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Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 97, 5 October 1863, Page 2

The New Zealand Industrial Exhibition will be opened on the Ist day of January, 1865. Dunedin, by virtue of much self-assertion, has been selected for its locus, and a Royal Commission for carrying out the purposes has been granted to a number of Otago meu. Though held in a town which is not the capital of the colony, the Exhibition is not to be considered iv the light of a provincial one. The whole of New Zealand is requested to lay aside neighborly jealousies, and co-operate in a work which, though chiefly benefiting an individual province, yet reflects certain advantages upon all. The opportunity of advertising one's self and one's goods is not lightly to be despised, even though the place of advertisement be not one's own warehouse. Therefore, pocketing the disagreeables of seeing No. 2, so to speak, make a large fortune, whilst No. 1 only realises a competence, it behoves all to take proper measures for securing the half loaf, that is, deriving every obtainable benefit from the public display of natural possessions. We do not know whether it is to be a Crystal Palace affair, or the more sombre business after the manner of Fowke ; but this we know, that be it glass or brick, any quantity of people, incited by curiosity, or idleness, or what not, will flock there" to see and to be seen, to admire and not to admire. The various industrial and mineral departments will, no doubt, be looked at by crowds ; and, if any astonishing specimen of, for. example, coal, be observable, then, of course, it will be asked where does this magnificent sample come from? When, perhaps, the answer "Nelson" is given, the end will be, as may be seen at a glance, attained. For, if the enquirer do* not immediately determine to buy fifty shares in the mine, or thenceforth to use only the coal of that Province for his domestic purposes, still it goes forth to the world that there is such a place as Nelson, that one of its indigenous properties is a valuable mineral, and that therefore Nelson is not to be contemned. Another point is that a great many Australian colonists will likely be present— -possibly, also, a representative of the New Z aland-hating A7-ffus—xvho will see wi'h their own eyes, and not by those of misanthropic correspondents, that this colony has some natural productions ; and, having seen, may be induced, upon return, for once to tell the truth. The force ofall this has been so beaten into the beads of the Ocago Government, that, in a desperate moment, they have voted four thousand pounds for the Commission to disburse in building materials, postagestamps, andso forth, and, through the medium of the press, patriotic appeals have been issued to the other Provinces, entreating them to at once combine, for their own and the public good. There is no doubt that these appeals will be entertained ; at any rate, they ought to be. Such an opportunity of showing, and getting appreciation for Provincial progress, occurs, to use a popular saying, only once in a life-time. A Province unrepresented upon an occasion like this will stand a very good chance of being dwarfed for all time coming, so, of course, Southland must have a decent stall at the Fancy Fair. Though there is a whole year to come and go upon, and there is apparently " lots'' of time for preparation, yet it would seem wise to take such preliminary steps, at once, as the appointment of a Committee of gentlemen who know the resources of the Province ; who may immediately correspond with the Commission as to the practical arrangements, and who can later on, collect any industrial and mineral products of the Province, that may be worth exhibiting. If steps of this nature be not taken sufficiently early, it will, perhaps, be discovered rather too late that the stall assigned to Southland is in an out-of-the-way crevice, or round some corner, whither any other ticket-holder than Mr. Chevy Sly me will not lake the trouble to wander. This important and almost national movement would be set afoot in this Province much more gracefully by its rulers than by the vox popidi; in fact, it is neither more nor less than their duty, and we do not think we are far out in stating that the inhabitants of the town and of the country are ki daily expectation of His Honor the Superintendent and the members of the Government taking action in the matter.