The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1896. INDUSTRIAL AND HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume XXIV, Issue 2066, 30 June 1896, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1896. INDUSTRIAL AND HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION.

Ws think it an extremely good move on the part of the President and Committee of last year's Industrial and Horticul-tural-Exhibition to.call a meeting for to set matters going for next year. There is no doubt that at the first establishment of thesaannual exhibitions, it was intended that preparing articles for the industrial sectiou should be the employment aud amusement of the long winter evenings. With that object in view, it was the custom to issue the industrial schedule ia May or June, and there being , at that time fewer amusements and distractions than at present, it was eagerly looked forward to ; and there, was the keenest competition. In later years the schedule has not been revised till spring was well advanced, and has then been corrected in such a hurry that it was necessarily defective. We are glad to,s-ee that the old system has been renewed this year ; and whit the promoters liave to see to now is that the schedule is most carefully revised before being issued. It is no use whatever for the gentlemen who are members of the Committee to attempt to do this unaided. In the art-and educational sections thpy can manage very well, but the marrow of the section, the plain and fancy needlework, is altogether beyond them. What man can raally judge the; relative prizes that should be given for crewel or macrnmie work ? and after thp schedules nre issued, do we not always hear of some mysterious.: convolution of silk or cotton that should" have been added to the list. Jt follows, therefore, that the existing schedule should be subjected to tho wise scrutiny of a Gom-i uiiUee of ladies, thoroughly skilled in this hooU important branch of domestic art, and so made thoroughly up to date. Thnt part of the schedule i-e!at-ing to writing, .drawing, mapping and other school work O.UO requires much consideration, and we should like to see ah extreme effort in tide to get many of

the Peninsula schools to compete. That such a thing is possible was proved by the exhibits sent to the Christchurch In dustrial Exhibition, and if the matter is taken warmly in hand 4iow, we fully bjlieve very good results might be attained. As the needlework should fee relegated to the ladies, would it not also bo a wise slop to let the part of the schedule for school work be arranged by the schoolmasters ? Why should not the Committee, at its meeting to-night, arrange to send a circular to the masters of all the schools within a reasonable area, asking them to form a sub eommittes to do this work ? One meeting is all th it would be required, aud surely 'hat could be easily arranged. It is our belief that if tlm could be accomplished it would awaken general scholastic interest in the Exhibition, aud-lead to very keen and useful competition.

With the other sections of the exhibits we have no need to deal at present. The horticultural schedule wants little alteration, and the time for moving in the direction of endeavouring to awaken the interest of the farmers has not yet come. What we desire at present is to see a large and interested attendance of both ladies and gentlemen at the meeting to-night in order that the preliminary steps may be at once taken for the early issue of a vastly improved industrial schedule.