MASTERTON DEBATING SOCIETY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 851, 20 August 1881, Page 2

MASTERTON DEBATING SOCIETY.

Thk Masterton Debating Society met last evening at ,the Institute. There was a good attendance of .'members, Mr D» boing in the chair, , After some preliminary business bad been disposed of, whioh included the election of four new members, the debate on the, subject/" Ig- 'nofel-reading profitablo ?" was held, • Mr Payton, in opening it, said that he was not prepared to defend bad novels or immoderate novel-reading, and asked that the issue should be, "Is the moderate reading of'standard novels. 1 profitable ?" He- referred to 'the benefits the young derived from novels by acquiring facility ■in reading and by the general knowledge o world they picked up; also to the advantage derived from tlism by, persons more advanced in life who required' a rational recreation,. He maintained that they were rned with profit by all classes of sooiety from the Queen downwards.

Mr Collins accepted the limitation proposed by Mr Payton, whioh excluded trashy novels and immoderate use; though lie thought ! most novels we bad, and most norels were read immoderately. He claimed that novels were read for pleasure rather than profit, and the more serious and instructive portions of them wore usually skipped,' He alsoj held that the literature of the present age was deteteriorated by the .excessive writing and reading of novels, ' and '£hitt a practical experience of life was much more valuable than the knowledge ofit obtained through the, reading of noyek, . 'Mr Park considered 'that instruction might be oonveyed to'the young through novels. , Was it. not usual to administer physic to. children disguised in sweats 1 He referred to the valuable inforroition he, as a native- of New had gained ♦of English life and character through the works of " writers like Anthony Trollope.* Novell exercised a great infiuenoe by enlisting the sympathies of the weak against the strong, and of the good against the bad, Mr Chapman enquired what a man was to do when travelling from homo,, and had nothing to amuse himself' beyond studying the labels on pickle-bottles, and maintained that novels were profitable to travellers. - ■ • - Mr D'Arcy supported the opener of the debate, He considered' works of fiotion —judiciously selected—led the young to learn more readily than dry details. Who could say that ho had read Dickens' works without receiving instruction J: He also referred to.the special advantage of perusing historical romances. - Mr J., Brown drew.a humorous picture of the traditonal slavey immersedjn the mysteries of a penny periodical when she ought to he minding children or making beds. Did men of action like Oliver Cromwell read novels] !5: '

Mr Grundy, who followed, said that even Oliver Cromwell condescended to trifles during his leisure hours through the dearth of novels in his day perhaps prevented him from being a novel reader, He thought the phase of the question which they had really to decide was whether novel reading was profitable to tho young and declared that hia own experience was in itß favor, - Mr Price supported the affirmative, and dwelt on the immense advantage Sir tValtor Scott's novels had been to Scotland by attracting thousands of Englishmen to its scenes of hill and dale, and cementing friendly relationship between the two countries, He sympathised with the unfortunato slavey alluded to by Mr Brown, the surreptitious moments.she devoted to reading were often the only opportunities she possessed of improving her mind. •-Mr-Hull advocated-the use of. books of travel and history, and the reading, of newspapers, ai a more healthy recreation than novel reading, and stated that very many eminent men never read novels. Mr Sellar maintained that instruction ,was obtainable from; novels, and that as a rule those who objected to them were persons who were not familiar with tlieir contents, • ' Mr Payton having replied, a showiof hands was taken, and a dooided majority declared ori his side of the question. After the debate Mr Sellar was appointed Hon ' Treasurer" in ; place of Mr DeOastro, who held two offices, -and resigned one of them. Tho subject chosen for next debate was '• The oxpedienpy of a Borough loan," Mr Sellar taking affirmative, and Mr. Park the pegati^j^^