EXHIBITION GOSSIP. (BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) Melbourne, September 4. THE NEW ZEALAND COURT.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 298, 12 September 1888, Page 3

EXHIBITION GOSSIP. (BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) Melbourne, September 4. THE NEW ZEALAND COURT.

jj Thehb can be no doubt, whatever that the 11 Now Zealand Court is a, source of dicip- ■> pointment to lho.se who have vi&ited it. The advantage to bo gained trom a display % of manufactures may not be very great, but .1 the importance ot a complete representation s of our natuial produces is, obvious. The j main point of difference between the 3 New Zealand Court and the courts, of 1 the other colonies is this, they have I shown their ores, coals, and timber j [n bulk in the manner most calcuj lated to strike the eye and impress the £ beholder. Immense columns ot coal, pyra1 mids of gold-bearing quart/, and silver, t copper, tin, and other ore?, and aichways 1 of timber rise to a groat hoight, and form 1 attractive features in the courts. One is ' struck with admiration by the evidences of 7 wonderful natural resources, which are 5 shown in their most striking form. Jn the 5 New Zealand Court, on the other hand, our 1 ore"? are represented by specimens, labelled i and displayed in show-cases. There is an > admirable gold obelisk at the entrance to I the court, with a show-case of gold spoci1 metis set into the base. This represents very fairly the quantity of gold taken trom 1 the' Thames since 1857. The geological specimens in the show-cases are very varied 1 and complete : but to the mind or eye of the ordinary spectator they afford no idea of the extent of our mining industry. It , is the same with our timber exhibits. Thore arealargenumberof polished slabs arranged throughout the court, but having done duty at previous exhibitions they are cracked, and present anything but a beautiful ap pea ranee. The Midland Railway Company has a \ery good exhibit of Southern timber, but the kauri is practically out in the cold. The bark of a kauri tree has, however, been erected in front of the court to represent a 26 • teet log, and outside it is a slab cut from a tree about nine feet in diameter. Thei c are some really beautiful exhibits of turniouro and other woodwaie, but the timber in the rough is ceitainly not as fully represented ah it might be. The same remark applies with still greater force to the coal exhibits at the rear of the court. The Brunner Coal Company has a veiy good exhibit, consisting of a pyramid of coal and coke in the centre of the section set apart for this class. Bay of Islands j Coal Company is represented by a sack of | very unpromi&ing-looking coal shown in a • box, and Kamo mine has no exhibit at all. The. Kaitangata, Coal Creek and Westport collieries are all lepresented by small mounds of coal, and Waikato Company shows one large block. The first idea that would arise to the mind of an ordinal y observer is that while coal is plentiful in the other colonies, it is so far undeveloped in New Zealand that we are only able to send specimens of discoveries made in different parts of the colony. All this is very unsatisfactory to New Zealandeis who take a pride in enlarging on the wonderful mineial and other resources of their country, and there aie many such here. The mistake has been made in failing to follow the example of the other colonies, and exhibiting in bulk instead ot by means of specimens. It if- scarcely fair to blame the Executive Commissioners and the Secretary for the evident failure of the court. 'While the means at their disposal have been very limited, the other colonies have gone to very great ex pens-e in obtaining, and especially in displaying, their exhibits. The very best appears to have been done with the money available. but New Zealand can scarcely expect for three or tour thousand pounds what is costing another colony fifteen or twenty thousand. The respective picture galleries of New South Wales and New Zealand may be cited as? an illustration of the bettei display afforded by greater means. The New South Wales pictures are hung in a splendid court, which is carpeted and has partition walls of some considerable height. The New Zealand pictures, on the other hand, are shown on a low screen wall, wheie they are seen at a disadvantage when compared with the New South Wales paintings. They, howexer, torm a most attractive feature in the court. Great taste has been displayed with the hanging and arrangement of our paintings and other works of art, but the sunoundings are wretched, and reflect no credit on the colony. The Executive Commissioners and Secretary have really done wonders with the means at their disposal, but these means have been so limited that it i« an opeu question whether New Zealand would not have been better left unrepresented, than that the display should have been such a poorly representative one. Some of the other exhibits from New Zealand are individually of very great merit. These include the Mosgiel Woollen Factory's exhibits of woollen and other goods, the gum exhibits of E. Mitchelson & Co., candles manufactured m the South, and furniture from various parts of the colony. I shall give your readers a detailed account of the principal exhibits in the New Zealand Court in future letters. There is no lack of geneial exhibits and manufactured goods, but the fault is that the exhibitors, like the Government, have gone to very little expense to secure thier effective display, and the result is that, in spite of the best endeavours of the Commissoners, the Court has a dingy and decidedly shabby appearance. *It is to be hoped for the credit of the colony that immediate steps will be taken to effect an improvement. What is required is a complete re-arrangement. A striking display of quartz, coal, and timber, at least, should be made in the form of pyramids, archways, and trophies, and our other natural products should also be represented in greater bulk. Melbourne is crowded with strangers at the present time, and the daily average of visitors to the Exhibition exceeds eleven thousand. The importance of a complete and striking display of the mineral and other resources of the colony cannot, therefore, be overestimated. What is done should be done quickly.

MEETING OF NEW ZEALANDERS. A meeting of those .interested, in the better representation of the resources of the colony in the New Zealand Court was held ia the Federal Stock Exchange on the afternoon of Monday, Septemoer 3rd. Mr John Buchanan, President of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, was voted to the chair. There were about fifty gentlemen present from various parts ot New Zealand. The Chairman announced the object of the meeting, and then , proceeded to refer to the importance of the occasion. The Exhibition was the greatest we had ever had in these, colonies, and it was therefore all the more important that we should be fairly represented. A fow.New Zealanders had met together in the Exhibition, and after /visiting the N.Z.I Court, they, thought the, colony was not' properly represented, * and this was es-, pecially the case, , in, the mineral. .depart-

,mont. Then had been a great deal of controversy i New Zealand relative fco a telegram pubished on the same subject, and very mucl had beea said on both sides. It was now \)ry obvious that the ninth commandmen Jiad been murdered on one side of the question. Mr Gordon was now coming over w bh fresh mineral exhibits, and it was though advisable that they should c meet together and send their testimony to i- advise the Go\)rnment of the true state of _„ affairs. Heno this meeting. There was no doubt of thjs magnitude of our minora •> and other resjurcos, and ho was porry to see them &o poojly represented. n Mr Matson (fidland Railway Company), c as one of the Cunmissioners, said he would have been plelsed to see the Executive c Commissioner ( Iv. Hector) present, but he f was absent from the colony. He had lis0 toned with pleaairo to tlie remarks of the r Chairman, and agreed that it was desirable that the best b.ould be made of what we possess within tl > confines of New Zealand. c But with the limited money at their dis- . posal, he believe! the Commissioneiss had ) done their very be&t to make the Court 3 ai complete as possible. it we had ! beeii^ in the sane position ac. Victoria s or New South Wales, and the Commisf sionerb had been flowed to go to unlimited 5 expense, then they could have done very > much better. h,e admitted that the • minerals in bulk were not what they should [ be, but if the Commissioners had not the 1 means, the meeting^hould not blame those , whose duties pertabed to the custodian- . ship of the exhibits. In Westland province, I from which he came, which was the richest of all in minerals, thej had been voted €25, had spent -€11, and lont the Government back the balance. The Chairman said i circular had been sent to Dr. Hector, nid ho was &oi ry he was not uresenl. Tie promoters of' the meeting did not blam? anyone but the Government,, who were done ie&ponsiblo for the failure of the Comv Mr Callis, Secretary to the Commissioners explained what had bean done to secure the representation ot the colony. Circulars had been sent to the piebidents ot Chambers ot Commerce, chairinei ot county councils, and presidents oi industrial associations. The lesult was that fifteen committees were formed in the various chief towns, Thames alone being exempted. The Thames people replied that the attenchnce was so small as not to justify the formation of a committee, and this result was attributed to the manner in which the local committee for the Indian and Colonial Exhibition was treated, and the manner in which the echibits were returned. The general feeling throughout New Zealand was the same way, and the Government should not be blamed. They had appointed commissioners to look after the exhibits and j leturn them when tlie Exhibition clo&ecl, and if the people of the colony did not send . exhibits the Government were not to blame. Sir James Hectoi was in Sydney and could not be present, but anyone who knew that gentleman must also know that he .always worked his haidest for the best interests of the colon>. The Chairman said it was not necessary to biing Dr. Hector into the di^>cubs.ion. The officers weie not reflected on in any way. Mr Callis replied that the Government had been blamed, and he was showing what hud been done. He then proceeded to read a letter from Mr .John Inglis, Minister of Educition for New South "Wales, in which that gentleman eulogised the New Zealand mineral exhibits, and described them a 1 * being ot especi'il merit. Mr George Reed .said he had resided on a goldfield tor twenty-five years, and took a special interest in New Zealand. He went to the Exhibition and visited the New Zealand Court, and the hist thing he haw Was an immense to;nb.^tonc, or something of that kind, prepared by Sir James Hector, and occupying the most \aluablo space in the court. That concern was .supposed to represent New Zealand, but much more information wa& atlorded by the maps on the walls. He asked where the mineials were, and was shown tome small geological specimens. He suggested that the place occupied by the tombstones should be de\ oted to diV playb of minerals in bulk. Ladies and others whom he had taken to the ~Ne\v Zealand Court told him ifc was the most uninteresting court in the Exhibition, and would not proceed further. He was an old bank managei, a speculator, and had been a miner on the Bendigo, and could claim to speak with some authority. Mr William Evans, a Commissioner from Timaru, admitted that the Court was bad, but reminded those present of the sieat difficulty of getting a few exhibits fiom each town. It was not yet too l-xte if the Government would vote further money. This meeting would create public feeling in that direction, and a-^ there were still four or five months to go, there wa& j time to improve the court. Mr Callis remarked that the Government were sending fresh quartz exhibits, and they would arrive by the next boat. Mr Gould, who said he was one of the oldest New Zealand settlers in Melbourne, said there was a very general complaint | concerning the New Zealand Court. He believed, however, that Sir James Hector was anxious to see the best representation of our minerals, and in proof of this he mentioned that he had said to Sir .lames that he was surprised there were not more old Maori carvings and weapons. Sir J ames implied that he did not want the court to be a show shop, but an exhibition of the agricultural and mineral resources of the colony. This would prove that he had that idea in his mind, and that he would carry out the views of the meeting. Mr Paten, of Auckland, thought that no party feeling should be imported into the meeting. The New Zealand Court required improvement, and they should take the best steps to effect that object. He would moye — "That this meeting ifa of opinion that the great mineral, timber, and other resources of New Zealand are not represented as they should be at the Melbourne Exhibition ; that the display of quartz from the goldfields, being interior to that of, the least productive mining colony in Australasia, is to be regretted ; and it is the opinion ot this meeting that steps should be taken to improve the New Zealand Court and give a more adequate representation of the mineral resources of the colony.," Mr W. Eddy Rowe seconded the resolution, which he felt to be a just one We could not have a better representative than Sir James Hector, whose endeavours had ever been on behalf of New Zealand. But this was a national question, and the object of the resolution was to co-operate with dir James so that the display should speak to spectators in more^ definite terms of the vast resources of our colony. It was useless to try . and find out who was to blame, but he regretted that this method had been chosen as one by which to display economy at ,a time the colony required all the assistance she could get. to bide her over the crisis. t , , Mr R. Clinton-Hughes, ot Taranaki, read extracts from the Wellington " Post," Auckland Stak, Auckland v " Herald," and New .Zealand! , "Times" relative co the faijure of the New Zealand Court. . The .resolution was then put,and carried unanimously, < , , , ' , .^Miv'Perciyal, M.H.R. ■ (Christchurch), .lqqyecL thatthe Government should be re quested to place at thedispqsalpOf the Com-

missioned an additional sum of money so as bo adequately represent New Zealand at the « Exhibition. He referred to the feeling of dissatisfaction in the House when the first telegram relative to the failure of the court came to hand, and the manner in which it was allayed by the telegram of Mr JLewisbon, Mayo/ ot Christchurch, that the mineral resources of New Zealand were well represented. On that assurance, the House had been content to wait. He himself had been bitterly disappointed at the display in the New Zealand Court at the Exhibition. Sir James Flectot, Mr Gallic, and the Commissioners had done well with the limited funds allowed them, but he blamed the Government tor the small grant of money while the colonists hud shown very little enterprise. As the Government had decided Lo have the mineral resources, of the colnny represented at the Paris Exhibition, they might got these exhibits forward now and exhibit them in Melbourne. (Applause ) The gentleman who had called this meeting deserved the thanks of all colonists. Mr W. 11. Mitchell, of Christelnuch, seconded this resolution which was also carried without dissentient. ! Mr Ralph (Thames) refeired to the wretched show of coal. Now that the strikes weie on it was desirable that our coal should have the gieatest prominence, but all we had was a few lumps of coal on the bottom ot one or two old packing cases. The mineral products of the colony had not received fair play from the commissioners. He had brought some valuable mining exhibits with him, but he would not put tfiem in that place. There might bo .some difficulty to get mining exhibits from Auckland, because the people believed the assertions ot the commissioners that the mining lesources weie well represented. No one could deny that the Court was not only a failure, but a rank failure. ■ Mr Callis said this was a misrepresentation, and referred to the lact that all three Melbourne papers had praised the New Zealand Court. Then again there vteio five large displays of coal, and the timber for the stands, alone had cost £200. Mr W. Not rie, of Auckland, said it was e\ident that if Sir James Hector and Mr Callis had not the exhibits they could not show them. The same fault was observable at the Indict and Colonial Exhibition, where the Victorian Court fairly glittered with gold and we had nothing to show our production of the precious metal. The banks and mining companies should endeavour to remedy tlm state of affairs. He had published an account of his obser\ations in the Auckland Em;mng Stvk after his l-eturo, and this led to the Government taking some action, but it was then too late. Mr Ralph moved the appointment of a committee to co-operate with the commissioners in securing a bettei arrangement of the Court, but Mr Mfttson considered such a. proposition indelicate, and on the suggestion of the Chairman, Mr Ralph withdrew his proposition. He said at the same time he was willing to spend a few pounds on the New Zealand Couit, and he belie\ed others would willingly do the same. The meeting then concluded wilh thanks to the Chairman and promoters*. The following letter has since been addressed by the Chairman to the Premiei :- - Melbourne, September 4th, IXBB. To the Hon. Sir Harry Atkinson, Premier of Now Zealand. Sir,— -As chairman ot a public meeting held yesterday, I have the honoui to communicate the following resolutions .—. — (.1) " That this meeting is ot opinion that the great and varied reboiu*cc& of New Zeaare not x'epresented as they should be at the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition ; that the display ot quartz from the goldfields, bem£ infeiior to the least pioductive mining colony in Australasia, is a fact to be res/retted. It is the opinion ot this meeting that steps should be taken to impiove the New Zealand Couit, and give a more adequate representation to the mineral resources ot the colony." (2) "ThattheGovernment beiequestcd to place at the disposal of the Commissioner an additional sum of money, so as adequately to represent the resouiceo of Now Zealand at the Melbourne Exhibition." These resolutions were passed unanimously. There was n<> dissentient voice in the meeting, at which the Commissioneis were well represented, with regard to the Exhibition, paiticularly as a mineial court. Another resolution was proposed, to the elTect that a committee be appointed by this meeting to give assistance, if it be so deired, to the Commissioners, consisting of t following gentlemen— (here names followed.) One of the Commissioners urged that this step would be indelicate with iegard to the Commissioneis, seeing the inexpediency, if not the impropriety, of the meeting creating a self-elected committee, which would ha\e possibly no constitutional status. I suggested the propriety to the mover and seconder of the resolution being withdrawn. These gentlemen agreed, otherwise it would have been carried, the Commissioneis beiug probably the only dissentients. John Btciiaxax, Chairman.

Mi* Moultray, of Dunedin, has «old his three largo pictures of the Sounds for 600 guineas. Mi' Norrie, cabinet -maker of Auckland, has made several sales of furniture. One of these is a suite ot furniture for Sydney, the price being fifty guineas. All arrangements have been made for the purchase of the Paroquet mine. Machinery will be elected, and the mine worked thoionghly. Negotiations with England colliery pioprietorfe are proceeding for the landing of 150,000 ton& of coal in Melbourne within the next eight weeks. There are many hundreds of Auckland workmen in Melbourne, and all appear to be in work. The wages in most cases are, however, not so high as formerly t-uled in Auckland. Work is very plentiful here tor carpenters and other mechanics. The ptovy circulated in Auckland that arrivals from New Zealand are pelted by the lumpers on the wharf is absolutely untrue.