THE NEW EXHIBITION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 140, 14 June 1911, Page 8

THE NEW EXHIBITION.

INTERNATIONAL SCHEME I ABANDONEE AS INDUSTRIAL FAIR APPROVED.' A meeting of the Citizens' Committee appointed io decide upon the question of holding an international exhibition in Auckland was held at the City Council Chambers yesterday afternoon. The Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr) presided, and there was an attendance or over a hundred. Apologies for their absence were read from Messrs. F. Bodle, T. Finlayson, and W. S. Douglas. Mr. Bodle thought the date of the Exhibition should be postponed till the opening of the Panama Canal, and Mr. Finlayson urged caution regarding the size, scope, and cost of the exhibition.

The first speaker was the president of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr. Leo. Myers), who said all he had to say on the question had been said at the preliminary meeting of citizens. The Chamber of Commerce had decided that it was desirable that an exhibition should 'be held, but had further resolved thatj the matter should first be submitted' to the citizens of Auckland. It would have been out of place for the Chamber of Commerce to have undertaken the responsibility, and they could not have gone to the Government and asked for State assistance, inasmuch as the Chamber of Commerce was not fully representative of the whole business life of the city of Auckland. The Citizens' Committee then assembled, however, was fully representative, and was fully competent to deal with the subject. At the preliminary public meeting serious objection to the proposal had been raised by Messrs. Henry Brett and A. Rosser, and had made him inclined to consider whether the time was opportune for the holding of an exhibition of an international nature. To gain an idea of the feeling of the committee, however, he moved "Thar, this committee is of the opinion that the time is ripe for. the holding of an exhibition, to be held on a date to be fixed not later than 1914." Mr. B. Buttle seconded the resolution, and urged that there was need for the greatest unanimity if an exhibition of an international nature was to be held. WHAT AN EXHIBITION COSTS. Mr. Henry Brett said that he was still of the opinion that the time was inopportune for the holding of an international exhibition, and since the public meeting, held nearly a fortnight ago, he •had been able to gauge public opinion, and he was satisfied the citizens did not favour the proposal. Personally, he believed in local industrial displays, but he was firmly of the opinion that an /exhibition of an (international nature was not desirable at the present time. The Government would not be justified .in supporting such a project, and the [citizens could not be expected to provide the financial backing. Since the last meeting he had been in communication with Mr. James Allen, chairman of the Christchurch Exhibition Committee, and had got from him an approximate idea of what it cost to get that exhibition under Way- The main buildings and annexes cost £55,000; machinery hall, £12,000; concert hall, £6000; art gallery, £5000; fernery, £3000; gardens, gates, etc, £4000. Altogether, with architects and commission, the expenditure on buildings amounted to £95,000. There weTe also the preliminary expenses, and before the exhibition was opened to the public there had .been an expenditure of not less than £125,000. Here in Auckland an international exhibition could not be undertaken at a cost of leas than £100,000, and there was always the certainty of loss on a venture of this kind. In his opinion, the citizens should not be asked to guarantee it, and he hoped the scheme would be dropped. A voice: What was made out of the Christchurch Exhibition. Mr. Brett: Nothing was made out of it, but the loss was fully £60,000. Mr. R. T. Michaels: More like £100,000. Mr. Brett: The actual loss was never published. The Hon. Seymour Thorne George said he was quite, in accord with Mr. Brett. In Christchurch it cost £90,000 to put *p the buildings before the exhibition was even opened. He did not think it would be a fair thing to ask the citizens of Auckland to put their hands in their pockets and provide a £50,000 guarantee. In fact, he was sure the people would not do it. The total cost of the Christchurch Exhibition was £200,000, and the loss to the Governnwnt £60,000. The Government came forward with £75,000, and £15,000 was all they ever got out of it. According to the Prime Minister, the country gained to the extent of i £300,000 due to added revenue in the way of railways, Customs, and other returns, but he did not think it good enough to repeat the experiment so soon in Auckland. He suggested that nothing should be done until a deputation could wait upon the Prime Minister on his return from England, and ascertain what the Government would be prepared to do. TIRED OF EXHIBITIONS. Mr. J. H. Elliott did not think an international exhibition would pay. Who jWas going to come to a tin-pot colonial town from other parts of the world to see a so-called international exhibition 1 Besides, people in New Zealand were sick of exhibitions. If they held an exhibition at all it should be on the lines of the local industrial exhibition held in Auckland 13 or 14 years ago. Mr. Hodgson said he was not keen on the idea of an international exhibition, but he thought the time was opportune for holding another such industrial display as that held 13 years ago. The fair in question only cost £13,000. and there was a balance of £2000 to the good. An exhibition now would serve a good purpose in carrying out the spirit and object of the last industrial exhibition on an improved scale. But to endeavour to hold an international fair would only pull down the house about their ears.

; Mr. John Court said he was sure an 1 industrial exhibition would prove a sucj cess at the present juncture. I Mr. J. H. Gunson favoured an international exhibition in Auckland. In talking of the Christchurch Exhibition, it I had to be remembered that gross mismanagement was the cause of much of the loss sustained. He thought Mr. Myers' motion might be carried, and the scope , of the exhibition could then be discussed. I Mr. A. Clarke said he thought it would be quite impossible to raise £40,000 or £ 50,000 as a guarantee. It was too soon after the Christchurch Exhibition to hold another international exhibition, but he : hoped to see a smaller exhibition carried out on the lines of that held 13 years ago. THE QUESTION AT ISSUE. Mr. Brett said the committee had first of all to consider the question submitted to them by a public meeting—whether or not an international exhibition should bo held, if the international idea was aban-

doned, then they would be pretty well unanimous upon the desirability of holding a New Zealand industrial exhibition.

The Mayor said he would not be sorry to see the more ambitious scheme of an international fair dropped. An exhibition on a smaller scale might very well be held in 1914. By that time the city drainage scheme would 'be well advanced and considerable improvement effected in our streets.

, Mr. A. Myers, M.P., eaid he was one of those who thought an international exhibition could be held in Auckland in 1914 or 1915. The mismanagement of the Christchurch Exhibition was well known, and there neea be no recurrence of it here. He suggested, however, in view of the present divergence of opinion between the holding of an industrial and international exhibition, that the question be deferred for another 12 months. INTERNATIONAL PROJECT FAILS. Mr. W. J. Speight moved as an amendment, "That this committee does not recommend the holding of an international exhibition." Mr. A. Rosser seconded the amendment, and urged that if an exhibition was held it should be one illustrative of the progress of local industry; an international exhibition would only open the door to a display of French, German, Japanese, and other foreign made goods.

Mr Leo Myers said all his motion asked was that they should affirm the desirability of holding an exhibition. He admitted that it was now clear that the idea of an international exhibition would have to be abandoned. There was not sufficient enthusiasm to warrant that scheme being carried further. Probably they could now agree upon something in the nature of an Australasian exhibition to be held about 1914. With regard to Mr. Rosser's objection that there was the risk of a slump and that there was a risk of the small tradespeople suffering, he had that morning sent a representative round to 80 small shopkeepers, and 84 fer cent favoured the holding of an exhibition. Mr. Brett said that since the last meeting numbers of tradespeople had assured him of their opposition to the holding of an international exhibition. Mr. Rosser said he had placed the matter before several unions and a number of tradespeople, and they had endorsed his previous attitude. On Mr. Speight's amendment being put, it was almost unanimously carried, "That this committee does not recommend the holding of an international exhibition." On Mr. Leo Myers' motion it was then agreed unanimously that the following words be added, "and that it be a recommendation that an industrial exhibition be held at a period not earlier than the year 1913."