The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Issue 209, 11 December 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1879.

•When the idea of having ah exhibition of the industries of all nations was hrst mooted in London, there was not wanting those. who pooh-poohed it as a thing quite impracticable, and, moreover, would be the means of destroying the; trade and industries ' of the British ' Isles. Strong speeches were made against it by able men, who were credited with being men of great sagacity and good judgment. It was therefore no easy matter for any gentleman, or set of gentlemen, to get up a gathering of the kind, Mr Packington saw beyond these savants,who were jealous of their count y’s interests,and, in the face of great opposition and almost insurmountable difficulties, carried out his , scheme to complete success. The num- | bers. vvho visited the Crystal Palace, as i :

Lyres count of its being'- built ■of. gl : siir..rised tins very L>>rs. Tens of thousands of foreigners visit'll the Palace daily, and instead of destroying the ■ trade of lire nation, as was predicted, il turned out to he the very last, adwrtisednent That'man could have invented. The representatives of every civilised nation in t u wo.-i I yve e 'here, and after a c'ose in--spbetion offtho various exhibits, and: an expression, of surplus x at the mar volte us productions, they almost each and' all left orders f-r goods, as I heir fancies dictated. • The consequence of this was a stimu-’ant, to trade,/which.made the wonc: shops of Great Britain ring with activity from one end of the land to the other. So much did the Britishers now appx-eciate the work of Mr Packingtou and admire his genius, that there was an immediate call for him being knighted. Hence the origin of his title ; 1 e was henceforth Sir John Packingtou. Not only did Sir John persevere To v improve his exhibition of 1851 by every exhibition that came after, but he sent a spirit of rivalry abroad, which shortly after showed itself in the great Paris exhibition of nil nations. Even to the Australian colonies has this spirit of rivalry extended. This year we have a Sydney Exhibition, which is, a great success. The numbers that are there gathered together at this moment not only enjoy a rel ixation.frotn the worry of business, but they will be able Jo carry home with them new ideas and new notions of many tilings useful to them hereafter. We all know that mini exchanging thoughts with mind enlighten and improve lire mind of each. So with the works which originate in the brains of men whoso minds are of a mechanical turn A man may sit at his, own fireside, or may work an his own farm, or workshop, till Doomsday, without a notion of the inventions which harm done so much to civilise the nations’.of the earth ever entering his mind ; but let him come into contact with the works of other brains that have been in active operation, the ideas that have been maturing for years in the minds of others, and he returns home stimulated to'"do likewise, and resolved to improve upon the inventions he has seen, hence the rapid improvements in machinery. Thanks to rapid communication by. steam,', rail, and telegraph, every new invent'on is speedily known all over the world, active minds are stimulated to greater activity, cogitations never cease, until they are also aide to startle the world ■ with something, new.- The exhibition at Sydney, as we 'learn from the reports sent across the water to .us,show many new and novel inventions. Space will hot allow us to enumerate them in this issue. In ,a future publication we will de.sribe some of them. What we' wish to impress our readers with by wrifii g this article is the importance to a nation or colony of having such;a collection of the productions of art and scientific skill. ;

I The world has arrived at; that stage when, like business, it must either make further progress or go back. It cannot stand still,, mens’ minds being always on the subject,new discoveries will continue to be made. If vve look back to a.period of a quarter of a century and compare the state of progress and civilization with what lit is now, we are impeller 1 to exclamations of surprise. Who will say that the next quarter of a century of the world’s history may ..not show as marked a state of progress ? Many of the fruits of man’s study that were at first ridiculed and laughed at as impossibilities have become some of the most valuable acquisitions to oar comfort.'The man that said to the old woman, in jest, that “ people were now going fr m John 0 Groat's house to London with the steam of the tea kettle,’’must,himself, afterwards have been surprised at the real sation of the fact to so great an extent. Man, it. is said by the inspired writer, was made upright, but he has also sought out many. Inventions was never so fully proved a truth as within the period we have named. No doubt in the very earliest ages of the world’s history man was full of invention-,-Many wonderful proofs of this are still to be seen iii the east and other parts of the earth but, there is no evidence yet brought to iightjthatsuch;as railways, or telegraph, or steam transit was■ amongst, the luxuries of the earlier inhabitaxxls of our planet. . Vast numbers';congregatedtogether, “ with lime of little value,” doubtless helped to accomplish ■-much of what was done. The age in which we live is: different,' particularly- in these, colonies. A man’s time is, in many casekp His capital ; saving of labour is therefore his great-study!T Tills it is that so stimulates invexxtion to that degree, which'makes the

era of our life one of discovery and progress. Much could be. profitably written on this subject, which we ;but slightly touch upon. Our present object, however, is, as we have stated, to bring before our readers the importance of these universal exhibitions Certain parties have suggested---the advisability of having'a New Zealand Exhibition after the Melbourne pue.v Such : a\ movement ; has our most hearty sympathy. The advantages to this colony would be great indeed. Visitors from other lands would then have a, personal knowledge of our beautiful scenery, our noble gleciers, ourrugged 'mountains, our glorious, fertile valleys, and our invigorating climate The visitors would carry away with them golden:'opinions ,of our country, which, when expressed at the family table, would rouse up a spirit of enquiry and enterprise beyond our most sanguine hopes. - It would also -show capitalists; wlxat safety there is in investing their money .here, as compared with such X’evolutionary countries as -Turkey, -Spain, Portugal, and other countries, which are ever changing and discontented. -

•’WeTrope the. press generally will take up this subject, and never rest until a New Zealand ■■ Exhibition is an accomplished fact. A better time could not be chosen than immediately after the Melbourne Exhibition. . Nor,aides -from all parts of the world will be’there. A line of fast steamboats would soon transfer! them to our shores. With a number of leading men sent off to woo them hither, few would return to their homes’ withoxxt a peep at our Britaim of the South. The expenditure for such a work would not, we feel sure, lie begrudged by any settler who..loves his adopted home, and has the least spark of patriotism in his heart. It would be well if Parliament took up the subject warmly before the present session comes to an end.

LOCAL AND GENERAL NOWS

Auction Sale. —We would (draw, attention to a sale of 50 fat bullocks at the sale yards, Temixka, oxx Monday next, by Messrs J.: T. Ford and Co.

Temura Railway . —Frosn the Public Works Stut'^mont vy; notice that a commencement is to be m ale at Temuka, O-fmai and Whitecliffs,

’’ Inspect--r'of Slaughterhouses. plications are called byl advertisement in another column for an .Inspector of Slaughterhouses for the Geraldine county, applications to-be sent in by the 16th inst. to. F. Guinness, r Esq., cither, in Temuka or Ashburton. vy’" ’y ■ y - Sudden Death. —William Farney, an t !d settler, aged 81 year, died suddenly at Waihi on Monday last. An inquest was to be held yesterday. Mr Farney originally settled on the banks of the Avon, near Christchurch. After a lime, he came to live with bis son -in-law, Mr Wini Davie, at Waihi,_ whore he bus just now died so suddenly. ; Land Sale. —It will be seen,from a look at our advertising; columns that Crown LmdsComrnissioner of Christchurch,offers, on.the same terms as at the sale, the remaining blocks of the Government .and railway-reserves, ■ ’ both for cash and on deferred payments. This is a gone) opportunity for working; men acquiring a small freehold of their own. Anniversary Day.— The Governor has been pleased to proclaim the 16lh inst. a Dank holiday throughout Canterbury.

Government Papers. -We have to acknowledge the receipt of Hansard and Bev. ral,Government papers from George Didsbnry, Esq. Tyrell, the Actor —Mr Finn,barrister, of Invercargill, has, on behalf of the actor Tyrell (who. was arrested a short time ago at Port Chalmers, and remanded to Christchurch, when it was. discovered that lie was not the man who was “wanted”), served notice on Detective Bain, claiming £IOOO damages for illegal a nest.

A Rowdy Meeting.— At a meeting of the creditors of William Kirby, of Auckland, on Monday, his liabilities, were shown to be.. £4OO, and his assets nominally- £300.' The- bankrupt was desirous of putting through ’’the “best man in the crowd ” of his creditors, but on the arrival of the police he changed In’s mind and subsided. A Narrow Escape.— A man named Wrengaiger, living near Auckland, - had a very narrow escape on Monday. Ha was handling dynamite, when it exploded, carrying tway his upper lip, a; portion of bis nose, and grazing his forehead.

Yice-regal.— lt is believed His Excellency has abandoned the idea of going to. Sydney at present. Libel. —Mr Webb, late of the Standard, Gisborne, has commenced; an action against Mr Edgecombe, late of Tauiahga: Damages are fixed at £lO9. ; *

Sporting —Mr -H. P. La rice has accepted the office of handicappor to the Dunedin Jockey Club, in the place of Mr Moore.

Captain “’Moonlite.” —Moonlite conceived the idea of organising: a gang, to stick up the mail steamer, sailing from Adelaide ’as ■ steerage' passengers. The plan was to induce the’ Lascar crew to mutiny, and seize the officers and vessel. Moonlite would then force the bull Tori room, and compel the Lascars to take the gang 4,nd plunder ashore.

Caledonian Society’s Sports,—Messrs .Maclean and Stewart, auctioneers,TPnam, will sell, on Saturday nest, 1 lie right to erect general license and refreshment booths on'the grounds of the above sports to be held on January 1, 1880.

Pc'slic Vaccinator. —ll will; be seen,; on reference lo tlnnG-izotie, (hat one ot our well-known medhos, L’r J. S. Hayes, has been appointed a public vaccinator, underthe Health Act, for tin;, district of Temnka, to peri’onn gratin'tans v.-ieCna-tion, according to the provisions of that ACt. .. ’ ' l