STOKE READING ROOM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 190, 10 August 1872, Page 4

STOKE READING ROOM.

(•Erom a Correspondent.) As the proceedings connected with this project haverheenooT^asing'alarccharacter, and as (several persons outside, the. village havK suhscribedAto the- building fund,; it wbiiiTd t \i?e t Wjw*ell to^giveitheiprpceedings somewhat in detail. ; On the 3rd - June, 1872, a" committee,; cdnsisting of Messrs Marsden, Rout, Smith, G. Ei- Martin/ W;: TDoidge, W. Z^hhohoO,mtx<tpJ. Ching, were appointed to.' collect subscriptions and carry out the proposed bnilding. The committee .:mot,^h*<Jn'nji^' ; p J^yafli atated -at 7 % Ttiat;^ to the (Dehtwt^ar^of^3 jujaiigiufpr ppr-. 7 _»BbTo_^^^^^ Zp >Tb*sclisii^e-'^ Th# pp. . : y ■ |Je« trallß^ pp 'Zi6 Z^^^^^^^o^^vi^^^:

givo a piece of land adjoining the Turf ■ as a site for e the; proposed buildin-?. The Building Commifte*: then decided upon acceptiug Mr Doidge's land. Some objection was raised to this, and a~ meeting of subscribers was held in the schoolroom on the 7th instant, 34 ; being; present, many of whom were not subscribers until that evening. Mr Rout occupied the chair. Mr G-. F. Martin read the report ofthe Building Committee narrating substantially the circumstances os given above. Mr A. Harley" proposed, and Mr Tidd* seconded :— " That the .. Building Committee have exceeded- their ..powers in selecting a site." Mr Ching proposed, and Mr Jelly man seconded, " That the s deci^ sion of the committee in selecting a site be confirmed and that itbe^final." Mr Harley acknowledged in reply to questions put to him that had. the accepted the sitei offar^d by hira he would not have brought forward his motion of censure on the committee. The amendment was put with the following result : — Ayes, 17 ; Noes, 16. The chairman, who claimed to have a deliberative as well as a "casting ; vote, gave both with the noes, thus nullifying his own action, and passing a vote of censurepn, himself as a member p( the Buil&ng jGomroittee. The amendment "being 'lbsC'the motion was not put. One or two other resolutions were put, and ultimately Mr Morrison proposed, and Mr H. Parker seconded : — " That Mr Harley's site be accepted.'' This was carried by. a majority of one, Mr G. F. Martin and Mr Nicholson declining to vote. The Building Committee then resigned, and another was appointed with power to enter into contracts for building, &c.

A fearful storm broke over Manchester on May 16th. In the morning the weather was bright and warm, but towards bppn L it grew dull, and the clouds gathered so rapidly that at four o'clock it was.as daik as during an eclipse. At that time a severe thunderstorm broke over the city, and lasted for about au hour.. The first: peal of thunder was of a most terrific character, and it was rapidly followed hy other peals though not of the same violence. The lightning was very vivid, ond the rain decended in torents to such an extent that in a very short time many of the drains were choked, and maoy of the principal streets were flooded. The storm undoubtedly was one of the most violent ; and prolonged that has occured in this district for many years past. M. Hatin, a gentleman of great experience in journalism in France has recently given much attention, to the7pape.rs' pub- . lished; generally throtighout;the. world, and. conies to the following; conclusion:; — That 7000 are published in Europe; SQOO r in. America, and 500 in Asia arid Australasia. . '. Of these, 3000 arelssued daily, and assuming the-*average sale- of each to he 2000 copies, there are 12,000,000 copies of newspapers printed every day. A Forced Marriage. — A Maryland paper tells the story of a marriage under difficulties, where first the, bridegroom failed to' appear" at the ap-' pom ted time through bashful ness, and was discovered, •• pursued j; arid only "bro bght t to " --with 7a gunshot; the bride then became indignant, and refused to marry so faint-hearted a swatb; and finally the clergyman settled, the matter bythreatening to have them both arrested for breach of promise unless the ceremony, was immediately performed, which it was, A, Pleasant Prospect.^— Lord Shafts:bury, in a speech in his capacity of President at the Turkish' Mission j Aid Society, alluding to the late eruption of Vesuvius, remarked that W was a 'popular delusion to assert that England was ,to \ste considered free from the prbbality of these eruptions. He had frequently/ beeu told: hy the most eminent geologists that England constitutes the. cover of the7 subter.4 ranean weli of fire, and we are liable at any moment to meet the fate of tlie district round 7 Vesuvius.; We should not, therefore be over ! ! cbdfiilentj; ; for' without warning one, day a great, desolation niight he produced, arid then they would be j abler. to, realise .the horror of suph. scenes.,, yy