THE COLONIAL EXHIBITION.

Evening Star, Issue 6969, 1 August 1885, Page 2

THE COLONIAL EXHIBITION.

[From Our Special Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, August 1

To-day the first Intercolonial Industrial Exhibition ever held in the Colony was opened at 2.30 p.m. in the Exhibition Building in Stout street, Wellington, by His Excellency the Governor. This Exhibition is the outcome of the fertile brain of Sir Julius Vogel, who last session carried a proposal to hold several Exhibitions of local industries in the large cities of the Colony. The idea was undoubtedly an excellent one; but there is no doubt that a huge mistake was made in holding the Exhibition in the smallest of the great centres of Sopulation in the Colony. Besides that rawback, Wellington has very sparse populated surrroundings from whieh exhibitors might come. Wellingtonians of a calculating turn of mind fondly imagine that fully 10,000 persona from other parts of the Colony will pay their town a visit during the time the "show is open ; and that the total admissions will exceed 150,000. This, I feel convinced, is an over-estimate { and from a financial point of view the Exhibition will be far from_ being a success. However, from the main point of view, that from which an Industrial Exhibition should be regarded, namely, the gathering together of a fairly representative collection of the produce and manufacturers of the Colony it will be something more than a succes d'istime. When one hears people talking as one often does of the necessity for fostering local industries and establishing a body of manufactures to utiliso our raw material and to give employment to the rising generation, one wonders where their eyes and ears must be that they are not aware of what is going on around them, of the fact that the local industries and manufactures of New Zealand are among the wonders of the history of British colonisation. I venture to think that in no other country in the world has such rapid or solid progress been made in these respects in so short a space of time and under so many disadvantages as in this country. Prosperity has not. diverted the people from those laborious and practical operations which alone can make them permanently wealthy ; neither has adversity discouraged them. Mr Callis, who has aoted as secretary of the Exhibition Committee, has worked wonders in the somewhat short space of time he has had to set his house in order, I sincerely believe had it not been for his unfailing exertions and courteous manner in smoothing over little difficulties with exhibitors the New Zealand Exhibition of 1885 would not now be open on this day of our Lord August 1,1885. The following is a short description of the BUILDINGS.

The main building has a frontage to Stout street of about 250 ft, with an average depth of 125 ft. There has been no attempt made at any display of architecture, the building being constructed principally of galvanised iron, relieved by wooden pilasters and cornices, cantilevers, etc. The principal entrance is in the centre of the building, the door being 18ft x 12ft, with a pediment, over which is placed an illuminated clock. The height to the top of parapet is 30ft and to the apex of the pediment 48ft. The building is covered by a series of lean-to roofs and lighted from vertical wall of the same. The lean-tos, which are 14ft wide, are carried on storey-posts, railway iron being used for this purpose, the height from door to the under Bide of the beams being 20ft clear. The main corridor, leading from the principal entrance to the drill-shed, is 21ft wide and 30ft high, and is lighted by a large lantern, the full length of the corridor. The remainder of the building is arranged around an open court-yard in the form of a parallelogram, with a lean-to, lighted from the side .next the court-yard. This has a frontage to Stout street of 233 ft, and to Whitmore street of 215 ft, <vith an average height of ISftinside, the Stout street elevation being finished with cornice cantilevers, etc., similar to the main building, but being only 21ft in height to the top of the parapet This gives a total frontage to Stout street of 511 ft. An entrance door for exhibits has been provided in the Whitmore street elevation, and also an entrance from the courtyard into the building for the same purpose. The whole of the building inside is distempered and panelled a pale blue tint, and the exterior of the woodwork is painted in two shades of a dark chocolate color. The total amount of timber used in the building is about 260,000 superficial feet, of galvanised iron about forty tons, of railway iron eighteen tons, and of glass 12,200 superficial feet.

Undoubtedly the great feature of the Exhibition is the fine show of carriage builders' work. The exhibitors' mam general entrance, as I have already mentioned, is from Stout street, the door being only a few words from Lambton quay. On passing through the door and vestibule an entrance is at once obtained into the main hall, where are placed the largest proportion of the exhibits. Turning to the right on entering and following the wall of the building I find that the spaces devoted to woollen goods and to various products are passed, and a door on the right leads into St. George's Hall, which is incorporated with the Exhibition Building, with a stairway leading to the upper floor. The triangular space lying between the main hall and St. George's Hall is at present empty, but will probably be utilised for the home industry branch. The upper floor of St. George's Hall is devoted to works of art, paintings, drawings, photographs, architecture designs, and the lower to the purposes of a refreshment and luncheon room. The preserved meats and like exhibits, and some of the clothing, are shown in the corner. Next comes the entrance to the drill-shed, which has been arranged for the purposes of a concert hall, a capacious orchestra stapd having been erected. The organ here was manufactured by Jenkins, of Christchurch, and besides being an exhibit is lent for use at the ceremonies in connection with the Exhibition. It is a handsome piece of work, and musicians who have heard it admire its tone, To my mind undoubtedly the best features of the Exhibition are the fine exhibits of carriagebuilders' work (there being exhibitors from all parts of the Colony), and the exhibits of the flourishing woollen manufactories of the South. In the first-mentioned are the local coachbuilders, Messrs Cousins and Atkins, whose exhibit is good enough to defy competition. Indeed yesterday I heard Mr Howland, head of the firm of Christchurch builders (and he is himself a large exhibitor), say that there is nothing like it in the Colony. The exhibits of colonial-made woollen goodß are grouped together. Each of the three great woollen firms have have Bplendidly-fitted-up show-cases, and it would be invidious to particularise.

Now I would like to enter a word of warning to exhibitors who have sent exhibits without taking care to engage someone to look after them, In the corner of an out-of-the-way annexe is what was evidently once a very handsome show-case, containing the exhibit of a Thames paint manufactory. It is covered with dust, the bottles of minerals are upset, and the bags of hematite are capsized. Tho weather to-day is fine, but cold. Great activity has been shown in the placing of exhibits since yesterday, but there are few strangers in town. After midday the sun shone brilliantly, and the weather was delightful. The people are now (1.30 p.m.) flocking into tho Duilding by hundreds, and the concert-hall, where the speechifying is to be made, will have its holding capacity taxed to the utmost. THE OPENING CEREMONY. Upon a dais,, on which were His Excellency and party, the members of both branches or the Legislature with their families were seated. A chorus, numbering 238 voices, occupied seats on a raised platform at the back of the dais. The ladies of the chorus all wore cream dresses, the sopranos having blue sashes, the contraltos red, and the altos pink. The Mayors of Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington were present. The arrangements for ingress and egress are simply execrable. Seven persons fainted during the crush. At 2.30 the booming of guns announced the arrival of the Governor, who, with much difficulty, pushed through the singing crowd and made his way through the dais, the phoniß meanwhile singing « God §ave the

Queen." When His Excellency was seated . a march and chorus were performed. rsir J. Vogel, in a short speech, asked the Governor to declare the Exhibition opened, which he did in the following address : His Excellency said: The duty now devolves upon me of formally declaring this Industrial Exhibition open, and I do so with the greatest pleasure, for I realise that the undertaking which we have to inaugurate, and which will, I trust, be the first of many other things of the sort, will mark an era in the history of New Zealand. I have watched the progress of this Exhibition from day by day, and I feel certain that many visitors to it will learn with surprise —I may almost say with astonishment—how much energy and skill are displayed by the various cities and districts of the Colony. The labors of those who have been encaged in the preparation of this work will not assuredly be thrown away if one result of it be the promotion of cordial co-operation and friendly unanimity between all who can look with pride on what the country as a whole has achieved. It must strike anyone who examines the products around us that we are rapidly coming to the time when ihe Colony will be so far developed as to afford a fifcld for rising talent in whatever direction—whether scientific, literary, mechanical, or artistic'aj—it may develop itself. No doxibt wjis Exhibition in small when compared with' ffie magnificent collections which have been displayed elsewhere. But then it ought tio.<f fy> be compared to those vast " world's. fair'S " which nave been celebrated froifl tim'e'.tp time since the idea was firsjfc 6£Mnated by the late Prince Cohaori i#, 1891; nor to the national Exhibitions which h&v'e been held in the various capitals of Europe at regular intervals throughout the present century. But whether we consider the valne of the articles shown here', or the number of the exhibitors; ,ihe jprop'o'rtion to the population of, the. Colony is larger than that at the Exhibition of 1851 was to the population of the United Kingdom at that date. I would not, However, let it be supposed that everytiiiiig that may be done in the way of exhibitions here can free us from, may I say, the duty of taking part in the great Exhibition of Europe. It is important that the dwellers in all parts of the Colony should realise the progress that the whole Colony is making; but it ia essential to the development of New Zealand aa a producing country and as a country which seeks an increased population that the outside world should have a correct idea of the history, scenery, fertility, and general capabilities of this rich and beautiful country. So early as 1851, when the English population of New Zealand did not amount to more than 25,000 souls and the colonial revenue was not L 50.000, I find that no less than forty exhibitors connected with New Zealand took part in the London International Exhibition. What cannot be done with population of half-a-million and industries developed as we see them here to-day? A year ago, when lecturing not far from this spot, I spoke about thn alarming Increase in destructive power of modern instruments of war. It is a subject of great interest, though a lamentable one to the soldier, no less than to the civilian, when we consider how much good might have been done if only the labor and ingenuity which have been used in devising implements of destruction could have been directed into peaceful channels. But it is a matter of congratulation that in New Zealand, at least, we know weapons of war only as a means of ensuring peace. I am happy to think that during the last few months I have been able to turn my professional knowledge to ccsount by assisting to shield this country, its people, and its commerce against evils that might result from attack by a hostile Power. But it gives me greater pleasure to be here to-day to take my place as Her Majesty's representative at the formal inauguration of the first New Zealand Industrial Exhibition. We cannot, it is true, unlock the treasures of a bygone age. The historical collections which have formed bo interesting a part of the exhibitions of Europe must be wanting in this young community ; but we can see around us trophies of a happy and useful present—the products of a free, industrious, and progressive nation, " harvest tools, and husbaudry, the loom and wheel and engine, the secrets of the sullen mine, steel and gold, and corn and wine." And may we not, despite the great armies which burden the civilised nations of the world, and despite the war-clouds which scarcely yet have passed away, Bee also some reason to hope that the aims and aspirations which prompted the late Prince Consort and those who with him planned the Great Exhibition of 1851 are to some extent being fulfilled; thatthenarrow barriers which divided nations and communities in former times are being slowly broken down by religion, education, and enlightenment; and that we are gradually moving onward to the time when each man Shall affirm his own is all men's good And all men work In noble brotherhood.

Sir J. Vogel paid a high compliment to Dr Hector, to whom the success of the Exhibition was due, and expressed the hope that future Colonial Exhibitions would be conducted as cheaply. He also thanked Mr Callis and the Committees throughout the Colony for their services.

The following is the programme for the first three weeks:—First week: Monday and Tuesday afternoons, selections by band; Wednesday afternoon and Tuesday evening, organ recital—Mr Neville Barnett (of Auckland) ; Thursday afternoon, selection by band; Thursday evening, oratorio " Elijah," with 250 voices, band of thirty, and grand organ; Saturday afternoon, selections by the Band; Saturday evening, Oamaru Garrison Band (competitive). Second week: Monday and Tuesday afternoons, selections by the Band ; Wednesday afternoon, organ recital, Mr Hautrie West (Wellington); Wednesday evening, promenade concert, full band ; Thursday and Saturday afternoons, selections by Band; Saturday evening, Wanganui Garrison Band (competitive). Third week : Monday and Tuesday afternoons, selections by Band; Wednesday afternoon and evening, organ recital, Mr R. Parker (Wellington); Thursday afternoon, selections by Band; Thursday evening, oratorio, " The Creation," with 250 voices, a band of thirty,"and grand organ; Saturday afternoon, grand ceremony, opening of the Home Industry Branch; Saturday evening, Wellington Garrison Band (competitive). In connection with the opening of the Home Industry Branch, it is expected that Mr Thomas's cantata for the Exhibition will be produced, this cantata being now actively in rehearsal.