The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1905. THE EXHIBITION.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12378, 18 December 1905, Page 6

The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1905. THE EXHIBITION.

No better way of celebrating to-day's holiday, held in commemoration of the founding of the province, could have been selected than the ceremony which has been arranged to take place in Hagley Park. There the Premier, accompanied by meet of his colleagues who have assembled in Chrietchurch to do honour to the occasion, is to lay the foundation etone of the International Exhibition, which we hope will prove a credit and a benefit not only to Canterbury but to the colony at large. Wβ liavo no doubt that th© ceremony will be worthy of the occasion, and it will give very general satisfaction to 6ee this outward and visible sign of the work having been actually begun. At the tame time it is impossible to disguuse from ourselves the fact tliat, despite the real

and energy displayed by the local committees, and despite the additional smoothness imparted to the working of the administrative machinery by the appointment of Mr Robert Allan as an additional Commissioner, there is an uneasy feeling in the mind of the public that the work is not proceeding as easily and expeditiously as might be desired, and that in the meanwhile valuable time is slipping away with alarming rapidity. Where an undertaking depends so much on tho voluntary and spontaneous assistance of those who 'are ready to give their services for the public good, it is particularly desirable that their enthusiasm should not be checked by want of tact or want of sympathy on tho part of paid officials. An enterprise of this sort requires more than anything else the hearty co-operation of all concorned. A corporate body such as a large Executive Committee is by no means an ideal machine for carrying out a- huge industrial enterprise like an Exhibition. If, however, tho enthusiasm and willingness of Hβ memberij is to be strangled with red tape, its task becomes hopeless. A short time ago wo read of the disrconragement, to use no stronger word, tho Wellington committee had met with in official quarters, and it is pretty generally known that even in Christchurch there has been a tendency to repress enthusiasm, on the part of fho local helpers rather than to encourage and spur them on. That tho Exhibition has the fullest sympathy of Mr Seddon and his colleagues we are assured, and wo have Jittlo doubt that as tfho result of their visit ihey will see that little causes of friction such as have tended to impede the work in tho past are removed. If that is the case their presence to-day will bo doubly appreciated by tho Canterbury public, who must, in fairness, admit that so far as tho Ministry are concerned, tho subject of the Exhibition has always been approached in a generous and broadminded spirit.