The Dunedin Exhibition. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Dunedin, Dec, 1.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 427, 11 December 1889, Page 3

The Dunedin Exhibition. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Dunedin, Dec, 1.

FINIS CORONAT OPUS. Well, the inaugural ceremony of the Exhibition has come and gone. It has passed into the regions of memory, and become a subject for history. Years hence, possibly i jn a quarter of a century, for that is the \ time which has elapsed since the last Exhibition hero, Dunedin may hold another on a greater scale, and the survivors of to-day will furbish up their rusty recollections of the events which are still red-hoc in the minds of all. In the meantime, incited by the example, let us hope that Auckland, ! Wellington and Christchurch will have taken their turn, for in these days, the period of exhibitions, like a fast-con ti*ac ting comet, appear to grow shorter and shorter, and the necessity for them as pleasure resorts to increase.

GAUDEAMUS. The present exhibition is without a doubt a success. Everybody says so, and as everybody here just now comprises people from all parts of the world, and people whose home is the world, their opinion ought to be a tolerably correct one. In size, it is more than thr.ee times that of the Christchurch exhibition of eight years ago which was, until recently, tha largest held in New Zealand. It covers close upon thirteen acres, which is only three acres le s than the Sydney Exhibition of 1879, and would contain any half-a-dozen of the small colonial ones which were' dignified with the name in earlier days. At this rate we may look for the next development in thi3 line to be on a scale of even greater magnitude, and as Auckland has not put forth her efforts and is the fastest-growing town in the colony, everything seems to indicate that the next exhibition should be there. As judged by the history of this one ab Dunedin, it only requires the hearty co-operation of a few patriotic shareholders. Three thousand at five pound apiece and the thing is done. If the guarantee fund is forthcoming there will be no lack of enthusiasts to work up ths details, for even at this distance, and in spite of local lukewarmness, Auckland ha 3 sent down a band of devoted spirits who have prevented her being extinguished by more conveniently situated competitor?.

THE AUCKLAND COURT. The Auckland Court is not complete yet — none of the courts are complete — and there are bays to be filled, decorations to be supplemented , and a general process of bittivating to be gone through before the Exhibition assumes its final aspect. Bub you can form a tolerably just estimate of the comparative excellence of the different courts, and I say that Auckland holds her own. I cannot say that she is adequately represented — far from it. If that were so, her court would oun right round the corner and down the New Zealand annexe- to where Wellington terminates and "Canterbury begins. Auckland cuds just at the corner, overflowing into Hawke's Bay, Napier and Wellington. Tim is a conse-. quence of not having spoken in time for space,' and has caused Mr Holland a good deal of trouble with both the management and with individual exhibitors. As the Auckland Court heads the provinces, there is no possibility -of extending her area without contracting the space of some other province or pushing th&- whole of them along. The result of this confinement has been that Auckland exhibitors have had to emigrate, so to speak, as far as the New South Wales , Gpurb, and the department naturally suffers. 1% is a great pity, for portions between the Auckland and the Canterbury ccftiocts are not \ve\\ filled as a whole. 'JLhey are the barest-looking in the whole of the New Zealand annexe. When 1 stand at the bend in the Auckland Court, which is the acutelyprojected angle of the front of the Exhibition, I think what a chance has been lost by possible Auckland exhibitors. The position with thas at the corner under the west central octagon between the Victoriao and New South Wales courts are the two best in the whole Exhibition. From them is the finest coup d'cnuil, and the most advantageous situation for displaying goods. Indeed, for the latter purpose I think that of Auckland is the better. The bays sweep . round so effectively in-a semicircle. Those of Otago run in a perfectly straight line, and hence the exhibits lose collective effect, for they appear successively, and not in groups. What would nob Scoullar and Chisholm, of Dunedin, give for such a position ? Their five! magnificent bays would be doubled in effectiveness in such a situation; and yet here there reigns the most poverty-Stricken look. The space in this part seems to have been frittered away into a sorb of debatable border line. Did all the leading Auckland firms appear round here, what a fine spectacle it would be. The newly-arrived visitor would receive a first impression such that he would never forget.

HOW DUNEDIN KEPT THE SABBATH. In the matter of weather the Dunedinites and those • who had come to witness the opening got a fright. On Friday it' began to'lQwer, on Saturday to drizzle, on Sunday to rain hard, and on Monday to lighten up, but so ambiguously that one could not tell what .the morrow was likely to be. For those in the building- the dismal pattering of the rain on the galvanieed iron was oi no importance ; they were all too busy. Everybody w"as' working as if for dear life. I wonder, however, that in a town of such traditional seriousness .the opening of the Exhibition should have been fixed early inthe' week, for it has led to a terrible amount" of violation of the Lord's Day, which wilt - surely bear fruit some day, in an earthquake or an inundation, or more probably in a commercial depression. There was the sin of thought which pervaded the whole community as they eat in church. Seniors endeavouring to look as if their -heart were yearning for the New Jerusalem, when they were in reality lookng forward to the turnstiles of the Exhibition-: girls lamenting at the prospect of having to forego the new hats and dresses which they had got up in order to kill the male visitors and confound the female oneB; children fidgetting at the idea of having a whole extra week of holiday spoilt by the rain. As for the sins of action, in that day when the Universal Ledger is brought forth the workman will point to his exhibitor, the reporter will point to his editor, and plead vis major, " Please, sir, it wasn't me, it was 'im,'! and the exhibitor and the editor will in turn point to Messrs Roberts, Twopeny, and Joubert as being the Jonathan Wilds of the tragedy, and endeavour to fix them with the responsibility, for have they not thrown irresistible temptation in the way of everybody and made sinners of us all ? It is

OUR OPENING DAY. On Tuesday, at half-past ten, I came trotting down from the eminence of the pleasant suburb of Mornington, with th( whole of the beautiful panorama of Dun edin, the peninsula and the eea before me 1 could see down below the long, eilverj

roofs of the Exhibition and its yellowcapped dome, gay with flags, and the diminutive crowd, of mortals thronging the streets. When I reached the level of the ground and mingled with the individual units, I could see expectancy depicted more or less on every face. In the children it was, of course, the strongest ; but even elder people wore a cheerful look, and from many a brow the cloud of care seemed to have temporarily passed away in .face of the general spirit of contagious enthusiasm. Just then a braying and a drumming down Princes-street caused me to look along towards the Octagon, and there appeared the head of the procession moving slowly towards us.

THE PROCESSION. The bluejackets and marines from the two Imperial war vessels Opal and Lizard came first. The sailor boye were libhe, dapper- looking little fellows, many of them much shorter than the mai-ines or volunteers, bat making: up for that by their agile and frolicsome bearing.. The marines in general appearance differed little from the volunteers, and to an ordinary eye they might have been confounded with these ; I but to Hie eye of a connoisseur there was no mistaking the precision and solidarity which distinguishes rogulaily - exercised troops from amateur soldiers. Then came the volunteers, numbering nearly a thoui sand, in three divisions, with a band between ' each of them. In these the general average of physique was perhaps superior to the Imperial troopo, and some of the uniforms — notably that of the Highlanders — more taking ; but their marchiner. of course, could not compare with that ot the regulars. After these came the Friendly Societies. Among the most picturesquo and entertaining were the Foresters and the Druids, who appeared each of them in their historical and consistent characters. The former were clad in green, with dark waving plumes, hunting cost.umesand bows and quivers ; the latter in their long robes and immense beards, and headed by venerable bards in lighter garments. Among < the latter were three tableaux vivants, the first representing " Youth and Age," the second, " The Druids Instructing the British Youth," the third, "Caractaeus Defending His Counti-y Against the Romans." After these came the Fire Brigades, and then the Trade Societies. In between these were dovetailed four bands.

THE CONCERT HALL. When the procession arrived ab the Ex" hibition, it had to wait some time for the appearance of the Governor. In the meantime I had entered the building. There, wandering through all the glories of gilded hall, handsome arches, orderly courts crowded with objects of interest and beauty, and kaleidoscopic vistas of coloured lamps, flags, and shields, which had sprung i out so magically in the preceding night, I | reached the concert hall. Here there were some three thousand persons. The orchestra was the sight which firat struck the eye and conduced most to impress the mind of the newcomer. There was the elegant ! organ in brown and light blue, rising out from a choir of some 370 male and fennle singers — the men on either ''ide in dark masses, the ladies on the left in white and blue sashes, and those on therighbin white and red sashes. At the organ was Mr Barth, the accomplished organist of the h beautiful Knox Church, of which I told you.

THE ORCHESTRA. ! Below surrounded by the choir were the instrumentalists. Amongst them I could see three Aucklanders. There was Mr Jarmann out on the left with his flute and piccolo ; next to him came Mr Jackson with the clarionet on which he has so skilfully and sweetly gurgled for years ; and further in beside the big German doublebass player was the slender enthusiasticlooking Mr Clutsam hugging his enormous instrument. That portly contra-basso beside him is Herr Pleyer, and might be his father — indeed he tops the lot as a sort of paterfamilias, and like a presiding Jupiter of the catgut, adds dignity to the whole body of musicians. If one may be permitted to perpetrate a feeble pun under cover of the press, he is Pleyer by name and player by "nature. Beside these gentlemen are the violon-cellos-and a pretty pair they are — one is Herr Winckelmann, a German. He is, like Herr Pleyer, a fine type of his class — every inch a musician, and of the best European stamp. In his look, features, dress, and bearing.you see what the highlyeducated instrumentalist is, subdued and gentlemanly in dress and spiritiieUe. in expression. Senor Fernandez, his aasociate, is a Spaniard from Madrid, and in his olive complexion and lustrou3 black eyes, which wander dreamily as he plays, you see the southern as contrasted with the more impassive Teutonic musician beside him. But to hear the tone of these two combined in their leading passages — say in that fiery overture " Ruy Bias "—is a treat. Then when you get it in all its truth and vigour you realise what the rich, piercing quality of a violoncello is. It is like an exhaustive glass or tremendous cataplasm drawing the very soul out of you. Then among the second violins you see Senor Gastambide — the compatriot of Senor Fernandez— -nimble and true upon i the treacherous string, and taking his music internally in quite a quiet way. Away behind him are the horns with Mr Cuiry — a patriarch in this line — as leader. Just come and hear Mr Curry and Mr Fielden in " Der Frelschutz " or Cowen's "Language of Flowers" blow their fluid echoing notes round this handsome building, and all sorts of woodland and meadow-land images will come floating before the mind's eye. Further forward under the conductor is Sign or Squarise, the first violin. He is an Italian, so the orchestra is fairly inter national in its composition. Here is another typical brother of the cabgub ; but of a more lively order than those before mentioned. With him it is all keenness and life, as in the timbre of his instrument, and when he goes scaling the heights of the idtissimo passages with the deftness of a practised mountaineer and bringing his comrades along with him, it must be a great satisfaction to a sensitive and apprehensive conductor. Near to Signor Squarise sits Mr Coombes, formerly of Christchurch and now of Dunei din, who lendß able assistance in the department of the violins ; and there are 1 ladies, too, three of them whom we have reserved, as we do the confectionery and ! sweets at a dinner, to the last. j Above the orchestra, in a pulpit bord ered with crimson, stands Mr Arthur Towsey, the conductor. Mr Towsoy ia a resident of some twenty-three years in Dunedin. He is a many-sided musician, for he will sing to you, play to you, give you a voluntary on the organ, or sit down and extemporise to your heart's content. Now, as you see, he is wielding the baton, which he does in a firm bufc genial manner, and by the time the ceremonial of to-day has come to an end you will realise that to secure the pecision with which his musicians perform, he has not laboured lightly. During the next four months Mr Towsey and his confreres will interpret a great variety of works, some of which will make your mouth water and your hair stand on end

with delight. Their repertoire, is a most comprehensive one, ranging from grave to gay, from lively to severe, and will attract a crowd of attentive admirers.

WAITING. i We have had plenty of time to make tteh c foregoing observations, as the Governor i s for some unexplained reason late. In the meanwhile we beguile the time by gazing at one another and exchanging romarks with our nearest neighbours. In this particular corner the press men havo been confined, because it is very public and exposed, and thatis asortofguaranteetothecompany that no mean advantago will be taken of them by the hold, unprincipled, inquisitive persons who constitute this useful body. At present the male members aie very plcasod to resign themselves to inactivity and leave their neighbours severely alone ; , but there is a lady reporter near whose pencil is flying ominously. Let us hope that she has not discovered anything particularly tho matter with another lady'e bonnet and is going to jribbet } )G r publicly and embitter the recollections of this festive occasion.

THE EXHIBITION OPENED. By-and-by four Highlanders and four City Guards enter and range thomsolves round the crimson curtains of the dais, which causes a ripple ot excitement for a moment, and then ensues another period of expectancy. At lenerch the strains of the National Anthem arc heard without, and four seamon and two middies enter and take up position with the guards which have preceded them. The- sound of the m,usic grows louder and louder, and at last the Governor and Lady Onslow enter. The Governor is dressed in a dark uniform heavily laced in front, and Lady Onslow in light, trimmed with purple. Tho choir then sing " God Save the Queen," separately and moderately at first, working up to a tine climax towards the end. The President next delhers a prayer, in which some excellent sentiments are expressed in a sort of Johnsonese, not at all harmonising with the words of Holy Writ appearing in the " Psalm of Thanksgh ing" further on. The choir follows with " The Old Hundred," excellently given, and that is succeeded by Mr Uowen's "Psalm of Thanksgiving," a fugal work of boldness in the first, and considerable sweetness in the second number. Mr Robert" now reads his address to His Excellency, and His Excellency audibly replied, "concluding with the gracious cablegiam of Her Majesty, and then the Exhibition was declared open.

MORE AUCKLAND EXHIBITS. The Exhibition now became thronged with visitors, these at the end of the day attaining to the number of about 10,000, and we wended our way back to the Auckland Court, theie to take stock of the latest displayed exhibits, and to lament over the amount of wosted space which might have been bO worthily filled. There stood the Auckland portico — a really striking object, overlooking the Ordnance Department and distinctly visible from the Grand Hall. With a little more money both it and the Court could be made strikingly handsome even yefc. The porch is of bold, effective design, and the colours are well combined. The prevailing tone is green and is well in keeping with the signs , which can be seen through the curtains hanging across the Court. The one eyesore is a red sign which Hawke's Bay has set up at the end, and doesn't agree at all with the decoiations in front ot it. The second bay on the left hand side is that of the Kauri Timber Company. Here is a good, solid exhibit most skilfully arranged Round the walls are suspended planks of kauri, plain and polished, alternating with specimens of polished lining, perpendicular and diagonal. On the left &ide is a door fifty years old, brought from Kaitaia, showing the perfectly unimpaired condition of the wood after that length of time. Further round there is a fine specimen of a plain mantelpiece, while right round on the other side ot the bay is one. in black poli&h, so nearly resembling marble as to deceive almost everybody. In the centre are ten doors ai ranged in a zigzag fashion, the four leading ones beingsashed and glazed with coloured grained glass and lighted with a crimson lamp. This, with some photogiaphs of scenes on the Company's estates, forms a very attractive feature and set-off to the exhibit. In the fouith bay there has been added an exhibit of twelve baddies — both gentlemen's and ladies' — some fancy, but chietiy plain, by L. D. Nathan. There is also a very beautiful exhibit without a name, consisting of a table and casket inlaid with native woods. In the table a bolder ot flowers runs round tho edge, and birds are seen rising from flowers and fern 3 in the centre. There are two rough paper labels below, but it is deserving of proper labels and a name, and a cloth to drape the blocks on which it is standing. In this bay also is a small glass stand containing skeleton flowers worked by Miss Alice Pye, The bay of Bycroft and Co., which is the fifth in the left, has a very ornamental facade, consisting of a castellated arch in buff and red bricks, flanked by neat clay tazzas on pedestals of brick. Within these are some 80 boxes of biscuits reared pyramidically against opposite sides of the walls, while at the end are samples in clay of vases, gratings, ventilators, chimneys, and tiling. There are al&o specimens of what are called cabin bread any navy bread. The next bay on this side, containing oxhibita by tho Auckland Furniture Company, is of a really striking character. The walls are hung with green and brown flowered carpet, and the floor laid with druggot. From the front depend very tasteful art cui tains, touched with fleshcolour and pink flowers, and traversed with a gilt thread, .giving them a scintillating appearanoe. Within is ranged a very choice selection of furniture, said to be in kauri wood, but of such richly variegated and marked a character as almost to resemble other ornamental woods. There are two mirrors, a wash hand stand, wardrobe, dressing-table, and some very pretty chairs — some in abrased cane, and some in wood and padded. The finish and appearance of all the exhibits is unexceptionable, and it conduces greatly to the tone of the Court. I The succeeding bay is occupied with tho teas of L. D. Nathan. This is also a very tastefully-decorated exhibit, possibly the most expensively arranged of any. The floor is covered with pink and white straw matting, and has on each side two tall handsome black cases lined out with gold. j In each of them are ranged in neatly i covered packages parcels of Pekoe and Souchong teas. In tho centre is a pyramidal case containing specimens of golden and silver blends. Behind these are handsome Japanese ecieens, with fans in profusion. There ai-e also two very beautifully flowered porcelain vaseß in front, and at the entraee two sombre and curious, •looking jars with brown and green objects in relief. Since I last telegraphed J. and T. Mason have got their perfumery set out in a fine case at the end of bay four on this side. There are innumerable bottles, large and small, with pretty labels on them, and a young lady to superintend them. Just beside this E. Spencer, of Queenstreet, has his exhibit of curios in kauri gum, quartz, chrysodolite, and pearl oyster shells, with another young lady ; so this

makes quite an interesting corner judging by appearances. If ever Auckland gobs up another court she should make her local beauties a subject of exhibit in this quiet way, and with suitable aesthetic surroundings, there is no doubt she would carry the palm. Further down, looking up the Auckland Court, towards the dome, Mr Danneford, of Queen-street, also has a curio case, presided over by a. lady. _Ah, if our sisters, our cousins, and our aunts only knew the motive which prompted the purchase of those beautiful gems we send them, perhaps they would be sceptical about the love we profess. Still, if they found us out," they would probably hold on to the offerings for their own sakes, if not for ours, for are not these things useful for tho purpose ot retaliating on some other fellow ? In Mr Danneford's case were some very interesting Maori charms in greenstone, which have been purchased by Sir George Grey. There are pebble and vegetable ornaments, faced with k-auri .gurnet ar >d some pretty and effective jewellery in Queensland opals, which are of a much deeper and brighter iridesconce than the Russian, J Dalton and Co. have a handsome case with a goojh clothing? exhibit at the head of tho long lino ( o£the New Zealand annexe. Away in this New* -South ; Court is tho really; fine exhibit of Yafces. It is a large stand \vltli promirietit counters, having gla^eJ windows at the, bottoift full of bag's with various gairien seeds intorspersed with corn-cobs. In the glazed pases, upon the surface'are small square partitions, in which other seeds are" 'most tastefully arranged, beth as to'Mzeyirid colour. Behind is a high screen decoratod with longtitudinally disposed whisps of grasses* and c.rn-cobs in a semi-circle. On it is a certificate gained by Mr Yates from the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, and below is a central caso for shopkeepers soiling Yates sseeds^ in which tho packets are stamped with artistic devices of vegetables _ and flowers as tasteful as those of a Christmas card,