The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1866.

Southland Times, Volume VII, Issue 4, 4 July 1866, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1866.

The meeting of the members of the Literary Society that is to be held this evening, is one of no small importance. The gentlemen who were appointed at the first meeting have been working. They have persevered in their task, of organising the society, and, we understand, have been successful to an extent that few anticipated. About eighty members have been enrolled ; the Government has consented to place the Land Board's large room at the service of the Society, and every facility for a fair start that could be expected, is given. It is, therefore, with much pleasure that we call upon those interested in the mental progress of the Province, to be present at the meeting this evening. In previous articles we have so strongly urged the importance of general support being given to this project, that any further comment at the present time is unnecessary. The foundation stone has been laid ; the materials for the building up of a valuable institution are provided, and it is the duty of all to unite to make it a superstructure which shall be instructive, elevating, and durable. The unfortunate internal war which has been carried on for the last four years in America ; — a war which for slaughter and duration has not been equalled since the first historical records were penned — is happily terminated. The intermission in the annual gathering of American citizens to celebrate the Declaration of Independence is no longer requisite, and we believe that North and j South will unite in their rejoicing, that j on the Fourth July, 1866, the United ' States are no longer disunited, and thatthe , British people will heartily echo the sentiment. The fourth of July is to our American citizens a " red letter day" and to all British colonist it is one to be remembered. The anniversary of the American Independence has for nearly a century been celebrated iv every part of the world in which an American citizen has located. These annual gatherings have tended to unite the two nations. To call forth from the British an expression of feeling, acknowledging that the noble stand made by the immortal Washington., and the brave American colonists of his time, has had the effect of leading British statesmen to abandon an exactiug colonial policy, ancl allow to the colonies all the advantages of responsible Government — that it has had the effect of revolutionising the former system of colonization. Therefore, whatever defects we may believe to exist in the American system of government ; it is one of those events that should ever be remembered with veneration by every lover of liberty.