THE MECHANICS'INSTITUTE.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 55, 6 October 1864, Page 2

THE MECHANICS'INSTITUTE.

A public meetm^of^thfefiderrtisaTid'strppbrtora of the above Institutef-and of the .inhabitant* generally, took j)la£eslaßfc«night in the,hall ,d£*the *M£cl£njc& lftstitriiT^^ ?"- ■ -:?^ ; : ;^r? His Hdnor^tnVSuperihten^ent. Resided \>n ,the occasion, Slid tjfnongsl; .tHose" prese^^eobserved Melssrß. Beaven7 Johnston, Marcfiant, ~7Geisow, .Stock, Deck, Bright? South, Button, &c. His Honor,, who, , on rising.jvas received with loud applause, briefly explainedih'e circumstances which Jed-tp > - the; meeting-being convened. tt ,. ; Here* ferred to the establishmentoftheMechanics'lnstitute, and to the want ofsu'ccess which had attended the~ effortso'fitiFpf omofe'ral; THere"seeined,nbweTerj he remarked,- an absence xtf not only therproper class of names in connection- with- the 1 movement, but also a want of 'spirit amongst the promoters, and without which it could not be expected-that the objects ! of such an institution could be carried butt to- perfection."* {His Honor:- then treferred* to. the.oiugiriatJon of thei Winter* Oßvenrng -Lecture moyement. He thought thatf-with the coalition' of a body of active and energetic men, such a project -could 'scarcely^ have : iailed -~td : *meet * with success, and all who are familiar with- and-remem-ber the operations of .similar institutions in then? early idays; "must syilp'aQiise ? yitht thd endeavor to provide evening lecttir^s'^to^thS inhabitants of: I^yercargill::^scTieyirrtYere.. cal: culated not only' "to entertain "and" edify all who attended tliemV *and?be^a.ineans of passing the long-e7eningS'away,moßt pleasantly, but they had "a still "higher tendency. They jpited ail classes "in the carrying out"of 'one'commonobject, the-doing"which~ e^cites~all~i;heir"good~^Feelingsr They'alsqT induce -£a" taster for Tiubjects^'which, if learned only in books, jnusfc necessarily often appear ; dry and : -abstruse- cnqugbjtb-the reader, but which, when treated in a popular and entertaining manner by a, lecturer,, serve to amuse as well as instruct; -He i would saythat all those, who* had listened- to the lectures which- had -already been delivered could not fail .to be highly entertained : and* instructed."" He wished all success, to the resuscitation of -the ■Mechanics' lnstitute, and he had no doubt, when the programme was iaid before, the meeting, that there could- be very , little .doubts' on that subject. , \ \' " Mr. BEATEN-no.w^Baid"he had; been requested to give an outline of what had. been done .by,- the promoters of ihe-old-Mechanicsi. Jnstitute. _ The. first meeting, he remarked, was held on ,the ; 9th May, 1862, on" which occasion, a committee of seven was appointed to" — manage the affairsof the institute: ; The (j^firsjb^ thing they turned their attention to was the procuring of a site, and after considerable "difficulty the present one was fixed upon, although~sbme exception even then, was taken to the situation. The price- of sections then "was very great, and a large sum was p»i9j "TffiHe' the choice Trda not so ~ extensile : T»-nt present. Then there was a sum of £200 paid to' the Odd Fellow's Lodge for their hall f the: greater part of these expenses we're liquidated by subscriptions, and the" remainder (a sum of £300)' was supplied by the Government: .' After the; present hall was erected, a debt of £250 was contracted on the biiilding and still. remains as a' mortgage ' to : Mr. -Dundas, who advanced the money. About twelve months afterwards the , committee decided * on putting lip a reading-robin, at a cost of between £400 and £500, for the greater part of which sum they became responsible, and- are- partly still liable for. The reading-room was" furnished with newspapers and periodicals, and ' made ..comfortable in every respect. The meetings, however, were very poorly attended. "This was the largest meeting he Had seen, and it certainly Keld out encouraging. prospects for the future success of the institutiou. Those who. hitherto .had the con : ducting of the institution in their hands, he might say, could expect: little, -;if any,^personal: benefit, and all they desired was to see the enterprise carried out to a successful issue. At present there was but a small collection'of books,? but. -he hoped it would soon be possible to enlarge it into a library. There' was a good supply of periodicals" and newspapers, although on some occasions there had been complaints of irregular, delivery of several. The ' present movement has been got up from a belief that with-an augmented .committee, and the infusion 'of new dIodcI; a greater interest will be ' manifested in the welfare of the institution. He j could not free the committee (of which he" was one) from all blame for the failure of the institution, as, doubtless, they had not been as energetic a» they might have been, but he thought the committee could also fainy tax. the inhabitants for a want of support in the matter. Mr. 0. E. Button had great pleasure in being called U]soh to propose the firstf.resbTution.s The resolution, he said, carried truth on the very face of it, and it was not necessary that he should say much in support of it; There ie scarcely a town .-. in the home country that does 'not boast of its Mechanics' Institute, and even this state of things is rapidly extending in the Australian colonies. As to the hitherto want of success of .the institution in I Invercargill, he couldeasily account for it. ; It was originated at a time wheni the province -vras in the feverish excitement of a goldfield,-and- everyone was "up to the eyes "in business. Mechanics' institutes, or any other institute, he was sure, could not be expected to^flourish in such times. Now, however, when the people had' time — too much, perhaps^— it wasDvery /desirable "that attention ehould again be turnedto.the subject! The'advantages of mechanics' 'institutes to every- section of the community was apparent "to all. The merchant can go and peruseKis paper or his imaga-"* zinc, or meet there his brother merchant, in his spare hour. After the day's work" is over, the tradesman or mechanic can r go ; and partake of a little:literary recreation ; in fact, all would agre*., with him in declaring that a r place of this Hand is. a most agueeable resort for all persons. He (Mr. Button) had been for long connected with Mechanics' Institutes and took an espeeialinterestrmthem. He remarked that for twenty years in Launcestqn,^ Tasmania) -the rinstitute- there :wm confined to two. small rooms,, but year by year,, their funds increased, and the number of members became so augmented, that at the end of that time, with a little helpj a hall erected fforthr r the f institution whici l te beh'eyed w^ ,Becpnd~t». non 6^ 11 . the Australian Colonies. Behimseif hadlectured to ' an audience of ..BooLpersons, Jn .„ that Jiall,. ..and_fe-8 . hoped by and byto.aee such a one in Invercargill. - Then 1 in addition, to ; the attractions of lectures and : the -reading-room,- there^ might -be established . evening classes- for -young :; -men; TKere has"' hitherto been but a small amount.'of lamusements up' to the slate*;ilectureß, -but 'he . hbped against .-: the comrng of mext. winter to/see .weekly lectures and^also classes several times a week.;; 1 ;The -. Bpeaker"again expressed'his-gratification at being preßent'tp take) part in the proceedings j -and bear- - ing in mind the' pleasures^' 'and'advantages to be i r ;-^. clerived :i ifrbm the ihstitutibn lieliad great pleasure - in proposing^ the first resolution-, Mz.-:-" That"thisineetihg recognise; the 1 importance' of^Mechanics' : Institutes, and the desirabili^r "of affording- ; every ■? assistance towards the; promotion thereof."^ l '- '•- " -' \ Mr/ JoHif'S. JoHNSi^-said J< thafc, 7 afterwhat^ had fallen from hia i friend'th^ mover of the resolu- "j tibn, r he was, notxaUe'd^updu^ to say nnich in^up--port 3 of i itl He ; would merely mention- thatfth©^' present is -to "resuscitate .- the iristitiiW * from ttiatiitupOT in which' it^ha'd fallen.- jßfe^ B^" had some experience in similar institutf6n8 f m ; tii©sß home country, and" could . bear testilfiSHyrttrthiß^; great .. encouragement they afford ,&rjroidi&g : :«tii3| BtudjCbf allikindi: ; m ; bid;B^T^«»%»

aecqilcun^l theSadiptioaS^f Jlhe resolution, and thought-there .was ©Tery-reafion.to-liop&'for -sueC©»B.~'~-""" ' : '" rr • >■, •: -,-'-. ■■-■■■' "; " | The motion was then put; and carried nnani- j HlOUsly. - -"" ~~ ~;—-— -——.—-- ■ ■-. -j~y- , r;Mr. South ; tlio next resolution, ; and ; remarked thai;' he\ supposed it "was "from the in- j terest he had all along- feit in the evening lectures j movement that it had_been put into his hands, j He woulcrbriefly state how, the^rnqy^ement took its\< rise, "and howfho b^ame connected fle \ .watfac'cidfentally presiding j&t a lecture recently ; given by. Mr.; Justice. Gh.apman,t when her; was ifia&e aw&reTof * a ">scl£eme* v pf '%mter 'evening lectures ! aboutjto;bfe gqfcSip,' and a meeting" ,was, held at the'cadfelUsipn of $hat 7 l&£ure^ when "a course ■ of lecture's 1 it aS *■ resblve'd' upon" • and -'arranged.- JHe might Te'Dtlafisr that he had'bVeh ' ferVconsiderable time 1 "in- ' tHe" prdviiice - ; Hefoie ' lie was" * aware of the , existence -of a ; Mechanics' rlnstitiite, and he came : to learn of it in,- this : wise; :.One Say, happening to meet Mr. Puttelkow-at the corner of the street here, he enquired of him what " this building was, and he was -surprised- when he replied j that "Dat : , ; is thei Meshaniqueß ! " (Laughter.) : He quiie agreed-1 with .Mr. + Button as to the time we riow can devote to. the affairs of thejiaetitute; and to the penalty— if he might be allowed .the expression—^attaching us if we do not do all in pur power to render it successful. Ho -thoughttney were bound to take earnest interest in such a matter, and when all classes are seen unitingin,.the,cpinnion object, there cpu ld be no doubt as' to the success of the movement. He might 'instance, as "showing the influence on the public mind resulting, from , the late course of lectures that 'th,e: booksellers now. Bold three times aB many books as they had been doing previously to. their commencement. This, he thought,, fully, demonstrated the amount of good likely to arise Trpin bucK lectures ; and= he hoped, further, that he should soon see the shelves of the iibrary fiUed with hooks. Some gentlemen, he ■was aware, had already made donations of books to form the nucleus. He would' now ai&te briefly hbwthVcommittee of lecturers foim'd the committee of the institute. There was the original debt of £250 ptt the building, and a further sum of £374 incurred by the committee. When the comjaittees ; met, . they .agreed to . amalgamate, in order to resuscitate public interest in the institution, and gradually to clear off the debt, from the raising of subscriptions, and by a imall charge for admissiein to the lectures to those *ho were n6n : subscribers. The debt of £250 to Mr>i>undaS does ..not. fall, due for nine months, and as for the other debt, the old committee have got security for it in. the income to be looked for jxonvthe institution. An increase. in the number of subscribers is almost immediately looked for. The lectures hitherto have been remarkably well attended," arid he' had no doubt that they would continue so "if the subjects- chosen were always Seated in a popular and easy manner. He (Mr. ". Boutk) then referred to the mixed character of the assemblages, and said he was glad to notice it, as it was only by the co-operation of class with class, that they could hope for success. He was more especially glad to observe a good- attendance of the working classes. He would conclude his remarks bj proposing — " That tlie following gentlemen form the new committee, i iz., — Messrs. Beaven, Marchant, Stock, Greisow, Searle (of the old Committee) and Messrs, South, Dr. Deck, Bright, Button, Tanner, Shaw, Pearson, G. S. W. Dalrymple, Stobo, and Drake (of the new committee), - Treasurer. Mr. Johnston j and lion. Secretary, Mr. Bright." Mr. G. S. W. Dalbympes seconded the resolution, and related his experience' of Mechanics' Institutions in Scotland — taking as an example the one in Perth, which was wholly supported by working men. The library comprised 15,000 volumes, besides supplies of magazines, newspapers, &c. The mode of operation there in connection with the working of it was very similar to that pursued here, and they had the good fortune to have a most active and energetic young man as secretary. This same young man, he remarked, is now in New Zealand. The secretary, he said, is the very life of an institution of this kind. In Perth the lectures were delivered in the Town Hall, which was capable of accommodating 2,800 persons, and he had often seen it quite filled. He remembered the lectures were wont to be delivered on Thursday evenings, and that evening was religiously set apart for these meetings. There was no such thing as a tea-party that night, as every one said, " Oh, I'm going to hear Mr. So-and-Bo to-night," The tickets of admission to these lectures, however, were much cheaper than could be the case here. The charge was 2s. 6d. for the course of eight or ten lectures, or Is. for a ■ingle lecture. The season ticket was very generally preferred. He wished the Mechanics' Institute all success, and hoped the inhabitants would not be so narrow-minded aa to keep all their guineas to themselves. Mr. Kingsland wished to know if the new members of the committee were to become liable for a part of the old debt of the institute, and if, in accepting office, they also accepted the liability. Mr. South said that that was the very purpose of the amalgamation of the two committees. He thought, and had hoped that the statement he had made was explicit. He also wished to explain that the old committee, seeing the new committee now joined with them, had consented to renew the bill for tho original debt on the building. Mr. Kixgslaitd was satisfied with the explanation given. Mr. Bbight considered Mr. Souths statement more explicit." than his explanation. It was also more satisfactory to the new members of committee who, he fully believed were not understood to he personally responsible for any part of the contracted debts. ' . . . _ . 'After some further remarks on this point from Messrs. South, Button, and Beaven, Mr. Mabchant rose arid proposed His Honor the Superintendent as president, and Messrs. M'Culloch and South aa vice-presidents of the institution. : Mr. Stock seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Button then made an appeal for donations of books to form the nucleus of the proposed library, and intimated that His Honor the Superintendent, Dr. Berndt, and Mr. Johnston, had already sent or promised donations. Mr. Beaten intimated that it wa3 proposed to recommence the course of lectures next Tuesday evening. - . Mr. Johnston thereafter proposed a cordial Tote of thanks to His Bbnor for his conduct in the chair, to which he briefly returned his acknowledgments, and the proceedings terminated.