ESTABLISHED 1875. The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1904. THE WINTER SHOW.

Manawatu Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 7998, 21 June 1904, Page 2

ESTABLISHED 1875.

The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1904. THE WINTER SHOW.

The Winter Show is upon us again to demonstrate the wisdom of its originators. Yet it is doubtful if these enthusiasts, even at the zenith of their optimism, could have foreseen the magnificent results which have been achieved within a comparatively short period. We are quite of opinion that the exhibition now being prepared in the spacious Agricultural Hall, which is now such a prominent feature of the A. and Pgrounds—and which by the bye now covers nearly an acre of land—will astonish the natives. More than that, it will educate the natives; and it cannot fail to vividly impress the stranger within our gates. The Manawatu district is deeply indebted—nay it would hardly be hyperbolical to say that the Colony is indebted —to that little band of men who at personal sacrifice, and

indeed personal loss, have been engaged for weeks past in overseeing, and actually conducting the'arraugemenls for this. Winter Show. Their handiwork is worthy of all praise. But what shall be said of the enterprise and the generosity of the large firms which have imported into our midst many thousands of pounds worth of machinery and enough horsepower, goodness knows, to wrench Talmerston North right off its hinges ! It is all very well to say these firms will be recompensed in the hereafter ; perhaps they will; certainly they deserve it; but in the meantime they are dipping their hands deeply into their trousers' pockets. Those who were privileged to have a preliminary peep into the Agricultural Hall yesterday, and to see the small army of men there, industrious as bees, putting on tho finishing touches, were able to form some idea of the expense which attaches to linns exhibiting at the Winter Show. Wages and board and lodging, to strangers in a strange land, are a large item,. and the etceteras mount up with an irritant persistency ; but on the other hand the appeal is- not to a scattered handful. The Win'er Show,of New Zealand appeals to a large audience, and a keenly intelligent and critical audience drawn from the richest dairying districts in the colony; and the firms which come again and again to the Winter Show, and whoso expansion of business is marked by increasing scope and variety of dis"play, are the firms which make the most constant appeal to the public imagination, and the most powerful bid for the contents of the farmer's purse. We are amongst those who believe that—even at the risk of bulking the Winter Show out to a size never originally contemplated— the A. and P. Society should encou-. rage this spirit of enterprise by greater and greater concessions. Undoubtedly the space charges are a serious handicap even to the more wealthy firms. If the weather holds good and the Show is the monster success which its well-wishers hope and expect it will be, then we shall have to>put on our considering caps and see if /we cannot make a substantial reduction in this so much per foot. Exhibitors will only rush off and spend their money in perfecting their arrangements in other directions, but we shan't be able to help that.