CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume X, Issue 498, 27 October 1882, Page 11

CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

At the weekly meeting held on MoncTay t-vtuinp. tbe 19th iust., there was a good attendance. The business of the evening was a debate on the subject of theatres. The method of drawing tbe members names out of a h*»t, which has now become so popular with the members, wns again adopted. Mr. Milner led off, and laid down the proposition—that tbratroa are iniuri-.us to the vell-hein^ of socioty. The speakers that followed, t eated ihe qnp-si >n from a bi-tuncal, literary, and moral standpoint, and some excellent speeches were delivered, notably those of the Rev. Father ODonnell and Mr. H. H. Longhnan. Opinions seemed very equally divided, and at the close of an animated debate the proposition was only saved by the casting vote of the President. On last Thursday evening a concert waa given under the auspices of this Society in aid of the parish funds of Lyttelton. A very varied and attractive programme was presented, and we are pleased To state that the laudable efforts of the secretary in assisting the Key. Father Xracey to pay off the debt with which he found his parish saddled on his recent arrival in Canterbury, was a success from a financial point of view. On Monday, the 18th inst., there was tbe usual weekly meeting. After sundry resolutions, having reference to the recent entertainment given on behalf of the parish of Lyttelton, the programme of the evening was called on, which was a lecture by Mr. J. C. Carr. That gentleman, however, failed to put in an appearance, owing to a misunderstanding as to the evening upon which his lecture was to be given, and various proposals were madp. as to the best method of filling up the evening. Ultimately, a fertile imagination suggested that each member should secretly write down on a piece of paper the subject- matter for a speech, and that these pieces of paper should be put into a hat and drawn in turn, each member rising to speak on the subject as he drew from tb« hat. This proposal found favour with the meeting, and great was the merriment which ensued. Most learned disquisitions were given on Robert Burns and the Lime Light, while such momentous issues as whether a Chinamen should wear his pigtail behind or before, or whether red or black hair was the more preferable, were treated with the gravity the importance of the questions deserved. The weekly meeting of Monday, the 23rd inst., opened to a good average attendance of member?!. A motion, of which previous notice had been given, was proposed by Mr. Kennedy, rescinding a previous resolution, that all original papers read before the Society should be handed to the secretary for safe custody, and become the property of the Society. After discussion the resolution was lost. The rest of the evening was taken up with a dramatic performance, which, judging by the laughter and applause it produced, gave great satisfaction. On next Monday evening the Rev. Father O'Donnell has promised to deliver an address.