CENTENNIAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, MELBOURNE, 1888.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 839, 30 March 1888, Page 32

CENTENNIAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, MELBOURNE, 1888.

NEW ZEALAND COMMISSION. The eleventh meeting of the Commissioners was held in the Exhibition offices last Friday afternoon, at the usual hour. Sir James Hector, the Vice-Presi-dent, was in the chair, and the Hon. G. M. Waterhouse, M.L.C., and Mr G. E. Tolhurst were present. Dr Newman and Mr W. H. Levin forwarded apologies for non-attendance. The special business of the meeting was to receive the report of the application for space, and the following statement was placed before the Commissioners :—Auckland Committee space required, 3217 ft; Gisborne (not yet completed, 12ft; Napier, 854 ft ; Wanganui, 361 ft; Wellington, 3185 ft; Blenheim, 91ft; Nelson, 387 ft; Greymouth (not yet completed) ; Hokitika, 312 f t; Christchurch, 5748 ft; Oamaru (not yet completed), 10ft; Timaru, 387 ft ; Dunedin, 5709 ft; Invercargill, 695 ft ; Queenstown, 719 ft; total, 21,687 ft. Estimated for six trophies, 1000 f t; estimated exhibit from Colonial and Indian Exhibition shipped to Melbourne direct, 3000 f t; total, 25,687 ft. An allowance of something like 10,000 ft will have to be added for passages. The Secretary was directed to draw up and publish a circular with regulations for shipping the exhibits, the bulk of which will leave New Zealand by the Manapouri in May next, starting at Auckland on the 3rd May, collecting there, and at Gisborne, Napier, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and the Bluff, and arriving in Melbourne about the 16th of May. A larwe amount of correspondence was read from Mr Seed, who will shortly be returning to Wellington. The Commissioners expressed themselves as being highly satisfied with the result of Mr Seed’s visit, and tendered a vote of thanks to that gentleman for the admirable arrangements made on behalf of the Colony. A plan of the ground to be occupied by the New Zealand court, showing increased space allotted, was fully considered, and what with the large space granted in the Grand Avenue of Nations, in the fine art galleries, the machinery court, and the special New Zealand fernery, there is no doubt that this Colony will make a grand impression upon visitors to the Centennial International Exhibition at IMelbourne. A memorandum was received from Mr C. H. Pearson, M.P., Minister of Public Instruction in Victoria, stating that the Department -was anxious to make use of the approaching Centennial Exhibition for the purpose of forming a comparative estimate of the value of its school system, and that the Commissioners had agreed to group all the educational exhibits together, and it was apprehended that there would be no difficulty in getting a very complete representation of neighboring colonies. The Commissioners had a heavy business paper to get through, and arranged to meet again on. Wednesday to conclude some very important work.