THE NEW ZEALAND COURT AT THE EXHIBITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7653, 28 August 1886, Page 3

THE NEW ZEALAND COURT AT THE EXHIBITION.

INDIGNATION OF THE COM-

MISSIONERS.

(Fnoii oun Wellington Correspondent.) The London correspondent of the New Zealand Times gives an interesting report of the meetiugof the Exhibition Commissioners held to consider the Government cable message respecting the reflections cast on the New Zealand court at the Colonial Exhibition. He says:—

lam informed the meeting partook much of the character of an indignation one.

" The Marquis of Normanby led off by saying that he had come up from tho country expressly to attend this meeting, and to record his protest against the unjust aud ungenerous accusations contained in the telegram. He said that he bad some most delightful days iv the New Zealand court, and that nothing there had pleased him more than Dr Buller's beautiful collection. As to the gold obelisk, he was of opinion tbat this sort of tiling had long since been played out.

Sir E. Stafford followed with some stinging remarks ou tho ungenerous actiou of the New Zealand Government. Ho agreed with all Lord Normanby ha'A said about Dr Buller's collection, which had added so much to the attractiveness of the New Zealand court. The fernery, for which we are indebted to Sir F. P. Bell, was, in his opinion, one of the most perfect things in the whole exhibition. No other colony could boast of anything like it. Sir Edward's only complaint was that the commissioners had placed all the New Zealand pictures in the

Royal Albert gallery, wh»re probably not one in a thousand of the visitors ever saw them.

Sir Charles Clifford said that the exhibition of New Zealand timbers, both iv their rough state and as manufactured, had excited the admiration of the whole nation. He agreed, however, with Sir E. Stafford that a great blunder had been made about tho pictures. He was himself a constant visitor at the New Zealand court, and had never once ventured up in the loft to see the pictures. For his part nothing would have afforded him greater delight than to have seen portrayed those nativo wilds in which iv former years he used often to hunt bush pigs before cooking his dinner.

Mr Kobert Pharazyn said he considered the censure implied in the telegram extremely unfair. He had beeu a constant visitor at the New Zealand court ever since the opening of the exhibition. It was perfectly true that Dr Buller's collection was "prominent," and this was because iii no other part of the New Zealand section so much care and artistic effect had been displayed as in Dr Buller's Maori court. Of the hundreds to whom he had spoken all agreed on this point, and if the rest of the New Zealand court had come up to the same standard there would have been nothing to complain of.

Dr Buller said he had undertaken, at his own cost, to give as complete a representation as possible of old Now Zealand. It certainly did seem ungenerous of the Government to blame him simply because he had achieved a certain amount of success iv his portion of the court.

Mr Wolfe flarris,\vbo followed, 6aid he thought it would have beeu better to devote the space to colonial industries rather than to a representation of the native inhabitants.

Sir Julius yon Haast, in reply to tho last speaker, said that it would be quite impossible to make the court attractive by any suoh means. The two principal objects that now attracted the crowds to the New Zealand court were Dr Buller's Maori collection and the New Zealaud fernery. Tho former owed its prominent char-

acter to its own merit, aud surely ho blame could be attached to anyone for that. As to there being too much natural history, he felt bound to say that New Zealand iii this respect was not better represented thau other colonies; and as being "a third-rate museum," leading Europeau scientists had pronounced the New Zealand cuurt superior to all the rest from a scientific point of view. AZ& to the separation of the

ictures froai the rest of the exhibition, he ad-

mitted it was a mistake, but he threw the blame ou the New Zealand exhibitors, who had entirely deceived liim as to the space they would require, thus throwing out all his calculations,

Mr Waterhouse made some very trenchant remarks, utterly condemning the spirit aud tone of the telegram, and saying that he would make his voice heard on the matter iv the colony, to which he was soon returning. Mr F. Young, Mr Larkwurthy, and Mr Cowlishaw concurred generally with the other .-peakers, antlthen

Sir F. D. Bell, who was invited by Mr Gisborne to make the explanatory statement as Executive Commissioner, reviewed th,e allegations in the telegram one by one, end disposed of them in the most egeotive way. He said he woqkl take first ftf all the reference to Dr Buller's poUectjon, because nothing could be more

unfair or moro unjust, from her Majesty the Quetn autl tlio Prince "of Wales downwards everyouo had spocially admired and spoken in the highest terms of Dr. Buller's ethnological collection, which was undoubtedly the great feature in the New Zealand court. Prominent it certaiuly was, because little else had eouae up to the same standard o£ excellence, tio. lur, how-, ever, from its occupying top, much space, his uuly regrat yr-ts. that Government could not see tidbit way to sending Homo for exhibition the war canoe whicb raced Admiral Tryou's boats, and which would have been an exhibit of immense interest to the British public. Whose fault was it that the cereals and other agrisul* tural products of tho colony had not been adequately represented? The commissioners here could not pretisml to do more than display ths exhibits that had been sent out from the colony. As to a gold obelisk, he agreed in opinion with Lord Normanby; but as the Government seemed to wish it, lie would immediately, take gteps for the construction of snqb a» oxhibit. 'As to all the other in,sinuatio.ns anel suggestions in the telegram, he was prepared to give them an absolve contradiction, and ho wm glad to find so unanimous a feeling among his colleagues in the same direction. As to the gallery of pictures, ho had always opposed its location in the Albert gallery, but had yielded to the arguments p» others. However, it was not too sa,te to, make an alteration in t : hr,t recpect.

Sir J. I^aasf ssiid ha believed tha reports had been sent to' Government by a Wellington man, now in England, who h id unsuccessfully sought the position of secretary ; but the other commissioners seemed to deprecate any attwpnt to lix blame on au outside indivicUui}, preferring to leave the wljo|o jfeaiioii.^bility with the GoVBrnnipnt, wfyo on utterly insufficient grounds had sent an offensive aud uue'alled-for tt-l-s----giara. A resolution in that direction win accordingly moved by J,ovd Nofwanby, seconded by Air Waterhoiise, and unanimously carried, even Mr Wolfe Harris voting for it. The genp ral feeling among the connnissioin'rs was that if anyone

f.tf to blame for the colonial products not buing ully represented it was the Governmont them-

selves, whotjodufy It was to look to this in the colony, and somewhat contemptuous terms were

applied both to tho telegram aud to the spirit which had dictated it. The meeting was then adjourned for oue wee];, to enable the Executive Commissioners to make fresh arrangements about the display of New Zealand pictures and to report thereon.