New Zealand Times. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4330, 4 February 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1875.

We make no apology for occupying this column to-day with a matter which principally interests a country afar oft, but in which, if’we do not take < an active part, we must at least feel a lively interest. We have alluded to the proposed celebration of the centenary of America by the holding ’of an International Industrial ’Exhibition, at Philadelphia, in 1876, and have urged upon the Government and the people of Now Zealand the propriety and the necessity—from a national point of view—of New Zealand being properly represented there on that occasion. Wei also had occasion to notice that doubts had been thrown, through a portion of the American Press, on the bona Jides of the projectors; and then again to observe, on the ' authority of another portion of that Press, that , those -doubts, if they ever had any foundation on fact, had been removed. We now return to the subject, less to urge once more the importance of New Zealand being properly represented in the capital of Pennsylvania on that occasion, than to place before our readers the latest information on the subject. , We have been favored by the American Consul,with.a,perusal of documents sent to him officially, and received by him yesterday by the San .Francisco mail. The fact that these papers came officially to the representative of the United States here, we take it, sufficiently disposes of any doubt that might still linger as to the character of the Exhibition in which we are invited to take our part. That being the case, we may proceed to say that it is proposed that the Exhibition shall be opened to celebrate the centenary of- American Independence, : in Philadelphia—the capital of the Quaker State—in 1876,- and that it shall be open for the six months between the 19th of April and the' 19th of October—those months embracing a portion of the spring, the l whole summer, and that’ “ Indian summer ” which marks the fall of the year in the United States. It is proposed that there shall be a main exhibition building, of enormous size, of which an engraving is before us. The structure greatly resembles that of the London Exhibition of 1851 —Sir Joseph Paxton’s marvel of iron and glass —with the exception that'three square towers take the place of the immense central dome. It is also proposed that Art shall find a home for the time in a special building, of considerable architectural pretentions ; while there will be other halls for machinery, "agriculture, and horticulture. These buildings will be separate, but at easy distance from each other, and the total floor space for exhibits will not be loss than forty acres ! The main building will be in-the form of a parallelogram, running east and west, and any of our readers who have been in Philadelphia will be able to.reoaU,tha site of the buildings when wo say-tliat they will be erected on Lansdovvno 'Plateau, close by Belmont and Elm Avenues. The main building will bo 1880 feet in, length, and 464 feet in width. Wo hoed not describe thq height of the floors, towers, &c., but proceed to state that the ground floor of this main building will cover 20'02 acres, the upper floors ‘BS acres, and the floors of the towers ‘6O acres, giving a total space of 930,008 feet, or 21‘47 acres. In the building there will be a central avenue: ;or nave,-120 feet in width and 1832 feet in length, and on eithersideavenuesoflOOft width, with aisles from24to4B feet wide. Thefoundationsare to be of masonry, the columns of iron, and the walls, for seven feet high from the ground, of timber framed in panels between the columns, and above the seven feet with glazed sash, portions of which will be moveable for ventilation. The art-gallery will be built on a slightly more commanding situation, about 122 feet above the level of the Schuylkill' river. Its style is to be the modern Rennaissance —the materials granite, iron, and glass. It will bo 365 feet in length, 210 feet in width, and 59 feet in height, with a dome over the centre, on the top of which will be placed a figure, representing Columbia rising with protecting hands, while at each corner of the base of the same there 1 will be a colossal figure representing one of-the four quarters, of the globe. So much for the building.

The object is—“ an exhibition of arts, “ manufactures, and produce of the soil “ and mine,” to join in which all Governments have been invited. Provision for ,the purpose was made by Congress so far back as 1873, a proclamation by the President having been published on the’ 4th of July of that year. The Commissioners appointed represent every State in the Union. ' The' president is J osbph R. Hawiot, of Connecticut; the' vice-presi-dents—A. T-Goshorst, of Ohio; Orestes Cleveland, of New Jersey;- Wm. M. Byrd, of Alabama; John D. Creioh, of California;- Robert Lowry, of Iowa; and Robert Mdllory, of Kentucky. The Director-General is Mr. Goshorn; and the Secretary, Mr. John L. Campbell, of Indiana. By the first day of the present month full diagrams were .to be prepared, showing the localities, space,. &c., proposed — subject to .revision —to be allotted to each nation or colonyh-'desiring to be represented;! ; By May the Director-General desires, to know, whether more or less space than was apportioned is desired ; and lie expects that by ; the Ist of December, 1875, those countries to which space has been allotted will be prepared with plans showing how it is to occupy.it. IJe are not •aware whether any communication has taken place with the: Director-General on the part of the Government of this colony,. If there has, it is well; if there has not, then any of the manufacturers or producers in this colony, who desire to be represented in Philadelphia on this remarkable occasion, will have to place themselves under the wing of Victoria or New South Wales—both of those colonies, wo know, having taken care that they shall hold a place in this great All World’s gathering of industries and arts—for applications for apace will not be received from private individuals. No duties will be levied by the Customs authorities on any goods forwarded for exhibition, and bonded at any one of thirteen principal'portn named, unless they are entered for consumption ih j the States. Exhibitors must forward their exhibits and arrange dhonv at,: their own expense, aiid the reception of goods will commence on the first day of 1876

and terminate on the 31st of March, so as to give at : least a clear fortnight for placing them in order. The catalogues will be published in English, French, German, and Spanish ; and the exhibits will be catalogued thus Raw materials —mineral, vegetable, and animal; materials and manufactures used for food, or in the arts, the. result of extractive or combining processes ; textile, and felted fabrics—apparel,; costumes, 1 . and ornaments for the person ; furniture, and manufactures of general use in construction arid in dwellings ; tools, implements, machines, and processes ; motors and transportation ; apparatus and methods for the increase and diffusion of knowledge ; engineering, public works, architecture, &c.; plastic and graphic arts; and objects illustrating efforts for the improvement of the physical, intellectual, and moral condition of man.

These, then, are the objects and leading arrangements of the forthcoming Centennial Industrial Exhibition in America next year. So little has been done by the Government, so far as the public are aware, to have New Zealand advantageously represented in the great World’s Show in America, that we lie under the impression that the’colony will only be made remarkable there by the absence of anything to show that such a country as New Zealand exists. This, we must say, is greatly to be regretted. There is still time, .however,, for individual effort—if not through our own, at least through another Colonial Government; and we have no doubt that the American Consul in Wellington will be only-too happy,’in such a case, to give every information, and lend every assistance, in his power. .