THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 475, 11 February 1881, Page 2

THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

(By Gaknet Walcii.)

There are many grievances in connection with the Exhibition. The favoritism shown to certain official .-employes ; tha want of proper classification in various departments ; ■ the . inadequacy of the refreshment arrangements ; the partial failure of the great organ ; the hideous inappropriateneßs of the'fountain. ; these are evils to which I have already alluded. But there is one literally crying shaino, regarding which I have kept silent until constantly accumulating proofs force me to lay the matter before the public. I allude to the salo and removal of jewellery exhibits from tho building, to the great detriment of the trade generally, and our jewellers in particular. Seised of the facts of the cape, having myself tested the truth of the main points of- the grievance, I am not dealing with any mere hearsay mattors, but with those accompanied by substantial proof. It appears, then, that the jewellers of Melbourne, finding that their rights were being infringed by the number of so-called exhibitors, complained of this shortly after the opening of the Exhibition, and formed themselves inio an association to endoavor to procure conjointly the justice denied to individuals. They ascertained beyond all doubt that large quantities of jewellery, much of it of the Brummagem sort, were being foisted upon the, public nt prices higher than better articles could be procured for at Melbourne establishments, that buyers were being swamped with all kinds oi inferior stuff, and tho sale of genuine goods materially interfered with. They had no objection to the sale in the building of first-class articles, or even of the less artistic, not to say semi-worthless, stuff, provided the said.articles remained in tho Exhibition until its close. And here it is but right to pay that the leading firms, British. German, American, French, and G>!onial, have, never given. cnnße for complaint; but that a lot of petty hucksters fcliould <iriv« a ronring trade, aiil be allowed to deliver their goods foilhwith, was palpably an injury to the local trade, a misapplication of the uses for which the Exhibition is intended. A meeting of the leading jewellers of Melbourne was accordingly lield. resolutions passed, and theSccrefary.Mr Viii'-ent J. \VlHis, directed i<. write to the Commissioners. This lie aecording'y did, nnd eventually recu'ved a reply to the effect that licences had been issued to certain exhibitors giving them the rijrht of selling and delivering "souvenirs" of the Exhibition, such right being" supposed to extend only to a few special nrticlcs not. made or generally obtainable in Victoria. Some little show was made of restraining tho hucksters in their traffic, hut these wily gentlemen had not trnvellf-d fifteen thousand miles to liv baulked of their prey. They incontinently pet to work; bad boxes mndf, nnd earh. label led '-Souvenir of the Melbourne Exhibition, 1, -nnd time set the injured jewellers at defiance. At the present time the "little gnnie." impudently is being tnerrily carried on under the noses of the Commissioners, nnd; protected by the inertness—not to use a harsher term—of the authorities, the peddlers , in mosaics, cameos. Articles <h Paris, and wh»t not. lniigh at the re'inons!r.m<o< f f legitimate traders. Now all this is surely very wrong. Here we have a number of respectable tradesmen, paying heavy rent, contributing their share to the by-no-niearis feather-light taxes of the colony, and employing a large number of bands l:oth ns artisans and shopmen; we find. T sny, Mi esc good fellow-

citizens of onr>, subjected to annoyance

provocation, and actual loss ; while, on the other hand, a flock of birds of-passage of somewhat. doubtful feather are picking tip the crumbs that go to promote the welfare, if not even to the necessary cxi tence of the rightful tenants of the homestead. Why we choulri import cuckoos to usurp our

nests is an ornith-logical puzzle which I, for one, cannot solre. Is it possible that during his visits to Europe the lietitled, indefatigable, urbane, all-things-to-ail-nien secretary promised

these objectionable privileges to these intelligent—not to say astute—foreigners ? , Did he, in his anxiety to secure a number of exhibitors, sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity? Did he, in effect, say to the curio-mongers of the Palais Royal of Florence, Venice, and other hot-beds of spurious art— ' Come to Melbourne, gentle- *J| men ; come to our Exhibition, and I promise you a field of operations wider than you have ever hitherto enjoyed. No more lying-in-wait for chance travellers with more money than brains. No more need to consign parcels ot' goods to the Antipodes to be sold as ' Enormous Sacrifices 'in the colonial auction marts. Wo

will provide you customers in shoals. Wβ will round up (lie game ; n-e will set bait, 41k and help you to spring your traps. You shall be ridi beyond the dreams of avarice. Only come, do come, and help me to make the Exhibition a eticcesvft, stepping stone to still further successes hi the same line. * "" Come gentlemen, have no fear, I am tho

great I Am, and at my beck all the Coin-

imssionere obey!" Is it pnfs'ble that the C.M.G. spoke time, or used wjrds lo that effect ? 1 trust not.

Yet bow account for this fearful influx of

niekisterH ; this sorry tampering with eyitunnte trade ? It is not for me to

peer behind the scenes and piy into the (r-cprcts connected wilh the "getting up"

of. such gigantic enterprises as Natiotm Exhibitions ; my province is simply to cr tbiso results, and, criticis'rig results in tho present instance, lean only say tint a shameful wrong lms been porpHrtted upon a particular class, and the sooner that wrong is righted the better for all concerned. I wait and watch.