West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 205, 16 May 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 1866.

ISo gold was cleared.

We have some men amongst us zealous in good works, and interested intently, we believe, in the moral advancement and education of the people. There are clergymen and even laymen who preach the truths of religion to largo and attentive audiences every Sunday. And yet amongst clergymen or laymen, there is not a single one who will move a step or put forth a hand to provide for the young men of Hokitika, an opportunity, after the business day has closed, of spending a quiet intellectual evening in reading healthy literature, or engaging in the innocent and wholesome diversions of the discussion class or tho chess table. It is a strange and unaccountable phenomenon that so many good men confine themselves to • such rigidly set grooves of action, and aro never tempted even by the most promising opportunities of doing a public benefit, to step aside from their ordinary path. The minister of religion appears to consider that he has discharged tho whole dtytyQf, tho official man, if he deliver him-

self with effect in the pulpit, pay the necessary domiciliutory visits to his flock, and superintend the working of tho charities and institutions directly connected with his congregation. Surely it is not in such spirit that the clergy of Great Britain act. They have done very much indeed to reconcile tho Church to tho world, and the world to tho Church, of late years, by placing themselves at the head of all movements aiming at the intellectual advancement and the social recreation of tho people. Tho consequence is that at no period has religion commanded more general respect or exercised a more potent influence. In icvpry town in England tho clergy are Yno great promoters of Mechanics' Involutes, Athenamms, Scientific Associations, Literary Clubs, and other cognate institutions; and every potty village that has a parson, boasts of its Mutual Improvement Society. Ministers of religion havo found it to their interest, and to tho interest of the cause they serve, thus to strengthen their once feeble hold upon tho popular mind. And they have been aviso in their generation. They ought to assert themselves as the natural leaders of every intollcc • tual movement. And what movement is more called for in llokitika than the establishment of an institution which shall furnish tho means of costless and healthy evening entertainment ? Tho social condition oi the town is very peculiar. There aro large classes who know little or nothing, of home comfort, or of tho pleasant relaxations that belong to tho family circle. They consist for tho most part, of the employees s of business establishments ; and we may safely say that, as n rule, they are, after the business of tho day is done, at i.n utter loss as to how to spend their evening. They cannot go to the theatre every night— excellent as the performances may be; tho billiard room and tho card table havo attractions only for a limited class ; and for others there is not a reading room, not a chess room, not an occasional evening lecture, not a spot where a lounge and a chat can bo indulged in, without the accompaniment of- the glass and the pipe. If we have spoken pointedly of the apathy displayed in this matter by ministers of religion (and they aro amongst us, if not indeed in sufficient numbers), it is with no desire to excuse others foi\not moving in a work so necessary and useful. We admit, however, that in the case of mercantile men there is some ground of excuse. Wo fully believe that ns a class they arc willing to help liberally in any good work ; but they have too much to think of and to attend to in their own affairs, to enable them to take .any initiative or active part in it. What is wanted, is some one to move, and wo aro convinced that if there wore such a Some-one, many a scheme that now halts would bo fairly set on its way, and prosper. An opportunity is just now presented such as is not likely to occur again, of securing suitable premises most conveniently and centrally situated, for tho homo of a Literary Society or Club, or whatever designation it may be deter, mined to give to it. Wo know of no more useful purpose to which the present disused Corinthian Hall could bo applied. And little doubt can be entertained that if it were secured, the purchase money would be quickly repaid, and the hall become tho permanent property, free of debt, of an association self-supported by the subscriptions of its members. Is it to bo questioned that out of the many hundreds who arc now at an utter loss how to spend their evenings, a sufficient body of subsciibing members would be forthcoming to make tho institution paying, and to supply a gradually increasing fund for the establishment of a good library ? The hall might be constantly used as a reading-room — occasionally as a concert hall and lecture theatre. During the business hours of tho day it would furnish a most convenient resort to mercantile men. . Its tables .could be cheaply supplied by special management, with tho whole of the files of intercolonial papers, and with most of tho leading English journals and magazines, chess and draught- boards ; and a dozen other accessories might bo ranged around ; and telegraphic messages from all parts of the colony might be posted at fixed hours on the walls. As a private speculation the undertakmg would undoubtedly be a success. But it is not as a private speculation that we suggest it. We desiro to see an efficient public institution established, aiming at a public object, and based upon a substantial foundation ; and an unwonted opportunity is now offered of giving effect to a long standing 1 suggestion, if only Some-one will be found to take tho initiatory step.