THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11877, 26 April 1904, Page 3

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.

''Weekly Press and Referee." V.—GREAT BRITAIN AND HER_ COLONIES. Easily one of the most attractive positions on the spacious grounds of the great St. Louis Universal Exposition is that secured by the British Government as the site for the Empire's main exhibition building. One can well understand, after a talk with some of the gentlemen who have represented his Majesty's Government at St. Louis, that Britain will on this occasion give one of the most- important exhibits ot her greatness that she has ever presented at an international exposition. The excellent position, midway between the permanent stone Admini«tration buildings and tlie central "picture" of the Exposition, gives to the British section the advantage of great conspicuousnass. It seems safe to say that every visitor to the fair must pass to* the one side or the other of England's building. In going to the Administration building it is on the direct way. I was present on the grounds when the site was dedicated and only the other day I stood, within a- dozen feet of the now nearly completed structure. The main British pavilion will be a copy of the Kensington Orangery built in tha early part of tlie eighteenth century. THE BRITISH PAVILION. The surroundings of the British pavDion will be characteristic. Mr T. W. Brown, the landscape engineer for the British Commission, perfected the plans and they were fully approved by;; i-e Department of Works. The. gar4*lp», *»*- tbe amP l6 space of 412 byAlready laid ont is a sunken bowling green which promises to be a most attractive spot of refreshing coloua* in the midst of the mass of. foreign buildings in this section of the Exposition grounds. Immediately in front of the Pavilion there is a sunken garden 200 feet square. All the flowers to be grown in this .garden will be exquisite, but Mr Brown is especially happy in his design .for the centrepiece, which is a water-lily basin 50 by 20 feet, with a magnificent fountain in the middle. There will be extensive carpet flower-beds which, with all the floral exhibition, are to be brought well to the public view by the aid of elevated roadways. There is also in the grounds a beautiful terrace on which there will be presented floral designs which will be changed from time to time. Planting oT the trees and shrubbery was. somewhat interfered with by winter, but many ■- of these are now put in and with the advent of spring, which generally occurs near the end of March, this work will be resumed, and hurried to completion long before April 30th, the opening day. There is vet a great deal of doubt as to where some of the most interesting of Bfitish exhibits will be found, since it is a fact that the British pavilion will not be used for the housing of everything which comes from Great Britain. Tlie first reason for this is that it is not the custom to place private exhibits in the Government structure; tlie second is that there would not be one-fifth of the room necessary for the vast representation that the United Kingdom is to make at this greatest of world's fairs. It is pertinent here to say that the British Government will spend more money at St. Louis than it has done on any previous occasion. For proof, we may look at the figures, generally uninteresting but just here so eloquent. At Pans in 1889 England expended £30,000, at Chicaao in 1893 £60,000, at Paris in 1900 £65,000, and at St. Louis this year, by present estimates, £150,000. It ismquite likely that tbia sum will reach £200,001). Of court-e this doee not mean that the cost of housing the British exhibits will remain within this sum, large though it be. it means that this amount of money will bo expended by the Government on it*_ own exhibit and in assisting selected exhibitors in making .a proper representation of the resources of Great Britain and the excellence of her products. THE CANADIAN EXHIBIT. . Mr L Fennings Taylor, of Ottawa, has erected the pavilion that will be used by the Canadians and their Englirh and co on _1 brotliers at the Exposition. Th:sbuilding is conveniently near to the f m ** Q structure, being up a slight hdl to the south of the Orangery. The Canadians were able to move into their new house by December Ist, for it was on that date that it was turned over to the Dominion Government by the contractors. Canada has two hundred feet of floor space in thus building, to say nothing of four immense verandahs which will offer grateful shade next summer The Canadian building is in a wooded part of the grounds, which will add to its attractiveness in warm weather. In this connection it is not -.interesting to note that the Dominion is to exhibit as evidence of her agricultural promise oats weighing 50 pounds to the bushel, and i wheat that will reach the astonishing weight of 64 pounds to the bushel. INDIAN TEA GROWING. The latest British-colonial offering to the fair at St. Louis is that of the tea growers ; of India. They have applied for and secured a grant of land just east of the ! Forestry building and not far from tlie Bn- ! tish and Canadian pavilions. It will thus | geen that visitors who are especially interested in tlie exhibit* of the British Empire will find that in assigning places their convenience has been consulted by tlie Director of Works. On the ground that ; has been set apart for them, the Indian people, represented by Mr Bletchendy, has erected a building covering 150 by 100 feet, copying the famous tomb of Etmad Dowlah at Agra. Tlie manager now on tbe ground sivs that within this building and in its grounds there will be given the greatest tea exliibit ever shown at an international exposition.. A great deal of money has been assigned, both by the Indian Government

and the tea grower*, so that there will be no stinting ot the projector* of the <?xhibit. Within the building there is to be a setting forth of the tea htduitov. There will not only be a live exhibit, with natives to work and explain, but there will be- an array of pictorial matter and statistics to interest those who care to delve so deeply into this most interesting subject. Fifty coolies will be on hand to dispense tea to the thousands of visitors, and for this there will, of course, he no charge, although it i<* quite likely that there will be son»> sort <>f checkin.-" system to prevent the abuse of this hospitality. Since Ceylon and India- send 26,000,000 pounds of tea to America annually. it will be *r-rn that there is some particular incentive for a big exhibit in this industry. Ceylon will be amply represented, not only by Britons, but by a- Commissioner who is a member of a leading Singhalese family. Then* will be an expert to represent- the trading interest of the Island, thirty native workmen, including waiters, a priest, and a number of others who will contribute to the "atmosphere." On the authority of Colonel Watson, the British Commissioner at St. Louis, it may be said that the most interesting thing by far to be found among the contributions of i Great Britain is the collection of Jubilee presents which have been graciously sent to America by his Majesty the King. It may be safely 'asserted that* of all the many surprises that were experienced by the Honourable David R. Francis, upon the occasion of his tour abroad last spring,.the greatest was the announcement by the King that he would send the late (Jueen Victoria's Jubilee presents to the World's Fair. Governor Francis was in no way prepared for this statement on the part of his Maiesty, and he was pleased beyond measure. Nor was there any delay about- it. The presents were sent to Canada, where they were shown for a brief period in Toronto. They were then shipped to the United States, where "they were carefully guarded in transit across to St. Louis. They were taken to great vaults in the centre of th. city, where they now r<st. under guard. These presents .an?, cf course, pticele-s, and in point of inUivs-t nothing yet announced has so taken hold of the imagination of the American people. THE KINGS CONTRIBUTION. • A place of the highest honour and security has been allotted to them. They are to be shown in a great stone building which is absolutely fireproof. They will be displayed with great care in a chamber that has a forty foot ceiling, deeply panelled, which is entered by only on* door, a .fact which ensures safety for the exhibit. Soldiers will be on guard day and night. Tlie preterits are to be enclosed in large cases, nine in number and averaging about ten feet, square. The gentleman in immediate cliorge is likely to be Mr Thomas Christie, of the Victoria and Albert Institute, London. This wonderfully interesting exhibit will embrace, approximately, 350 objects. More than fifty languages are employed in the parchment addresses that are enclosed with many of the gifts, evidence in itself of the breadth of the Empire. Two great pairs of tusks sent to the late Queen by the Maharajah of Travancore will prove of great.iii/ teres*. These tusks are probably the largest, ever seen. They bear this inscription : —• "Pair of elephant's tusk*, mounted on a buffalo's head carved in ebony, which is supported on four griffins." The tusks are supported higher up by a crossbar of ebony, the whole resting on the heads of four figures representing the incarnations of Vishnu. A pair of elephant's tusks, mounted as flower vases on a stand of rosewood, covered with ivory, is another interesting exhibit. The tusks are mounted with gold, and are entwined by a pepper vine in fruit worked in gold. The vases are supported on two elephants' heads carved in ebony, and rising from out of a base of rock and jungle worked in ivory and elephants' teeth. The trunks of the elephants support a lotus of ivory on which is seated a golden image of Lukshine, the Goddess of Prosperity. SOME OF THE PRESENTS.. Every lady who attends the- exhibition will 'be especially interested in an immense i. circular screen which was sent ,t<-> Queen Victoria, from, her South African* subjects in Cape Colony. The feiirinin-e interest will be arou_ed by the fact that the screen is made alnwet entirely of ostrich plumes, magnificent specimens every one. There is a plain ivory casket monntspi sumptuously in gold, from the town of Bellfontein. The gold and ' ivory are studded with magnificent diamonds. The Maharajah who sent th© pair of tusks sent also a beautiful chair—a sort of Sedan chair of state that is literally covered with gold and diamonds. It has some wonderful ivory carving on- its legs and back and seat. Tho seat isof alabaster and is hung with gold and silver. There are caskets from Ceylon, Canada, the Penang Literary Association; a dozen' from. Indian dignitaries, South "Afnca and Australia, and all of the smaller colonies in that quarter' of the world. The Prime Minister of Hyderabad sent a tiger's skull, in which is,mounted a golden clock, the whole set npon a stand made of the animal's claws. Not the least interesting of the exhibits is" a gift that- was made to the King. This was given to His Majesty when, in 1870, he made a tour of India as the. Prince of Wales. Tlie gift consists of horse and elephant trappings of the most beautiful silk, all mounted in gold. The whips and other details of this equipment are set in the rarest gems, pearls and diamonds predominatingIt will be seen that the Americans are 'to have the first view of what is easily the most interesting collection of the kind in all the world—first for the reason' that the gifts have never before been gathered together and listed for the purpose of a public view. It is needless to add that the management of the Exposition, and the American nation generally, is sensible of the consideration shown by His Majesty in sending this collection to the United States. HONITON LACE. In this immediate connection it is pertinent to say "that Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales has sent an order to the 'iHoniton Lace Guild for the finest product *o.f these workers. It is said that the purpose of Her Royal Highness is to secure the finest example of this product for an exhibit which she intends sending to the Exposition. The Orangery was completed early in December —early enough, it was announced, to enable certain of the Englishmen then in St. Louis, to eat their Christmas dinner "in London." Before the first of the year, practically all the plans for the British exhibits, of whatever nature, were completed, leaving to be done only the actual work of preparing and assembling the offerings, many of which have arrived or are now en route to America. Of one tiling all Britons may be wire—the British Empire will be represented at this concourse of the nations in a way that will entirely accord with her greatness. - It is interesting to note in conclusion, that according to the report of the treasurer of tie Exposition Company, Great Britain has spent 750,000 dob. t£, St. Louif*. Canada, 100,000 dols., Ceylo.i, 80,000 dols., and India, 105,000 dols. These were the figures published before the Exposition opened and do not of course include the ontlay of private exhibitors which swells the total to many times the amount mentioned.