THE PARIS EXHIBITION OF 1900.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10739, 20 August 1900, Page 3

THE PARIS EXHIBITION OF 1900.

H.—THE TRANSVAAL PAVILION AND

ITS NEIGHBOUR

[By ouk Special Cb______PONTx_x_, Miss CbNSTANCE A. Barxicoat.] "Vive les Boers!" Around the Trocadero is tbe colonial part of tha Exhilwtion, perhaps the l-rightest and most attractive of aIL It is divided! into foreign colonies and French colonies. Among the foreign colonies ia Western Australia, of which I shall have somethiirg to say later; and near Western Australia is the '-Pavilion dv Transvaal." The Transvaal pavilion is evidently one of the most interesting and fascinating parts of the whole Exhibition, judging from the crowds which, always thronged; it. Nowhere efee, except perhaps in the Armaments section, "Armees de Terre et de Mer," did I see such a crush. Here amongst the horsechestnuts and paulonias, Western Australia, the Dutch colonies, Russia, and the Transvaal dwell together apparently in amity. The Transvaal, to the French, is therefore a colony of the Netherlands, although over its pretty white pavilion, built in tlie Dutch style of architecture, and flying the tricolour flag, are the words "Republique Sud-Africaine." Not only is the pavilion, overcrowded with people, but is rather overcrowded wi-h exhibits. The interior is in white and gold, with white pillars. All kinds of seeds and grains (especially mealies), ostrich feathers, tobacco, and boxes of dynamite marked Alfred Nobel, fill the lower part of the pavilion. In the centre is a case of stuffed birds, underneath which, for the want of a better placo, is an interesting model of ono of the carts of the early voortred-kers. The wall at one end is covered with map 3of the Transvaal, and at the other with very gay pictures of Transvaal scenes. To the right on entry I notice a whole congregation of people round a white bust of President Kruger. I wait patiently till there is room for mc to slip in. There he stands, draped with the Transvaal national flag, and adorned with posies of flowers. Roses and lilies fill a large vase fastened to the pedestal of tho bust, and flowers that can find no room in the vase are pinned on to the tricolour flag. "Vive les Boers" is written up about the pavilion. It is the spirit of French chivalry which prothpts them still to cry ''Vive les Boers"; of international complications they do not think. All they see is a small State against a great Empire. One of President Kruger's admirers has not only expressed her sympathy by means of roses and lilies, but also by the following words, of which I give an execrable translation, scribbled down while a crowd of impatient people were jogging my elbow -all the time, thinking I had been there far too long already, and it was their turn now: — "To President Kruger and tlie people of the Transvaal, homage of admiration for their persevering courage, lively sympathy for their just cause, fervent prayers for their success, which they have earned by right, by patriotism and true and loyal independence.—A Frenchwoman of Paris." The French appear immensely fascinated by tlie Transvaal and its President. Everyone stops before the President's bust. "Ah, e'est Krujere," they exclaim in a tone of profound interest. Yes, it is Krujere, and near him stands the busts of General Joubert and Dr. Leyds. I extricate myself from the admiring crowd, and find my way up a staircase, hung with the skins of South African animals, and adorned with their long curly horns. Upstairs in the gallery there is a fine collection of Kaffir exhibits, mineral specimens, and dried wild flowers. Every article in use in a Kaffir household appears to have been collected here, from rude wooden spoons to a Kaffir piano. Here also are French of all classes and ages in unusual numbers, besides a fair proportion of English and Americans. Downstairs, at the main entrance, I find the attendant, a Frenchman of the fair type, in green Exhibition livery. "Is there always a crowd like that about President Kruger's bust?" "Always, madame; always like that." "And always flowers?" "Always flowers, m_<_a__e; fresh flowers every day. Ah, the French have so much sympathy with the Boers, a little nation against a Power such as England. And you have too, madame, I am sure, else I would not have spoken to you one moment."

And still further to enforce this declaration, he raises his hands with one of those cb__ractei_rti__-ly French gesturea which mean more than many words.

"And you don't fly the Unions Jack, I see?"

"No, madame, we have the Transvaal flag, certainly. We hope the Boers will still win, for the wax ia not nearly ended. It will last for months yet,"

"And is not that the _>attsvaal flag that I see you wearing?"

"Mais oui, madame, and I hope I shall wear it always. La ferine Boer? Ah ouf, derriere, a gauche." THE BOER FARM. And there it is, the low, roughly-built, one-storey cottage. Clearly there is something highly attractive about this cleverlyexecuted model ol a typical dwelling of one of the early voortrekkers across the Vaal. A miscellaneous crowd of people are eagerly striving for a footing therein—the blue, scarlet-faced uniforms of the "soldats de FArmee Franca-se," jostling against the long robes and black pigtails of Chinamen, and the elegant dresses of fashionable Americans and Parisiennes. Slight anachronisms are a flower-decked portrait of Colonel Villebois-Mareuil in the front room, and large pots of summer chrysanthemums in the windows; nor is it likely that the Dutch vrow in her kitchen looked out on such a forest of beautiful trees. Still, the whole effect is extremely realistic. On the wall is a calendar in Dutch, and tbe crudest daubs representing the finding of Moses, and other weß-known Old Testament scenes. It is to be feared tbat the early vortrekkera knew more about hunting than about art. Skins hang upon the.walla like tapestry, i_d arp the only covering of one of tho beds. Harness, ropes, and saddles axe all

k.pt #1 the house, and not in the stable. The kitchen has a rough table, with a little —:4 very little—crockery, an oven." and an m_ien.e loaf of bread baking on the coals. In the front room, apparently the family salon, there is a Bible dating back to 1714, x table, and a few chairs, also the family ornaments, consisting of a jar and a picture made out of the feathers of Transvaal birds ; but as I had not the key to this work of art I cannot pretend to say what it is all about. The voortrekker and his family managed to squeeze themselves into five rooms, and most of them must liave slept rolled up in skins, for only one bed had such a luxury as sheets, while the family ablutions appear to have been taken place in one washing basin, holding about as much as a Large sou|>-plate.

Close to the Boer farm attention is attracted by a huge pillar, towering above all else in the neighbourhood. By looking straight up into the sky, you can read that it gives the statistics of Transvaal gold-mining from 1887 to 1899, and even down to the first quarter of the present year, a matter in which the French are deeply interested, as there are many French shareholders in the Rand.

Goldmining is, indeed, by far the most important display in the Transvaal section. There is a gold foundry and laboratory close to tlie Boer farm, and in the underground mining section, installed by the Subterranean Exposition Mining Company, the whole process of cyanur-tion, sorting and grinding the ore of the Rind is shown. This exhibit also excites much attention. COLONIALS AT THE EXHIBITION. Quite near the ever-charming Transvaal pavilion are the exliibits of "Le Canada," and adjoining the Canadian part —indeed, under the same roof—are the only representatives of Australasia in the whole Exhibiton. Australia is fortunate in being in such a pretty part of the Exhibition grounds, indeed, she could hardly be more charmingly placed. She looks«out on the rose gardens of the Trocadero; she is shaded from the hot sun by a row of paulonias, while all about are leafy trees, still fresh in their summer foliage. Quite near also, and most convenient for the te_-c_-inking Australians, is the Ceylon Tea Pavilion, where I soon picked out several Australians among a crowd of English and other nationalities. They were indescribably different. French people would probably take them for Americans, yet they did not look like citizens of l(he Great Republic. Some Australian girls there were also, conspicuous even among so many by their pretty faces, less stiff and more animated than those of their English sisters.

Entering the Western Australian division, I at once made my way to the maiKiger and superintendent of the whole section, the Hon. W. P. Venn, well-known in Australia, to whose courtesy I am indebted for a number of details about the Australian exhibits which I could not otherwise have hod. Mr Venn said that there had already been a. great many Australians visiting the exhibition, but although they frequently called upon him, they did iio. by any means always leave their names. Mr Deakin, however, the Victorian Federation Delegate, whose name is now so well known, in England, had been over. "And there were some very pleasant New Zealanders here last iveek," said Mr Venn, "very pleasant people ind-oed, but I could not tell you then- names. There have been a good many New Zealand people _i__ and out." Mr Venn was an enthusiastic ultraBritisher, and complained a good deal of the French workmen and the difficulties he had had with them. Like many others before liim, he marvelled at the "Englishman in Paris," who holds up his hands in horror at the Continental Sunday and yet, when he is on the Continent upon that day, out-Conti-nentals the Continentals themselves. The Englishman, as I had ample opportunity to observe, who in England would not enter an exhibition on Sunday, even if there were one. to does not scruple to make one of the Sa.bbatli-bieaking tln-ong of gay Parisiens and Parlsiennes who throng the exhibition on Sunday more tEan on any other day. STRIKING GOLD EXHIBITS. The Western Australian, gold exhibit, as Mr Venn told mc, is unique, not only in the Paris exhibition, but, indeed, in the whole world, for never before has there been such a display of rare kinds of gold .peciineiis and nuggets of prodigious size and unheard of value. For this part of the exhibition, however, Mr Venn handed mc over to the West Australian gold-mining expert, Sir Holroyd, a son of Judge Holroyd, who took great painto show mc the wonderful collection of gold specimens brought together, an exliiblt which naturally attracts considerable attention in Paris. "We have a number of detectives here," said Mr Holroyd, "working eight hour shifts. They axe here night and dayj the place is never left." "I do not see them anywhere." "They are there in plain clothes," said Mr Hcilroyd, pointing to one standing among the croAvd. "They are all trained and experienced men, and they just stand about noticing everybody without appearing to be doing so. You see we have fully £100,000 worth of gold here, and it would be very easy to steal, if it were not watched. We are all armed too," he added, whipping a revolver out of his pocket.

Up the jarrah wood staircase we went, with its jarrah rails, for in the West Australian section you are walking upon or touching or admiring jarrah all the time; you cannot get away from this brown wood, which is blended sa tastefully with the yellow of the flag with the black swan. The gold exhibits ajje all in the Mineral Court upstairs, arranged in glass cases. "You should see this room at night," said Mr Holroyd, "the display i_ really brilliant. I have had electric light put in," arid he pointed to an elaborate system of small electric light globes arranged inside the cas-s, destined to show up the richness of the gold ore at night as well as by day. "Yes, they -barge us extra for light ; " said Mr Holroyd, "and of course all this lighting has had to be done at our own expense, besides which we have to pay 12s 6d a foot for our space. We are exc_e-_-vg.y crowded, indeed we have not in the least known how to get all our things in, and have had to resort to all manner of expedienta even to pack in as many as we have got arranged." "And was it not possible to get any more space, or were you too laAe in applying?" "It was quite impossible," said Mir Holroyd. "We were not at all too kite in making application. We tried our best to get more space, bat they wo_ld not give us anymore. This," be continued, stopping in front of one case, "is perhaps our most remarkable exhibit. There is certainly nothing lU_e it elsewhere." This pearl of the Australian Exhibition is nothing more or less than the great Southern Cross of Western Australia, formed of some eight or ten large pearls, which were picked up in the form of a cross on the W_et Australian shores. The cross, which is almo-t perfect in shape, is now set in gold, and

daily delights tlie eyes of thousands in the heart of the French capital. | "Here," said Mr Holroyd, "we have the first piece of gold ever found in Kalgoorlie, ! the piece which really led to the breaking of the first claim. Our exliihits are nearly all from Coolgaiviie, and the various other mines near. This nugget is worth £639; it is hardly ever that one has been found so large. Indeed, ore of such riofaness as this is exceeding All these specimens are rich, and as you see some-of them are almost pure gold. This yellow stuff, looking much like mustard, we caill "mustard gold." It is very rarely that gold is found in this form, except in Coolgardie. These ores of which we have so many are telluride ores. They are almost fabulously rich, containing up to 44 per cent, of gold. Ours are absoii-tely the finest specimens of telluride ever found in the world, for it is not only one of the richest, but also one of the most uncommon forms in which gold occurs." Only with a strong microscope can the real beauty of these sparkling specimens be seen. Some of the ores seemed almost pure gold, and took the forms of stalactites and spomgy growths while others showed) little fernlike tracings of yellow upon the stone, and yet another kind looked merely a common piece of grey rock, in which, none but an expert could have discovered the presence of gold. I was assured, however, that it was really a very rich. ore. OTHER INTERESTING FEATURES. In another part of th© West Australian sec-t-s>n' there was a display of great blocks of gold,. almost too heavy to lift,, far larger than any ordinary bar gold. Gold, gold was indeed everywhere, from streaks in- quartz rocks to little crystals and jnfinitesimally fine dust. 'Mr Holroyd then handed mc over to M. Venn, who very kindly showed mc over the rest of the West Australian exhibit-, which, especially' considering how cramped is the space within which they 'have had to be displayed, compare most favourably with these of other parts of the world. They are, for instance, far more attractively arranged) than those of Western Australia's wealthy neighbour, Canada; and in a great exhibition such as that of Paris in this present | year, exhibits (however excellent in them- | selves) which are not so arranged, stand-l little chance of attracting attention, had. Visiting the Exhibition is fatiguing enough in many ways', and no one is going to be bored by going over a series of large ] shops and warehouses. The West Austra-lia-section, is fortunately not at all suggestive of co-operative stores, and with its jarrali woods, its pearl oyster shells, and its pretty arrangement of grains, it has a distinctive character ol its own. It is not like anything else in the Exhibition. __ "The idea of those who Ihad the management of our section," said Mr Venn, as we went round the exhibits, "was not so much to show all the different things manufactured in Western Australia, most or all of which would be but a poor edition of European and American manufactures. Such an exhibition woufM not be in any way interesting. No, the aim from first to last ha. been to show the distinctive natural products of Western Australia, what she can produce out of tier own resources. And such an exhibition, as you see, can be made both interesting, attractive, and instructive." For instance, "Hestera Australia, whose loyalty no one questions, "has insisted upon her own individuality sufficiently to decorate the waffis of her section, not' exclusively witl. the Union Jack, but rather with the -right yellow flag witli. the black swan in tihe centre, which, as Mr Venn said, is already recognised as a kind of national standard. Stopphig before a case full of all kind, of brooms and "brushes, Mr Venn said : "Now, tiut is distinctly a West Australian exhibit, al_bough you might not at first think so. Those brooms and brushes are made out of wih_t is really a kind of seaweed, the uses of winch were only recently discovered. The man who found that tfhi. seaweed, lyinf in quantities upon the seashore, could be usee, to make excellent path-brao-as and tihe coarser kinds of brushes, has called it—l don't know why—whalebonite, altihougb it is a purely vegetable pnjdnct. Broome made of it are coming very much into use in the colony aovr. Aad these," -_r Venn continued, turning to a nun_ber of cases, "are our wool exhibits, but here, as everywhere, we have to complain of lack of space. We had intended fo have Ihad a fine display of the different qualities of wool, but we have not beer* aMe ttMio anything like what we hoped, simply because we have not had room. Axed hew," he said, taming to another case, "is a kind of beer whidl. _? made in Western Australia. There are no tropin it at-all, it is made from the eaJtest of salt water —you know our water ia often exceedingly salt—and -he water from which / this beer is made, that on the Norseman go_ifieki_, is many times salter than the sea. This water is distilled, and I assure you it makes excellent beer." We then inspected a number of exhibits of •maize, rye, field peas, and floor, sudd! yet mare cases of wool, the object always being to show the staple natural of Western A__tra4r_, "You (have arranged your grains," 1 said to Mr Venn, "very prettily, m large sheaves, muck more interesting amd far less stiff than taking them out of the husks arid putting them _ito so many glass jars. Y<*u have been taking a leaf out of Canada's book." "I think," said Mr Venn, "that the Canadians have been taking a ___f out of, our book. I think we d_d it first, ijuod tfcey followed after. This, again,' ba <_>n4-ir__d, go__g "to the end of the long room, "is ino_a_w dustinotive West Austrailah industry, pearl fishing. I .am rfad that you like the way we have arranged the oyster shells against th. wall. I think ths effect is very str3__-g. " We then went downstairs, and again Mr J Venn deplored the cramp-d'Space a;t _u_ d_s-po©3_.~-tMr George Aytoua, tt_w» had «ts- i

sisted (Mr Venn, was going round .tho down- 1 stairs room, and joined in Mr Yemfs lament.

"You see," said Mr Venn, "we .wive, had to put our native-weapons and spears ateng the -ttaarcase, and on the'CeHrng-abovesithe staircase. (Now -tibey _re- a very good-coll-ection, and it is a p_frv away wtoere !few (people cam- seetv.tliem. A_so you see thia* ipifiar whicK .^resents-a-ssoiid b-ock of iigold-equal-to 4,__6.oCWK>dd-OT__«!_ o_ .gold, the prodiuct of WeSl. welhave ibad'-to puftatihat ba_tom ©_ _he staams, in an ,_ba_rd -ip-ace, but there was ncrod-ere-else. And .onr-nap,'' he continued 1 , pointing to-an .mnrense map of the colony, "as you«see, adorns t_e»ce_ling, where certainly no <o_e> (would ever t-.inik of lookang for it, and where no one could find anything tipoai it if "be did. In any case, however, not have bung it on the wuHs; it _s too-bSg." "Then why was it so dfifficult to get more space? And) why .s Western Australia tlie only (part of Austi-fcsda represented"?' "They offered'.he-ottetr colo-ies," said Mr Venn, "only the sarnie spascei aa we have, and they "would mot accept it. They said it -was not iworthi thia trotifble and expense of sending their «3__~bifc_ d. thiey were or. V to 'have such a e_T-__ space. I think th iv were quite right,** -ddedJ-Mr Venn, and in tliis Mr Aytoun (fully agreed 'with _iin. "It is better not to do- thlese things at all tk.n to <_o them driatßaquately, as Victoria and New South Wales and tbe oth-T colonies must have done, if they 'ihad been confm; J to sucls a space as this. Why, see how difficult we find at, -and wbat-wbuM they have done? There «_r_ two-of our .jaxrah rajlvr- y tru_ks reposing orabs.de now, and we cannot iput -bean a_yvv2__r_." "Wiiy sbauld tbe Commissione-. have been so resolute laga-nst the other colonies • any more -space-^' "Oh," ___<_ Mr Aytoun, "I think it was because they did not like to .give too much space to the-Britial- cokrai-s, (for-fear they would anaska too flood a shew beside the French colonies. Of course-British colonies aire di-compaa'u'biy richer than Flinch, and they did not'want that to-aippear too clearly. So as the other colonies insisted uoon sufficieri. space, or none at all, they Itavo got none at all." "Let mc paint out," eaiid Mr Venn, the paintings of .Western. Australian wildflowers done by Lady Forrest. They are very good) ."both! from an artistic and from a botanical tpo_at of view." Among them I notice-* a whit© kowhai, firs, cousin to tire New Zealand yellow kowhai, andl -bought (how attractive a section New Zealand might have bad, and ihtrnv the eyes of Europe "would bave been opened to the -nique beauty of th© two fair-off Pacific Islands. ' "We have not only Lady "For. est s paaatfings," continued sv_r Venn, "but also paintings of a number of otber artists, toougH they are not so well done. Our photographs too, are excellent, audi I think in spect we can hold our own withi -anytedy here. After our gold exhibits we have pothing so interesting or so • surprising to many people as our jaxrah and karri exhibits. The general idea has been-that our timbers are all mferior, cannot bc-used! for fine work, and do not last. But here you have, I think, ample proof and Mr Venn pointed to some elegant-cabi-nets in jaxrah wood of two sl_M.es. "That, I think, is proof that jarraJxcan bo used for fine art furniture; and we have also experimented with it in making-a font, on which you see the can.Bg is very beantiful. We have used it for ail-the flooring, for the staircase, for everything-in-short. We wanted to show to bow many di_fere_it'P_rposes it could be used-successfully. This ornamental table is made from tbe_same wood as these railway-eleepers. One-piece we brought from Perth, where it -cadsbeen under water for 31 yeai'-.-and-was atilliquite souiid. We dug it-up-specially to*pros»ethe lasting qualities of the»w-ood. We-have-heTe some railway logs from the'first railway ever constructed in Western .Ai_sfcrai___, a__o pulled up specially-for-the-e__fa_ibi_io--. They have not deteriorated in-the least, 't&ough they were laid twenty-five years-ago.'' Downsta-rs, indeed, there, waa -nearly aa mir-h, to admire as ujjst-iins. Tlie flag, the brown jan'ah wood, tho j_n__i ex_re_cences, ell gave to-the-scene tbat local colour which tbe Australians-ihave maic_oßd fio well to reproduce. Tbe secret-of the unique posrtion of Fr___ce utmrng-tbe natioiis is probably due to*the facb _l_-t'«l_e gives to the workl what is best in - Jeer* own .nature ; that _he is_ter_e_f*and.n_.a, bad-hrni-tation of some other <aH-tfry. The Aaistralians, too, have and have •not sought to be _ feeble repro-kictwfa of JEng___d, without-tl_e intarest attaching either -to Eag_at_dkjrto*tiheir own colony. Baden-Baden, sth J-oly, 1900.