The Dominion. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1903. AN "ENTENTE" EXHIBITION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 210, 29 May 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1903. AN "ENTENTE" EXHIBITION.

Even to a public that is still in process of reca very from tlic strain of bcinp; interested in an International Exhibi- ! tion that was attended by as much storm ' as sunshine, the great Franco-British , Exhibition at Shepherd's Bush is an ob- ] jeet of much interest. Merely as a spec- j tacle and as an exposition of commercial grandeur, this famous show must ap- 1 peal strongly to. an age that loves big- ] ness .above all things, and that delights ; in every proof that mankind, in his organised civilisation, is something more than Stevenson's disease of the ag- . glutinated dust." It is au Exhibition : that is measurablo in millions. The colonial palaces alone will have cost over £300,0d0, and these are mere or annexes of the twenty great palaces nf art, science, machinery and industry. , The magnitude of the operations in- ■ volvcd in the arrangement of the show : may bo understood from an extract from ; an article upon the Exhibitioh publishedby the Daily Mail ': ''Ftifr people," says the writer, " have any idea how much it - costs to erect twenty great fireproof palaces iiiitlSr the strict supervision of the Loiidoii Cditiity Council, light therilj dl-airi thetti, -police them. Even less do they realise what it means to dig .- lagoons and canals out of land which was onco .a farm, then a brickfield, and afterwards a dumping.ground for the tenacious London blue clay dug put of the tube of the Central London : Railway.' To the cost of these buildings add that of the Colonies,; French and English, who have put lip their own palaccs, aiid the scores' of attractions erected by enterprising speculators; frotti the gidrlt '.flip-flap ' to the completely equipped glass wOrkg and the model bakery.' 1 The total cost of construction' is estimated at £2;000j0b0, and of the exhibits at £5,000,000. New Zealand do-js not bulk .largely in the statistics, as £20,000 is the. figure set down for the cost of the Court .in which the products of this country are to be exhibited. We are told that Kino Edward has been pleased with our deer-heads; our kailri, and our rugs and tweeds, as well he might be, and there.is no reason to suppose that the commercial public will hot show a similar excellent taste. New Zealand display should bear good fruit: it will certainly do more for New Zealand commerce than the late International Exhibition iti Christchurch,- and f do it; at a much less cost. The Exhibition has its' diplomatic side. It is everywhere accepted as an arrangement intended to give an impressive demonstration of the durability of the AnglO-French entente, and the latest tclcgrailis eliipliaSise this aspect of the project very strongly. As time passes, it becomes increasingly clear that tho entente was the happiest hit of modern European diplomacy. Nobody has yet suggested any satisfactory explanation o! the real affinity, which cannot longer be denied, existing between the French , and English nations. It is difficult to believe that up till a decade ago French- > men and Englishmen believed with tho immortal Mrs. Battle in tho permanence of tho " steady and rational" antipathy between the two countries. Tho entente has been very severely tested by J the plots of German diplomacy, and it ' remains as strong and enduring as ever. i With one exception, we arc told to-day, tho important French newspapers acclaim the solidity of the Anglo-French understanding. Tho exception is I,' Eclair, which* in the traditional manner of European Anglophobia, suggests

that France is being made use of by England as a pawn in the game of English enmity towards Germany. In giving up her old prejudices against England, France has not given up her common sense, nor surrendered her ability to take care of herself. It took a long time to cure Franco of her bad dreams about the designs of Great Britain, but the cure was effected, and everything points to a- further strengthening of the good relations between the two countries as the result, of the Exhibition.