NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION, 1865.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 46, 22 February 1864, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION, 1865.

LAYING-. THE COKJ7EK-STONE AT DTJNEDIN. (Abridged from the Daily Times, of Feb. IS ) The corner-stone of the building intended I to be used for the purposes of the New Zealand Exhibition, 1865, was yesterday laid Avith masonic honors, by the hon. Jolm Hyde Harris, Esq., M.L.C., Superintendent of the Province, President of the Royal Commission and a member of the Ancient Order of Freemasons. , - \ The day was kept as a public holiday in the offices of the departments of the General and Provincial Governments ; and also by merchants, traders and. tlie public generally. The trades had been specially invited to take part in the procession to the site, of the building in Great King-street ; and as: it was known that most of them, as aa-cll as the different orders, etc., had been for a week or tyro making preparations for an effective display, thero Avas great anxiety as to tho degree of success Avhich would attend tliis, tho first ..'effort; -"of the Mnd in tho Province to make a united, yet distanctive, public demonstration. The spirited manner in .which the

trades responded to the appeal of the Roy&l Commissioners, that they j\yotdd manifest upon the first public occasion their interest in an undertaking which can only be made a benefit to the whole i Colony,' and a credit |o the Province? hi wliich it has been initiated, by the co-operation of all, gave satisfactory assurance: from the first that the procession would bea respectable one. But we doubt if any person hoped to see so numerous or so varied a representative body as that which came, together yesterday ; or one which should he so gay -froih the banners, flags, models, and-; devices borne, the rosettes, sashes, and insignia worn, or the truly healthful and hopeful spirit of the thousands of members. The procession was, indeed, a. grbat success ; andx while it differed from the one which walked through the city to the Botanical Gardens' Beserve on the 30th June last, -when - His Honor planted two young oaks in celebration of the marriage of His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales ; • its superiority was equal in degree to its difference from its predecessors, most creditable as the latter was, as .a ; first attempt at anythingof the sdrtin the Province. The morning was beautifully fine-— a bright blue sky, -warm sun, and hut little -wind; so ' that; there was scarcely .any annoyahbe fromthat great pest, dust. About half-past ono o'clock, while the procession was en route, the sun's rays became somewhat oppressively hot; and black, louring clouds away to the N-W. portended a thunder storm.. But, happily, .hone occurred ; and although the sky became overcast, it was more pleasant during V the ceremony, when so many people were so closely packed, than if. the brightness of the morning had remained undimmed. ->V The Recreation-ground; was selected as the place of. muster. Mr. Jones /invited all who intended to join the procession to come as early as they pleased and watch the Cricket Match between the All-England Eleven and a picked Twenty-Two of Otago ; and similarly, the ground Avas throAvn open after tile ceremony iii "Great Khig-street was . oyer.;. The j space . between the posts and chains forming ; the cricket Enclosure and the V. palings, afforded ample and most convenient room for Vthe assemblage and ' marshalling ; and large /placards the palings - indicated the point at which each ta*ade, order, &c, was ;to take its stands. These placards were some aid to Mr. Milner, the Marshall, and ; Mr. Joseph Mills, who assisted ; but they were nevertheless busily and well occupied, from the time ofthe first arrival^ before twelves o'clock, until after one o'clock, when the start was effected. Some of the school children were about the first tp arrive, followed closely by the bricklayers. The Volunteers were punctual to the appointed time, 12.30, as were also the members of the Horticultural Society ; and the " "Workers in Iron " came soon "after, attracting .a good deal of notice by .their effective " turn-out," in the matter of models ami tools, as well as banners. The Typographical Association came on to the ground minus one very attractive part of their display — tho printing-press, in a gaily decorated van ; but it arrived before the time for starting. -'-.' The pro cession moved out of the cricket enclosure aed left the Recreation. Ground by the foot bridge leading into the Cavershain Eoad. Police-officers were .placed at points throughout the long length . of the procession, to keep the line of march;' and the Commissioner of Police, who had assisted .in the marshalling, Avas in commadd of the force. The shrill heartiness with which the school children cheered, Avheu they had been 'set in motion, was both amusing and infectious; and the cheers were repeated by the groups of spectators clustered between the Grround and the foot of Princes-street. In this street there was a goodly display of bunting, as tliere Avas also in other parts, through which the procession did not pass. The windows of hotels, stores, and private dwellings were crowded Avith spectators, mostly ladies ; and there was abundant waving of hahkerchiefs and of cheering, as the procession' moved at times very sloAvly along. In the Octagon .there was a great crowd of spectators. The . procession stretched from below the Imperial | Hotel to some distance doAvn George street ; and the- plateau of the Octagon j formed a sort of vantage ground, whence i the procession could be seen both in Princess- ! street north and George-street, as well as during its wind round the Octagon. . The sight Avas raally a striking one— from .the | length of the moving line, and the number j and freshness — nearly all of them liad been [ specially prepared — of the flags and banners j that Avaved cheerily aloft. A body bf Ereemasons, including the Otago EilAviniiing Lsdge, had formed into the procession when it reached the junction of Manse-street -with Princes-street, and they kept their place until the junction of Hanover-street and G-eorge-street, when they -filed" doAvn the latter street, and joined the English lodges, which do not hold dispensations authorising them to walk in procession. Brethren who had been walking (uot in costume) with trades or bodies,; also fell out at tliis point, and proceeded to a building near the site which had been set aj>art for the use of the order. The main body of the procession continued along' George-street to Frederick street, and passing. doAvn tho latter, entered King-street . and passed into the ground. All the scaffolding poles surrounding the | stone basement of the building were surmounted by flags, so that the site looked quite gay. The massive loav walls afforded good stand-points for a large number of men; andthe great heaps of bricks on the ground afforded rather precarious sitting room for many of the more venturesome, to whom the slipping of a tier was of no other consequence than to cause a laugh. There were placards indicating AA-here each component part of the procession Aras to take up -position; and they obeyed the directions as speedily as possible. But the " general public" either thought the enclosure too small, or saw others more eligible ; and so its members gradually encroached upon the reserves for consuls and commissioners, Toaati Board and Provincial Government. The school children made raids fipon sacred ground, most persistently ; and between "general public "and children, the police, the marshalls, the architect (Mr. W. Mason), and the contractors (Messrs. Comwell and Horsman), and their men, had more than they could manage to clear ground for the bodies appointed to occupy it. It may be safely asserted that there is no public ceremony which in itself offers so little as a mere sight— the associations are quite another matter— as the laying of a ■ corner or foundation stone ; and Avith. equal certainty may it be asserted that there is none at Which the "general public" more regularly or determinedly upsets all regulations. We have been present aY more than' half a hundred such ceremonies, and we never saw it conducted other than in the centre of a squeeze which prevented any body seeing anything. So, if the same result Avas achieved yesterday, ho. more was done thanhas been done constantly in England upon all sorts of occasions, and under the mosfc varied auspices. It must be admitted thatthere was a squeeze around the stone yesterday ; and that it caused some grumblings. But no one Avho AA-as hi the centre of it could fail to recognise that it happened, despite the best exertions of thoseln authority ; and that even had the police been massed, so as forcibly lo shoulder out intruders at one point, the result would only, have been a worse intrusion at some point. The croAvd Avas tvidy great at this moment — great for Dunediu, at least, for there must have heen from SOOO to 10,000 parsons presons present on and around the site. Tho laying of tho stone, 'with the accompanying deposit of doouments, kc, and the delivery of speeches, passed off factorily.