JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10865, 15 January 1901, Page 6

JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

I There was a good attendance oi visitors ! v.stxrdav at the Exb Virion during the day. I " Mr Se'ager's display of pictures of the • different parts of the world attracted a I large audience yesterday afternoon. It will Ibo repeated to-day. i In the evening a very excellent concert • was given, arranged by Mr C. Edgar. Miss ! Tri* Edgar and Dr. Crooke the proI _-ramnie with a piir.o duct. " VaLse Brillian!e," which was well played. Miss EvaW. ! Hood, of Oamaru, played a piano solo. "II . Moto CV-ntinno." and for an encore respnndjed with a berceuse. Mis*s Clarice Hunt j gave " Sunshine and Rain," and repeated the ! last verse as an encore. Miss Alexander ! sang "Fitinellii." and for -in encore "A Bhthj day." Miss De Vere Smythe danced a skirt ; dance, and Mr Ciias. Edgar sang a medley of ;" popular songs, which was enthusiastically J encored. Mr Kilburn Heron sang "The Star of Bethlehem." and for an encore "A . Dream of Paradise."' In the second part he j gave "Alice Where Art Thou,'' and for an i encoie "A Song of Sleep." Mrs Edgar acj coiiipanied with her usual ability. The management of the Exhibition Floral i and Cooking competitions have arranged to extend the time for securing entries-to 8 p.m. this evening, and to prevent the over.rowdj ing of the past two Shows the large stage and the south corridor will be used, tho ; latter is being fitted for the cooking compe- '• tit ions. I To-night a concert programme of more 1 than ordinary merit, arranged by Mrs CI N. j Brooke and Mr G. P. Williams, will be i given.

THE UNION S.S. CO.'S EXHIBIT.

One of the most .ucces'-ful entequises to { which the colony of New Zealmdjias given '. birth is tho Union Steam Ship Company of '■ New Zealand (Limited). Its history is a . reflex, to a great extent, of the later history jof the colony—as the one has grown the j other has expended. Thirty-four years a.i'o ' a small patldle-steamer was found sufficient for the requirements for the provincial district of Otaj-o, and continued so until the opsning of tha Otago goldfields in 1862, when tha sudden increase in trade resultin<j- ; tlu-iefrom necessitated the employment of '. additional tonnage, and one after the other, five steamers were purchased, and connec- • tions made with other ports in the Middi. Island. In course of time as .trade grew, it became apparent that a bold ste-p must ba taken I if it were to be retained in the hands of , those under whom it had grown, and this j feeling eventuated in tlie formation, in j 1875. of tlie Union Steam Ship Company I of New Zealand (Limited), with a powerful , proprietary and influential board of direcj tors. The "trade of the Company was at first I confined to tha coastal services of the colony, with an occasional extension to Sydney ; the intercolonial service oeing carried on"by the fleet of Messrs McMeckan, Blackwood, and Company, of Melbourne. In 1876, however, the Union Company purchased the steamers and interests of that linn, and in this way tha entire intercol mial and t1.3 hulk of the New Zealand coastal trails pass;d in'.j their hands. Energetic .v'-.ps w.'i-f t; : !-.n i. ilc-vcl-ip the intercolonial ; and coastal trades, and with a boldness A-hieh at the time was considered temerity, i orders wer. s.ut Home to build several new j steamera if the Litest The _ iijru!*e jof tho directors was rewarded by seeing j their licet fully occupied, and in pursuant-. lot their policy to keep well ahead of the j colony requirements, they continued to otdsr steamer aftar steamer, each mora luxuriously fitted thai; its pml.cessor. Every scientific improvement, cither in the machinery or in tho fitting of vessels, was brought into requisition for their construction, so that from the modest beginning already noted, th. tle.t of tho Union Steam Ship Company has grown to b3 the largest ! and most powerful in the Southern Hemis- ; phere. It is unnec.ssary to record Low year after year the fleet and trade of the Company have grown to their present dimensions. It need only be stated that at the present time the fle?t of the Company engaged in regular employment numbers fifty-five steamers, of an aggregate tonnage of 79,598 tons. The J connections of the Company have exj tended with their fleet. In 1885, in conjunction with the Oceanic Sfe.rri. Ship Company, of ".an Francisco, they took up the mail service between tho colonies and America. In 1891, they purchased tha plant and business .-f the T-.manian Steam Navigation Company, which for many years had carried,on the trade between Tasmania and Australia. Besides the New Zealand coastal and the intercolonial services between New Zealand, Tasmania, and Australia, the Company :un regular services ! from New Zealand and Australia to the I South Sea Island's groups oi Fiji, Samoa, ■ Tonga, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, and make : periodical connections with Calcutta. The , Company's interests are so closely interI woven with" those of the colony that- it is | almost regarded as a national institution. j It gives employment to a large number of people and its operations necessitate the | circulation of a largo sum of money. It employs afloat and on shore, over 2600 perl sons, and expanses In waj-es and other dis- : bursenients in the colonies and elsewhere over one million pounds per annum. As 1 showing the extent cf its traffic it fnay b_ mention-d that last year the Company's steamers carried 212,500 passengers, 1,390,000 tons of general cargo and coals, and that they steamed 2,125,000 miles, in i the courss of which they consumed 228,279 tons of coal, of which, about one half was New Zealand. The -lhectors take a special interest- in the welfare of the Company's employes. Then: crews enjoy peculiar comforts and privileges. A Benefit Society has been established in 'he interests of .heir men afloat, to which the Company contributes an annual subsidy, the latter also contributes a considerable proportion of the annual premiums of thtir officers' life insurance. Although the progress of the Company is largely the result of the prosperity of tlie colony, and the stats of trade of the latter has a barometric effect on the Company's operations, it could not have attained aud held its present position without wise heads and i;ood judgmuit to direct its affairs. It has always been fortunate in numbering amongst its directors men who hold leading positions in tha commercial community and whose energy and judgment are mutually recognised. .More especially, however, is the pi;: eminence of ths Company due to the conduct of its affairs by the two leading members of the Board—Hon. George McLean, M.L.C, its chairman, and Mr James Mills, «he manar--ing director of (lie Company since its formation. The head office of the Company is in Dunedin. and it j-ossesscs forty branches and agencies through the colonies and an office and local board in London. The Company have a handsomely fitted up'bayin th-. Exhibition. H?re are displayed models of several of the line steamers of the Company, whilst the walls are adorned with pictures of island and other scenery. A notable portion of the exhibit is what may ba called an illustrative record of the positior.s of the steamers of the fleet. This .shows the different ports in the colonies, eu'., to and from which the steamers sail and by means of models the exact position of tacli steamer every day. whether on the voyage or in port is to be seen at a glance. This is a most interesting feature of the exhibit and is the soure;* of "reat attraction to the visitors. A'toe-other the bay is one of the most interesting in the Exhibition.