FULLER ACCOUNT OF THE OPENING DAY. FAILURE OF THE NEW ZEALAND MINING EXHIBITS. WHAT OUR EXHIBITS CONSIST OF. TWENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE IN COLLINS-STREET. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 290, 15 August 1888, Page 4

FULLER ACCOUNT OF THE OPENING DAY. FAILURE OF THE NEW ZEALAND MINING EXHIBITS. WHAT OUR EXHIBITS CONSIST OF. TWENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE IN COLLINS-STREET. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

I jMubuounNK, August, 7. I o friump/u, Molbournc has been hinging to } a tune indeed, in which all and sundry joined in the giand chorus. No matter what the antecedents or what the penalty, certainly Melbourne has never .seen such a day at that of "Wednesday last— ncvei opened her ai nib to such a horde ot strangcif-, distinguished and otherwise — never displayed her uehne&s, her greatness, and hor wealth so ro\ ally — never known the tumult, the excitement, the emulation, and tho display of Wednesday laot. The two groaMunolions were the piocession through the city, and afterwards the formal opening of tho Exhibition. It was my duty to witness both. The former L viewed from the " Ai'Ljuh " office, a convenient site for such a purpo.se, and then having a hansom in attendance, dashed out by the back way and lound by Flindoio Lane and 1 Richmond to avoidtho eiowd, auivin» at the livliibition building juftb ci minute too soon to be hhub out. Fiom my postm Collins-htrcct, notliiny but a suigin^ m;i^s of people was visible up and down, cleft in twain a.s though by a tin ii libbon, wheic the police kept the faiiway clear ioi tho piuces.^ion. 'LMicie must ha\c been 20,000 people in Collins-hl i eet alone, and they waited with cxcinplaty l)atiencc iiom 10 o'clock till 12, when the l)roccssion commenced to hie past. Fiist a tioop oi the Mounted Jvifie-s; and then the Gubernatorial party: then mote nnlitmy : Lhon the Cio biiga'Jcs ; then the tiadc-> nnistei ; then the tompciancc foiccn of the colony— '/ rolla lout.

THE CROWD _\T THE EXHIBITION bUILI>IN(J. The pi occasion took a little over Ihicc-quaitcr-ofanhom topash thc"Ar<ju.s" olhcc, but- ib must be untlcisLoorl th.it must of the mili tai v contingent a\.is colleetccl loutul a;.d about Ihe Exhibition building iUcll. A^l clashed up, tlio fright was ically imposing. An immense eiowd liacl assembled aljout the ontianee and alont; tlic loadway -hiich a .sea of people that it lemindcd me of a London eioud -die militaiy maiincs and »ailois fiom the licet wero diawn up in niililaij an ay- and dcafeninn pheerrf were beiiiq; lo.ucd onl by 10,000 \oices a-? the tio\unmont llou^e pai ty cnteicd the building 1 Loudh Uien (lie trumpets braj , (}»nlj ban^ the soiindnis? babscs , As on its (liumpluil \\ay Tlie icyal pi'OLCSsion pa&bcs

ENTRANCE OF TIIK VICE 1 1 lie: AL procession. Air Lava Lei told me theic wcie 30,00^ people iiibide the Inhibition —and I belicv o him. 1 was. )u^b in Lime bo Lhe Vice Regal pioec-Mon enlcr the (Irand Hall, the National being rendcicd by the oigan and full orchekliu, and thecolouis being dipped. The (iovernor and Jiir, party then ascended Lhe wiiacd daifc, othci notabilities forming the pioce&sion cook their scat.-? on (ho plattonn behind, and the pioceedings opened. It wa,i a bidliant .scene, and little n& I caio to bo impressed by such empty displays, I could not help feeling a glow cf piidc at the thought that all or it was but the outcome ot our colony'^ c;io\\in<4 and importance. E\cry hole and corner, e\ciy a\enueand nalleiy, tier abo\n tier, ua.s o\CLllowin<^. Fiom the A'icc Royal daif, with itb niby han^inot, hinged with gold, lip to the dome windows was to bo seen a \aiied nnifc.-. of cclouiinff. Near the C!o\ernorand hcatteied about the Hall watj a liot bod oi military, naval, andcivilunifouns. Two bankft ol female forms-, with bashes of i blue and caidinal, tilled up the space in j fiontof the oigan — the ehoius 800 &Uon^. The oichcstia of 66 neai by, -with the &nn's ray^ glinting their insti umcnU — the detachment of ti oop^, the gay dieos-c-D of the ladie-i m the gallciie 1 -, the pai tciic-like aspect of the east md west nave and the noithein transept, the niin£>ling ot blue, icd, grey, scailet and gold, all helped to form a pictiuc <ie once unique, inipic&sive, and picUuG^quc.

THE CEHEiMONY A DULL AFFAIR. Tmtli to tell, though, bhecci cmony lt&clt A\a,s any thing bub entertaining. I was? lucky enough to escape the long tedious wait ot ''iHQ houift iuo;>t ot Ihe f>pectatoi\s had to undergo, but dc-pite that 1 was teifibly boi ed with the pioceeding? The hist glance lound was pleasant enough, for as I| Jia\o said the <ou/> tl'ii d was magnificent, but after 1 had had time to take in all the details, I found little else to do. ]t -\v.is wretchedly cold inside the building, and most of what took place was guile inaudible. A long address was. made by Sir James JMcßain and a reply made by Sir Henry, but what it -was all about nobody in the eicnul knew exactly until they read itnoxtday in the " Aigius" or "Age." The music and .singing wcie welcome interpolations. The "Old Hundicth," which followed the National Anthem, .sounded bo me both guuid and solemn, given with tull jiowoi by organ and orchcbfcia, and CowenS o\\ n composition, the "Song of Thanksgiving," \\ tit ten es£)ecially by him for the inauguration, was beautitully and even touchiugly 1 rcndeied by the chorus. Yes, the musical part ot the piogiamme was a treat, but the rest of it -was not very cntcitainino, and by the time it wa& all over oveiybody was unuttciably wciry, cold and hungry. I was hitting iicxt to the editor of one ot our I dailies, pcihaps the greatest liteiary gun in Melbourne, and I ovei heard his witc say to him, "Oh, isn't it impressive V "Impressive?" he answered with a giunt. "Oppressive, 1 call it."

iTIJE PRACTICAL SIDE TO THE j EXHIBITION. Panmiam in loco uri/lif/cn maximum c.s' lucrum — quoted one of the Exhibition commis&ioneis to me, when 1 asked him after the Show was all over — ctii hono ? "To spend money fieely on pioper occasions is the greatest gain," said he, and it may be so for all I know. I hope it will do the colony good. I think it will, for looking back, surely the six wo have already had have done their part in the work of Victorian advancement. I would like to havo scon tho country, tho_ provinces, taking a more active part in the colebrabionfc, for it scorned to mo that most of those concerned were of the city. Howover, that i& nothing if good comes ol: it. It ought to give us bold and wide advertisement, for a press friend reckoned out to me that detailed accounts of the proceedings would appear in no loss than eight hundred to one thousand newspapers thioughout the world. I oveihcaid Lord Carrington wittily describe tho Exhibition as " the world under a glass case," and it really is so. Victoria has waved her wand, and every civilised nation has responded to the call and come forward with j specimens of her wealth. Surely this |

bhoulcl be a tource of pride to in, and help us on further by example. Said Sir William Clnrko to his caterer when ordering for the lirsb cf his Exhibition gaieties, last week, "(Jet the very bc&t supper you can spread for fourteen hundred, and I don't Avant to see or hear irom you until you bend in the bill," and something .similar to this McJbourno Iris been doing. We have been sparing no expense and reckoning up no cost — hoping, knowing tho le&ulbs will atone. So may it be — say all ot im, and ho amid piospority and advancement and incieaso. with good hopo and fair interest, Avitho\cry inccntivo to .success and piolit, tho Melbourne Centennial Exhibition — the .seventh ot its kind — it> launched on itb way to run its bhort journey of a few months.

THE NEW ZEALAND M1N1N(! EXHIBIT. The mineial display in. tho New Zealand Court ib a pronounced failure, and it has been placed in a .subordinutcpuaition to lc-.s impoitanb thing* Alter the unhciual outcry m Now Zealand in regard to a .similar mistake which a\ ab made at tho Colonial Exhibition, London, it wad bcarcely to be expected that so important an indiibtiy as mining would have boon neglected, considering that gold alone has added lortylive millions ,s telling to the products? of New Zealand. Koiemost in tho displays of New South Wales, T.'ismanmn, and (Queensland Coiut.s are massive and imposing cciiliccs of quartz and bullion, 1 eared up in \aiiout impressive forms, and in so clloctno a manner :\< to convey the impic.s.sion that these .'i:e gicat mincial countiieb; but on entcting the Now Zealand Com!, one hub to g rope about for .some time befoio ob-civing any thing in the way ol mmetal exhibits, and then nothing buiheient to coin ey tho idea that Now Zealand a.s a eold-pioducing colony stands second to Victoiia. Tho bhow made by the latter is splendid, as iniuhl be anticijxiled ; tlie only buipiif-o ih that tlic .second best j^olrl-pn^lut'in^ colony should be cast into the shade by Tn.smcLnia.ii and othci distiicts, which, though lining [)0oi ci pa^t i coords, make p;iandcr disjpl,iy.s. Thcii colo&^.il gioup^ of mincKiLs and mineial oic indicate .lie jricab i' nd pcinitincnL natmc ot the i celinjr system ot tlic-^c colomcf-, Inch, how e\ ci , cannot lie licher nor jjicatci than the icolin<4 svalom ot tho Now Zealand field-, juduiny: b_) tlic ]>io\cd ot tho'-e ahcady opened ui> The lich mineral mn^cs tti iking tlnough the Noi tli Ibiand oflci as pioinisinjr a licld toi the e\ploicr and the pio^pcctor as anything in Austialia, jet the New Zealand eonnni-bion have cllectually hidthc«ioldfiolds lnteicsLs fiom public notice. E\cn the stale " obcli-k "' elected outoide liii.s no label on it to sijxniiy what it lepiesenls; it is quite npait fiom the ie&< ot the bciniplce-, and being next to the (Queensland quai t/ exhibit-, is leuarded as "pait ot the (JucciK-land show. At tho base ot the obelisk theie ir> a glass tate (empty). \\ hen tlic specimLiis aie placed ihetein and a caul alhxed, it will h.nc the eflcctot bhowiny thattnis doe^ not belong to tho Queensland Court, though tho lattci court has '>ucli a magnificent display they aie independent of our aid.

XATUKC OF Tin: EXHIBITS. The question will bo a->Ued by Auckland people : \\ hat i 1i 1 - exhibited piominenth , it nol our mi no rait- 7 In leply, it should be stated thai theic vic fine exhibits by companies, Southern niLcicsth being in Lho ascendancy as icgaids piocned mcatt>, woollen iacLory display.-, <\c. The woik done to icpicscnt tbc colony ih ;-o tar of but little interest to Auckland. In Tu.smu.inan ar.d obhet couils, a^ pic\ iou&ly noted, the ccn ti alabti act ions aie then miiieiul exhibit*, but in the Now Zealand Com t such piactical c\idenecs of a country's wealth aie perhaps thought of too plebeian a chaiactei — too buMnchß-hke, pcihap? --s>o our mincialsaic ■-cut to the rear, and take a back scat, and in -lead ol an impo^in^ edinco built up of blocks of quait/, like othei colonicb t<how, we ha\c, a^ a cential ob]cct, the sicklylooking, played out Maoii cai\ed hou^e, with an ctlcnuiiafc fcmciy mii i oundinrr the uj^ly JNJaoii ligtucb, the entiie pioduction conveying the imptc-^ion that K ew Zealand i-s still \ciy much " Maoi i-land " — a century behind the a^e, »nd if the colony if to be indeed by the prei-cnt mincial c\hibit.s of New Zealand, " it is two ccntiuie-3 behind the age,' m bile an adjacent exhibit of " footprints ot moil's fpet '" server .still tuithcr to conlum the feeling that an at tcin[)t has been made to pioducc a museum instead of a brilliant and piolitablc exhibition ot the itch mineral products of a oieab count! y like Nc\\ Zealand. Tlieici~> ccitainlyno ob]cction to exhibits of jYlaoii lite and chaiaclcr, buth-uch should be seconda.iv to the indu.sliinl intciest of the colon}'. ]\Joa'b loolpiinls, JMaoiicaninrfb and ferns v. ill not excite capitalibts to in\rst, but evidence. 1 - ot cold pioducinj* 1 rects will, and the exhibits of the aurifeious and other mineral ranges ot the colony should have been afir.it and picmici cllorb.

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY. Another <jrac and a n/ial featmc of the New Zealand Court it> the Midland Railway, ingeniously introduced through the medium of huge slabs and junkb ot cjicen, eoai.se - looking, unpolished limber, and though a. notice could not he Hxcd on the obelisk adjoining the (Jueen&land Com I, thcic is a big, startling pkieaul on tlie irreat aichway ol timber erected on behalf of the Midland Railway, thus showing that though ccieafc lionblc and cjvpciibc linb been incuricd, it liab not been bestow ud on e\ idonccb of the colony'^ niincial wealth, but on moie local concerns.

THIS IS A SPECULATIVE AUK, ;nul the Exhibition is held ;unid a speculative community, and a dazzling show should ' bo made of the gold and mlvci -bearing quartz of ISTcw Zealand, keeping pace with the other colonies in theii ellorts to s-ccuic the assistance of enterprising and wealthy mining speculators. The mincial lands: ot the colony .should have been represented by huge mounds of its treasures-, assurances of thefuturcwcalthandstabilityof 0111 countiy. I Unfortunately, the mineral wealth of the i Ciown lands of the colony has. been subordinated Lo more provincial and per- | soiuil concerns. If this has _ been done an private expcn&o, all light-; but if at the expense ot the colony, then it N not so justifiable. At thio stage ib io dilliculb to suggest the best step to take to retrieve the mi&takc already made, for ib does not seem altogether advisable to begin copying the columns and structures of quaitz erected at other court*. 1 think the most cfVcctivo step would bo to forward a few tons from rich Coromandol reefs, like some I learn is now in hand, worth many ounces per ton on the average- This treated and the result exhibited, and the ccrtiJicate.s published, would at any rate show what the lodes will actually produce. Mr J. 31. Withcfojd, of Auckland, is at present here, and has been exerting himself to secure an improvement in the New Zealand mining exhibits- I understand that he waited upon Dr. Hector, who told him that there was no money lett to increase the mincial display, the vote for tho Exhibition being exhausted. Mr Witheford then addressed a letter to Sir TI. A. Atkinson offering to contribute £100 towards a more effective display, which he suggested should take the novel form of shipping a few tons

of rich Coromandol quartz and crushing ib on the spot. It is sincerely to be hoped lhat this biigge&tion, which is an admirable one, will be adopted. It would be a thousand pities ii Now Zealand failed to take full advantage of the splendid advertisement of her resources which this Exhibition would trive her at a comparatively small cost to the colony. Mr Alexander Saundert., shaiebrokcr, of Auckland, is here, and he agnees with all piaclical New Zealanders in condemning the wretched display of New Zealand's, mineral ie.-ourceh. There aieno two opinions about it among mining men who ha\e examined the collection. The old mistake lias been repeated of making the court too much of ci museum and too little of a practical business display which will at once arrest the cyo and become a good advertisement foi the colony.