THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8333, 16 January 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

ATTRACTIONS FOR VISITORS. SWEATED INDUSTRIES EXHIBIT THE AXEMEN'S CARNIVAL. WONDERLAND'S FLORAL FETE. By Telegraph—Special Service. CHRISTCHURCH, January 15. The Exhibition was well attended to-day. The Besses-o'-th'-Barn Band is proving a great attraction in the afternoon. The Wanganui Maoris, who will form quite a numerous detachment, are expected at the pa on Friday. A contingent of Hawke's Bay natives is also expected this week. The Fijians are now giving performances of dances daily instead of three times a week, and the sustained attendances are fully justify- > ing the change. A new, diversion organised by a Fijian in ferrying the, visitors to' and from across the lake on one of 'the quaint catamarans is proving highly popular. The sweated industries exhibits, which are now being arranged in the Labour Department's Court, afford a striking contrast between New Zealand labour conditions and the circumstances of some . wretched workers in the great cities of the Old Country. The exhibits were collected from the Sweated Industries Exhibition held in London at the beginning of last year to expose the awful conditions under which some of the poor workers of the Metropolis slave out their lives. 'A large number of artificial flowers to be seen in the collection now in v Christchurch represents one of the cruellest of London's home industries. Three halfpence an hour "is the average earnings of those engaged in this work. The prices paid for making roses vary from 3s 6d per gross to Is 4d. The evils of card-board-box making are also illustrated. By twelve hours constant application trained fingers can earn Is 3d at this, work. Shirts are shown which Were finished in some cases by women dying of consumption at 2d a dozen, and others made entirely for a Id and 2d each, the workers providing their own needles, thread and machines. Women's underwear is shown which was paid , for at the following rates: —Chemises, Is to Is 9d per dozen, taking 14 to 16 hours to make; combinations, 7d to Bd, taking seven to ten hours to make; infant's robes, Is each, taking from 12 to 14 hours to make; divided skirts, 2s, taking two days to make; children's woollen dresses, 2s, taking one and a-half to two days to make. A "day" frequently lasts several hours after midnight. Bromsgrove nails are shown, for which the manufactured" wage is 6Jd for 1,150, and match boxes made at the rate of 2d a gross. As many of the articles were made by persons' suffering from contagious diseases they have all been fumigated again by the Health Department prior to the exhibition. It is hoped to have them properly displayed by Thursday. This will be a great day at the Exhibition. The Axemen's Carnival, with items by the Besses-o'-th'-Barn Band interspersed, band performance in the evening, and Wonderland's Floral Fete coming on the same day. The Axemen's Carnival will be one of the largest meetings of its kind ever held in the colonies, v and the largest in respect of the numbers of champions competing. The axeman who will take part include many men of magnificent physique, and the chopping and sawing contests should afford some fine sights. The performance of the Besses-o'-th'-Barn Band J on the sports ground, to-night, was witnessed by one of the largest crowds that have yet , assembled there, the weather being for the first time perfectly suitable. Elaborate illuminations prepared *by Pain and Sons, ' London, were lighted up, forming a spectacle of remarkable beauty. The entire sports ground ' was festooned with coloured lights. Strings of lanterns formed a charming picture near the rotunda, and the rotunda itself was picked out everywhere with scores of coloured lights. The illuminations will be made a feature of the band as often as the weather permits.