THE EXHIBITION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13372, 14 January 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

(By Telegraph.— Special Service.) CJiristoburch, Jajnuary, 13. Despite short showers of rain- and threats of a downpour, the Exhibition attendance on Saturday amounted to close on 14,000. It, has been decided not ,to play the Besses' Band again in thie concert ball, as although tire band plays with much more subdued tone than an ordinary brass band, the concert halKis* really not large enough to do justice to its strains. The weather : on .Saturdiay, however, left no other alternative thi a n to .hold the afternoon; perforsniance indoors, asrtd t^e concert fosll waa packed with an enthusiastic audience. In the evening a performance was given in< the sports grounds, a«d although the weather remained damp and threatening, immense crowds assembled and listened ■well-nigh breathlesß to the band^s wonderful rendering of a highly varied programme. Mr lies, director of the band, speaking, at an eniterfeainment given them by the Lancashire Society, at wKoh : they wwre presented with ' an illumin- | ated address, said he thought he mig&t say without exaggeration tl««t the band 1 was recognised as the most famous in the world, and in Mr Owen they had the greatest conductor now living. The perfection of Mr Owen's control over the band' and the ease and quickness of his. conducting, are indeed features of the performance. ' TJie strong popularity the orchestra has now achieved was shown in the most signal manner by large attendances at the orchestral performances by the Besses on the spojrts ground, in 'the concert hall given contetm/pjoraneously - with the ' performianojas On Sunday the concert "hall was crowded. The ntimerous sdde-«hows continue to do enormous business. The proprietors of th© "Cycloranfca," which depicts in 'highly realistic iashion" the decisivie battle of Gettysburg) in- the American Civil W«r,« claim to have h«td upwards ofthdrty 1 thousand visitors up to tfie present, tJ«e maximuim lor a single d«ay being three thousawd. The battle is 4 painted on 'an jimmepee circular screen, and actual earthworks gun«, tents, etc., are introduced so cleverly that one fails -to detect where the picture ends and orther objects begin. Over thirty thousand visitors have »Is o witnessed the buck-jumping performances given nightly in a special arena 1 , and ov-or nine hundred local anld oilier riders have essayed to ride fractious steedfe. The "pike** consists of a long, promenade with numerous side^sHows and ingenious slot machines on either side. Thousands make .use of the promenade daily, oi whom the large proportion are enticed into novel side shows by American "sprinters," "barkers, v or criers, -who proclaim! with! raucous eloiciuence their various attraction's. 'Wesft's evergreen pictures, the shooting jgiallery, "fun spot," thie air ship which sails above the lai^e, the camera obscura, awd fat children show are piiominent amoi^g a host of other enjoyments. "Wonderland" is a separate concourse of the most novel side shows, with grounds, band, and tea rooms thrown i*. - • The . Judge's suggestion that the srand test piece in the epp!rotaohing band contest be produced by all the bands together previous to the award being made, will be carried out. Mr Bentley pays this* Was dori^ with eight bands "ia Australia, and the result was most impressive. To do the same thing with, thirty-five bands shiould be the spectacle of .a life-time. For the .Axemen's Garnrwal 6n. 'January 17th and 19th, a large number of entries have been received from Australian awd New Zealand champ-, ions. The Hon. J. E. *Jenbmson, in a concluding statement of his impressiori? of the Exhibition,, said- it- is 'Oer-ta-inly such as few of us, even ot middle age; can "ever to see aigain in this" cololiy.