WELLINGTON ATHENÆUM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4455, 30 June 1875, Page 2

WELLINGTON ATHENÆUM.

Last evening a meeting of the subscribers to the Wellington Athenaeum was held. The attendance, comparatively speaking, was scanty, Mr. Woodward occupied the chair, and after reading the usual preliminaries, called upon Mr. Logan, the secretary, who read the following report “ On this the thirty-third anniversary, we are sorry to appear before you with a story of retrogression as compared until progressive prosperity last year. “ Then the committee could state that they had a few pounds to their credit in the bank, and that they had paid all the liabilities of the current year, besides old debts, repairs to building, &c. Now we have to place before you the miserable fact of being £122 in debt on past year’s current liabilities. Against this we have, it is true, an asset of £lO3 15s. Sd., hut the bulk of this has to be collected. The number of members on the roll is nominally 450, but 30 of these have joined during the past six weeks. They are divided, as follows ; Yearly, 161 ; half-yearly, 105 ; quarterly, 190 ; total, 456; from whom a revenue of £422 has been derived. This sum, and £ls 195., the result of the soiree, has been the total income for past year. “ The catalogue has been printed at a cost of £35 ; and cash received for sale of same amounts to only 235. “ Upwards of 600 volumes have been added to library, of which a fair proportion have been works of science, .travels, and general literature, in addition to tha-works of fiction which we are bound to supply, as being in greatest demand. “One of the first duties which the new committee will require to undertake mil be to call in the books and stop the circulation of the library for a week, to take stock. We cannot, of course, speak positively, but at the same time we feel certain that when this is done an extremely large number of the hooka of the Institute will bo found missing. It will be the duty of the new committee to present, through one of the members of the

General Assembly, a Bill to give effect to the resolutions passed at the special general meeting of 28th May. “ The present committee, after having taken legal advice on the subject, decided not to put the first resolution passed at the special meeting into force, but that the proper proceeding will be to lay a Bill before the General Assembly embodying the necessary changes of constitution. r ■ - - “The whole of the affairs of ijhe Institute are in a most unsatisfactory position, and ■ some radical change will require to be made by the new committee to induce a return to a more healthy state. “ And this committee feels that they would not be doing their duty to the gentlemen you may elect to succeed them unless they ask this meeting to support the new committee in what measures of change in officers of the Institute, or other reforms, they may find necessary for the furtherance of the welfare of. the Institute. ’>'■ “In reference to this a distinct resolution will be placed before the meeting, the effect of - which, if passed, will be that those present at this meeting pledge themselves to use their influence to prevent our successors being put in the same ignominious position that our predecessors were placed by a special meeting' of the subscribers.” The Teeasueeb, Mr. T. Kennedy Macdonald, submitted the usual financial statements. The receipts were shown to be £441 Is. lid., made up by balance from last year of £2 15s. Id. ; members* subscriptions and catalogues, £422 7s. lOd ; net proceeds of soiree, £ls 19s. The actual expenditure was £397 15s. 9d., the principal items in which were new books, &0., £lO9 lOd. ; and the balance ia hand amounted to £46 6s. 2d. The liabilities and assets account showed that there was an excess of assets over liabilities of £531 9s. sd. A statement of receipts and expenditure from July, 1873, to date showed that the former had amounted to £IOSO, and the latter to £IOO4. These various reports were all adopted unanimously, the word “ ignominious” having first been struck out of the Secretary’s report, at the suggestion of Mr. O’Shea. The Chaieman, in putting the motion,, remarked that there were a great many things to regret. He did not think the state of affairs was so very bad. as compared with the condition of the society two years ago. The financial report showed that a sum of £lll had been paid off during the past two years, though they might be reminded that that was ’ i but a composition or an instalment. Yet the . fact remained that they had paid this £lll, i and they had to-day £23 as an excess of assets. - By assets in this case he meant cash collecti able and cash in bank. Doubtless, the dona- ; tions that friends had made for special purposes . had greatly assisted the institution; but on the , whole, he thought the position of the society I much better than it was two years ago.

rule 16. The Secretary moved that the subscribers pledge themselves to support the new committee in their efforts for the prosperity of the Athenaeum, and in any action they may take on rule 16. He explained that the effect of the rule had been somewhat weakened by the action of a special'meeting held some fifteen months ago, and the retiring committee thought it would be but fair before the new committee was elected to strengthen its hands by this resolution. Rule 16 gives power to the committee to dismiss any salaried officer of the society should it think fit. The motion was earned. ABILITY OP MINORS TO VOTE OR TAKE OFFICE Mr. Warburton moved a resolution, to the effect that persons under twenty-one years of age should be eligible to vote or take office. He based his arguments on the fact that if boys paid the same fee as adults, they should be equally privileged. He believed the effect of such an alteration would be good, as creating a wider interest in the progress of the institution. Mr. Shaw sympathised with the object Mr. Warburton had in view, but considered it would be endangering the best interests of the institution to alter the rule. He remembered some time since in Dunedin, where there was no limit as to age, that it had worked very badly. An important subject had come up for discussion, namely, the question of opening the Athemeum on Sundays, and the young men were swept up by the score to vote on a most important subject, though totally unfit to give an opinion on it. Mr. Hill suggested that ability to vote and take office might be conferred on those of an age which should give a guarantee of discretion—say 16 or 18. Mr. W. A, Parkinson understood that the committee ir tended shortly to apply to Parliament for power to convert the institution into a corporate body. If that were the case and the application were granted, he presumed minors would be incapable of taking office. The same might be said of the voting power ; if incorporation were granted, the votes of minors would be perfectly invalid. Mr. T. Kennedy Macdonald thought that the strong point against the motion. But beyond this, it was not desirable that young persons should take such an active part in the government of societies as those who had arrived at riper years. Further discussion ensued, after which the motion was negatived by 11 to 9. DATE OP NOMINATIONS.

A motion on this subject, notice of which had been given by Mr. Warburton, was withdrawn. ELECTION OP OFFICERS. The meeting then proceeded to the election of officers, with the following result :—President, W. Fitzherbert, Esq.; Vice-Presidents,-Messrs. Lyon, Gisborne, and Woodward; Treasurer, Mr. T. Kennedy Macdonald ; Secretary, Mr. Gammell ; committee, Messrs. W. H. Heaps, H. Barber, E. H. Crease, H. F. Logan, Win. Mould, Ed. Stafford, J. M. Taylor, H. ‘Wilcox, and J. H. Braim.