North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1898. THE SHOW THAT FAILED.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9302, 5 September 1898, Page 2

North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1898. THE SHOW THAT FAILED.

Wisi/LINGTON flooma to havo developed very rapidly of lato yoaie, and from its geographical position its commercial prosperity )8 prixotically aasured. Its morolunb prinoos aro ambitious. They aim ab making Wollingbon bho " hub of bho unlvorso," to aao an Amorioan phrase ; bub aa ib in impossible to mako a nilk purso oub of a aow's oar, so is it) impossible to oroato Wellington into a city bhab will bo regarded in ovorything as tho criterion of oxcollonoo. Tho money-making Wollingtoniati miy do much in bho way of removing mountains and casting tho hilla ihab rise above tho oily into tho valloya I .y pick und shovol work. Y<;t all thin cannot surround Wollington «viMi fertile plains or raise ib inb') a centre of ngrioul • tural lifo and progress. Tho Wollington merchants, howovor, having rogurd to the usefulness, from a commercial standpoint, of an ngiicultural show, havo attempted to establish whab they wore pleased to dosigiiato a Motropolibun Agricultural show, at which ib was givon oub ovoiy brooder of stock and oxhibitor of produoo from Aucklnnd to ]nvorca»gill would O'igorly aesomblo onoo a yoar bo show bhoir products »nd compote for tho munificent prizes tho Mo'ropolitan Show Company would ofl'or. From tho blasio of trumpets Hiab horaldod 1 tho inauguration of tho Wellington Show it was anticipated thab fchia Metropolitan Show would eclipse all tho ehowa of tho colony. Three years have gono by, and tho uttompt has failed. Tho other clay tho general committee mob to consider the position They found thab if they wont into liquidation they would bo L1000 cohort-. Thoir assets were : show ground buildings, L3000 ; outhtaudings BiibHcriptioJV, ontry feo?, and unpaid donations, L830. Tho principal liabilities coiiBibtt'd of L2250 of dobonturow diy^ in 1891), interest duo and nccounts unpiid LD05, and b*ok overdraft L227. L\wt\t) tho Tro isurer who Hummed the position up as showing a delicioncy of n doar thousand pounds should tho Sooioty go into liquidation. J3ub bho quotation of " Who would pay bho liquidator Tnl bhab' courso wore adoptod led tho committee to poatpono a final declaration to wind-ap the affairs of the Society. One hopolul genb'.oman suggested canvassing tho morchun'H in Wellington to soo whab support would bo given to a proposal to change tho show ground from tho Lower llutt to Miram,»r or Island 13ay, but those places aro out of tho way, and without railway fiicilitio9, and a Mr Wilberfosy declared " '■uch 'a canvasa would bo abaulutoly impracticublo in the prcson- at;ito of the iinanciis of tho Association." Wi lliogton as a plaoo for m agricultural nhow isaltogotlier unsuitable Woro ib proposed to hold tho Oamaru dgricuHural show at Pa'merflton there would bo about uh much reasonableness of success as there is in holding a metropolitan show ad Weili< gton. And the eoonor tho people of Wollington realise that the better ib will bo f <>r thomBolvos and thoir purges.