NEW ZEALAND INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 29, 2 January 1884, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

The Exhibition lately held in Christel. urch, taken from a local point of view, may, it appears, be classed as a marked success; but the petty local jealousies of the people of other Provincial Districts tended, in a great measure, to detract from what might have bean a highly creditable Colonial display. It is passing strange, but no more strange than true, that many of the residents of the different Provincial Districts —in the South Island in particular—-look with suspicion, jealousy, and condemnation on any production that has not been propo- [ gated or brought forth by or under the supervision of one of their own “ clan ” —if we may use the term. In Dunedin in particular, the merits of a stranger are seldom appreciated, and, although a speculative spirit in the house-building line is a striking feature in the southern city, very little inducement is offered there for the carrying on of superior classes of industry. Certainly, the people, of Dunedin had their Exhibition; but, unfortunately, the right class of men could not be found to act as judges in the different classes, and most unjust decisions were, accordingly, given. The Dunedin show was, comparatively speaking, a failure, and the paltry, jealous, clannish spirit that permeates that community will not permit any great encouragement to be offered by the southerners to their rivals in the Cathedral City. The people of Canterbury are rather of a different class, and give credit where credit is due, — they feel a pride in encouraging the propogation and manufacture of anything that is good and useful, and it affords us much pleasure to find that their Industrial Exhibition, taken from a local point of view, has proved a success. To thoughtful and discerning persons there can be no question, we think, that Industrial Exhibitions have a great tendency to encourage the desire for improvement in various industries, and they should also — while creating a spirit of emulation — have the effect of bringing colonists from different districts together, to meet in a friendly manner, without a display of that detestable clannish spirit which is characteristic of South Otago. When Mr. Jovbekt first intimated his intention of making India his field in the Exhibition line, that gentleman was jeered at by very many of the wise-acres of this colony ; nevertheless, he proceeded on his worthy mission, and the speculation has turned out a marked success. Certainly, there is a little excuse for those of our fellow-colonists whose comprehensions are scarcely beyond the ordinary run of rough trade affairs ; for the reason that many of them—old hands in particular, who came from some small inland towns in the Old Country direct to New Zealand—• have seen nothing of the “ world ” at large, and not travelled sufficiently to cause the old-fashioned notions of their forefathers to be driven out of them. Many of the “ leading ” men—that is, those who came to the Colony in the early days and made money by their aptitude for that kind of occupation —of this Colony are only a few removes from boors, and the little advantages they have gained in intellectual improvement have been acquired through intercourse with better-edu-cated, more-intelligent, but poorer men. The old, uncultivated identities are not the class of colonists that are required to advance the interests of this truly favored land, —the rising generation, or that portion of them who possess a taste for things uncommon, united with men of intelligence who have travelled, are the levers that could raise this Colony to the social, moral, and intellectual level she should occupy, and to such men must we look for the encouragement necessary to make Industrial Exhibitions a success. Christchurch has, assuredly, been in the foreground in the institution of measures for the encouragement of intellectual advancement as well as a worthy spirit of emulation among' her artizans and

“City of the Plains' 1 we must, no doubt, look for some time yet for the propagation of such good work as cannot but have a tendency to improve the moral and intellectual condition of our fellow-colonists, Auckland has, certainly, been making vast strides during the last few years, and it may be calculated that she will, ere long, take a leading position in the Colonies. It may be presumed therefore, that the Northern city will rival Christchurch in her efforts for the encouragement of high-class local industries, and let us hope that an Industrial Exhibition of a most attractive character will bring the vast resources of the Northern part of this island under the notice of thousands of capitalists. We congratulate our j good friends of the “ City of the Plains" on the success of their Industrial Exhibition, and only hope that the people of the Northern part of this island will, ere long, make an effort to rival the display that has . lately attracted much attention in the , Cathedral City of Canterbury.