The Express. — London, England, 1851-07-05 00:00:00

4/ / , ' 1 • ' . 1 i Ttt fl3rti No. 1,517.] [No. 28, EXHIBITION EXPRESS.] THE EXHIBITION EXPRESS, sions. By the police returns the numbers were —ll o'clock, 10,638; 12 o'clock, 11,178; 1 o'clock, 12,106; 2 o'clock , 5,793 ; 3 o'clock, 3,492 ; 4 o'clock, 2,980: making 49,189, which the influx of the ticket holders for their usual lounge would raise to nearly 52,000. Cash account, July 1. Season tickets At the doors 2,429 10 0 Total receipts £2,434 15 0 WEDNESDAY. Her Majesty, Prince Albert, the King of the Bel gians, the royal children, and the usual suite, visited the Crystal Palace onWednesdaymorning,and inspected the goods in the North German, Russian, and Zullverein compart ments. The royal party were conducted through the sec tions by Mr. Cole, Mr. Belshaw, and Mr. Edgar Burring. The weather was oppressively hot in the course of the day, and had a perceptible effect in keeping away the ticket holders, as will be seen by a glance at the numbers sub joined. The foreign exhibitors are in high glee in conse quence of the especial notice and frequent visits they have received from the jurors, and the denizens of the British nave exhibit proportionate depression ; but it is to be hoped that the impartiality of the awards will restore all minds to a proper equilibrium. Additions are being daily made in the foreign nave, 'especially in Russia and Tuscany. Some new malachite' are now to be seen in the former section, and the latter is enriched by some new and beautiful scagliolas. The French are also strengthen ing their department. M. Matifat, whose stand is in the front of the nave, exhibited on Wednesday a beautiful persdule in carved ivory, ornamented with miniature paintings typical of the probable results of the Great Exhibition. Also a beautiful medallion portrait lathe same material of the ex- Queenof France,a striking likeness and beautifully executed. Both articles attracted considerable notice during the day. There were not many strong detachments present on Wednes day either from schools or factories, the most noticeable being twenty of the Hull police and two inspectors, who had been treated by the local authorities to • sight of the Exhibition, being allowed three days leave and a sovereign each to bear expenses. It is to be hoped that so good an example will not be lost on the metropolitan commissioners, but that the large and meritorious body of men who have so ably pre served public peace and order under very unusual ca.- ' cumstances, and withal have " done their spiriting " so gently, may have an opportunity before all is over of seeing the Exhibition along, with the rest of the world. As things stand at present, even the men who are on duty in the Crystal Palace itself have seen nothing beyond the limited district apportioned to each individual. The poor Koh-i-noor is literally on its last legs. The crimson drapery has again been removed, but so have the crowds who hitherto beset it. At one period of the day on Wednesday it woe literally without a single spectator. Even the policeman himself had time to go for a glass of water, a comrade from the nave keeping a distant guard ad interim. Con siderable disappointment was caused by the cue in which the Queen of Spain's jewels is usually exhibited, presenting nothing but • dismal front of black calico. It appears that the key of the ease, in which they are deposited at night, had been lost on the previous evening, and there was no remedy but to break it open, the securities being of strength proportionate to the value of the deposit. Repairs became of course necessary, and the public were in the meantime deprived of one of the lions of the Exhibition. It is gratifying to perceive that the uses of the Exhibition in a commercial point of view, apart from its office in beneficially gratifying public curiosity, are beginning to be felt and acknowledged by the parties prin cipally interested. The French exhibitors state that trade in Paris is quite brisk in consequence of orders for goods similar to those which had been seen in the Exhi bition ; and it is also acknowledged in some rather important quarters of the business section, that these parties also had derived advantage from the great publicity given to their wares. Out of doors, the complaints of the effects of the Exhibition upon other public amusements are rapidly dying away. The theatres and public gardens are well attended, and money is circu lation much more briskly than was n the case a few weeks since. And all this happens without any diminution of the attractions of the Exhibition itself, as, excepting such fluctuations as may be accounted for by the weather, or other accidental causes, the attendance is as numerous as ever. The numbers onWednesday, according to the police re turns, were :—Eleven o'clock, 15,771; twelve, 15,214 ; one, 7,665; two, 3,858; three, 2,618; four, 2,527; Ave, 1,147 ; six, 632: total, 49,352. Cash account, July 2. Season tickets £ 11 11 0 At the doors Total roceipta £2,375 9 0 TIICISDAT. The enormous sosemblage at the Crystal Palace CS Thursday, formed as owaplets sa epitome of the various claws of which the great national family is asap wad, as frisaildwiladoddiattorrwaos we were indebted for the eon- any one could desire to see on a summer's dry, There fingmat s lsut nowhitzbair and burly figures begin to prevail, were great numbers of the high aristocracy, scoops of the showing that Germany is extensively supplying her quota, wealthy and middle classes, operatives and esteir families in while visitors from more distant places arc constantly arriving, thousands, and, not the least interesting feature, large de- One frequently ascertains by accident that his neighbour tachments of children from various institutions, whew bias just arrived from Malta or Gibraltar, and on Tuesday a clean and healthy appearance, and most orderly conduct, whole consignment arrived from Montreal, of course paying formed the best certificate of the care with which they were their first respects to the Canadian der) trtment. The ten- nurtured. Among the aristocratic visitors were the Duke posture was again exceedingly high, and produced evident of Northumberland, Marquis of Breadalbtute, Marquis of oppression on many of the visitors. Messrs. Davenport and Ely, Earl of Listuwel, Earl and Countess of Leicester, Co.,ofLongport,Staffordshire, have seta mostliberal example Baron Rothschild, Lords Dunboyne and Galway, Sir to the large employers of labour, by -ending up 200 of their H. Fleetwood, the Bishop of Worcester, and a host workpeople for a week, providing food and lodging for of others of equal rank, if an opinion might be them during that time, and paying for a daily ticket for formed from the number of fashionable equipages that were each at the Exhibition during their stay. It is to ho hoped continually setting down at the south transept. There was that such • generous example may net be with- I also a distinguished party just arrived front Russia, consist out many followers, as u single visit is of little big of M. Alexis Lcustrin. Director-in-Chief of the Agricul. use, and the funds of the posr man will not admit of a more I total Department, and Privy Councillor to the Emperor, protracted inspection. By the way, it may be hero ob- , and daughter; M. Saimloff, President of the Council of served, that the operatives in the provinces have many ad- I Commerce at Moscow ; and his Excellency General Wilson, vantages as regards the Exhibition over their metropolitan head of the Naval Engineering Department, St. Peters. hi/ow-workmen. Being generally employed in large file- burg. These distinguished personages have come over on leeks, they can form ea-operative purses, and they aro a special mission connected with the Exhibition. Turning to generally largely assisted by their employers in providing the other end of the wale, there was a grand muster of all the the ways and means for their trip. They come and return national schools in, and within a short distance of, the metro by an excursion train, and contract omnibuses or steam. polio. Among them were the St. Paul's (Covent Garden), Mats bring them ciao to the palace at so much per thou- Eltham (Kent), Harrow-on-the-Hill, Mortlake, Charlton, and. The London workman, speaking generally, has no and All Souls. The children of theJews' School, 1 loundsditch, each advantages. He must not only pay his shilling fur and the Jewish Free School, Spitalfields, were also present 1 admission, but the distance from his place of residence re- and lastly, a i.etachment of ik boys, from the Excellent, quires an omnibus to and fro, making another shilling, gunnery ship, in smart duck frocks and trowsers, whose and then a day's wage is deducted by his employer, perfect discipline and good conduct were the subjects of making his whole expense six or 'siren shillings for a single very general observation. Immense numbers of provincials • more actually than it costs the west-end fashionable arrived by excursion trains, especially by the Great for his Saturday's lounge. This, of course, exclude., all Northern, which is daily emptying all Cambridgeshire and consideration of a peep for the wife and children, whose the neighbouring counties into the Crystal Palace, at the ease, under such circumstances, is utterly hopeless. We be- rate of 4s. each from Itoyston and back, with leave to stop lieve the fact to be that but few of the real London artisans LS days in town. There was also a large contingent have as yet seen the Exhibition, and that the London viol- from beyond sea, among whom no less than 18 gentlemen tors of the working dames have been mainly supplied from came from one district in Canada West, passengers per the domestic servants, and, what are technically called Pacific mail steamer. It may be imagined that, with all chamber workers, who being generally employed by the this fresh blood, the interior of the building presented job do not so directly feel tho loss of time. It were w e ll most animated appearance throughout the day ; indeed, one would have fancied it the first opening, so eagerly did the that people in authority should set about devising some means visitors rush from one object of interest to another. The of remedying such a positive hardship. What arc the great en s Queen of Spain's jewels, again restored to public gale, were gincere of Lambeth and Blackwell, and the numerous em closely invested; and every statue in the nave, especia ll yployers of fifties and hundreds of poor men and women in the metropolis doing ? Have the heads of great City houses, Hiram l'ower's Greek Slave, had crowds of observers. Some drapery and others, taken any steps to facilitate the visits of the country matrons discovered a case of India rubber ef their assistants ? They are daily visitors themselves, and toys in the American department, and were wonderfully struck with their infrangibility. They looked upon it as sea therefore well appreciate the highly instructive charts- struck great idea of the century to invent dolls which should ter of the Exhibition. Of its instructive tendencies a resist the efforts of the most determined juvenile iconoclasts, furious evidence was afforded on Tuesday, in the presence at the gate of several new cabs with "Cab de surete, breveta," But a very curious table of mental idiosyucracies nonspicuously painted on the panels. When London cah- might be formed by ascertaining from each visitor men begin to prepare French inscriptions for their vehicles, what had struck him most in the Crystal Palace. We it surely may be inferred that the schoolmaster is abroad, heard the qumtian put to one grave looking gentleman, and There was little to disturb the regular bustle of the Crystal his answer, after mature deliberation, was, " That was eer. Palace on Tuesday, except a sad accident which occurred in tainly a very wonderful piece of epermaceti." Every one the immediate neighbourhood. A pour little boy, caught has his own favourite wonder, but all agree that such • collection of wonders never was seen in the world. Among by the morning shower, took shelter under one of the old trees in the park, near the east end the noveltieswhich every daybrings forth there wason Thurs. of the building, and one of the decaying branches giving day exhibited for the first time in the western gallery a way, and falling on him, he was struck down and dread- model of a vessel supplied with self-acting pumps, which fully crushed. He was immediately taken up by the police the inventor maintains will keep the ship dry without any and placed in a cab, but died on his way to the hospital, labour, working solely by the motion of the waves. The Two men were detected in the course of the day picking model is placed in " a painted ocean" of canvas, and the pockets, and were immediately sent off for trial to the see- sea motion is imitated by means of a handle placed on the stern, and worked by the inventor. Under these circumstances a continuous stream of water flows from the pumps, but tho source of motive power must be taken for granted, as the moment any one attempt. a close inspection the exhibitor covers up all in a tin case. It is but justice to him to add,that he gives as a reason for this caution, that he is suffering under the beautiful complexity and expanse of our patent laws, and fears to be robbed of his invention before he has acquired legal protection. Should it turn out all that he describes it to be, it will be no doubt of the highest importance in nautical affairs. The two great topics of discussion in the crystal republic arc the awards, and the ultimate doom of the building. It is whis pered that some of the foreign jurors have not preserved the secresy enjoined upon them in the most stringent manner. Cabals between different nations are talked of, and bargains about an interchange of first class medals, something after the way in which chairmen of railway committees were accused of passing each other's bills during the rail way mania. Many of the foreign exhibitors boast that they have already secured the prize ; and, as may be ima gined, such gram want of discretion, to say the least of it, is producing violent hearthurnings and dissatisfaction. In addition to this, the British jurors are accused of being over sensitive, to the suspicion of unduly preferring their own countrymen. One thing is certain, that by far the greatest activity in inspection is displayed by the foreign jurors. With respect to the ultimate fate of the Crystal Palace there is en outside and an inside public opinion. The great omnibus public look upon its permanency as a thing placed beyond doubt. If anyone hints a doubt, they cast an admiring glance at the building from the aerial perch as they drive up, and say They'll never pull down that." Many of them draw a fancy sketch of its future attractions and suggest flower shows for the Christmas holidays. Inside, however, people better informed, have many doubts and misgivings, and prophecy that without some prompt and decided action on the part of the public grass will, in a few months, be grow. ing en the site of the world's gathering. Some steps are in progress. A petition has been placed for signature in the Stock Exchange, and Mr. Paxton has summoned a meeting in Kensington for Tuesday evening next to discuss the question with the in habitants. Whatever the public may think or feel on the subject, they should lase no time in expressing it, as the commissioners are bound to have everything removed by November next. The temperature on Thursday was quite pleasant, so that one of the most crowded assemblages of this season did not suffer the slightest inconvenience. The whole numbers admitted, according to police returns, were 65,646. Cash account, July 3. Season tickets £lo 10 0 At the doors Total receipts.. £2,662 9 6 FRIDAY. A fine day, a cool breeze, and the prestige of fashion, combined to give to the Crystal Palace yesterday an assemblage of nearly 26,000 visitors, being a very con siderable increase on the numbers of the preceding Friday. We have seldom seen a more fashionable crowd. The toilettes were of the gayest, the aspect of the place of the brightest, and the promenading was kept up until the latest hoar. The following are the names of a few of the persons of rank and fashion whom we recognised during the day:— Countess of Mulgrave, Lady Kensington, Speaker of the House of Commons, Lady Stuart de Rothesay, Ex-Queen of the French, Due de Nemours General Dumas, Earl Fitzwli limn, Earl of Darnley, Earl and Countess of Hardwicke, l Lady Monteagle, Earl of Listowcl, Lady Ruthven, Viscount and Viscountess Combermere, Lady Peel, Dowa ger Lady Barry, Sir George Grey, Hon. Mrs. Rowland Smith; Sir Edward, Lady, and Miss Sugdcn; Lady Dwarris, Lady and Miss Kerrison, and Lady Sykes. The French are still enriching their departments, several cases of plate having been opened for the first time yesterday, containiag among other things a silver shield, given by the President of the Republic to be run for at the Chantilly Races. These and all other foreign goods are delivered over to the consignees in bond, the Crystal Palace itself being, in fact, a great bonded warehouse. There is a regu lar Customs establishment within the building, consisting of a surveyor and subordinate officers, and they pass the goods duty free to the exhibitors, with the understanding that the contents of the invoice will be forthcoming at the close of the Exhibition, or else the duty paid by the proprietors. From the peculiar circum stances of the case, great difficulty was at first found in making this system work, but by great activity on the part of the customs department, and an honourable obser vance of regulations by exhibitors, all obstacles have been smoothed away, and now goods subject to all classes of duties are admitted for exhibition without loss to the reve nue or inconvenience to the importers. The Queen's jewel eaaket, which is now placed in a conspicuous position in the Hare nest the model of the town of Liverpool, was yester day an object of mash interest. Th. portraits of her lisioty, the Prints of Wales, and Prime Albert, ass the FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JULY 5. Visitors Mill flock in tens of thousands to the doors of the Exhibition, and still the commissioners clutch their daily three thousand pounds. Each succeeding week, however, an observer may mark the advance of time by a change of the classes who wander under Mr. l'axton's glass roof. Now country visitors, with their sunburnt faces and heavy provision-baskets, ap pear to make up the majority of the daily crowds. A few weeks back, Londoners were the chief occupants of the scene. Schools of all kinds, and bodies of police, have also been among the thousands during the week now closing ; and if the merry laughter and the ex cited gesticulations of the childrea, who will grow up to tell of their day's wonder to their astonished offspring—if these episodes have any charm to people of a sympathetic temperament, they may find them at every turn on a " shilling day." The scene is not without its amusing phases too. It is amusing to notice the pleased air with which the Chinaman in the transept discovers that he is an object of intense curiosity—it is amusing to watch the amazed air with which sallow Frenchmen con template the performances upon bread and meat of our rustic visitors—it is amusing to hear the thousand names given to the Koh-i-Noor—it is amusing to listen to the criticisms on the statuary — it is amusing to hear the replies of the police to thousands of eager inquirers asking the most difficult and puzzling questions. The speculations, too, as to the stability and ultimate fate of the building, are terribly perplexing. A pompous gentleman, planted in the centre of the transept, has heard upon undoubted authority that there are five and twenty thousand broken panes of glass in the roof; a timid little man has every reason to believe that the foundations are unsound ; an off-hand young man, with an incipient moustache, has a very moderate opinion of the affair altogether, and as one of the frequenters of the park, will do his utmost to have the building all carted away before Christmas; a man of decided opinions gives the building four months to stand. The great voice of the people, however, appears to support the proposition of converting the Glass Palace into a covered promenade, amid statuary and flowers. Even now, when strangers are to be met in every street of London, in every tavern, and in every box of every theatre, no accounts have reached us of those extravagant perplexities arising from insuffi cient accommodation, which have been predicted in fiction and farce. Turks, Egyptians, Chinamen, and Yankees, do not yet share one common bedroom; the coal cellars of all respectable houses still contain nothing but coal ; eggs continue to be less dear than traffics • and it is quite possible to secure a cab with out bes peaking: it overnight. Certainly ladies have been compelled to appear in the patents of Hansom, and females have been descried by the observant on the tops of omnibuses; but these signs hardly war runt the farce at the Princess's, or Cruickshank's elaborate etchings. la the same way most news paper editors appear to have arrived at the conclu sion that their sheet need be in one language only, as heretofore; and that an edition in Hindostanee would be, at least, a hazardous speculation. A contemplated event in connexion with the Exhi bition is to be a public banquet, at which the British exhibitors intend to entertain their principal foreign rivals. Here the great merchants of Lyons and London, of Lille and Courtrai, Manchester and Sheffield, the representatives of the Sevres manufac tory and our own Potteries, are to sit side by side in the capacities of hosts and guests. Already the names of many eminent men give importance to the occa sion, and it is probable that, as a graceful compli ment to foreign commerce, Prince Albert will be asked to preside. THE WEEK AT THE GLASS PALACE. MOO DAY. On entering the building on Monday, it was satis factory to hod that the daily complaints of the public and the press on the subject of ventilation had not been left wholly unattended to. The whole of the gl►ss in the cast and west galleries has been removed, and such light airs as generally blow in that direction have free ingress and egress. A similar change is contemplated with respect to the north and south transepts, and that once effected, the rest must be left to the pitying breezes. What has been dune has made the place much cooler, and there is little doubt but that the completion of the alterations will make the temperature all that could be expected in the middle of one of the hottest summers we have had for some years. Among the crowds of country folk who availed them selves of cheap trains to obtain a peep at the wonders of the Crystal Palace was a detachment of 130 workmen from the extensive lime works near Rochester, all in holiday trim, and decorated with blue rosettes in their button-holes. These poor men were retiring after about two hours' be wildered gazing in every direction, when, being met by • person more intimate with the contents of the building, and asked what they had seen, it came out that they had really seen but few of the sights of the place. Some of them hav ing wandered recklessly from the main body once or twice, bad nearly lust their way, and this so alarmed the rest, that they prudently resolved to keep to the nave while they re mained, and to get out of danger as soon es pantile. How ever, being provided with a volunteer guide, a large number gladly returned to view the treasury' of the precious metals' gallery and other objects of interest. Such incidents as these are by no means of unfrequent occurrence, and they show that in the case of large parties of unsophisticated country people a leader of some acquaintance with the place would be absolutely neves' iry to enable them even partially to enjoy their treat. The jurors were actively employed all day examining and deliberating, and exhibitors were equally busy making speculations, sanguine in proportion to the number of times they had been visited. But all guesses then or elsewhere are wholly uselese. The strictest secrecy is observed, and any violation of it on the part of any person, however subordi nate, will be punished with instant dismissal. The number of stray articles in the hands of the police is daily increas ing. On Monday evening the little station house looked like a parasol warehouse, and in an inner room were stowed away six stray female children, labelled and ticketed " Bath " and "Bristol," who had formed part of a consignment from the great factory of Sir John Eyre, at the latter place, and had lost sight of the convoy during the day. They were made as com fortable as circumstances would permit, and at last safely restored to their guardians. The numbers who entered the building during the day amounted to 52,879. Cuh account, June 30. Beason tickets At the doors Total receipts £2,469 16 0 TIVZSDAT. The heavy rain that fell on Tuesday morning de prived the Crystal Palace of about three thousand of its visitors; but nevertheless the total at the end of the day considerably exceeded 50,000. Her Majesty and her august guests were absent at Osborne. But the masses mustered strong, principally from the provinces, and there was no lack of more fashionably attired visitors. Of the foreigner', • considerable alteration is beginning to be perceptible in their appeanuma At an earlier period of the Exhibition tits lira beards sad dark ample:kw of oar contisestal LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 5, 1851. panels are very faithful, but there appears an incongruity in having the former attired in modern costume, while Prince Albert in the next panel appears in the plate armour of the middle ages. We should have expected more artistic harmony from the well deserved fame of the designer. With this deduction the casket is a very creditable display of British art. Another object which excited much curiosity, was an escritoire lately added to the French furniture department. It is a most ingenious piece of mechanism, and its secret drawer is quite a curiosity. The exhibitor opens it, and puts in a book, then, shutting it in, it disappears altogether, and the most acute eye can detect no trace of it in the panel. Now that the Great Exhibition has entered into its second half of its prescribed term of existence, the question begins to be mooted, in quarters deserving of attention, of whether a reduction of prices might not greatly widen its sphere of instruction and entertainment. It is believed that notwithstanding the vast numbers who have daily filled it, the great masa of the people have been as yet but imper fectly represented among the visitors. The cost to the Lon don working men is, as we have before stated, from various causes, enormously high, so as to put it quite out of his power to bring his family. On the other hand, the finances are in a flourishing condition, and profit having been no clement in the considerations which led to the construction of the Crystal Palace, it is thought that it would be a gracious boon to the poor to reduce the admission fee on two days of the week to three-pence. To the objection that such reduction would cause the invasion of low and unruly hordes, it is answered that the British Museum, the National Gallery, and various other public I places containing articles of immense value are, at present, wholly free to the public, and that nothing has ever occurred in them to shake confidence in the orderly be haviour of the people. It is hardly to be doubted that a similar result would follow reduction in the Crystal Palace, and it is quite certain that such reduction would be a great boon to large masses of the poorer classes. The exact numbers admitted yesterday, according to the police re turns, were 25,910. Cash account, July 4. Season tickets At the doors 2,592 2 6 Total receipts roliee numbers, 26,007 CONTENTS OF TILE GLASS PALACE ARMS. [SeeoM sotlee.] In the exhibition of tire arms the Belgians seem to have taken a more mercantile view of the subject than any other nation. Not only have we the iron in every grade, from its state of rough bar to the highly finished weapons, hut the Liege manufactures, amongst which the assortment of arms of Aneion and Co. stand conspicuous, having sent specimens of every description of barrel, stock, and lock which are used in any trade or service. The muskets are as good as the English, and, taking the differ ence of price into consideration, the one being double of the other, decidedly better. They seem fond of indulging in ingenious methods of loading at the breech, and have a ,fair specimen needle gun (No. 149), invented by M. Dreyse, the famous percussion-cap maker of Sommcrda, in Prussia, about the year 1830; from the desire of doing away with the loss of time occasioned by handling the per cussion cap, the needle gun is now extensively used in the Prussian army. It consists of a barrel screwing into a socket, which extends about eight inches from the stock ; the groove runs across at right angles, and a small hammer to the side of the socket. The works of the lock are in the interior of the socket, consisting of a small pin on which the spiral wire acts; a catch is attached to the trigger underneath, and comes through the stock. When the piece is loaded, and socket pushed up, the spiral wire is then contracted and ready for firing. The cartridge is a conical-shape ball fitting into a wooden cup, at the base of which is the fulminating powder; the needle, therefore, has to traverse I the powder to rcach the cup. The contrivance is inge nious; but, like all breech-loading guns, will not do in practice ; and it was found that after fifteen hundred rounds the Prussian needle musket, when tried in England, was so damaged at the breech as to be unserviceable. The needle gun was greatly improved by Mr. Sears, of Burton crescent, Londoa ; but, to strengthen the breech, he has complicated the mechanism. The barrel is screwed into a strong socket provided at top with a slot about four-tenths of an inch broad ; and so much of the socket is cut away, as leaves an oblong opening for the introduction of the cartridge. Turning very care fully to the interior diameter of the socket is a cylinder, which forms the breech of the gun, and has at inched to it all the moving parts of the lock except the trigger. A sliding piece, similar to the head of a bayonet, pushes forward, and renders the breech of the barrel air tight, and not liable to be injured by any concussion. Al though a pretty piece of mechanism, it would not answer on active service, where everything requires to be on the simplest principle. Many of the continental gunmakers have sent example s of steel cast muskets ; amongst others the government fac tory of Wurtemberg, and Dandoy and Co., of Mauberge, (France, 491,) seem to excel. Tho Wurtemberg rifle, being browned, would not be known from those in common use, and the Mauberge musket is a highly finished soldiery wea pon. The smaller German states are by no means back ward in the art, and Mecklenburg, (No. 2,) Lubeck, (No. 60 will bear comparison with any other in the place. If, according to the theory of Mr. Michel Chevalier, we are to trace the civilisation of nations by the manner in which they work their iron, India must must stand high in the social scale. The birth place of steel works, in an age when thirty pounds of that precious metal was considered a princely gift from Pores to the destroyer of the Persian empire, India seems to have been the means of diffusing the knowledge of working in steel gradually westward. The whole collection is full of glorious trophies ; yet it is with feelings of regret that one looks on those scymiters which were once the pride of the chiefs of Delhi and Mysore. The ore from which the steel is made is magnetic oxide of iron, combined with quarts. It is found in many parts of the south of India, but the dis trict of Salem is the principal seat of the steel manufacture. The iron is put into the crucible in the pure state without having gone through the process of . . . Cementation. The wood selected to carbonise the iron is the cassia atericalsta, and the leaf used to cover the iron and wood is that of the aselepias gigantism Working in this simple way from the most remote ages, the Hindoo, little dreaming about tke theory of his process, continues from generation to generation in converting his iron into steel by " medicine." The barrels of his "guns, the chain armour are all excellent. The castings in brass displayed in the shape of artillery, ue all of a high finish, and the wall piece rifled with fourteen grooves, shows what attention they paid to such matters, for the rifling of largo guns is a subject which is beginning to attract the attention of all the great European powers.: The Belgian government, by no means backward in their endeavours to pramote the object in view, has allowed the director of the Royal Cannon Foundry to exhibit some iron guns, which it would be well worth the while of the com mittee on ordnance expenditure to examine; for an English iron gun requires reventing at the end of 300 rounds, and with this revealing will not last more than 1,000 rounds. Now the Belgians exhibit a gun revented which was fired 6,000 rounds, and another which, though fired 2,118 times, has its vent scarcely altered. From whence does this difference arise ? The advantages that charcoal pos- I stases beyond that of pitcoal for the manufactur -1 ing of crude iron is not doubted ; and neither is the expense really very different, when three tons 1 of coke is requiredifor one ton of pig iron, and 30 cwt. of char coal will turn out one ton of finest smooth-faced charcoal iron. Yet why are ironmasters working for the ordnance 1 allowed to make use solely of pit-coal, when it is well known that the use of charcoal will give three times the amount of carbonisation, and therefore of elasticity and tenacity, which is what is required to obtain a more perfect metallic result? The large shell exhibited is one of the tuneful nine which made an extraordinary impression in military and political affairs some twenty years ago. When Belgium separated from Holland, In 1826, General Paixhans, of the French [PRICE (DOUBLE SHEET) FOURPENCE. Artillery, was sent io superintend the armaments of the Escant. In company with General BOOM he re connoitred the citadel o•( A ntwer p, and iqund that it was a placed extraonlinary strength, every point being well sheltered front tie effect of shells, and possessing a ditch of great size, v;:iich could bo watered by the sea. Ile at once proposed to King IPapold to shorten the siege as much as possible by means of a mortar, the shells of which were to wei,4ll mic thousand pounds, containing one hundred pounds of powder, and which would produce effects, both physic illy and morally, against which no re sistance could be offered. To take a town in three hours is not worse than to employ three weeks; and to throw a shell weighing one thou:and pouuds, is not more inhuman than to throw ten shells of one hundred pounds each, yet the proposal was looked upon as monstrous, and the mortar went by the name of the Monster Mortar. The siege commenced ; twenty-live thousand large sized shot, thirteen thousand howitzer shells, and fifteen thousand common shells were expended. The month of December, which in that ciimate was a matter of importance, was nearly over, and the siege, which at that period might have caused a European war, was still being carried on. It was determined to make use of General raixhans' mortar. It had been cast at Liege, and placed at a thousand metres from the Dutch citadel. Nine shells were fired, ono bunt in the air, tho remaining eight fell in the citadel. After the siege the following memorandum was found among the papers of the officer at the head of the staff, " to-day (Dec. 21) the enemy 113% carried their brutalities to the highest pitch, by making use of the giant mortar spoken of so long since. Ono of the shells has fallen just in front of the powder magazine, and has made a hole large enough to bury two horses. I ordered one of the fragments to he brought, which Lieut. Orund has kept . . _ . . . on account of its enormous size, and found it to weigh several hundred pounds. It is, therefore, clear that they have begun to throw tho.c terrible shells which the ness•s papers LIVO spoken so much of. The major commanding the engineers is of opinion that if such a shell were to fall on the powder magazine, it would crush in the roof. I myself also think that no roof in existence could resist them. Pray inform his Excellency the General of all this, u it is important. May our magazine be preserved." What could be done in a citadel, when regular mires were falling from the clouds, each of which could reduce everything to ashes? The Dutch ;surrendered on the 23rd December, that is, two days after the firing of the first shell. What is the use of such a mortar ? Simply this. . . . When a serious war will break out one of these mortars will he conveyed either by land nr water before the citadel of Coblents, or before that of Maycnz, or any other place. And when a citadel is destroyed the town surrenders. the barrel in, a very well finished article, and well adapted to many household purposes. Among the minor articles connected with agriculture are specimens of rasp berry syrup made from the wild raspberry, and much superior in quality and flavour to that commonly sold in this country. It could be imported at 4s. the gallon. There are also specimensof vinegar mado from beichwood, of good quality, at Is. 41 the gallon, and various mimrat watery, one of which celled the " Plantagenet Water " is said to be possessed of wonderful properties in restoring impaired digestion. The natural products of Canada may be disposed of by an allusion to the minerals, of which there is a large collection of specimens. Foremost stand the lumps of gold which it appears have been obtained from various places in Upper and Lower Canada. Of the quality there can be no doubt, and all that needs to be ascertained is the presence of auriferous deposit in sufficient quantity, and with sufficient facility of approach, to make the region extending widely round Quebec a second Cali fornia. Of the presence in vast quantity of that more valuable mineral, in an industrial point of view, iron, the specimens exhibited afford satisfactory proof; in addition to which there are specimens of coal, lead, and copper, all tend ing to the conclusion that Canada, in addition to her fertile soil, contains in the bowels of the earth all the resources necessary to render its inhabitants powerful and prosperous. Among the articles exhibited which are peculiarly Ameri can in their character, are the fire-engines, to which some slight allusion has already been made in the Express. It appears that in every largo town, both in Canada and the United States, the respectable young men, animated by a desire to serve their country, similar to that which inspires our own artillery company to deeds of arms, and urges the Lumber Troop to Homeric exploits, form them selves into volunteer tire brigades, which are repilarly organised and divided into companies wearing a distinctive uniform, and striving with each other as to who shall have the handsomest and most powerful engines, and display the most activity in the exercise of their useful calling. The engines, provided in the first instance by the unulieipal authorities, arc afterwards elaborately decorated at the expense of the corps, and stand when complete at an expense of 3dol. The specimen in the Canada sec tion looks quite smart iu its bright scarlet colour and polished brass mounting, and the panels are painted and decorated as profusely as were the staffs of our mtweiAl constables after the memorable 10th of April. As nothing can be done in America without a newspaper. these tire brigades hare seven organs in the press devoted exclusively to the annals of conflagration, and the exploits of its vigorous opponents. The brigades have their an nual festivals and feats of strength, when prises are given to the engineers who strike highest with their jet of water, some lofty church steeple selectedfor the purpose. Visits ' of amity arc interchanged between the great cities, and it is no uncommon sight in America to see a road covered with a distinguished party of tire en gines, attended by their brigades, and en route to receive the hospitalities of some distant corporation. Each corps has its tank in wane convenient part of the town, the neighbouring district being placed under their especial guardianship. There, in oast of fire, the brigade commence operations, and the immense length of their hose—upwards of 1,000 feet—enables them to act upon fires it a considerable distance. There may frequently be seen in American towns immense columns of water pour ing on a tire, the source of supply being entirely out of sight. All the respectable and active young men in each town spend seven years in these brigades; and besides the honour and distinction they procure by their apprentice_ ship, they enjoy immunity from militia and jury service. with some other civic exemptions, for the rest of their lives. The fire brigade of the city of Montreal number • 500 men, divided into nine companies, seven of which aro provided with engines, and the other two are respectively the hook and ladder, and hose companies. It will thus be seen that the .Canadians and Americans have organised most efficient means for the suppression of fires, but ono cannot help asking whether a little more care in their pre vention would not enable them to dispense with this claim. rate and costly machinery. The only mutters remaining to be noticed in the Canadian collection are the sledges suit their necessary trappings, the furs. There aro numerous and very fine specimens of both; but tiiey are too well known, and have been too frequently described to require further notice here. The whole cul lection is exceedingly attractive and instructive, and if among tke thousands of visitors to the Crystal Palace there be any who contemplate emigration, they cannot do better than visit the Canada department ; and, by putting them_ selves under the polite guidance of Mr. lloughten or Mr. Perry, they will obtain more trustworthy information us to the capabilities of that great emigration field than they could by any other means short of actual inspection. CIVIC ENTERTAINMENT TO THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS. On Saturday evening last the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor entertained at dinner the royal commissioners, the executive committee, the contractors, various heads of de partments, and other notabilities connected with the Great Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations. The company assembled in the Egyptian Hall, where Cloven were laid for 200, and, it is needless to add, that there were nu vacan cies at a board so distinguished for munificent hospitality. The decorations were of unusual variety and splendour. Banners of all nations hung from the pillars, the tables groaned with plate, and all the edibles were moulded into emblems having reference to the great event the feast was intended to commemorate. The whole scene was one of surpassing brilliancy and effect, but it is to be regretted that the Egyptian Hall, so well adapted for displaying a grand banquet, does not afford greater facilities for hearing. The following were among the guests : Lord John Mo gen and the lion. Miss Elisabeth Lyster, Earl and Countess Russo, Earl Granville, Lord and Lady Londeshorough, Lord and Lady Gemstone, BaronDupin, Monsieur Heulfel (Minister of Commerce of France), Mr. and Mrs. W. Cubitt, the lion. Ilugh and Lady Sarah Cholniondeley, Mr. Cobden, M.l'., Mr. Baring, M.l'., Chevalier de Burg, Mr. Plieey, M.P., lion. Sir E. Cost, Chairman of the East India frompany, and Mrs. Shepperd, Sir J. Weir Hogg, Lady Hogg, and Miss Hogg ; Monsieur and Madame Ka minski, Mr. Masterman, M.P., Monsieur and Madame Sal landroure de Lamoenais, the Governor of the Bank of Eng land and Mrs. Monkey, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and the lion. Mrs. Hubbard, Mr. Stephenson. M.P., Chevalier and Madame de Settee, Sir Charles and Lady Lyell, Sir James Duke, Bart., M.P., Sir Richard Westmaeott, Mr. and Mrs. Gas-ford, the Chevalier Le 'ea, Hen. C. Hardinge, Monsieur Ramon de la Sara, Captain Mr Baldwin Walker, R.N., and Lady Walker, Monsieur Manuel Ysasi, Mr. and Mrs. C. Wentworth Dilke, Cheva lier and Madame Zohrab, Mr. and Mrs. Gott, Monsieur Von Viebahn, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, Dr. and Mrs. Lyon Playfair, Mr. E. Bowring, Captain Owen, Mrs. 'lore, Monsieur Vangeller, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cole, Professor Ansted, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Monsieur Bus ehek, Mons. Santillana Elmkadden Heald°, Mr. and Mrs. W. Hopkins, M. Joaquin Alfonso, Captain Abd-el Harnett, Mr. and Mrs. C. Barry, Mons. von Herrmann, Mr. C. Cole, Lieut.-Colonel and Mrs. Lloyd, Mr. R. Dodge, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Alexander Kerr, Mr. and Mrs. (ktaviiis Blewitt, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Bremridge, Mayor of Shef field, Mayor of Launceston, the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Vivian, Professor Corridi, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, Captain Gild), Mr. Stansbury, Mons. Schaft'hauth, Mr. and Mrs. Paxton, Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, Mr. and Mrs. Drew, Mr D. Wyatt, Mr. and Mrs. Russell, Mr. and Mrs. Anderton and Mrs. Roberts, Alderman Moon, Alderman Lawrence, Alderman and Sheriff Carden and Mrs. Carden, Alderman and Mrs. Wire, Sheriff and Mrs. Hodgkinson, Professor Sully, Mr. Godwin, the Chevalier Leucisa, Mr. William and Mrs. Howitt, Mr. Nobach, Mr. and Mrs. Itedgrave, 11ev. S. and Mrs. Catlev, Captain Ibbetson, Mr. and Mrs. Oval Jones. Mons. Marroganina, Dr. Steinbeis, Mr. and Mrs. Fox, Mr. Cox, M. Scherer, M. Scaramanga, Mr. Gaston, Mr. Roberts, M. Roesler, Dr. and Mrs. Royle, Mr. and Mrs. Catty, Pro fessor Warrentrapp, &c. There was also present Mr. Dakin, Chairman of the gentlemen forming the Committee of Entertainment for the reception of her Majesty at Guildhall. Lord and Lady Stanley were unavoidably pre vented from being present owing to the alarming state of the Earl of Derby's health. A military band was stationed in the vestibule, and a musical party, under the direction of Mr. 11. Phillips, sung several songs and glees in the course of the evening. Grace having been sung, Mr. Harker, the toastmaster, called upon the company with the usual formula, to pledge the right hon. host in the loving cup, after which The Lord MAYOR gave " The Queen," with an allusion to the attachment always displayed by the corporation of London to the throne and constitution. The toast was re ceived with all the honours and much loyal cheering. Air, " God save the Queen." The Lord MAYOR then said :—My lords and gentlemen, I now beg to propose to you " The health of his Royal Highness the Prince Albert." (Loud cheers.) I may, I is fr friend only ofth t e h h e ufrmtd race . of but the think, emphatically consider, as you will with me, that he on an ocemion like this to take up your time by adverting to the many qualifications of this illastmoua primes end the the(LoPeUpilleehoeel pu re r time for Fie COLONIAL PRODUCTS.-CANADA. The vast extent of our American colonies, and their value to this country as an emigration field, render au inves tigation of their natural resources, and of their progress in arts and manufactures, questions of first-rate importance and interest to the English politician and economist. The former will be gratified by a visit to the section of the Crystal Palace devoted to Canadian products, because it affords such incontestable evidence of the desire of the Ca nadians to preserve their connexion with the mother coun. try ; and the latter will see in the variety of products ex. hibited sources of hitherto undeveloped wealth, and mean. of settling all the difficulties of surplus population in the way most consistent with humanity and the prosperity of all parties concerned. More warmly, than perhaps any other of our colonists, have the Canadians responded to the sum mons from Hyde Park. They have brought all their trea sures, natural and artificial, to the Gr•at Exhibition, and they introduce to thil English merchant and manufacturer many valuable articles which hitherto have been almost profitless, from the ignorance that prevailed of their quali ties, and the consequent want of markets for their disposal, The article to which the Canadians attach the greatest im portance, and which they are most anxious to bring under the notice of their English cousins, is their timber, that is to say as applicable to cabinet work, and distinguished from " lumber," the trade in which has been much damaged by recent fiscal regulations. The Canadian forests are capable of supplying an almost limitless quantity of the black walnut, a beautifully grained and coloured hard wood, and the Canadian collection is almost filled with ape. cimens of various articles of furniture, manufactured not so much with a view of calling attention to the skill of the artists, as of 'bowleg the capabilities of the wood fur the purposes of the cabinetmaker. There is a suite of antique furniture in this material from Montreal, which, perhaps, would not come quite up to imperial notions of design or execution, but is well calculated to display the qualities of the American wood. In colour it is darker than the I English or French walnut, but it takes a high polish, and the manner in which it has submitted to the carver shows it to be possessed of an exquisitely fine grain. For caned and ornamented furniture this wood is admirably adapted, and its great abundance would permit it to he supplied at an infinitely lower rate than the English or French wood. of the same description. Not content with showing the capabilities of their favourite article by means of furniture specimens in their compartment, they have erected an im mense trophy in the centre of the nave, composed of planks and logs of various sorts of timber, the principal being the black walnut, in all stages of preparation, so - that our cabinet makers can have no difficulty in forming an opinion as to its eligibility for the purposes of their trade. Next in importance to the timber, are the specimens of cereal pro ducts and of agricultural implements. Several samples of wheat are exhibited, both white and red, and some casks of peas, all of which have been much visited by English farmers, and pronounced by those competent judges to be excellent in quality. The invoice price of the former is 32e. the quarter, and of the latter 2s. fid. the bushel, and the weight of the best wheat specimen is 671 b. the bushel. The casks were surrounded yesterday by a knot of Surrey farmers, who praised the contents highly, especially the peas, of which one of them offered to buy the whole con signment at once. It may be observed here, en passant, that the agricultural mind, as developed in these respectable gentlemen, appeared to be in a state of considerable buoy ancy. They said that now they could get good land at 2.55. to 30s. the acre, tithe free ; and that with a few reductions in their local burthens, they were not afraid of still keeping the market from all foreign competition. They were par ticularly struck with the collection of agricultural imple ments, which are really well worthy of a visit, from their great comparative elegance and lightness, combined with a high degree of strength and durability. The farmers handled the various kinds of hay-forks and pitch-forks with the delight of a connoisseur poring oser a cameo, and when they heard the prices, protested at once that sale could be had at once for all that the Canadians could send over. There are also in this de partment " stump plough" for the use of the bush, cradle scythes for various kinds of grain, and the well-known Ca nadian axe with which forests are cleared and new world s are opened to industry and civilisation. A peculiarity in the latter instrument struck us forcibly as showing how ad mirably experience enables men to improve upon whatever circumstances and location may have made them specialty. The edge of the Canadian axe has no shoulder, technically speaking, but goes off at once in the form of a wedge, in the thick end of which the handle is inserted. On asking for an explanation of this peculiarity we were informed that an axe of this form when struck into a tree flies out itself, whereas, if made in the fashion of the English axe, it would stick in the incision, and require nearly as much force to pull it out as to strike it in. The truth of the principle is self-evident, for the elasticity of the suddenly divided wood is quite sufficient to force out the smooth sides of the metallic wedge. A sight of these admirably adapted im plements is quite sufficient to convince the spectator that to face the American forest is not, to men of ordinary strength and activity, such a very dreadful task as has been hitherto imagined. The collection also gives a valuable hint to the I tt wwith ht emigrant... e is nnog agriculturalo necessityi going over e l ertiee u, cumber gCanadianehimself rally tsectionthe travelling intendin g te w se c n g heaviest and most expensive portion of his luggage. Every thing that is best adapted for his purpose in his new home is to be had on the spot, and all he need take, besides clothing, is a sufficient stock of that generally popular symbol of value, an English sovereign. The goodness of the Canadian flour is well known, and the specimens exhibited are of course the best that could be procured. The invoice price is 14.. the barrel of led lbs., with