A PERMANENT INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1146, 6 June 1911, Page 4

A PERMANENT INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

It strikes ub as rather premature to begin devising ways and means of disposing of the prospective surplus from the Industrial Exhibition now being held here. So far it has been a very successful venture and wtf all hope that at its close the energetic gentlemen who have borne the burden of its inauguration, and who still -have their hands very full in attending to its management, will bo rewarded for their efforts by a substantial profit. But that profit has yet to bo earned. In the meantime, however, the idea of erecting a permanent Industrial Hall, the birth of which the Exhibition is responsible for, may afford food for an interesting discussion. The idea is a good one. 'Wellington has been inclined to lag behind her sister cities in the matter of advertising her commercial and industrial development. In the other large centres they have their agricultural and pastoral shows, and in some cases winter exhibitions are held which serve & useful purpose in directing attention to and stimulating interest in our primary industries. These shows, and exhibitions attract the public from outside parts as well, and promote business interests and establish trade connections. Wellington at one time bad its Agricultural and Pastoral Association, but from various causes it languished and it is perhaps out of the question at present to attempt to revive it. But the idea of erecting an Industrial Hall, which might bo made the home for a permanent exhibition of our industries and which also might servo a useful purpose as a commercial bureau where information of all kinds relating to the trade and commerce of the Dominion would be available at all times, is a project which should appeal forcibly to the commercial and business people of Wellington. The details of the proposition would, cf course, require a good deal of threshing out before a practicable scheme could be put forward but ths time is opportune. The Chamber of Commerce might, at a convenient opportunity, take the matter up and convene a special meeting to consider it; and the various local bodies who are all more or less concerned with the question affecting so closely as it does the interests of the city might also participate. The financial aspect of the proposal should not present insurmountable difficulties so long as its potentialities are clearly pieced before the public and its advantages to the city "and to the Dominion, are adequately set forth. No doubt the Industrial Association is the proper body to take the first steps in the matter—several of its members, we believe, have already exchanged views concerning it—and in due course we hope to see the association giving the city a lead and inviting the public to lend their assistance.