THE EXHIBITION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIV, Issue 13889, 25 October 1905, Page 4

THE EXHIBITION.

3HE QUESTION OF ACCOMMODATION. : iWHAT WAS DONE AT ST LOUIS. . Mr Donne, in the course of a number of notes on the Louisiana Purchase disposition, describes the steps taken bo deal with accommodation. His to-' Jaarks are interesting, in view of,the OrobLem that may have to be settled fn Ckristohurch. The executive there,'Jie says, had an understanding with the hotelkeepers that their tariffs were to be raised only a certain percentage, but as soon as the rush of visitors set in the charges for rooms rose iii proportion to the demand. In cases where pdol a day were charged under normal conditions as much as 30dol was demanded when the city became throng■cd witu visitors. The charges for accommodation in private houses also rose 1 to an excessive amount. Prices for food were abnormally high, in both ■ the city and the Exposition grounds. : The St Louis “Star” opened an “accommodation advisory office,” and persons who were willing to take in guests were invited to send particulars of their accommodation, locality, tariff, c and so on, and tho particulars were duly registered. Inspectors were then sent round to view the premises and meet the owners, and the available ac__opmmodation was classified. Young women were placed in charge of the office, and it was kept open every day and until late at njgbt. In order to provide additional accommodation for visitors a company was formed. It ' erected a large temporary building inaide .the Exposition grounds. That • was named “The Inside Inn.” It had quarters for about five thousand guests, and was fully occupied during the currency of the Exposition. The tariff waa 2dbl and 50 cents and up (mostly up) for rooms per day, food Extra. Private ■enterprise, was responsible, for the erection of a number of large brick buildings, which were used as hotels.

A DISSATISFIED COMMITTEE. r ; It is announced that an urgent meeting of the Ceremonial and Entertainment .Committee will be held to-morrow evening, at 7.30, to consider correspondence from the Executive Commissioner (Mr G> S. Munro). The correspondence is connected ■with the report submitted by the Ceremonial and Entertainment Committee . at a .recent meeting of the Executive Committee. The Sectional Committee Itrongly recommended that Mr T. Pol- ? lard’s services should be secured. It Vas necessary, the report stated, that : )ome qualified man should be in charge of the hall, and Mr Pollard’s sxperienco would bo invaluable in ivory respect, first as an organiser, secondly as a man thoroughly acquainted with all; classes of entertainment, and thirdly as stage manager and superintendent of stage work. The report was adopted, and the committee concerned apparently considered that )his entitled it to proceed with the engagement of Mr Pollard. Mr Munro wrote to Mr J. A. Fros)ick explaining that the General Committee’s adoption of the report was not Sufficient authority for making an appointment of the kind proposed. The piatter would have to be submitted to aim, and the proposal would have to be forwarded to Wellington for the Minister’s sanction. ' Mr Frostick wrote, in reply, that a ■ course such as the one suggested by Mr Munro would involve inconvenient j ■ delays. ■ The Commissioner’s next letter indi- !* oated that he could not depart from the stand which he had taken in the It.jpemiual appointments, ho

said, were submitted to nim, he would bo prepared ■ to approve them at once, except in oases which, in his judgment, should be sent on to the Minister at Wellington. A reporter interviewed 1 a couple of chairmen of committees yesterday, but the gentlemen declined to make any statements for publication. The reporter, gathered, however, from various sources, that committees .were inclined to chafe at the restrictions placed on them in * the , matter of finance, and that they were at least anxious to have their positions clearly defined in relation to the Government. During a conversation Mr Munro mentioned that the committees were advisory organisations, and were not empowered to incur any considerable expenditure without the sanction of himself or the Minister. Of course, small matters, like engaging casual labour and so on, could be arranged without express Ministerial authority, but more appreciable outlays had to be authorised from Wellington. The salaries for the clerks in his office, for instance, had to be passed by the Minister.

In deference to representations from the Building Committee the Executive Commissioner has agreed that alternative tenders (stuccoline or fibrous plaster) should be called for casing the front of the Exhibition buildings. The original specifications stipulated for stucooline, but local plasterers informed the Building Committee that if tenders were restricted to that article, plasterers generally, would not be • able to compete. The Executive Commissioner has issued a circular for oversea exhibitors. It supplies a list of shipping and forwarding agents in different porta .throughout the world who have agreed- to act as agents for the Exhibition, for the purpose of supplying information to intending exhibitors as to the most economical and expeditious manner in which to forward exhibits. It is pointed out that the total charge for transport from the ship's slings at Lyttelton to the Exhibition grounds, including wharfage, railage, receiving and delivering, will not exceed 8s Gd per ton on ordinary goods charged on the same basis as the freight, and that heavy lifts will be transported at special rates. Exhibitors are reminded that tiro latest date for receiving applications for space is March 31, 1906, and early application is urged. [Pee Pkess Association.] BLENHEIM, October 24. The Marlborough . Chamber of Commerce has resolved that a committee should be set up to. arrange for the representation of this province at tne International Exhibition in Christchurch, and that with this end in view a conference of local bodies should be convened for the beginning Af n-ext month. Confidence was expressed that Marlborough would be able to establish an exhibit of barley, oats, flax, wool and other produce second to none. It was stated that shearing had been commenced, but doubtless the pastoralists would .save their best fleeces for the Exhibition. There is every prospect of the matter being taken up with enthusiasm.