The Express.
London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

SUNDAY IN THE FRENCH EXHIBITION.

Ovvleist. impertinence hu seamed a new develop-
ment under the auspices of the Board of Trade. That
Board, which governs Schools of Design; which
pretends to be teaching wholesome lessons to the
people at Marlborough-house; which is supposed to
be touched with the tender and humanising influences
of art, hu just issued a notice to English exhibitors
in Paris, from which we make the following extract.
It is headed, "Notice to Exhibitors:"

Each exhibitor will be at liberty to do u he pleases in
the matter of having his goods exposed to view on Sunday ;
and it may serve to guide some who have not yet made their

arrangements to leant that the

is several of

the departments have, moues the sanction of the Board of
Trade, gives instructions to their agents in Paris to dose
their depatments every Saturday evening.
Thus certain gentlemen having thought proper
to offer a deliberate insult to the French people,
are held up by the Board of Trade "to guide
some who have not yet made their arrangements."

The bad taste and poor prejudices shown in
the above notice to exhibitors, emanating from
an English government office, are too glaring
to need the oondemnation of the English

press. The manufacturers of England are invited to
send specimens of their industrial skill to the Palace
of Industry of Paris. The English Government,
impressed with the importance of the invi-
tation, suggests to the House of Commons
that a sum of 50,0001. will be necessary to
maintain the national dignity in the Rue du Cirque.
The money is voted. The English contributions are
sent to Paris, under the control of a little swarm of
officials. Well, the question arises—are these goods,
once placed in the Palace of Industry, subject to the
control of the British Commissioners or to that of the

Imperial authorities? Are they to be examined at the
hours fixed by Mr. COLE, or at thee" fixed by Prince
NAPOLEON P The presumption contained in the above
notice is, that Mr. COLE supersedes the authority of
Commissioners, and any other kind of power. Now
let us earry this authority to its possible result, and
we might have one exhibitor dowering up his stall on
Thursdays, because on these days particular business
calls him away. Another might veil his ventilated
hats from the vulgar gaze on Fridays, because singu-
larly impressed with the conviction that these days are
unlucky; and AAEON might cover up his diamonds
on Saturday because of his religious duties on that,
his sacred day. Then there are fasts without num-
ber, which might east unbleached Holland' between
the eyes of all nations and the goods of Spanish or
Italian devotees.

To discuss the general question of open museums
and art galleries on Sundays would be an effort that
could lead to no result at the present moment. We
want a new House of Commons to deal with that
question. But when we find the Board of Trade
inviting English exhibitors to parade an act of inso-
lent dictation in the face of Europe—to insult oar hosts
and Allies by veiling our oontributioos from their
Sunday visitors—it is necessary to state, for the in-
formation of Frenchmen, that this step is not sano-
timed by the nation at large. This is no longer a
simple emotion of religion—of morals. We are not
arguing for or against the admission of Sunday
visitors to public places of instructive amusement here
at home ; hot we are contending for the right
of the French Government to conduct this universal
Exhibition in 'mordant:le with the religious convio-
tions of the French people.

Sundays are to be the only days on which the ,
muss@ of the Parisian population can afford to sae
the Exhibition. On these days—and on these dap ,
only, be it observed—the admission is to be twenty
centimes, or twopence ! Even this admission fee is
found to be oppressive by a class of people used tone
all former industrial exhibitions gratis. Well, pre-
cisely on this day, sinfully given by the benighted
Frenchman, in part, to cheerful exercise and harm-
leen smanement, English exhibitors are iovited, by
the Board of Trade, to throw • veil over their con-
tributions. This veil will teach the French Sunday
visitor that every religion has its intolerants—its
barbarous interpreters. It will also tend to con-
firm the lesions of their childhood, which instruoted
them in a belief that the English were an ill-man-
nered nos, knowing nothing of the ordinary courte-
sies of life.
But we hope that the Imperial Oovernmearal
enter • vigorous protest against this attempt of
the Board of Trade to add to the list of English
contributions a sample of Board of Trade affectation
of bigotry. We may class this contribution with the
rawest of intellectual products. It will be swept
away by the French antkorities es an impertinent
interference with the general regulations of the
Exhi-
bition.

It is, in conclusion, one of those unhappy mistakes
which uses who seek to fawn upon the religious world,
without having strong religious convictions of their
own, are °optimally Eakin. We may oak its
anthems we question—what would have been their
reply had the French Commissioners to the English
Exhibition of 1851, invited their ematrymen to