The Cork Exhibition.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 31, 31 July 1902, Page 6

The Cork Exhibition.

The Cork Exhibition, which was opened on May 1, has been a great success. At a meeting of the committee held in the early part of on™™ Lord Ma y° r announced that during the month of May persons had passed the turnstiles. So far, the season for American visitors had not properly set in, and it was therefore expected that June and July would be the best months. Early this year Lord O'Brien, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, presented a cup valued at £250 to the committee of the Exhibition tor an eight-oared boat race. Invitations for this contest were Bent to tne principal rowing clubs in Great Britain, the United States, ana the Continent. The trophy was to become the property of the winning crew. This contest came off last week on the river Lee, and the cable informs us that there were 50,000 persons present. Ihe Leander crew won in llmin llf sec. A length and a-quarter behind came the crew representing the Berlin Rowing Club, who were the best exponents of tbe Continental quick stroke. The event attracted numerous visitors from all parts of the world. The cable stnrt B AA^ Ht the Exhibition will benefit to the extent of at least *, 100,000 by the event. There is evidently a mistake in the amount : perhaps it Bhould be £10,000. His Majesty the King has given a cup for an international yacht race to take place in connection with the Exhibition, at whiuh it is expected the Meteor, Columbia, and Shamrock II will compete. An American visitor to the Exhibition gives the following interesting particulars :— . ' Tnere » Ie 40 acr es in the grounds. These contain 10 acres of buildings, and there has been an expenditure of over £40 000 The exhibits number 550, of which 80 per cent, are Irish. Of these nearly half belong to merchants and manufacturers of Cork city and county. Exhibits from the City and County of Dublin number 60, and from Belfast and Antrim 50. •We have been long accustomed to hear in America that there is no real progress in Ireland outside of Ulster. It will, therefore be news to most people to hear that the population of this most sou them city has increased by over 10 000 since 1883. It is calculated by Mr R. A. Atkins, honorary secretary to the present Exhibition, that the shipping trade of the port of Cork has improved by at least 40 per cent, and that the volume of business has improved • The manufacturing and other enterprises in the City and County of Cork since 1883 have absorbed capital to the amount of nearly £1,000,000. Among the most important manufactures are woollens, linens, shoes, chemicals, soap, felt and straw hats, starch, and bacon. ' 'The citizens of Cork have smartly equipped electric street oara that convey passengers within the city and to the extreme suburban Knnn , * P6n v? I" 6 ' The ca P ital of tne company ia *.iO,OOO, and upon this the shareholders have been receiving a 5 per cent dividend. Over 2000 houeps for private occupation have been - Duilt in Cork since 1883 at a cost of over £1,000,000. •In addition to the mark* of progress named," I find that the Lirk City -govtrnmpnt, during the game period, has erected 1000 model cottagts for labor,- ra, which are rented at an average of 48 cents a week. Since 18S3 the business houses in Cork have been much improved in appearance, inside and out, many having been remodelled and greatly enlarged. Most of the merchant companies have taken advantage of the law of limited liability in trading to f " U / e inc ««sed capital. There are twice as many good hotels as in 18brf and the accommodation for freight and passengers at the terminals of the principal railway lines has been improved beyond recognition, ' 'Finding Cork thus advanced, it became still more interesting to look into the condition of things in the rest of Ireland The deposits and cash balances in the joint stock banks of Ireland in Ibß3 amounted to £30,000,000, At the close of the year 1901 this total had been increased to JC-U.00C.000. There are nine such banks having between them branch offices and agencies throughout Ireland to the number of 520— an inert as.- of 70 since 1880. ' Looking at industrial Ireland from the point of view of a decreasing population, the showing ia more remarkable. In 1883 the post office and trustee savings banks had on deposit £4 000 000 Last year the amount aggregated £11,000,000. The number of depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank alone has increased over 200 per cent. ' The extension of Irish railway?, in the face of a steady drain by emigration, is yet more of a puzzle. In 1871 there were 1988 miles open for traffic. The population of the whole country then was 5,412,377. This had been reduced to 4,556,546 in 1901 and the number of miles of railway had increased to 3183. The number of passengers carried in 1871 was 15.441,934. This was increased in I JOO to 27,649,515. The total receipts for passengers and freight in 1 871 was a little over £2,000,000. In 1900 it was nearly £4,000,000 Of the total receipts in 1871 there was expended 52 per cent, for working and maintenance. For similar purposes in 1900 the expenditure was CO per cent. ' It is, further, interesting to note that of the stock guaranteed by the British Government for the purchase of Irish land by the occupying farmers, the Irish people are holders to the extent of £11,000,000. Upon this a dividend of 2J per cent, is paid. To the various loans issued by the British Government the Irish have subscribed £32,000,000 '