THE EXHIBITION.

Evening Star, Issue 7797, 19 December 1888, Page 3

THE EXHIBITION.

TO THK EDITOR. Sik,—Although now and again ope ncars individuals speak in a way that indicates but little grasp of tho main importance of the forthcoming Exhibition being made a grand exposition of tho capabilities of New Zealand, still 1 believe, with our worthy president (Mr Roberts), that the practical portion of tho shareholders will agree that tho true course to pursue so as to make it a success is not to be rash in fixing upon any particular site, but first to " thresh out" the subject well in a friendly spirit and with a common object, so that when the product of the threshing is winnowed only thegood grain will be bagged up and the best put into the market. Now, sir, my view of the matter ia this: A self-reliant policy points first to the question : What is to be the main feature of our Exhibition ? Is it to be a mere tin.it' show of the fine arts, music, and

things good and desirable in themselves as accessories—pleasant, pleasing, and when kept in their proper place profitable also—but which in a young country like ours are perforce of circumstances enjoyed mainly by those who have leisure and are fortunate possessors of a long pnrse— the minority ; or is it with our limited capital not wiser to take more the direction of an exhibition of that which nature has given us in this rich country—to >vhat extent we have developed these—and by what means, so that capital may be attracted to it, whether in the shape of money or labor, improved machinery or mercantile enterprise ? Let us lay out first what we are going to endeavor to show ; secondly, how that our products can be most economically shown; and, as important as either, how the great mass of the people can most economically avail themselves of the education that an exhibition is calculated to afford. The natural beauties of our City a e well known to our own citizens, and have not certainly been enhanced or increased in their attractiveness hitherto by artificial means ; and to strangers I venture to say _ these natural beauties will be more enjoyed if left alone in all their natural beauty as a pleasant retirement and relief to them than if there be any attempt with our limited means to make a " hotch-potch " mixture of the artificial with the natural. To my mind the success of the Exhibition lies in the exercise of economy both to exhibitors and to those whom we may expect to be the great bulk of its patrons, and this, I respectfully submit, can only be attained by placing it in the most available central situation to the industrial portion of the community, whether of town or country. Spending power has its limits, and if you exceed the spending capabilities of intending exhibitors or of population generally the exhibits will he limited and the patrons few. The cheaper you can produce, the greater the number "of people that will be able to avail themselves of the benefits of the production. As a shareholder, I advocate that the true test to apply in fixing upon a site in our circumstances should be that of economy to all concerned, both to intending exhibitors and to those whom we may expect to be the main patrons of the Exhibition our industrial classes. The more expensive you make it to visitors the fewer the number will be that will visit it —I am, etc., Diogenes. Dunedin, December 10.