AN OTAGO INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 919, 10 July 1869, Page 1

AN OTAGO INSTITUTE.

The l recent movement for the formation j of an Association through the medium of which the lovers of Art and< Science' may co-operate with one another, 1 is eminently, gratifying. The want of such' a bond. has- long been felt by all who' take an interest in anything beyond the business and the pleasures of the day. Without it, progress either for the individual or for the community must always be slow-paced. If only in correcting the desulfcoriness of individual exertions and studies; and in direoting them towards 1 the channels in which they will : prove most > fruitful, the influence of such an Association as was initiated on Saturday will be very beneficially felt. - It is well, too, that in a small community, a Society of this sort should. not confine itself to anynarrow sphere of operations. Specialities of study are all very well, and the active progress of any art or science is, undoubtedly, for themost part, dependent upon them. But one of the first duties of a Philosophical Society in a community like ours, isolated as it is from all the great centres of intellectual activity in the world, is to incite to study. Its programme should be such that it may draw all thoughtful persons into its ranks, in order that those Who need to be aroused to thought may find in it an example in every department of human culture. Men's minds are too various in character and capacity to be ."wrought into any single mould. The Society which will be beneficial here will be one that can bring its influence to bear in drawing each one into that line of study and culture for which nature has given him the greatest aptitude. Wide as this are the projects of the promoters of the Society •which has just been brought into being, and theirs is' precisely one of those cases in which the proverb that ' he ■who aims the highest will reach the farthest,' is sound and applicable.

It seems almost needless to say that there is, in many departments of study, a wide field before this infant Society. True, a few men, eminent in their respective sciences, and enthusiastic in their devotion to them, have already explored the country in which we live. But it would be a mistake to suppose that their researches have in any way exhausted the field — tliat there is nothing new to reward the naturalist or tho man of science who may follow in their footsteps. But were all explored, all known that ever can be known of the land wo inhabit, — a thing which can indeed never be true of any land — there are fields 'white unto the harvest,' all around — the minds of that rising generation which already numbers nearly a third part of our population. If no explorations, no new discoveries, no fresh generalisations of facts already known, could possibly be the fruit of tho labours of this Society, still if it should exert the influence which it ought to do and may do, upon the culture of those who are following on to take tho places we now occupy in this busy colony, it will do a groat and noble work. Such a work would indeed bring the noblest reward that could crown its exertions. Both of these fields, however, are open beforo it. For instance j we know more, perhaps, up to tho present time, of tho Botany and Geology of Otago than of any other branch of scientific investigation. Yet this knowledgo already acquired is not only confined to fkr too few, but it is in itself very imperfect as to a thousand details, which only the united exortions of many local observers will ever be able to fill in. A work but just published by that well known friend of tho province, Dr "W. Lauder Lihdsay, entitled 4 Contributions to New Zealand Botany,' but chiefly confined to the Botany of Otago, in full rather of a #erioi of hint* for futnjp obwrven than

of 'a'lteoiirfe Bonclusiotis on the 'Pp'qihts' ne : discusses. How many subjects connected with the, geology arid meteorology of province still await elucidation, some of the speakers at the meeting on Saturday partially pointed outi ' Even those' which' were mentioned on that occasion will ( afford work for many. hands for a long time ho .come. In other fields. of research we have as yeti, almost alljto learn. They ,are soils" which nave been buti scratched, and that but in passing, by men intents on other things. We sincerely hope the management of the Society will fall into the hands of practical far-seeing men, who will recognise it as one of their chief duties to urge the studies of its members in the direction in which, they will be most useful, and sedulously to collect and make public the information which individuals may acquire.

One of the most .valuable things which this Society may do for us will be the accumulation of a special library of reference. The student, whatever department of human knowledge he may affect, feels deeply, in young countries like ours, the impossibility of obtaining information he is continually in need of,, on account of his isolation from all great libraries. The proximate formation of a University here, renders it all the more necessary that such a library as we speak of should be formed. There will, no doubt, be a University library, and, as in other countries, it will be more or less accessible to all for purposes of pure study. But for a while, the University library will probably be "very special in its character, and the province has not the means to make it an important collection, except through the accumulations of many years. In the mean time a library of works of reference in Natural History and Science is precisely the greatest want of those who devote themselves to these studies, or who even, as so many do, casually dabble in them. This, we hope, will be one of the first cares of the new Institute. This will form the best supplement they can give us to the interesting Museum which, in days when public money was not so much grudged for sueh f purposes as it is now, the Government succeeded in gathering together.