Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1907. THE MYSTERY OF M'INTYRE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 17 April 1907, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1907. THE MYSTERY OF M'INTYRE.

A ROMANCE OF EXHIBITION AWARDS. WHILE the International Exhibition at Christchurch now closed may have been a great success in its way, with cost not regretted by the people, its currency has been marked by a number of personal incidents which have caused various "storms in a teacup" of more or less interest to Christchurch and the colony in general. It was in accordance with the various dramatic situations /in which the management have figured that the final scene should display the suspension and sub- ( sequent sudden disappearance of ono Mclntyre, who had been Superintendent of Awards. In view of happenings and suspicions it is inexplicable that the police authorities have let the man leave the colony, and nothing can be more futile than for the Government, when probably too late; to* seek: to obtain, h*is extradition from regions unknown. Commenting ons, ; the matter; the Christchurch "Press' saye : — "The suspension of Mr Mclntyre, Superintendent of Awards, followed by that gentleman's somewhat unceremonious departure from the colony, evidently on urgent private business, has revealed a condition of affairs which can hardly be said to remove the dissatisfaction previously existing m the public mind in regard to the management of this . great undertaking. Anything more ex- . traord mary than the system pursued in connection with the distribution of ! awards we do not remember to have ] heard of in connection either with a j previous exhibition or indeed any other ' enterprise of a like nature. " The original arrangements for mak- ' ing awards, published before the Ex- 1 hibition was opened, were reasonable J enough. An Awards Committee was appointed aa the supreme authority s in regard to this important depart- J ment of Exhibition work. •It was fur- ; ther provided that a separate jury con- i sisting of not less than three jurors J should be appointed for each division „ or department. One of the jurors was 1 to be' elected by the exhibitors, one appointed by the Awards Committee, and 2 the third by mutual consent of the ? two first appointed, or in default of , their agreeing by the Awards Committee. Elaborate ruels were drawn up £ for the meetings of the jurors, for their consultation with other jurors, and c calling in experts if necessary. Power a was given to an exhibitor, dissatisfied " with his award, to appeal. If he made c out a prima facie case, tho Awards c Committee were empowered to request Sl the jury to re-oxamine the exhibit, or *jj order such re-examination to be made by an expert, and on a report being mado by such jury or expert, the com- n mittee might, if they saw fit, alter the t award appealed against. a .1

The foregoing was the theory on hich all was to be fair and above R oard and beyond suspicion ; and on ylose arrangements exhibitors in good ul lit-h entered their exhibits for com- y f etition. But in actual practice pl iuso was given for widespread com- i r laint, culminating in grave doubt tc •hether the awards in many instances ossess any value whatsoever. No step ms taken to judge the exhibits, or at a] sast to begin to announce results, till w February, and exhibitors began to get n estless. It was feared that there night be no awards at all and that, iwing to the delay, there would be lit- & le time for exhibitors to benefit from c iwards by the advertisement within the 0 Exhibition during its final weeks of exstence. Then all at once, says the Christchurch "Press," there was hurry t md excitement to get to work. The c Awards Committee apparently, as in 0 \ise of other committee's, was ignor- t ;d. The plan of appointing three c [urors for each division was abandon- s ed, and the work was handed over to single judges, for the most part Government officers. Most astonishing of all, , new printed regulations made their ap- . pearance, by which not only all the \ power originally conferred on the ; Committee of Awards, but more, was : handed over to one man — the gentleman whose sudden disappearance is now the sensation of the hour. Originally canvasser for the Exhibition, subsequently "Director of Exhibits," having charge of the unpacking and delivery of the goods to the exhibitors, he now suddenly blossomed out into "Superintendent of Judges and Awards." He had power, on appeal from an exhibitor, to alter the award made by the judges, and even to alter and amend any of the regulations laid down for his own guidance. That none of the exhibitors objected openly to this extraordinary arrangement was due to the fact that they were tired of delays, and Mclntyre was personally popular, apparently enjoying the kind of popularity immortalised by the Unjust Steward of the parable. As a matter of fact, the Superintendent of Awards distributed the patronage in his gift with no niggardly hand. There were about 1800 entries for judging,, and up to April 4th, 1524 had received honours of some kind, with "more to come." Of the 1524 awards no fewer than 112 were gold medals and special awards, and 806 gold medals, or 918 gold medals in all. In addition there were 385 silver medals, and. 169 highly commended and 52 commended awards were made. Allegations are afloat that the Superintendent of Awairds, with that overflowing spirit of benevolence which seems to have been his prevailing characteristic, exercised the power conferred upon him by the regulations to raise the awards given by the judges, and in at least one case an exhibitor appears to have received a gold medal for not having exhibited at all In the class for which it was given. Other statements, says the "Press," are to the effect that MeIntyre's geniality and good feeling towards the exhibitors were not lessened by the circumstance, that he had borrowed money from a number of them. Hence thos* tears at the meeting of angry creditors recorded in yesterday s telegrams. The Canterbury papers are ironically regretting the unostentatious departure of Mclntyre on the ground that if he had longer stayed he might have explained something about the origin of the wonderful regulations which superseded the original basis for the adjudging and. issue of awards. At present the origin is as mysterious as the Mormon laws, ' said to havo come down from heaven on gold plates, to vanish after «they had been seen by St. Joseph Smith and others. The general manager of the Exhibition, the storm-tossed "iviunro, apparently heard of the regulations for tho first time a few days ago, probably while Mclntyre was unded suspension previous to his evanishment ; while, if any Minister of the Crown ever sanctioned them, he is too modest to admit the soft impeachment. The Christchurch "Press" naturally asks: — "But what sort of administration is it in a great undertaking like tho Exhibition when one subordinate is able to exercise supremo control over the distribution, and even the General Manager is kept in ignorance of the conditions under which such control is assumed?" Apparently the evanished! Mclntyre, dona ferens, and distributing them with a lavish hand for due consideration, evolved, and used, the regulations. But the question of the business value of the awards thus distributed at once arises. Those who secured medals and such things wrongfully may reap a little adventitious benefit for a time by way of advertisement among those who have not watched tho course of events. But the real sufferers wil be those who, having honestly earned important diplomas of excellence of exhibits, may find them of little or no use from a business standpoint. The misfortune of it all is that even the arrest and punishment of corrupt judges will not mend matters. The competitive exhibits are scattered to the winds of heaven ; the awards are in the possess:.)ii of deserving and undeserving alike; and they must now stand, however S'iously discounted their value may be. It is deplorable that the Exhibition, calculated to achieve much lasting p"d for the colony, should have ended with such a slur on it? reputation as the Mclntyre scandal.