The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-04-24 00:00:00

THE COLONIAL AND INDIAN
EXHIBITION.

Whatever the ultimate verdict achieved by the
forthcoming exhibition may be, it will in one respect
merit public approval, for it is questionable whether
any of the numerous world's fairs, which have of late
years been so frequent, have been so far advanced in
the various preparati mas involved as the great show
now in course of installation at South Kensington,
which will be perfectly complete in all its details
before the date fixed for its inauguration by the Queen
on May 4 next. The various courts are not only
already complete, both in structure and decoration
but in many of them the exhibits are already In situ,
and the numerous flags with which the entire exhibi-
tion will be gaily decked in their appropriated places
Most noticeable in the present aspect of the exhibi-
tion galleries are the various modes in which
they have been treated, with a view to relieve the
well-known bare aspect of the walls and roof, and it
is but fair to allow that if some of the styles of
decoration are grotesque, not to say inartistic, they
are all exceedingly efficient in covering the timber
frameworks, and in giving an air of warmth
to the vast galleries they deck. The Indian Courts
have in the main been already described. Prominent
among those of the Colonies are the East Galleries,
relegated to the West Indies, which, under the super-
vision of Mr. A. T. Adderley, C.M.G., have assumed
an entirely different appearance to that exhibited
when this portion of the exhibition was given over to
the printing machinery of last year's show. The misc
en scene provided by the decorative screens, the effec-
tive groupings of flags, and the roomy promenades
into which the gallery is divided, is exceedingly effec-
tive. Notable among the exhibits of this section will
be the famous maps of Marco Polo and Diego-Rivera,
with a copy of the equally famous Borgian chart,
which rccently guided the Pope's decision in the Caro-
line Island controversy. A statue of Columbus will
also find place in the centre of the court. An attrac-
tive portion of the West Indian section of the exhibi-
tion will be found located at the south end of the
aquarium annexe, where a large space is being treated
to represent a foreshore, on which live turtle will le
placed, and where it is hoped they will deposit their
eggs, to be hatched for the first time in this country.
The continuation of the West Indian Court, de-
voted to British Guiana, is decorated in green and
yellow, the roof being covered with yellow stars. The
effect is, on the whole, exceedingly good. Tile Ea,t
annexe close by is divided between Cyprus and Malta,
the larger half going to the former island. Malta is
well to the front, and practically complete. The
columns are red and buff, and the effect is very good
indeed, the court looking both warm and attractive.
A great feature is appropriately made of bunting
decorations, the Maltese cross being prominent on the
flags.

The vast space devoted to Canada is rapidly
approaching completion, the walls being coloured
in red, with yellow curtains overhanging, and
frequent trophies of flags surmounting an extensive
series of very handsome show cases. Queensland,
hard by, is depicted in blue and salmon colour, and
the numerous striking exhibits are already beginning
to be placed in situ. Prominent among them are
an enormous bird trophy, while an animal trophy
will also be a feature. Part of this section,
which takes the shape of an L, is a handsome con-
servatory, which contains specimens of native fauna,
and a very attractive feature will be provided in the
specimens of gold and collection of opals which will
here be shown. Western Australia, hard by, is ex-
ceedingly striking in its decoration, which, appro-
priately enough to the Old Swan River Settlement,
by which name the colony was at first known, is
covered with alternate stencillings of swans and the
monogram W.A. in white upon a black ground. At
the end of one section of the court, where the heavy
timber is to be exhibited, is a very effective painting
representing an Australian forest, which, covering
the entire end of the building, is exceedingly taking.
New South Wales, which adjoins, is decorated with a
series of panels representing bird subjects, having
ornamental curtains grouped above, while Victoria is
sinailarly decorated. The principal feature in South
Australia will be the enormous animal trophy, which
will entirely fill one end of the vast gallery. New
Zealand, with its walls of pale green, rod, black, and
yellow, a somewhat ambitious arrangement of colour,
looks well filled as it is with exhibits.
It is, however, in the Queen's-gate annexe that the
iniagination of the artist has been allowed to take the
greatest flight, in the decoration of the West Coast of
Africa court. It is but fair to state that this has been
painted from the design of a native artist, and is
eXceedingly striking, though, when come upon unex-
pdctedly, apt to take the beholder somewhat aback.
The court is painted in black and deep yellow, picked
out here and there with red. The design is, we
believe, considered quite icsthetic—inWest Africa. The
neighbouring courts, devoted to Natal and the Cape,
are quieter in tone, the last-mentioned being, perhaps,
one of the most unpretending, yet tasteful, in the Ex-
hibition. The most prominent feature in this section
will be the diamond-cutting exhibit, which is being
inaugurated on a grand scale. The actual process
of diamond-cutting will be shown, and the intricacies
a the trade explained.
The Indian courts present an exceedingly attractive
appearance. Numbers of the show cases are already
in position and fitted, and the decorations are quite
finished. The labours of Mr. C. Purdon-Clarke,C.l.E.,
and Dr. George Watt, M. 8., are daily telling on the
mass of articles accumulated in the building. In the
South court, devoted to Indian commerce, an exceed-
ingly interesting collection of domestic pottery and
brass ware from every province has been arranged,
and the handsome trophies are in actual course of
erection.

Turning to the grounds, which have during the
past three years attracted quite as many visitors as
any of the objects in the Exhibition buildings, we find
that the entire gardens have been renovated. Sir
Francis Bolton's third year of rule over the fountains,
in which he takes such evident delight, is to be
inaugurated by several novel features, to allow for
which an entirely new subaqueous room beneath the
isiand has been constructed, and the operating
chamber in the tower, at which he presides at the
elaborate keys which control his minions in the
bowels of the earth, has been enlarged. New electric
mains have been laid down, a new series of dynamos
for lighting the grounds erected, and the taste-
less churchyard decorations of the old island
have been removed to make way for an exceedingly
eiffective series of water falls. The lighting of the
grounds will be carried out much as before, excepting
that additional pains will be taken to render the in-
candescent lamps invisible in the day time. The
entire front of the main exhibition building is faced
by a series of Mauresque arches extending from the
tea-houses on the west to the Chinese Pavilion on the
east, and these will be outlined in electric lamps,
which will lend considerable additional effect to the
whole. Two new mast lights, similar to that on the
summit of the clock tower, have been erected, one at
either end of the lower terrace, near the bandstands.
A new Royal box of graceful lines has been con-
structed at the base of the clock tower, which will
afford accommodation for a large number of illustrious
visitors, and adds considerably to the effect of the
tower itself. It will thus be seen that neither labour
tor expense is being spared to make the forthcoming
Exhibition a gigantic success, and, given a fine
summer, we do not doubt that the preparations will
meet with the return they deserve. The greatest
credit rests with Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen and his
numerous assistants, for the energetic manner in
which the works have so far been completed, and no
better evidence of the effectual supervision exercised
could be given than by quoting the fact that a com-
plete experimental illumination of the exhibition has
already taken place.