THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1875.

Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2251, 26 October 1875, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDA Y, OCTOBER 26, 1875.

The recurrence of the annual meeting of the. members of the Greymcuth Literary Society is an appropriate opportunity for reminding many who do not make the Society's rooms their resort that such. an institution exists, and that it deserves a much larger share of support than it has hitherto received. Since the Society was, in a sense, popularised two years ago, it has.been efficiently managed by the Committee appointed for the purpose; the supply of newspapers and magazines has been well sustained; and considerable additions have been made to the contents of the library. With' all the advantages of a conveniently situated room, and with all the attractions to the reader which are to be found on the tables or in the library shelves, the public appreciation of the institution has, however, been scarcely equal to its deserts, and it has only been by the Committee of Management devising extraneous sources of aid to its funds that the Society has been maintained and preserved from, actual bankruptcy. Even at present, the Committee are only able to show i a balance iv favor of the institution t>y

taking into account two money votes which had been passed by the Borough and Provincial Councils, relying upon the amounts being some day paid, though the receipt of one of the sums is somewhat problematical. For the carrying on of the institute during the current year they have also had to resort to such devices^ as art-unions and some popular entertainments, but even these expedients are apt to pall upon the public, and there is a possibility of drawing too • much upon the good-uature of amateur performers, numerous as they may be in the locality and courteous as they are in coming forward on all occasions on which their assistance has been asked. In a township with a population such as that MkGrreymouth, a Literary Society should HHely be a self-supporting institution, l^B it is to be hoped that a greater a^Bunt of sympathy with its objects will qHhown than has been the case hitherto, by; 'a substantial increase being made during the ensuing year to its list of regular subscribers. The Society, when it was placed on its present footing, was not started without considerable responsibilities being incurred, and notwithstanding every economy, the current expenses are of some amount, including outlay on additions to the stock of literature, the annual rent of the hall, and the salary of its custodian ; and to enable these to be met the membership would require to be materially enlarged, compared with what it is now or has been at any time in the past. Allusion to this necessity has, no doubt, been made in the Committee's annual report, but as it comes only before the limited circle of subscribers and those who take more immediate interest in the Society'saffairs, we do what is but a duty to the Society and to the community in directing attention thus prominently to the Society's position, and to the propriety of further effort being made to sustain it and to extend a3 far as possible the sphere of its usefulness, one primary step towards which is for you, gentle reader, to become yourself a subscriber.