OPENING OF THE ATHENÆUM.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 266, 15 December 1874, Page 5

OPENING OF THE ATHENÆUM.

The new Athenasum Hall, constructed by the Committee at a cost of something like £I2OO, was opened on Friday evening last, the 11th instant; by a dramatic and musical performance. The attendance was hardly up to what was expected, but the hall was comfortably filled notwithstanding, the numbo r of the fair sex 1 present being particularly noticeable. A full'description of the building has previously appeared in these columns, and we therefore need hot "now'say'anything on this head; and anything we might have had to say by way of introduction to a performance on the>occasion of the opening of such an in-' stitution as this Athenaeum.-has' been anticipated .by Mr MacKellar, whose interesting address we publish below. ■ We therefore; without further delay, will prpoeed to detail the business of the evening. About half-past eight, Mr MacKellar came before the tain, and proceeded to deliver the address mentioned; as follows •:• r . ■•*; Ladies and Gentlemen,—Before'proceeding with the immediate business of the evening, as advertised in the programme, the President of the Athenaeum Committee:has thought it right that some formal notice should be taken of the opening of the Hall, and that some public announcement should be made of the aims which have actuated the committee in erecting it, and of the position in'which the committee now stands with, respect.'to it; and he has further thought it'right to depute the duty of doing so to myself. In doing'so, I shall be very brief, for I'ath riot unmindful of the hint conveyed by the title of the opening piece to this evening's performance—" Time Trie 3 All." If twere to take up much of your time, I should possibly leave of, your patience behind. In considering the aims which have. been steadily kept in view by various succeeding Athenseum Committees in this place, it will bo. well to first of all discover, and have a mutual, understanding, of what an Athenseum really is. The name is ancient enough, but the 1 thing itself is a feature of latter-day civilisation, entirely peculiar to itself, and I rejoice to say it is becoming more' and more so ; and I still further rejoice that our local Athenseum Committee (though here I may be blamed for partiality) have - nobly and manfully striven to realise what appeared to them the perfect idea of'an Athenseum,.and to carry , it into actual everyday existence. What then do we understand by an Athenaeum ? A collection of books. Nojthough the motto of our institution says, and it says truly, in the words of a great living writer, that in these days " the true university is a collection of books." Is-it a

reading-ropm ? ,:No,, .It.is not one of these things, tut it is all of these,. and, nmoh more. Th a proper Athenteum you will find a large collection of books ; the largest that local circumstances will permit; a collection iu which the 'brim/who toils with his hands will find' easy arid entertaining reading, if' ho should bo too much exhausted to seek for more weighty information ; a collection! however, in which that formation can be, found—nay, further, in which costly books of reference and still deeper learuingcanjbq found by itue,Btude,nt who makes in-' telleotua] studies the business of his life, i You 'yrill find a reading-room supplied with. newspapers from' every part Wf' the world,, and, the lighter arid current literature of the day. Yriuwill find rooms set apart simply aud very properly for refreshment, amusement, arid social talk upon things in general. And you will also find what we are met here to-night-to celebrate—a large iand spacipus ball*-r.eo t ual}y;fitted;fo?-the, purposes of a lecture room or a class-room, for social reunions, and for public entertainments. I hope you, will mark well that I am speaking of an Athenaeum as'the idea is on the whole understood by the Committee, and not as it h'aS'orily so far, been carried'out at present; Years of laborious yet pleasurable 1 effort have yet to be undergone before the perfect institution can be established. Rome W;is not built in a day. Time : was when Borne, the after-mistress of the world, was only, distinguished by the plough'furrow, which marked the position .its future walls should occupy. And Athenronms do not spring up, like mushrooms, in a single night. •Now, if you will only consider for a moment, Ladies and Gentlemen,.—-Ts it nota, glbrio.us idea, and one that should be undertaken by a township such as Cromwell, prosperous now in money matters, and promising to be still more prosperous ias the years pass by? For what Is the idea ? j The establishment of an institution which slll form a common ground upon which people of any; party; creed,, or country, can meet; a place, whence every scheme for the social and moral advancement of the community, can orjgi.-, nate* or where it pan be fostered j a place where local taierit in various capacities can be brought out, recognised, and encouraged ; a place for relaxing yet iritellectual amusement ; a place of culture; ia place,' in'short, whose every associa-' . £ion is; good, and which; without even recognising, rejects everything-bad or. debasing. Such is the'kijid of institution. Ladies and Gentlemen, the importance of which I have very imperfectly tried to, indicate, which has been the object and study of-various Athenseum Committees for the past few years, and which has been so,far sue-, cessfully carried out by the present Committee. Carrying out past. of . their plans, they have erected this hall in which we are now assembled for the' first, 'but T hope riot the last time. A hall Whichi ,1 venture to SayV for the beauty of its proportions, or the accommodation it affords, is ; no£ .'surpassed in any township in this oroyirice; outof Dunedin. ft does not, indeed, fulfil the complete pi art projected by the Committed : but 15 further venture to say that if the efforts of the Committee are backed up by the support and assistance* of the;people at large, as they should be;. apdas.T hnmblv think they deserve to be, it will not.be long,till it .will,be practicable to extend the present buildings so ps to provide itjjp various rooms I have indicated as forming past, of :a model Athenaeum. There will then be no occasion for further theorising on the bepefifs of such institutions. The thing will be seen ( 'of all men. 'The fact of membership, indeed,''will, lie in thecase of Athenaeums and Mechanics' tutes in the old country at present! be to'a verlarge extent a test of aman's character, and it to an equal extent have-an influence upon his social and morn! advancement.-,,, Who wouM not prefer to employ or n'ssociate'with a man Whose intelligence was vouched for by the fact .that he was a regular attendant in -the Atberisanm Library. It is ; a credit and an honour to the individual member, just as the fact of having an established and well-apnointed Athenaeum is a credit to the district in which it is established. Ladies and Gentleriien, the subject, I am aware, has not received full justice at my hands, but I will not trespass upon your time "much further. T would signally fail in my duty were T tonegleet impressing upon yon one thing, however, — that large and heavy liabilities have been incurred for the erection of this' Hall, which forms a part only,of the task, undertaken by the Ath»>. nseum Committee. Your eenerons and hearty support on every occasion when the funds of the institution have to be augmented is therefore requested, nay, demanded, for you must never forrret that the Athenaeum is your own property, and in assisting to free it from debt, or increase its usefulness, you are assisting yourselves and increasing the vilue of your own and children's public estate. Whether we like to say it or not, , Cromwell, or the district; is our adopted home, where we shall, or the most of us, live: and die, and it is our duty, arid ought to le our pleasure, to advance its social and moral condition as much as possible. T have now to thank you for the patience with which you have listened to my somewhai prosy remarks ; and while declaring this Hall now open, I have to express a hope that the leginning of an institution has this dav been mace which will, when completed, prove of immense benefit to this and many succeeding generation of Cromwell. Mr M>,cTCellar, at the conclusion of the address, which was listened to with much ■interest, v.is loudly applauded. Mr R. A. Snook then came forward and delivered a prologue, which was very well received. Then the curtain rose to the first dramatic jiece of the evening, the well-known and favourite drama of "Time Tries All." The characters in the drama were allotted as follows, (jlace mix demm) :—Laura Leeson, Miss Kely ; Fanny Fact. Miss Marsh ;'Mr Lee Son, 1. A. Snook ; Matthew Bates. Mr R. Brown; Charles Clinton, MrC. Nicholas; the Hon. ftr Yawn, Mr C. Colclough: Tommy Tact, Mr K. Peach ; and John, Mr Gilmour: The prindpal character is that of Laura Leeson, aad we must certainly compliment Miss KelvuTxm the manner in which she rendered.! Her acting throughout showed that she jerfectly appreciated the character of Laura (the scornful declining of the love of Matthtfv Bates, the despairing avowal of her folly jnd contrition when she has driven him away and the joyous acceptance in the end of his long-felt affection, were all in turn

pourtrayed in the moat natural manner* When the cxirtain fell,, the applause was mixed with clubs for a re-appearance of Laura, who cothpletdly'carried the iiudien'ce with heV •tliroughout, and sustaihed'th'is leading and trying part with every credit to herself and success as regards the impression ion her hearers. Fanny ,Fact, also ? . received. ] ample justiceat the hand of Miss Marßh*, Her dialogue with Tommy Tact was very well, received, as, was also that with Mr Leeson, and «n several occasions her efforts were rewarded With long-continued applause. -Of the male characters, we need hot say a great deal/ 'Old Mr Leesnn was well rendered by Mr Snook, Who was well got kfflj and plaved the doat-* ingfather, who has* set his mind oti.'a match between. Laura and Matthew, very well in; deed:' Mr R. Brown was very successful as Matthew Bates, and although so, much at home in such a character as in that he after?, wards played of ChVley Beeswing, still mada ayery L good representation indeed pf what is Certainly a difficult character, and one which, perhaps does not give much scope for any great display of acting power. Mr Nicholas did what he had to do as Charles Clinton very well; and Mr '■• Colcloughj the sleepy Dundreary ■ yawned through his part in the most amusing nianhdr. Tommy Tact, by Mr Peacli, was very fairly rendered, and John had so little to 6.0 that there is no room for criticism. , After a short interval, the entertainment re-commenced by Mrs H. Arndt, singing "Molly Asthore," and,' upon an encore, "Stay with me, : my darling, stay.". The latLer, especially, was sting with remarkably good expression ind much sweetness. Mr Snook recited '" The Charge of the Light Brigade," and Mr Johnston read ''Nothing to Wear,-"! both-of which were well received. •Songs, were given by Mr L' Loughnan Mr % Campbell,—the former 'giving "^The! AdieujV with French words, and the latter, singing a\ hunting song, which was started too low to give his voice full .compass. This part of the entertainment was concluded by Mrs Arndt singing the very pretty and ever-wel-cotne " Murmur of the Shell," for which she narrowly escaped another encore. Mr J. A. Preshaw,. the president of the iYthenasum Committee, having performed the duty of thanking' 'the audience for their patronage, and of specially thanking the Dramatic Club, an'interval took place fpreparatory to the afterpiece of "Twenty Minutes with a Tiger," being gone on with. This farce having, been played by the Club on a previous occasion, when we ,criticised it. at length, there is. need for any detailed remarks Concerning it. Suffice it to say, that, if it had not the charm of novelty,' it was Only a little less warmly received. This concluded • the entertainment, and dancing was begun; and kept up untii'daylight.- 1 We understand the total''proceeds : 6f the entertainment were' about"': £357 What amount of this will go to'swellthe funds, we. do not kriovv, but probably £lO will cover all. expenses. '.,, ~■'....-, ■ ].,■'< ',:','■ . ■ '-