LYTTELTON RATEPAYERS' MEETING.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1936, 8 May 1880, Page 2

LYTTELTON RATEPAYERS' MEETING.

A meeting of the ratepayers at Port was held in the Lyttelton Colonists’ Hall last night. At 8 p.m. there were about fiftypresent, but this number was increased later by degrees, until the room was comfortably filled. The Mayor, Mr H. Allwright, took the chair, and stated that the meeting had been called to consider the advisability of the town adopting the Public Libraries Act of 1869, under which a rate of Id in the £ could bo levied within the borough for library purposes. The movement was the result of a request made by the committee of the Lyttelton Colorist Society to the Borough Council that the latter should take over the property now Jcontrolled by the Society, namely the building and library. He expressed his fear that the step, if taken, would prove a source of expense to the Borough beyond the sum raised by the special rate, and cautioned the meeting of increasing local taxation. He concluded by asking a fair hearing for the speakers. Mr A. Joyce, vice president of the society, came forward and said the president being engaged for the night he had, as next in rank, been asked to move the resolution he held in his hand, and he had much pleasure in so doing. As the chairman had stated, the Act under which it was proposed the property should be taken over was the Public Libraries Act of 1869. He then spoke of the several clauses in that Act, and pointed out that if the ratepayers were in favor of the property falling into the hands of the borough for the benefit of the townspeople they must, next Wednesday, vote for the adoption of that Act. He said there was another Act, one perhaps, more important than the other he had alluded to. He referred to the Public Libraries Act of 1877. The Act provided for the payment by Government of one nound for every pound raised in rates, which, in the case of the penny rate, proposed would be about £ll6 of a subsidy. Ho pointed out what provisions had been made in the Acts for appointing the committee of management, &c., and proceeded to explain the cause of the offer. Why had the present committee cf the society made the liberal proposal to the town to hand over the property free of cost? Simply that its powers for good in the community may be enlarged, and in brief, that the institution be returned to its rightful owners —the people. The society was started in 1852, under the unpretentious name of the Lyttelton reading-rooms. In fact, before that the foundation of its library had been laid by the Canterbury Association in London, by whom books had been purchased for the use of the first emigrants on the voyage out, and for the use of the settlers here after the ships had reached their destination. A portion of the library was also contributed by the Canterbury College or at least a number of books then at Lyttelton, and the property of the College, had been left with the Society, but upon an expressly stated condition, namely, that the public have access to them, and that no vested interest be claimed by the Society in them. The next source was a donation made to the town by Mr Fitzgerald of the sum of his parliamentary honorarium, £ll6, which came into the hands of the Society in terms of a wish expressed by the donor, that the money be expended in founding a library for the use of the townspeople. In no case since then has £lO worth of books been added to the library, except the money has come from Government grants, or been obtained by benefits got up and contributed to by the public, on the understanding or belief that it was a public institution. He had looked up the financial history of the Society, and found that £2OOO of public money had been absorbed by the society from time to time, and in addition to that there had been £SOO of strictly borough money used. The latter consisted of £2OO drawn from the borough funds towards building the hall, and £3OO which had teen remitted by the Borough Council in rent. Surely one had but to glance at these facts to arrive at a decision as to whom the property really belonged But a report had been industriously circulated that the committee wanted to get rid of it because they couldn’t pay their way. W bat were the facta as to ( his ? At the present time he could state that £5 would cover all the society’s outstanding liabilities, and they had £6O to pay it with; and if, said the speaker, the ratepayers do not want the property, the committee are quite willing to keep it. The committee’s only wish is to see it made of greater public utility, and they believe they are taking the most proper course to accomplish that desideratum. Ho then gave an account of what changes had been made in the rates charged for subscriptions to tha library from time to time. How it had started at Is 6d per quarter, and been gradually increased until it had reached £1 per year, and been well nigh alienated altogether from the hands of working classes, for whose

benefit it had been established. No proprietary right had ever been claimed by the members in the property until recently, when some of them had objected to the committee handing over to the town what they pleased to call “their” property. This was altogether a new and really novel development, and one which could hardly be maintained he thought in face of“ the facts he had stated. In reality the members had paid their subscriptions simply for value received in the use of books, and could claim nothing more. He then spoke of the advantages which in an educational point of view would accrue to the town

were the plan of the committee adopted, and urged that in place of hanging about the corners of the streets, as was at the present the only thing one could find to do at nights in port, a pleasant and profitable means of spending an hour or two would at once be established. As to the financial proposition, he estimated that it would cost £3lO to carry on the institution for a year, namely— Librarian’s salary, £IOO ; lighting and heating, £73 ; newspapers and serials for readingroom, £73 ; new books, £SO ; insurance, £l3 ; sundries, £25. To pay this with there would be £l2O from the penny rate, £l2O from subsidy, £75 subscriptions to the library, the grant as now received from Government £SO, and for sundry sources, as the lotting of the committee room, £10; total, £375. Thus, it would be seen that there was a surplus of £45 in the estimate. It had been objected that the subsidy would not be received, but it was merely a gratuitous assertion. Wherever the Act had been adopted in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Masterton, it had been received, and he felt certain that in respect to aiding libraries the Government would have to be very poor indeed before it would repeal the Act In his estimate of the income, he had put the subscriptions to the library at the sum now received ; but he thought that the same sum would be obtained perhaps by making the subscriptions 10s per year, because, under the new order of things, he believed there would bo found a hundred and fifty men in Lyttelton who would become members. The reduction would, however, be one for consideration after the town had come into possession of the property. It was almost a certainty that the movement now being attempted would, if carried out, have the effect of popularising the institution very much with the residents of the town. The speaker then pointed out how the hall building might be utilised to greater advantage. He said the income for renting the hall up-stairs was not sufficient an item to be a consideration, and the up stairs should be made the library and reading-room. It would cost very little to make the requisite alterations, in fact there was now sufficient money at the credit of the society in the bank to do it. He had, moreover, spoken to two of the gentlemen prominently connected with the shipping interests of the port on the subject of the advantages of having a reading-room and library maintained free to sailors and others, and had been promised bygone of them that he would make one of ten to give £lO each towards establishing it. As he, the speaker, had pointed out, were the library moved up-stairs, the whole of the lower floor would be at the disposal <*>f the Borough Council to rent it, or if they thought fit, use it for muncipal purposes. It would certainly for the latter object be more suitable than the offices at present used by the municipality. He thought also at very little cost the building could be raised, affording a floor for rent that would yield readily from £4O to £SO per year. The question—whether or not the ratepayers would see it to their advantage to avail themselves of the offer made by the committeee, would, of course, not be determined until next Wednesday after the voting; but as a means of getting at an expression of their views he would move—“ That this meeting considers it advisable for the borough of Lyttelton to adopt the Public Libraries Act, 1869, and to accept the offer of the trustees of the Lyttelton Colonists’ Society to transfer the property and library now in their charge to ! the Municipal Council for the purpose of establishing a Free Public Library and Head-ing-room and Subscription Lending Library.” The resolution was received with cheers, and the mover, who had spoken clearly and ' carefully throughout, was much applauded. Mr Naider took exception to the latter part of the resolution, but the chairman said the * action taken by the meeting that night or con did not bind the town to anything, so J that the exact wording of the resolution was * of no moment. ! Mr S. B. Webb seconded the resolution in a moderate speech, in the course of which he j dwelt upon the advantages which an institution of the kind if properly conducted would have for the community. He suggested that 1 the lower floor could be utilised as a place of 1 meeting for the Young Men’s Mutual Im- 1 provement Society, who were greatly in need i of some commodious place. A ratepayers’ association he thought should be organised in I the borough, and this vacant floor of the ’ building would answer admirably for a place 1 for the ratepayers to meet in, where they could ® attend to local matters very much he thought * to their advantage. Mr Joyce, he thought, had shown plainly that the Intention of the donors of the library was to supply a public want. How much of a public benefit it had been might be inferred from the cir- j cumstance perhaps that he, though twenty years in the town, had not been in the reading * room half a dozen times. He did not think the ratepayers need anticipate any greater ’ burden than the penny rate, and they must ; surely be very Lard up if they would not contribute that much towards so desirable an 1 object as a free library and reading room. I Mr Webb continued at some length, and • was repeatedly cheered. He concluded by expressing the hope that the ratepayers would I consider the proposal over very carefully bo- 1 fore the day of voting. Mr H. N. Naider next came forward, and opposed the resolution in a stirring speech, in which he charged the mover of it with being instrumental in making the Society more of a private one than anyone else had done, and : the committee with desiring to foist the institution upon the town in order to enjoy the ' privileges of it at a less cost than they now ' incurred. He further charged the committee ! with sitting down waiting for the money to come into their treasury instead of putting their shoulders to the wheel as some of their ! predecessors had done (himself among them), and providing entertainments, winter evening readings, &0., thus realising the money by their energy. Ho contended that the place could not be freer than it used to be when any person could belong to it who chose to pay the yearly subscription of £l, and he cautioned the ratepayers against depending upon subsidies from Government as a means of income. He also urged that the property had not been offered to the town by the society, but by the committee merely, and that no regularly called meeting of the members had taken place. Mr Adam Chalmers was the next speaker, and opposed the resolution in a humorous speech. Mr Early followed on the other side, after which the mover of the resolution replied. The Chairman, upon putting it to tho meeting, declared it carried by a few votes ; and after passing a vote of thanks to his Worship, the audience dispersed.