THE EXHIBITION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 14285, 1 February 1907, Page 8

THE EXHIBITION.

YESTERDAY’S ATTENDANCE 12,955. AGGREGATE 1,053,128. AVERAGE ATTENDANCE 18,331. • Yesterday the attendance at the Exhibition waa X 2,905, bringing tne aggregate to-l,ood,liSß, ana tne average dnvy attendance to 13,a<Jl. .SOUTH AUSTRALIAN VISITOR’S GU*Ui.vUfi.NTS. i The Hon A. A. E-intpatrick, who lias been spending some' time in Oiinsteharch, partly as an emissary from the Boutn Australian State government, »nd partly to see the Exhibition, will •leave for home this evening. Last evening he gave a reporter some of his impressions of the Exaibitioa. ■ It was, ha tnougut, uie biggest and up bo tiie present tbe most largely attended so far held south of the line, and though it could not lay legitimate claim to its titular adjective " international,” it was a cream to the colony. The good that New Zealanders were obtaining, from the nxlubition was recognised to be due to the instigation of the late Premier, and everyone regretted that he could not see tne resuit of his ■work. ' Glancing through the Exhibition, Mr Kirkpatrick said that undoubtedly one of its most interesting features was the Art Gallery, where was probably the finest collection ever shown in Australasia. The fact uiat many of the works of art were for sale and 'that many of these nad been sold to Australasian buyers was gratifying. South Australia was about .to send Mr Gill,'the director of technical art,- to select and purchase some of the pictures. The ternary,, with its collection of the ferns of the colony,, was very beautiful. The . whole .Exhibition was''situated almost perfectly, and he thought it a great pity, that at least the Art Gallery and the fernery could not be preserved to Christchurch. He was delighted as well : as '■ instructed in visiting the various courts at the Exhibition. Canada’s display was particularly line, and while the separate (States,, of the Dominion were represented; the exhibit was still that of-Canada. "With the example of such a success as this before them, the Australian States would probably see the wisdom of - combining their efforts in future Exhibitions to make one big Australian display.' :• New South Wales had a splendid court, but in the kindliest spirit of criticism'he felt he could say it was a little cramped, the art of showing- had. not yet been fully grasped. South Australia decided early to send only the colony’s wines and dried fruits. The compact display of these valuable products of the country had resulted in the: dispersion throughout tins colony, whose market it was desirable to ex-tend,-of-a- knowledge of the nature of these -products of the State. The British Court was a great educator, especially-in showing the state of the masses; of the people. That heartbreaking exhibit of the products of sweated industries, shown in the Labour Department’s Court, should, in his opinion, be taken to every town in New Zealand to stimulate a feeling that would result in sweeping away the foreign sweater. Mr H. J. Soott, the South Australian ■ Commissioner, was making arrangements for its exhibition in South Australia at the close of the Exhibition. • 'The provincial courts at the Exhibition, Mr Kirkpatrick said, were well laid but, and displayed splendidly the great wealth of the resources or the •rololiy. He was greatly struck by the •practical and instructive court of the Department of Agriculture, with its prominently displayed statistics of the agricultural wealtn of the colony. The plots of grasses, growing in sufficient quantity to show their practical worth, Were of the greatest interest to farmers. In fact the keynote of the Department’s Court was utility, and had been religiously followed. The side shows, he thought, exceeded In their number and extent those at any other Australasian Exhibition. He had been delighted with the Beeses-o’-th-, Barn Band, and sincerely wished that }iis State could have the opportunity to learrit. , Mr Kirkpatrick said he was much .pleased at the compliment paid aim by the'Maoris at the pa recently, and he was taking with him some copies, prepbred both in Maori and in English© by Dr Buck, of the address delivered to him on the occasion of his visit. 'To him; ;as a . visitor, this imported • Native village was extremely interesting, «and probably far more so than to a New Zealander. Mr Kirkpatrick said he could not leave the colony without expressing behalf of Mrs Kirkpatrick and himself, .their appreciation of their treatment by everyone iv.-xi whom they had com© into contact. MUSIC AT THE EXHIBITION. • INTERVIEW WITH MR POLLARD. Yesterday afternoon a reporter saw Mr T. Pollard with reference to the provision of music in the Exhibition. “Of course,” said Mr Pollard, “it is most unfortunate that the Besses-©’-th’-Barn, ,the Exhibition Orchestra and the Auckland Orchestra should all .go away- at the same time, and the Exhibition be • left without any music at all, practically speaking. But that is really no reflection at all on the present management of the entertainments. The late Mr Seddon fixed the dates for the Besses, the Bnter- ■ tainments Committee fixed the date for West’s Pictures and the Brescians to have the. Concert Hall, somebody else made the arrangements for the Auckland Orchestra, bad luck threw the organ out of repair at the same psychical moment, and &o an, and so. on. In many eases the arrangements were made months ago, and by independent persons who had no knowledge of what arrangements anybody else was making. That shows the need for one central controlling authority, if you will; but it does not cast any reflection on the present, management. “ However, the Orchestra ha?! now returned, the organ has been mended, and, at the request of the management, West’s Picture .Co. has cancelled its second engagement for April, so I think we are out of our difficulties. “ Further than this, wo are making • special arrangements for meeting the wishes of patrons of the Concert Hall. There will be ballot papers distributed, on which people may wrife the names of any pieces they desire the Orchestra to play. These papers will be opened and counted every week, and the proSamm© compiled in accordance with © votes cast. This will apply only to the Saturday afternoon concerto. “ The first concert the Orchestra will give after their return will be the Wagner one. This has been done in accordance with a very largo number of requests; The concert will be given on Friday afternoon at 4 o’clock. “ in. organ recital will bo given on Saturday afternoon at 2.30 bv Dr Bradshaw, and at the close of this the Orchestra will give a concert, so that tsera will really be two concerto given on Saturday afternoon. “ Next week there will bo an orchestral concert every afternoon, preceded . on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by an organ recital.” NOTES. The Exhibition orchestra has concluded its successful season in 'Wellington, and will return to Christchurch to-day. This afternoon an orchestral concert will bo given in the Concert Hall, commencing at four o’clock. To-morrow, Dr Bradshaw will give «u organ recital in tne Concert Hall, commencing at 2.30 p.in., and at 4 p.m. the orchestra will give a concert. Few people realised that, thanks to the precautions of the management, wliat might have caused a very

unpleasant panic was averted on Wednesday night during the display of fireworks at the Exhibition. Some sparks from the fireworks fell into some old packing-cases stored close by, and very scon there was quite a formidable blaze, which threatened to fire the grass and spread among the crowd. A representative of Mr H. Leslie Friend, who is agent for the underwriters’ fire extinguishers, was on the spot with some of the chemical extinguishers, and quickly put out the fire. Major C. J. Cooper, officer commanding v.uo Lyttelton division of the Garrison. Artillery .Volunteers, will act as marshal on the occasion of the Quickstep Competition of the band.v contest, wmch lias been arranged tor Saturday, February IG. Messrs W. S. King, Christchurch, and Otto Schwartz, of Wellington, will be the judges of the solo cj-mpetitioiw of the Exhibition Band Contest during the week commencing February 11. Mr Maurice Cohen, of Palmerston Ninth, president of the North Island Braes Band Association, will attend Christchurch for the hand contest. Mr E. R. B Hoifien, secretary of the North Island Brass Bands Association, •writing with respect to the annual meeting of the As uiciation, which will bo held in Christchurch at the time of the band contest, states that 150 delegates will be present at the meeting. - The “Besson” Shield of the North Island Brass Bands Association is at present held by the Wanganui Garrison Band, and the conditions provide that this shield shall be hold by the band securing the highest points in the g and selection at the annual contest. .This shield has-been received from Mr Holben, secretary of the Association. As the annual meeting will take place in the Exhibition Sports Ground this year; the band securing the highest points for the grand selection will secure-the shield for the ensuing year. The next Exhibition flower show will take the form of a begonia show, and will be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Entries will close with Miss Smith, honorary secretary of the Society, on Monday, at noon. As tlno show will bo held in the corridor, free admission will be gained to it. There was a very large number of visitors at the Agricultural Court yes-, terday* viewing tii& Latest batches or chickens. It is, of course, far too late to hatch profitably, but these parties, .allots of chicks appear to be very vigorous. . Yesterday, between thirty and forty babies were received within the hospitable walls of the Children’s Rest. An open air nursery has now-been provided by fencing in with wire-netting a small portion of the lawn near the Rest. The average number of children received into the Rest since it has been opened is over one hundred per week. An excursion arrived from Ashburton yesterday morning, bringing about six liundred persons. Nominally, it was a school excursion from Hampstead, but it was availed of largely by the pubi The excursionists spent the day at the Exhibition. WONDERLAND. Wonderland was invaded yesterday by a great number of visitors from the south, and its many attractions secured a great share of their attention. A welcome improvement to the grounds in the hot dry weather was noticeable as a result of uie use of a' skilfully driven water-cart, which kept the dust down, and to some extent cooled the air. THE PIKE. Crowds of people visited the Pike yesterday afternoon and evening, and the penny in the slot machines, whether they were musical, or pictorial, were all kept busily fulfilling meir various functions. Home interest was taken in tne installation of a larger dynamo and an oil engine in place of the steam plant that supplied tiie power for some weeks for lighting the Pike. WEST’S CASTLE THEATRE. The displays of moving pictures in West’s Castle Theatre continue to attract fair audiences, and yesterday the theatre had many visitors. WEST’S PICTURES AND THE BRESCIANS. . Last evening there was a very good attendance at the Concert Hall, when West’s Pictures and the Brescians made another eminently succesful appearance in their captivating combination of orchestral and concert programme, with living pictures of the highest order. The performance was warmly applauded throughout. SCOTCH MODEL COLLIERY. Constructed by working miners, the Scotch model colliery shows clearly, and, as far as may be judged, accurately the method of coal-mining and transport in and about a mine. The model is built with a fine regard for realism, and its parts work well together. W ORKINgT MODELS. Bellamy’s Ideal City and its companion models daily attract numbers of interetsed spectators, who frequently express great admiration for the intricacy and completeness of the models. FIJIANS AND MAORIS. Yesterday afternoon a combined intertaiument by the Fijians and the Maoris was given in tne Sports Ground. There was an several hundreds of spectators. This was the last performance of the Wanganui troupe of poi guds, and their graceful dancing was much admired. The Maoris performed several hakas and war dances, and the Fijians gave their fan dances and war dances, including the remarkably effective club-dance, whose realistic figures were heartily applauded. , ELECTRIC ELEVATOR. The Exhibition Elevator continues to prove a source of pleasure to visitors and sight-seers, and hundreds of postcards are bougnt and posted from the Tower top every day. It is the intention of tiie management to present a suitable memento to the twenty-fifth thousandth visitor to the tower. PARAGRAPH ANNOUNCEMENTS. Business paragraphs intended for insertion in this column must be arranged for with the advertising department. EXHIBITION MINT. Visitors to the Exhibition like to take away a souvenir modal struck in tho building, and tho Mint is always patronised by a largo section of the public. The medals, of which there are six in the set, may bo purchased at prices ranging from Is upwards, one of the meet favoured being the late Mr Seddon. Remember that by purchasing a ticket for West’s Pictures and the Brescians from Tho Dresden or at the Exhibition gates you are admitted with it to the Exhibition free. 5912