The Express.
London, England, 1862-06-06 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 6, 1862.

THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

The attendants of yesterday exhibited a consider-
able falling off as compared with that of Wednes-
day, a circumstance for which the unceasing rain
will be quite sufficient to account. However it was
rendered interesting in consequence of its including
an early visit from the junior members of the royal
family. At a very early hour the Princesses Alice
and Helena with their suite, arrived, and were re-
ceived by Earl Granville, Sir Wentworth Dilke,
and Mr. Sandford, who conducted their
royal highnesses over the building. The
visit was quite private, and their royal
highnesses promenaded the various galleries in the
seine unobtrusive manner as any other of the spec-
tators. For some time their presence was unob-
served, but at last the royal visitors were recognised,
and a considerable but respectful crowd followed
them in their promenade. In the general atten-
dance the presence of a great many schools was a
noticeable feature, as marking the value
set upon the Exhibition by the instructors of
bur rising generation. Some of the schools
were private, others public, and amongst them
rife noticed the New-road, 56 pupils ; the St.
Andrew's-lane National, 21 (these had been
franked in by Mr. Bevan, the hashes) ; the Myrtle
1 Peelhaseita sltsernolffil, IA; Notting-hill,
11871gRoolvrich, 11; Croydon (Friends), franked in
by Mr: Robinson, Off ; Brixton, 13 ; Clapham (SL
George's College), 17 ; these, with schools which
attended on the ;previous da', making upwards of
1,000 young people, pupils either et private schools
or public establishments, brought by their teachers
to receive instruction from the Exhibition. Up to
5 o'clock the attendance was—Ticket holders 3,446,
paid at doors 36,230, being a considerable falling off
from the previous day, which being the anniversary
of the Derby had been selected by 60,000 prudent
people to have a "quiet look" at the Exhibition.
The general impression now is that the public
mind has really taken fire, and that next Monday
will witness an attendance which will be the fore-
runner of the complete success of the undertaking.
We are sorry to be obliged to state that the
meal= of getting away in the evening still remain
very insufficient. The omnibuses in attendance
are ridiculously few, and the cabmen rule the
situation with a most sublime contempt of
the public convenience. Thousands of people
waited in groups all the way down to Hyde-perk.
corner, and no cab-driver that palmed paid the
slightest attention to their summons. Each driver
was accompanied by a commissionaire, who had
secured him for some party waiting at the doors
and even when this was not the case, " Jehu" paid
not the slightest attention to any call, but hurried
on to the doors where he expected to receive any
fare which it might be his pleasure to extort.
The omnibuses were all filled for the return
journey long before they arrived at the regu-
lated starting point ; so that those who were not
initiated in the mysteries were obliged to trudge
along on toot until they got beyond the sphere of
the Exhibition influences. In Piccadilly and at
Charing-cross there were numbers of cabs stand-
ing idle, from which it would appear that a little
judicious regulation was all that was neoeseary to
secure means of conveyance for all who required
it. It is to be hoped that those on whom the
prosperity of the Exhibition depends will look to
those matters, and see that visitors are not re-
duced to the necessity of trudging along on foot in
the rain, or of waiting for hours, and calling un-
availingly on cabmen who seem to set all the
provisions of the act of parliament at defiance.
The number of visitors yesterday was as follows :
—Season tickets, 4,094 ; on payment, 36,996 ; total,
41,090. Among them were the following :—The
Duke of Cambridge, Princess Alice, Princess Helena,
Prince Augustus of Saxe Coburg, Lady Caroline
Barrington, Miss Hildyard, Col. the Hon. Dudley
de Roos, dc.