PARIS EXHIBITION, 1867.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1386, 17 April 1867, Page 3

PARIS EXHIBITION, 1867.

[From the " Engineer," January 11.] The Imperial Commission seems determined that the proverbial difficulty with respect to punctuality shall not be an insurmountable obstacle in its path. It has pushed on its preparations with remarkable activity and steadiness ; such a building has never before been erected within the same moderate ;space of time, and with so little apparent disarrangement of general matters. There is no doubt that tho iron and engineering trades have felt the effect of this large commission, aud that some interests must have suffered, but the work has proceeded with almost military regularity, and has probably caused the least possible amount of perturbation. The building was virtually ready for the reception of the fittings of the various commissions and classes at the time promised, and at the present moment an immense quantity of carpenters' work is standing in the intermediate galleries, as they are called, that is to say, those appropriated to raw materials and manufactured articles of all kinds, machinery alone exeepted. The French contractors for fittings have exhibited great energy, and there is little perspective now to be found in these galleries ; solid wooden partitions run up to the tie rods of the roof in all directions and more than one court, that to be devoted to the productions of the workers in the precious metals especially, are in a very forward state. In the goldsmiths' court the frames of the show cases are all put together, and might be placed in the hands of the glazier and decorator immediately. Proceeding around the circle of these intermediate courts we find activity everywhere; nearly the whole of the commissioners are preparing their divisions, Eussia, Sweden and Norway, and Egypt being prominent amongst their neighbours. China, Japan, and other states to which small spaces are allotted, have nearly completed their main woodwork, but it must be explained that, as on like occasions in London, these collections and all the preparations for them are in the hands of the French commission iteelf. Just beyond these Eastern stalls the United States of America and the South American Eepublics are setting up their fences, while the remaining portion, that devoted to Great Britain, is at present a dreary waste. It is said that somebody in authority at home seems imbued with the unhappy spirit of procrastination, which was so nearly making shipwreck of the whole affair in London in 1862, and which rendered any participation in the labors of that undertaking almost unsupportable. It is to be hoped that this is merely one of rumour's fibs, but the fact that the English portion shows a very small amount of activity at present is beyond question, and everybody notices the fact. The presence of the English authorities is, however, shown in another part of the exhibition, where a portion of the outer alimentary zone is being taken into the great machine and processes court —the engineers being, it appears, more clamorous for space than Mincing-lane, Mark-lane, or the eating-house keepers—a fact which our readers will readily understand is not at all unpleasant to the engineer. In fact, looking at the relative condition of the British and foreign iron and machinery trades, the importance oT a first-class exhibition in the British machine gallery is of the utmost importance, and it is to be hoped that it will be equally remarkable for quality as for quantity. The great mass of people abroad have got a notion into their heads that England has lost her pre-eminence. This is not the place to discuss that question, but it is the place, and this is the very moment, to say to the engineers and constructors of England, Scotland, and Ireland—Let your contributions be as large as possible, but whatever the amount, do not allow one ill-made machiue, one specimen of antiquated construction, figure in the British machine court. The world is eagerly looking for proofs of your haying losfc your ancient prestige; it is for you to provide for it a serious and startling disappointment. "While on the subject of the appearance of Great Britain at the Exhibition, it may be mentioned that, while nearly the whole of the boiler-houses and chimney-shafts are finished, that which belongs to England is behindhand ; the shaft is built, and a very handsome one it is, but the boilerhouse is not yet above the foundation walls. The Royal Pavilion of England, which is placed opposite that of the Emperor of the French in the principal avenue, is in a much more satisfactory condition; the walls lare up, and the timbers of the roof are nearly all in place, and in a very short time we shall be able to say what kind of figure our national architecture is likely to make ; it is very English in style, which is well — a solid stone building dressed with red bricks, and with three sharp pointed roofs, a large transverse one behind, and two smaller ones, at right angled to the former, in front. To return to the building for a moment. In the great machinery gallery the pillars and framing, which are to support the driving shafts, and also a gallery, from which the public may view the contents of the court on each side, are nearly all in their places; in most parts the flooring joists of the gallery are being fixed, and in some the flooring is being laid. Two rows of cast-iron pillars, united by running and transverse latticed girders, occupy the middle of this enormous gallery or zone ; the bearings of the shafts will be supported on brackets, which stand out on each side ; and over the girders, with sufficient space below for the pulleys, will be the floor of the gallery, which will extend on each side over the

driving gear. The gallery will be about ten feet wide. In parts of the machinery court foundations are being prepared, but nothing of the kind is yet to be found in the British portion. We are not pessimists, and do not believe that England will be behindhand, but it is important for her national honor, and particularly at the present moment for the reasons given above, that her work should be done in first-rate style, and this is uot always easy under pressure. And here another hiut may be useful. It will be remembered that the French railway companies found immense-diffi-culty in conveying the contributions of our neighbors to and from the coasts in 1862 ; great efforts have been made to improve the plant and general working of the lines, and there may be no difficulty in bringing up everything in good time next year, but it is abolutely necessary to warn our countrymen that the conveyance of heavy goods is sadly slow in France ; the complaints on this head are general and loud, and if ample time be not allowed for the conveyance of machinery there will, most probably, be grievous disappointment and complaints. The Imperial Government is known to have used all its endeavors to improve the heavy traffic, but no government or commission can change the habits of a nation, and especially !of officials, in a day or a year. Therefore, let every one who intends to exhibit try to be amongst the first to get his heavy pieces on to the ground and his foundations prepared. The British Commission cannot desire delay, and it is wonderful how a little pressure from without aids the movement of even a semi-governmental machine. Hails are now being laid down around the building, and also within the machinery court, as well ac a turntable for the j unction of the two, so that there will be good facilities for getting heavy things into the building, and the Imperial Commission has issued proposals for the supply of steam cranes and other machines for lifting heavy weights. These will be employed in the general work of the Exhibition, and like the boilers and furnaces used for the driving machinery, will be included in the catalogue, and open to compete for prizes. The workmen are now finishing off the ironwork of the main entrances to the building. Long porticoes are formed by carrying the great iron verandah on columns to about six feet beyond the general line, and at a slightly rising angle, so as to throw back the drip. At one of the side entrances the portico is very long, and there is beyond it an immense wooden covered way, beneath which a number of carriages may be set down and their occupants at the same time; and at the opposite entrance the door will be brought into direct communication with the covered way which leads through the exhibition grounds to the railwaystation outside; these are two admirable points in the arrangements. Another mode of access to the building is by water, and for this purpose a wide landing place is being formed, from which visitors may enter the "grounds of the Exhibition beneath the quay. The Imperial Commission has taken possession of the rooms in the building erected on one side of the grounds for its use and that of the prizes. The lists of the greater part of the mechanical classes are now definitely settled, exhibiting the strength of our neighbours the French in each. Class 50, instruments and processes in agricultural and alimentary factories, 187 exhibitors ; Class 51, ditto in chemical arts, pharmacy, and tanning, 90 ; Class 52, prime movers, boilers, &c, for driving machinery, 12; Class 53, general machinery, 244 ; Class 54, machine tools, 111; Class 57, sewing machines, &c, 51; Class 58, instruments and processes employed in making fittings and furniture, 11 ; Class 59, ditto in paper making dyeing, and calico printing, 80 ; Class 60, miscellaneous machinery, &c, 52 ; Class 61, coach building and wheelwright work, 105 ; Class 62, saddlery and harness making, 41 ; Class 64, telegraphy, including the collection of the instruments used by the Government, 41 ; Class 65, machinery, instruments, and processes employed in architecture, civil engineering, and public works, 387. Seven classes in this group are not yet published. Terrible complaints are made of the exigencies of the admission prices, a proof of the high standard fixed for admission, and a further warning to other nations to send nothing which is not remarkable either for excellence or novelty. The plan of the supplementary agricultural exhibition on the Isle de Billancourt seems to be growing daily. The commission has announced that not only will full provision be made for the supply of eatables and drinkables in this agricultural island, but even amusements will be added. This looks like a superfluity of recreation; but if Monsieur G-uignol, or any of the other famous actors who delight the children and nursery maids in the Champs Elysees, choose to set up their shows in the Isle of Billancourt, it is certainly nothing to us, and may amuse the visitors from the provinces. The time is not, however, yet arrived for anything like a definite report upon this important annexe. Now that the interior of the building is nearly all floored, it is satisfactory to state that no asphalte appears. Either the report was unfounded or the commission has changed its mind ; the whole of those parts of the industrial courts appropriated to the stands or cases are being floored with wood, some of the French courts having common white wood under the cases and tables, and oak where the floor will be uncovered. The plan for closing the building, and insuring the contents against accidents by fire from without, is excellent; the doors are being fitted with stout iron shutters, which will be raised by the rack and pinion system, sometimes employed in the case of shop fronts. These shutters will be worked from the inside, bo that all the doors which are not required for the actual service

of the guards at night—probably fourteen out of the sixteen —will be hermetically sealed as soon as the public has quitted the Exhibition. The French portion of the alimentary court will soon be ready for visitors. The fronts of the cafes and restaurants are all up, and the fittings being put in. There is a grand cafe, a "grand restaurant, a diner del , , Europe, buffet de Vunivers, and a Strasbourg beer establishment, forming altogether a series of refreshment places some 700 feet in length. On the opposite side of the building the place of Messrs Spiers and iPond's dining rooms, in combination with Bass and C 0,., is marked by a long inscription. Some, if not all, of these acceptable establishments for the recruiting of the inner man will very shortly be opened for the benefit of exhibitors and others, who will doubtless be glad enough to avail .themselves of them during the three cold months to be devoted to the preparations of the Exhibition. The Imperial Commission has decided that the rate , of admission shall be uniform, the charge to be one franc on all days of the week ; and, as that rate of admission has nlways been the most satisfactory in a pecuniary point of view, the decision seems a wise one. There is oue important advantage in such arrangement, namely, that all the world will soon know the price of admission, and no luckless visitor will be surprised by a notification that he has arrived, by mistake, on a five iranc day. A decision just announced, and which has already been carried into execution, has caused some surprise; the commission has put an end to all free admissions, and visitors may now view the works by payment of one franc. One object of this ia doubtless to aid the funds of the undertaking, and another to put a stop to the annoyance of applications for billets de faveur; the only objection seems to be that should many persons avail themselves of the arrangement to visit the works those occupied with the business of installation may find themselves incommoded, especially as the presence of strangers may render rather stringent measures necessary with respect to circulation.