BOARD OF GOVERNORS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2408, 23 December 1881, Page 3

BOARD OF GOVERNORS.

A special meeting of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College was held yesterday afternoon at three o’clock. Present—Mr W. Montgomery, M. H.R. (chairman), the I Most Rev. the Primate, Dr. Turnbull, Dr. Coward, Rev. 0. Fraser, Messrs R. W. Fereday, F. de o. Malet, H. B. Webb, H. J, Tanored, J. Grigg. The Chairman having explained the special matters which the meeting had been called to deal with, said it would be necessary to proceed first with ordinary motions, of whioh notice had been given. Mr Fereday moved the following resolution—“ That no money arising from the reserves of the Canterbury Museum, Library, and School of Technical Science be expended on the Library so far as relates to the circulating department and reading room.” His reason for bringing this motion forward was because be found that, a very large sum of money had been expended on the circulating department and reading room of the Public Library, and bis remarks would apply more particularly to the former. He observed from the returns that during the last three years the number of volumes of different works received in the Library was 4-480, of whioh no fewer than 2814 were books of fiction. Now the preamble of the Canterbury Museum and Library Ordinance 1870 said, “ Whereas the specimens of Natural History and other public property in the Museum of the Province of Canterbury have now become of considerable value, and whereas it is deemed expedient for the promotion of Literature and Science that a Public Library and a School of Technical Science should be established and that the specimens of Natural History, books, pictures, manuscripts, statues, and other objects now deposited in the said Museum, whioh now belong to the Province of Canterbury, or which the Province may hereafter acquire by gift, bequest, purchase or exchange, should bo deposited in the custody of trustworthy persons, be it enacted, &c.” The Canterbury Museum and Library Ordinance Amendment Ordinance, 1873, used similar language, and provided in danse 2 that all specimens of natural history, pictures, &c., should be held by the College upon the trusts and for the specific purposes contemplated and intended by the Act of 1870, and that all endowments made for the purposes of the said Canterbury Museum, Library, and School of Technical Science, should be applied by the said College “ for the specific object or objects for for whioh such endowments were originally granted or given.” Therefore it was clear that the endowments set apart for that specific purpose could only be applied to that purpose. The library referred to—whioh was that of the Literary Institute—was handed over, and ultimately came under the management of the Board of Governors, under a deed whioh said that the library was to be managed by the College according to the provisions of the t'anterbury Museum and Library Ordinance. The deed then wtnt on— 1 and it was a remarkable fact—to covenant ’ that the College should maintain a circulating library and reading room, evi- i dently showing that the original library was not intended to be used as a circulating library and reading-room. On that point there could not be the slightest doubt. Therefore, he contended that the Board had no right to expend on a circulating library funds which had been set apart for the particular purpose specified in the Act. They were going on appropriating money which they were sadly in need of for the School of Technical Science, in order to furnish a supply of novels, whioh were a luxury that the people ought to pay for. No money ought to be spent on the circulating department except what was received in the shape of subscriptions. The motion was seconded. Dr. Turnbull said he had seldom heard a question of such public importance as this introduced in so meagre and so narrowa style as that which had been adopted by the last speaker. There were few institutions in Canterbury so thoroughly popular as the 1 Public Library, and as public opinion ex- 1 pressed itself on the subject it would be 1 found condemnatory of Mr Fereday’s pro- I posal to shut up the circulating library and reading room—a proposal based on that gentleman’s antipathy to novels and I works of fiction. He bad no hesitation 1 in Baying that if they adopted such a j course they would be accused of the most effeminate prudery that ever distinguished any ' Board that had been in existence. They 1 found Provincial Governments, school com- ( mittees, Road Boards, and other local bodies 1 supporting and encouraging reading rooms and public libraries, and who were they that they ‘ should be so sanct-monious as to refuse to 1 devote a portion of the public funds in their care to the support of a circulating library— ' one of the most popular, useful, and humanising influences that could operate in ! a community P Look at the enormous 1 sums they expended on the six other 1 institutions under their control, namely, the 1 School of Agriculture, the School of Art, the 1 Boys' High School, the Girls’ High School, . the Canterbury College, and the Museum. ' What were these institutions ? They were for 1 the benefit—the exceeding good benefit—of 1 the rising generation. Was it then too much ' to say that the generation already risen, who 1 preferred to sit at home of an evening and I derive enjoyment from novels, should not have a public library from which they could 1 take books to read at their fireside, and thus get 1 some little benefit from the enormous revenue 1 whioh the Board was expending everyday? It ' was not too much for grown up men to expect ! on behalf of themselves and their wives and daughters ; and it was not too much to expect that those whose money was being 1 used should have a right to choose the books ' they would road. The members of the Board did not sit there as censors of the public taste. They were there spending the money of the public, and it was no duty of theirs to dictate to the people what they were to read. They were arrogating to themselves a position to whioh they bad no right. For v his reason he intended to move when the proper time came, that five be selected from among the subscribers to assist the library committee in the selection of books. Let the subscribers be represented in the selection committee, and let them have a voice in the expenditure of the money whioh they contributed. At present the Board was in the position of an arbitrary body expending moneys given to them in trust for the people who took the books out. They had already taken in five outsiders to assist them in the management of a medical school that existed only on paper, and they would not be overstepping their bounds if they allowed five subscribers to assist them in selecting books for the library. He would move as an amendment to the resolution before the Board on the table giving the expenditure and income of the Public Library be published in advertisement form in the “Times” and Press for the week, and that any discussion on thia subject be postponed until the meeting, of the Board in January next.” Tne returns alluded to afforded a most extraordinary example of thorough knowledge of the income and exnenditure of the library, and of extreme care in making up the particulars $ for he intended to prove that not only had no money out of the 'endowment ever been spent on the circulating library, but that the College itself was actually in debt to the ciroulati g library to the amount of £1632 had been deliberately robbed of £1692, out of its income.

The Chairman thought the expression just used was rather tco strong, L£r Biwon presumed it was only applied in a Pickwickian sense.

Dr. Turnbull would proceed to prove that instead of the circulating library having token funds from the endowment the contrary was the case. From 1874 to 1881 the Government subsidies to the circulating library amounted to £3936 3s 41 ; tho sale of catalogues for the same period produced £35 6s 61, and the subscriptions came to £3501, making the total income of £7472. The expenditure on tho circulating library during the eight years, including its share of the incidental expenditure and cost of buildings, came to £5780 Sa 4d. That amount deducted from the total receipts left a balance of £1692 in favor of the circulating library. There had been two principal sources of income—Government grants and subscriptions—and with these two sources the institution had in no wsy infringed on the endowment for the Museum, School of Technical Science, and other objects, but, on the contrary, there was a largo amount unaccounted for—that was tho word he should have u-ed instead of "robbed’’! He would even go further, and cay _3 elaborately that in the eight years not one single penny over and above £428 had been spent out of the endowment on tho whole library. In this connrotion he would tell them where the £1692 had gone to. The expenditure on the

whole library during the eight years amounted to £13,473; the income during the same period was £11,352; leaving a deficit of £2120. If they deducted from this balance

the £1692 to the credit of the circulating library, it would leave only a deficit of £438, the sum he had just mentioned. They really must not arrogate to themselves the character of munificent patrons to a popular institution when the extent of the sicrifice made was proved to be only £428. Yet they stood up and deliberately told the people they had been supporting a public library out of what ? Why money belonging to the people. It was strange to notice the inferences that were suggested throughout these returns. They were led to infer, for instance, that the College out of its own funds had spent £4770 on public library buildings. If he was not mistaken £4OOO of that amount came direct from the Provincial Council, and only £770 had been taken from the proceeds of the College endowments. And there was another matter which he had brought up before and which it was perfectly shocking had not been looked into. He alluded to the caretaker’s house. They could get the certificate of the health officer and his own certificate as the medical attendant, to the effect that the caretaker with his wife and four children were all sleeping in a room 10ft. by 12ft.

The Chairman suggested that the speaker was travelling rather beyond the question. Dr. Turnbull said it had reference to the subject of buildings. Why not spend money in that direction ? Why allow the caretaker to live in such a condition as that when they had plenty of money ? Another inference implied was with regard to the Reference Library. It was stated that the Literary Institute handed over to the Reference Library 1190 books, to which had been added to date 5194, making a total of 6384, Would it not bo inferred from that that the College had actually purchased 5194 volumes for the public reference library ? But quite the contrary was the fact. They got a present from the Government of the Provincial Council library, which they now took credit for having bought. He now came to the reading room, and he asked the chairman, or any member of the Board, whether the state of things in connection with this portion of the institution was fair P The treatment which the reading room had received was neither fair, prudent, nor just. They would find in the returns that periodicals and newspapers for the reading room had been charged to the circulating department. Now was it just to make subscribers to the circulating library pay out of their pockets to support a free reading room P It was monstrous. The reading room ought to be erected into a separate department. [Rear, hear.] They deliberately took the money out of jthe people’s pockets and made them give a free reading room—more or less uncomfortable—for nothing. In doing this they reversed the generally accepted rule of helping those who helped themselves. He would not detain them any longer. He thought he had sufficiently pointed out the momentous nature of the questions involved. He did not say the Board had been blameworthy, but it had been going on in a course of management in regard o the Library without any serious enquiry into the exact nature of its funds, the requirements of the case, and the character of the books, and without paying due attention to the wishes of the subscribers. His object was to have the subject thoroughly ventilated, so as to ensure the efficiency of the library. He would be content to be proved wrong, provided the Library was made a useful and popular institution, which it was not at present. He, therefore, thought it would be wise to agree to publish the returns for a week, and allow the public to digest them properly, and postpone any further discussion of the subject until the next meeting of the Board. He begged to move the amendment he had indicated.

The Bev. O. Fraser seconded the amendment. He was very much surprised at the extraordinary distinction which Mr Fereday attempted to make between the reference library and the circulating library. It seemed to him that the one was only the complement or supplement to the other, and that scientific books were as necessary in the circulating es in the reference library. He by no means thought that novels were necessarily injurious, but he would be glad to see a great host of scientific works in the circulating library, so that they could be taken out by students and others, copies being always kept in the reference library. He believed that Dr. Turnbull’s figures were all strictly correct; but he would like to call attention to this fact, that while in the return expenses were given with regard to the whole of the library, there was only one of the three departments which yielded any income ; and if they now had a reading-room which was perfectly free it should be remembered that that was the work of the Board. The reading-room was not originally part of the circulating library ; it was a novelty established by the Board, and the Board ought to find the funds for it. It seemed to him inconsistent that people should pay for taking books out to read while they were allowed go in the library, occupy a handsome room, and use costly works free of charge. The circulating department had been exceedingly ill-treated, and so far from expecting such a motion as Mr Fereday’s to be brought forward, he had hoped to have a suggestion from the library committee, which he was sure would receive general support, to the effect that it was high time that a portion of the revenue from the 100,000 acres that was devoted to the Museum library and the School of Technical Science—say one-third—was devoted to this important branch of the library. Excellent as the Museum was in itself, and admirable as was the Technical School of Science, he was not sure there was any means within their control by which they could do more general good to the whole community than this library ; and he claimed that it was certainly entitled to one-third of the income, and he would be glad to find, when the library committee brought forward a proposal to that effect, that it received favorable consideration.

Mr Malet, before the question was put, would like to oik Mr Fereday if his contention was that no portion of the revenues arising from the reserves for the School of Technical Science could be applied to the library—cither the circulating department, the reference library, or the reading room ? Mr Fereday said no portion of the money coming under the ordinance could be applied to anything but a library in connection with a Museum and a School of Technical Science. The Chairman would like to say one or two words to correct a statement which, if reported, might cause some misapprehension. It was with reference to the remark of Dr. Turnbull about £1692 being taken by the College—“ robbed” was the expression used. Now there was not a single shilling that the Public Library had received that had not been expended upon it, either in the Reference department or in the Circulating department. The Collego. proper had received no money that was voted or granted for a public library. In answer to Dr. Turnbull’s statement as to its not being fair for the subscribers to the circulating library to pay for a free reading room, he wished to say that the subscribers did not do so. Every single shilling the subscribers had paid had been expended on books for the circulating department. The debate was then adjourned until the, next ordinary meeting of the Board at the end of January. Dr. Turnbull moved, and the Rev.. C. Fraser seconded—“ That the returns be p üblished, subject to the chairman’s revision, and at his discretion as to the number of insertions.”

Mr Webb and Mr Grigg oppoood the motion, and after some discussion it was negatived, and an amendment carried, on the motion of Mr Malet, to the following effect: penditure of the public library ba placed in tbe readingrcom and circulating library for the information of the public, and that notice of tho fact be published in the newspapers.” The amendment was seconded by Dr. Coward.

A report of the College committee, r.’com mending that Section! of Regulation 7 should be repealed, and a new regulation substituted, was agreed to. Authority was given to the College committee to appoint a teacher of German for the Boy®’ High School. The School of Art committee was s athorised to make necessary alterations in the buildings and fittings, to undertake the general management of the school, publish a prospectus, and determine the hours for teaching, fees, &o. The School of Agriculture committee recommended that Mr Boston he authorised to engage a good dairyman ia England at a salary of £123 per annum. Me Webb asked if it was necessary to send to England for a dairyman ?

The Chairman explained that effort* to procure a suitable man in the colony had failed.

Mr Qrigg opposed the proposal on several grounds. The tendency at present was in the direction of establishing cheese factories and largo butteries, and people were no longer attempting to make small dairies of ten or twelve cows pay. After some discussion the proposal was agreed to, subject to in committee.

Three tenders were opened for furnishing the Agricultural College with heating apparatus. The tender of Messrs Scott Brothers for £230 10s being the lowest was accepted, subject to the approval of the architect and. chairman. The Board then adjourned.