WEMBLEY IN RETROSPECT.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18266, 27 December 1924, Page 13

WEMBLEY IN RETROSPECT.

ITS EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT. A TALK WITH MR ROBERTS. LTBOM OCE OKU COBHXSPOKDBSTT.) LONDON, November 6. Now that the.British Empire Exhibition of 1924 is closed one has time to reflect upon it anil, to consider what it has meant and ii"jjat,,at has accomplish-. Ed The Original conception" of sucli an Exhibition was a big idea and the carrying out of that conception a, c-olossal undertaking. "When one thinks (hat in the course of six months over 17 million peoplo passed through tho gates — and if the weather had been anything but abnormal, the 'attendance would hare been much greater—one must realise the tremendous scheme of education that has been in operation. Every component part of the Empire, with the exception of the Free State of Ireland, was there, represented. Covering tho Administrations of 19 separate Governments, surely the responsibilities of Empire must hare been brought home t:> the people of the Old Country. The productions, manufactures, scenic attractions and manners and customs of | all these widespread possessions, which to the vast majority had only hitherto j been names, were displayed in the various Pavilions'and there is no doubt that the impressions conveyed through the eyo seeing all these things must be of more lasting and instructive rvalue than in knowledge received trmii cursory reading. 'l'lic enthusiasm of the school children, of whom fivo million visited the Exhibition, iu organised parties and under tlie control and' supervision of their teachers, .was wonderful, and has been followed by requests from large numbers of individual scholars all over Great Britain for literature dealing-with the various Dotpinibns and Colonics. This clearly indicates the extraordinary interest that' has - been aroused in the children and their keenness to extend their Empire knowledge. Powerful Empiro Propaganda. 1 asked Mr A. F. Roberts Io give expression to his views regarding the Exhibition as a whole, and his conclusions from the New .Zealand point of; view. The New Zealand Exhibition Commissioner thinks that from a, commercial ]>oint of view the Exhibition lias been a powerful form of propaganda for the produce of tho Empire, and must undoubtedly stimulate ' the demand in Great Britain for Empire goods, and it has also done much to encourage trade relations between tho various Dominions and Colonies, where prcviouslv considerable ignorance existed as to the resources of each.

Not perhaps one of the most important aspects of tbe Exhibition, but certainly ono of the most inlen?i>tin", .Air Roberts considers, has becu the mutual intercourse and the ffiendshms formed between the representative's of tho various parts of the Empire. Unfortunately, owing to the total absence of any common ground of meeting within the Exhibition. tJiis intercourse was somewhat- hampered and real I v only became effective in the, course* of the Empire Trade Conferences held during the last two month-.. (These conferences, it may be well to remind New Zealand, were arranged at the initiation of Air Roberts himself.) Their importance wa& entirely overlooked by the Exhibition authorities, and they should, beyond doubt, have been an integral part of tlie Exhibition scheme and should have been organised at the beginning. Turning to a more domestic view of Xew Zealand's part in this great Exhibition. Mr Roberts holds the opinion that there can be no doubt that it has been of advaatajro to t>he Dominion to participate. Apart altogether' from tbe general educative side. the propaganda for Dominion products must have been very valuable. When one considers that many thousa-nds of packages of'butter have-been sold in tbe Pavilion and despatched bv post to ail parts of the United Kingdom, one mast appreciate the worth of .such pro D agajda. One qf the results has been that enquiries have been made as to where regular supplies can be obtained; and the excellent quality of our produce has been very widely com men t- , ed ugo.n, This also aKplieg to eur

.honey and fruit. At the New Zealand Pavilion 110 fewer than 50,000 packages j ot honey have been sold, and if one averages a. family as num'bering fir>\ one realises that the honey has been sampled by at least a quarter of a ■ million" people'. Having been in- j troduced into so many homes one may j fairly safely hazard- the gucsS that a j big proportion of the housewives 1 will try to get tho "Imperial Bee", brand when they are buying honey. Reference to a growing competition will l>e found, later. Further, when one. considers how attractive and complete has been the frozen meat exhibit, contributed by tho Meat Producers' Board, and also tho adequate wool display, one is forced to. agree that it is impossible to gauge tho result, but all agree.thai tho outlav has been undoubtedly justified. In addition, as Mr Roberts remarks, there has been iho.value of the'propaganda emanating from the New Zealand cinema, which has been well patronised during the whole .period. In fact, every'section has created its interest in some direction. To appreciate the "value of the. Exhibition one must have boen closely associated with it during its session, ajid been in close touch with tho varied details of its working. What About Nest Year? At tbo moment there is still a doubt is to whether it, as a whole, will icnpen next year, and when one realises tho enormous outlay that has taken in substantial and handsome buildings, and in tho beautiful layout of the grounds, one is brought to the conclusion that for such an outlay the brief period of six months is hardly ■ justified. New Zealand apparently is precluded from any further participation owine to the commitments in connexion with the New Zealand -and South Seas Exhibition at Dunedin but there can he no doubt that had she been in a position again to take a place aWemblcv, tho additional expenditure would' have been fully justified m van opportunity of oonsolidating and extending the publicity already ontauierJ. During the time that the Exhibition has been open it has been bv misfortune in t.be shape of dreadful weather conditions, and there is everv reason' to that with a normal »ummer next vcar the attendances would be satisfactory. Only a small nroportion of the population of Great Britain has been to the Exhibition, and many of those who have already visited it would have welcomed an opportunity of coming again. The British Empire Exhibition could not be 6een in a day, but needed at least a week of careful studv. There is no doubt that tbo Exhibition as a whole lias been a success, and has performed a wonderful Empire work. ParticularTy has it been instrumental in extending to the vast Provincial centres greater knowledge of the [ Empire products, and it is with these i markets of the Mother Country that I producers must try to extend their trade, especially, perhaps, in regard to dairy produce. In the provinces there has always been, a common demand for "tub'' butter—otherwise. Danisn, which comes in tubs—but one hopes that now there will bo an increased demand for butter from within the Empire, especially. naturally, for that from New Zealand. Matter for Earnest Consideration. There is going, of course, to be competition among .Empire producers, and some will under-scll the others. From one point of view, perhaps, as this is a family affair, it won't very much mat<er. But to give one instance only— New Zealand must remember that ''lmerial Bee'' honey is not tho only honey Empire origin. A keen competitor at L'.Ul per lb less is going to be the ''Busy Bee'' brand, of "West Indian origin, and tho promoters of this new industry are establishing themselves in a large way at Slough. The pu-Blic generally has rather a tendency to saive pence, and the prospect of "Busy Bee" ao 2-Jd per lb less than "Imperial Bee" 15 rather disturbing the minds of tboso who have the latter industry at heart. If there is to bo an Empire Exhibition again next year, the countries which are represented are going to have a great pull over any who are not. Public memory is short, and if New Zealand produce is not available for sale, and other Dominions' products are, then the latter arc likely to supplant very largely tho position which is for the moment strengthened because of Wemblev. ''Busy Bee" honey will be taken into thousands of homes and "Imperial Bee" will be unknown. •Hence, everv thinking person is bound to ask:'"lf the others come in, can New Zealand afford to stay out?"