The Star. THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1886.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5611, 6 May 1886, Page 2

The Star. THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1886.

Of Wobldwide miroETANCE and interest is the magnificent ceremonial of Tuesday morning, which marked the opening in London (on a site of many Exhibition memories) of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. Five-and-thirty years ago, many of us saw the realisation of the late j Prince Consort's brilliant initiatory scheme, | when the Nations engaged in those " fruitful strifes and rivalries of pnace " which have since become so frequent, so potent in the development of the whole range of Manufactures, and so mighty as aids to th« advancement of the Arts and the Sciences. Five-and-thirty years ago, the Australasian i Colonies were a misty conception. To-day j they are stalwart Sons of the Mother Country; and Her Majesty, who in the course of the three decades has with the deepest interest watched the development of her territories, and has acquired the new title of Empress-Queen, has the satisfaction of presiding over a ceremonial whereat these Sons, reared in converse seasons, are the observed of all observers. For us, the interest of the occasion is intensified. The Australasian Colonies have already won for themselves name and fame, and in this Exhibition they make formal claim for acknowment. With the laudable desiro for pride of place, there is the ambition for supremacy in those peaceful rivalries ; and it is to the special advantages they possess in many ways that they now particularly draw attention. That the Queen's fervent hope for a strengthening of tho bonds of union will in a large measure bo brought about by the Colonial and Indian Exhibition we have not the remotest doubt. Nor have we any doubt that the great gathering — the crowning glory of a five-and-thirty years' Exhibition history — will tend to the realisation of the Laureate's lofty aspirations for "One life, one flag, one fleet, one throne."