THE Wellington Independent " Nothing extenuate; Nor set down aught in malice." THURSDAY MORNING, 18th JUNE. MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETIES.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1883, 18 June 1863, Page 2

THE Wellington Independent " Nothing extenuate ; Nor set down aught in malice." THURSDAY MORNING, 18th JUNE. MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETIES.

The means of mental culture in the Colonies have within the last few years been much extended aud increased. Victoria now boasts a University and a body of piofessors competent to confer degrees, and while legal practitioners of local education and training, are already allowed to appear in all the courts there, from the highest to the lowest, the time is rapidly approaching when the the other professions of Divinity and Medicine, will be represented in a similar manner. Nor are the literary wants of the community at large ill supplied. A free Public Library of a character and extent second to none out of London, already exists in Melbourne, where all classes, from the highest to the lowest, have access to every'description of books, from Fiction to Metaphysics, and an extensive Lending Library is also to be found in a well conducted Mechanics Institute. New Zealand, though a much younger colony, has also made some progress in this direction, though not so much as might have been expected, considering the very superior class of which many of its earlier settlers consisted. We have in Auckland and Otago, institutions of a literary character, while in our own Province, the Wellington Athen»uin has now been in existence for 21 years, and a kindred institution in a humbler Way in Turakino, has passed through tbe dangers of iufancy, and now bids fair to enter oa a career of gradually increasing usefulness. We publish to-day, the reports of these institutions, the Wellington Athen»um and the Turakiua Mutual Improvement Society. The financial statement of the former shows a balance to credit of £2 8s 6d, and we have every confidence that it evinces fairly the fir.uocia 1 condition of the Society, hut as it has not yet been audited, we defer its full publication till that has been done. In other respects, many important improvements have been carried out, The Institute now confers a real benefit on the public, by having its rooms open daily and nightly under a competent person, and by a very excellent regulation, its privileges are extended gratuitously fora month to straugers, merely on the condition that they are iutroduced by a member. This is as it should be, and nothing can tend n»^;c to increase its usefulness and popularity. In the library, a considerable addition has been made lo the stock of books, and an instalment of some of the latest English publications which arrived in tbe Ellou Castle, will in a iew days, be placed on its shelves. The Committee, however, pathetically romark, that the Supply does not keep pace with the demand, which is certaiuly true, because it can scarcely be expected that the very limited remittance of £20, recently sent home should procure even a tithe of the volumes which would supply the reading community of Wellington. It may, however, be hoped that with past difficulties surmouuted, the funds to spare for this purpose, will mouth by month augment, aud this waut be more adequately supplied. The public have not been wanting in their pirt; more than once when that able and indefatigable presi« dent, the Judge, levied contributions his appeal was liberally responded to; and when the Proj vincial Council voted £100, a somewhat similar sum was raised by voluutary subscription. Altogether, we are gl*d to say that every prospect is now afforded of the future success of the ' Athenaeum ; a turning point has been reached in its career, and it rests with its present Directors whether the progress, evinced by ihe gratifying increase in one year of from sixty to two hundred members, shall be continued.

When we turn to the kindred effort being made in the little village ofTurakina, on the West Coast, we cannot help feeling highly gratified at the success which has been achieved. In a thinly populated district, with an,, embryo township, consisting of a church, a school, a store, a jiubliojwuse, and a round dozen of

other dwelling places, we are told of popula r lectures being delivered monthly on literature and science, while serials and magazines of the highest class, such as All the Year Round, tbe Cornhill, Blackwood's' Magazine, and a host of others of a similar kind are procuied by every mail from England and circulated amongst (he settlers. The Secretary writes,—" I am suie you will appreciate our effoits, feeble though they be, to put reading of a superior kind into the hands of tbe dwellers in this district, 1 ' And after giving a list of a number of books sent for by the last mail, he continues,—" I hope we shall thus lay the foundation of a lending library ; in fact, we are determined to go a-head and deserve success, and we inteud to lay everyone under contribution for this object from the Governor downwards." We heartily wish our friends God-speed in their laudable undertaking, and wonder that so much has been already accomplished at so very moderate an expenditure. We shall be glad from time to time to hear of the gradually increasing usefulness of their Society, and perhaps iv some future year it will be a pleasant xetrospect to compare tbe wide sphere of usefulness of the present with the humble beginnings of the past.

By the efforts of societies of this kind much good has been effected at home aud even more could be achieved in the colonies. The latent spark of genius in many a youthful breast has been fanned into a flame, by the lectures delivered at Mechanics' Institutes. The tyro in Art, Literature or Science, conscious of something within him, which prompts to great deeds, goes wandering in the dark till the gates oi' the Temple of learning are partially opened by such means, and he catebes a glimpse of the vastness and grandeur of the region to be 1 explored. The clue thus caught is eagerly followed, and step by step is real knowledge gained. It was means like these which made Humphrey Davy the greatest chemist of bis day, aud it is the consciousness of tbe want of sueb means in their earlier days for the community at large, that has made Lord Brougham and other eminent men, their foremost advocates now v It is the humble Mechanics Institute in Great Britain that has been the precursor of the Social Science Congress, where tbe great minds of tbe age interchange tbeir views on the latest developments of modern civilisation. True I It was men possessed of the highest acquirements who inaugurated meetings such as these ; but it was the inculcation of knowledge by the humble means we have referred to that prepared the mind of tbe people to take an enlightened aud appreciating interest in such proceedings. Without this previous mental training, the columns of reports fur' nished by the Press of such meetings, would becaviare to the multitude; while as it is, we know that these gatherings now create almost as much interest in England, as the meetings of the Imperial Parliament. What is true at home is in a somewhat different way, equally true in the colonies. There, mental development has been carried to' a greater length ; here, much has yet to be done.- It is true the means at our disposal are, but limited, but they are increasing every day, and it is only by combined efforts that they do increase. People in a superior soui.il position, and possessed of; wealth, can easily gratify their higher tastes by. an expenditure trifling to them, but the mass of the eoinmunity caunot afford to do so individually. It is here the society steps to their aid, and by combination, a very litte raouey can go a great way. We have already done much here, bu* we have a great deal more to do yet, belore we can rank with other eobnies. The latest books are at present, virtually unprocurable and we do not even possess a respectable library of reference. The Provincial, Council has provided to some extent f'»r the wants of Us members in that way, but even there tbe deficiency of standard works is lamentable. Neither does the Atheimum supply the want, and unless in private libraries, at tbe present moment we know that the best books are unprocurable. Now it wcfald not cost much to remedy this ; nothing in the world is so cheap as books, and by the display of some energy on the part of the Athenssmn Directors, and some further liberality ia the public, the foundation of a public library commensurate with the wants of the Province, could easily be laid.

We will again revert to this subject, but meantime we cannot take leave of it without bestowing a passing tribute of praise on those to whose strenuous exertions our present progress is due. Of late the Athen»um has been kept in existence, makiy, by the efforts of its learned. President, Mr Justice Johnston. He has been the main-spring that bus kept the other parts of the nuclrine in motion, others have doubtless aided and generously supplied funds, the committee and secretary have done something:, too, but he has been the chief mover. We think it somewhat unfair, thus to thrust so much on a single pair of shoulders. There are many other gentlemen who in past times have exerted themselves as strenuously, as he is doing now. When the funds ran low, when books got scarce, and douations became few and far between, one or more of these members, whose names we need not give, put their shoulders to the wheel, and gave the Society a fresh impetas. It is the Judge's turn now ; but what we want is combined action on the part of all. If that were exerted everything would go on at an accellerated late, and the objects we have indicated would soon be attained.