EXHIBITION CRITICS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1981, 11 February 1914, Page 8

EXHIBITION CRITICS.

; AN INTERESTING. DISCUSSION. A meeting of u iho general committoo of thfi. Wellington; Provincial Industrial Association was held, last evening. Mr. 0. B. Norwood presided. Mr. J. B. : Cameron, president of' the Canterbury Association,. wa,s present, .'and .was heartily welcomed to tho. meeting. Mr. H. J\ Allan,, the secretary, repotted thai he had recently visited tho . Auckland Exhibition. ' He stated, that there seemed to hp no doubt about the! Exhibition bcisg a financial success. Crowds of peoplo attended, but mostly to fee tho sights and hear tlm band. Some of the exhibitors complained bitterly <jf the lack of bris'iness: Some had even left, and their spaco had been relot. .He thought himself, and his opinion was supported by others, who had boon there, that as an exhibition tho Auckland show was in no way superior to. that held in Wsl.liiigton in 1911. There was a marked absense of moving machinery in tho Auckland Exhibition. Tho Government .bad apparently been very liberal to: the Exhibition authorities, muish n.ioro liberal than tho Government of that day had besn to tho Wellington Exhibition in 1911. At Auckland ho .felt very proud of tho Wellington exhibits, which were, in his opinion., exceedingly good. The chairman said ho also had visited the Exhibition, and- lie had thought it » credit to a city of tho sizo of Auck" land. The failuro of tho Auckland authorities,,' however, .to use tho sido shows and make tho Exhibition itself tho centre ■ of attraction, would be a lesson to the Wellington Association if they ever ran an exhibition. The isolating of the side' shows ill Auckland and their separation from the central Exhibition building, had had the effect of. diverting tho attention of visitors from tho show. \ Mr. Allan added that tho effort seemed to be to boom tho fair or carnival sido of tho business, in advertisements find otherwise, and to give no. prftinkienee.to tho Extiibition. Ho held that tho exhibitors should he tho first people to have consideration, but they liad been, absolutely neglectcd. Mr, Switoii said that everything lie : had heard' about tie. Exhibition ronvincfid. him _ that' exhibitions siich" as wero held in .2s T ew Zealand, without amusements, were iust 1 about' played out. In, No«r Zealand exhibitions 'the stalls were very much iilco shops. What should be insisted upon was that all exhibitors should show some running machinery, nttd possiblo stim® : facturcs ill progress. It should also bo arranged that peoplo would havo to pass through tho exhibits before reaching plates of amusement.