THE SIDE SHOWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13324, 2 November 1906, Page 6

THE SIDE SHOWS.

A GLANCE THROUGH WONDERLAND. The aggregation of side shows is not yet complete, and the heavy rain of yesterday was responsible for the postponement of the press view. .Nevertheless, as soon as the public were admitted, they rushed in crowds to Wonderland. Here, in an enclosure on the side of Victoria Lake, are assembled many of the attractions that have made Coney Island, famous. The water chute, the helter-skelter, toboggan, Katzen Jammer Castle, the dragon engine, ami the camels, were there, and were patronised by thousands during the afternoon. When the grounds were lighted up at night the scene was one altogether new to those unfamiliar with the delights of places of popular resort in -America and Europe. The rush of the boats and their screaming passengers down the chutes to the lake, and the roar of the. toboggans, the melancholy grunting of the camels, the shrieking of fire people rushing swiftly down the chute, .and the rumble and roar in Katzen Jammer Castle, all conspired to make a terrific noise, above which burst shrieks of laughter and ejaculations of surprise. The shores of the lake which were

not enclosed by Wonderland were' lined; with hundreds of people watching the* shows across the water, and laughing hil&riouslv at the rapid progress of the patronji of the helter-skelter, as they shot round the corkscrew from the balcony of the' tower to the bottom, where they shot out like sacks oi wheat intc the arms of attendants. The excitement of the passengers "in the " water chute boats was shared by' the spec fetors as the punt-like craft dashed down into the water and skimmed the surface of the lake to the landing-place. In addition to Wonderland, there are many independent side shows. West's Pic- .'•' lures have a gallery of their own, in which half-hour shows are given. There is an arcade of phonographs, fortune-tellers, weighttesters, and punching machines. In "the pike," as it is: called here, are over a hundred different mechanical amusements of this sort, each of which can be ie| in motion by inserting a penny in the slot. The : panorama of the battle of Gettysburg is approaching completion. Seen from the outside it resembles an absolute];.- new and unpainted gasometer. It. is 12Sft in diameter, and 54ft high, and contains 50 tons 1 of galvanised' iron. Moreover, it is unpainted, and has no other mentation that a small castellated doorway. When ready for public view, the panorama will present an exceptionally fine picture, 360 ft long, and showing in a wonderfully realistic % manner the terrible conflict- between the men in blue and gray, which hid such a . great influence upon the unity of the American people as it is to-day. The laughing gallery, the maze, the Egyptian hall, the jungle, and other side shows, were al! crowded all day. In this connection it may be stated that to "do" the side shows properly, and have lunch and tea in the building, one would require to spend about 30s. Some thousands of pounds have been expended by the side-s-trow concessionaires in fixing up their '. attractions, but if the patronage of the opening day were maintained for the- first three months, they could view enforced idleness for the remainder of their terms with equanimity. •:, IN THE STREETS. There was not much to be seen in the streets of Christchurch early in the day to indicate that anything unusual was taking place in the city. Most of the shops were opened in the morning, and closed as usual ill the afternoon, Thursday being the statuton- half-holiday here. Some flags waved : from individual flagstaffs, but nothing was dono by the citizens as a whole in the way of decorating. A large number of welldressed people were to be seen milking their way. to the Exhibition on foot and in carriages for the opening ceremony, but the citizens generally did not assemble at the Exhibition gates until much later. When the Exhibition opened it seemed that all Christchurch flowed into the great white palace by the river, for the streets were quite deserted" in the afternoon. When the buildings were lighted up at night the scene was very beautiful. The chief details of the dome, the great twin tower?, and the facade, were outlined into countless incandescent lights, and over the great entrance was the device, "Haoremai," wrought in gigantic letters composed of electric lamps. The moon hari risen full and golden just before the lightmg up of the buildings, and the sky was then without- a cloud. . A soft warm wind stirred the thick foliage of the trees by . the river. Streaming up to the main entrance, in a .broad path of strong light, were crowds of j>eople who were making an evening visit. There was a large number of people in the streets leading to and from Cathedral . Square, but in not unusual crowds. v In fact,; there; were not';so .many people in '; Christchurch as had been, expected -"* on , the opening day, although the principal hotels are full. The bluejackets and the large number of volunteers in camp in Hagley Park, who came to Christchurch specially to assist in the opening, certainly supplemented the number of people who promenaded file streets. There wis a rush for the,cars in the Square, notwithstanding that special cars were run to the Exhibition gates. Crowds of from 100 to 150 lined up at the waiting places, a.nd many were left behind, although several of the cars had • trailers attached to them. By eleven o'clock the traffic had greatly subsided, and the. streets were comparatively empty. THE COMMISSIONERS. The settlement of the-trouble between Mr. M'unro, Chief Commissioner, and the other Commissioners, has not yet been ar- . rived at. Sir Joseph Ward, in referring in the course of his speech to-day to Mr. Munro, spoke of that official's service in * very eulogistic manner, and the public arc asking whether this is to be taken as an indication that the Premier intends to uphold Mr. Munro in the course of action adopted by him. JOTTINGS. The official catalogue of the Exhibition is not yet available. The Exhibition issue of postage stamps was on sale for the first time this morning in the Exhibition buildings. So far only the penny and halfpenny denominations are available. The receipts from to-day's sales amounted to about £30. CONGRATULATIONS FROM AUCKLAND. The following is a copy of a telegriul which was despatched by the DeputyMayor of Auckland (Mr. C. Crey) to the Mayor (Mr. Arthur M.' Myers) yesterday morning : — As Mayor of city plea convey to the Hon. the Premier and Commissioners of the New Zealand International Exhibition Auckland's heartiest and warmest congratulations upon the fruition of their labours evidenced by the early opening of the Exhibition, coupled with every good wish for most bountiful success in achieving their object of worthily exploiting to the world the substantial progress and sound prosperity of our colony, and thereby attracting to its shores the commerce, capital, and labour so essential to its further development. May every good Mrtune attend the Exhibition during its exist-ence.Deputy-Mayor." ■■'<