NELSON INSTITUTE.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14156, 19 April 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

NELSON INSTITUTE.

ANNUAL MEETING.

(From "The Colonist,?' March 28.) The annual meeting of members of the Nelson Institute was held last night when Mr. F. G. Gibbs, chairman of the committee, presided. - The annual report of the committee 1 stated, inter alia, that tho membership at) th<? close of the pear was 272, a<* compared with 270 last year. During 1 the year 299 new books had been added to the library, and to meet the increased demand for periodicals, several of the illustrated publications had been duplicated, and a cheap copy of most of the books relating to the war had been supplied. The system of book issue had been revised and simplified, the card* system having been adopted as far as possible. The result had been satisfactory, the. work having been facilitated and information required being ascertainable on inspection. During the year the lease of the native reserve •on which stands the building formerly used as a library had expired, but the committee decided not to; exercise the option of renewal, and sold the improvements on the section. One "i: the Institute rooms had been allotted to the use of recruits and visiting and returned soldiers, and some loss of revenue had resulted, but the convenience had been so much appreciated that the committee felt amply justified in their action. A further loss of revenue would also occur during the current year owing to the suspension of the Government subsidy during the war. The scientific and literary branch held a number of interesting meetings during the winter months, and the Chess Club, comprising members of the Institute, had regularly held its contests in the rooms. The rents of the Institute endowments had been paid fairly regularly. There was a reasonable prospect of the promised bridge at Golden Downs being built in the near future, thus providing a much needed improvement of communication to settlers in the district, and thereby enhancing the value of the reserve. Regret was expressed that owing to sickness in his family, Mr. Worley had been compelled' to relinquish the duties of secretary and treasurer. Regret was also expressed at the death of Mr. Thomas Cawthron, who had taken a keen interest m the affairs of the Institute and given effec tual assistance in financing the erection of the Institute building and in equipping the museum. The statement of accounts for the year ended 31st December, 1915, showed that the receipts totalled £511 14h Id (including subscriptions £219 15s 9d, rents £82 10s 6d, subsidies £173 6s 4d), and the expenditure £500 16s 2d (including salaries £119 15s lOd, periodicals and books £102 17s sd, interest etc., £169)" leaving a balance in hand oj £10 17s lid. A statement of assets and liabilities was presented. This showed! that the assets were valved at £7927, and that £2870 2s 2d was due on mortgage, lear ing an excess of assets over liabilities of £5056 17s lOd. , - ;

The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and; statements of accounts, siiid;::'that the financial position of the institution might be considered very satisfactory. There was really | a somewhat larger credit balance on the year's working than was disclosed by j tho statement of receipts and expendii ture. The committee had been rather afraid that the war would affect them detrimentally, but he was glad .to say j that it had not done so. No doubt the ; fact that they had provided such a large quantity of war literature, and that the public had been so painfully engrossed in the war. had led to the r.d'vantages of such a library as theirs being more widely appreciated in . such times as the present than they were under ordinary conditions, with the result that they had not so far suffered from the war. During the current year, however, they must look forward to reduced income from certain sources. They would not get the usual Government grant, and he was afraid their rents would undoubtedly be less. Also, of course, they would not have anything further from the Thompson bequest. Their receipts for the coming year would therefore probably see a diminution, but he trusted that by careful management they would be able to supply the public with not fewer periodicals and books than had bg§n supplied dtiring the past year. It would be noticed that there Was in the -eport to their reserves.' He was sorry to say that these had always given the committee a certain amount of anxiety anoT worry, and the past year had not been in exception in that respect to preced- j ing years. The rents had always oeen j paid—they had nerer suffered any loss on that account —but it would of course be understood that it was not sufficient :nr them merely to secure the payment of the rents year by year. It was very important for the committee to see that the two reserves were farmed and cultivated in sxich a manner that when the present leases came to an end j the properties might be leased afresh i wifhout any diminution in rental. If the two properties were properly looked after, when the present leases fell in they might expect a very considerably increased rental from them. He was glad to say that the committee had made such arrangements recently that for some time to come, at any rate, he trusted there would be nothihg further to complain of, as the present arrangements would probably prove quite satisfactory. Mr. Gibbs went on to make an extended reference to the late Mr. Thomas Cawthron, who, he said, always took a keen interest in the welfare of the Institute. When he (Mr. Gibbs) first joined the committee, back in tho '90's, the financial position of the Institute was very deplorable. Through no fault of the committee it was heavily in debt. It was anticipated that they 'might have to close the Institute—'sell the property, as they could have done, and wind up the institution altogether. They were unable for a long time to gain any financial assistance. Finally Mr. Cawthron came the rescue, and, by lending to the Institute a fairly large sum of money, extricated them from their 'difficulties, <md enabled them to carry on with success up to the time of the fire. Then, when it came to the question of rebuilding, Mr. Cawthron again came to their assistance, ond gave them over £1000. Only those who were on the committee and knew how closely they had had to watch the finances amid really appreciate how very considerably they'wove benefited by Mr. Cawthron's snleudid-gift. It made the working of the Institute comparatively easy, au'ci without it they would have had a con"■'derable struggle to make ends meet. !'n rer>ly to a question, Mr. Gibbs said the Chamber of Commerce had decided to cease to occupy one of the front rooms, but both rooms were still available for letting for meetings. Mr. A. J. .Redgrave seconded the motion, which was carried.

-The following, being the only nomin a. tin us received for the committee, were dec!;l red duly elected: —Mrs. C. Grn-i'-un. Messrs A. J. Redtr'-ave, T. A. H. Field. M.P.. F. G. G^bs. F. V. TC.naop. IT P. W»chbourn, W. F. Worley. 'and G. R. Wise.

Messrs. ¥. A. Pair-ford and X F. St .To^in were re-^lecterl nR-pudHors.

Op the motion of Mr. JRecUrrßvn, <v"!<>cl by Mr. KnnT-ip, v"tes of th*"">-.< "•"it o<--corr]ed tn the librarian rVJ'iss ■Ropyos). the assistant librarian (M\^i "" '"~ ''■- '*■—*v-r. ro^. o tnrv (Mr. \V. P.

Worley), the present secretary'(Mr. G. R. Wise), the auditors (Messrs. Bamford and St. John), the donqrs of Dooks and exhibits, and the local newspapers. Cr. F. A Pitt Vas present at the meeting as ia> representative of the City Council on the committee.