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not do, owing to the personal element in the estimation of 
what was worth reading. Mr. John Bradshaw referred to 
the fact that most classical books were now being printed and 
sold at a penny, but in an abridged form, and he thought the 
result was being shown in the very marked falling off in the 
sales of “ penny dreadfuls.” To appreciate the classics, 
however, one must bring an understanding mind. Mr. Albert 
Lupton further criticised Mr. Rothwell’s proposition, and said 
such a Board of Control was unnecessary, as there was already 
a sufficient one in the form of public opinion. Messrs. J. S. 
Sutcliffe, A. A. Bellingham, W. Lewis Grant and Geo. Gill 
also spoke, and a vote of thanks to the debaters, moved by 
Mr. Grant and seconded by Mr. Gill, was passed by the meeting. 
Mr. Hudson in replying, said he did not consider the effect 
of trashy literature as “ debilitating.” If some publications were 
objected to as “ suggestive,” what about the effect which some 
classical works would have on the youthful mind which studied 
them. It was good rather than otherwise that these works were 
not read until the mind was more developed. He described the 
scheme of hall-marking as chimerical. It could not be made 
practical. Reading, too, was not like silver or food stuffs, 
as we could each act as our own assayers of reading matters. 
He did not see any reason for the complaint that good literature 
was bad to find. If we require good literature to read and 
have no faith in the reviewers, we do not need to peruse what 
is now being written, but can read what has already shown 
itselt capable of living, of which there is sufficient to 
last a hundred life-times. Further, the mere hall-marking 
of what a certain body of men thought good w'ould not have 
any effect in preventing the poorer and more temporary forms 
of literature from being used, and it was only educational 
progress which could do this. It is one of the best features 
of our modern educational system that teaching is done on 
lines which are directed towards awakening the youthful 
imagination and teaching the child to think. 
O 
