of the whole enterprise. It is a great pity that the authorities of Wellington and Dunedin do not avail themselves of a few lessons from their northern neighbours in the matter of better libraries. The Dunedin one, especially, is a disgrace to that finely laid out and well-built city, and strangers have a great difficulty in finding out where their library is located; and when it is discovered, strangers are very often, to their astonishment, given to understand that it is not a Free Library; but, nevertheless, should they not be residents of Dunedin, they may, by first entering their names on a visitors' book, be permitted to read the periodicals to be found in a small Reading-room. Compare your position with those of your southern friends, and see how much better off you are in those respects. Too much praise cannot also be bestowed upon the committee, for their excellent selection of librarians, who are, by repute, and from my own experience, found always most courteous and obliging to visitors, a luxury not always to be met with in one's travels. One, defect I should like to be permitted to point out that should be remedied, for the convenience of business people, and that is the adoption of preserving a yearly file of all the leading city newspapers of the colony. This would be conferring a great boon on the greater portion of the community, as often back numbers of papers are much required for various purposes of reference. At present, I understand, these papers are only filed for a few months, and then sold as waste paper. Trusting that my suggestion will meet with the approval of the Library authorities.—l am, etc., ' ' A Dunedinite. Auckland, November 18,1892.

-.. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—lt would be greatly to the benefit of the health and well-being of this city if a stipendary magistrate were to permanently occupy the bench. The decisions of our unpaid magistracy are at times quite incomprehensible. To illustrate by a case heard yesterday, three persons, two tenants ana trie owner, were summoned for allowing closets to overflow, the same persons having all previously been convicted and fined tor the same offence, but in the case of the i two tenants, who are admittedly very poor; the fine, it is stated, has not been paid. ;, In tht present case the tenants who. aid not ; paj previous fine, »»d it is presumed will aojb to