CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XV, Issue 25, 14 October 1887, Page 7

CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

Those accustomed to read reports of this Society in the Tabdet will suppose that either the Society's reporter mast no W be in JannaT-a Aden, wandering amid groves and fountains, accompanied with a S P °r r nfTh re i ch " min g houres » « that the Society SdeTunct! Neuher of these two things has, however, happened For the company of the houres, draughts of n6ctar or of lemonade, out of golden cnoY wvT*^ mUBt Jet Bflig8 fl igh '- Whilßt the Sociat 7 i8 ' and & *°™ t°me back has bean in a flourishing condition. An ordinary weeklr meeting took place on Tuesday evening, October 4. tLTSS twenty-four members present, and Mr. W. O'Sbaughnessy, the Yk£ president presided. Mr. M. Hendon, a candidate nominated a tt? e X? 118 T UDg> WaS ball °i ed for and dul y elected * member of thl E» a tf\, , Wa . 8 u an ? unce . d thata concert aid of the band fund was shortly to take place in the Oddfellows' Hall, Lichfield street The Programme or the evening was a debate for the junior members U^ e ° h hether Of not i 8 noTel readin S beneficial to youth ° Mr. McManaway, who opened the debate in the affirmative, in the course of an able speech, said, that as novels are the productions of the most gifted and talented of the community, they must ha™ an elevating tendency. He admitted that novelettes and a multitudl of American stones and Indian tales were had, but that standard works on fict- on, such as those of Scott, Dickens, and others could always be read by youth with advantage. These not only edify but provide recieatiou and innocent amusement at all times Mr McManaway mentioned several leading writers of fiction and thoir fiaetan^tTtTucatd! 1^ ™ """"^ «* * lhe * 08t «* «™ f^'vf " C0 ° pcr ' ZZ h ° io }} l?l ?* Ed iQ tfa e negative, denied that novela are, for the most part, read by the more refined and better instructed On the contrary that they are principally read by those too ignorant and uncultivated to appreciate higher literature, and that because a work proceeds from a great genius, in a moral sense it must bt elevating. Mr. Cooper next painted inmost forcible language, the corruption existing among the youth of both sexes in America, which corruption, he said, is the result of novel-reading; and that yoonS persons, instead of novels, should read books on church and seculaf history as well as works on the arts and sciences. secuiar Mr. Courtney was sirongly in favour of novel-reading. Many w£?n£ g »?K Dg , 8 we V7 cI^ ted in novele, especially historic noveli, ™, m 11 E a v l0 ° ked for in vain ia nißl °"es, because an historian could not dwell ou an event as could a novelist. Even Indian stories bo much condemned, contained more information as to the various tnbes of the aboriginal natives of America than could be found in maLyhistor.es of the United States, Miss Bradden the celebrated nove hst, he said, had herself declared, that her object in writimr novels was to improve the human race.-Mr. Curtain made a concis! and excellent speech to the same effect.-Mr. Hau R hey also spoke fill T^ ( noTel - read i°g-~Mr. D. Pope considered that novels^ filled with nonsense and falsehoods* as the bard cays, •' frae end to c.id and that time speut in reading them v absolutely wasted,Mr Carney's contention waa, tbat there is neither good nor harm in reading noves. The debate concluded, a majority voted in favour of novel-readmg. The meeting then terminated in the usual manner