TAURANGA MRCHANICS' INSTITUTE.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 124, 8 November 1873, Page 3

TAURANGA MRCHANICS' INSTITUTE.

Ihe annual meeting of the members oftheTauranga Mechanics’ Institute was held in the reading room on Tuesday evening. There was a good attendance of members. 6 Mr W. H. Ball (vice-preddent), in the absem-o I of the president, occupied the chair, andbmtlvl explained the object of the meeting. * ! REPORT OF COMMITTEE. i he minutes of the last general meeting hav:m> i been read, the Secretary presented the followum ! exhaustive and well written ° j n -v 11 KEI>ORT - . | lour committee, in making the first annual! report, in accordance with the rules , lf a 1 general meeting held on the Ist November, 1872 I have great pleasure in being able to congratulate I members on the present flourishing condition of the Institute. It will be seen by the treasurer’s balance sheet appended to this report there is a cash balance in hand at the end of the Vour of 3s ,» ! n addition to wliich there was 3s 9d nettv cash in the hands of the librarian, and subscrintoons due So the amount of <£l 7 Bs, making a total credit ba.ance to the Institute of £l7 IS* yj Cbe , r ® are liabilities ot £ / 4s 3a only. There are at present 70 subscribing members, of whom 29 are annual, 4 half, yearly, 32 quarterly, and 5 monthly. The differ ence between the number of subscribers Dst year and this is as follows. Whereas last year at the general meeting in November there were V> annual, 2 half yearly, and 9 quarterly sascribes, there are now 29 annual, 4 half-yearly, and 32 quarterly subscribers. The issues of books and oqo ,CU 1 . d^; ing n, the year httTe been 2,955 (2,„3w and /23). The additions to the library during the year have been 300 volumes—of which 250 were purchased, 18 presented by the Provincial Council out of the grant in aid of country libraries (amountiong to £10), and 21 presented by the following donors: Messrs Ball, NorFs bweeney, McDonald, and Pike. Seven periodicals and six newspapers have also been added. The sum of £34 6a Id has been expended on books during the year. Re'ative to the class of book* purchased, the committee have to a -meat, extent to consult the tastes of subscribers,”who apply mostly for works of the lighter order of literature's but works of reference and of the instructive class have not been overlooked, as, in addition to works oi this description v. inch were granted bv the Provincial Council, a portion of the funds- available has also been devoted to their purchase. An amount ot £l6 19i has also been devoted to the purchase of sov<.n magazines and newspapers during the past year. They have been especially appreciated by members, and an increase in their number is recommended as soon as the funds will admit. Referring to the objects oi the Institution, your committee have been unable to t ke any definite steps towards the furtherance of some of the special provisions therein laid down. They have eon- ! sidcred the Institute to be at present too young, and the number of members too small, to"admit of their promoting the delivery of a senes of lectures, or the establishment of classes. One lecture was kindly given by Captain Skeet on the subject of “ Language,” but the attendance was so small that the attempt could not be looked upon as a hopeful precedent for the future. The committee have, however, endeavoured to do their dmy as far as lay in their power, though the result of their efforts may have fallen short, of their desire. They would draw attention to the steady increase to the number of books in the .library, and to the comfort of the reading room, and to the variety of useful inf rmafion to he obtained from the perusal oi the various newspapers, magazine, &e I and would urge upon the members ton dividuah'y '' advance the intere-ts of the Institute by endeavouring to induce any one who may not be so to become a member at once. Three" musical entertainments have been given by ladies and gentlemen of the district for the benefit of the Institute during the last year, the precede amounting to £2O 18s, and the thanks of the members are part icu ! a,-ly due to the following members of committee for their energetic endeavours in successfully carrying out these entertainments, viz.: Messrs George, Booth, Burrows, and Sims ; and the thanks of the members are also due to those ladies and gentlemen I not being members of the Institute who have also I most kindly lent, their assistance. Your committee would gladly- have been able to give some definite information relative to the erection of a hall in connection with fee Institute. They have made application to tlie lion. Donald McLean for a lease of the land upon which tho reading room is allowed to stand, but were unfortunately unsuccessful in their application. Other efforts have also been made to obtain this lease, but without success. It was the intention of your committee in tho event of such lease having been granted to have endeavoured to form a company, and so raise funds for the erection of a hall to be attached to the reading room on the present, site. There are two sections in the township, situated next to the house occupied by Major Roberts, which were set apart for a Mechanics’ Institute in tho year 18G7. The Crown grants for these lots have not yet, arrived, however, but the application has been made again lately, and they will, no doubt, be received at an curly date. At present the site would bo an inconvenient one for the reading room, but it may be perhaps taken into consideration when the Crown grants arrive whether it would be advisable to retain the reading room in its present position, and to erect a hail on the lots Nos. 164 and 165, supposing the necessary funds could j be found for the purpose. The Superintendent j of the province has hitherto informed the com- | mittee, in reply to their applications, that no pro- i vineial monies were available for the purpose of assisting in the erection of a hail, but, no doubt, when the work is actually taken in hand, some assistance may be looked lor from that quarter, liie revenue for the year has been £BS 12s (JT. Tiie suo.-criptions were £55 Is Gd ; proceeds of entertainments,* £2B ISs ; donations, £9 I3s—from Mr Naden £5 and £l ss, Captain Moorsom

lU \ s ’ Mr Dargavilie £l Is, two anonymous gentlemen £1 Is, and working man ss. Among other expenses incurred appear that of ins unmet” ~i 4s - the budding and library having been insured iur ,LT 20. In conclusion, your commit tec wouio request every member of the Institute to have its interests at heart, and to advance them on every possible occasion. A writer in Charles Dickens’s Smooches and feaymgs —one who heard Charles Dickens mve lus first, public reading at t he Peterbou Mechanics’ -.nstit ute, remarks of that institution, ‘ That well j meaning bat weak-kneed organisation was, I need | hard ty say, in debt. Meehanies’ Institutes are I ,U .' u ' s 111 * onreommittee, however, have rhe ! of bemg able to retire trout office knowing j hat whatever their shortcomings may have been, j they have at least left you free from any diffi-

I of d, * bt - G-ust that the j future of tno 1 aunmga Mechanics’ institute mav j atw-tvs bo us prosperous as it, now bids fair to j Oec^aie. \ w - R - t .. „ , x , ‘'Chairman of tho Committee. I *mt (November, 1873 ” Bau.vck Sheet, income i ? J . r, ‘ mbor balance in hand ... 813 4 Subscriptions ... ... i ,« Donations ... '9 13 J 1 rocoods of entertainment a ... ... U(j py () lo,!li ... £9i 5 10 EXTEND IT It HE. v r , £ s. d. Alngiizmes and newspapers ... . 16 19 0 Printing and advertising ... uj ■> 0 Books bought ... . _ 3 q q Furniture, shelves, Ac. \j, g y Firewood and coals ... ... 3 y *, Insurance ... ... ” 1 4 0 f 1 0 9 0 Lighting 6 Hi n Bakry librarian ... 17 0 0 sundries ... _ 7 0 3 Balance ere lit to next year ... ... q 3p o Totn! ... ... £94 5 10

Examined and found correct. W. Bartel ex La no bridge i . C. J. Naden j Auditors. On the proposition of Mr Goldsmith, seconded by Mr Boric! 1, the report was adopted, and tho annual balance sheet passed in duo course. THE PRESIDENT. Mr Burrows proposed, and Mr Johnson seconded, the nomination of Mr JSdgcumbe aa president for the ensuing year. Dr Armitage, Messrs Samuels, Norris, and Ball were aiso nominated, but declined to stand. No other gentleman having boon proposed, the Chairman declared Mr Edgcumbe to bo duly elected. * J VICE-PRESIDENT. Dr Armitage proposed, and Mrßodoll seconded, that Mr Bali bo elected vice-president, which was carried with acclamation. TREASURER. On the motion of Mr Bims, seconded by Mr G, ! D. Smith, Mr A. Burrows was unanimously elected treasurer. COMMITTER. The following gentlemen were proposed and seconded :—Messrs Naden, Booth, Grey. Sima, Nonis, Goldsmith, Eoller, and Samuels. Several other gentlemen were also proposed, but declined the honour. On tho ballot being taken the numbers were recorded aa follows Messrs Naden, ID; Samuels, 16; Goldsmith, 14; Grey 14; Sims, 13 ; Norris. 7 . Kollcr, 2. ’ AUDITORS, Messrs G. D. Smith (II), Bodoll (15), and Lenny (13) were proposed as auditors, and the two latter na ned gentlemen elected. LIRE ARY HOURS. I On the motion of Mr Goldsmith, seconded by Mr George, the afternoon hours for tho Librarian to be in attendance were extended until 5 o’clock Mr Goldsmith paid a high tribute of praise to the uniformly 00 ur ten us and admirable conduct of Sir \V aim “ley, the librarian. Mr AVulmsloy, briefly replying to the compliment, said ho should always endeavour to do his best for tho general well being of the Institute. THANKS. Mr Naden proposed, and Mr H. R. George seconded, a cordial vote of thanks to Mr Sisley fur the very efficient discharge, of his duties «"s hon secretory, j Messrs Naden and Langbridge (auditors) bore j testimony to the admirable manner in winch she the account hooka hud been kept, by Mr .Sisley. Carried unanimously. Mr Sisley briefly replied, slating that his se vices were always at tho disposal of the Instil ute Mr H. R. George proposed, and Mr Bonnet seconded, a vote of thanks to Captain i dinks, president, which was carded unanimously. (Captain bunks was unavoidably absent from tho meet iug.) A vote of thunks to tho chairman brought tho proceedings to a satisfactory termination.