A VERY FINE COURT

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 35, 10 February 1926, Page 10

A VERY FINE COURT

[i/AN ANSWEB TO ME. NATHAN. Mr. Norwood, who returned to Wellington this morning, commented very definitely on statements made that the Wellington provincial court was a disappointment in any way. "The Exhibition generally is an accomplishment of which Dunedin people and all others associated with its organisation may/be justly proud," he eaid to a "Post" reporter to-day. "It «v a brave and bold venture, and it has realised the best anticipations of those who, in the! initial stages, certainly aimed very high. NOTHING BUT PRAISE. "I was not unnaturally most interested' in the Wellington court, and I have .nothing but praise for those who fought, I must admit against some odds throughout the provincial district, to give Wellington pride of place in .this wonderful combination-of courts. ' "The Wellington City Council gave a reasonable lead, and'had other public bodies subscribed in the same ratio cur Exhibition Committee would not have been tie\s( for funds as it was. The expenditure, howeyer, had' to be kept within the limit of the amount of money collected, and with it the committee produced a court that is dignified and attractive. "I heard many complimentary remarks from overseas visitors, and Wellington people who were present ex-

pressed a like appreciation of what has been done. ARTISTIC AND SATISFYING. "The Wellington court has not been merely 'got together '; it has been treated with the expert touch of the architect. It is the only court so completely housed, and the effect of the domes above with the arrangement of pillars and recesses is artistic and satisfying. The exhibits depict thoroughly the whole of the, products of the Wellington province, and, together with statistical information, certainly succeed in giving one a real comprehension of the magnitude of the ■ business and shipping of the province. There are statistics and statistics, according to the manner in which the information is conveyed, and in the Wellington .court plain facts are placed before the visitor in understandable and quite interesting form. "To confirm my impression that the Wellington court possessed very real attractions to visitors to the Exhibition, I walked through all courts, on more than one occasion, wheji times were slack, and if numbers gathered at the respective courts were. an indication of public preference then our Exhibition Committee is to be congratulated. PALMERSTON COUNCIL DID NOT SUBSCRIBE. .♦'l regretted very much to be^present and to listen to my colleague, the Mayor of Palmerston North, single out the Wellington court for adverse comment. More especially, as Palmerston North's Council did not subscribe to the fund in any way that would have enabled this body to have influenced something more to their own liking. "Mr. Nathan's address has\ been given publicity throughout New Zealand and for that-reason I feel compelled to make these remarks. "It would undoubtedly have been more helpful and constructive had a specific fault been found, but a general statement which throws a shadow on the design and arrangement of' the whole court simply goes a long way to neutralise the advantage of a considerable expenditure of money by those who had the pride of their provincial district sufficiently at heart to make their subscriptions to the fund." ■