SOUTH PACIFIC EXHIBITION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1573, 12 March 1887, Page 2

SOUTH PACIFIC EXHIBITION.

A proposal to hold an exhibition at Auckland in 1890 is just now the subject of much discussion in the Northern capita!. Sir Julius Vogel started the idea a year or two ago, and has since indicated that lie thinks the exhibition should take the form of a display illustrative of the maritime and fishing pursuits and resources of the colony. Mr. Twopenny proposes to amend this by associating a rvpresentauon of South S-.i Island and Maori life with it. Mr. Twopenny is a past master in connection with exhibitions. He has had exhibition experience in Europe; he, in company with a partner, ran one in South Australia and made .£SOOO out of it, and another in Christchurch and dropped a thousand or two. He claims to have been the originator of the IndianCoionial Exhibition idea, and if rumor be correct, made a great struggle to get appointed as New Zealand executive commissioner. But at the present time he is editor of the Otago Daily Times, and propounds his scheme merely for the public good, having no desire whatever to give up a permanent billet for the sake of running an exhibition, but nevertheless he is willing to giye the benefit of his advice, and has accepted an invitation to go up to Auckland and propound his scheme. Meanwhile h« has

sketched out his proposal to the Dunedin correspondent of the Auckland Star. He says (inter alia): — "What I propose would be a complete representation of Island manners and industries. We should have to bring over native huts, or whatever they live in, fitted up just as they are in the Islands, and to bring over some natives themselves and get them to wear their mats, make their weapons and pursue their various industries in the Exhibition." It would, of course, add greatly to the interest and importance of the South Pacific Department if we could get, as I am quite sure we could if the Government take the matter in hand promptly and move the Imperial Government on the subject — if we could get the French and German Governments to send exhibits from New Caledonia, the Loyalties, New Guinea, New Britain, and the rest. Fiji would look after her own inteiests, and so would Hawaii ; but I expect we should have to help Samoa and Tonga and the semi-civilised islands, and to run the whole show for those which are entirely savage. After all, it would not cost much to do so, for all the exhibits could be sold again for a great deal more than they cost ; in fact, I rath • r think that the Government would make a good spec out of their purchases, for you would probably find a good many museum collectors, and scientific folk would come out to see such a collection, and they would all want to take something away with them." Speaking in reference to the political aspect of the question he observes that very likely the French and Germans would send out scientific and commercial experts in men-of-war to report on the Exhibition, and "I think they would be made to see that whilst the Pacific Islands are worth a great deal to us on account of our proximity, and that of Australia, they are worth very little to them. Bismarck, I have reason to know, does not really believe in this colonising business He wants to keep the Germans in their Fatherland, but he looks upon it as a sort of safety valve, also a good card in reserve against England. As for the French, they are always changing their Government and their minds. If we can really convince them how much greater our interests in the Pacific are than theirs, and it', above all, we can only convince our own Home Government of it and make the acquisition of the Islands an object of Imperial policy, ihe day will come when we shall be able to buy out all foreign vinhts iv> the Pacific. Of course we shall have to wait for the oppoi'tunity, but an exhibition like this, which will be described in the European papers, and should make some noise in the world (if we go to work in the right way), will pave the way for our recognition as the head-quarters of the Pacific by public opinion in Europe as well as in the islands." Dealing with the financial part of the subject, he sets down the excels of expenditure over receipts at ,£IO,OOO at the outside, of which he suggests that the people of Auckland should guarantee .£4OOO and the colony the balance, or that the colony should guarantee so much and the people of Auckland all required in excess oE the amount which might be fixed upon. And he urges that Aucidand and the colony would benefit to an extent which would far outweigh any deficit. Asked whether he expected much support from the rest of the colony, Mr. Twopenny observed : "It looks like it. Sir R. Stout is greatly taken with the idea. The Governor is delighted with it. Everyone 1 speak to seems to be in favor of it. The thing I am most afraid of is that if the idea is not taken up at once it will be appropriated by New South Wales. The Jennings Government let themselves be outwitted and forestalled by Mi-. Gillies and the Victorian Government over the Centennial International Exhibition, and Sir H. Parkes, who is a great believer in exhibitions and in the extension of the Tsland trade of New South Wales, would jump at a chance like this of returning Victoria a Roland for her Oliver if New Zealand gave him a decent excuse for saying that she had abandoned the idea."