PARIS IN 1,900.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 101, 30 April 1898, Page 3 (Supplement)

PARIS IN 1,900.

THE GREAT END-OF-THE-CENTITRY

exposition;

' Scarcely had the affairs of the Paris Exhibition of 1889 been closed up when;the agitation began for another, to be' held in 1900, to celebrate the closing year of a century of wonderful commercial, industrial and artistic progress.' ' : ■ . 'V

Official recommendation was.made on the subject by the French Minister of Commerce and Industry as early as July, 1892, and a decree was issued by the President of the ' Republic in July of the following year announcing 'a universal exhibition of works of art, and of industrial ' and agricultural products,' to open April 15- ancT close November 5, 1900. A financial scheme was devised by a temporary commission io meet' ah expense of 106,785,000 francs^ or over £4,000,000. The city of Paris contributes 20,000,000 francs, and the French nation the same amount, and the bulk of the rest, or 60,000,000 francs, is to be raised by a popular bond issue. ; Each bond; of twenty francs is redeemable in twenty fullpaid admissions, and the holder is entitled to a twent-iive per,cent reduction in the. charge for admission to places of amusement in the grounds, or a corresponding reduction in the cost, of 'transportation to and from distant , '■ . ■

PAETS OF THE COUNTRY.

Another peculiarity of the bond issue is 'that in lieu of interest there is to be a fund, equivalent to interest on -the bonds, to be distributed in prizes upon: drawings, thus affording the attraction of a lottery to the taidng of the bonds. The estimated cost for construction is £2,920,000; for advertising, entertaining, preliminary management, etc., £ 800,000, leaving a liberal margin for contingencies. It is believed that the receipts will more than meet the expenses during the exhibition.

The site is practically the same as that of 1889, though ninety-six acres more of space are made available, partly by filled land along- the banks of the Seine. The total area is 336 acres, which is less., than half that of the World's Fair at Chicago, in IST)3, but the site is in the'heart of the city of Paris, and easily accessible from all directions, Avhich was reg-arded as essential. It comprises the public grounds on both'sides of the river, from the Place' de la Concorde to Passy, including the Champ de Mars, the Trocadero Park and Palace, the Esplanade dcs Invalides, the Quai d'Orsay, the Quai de la Conference, the Cours la Heine, and a considerable section of the Champs Elysees. The two sections of the site are to be connected by a splendid new bridg-e, to be known as the Pont d'Alexandre

The work of clearing: the ground and preparing- for the new structures is already proceeding-.