CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1763, 16 August 1884, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE MASTEBTON INSTITUTE. (To the Editor,) Sir,—l was an attentive listener to the various speakers who expressed their views at the Institute on Wednesday evening. One speaker tried to make out that the reading room was unpopular, but any person knows , better than that who has been in the habit of visiting it for a few years. I , believe I should not be exaggerating if I said the persons using the reading- j room have increased seven-fold in four , or, five years. The chief point that ] attracted my attention was a state- | ment made by Mr Beard that out of a , sum of thirty pounds which was to have ! been sent home for books, sighteen , had to be spent for other things in con- < nection with the building. Well sir, j it seems to me, absurd for a number of of energetic men, like those comprising the Committee of the Masterton Institute, to came to the public and say we are short of funds because the ] public do not patronise the Library as ( they should. It must be patent to all ] intelligent beings that it lays entirely c with the Committee whether the r Institute pays its way or not and that t moving the reading-room up stairs will ( not in the least improve its financial c position but probably make it worse, j I can see but one way to make it pay g and that is to get a lot of new good >- books and give the public better facili-1 ]

ties for reading them. I know the all-important question arises as to where the funds are to be got. The Town Lands Trustees gave, seventy-five pounds on certain; conditions for the improvement' of-'the Park last year surely they could not refuse to give a similar amonnt on similar conditions for so good a purpose as providing good literature for tho impaovement of our minds. lam positive if the committee set about it in an energetic manner they could raise the other seventy-five pounds by getting up a few entertainments, &c, If a hundred pounds was spent in new books, and the other fifty expended in providing cases for a museum it would make a great difference m the attractiveness of such a noble institution of which I am sure every intelligent mind in Masterton is justly prond. Yours, Ac., Reader, [Our correspondent's suggestion is a batter one than any made at the late meeting.—Ed. W.D.]