The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-22 00:00:00

,No. 1,427.] [No. 13, EXHIBITION EXPRESS.]

THE

EXHIBITION
EXPRESS,

FOR THE WEEK END'S°

SATURDAY, MARCH 22.

.....-...-..-..-..--

SIGNS OF TILE FIRST OF MAY.

Everywhere the lawns of extraordinary activity in
referents to the Exhibition begin to force themselves

upon itttentioas The American papers mach us with
long &hates as to the with which American
di legates to the Gnat Exhibition should be enve-
loped; fortiqn 110140 11..4 both political and scientific,
are antitiputing reunions with other societies of kin-
dred etmpathic,c ; the industrial congress of America
has dt;spatchi d a dele;rate to London, to sound the
note for a gnat meeting.of them tisanis of all nations,
to be held in Loudon in the course of the ensuing

summer; streams of carts make up nn unbroken
line from the variou. railway stations to the great
building in Ilyde-pirk • the Exhibition and its
promises are the invariable topics of conversation
la every enburhun omnibus, enter it when you
may; taTern-keeprrs arc making cagar bargains witr
their next-door neighbour, for the occupation of their
houses; doors are living punched through the walls
of one tenement to connmt it with the next • paint-

era and earpenterb are busy in every direction—, the
paving autlionties are looking to the roads; and on
all h•uuls an unaccountable, unlimited harvest of

gold expected. Bakers expect to Dell bread by the
cart-laud; buteht.r, think that it will he unneemiary
. .

to part the leg than the body of dm bullock; grocei;
beheve that it will be superfluous trouble to break
up their sugar-looves; brewery hold it to be impos-
sible to brew sufficient beer to supply the impending
demand; and in the goose fetetheni of an attic bed
imaginative Lodging-house-keepers look to find the
fabled eggs of gold. In the provinces workmen are
In a high state of excitement ; while tradespeople. on
the contrary, dread a diminished balance in their
books us the inevitable risult of this vast national
movement towards the nu•tropelis. In Liver-

the policy of recommending- every traveller to
London to start from Inane with his week's precisions
ut a basket, us an act of justice to his trading neigh-
bours, has been freely talked of; but is not likely to
be carried out. The activity on the part of agents
for securing lodgings is very great ; and in all quar-
ter. lodginga are being caught ue, not at exorbitant,
but at sufficiently high priers. Each class of opinion
is preparing its demonstration. While a congress of
the artisans of the world will be in high debate on the
intricacies of the labour question, the temperance
intend to hold great public bnokfusts—to march in •
a body (if permitted, to the great building in Ilyde-
park --to hold a solemn meeting in Exeter-hall, and
to du other thing's tending to advertise their dogma.
Even the chess platers of the world have caught up
the excitement, and Staunton will be called_ upon to
checkmate Germany, Spain, Italy. and Prussia.
Literary men have also promised to seize the exciting
monsent fur the indieatiou of the justice of inter-
national copyright ; and Boyer is making Titanic
exertions for the commencement of his enokery, with
which he will challenge eomparison from any quartet
of the globe. Old ladies are speculating as to the
Neely of their poodles if any Chinamen land at
London-bridge ; and old maids promise to cheat the
mutton-pie man by being doubly watchful over their
tabbies. Hopis and fears of the most violent nature
tem ugitating the • Is of the speculative, the am-
bitious, nod the nervous; while not a few, who
would appear to have more than a thimbleful of
Spirt:ln blood, shrug their shoulders when the en-
grossing topic is brought before them, and opine that
there is nothing in the scheme. Amid this increasing
excitement the authorities pursue their labours
steadily; and gnedually the mares of the vast ma-
chinery will fall int. due order. On one important point,
however, great doubts and misconceptions appear to
be abased, us mat Ix' gathered from the following
paragraph from the f itrlis/c Patriot A meeting
of the Carlisle emennittee was held last Thursday, in
the committee-room of the Town-hall, for the pc-
rape of appointing a juror. Mr. 3PGibbon asked if
the juror would be paid, as his expenses would be
heavy ? Mr. P. J. Dixon thought he would be paid,
but they had no information to that effect. Mr.
Nome moved that Mr. Natoon, the hun. secretary, be
requested to write to the commissioners, and ask the
question, and how. Mr. Parker seconded the motion,
Which. was udopted. The meeting was adjourned till
bloodily evening, to give the committee an opportu-
nity of tleinking of some eligible person for the office
of juror." There are many arguments to be brought
forward on buth sides of the question, as regards the
payment ur nun-payment of jurors; but it is singular
the commissioners should have overlooked this point
in their instructions to local committees.
But the general activity and excitement we have
spoken of does not affect all who propose to contri-
bute to the " World's Fuir." There are some " very
slow couches" conecrned.
The Executive Committee yesterday hesied their
final warning notice respecting the receipt of goods,
and we deem it of so much importance to exhibitors
who have not as -set sent in their goods, that we give
it ut length, we follows :
On Wednesday evening, the 2nd April, the temporary
entrance into the building fur carts, waggons, and carriages
of every description, will he closed, to enable the flooring of
the budding to be completed; and no articles will be ad-
mitted into the building which cannot be brought in by
hand, :red without the aid of machinery fur lifting, eke.
Even such articles cannot be admitted if they should exceed
the width of the entrances—namely, 6 feet li inches. After
the 3rd April no packing caws will be admitted within the
building. Any articles brought to the Exhibition be-
tween the 3rd April and the 10th April must be delivered
unpacked, and in such a way as to cause no litter in
the building ; in fact, they must be delis weed as they would
be brought into a private residence. On and after the 3rd
April, any articles sent through carriers, which require to
be unpacked. will be deposited outside the building. and
there until the owners or their agents attend to
unpack them. All furvign articles must be taken to the
east cud ppf the building ; all colonial articles to the south
entrance ; and all British articles to the west cud of the
building. Although the reception of article, after the 10th
April will obviously occasion great inconvenience, in-
creased expense., and somewhat jeopardise the punctual
opening of the Exhibition, the executive committiv will not
absolutely- refuse to admit them, but they feel it necessary
to discourage as much as possible such late arrivals. Accord-
ingly, they give notice that articles can only be received after
the 10th April, and until the 20th, subject to the payment
of the following fees to the general fund: Every article
weighing under 2P,lhs., 10s.; every article weighing above
214 and under 5611,4., IL ; every article weighing above
6611 r,., 21.; and at the rate of 1/. additional for every
Md.., or fraction of 2Slbs., above Mb*. These rules apply
to all articles except those specially exempted by the Exe-
cutive Committee. The Executive Committee particularly
nine.. that all maids may be finally arranged on Monday,
the 2lst April, in the way it is proposed they should be
exhibited. in order that the Executive Committee may
then proceed to having the building put in order for the
adatirioa of the public.
These regulations apply generally to foreign as
well as to native 'products, but the Executive Com-
mittee having taken into consideration the unavoid-
able difficulties which foreign exhibitors have to en-
counter ill the transmission of their goods, do not
intend to subject them to the operation of the clause
by which the reception of article* sent in after the
111th of April is made contingent on the payment of
fees proportioned to their weight. It is obvious that
the foregoing rules have been framed for the purpose
of urging intending contributors to immediate exer-
tion. Some of the fictign compartments are still
entire.ly vacant, and the greater number are only
scantily provided with materials for anything ap-
proaching to an effective display. In fact, Tunis
is at present the only foreign locality which can
boast of having forwarded its full complement of
articles for exhibition. All the packages from that
territory have been deposited in the building for
some days past. and are in course of arrangcmeat by
native assistants. On the British side of the build-

ing, all the sections into which it is divided. with
the exception, perhaps of those appropriated to ma-
chinery, include large numbers of laggards. Many
exhibitors retain their productions for the gratifica-
tion of a not unreasonable or unnatural vanity by
displaying them in their own immediate Localities.
Bat there are many, we fear, for whom that pallia-
tion (..:11100t be pleaded, and who loiter over the com-
pletion of their articles. regurdlessof the near approach
of the day when the irrevocable sentence of " Times
post" must be pronounced by the royal commissioners.
This class of pemons might perhaps receive a strong
stimulus to instant exertiou by a serious endeavour •
to comprehend the position they will occupy, if ex-
cluded from participation in the forthcoming Exhi-
bition. Genius, as manifested in the highest depart-
ments of mechanical science, scarcely recognises "the
inqxe,sible," and genuine talent, expansive and irre-
pressible, seconded by a resolute will and the irate
consciousness of power, breaks down with ease all
obstacles which interpose between it and the accom-
plishment of its settled purpose. They may there-
etre rest assured that all those who are "tees late,"
however plausible may he the excuses put forward
for their dilatoriness, will be ranked, by the general
consent of the public, amongst the " meapa-
bles" of the trade or branch of manufac-
tures in which they are engaged. That there
will be eventually a deficiency of products ur
a marked incompleteness in any of the compartments
into which the exhibiting surfaise of the building is
ellfasided, em extremely unlikely, provided that exhi-
bitors will have faith in their own energies, and
exert them while time serves. France, we regret to
observe, has not yet begun to push forward with
vigour the details of the arrangements which must
be carried out in order to ensure an effective display
in the large space assigned to her. A failure in that
quarter would be u contingency demanding deep re-
gret. Iler own splendid expositions have contributed
in no trifling degree to correct the erroneous
traditional ideas which were formerly prevalent
• in this country respecting the industrial energies of
Frenchmen. We have been taught, in the moat
practical manner, by these collections of the fruits of
their labour, that they can work as effectively as they
can fight, and that the peaceful achievements of in-
' dustry offer allurements to them little less potent
than the sterner triumphs of war. We cannot believe
that on the present occasion, when all the nations of
the world are engaged in a struggle for industrial
supremacy, they will lag behind in the race, or desert
the opportunity possessed by them of taking their
place in the forentost rank.
We have already referred to the good example of
alacrity set by Tunis, and yesterday we were
much gratified with a casual inspection to which we
were admitted of n tiortion of the goods
fin-warded from that territory. They consisted
chiefly of specimens of the clothing worn by the
upper classes of the country. They were elaborately
ornumented with gold and silver embroidery. There
were also some summer saddles and horse furniture
decorated in a similar manner. Amongst the plainer
articles were specimens of carpets, blankets, shawls,
and oho; s. In the French compartment a party
of native artisans are putting together a huge
east-iron machine, which performs the duties of a
self-acting water-wheel and in the central passage
an organ of large dimensions is rapidly approaching
completion. During the week a number of carriages
of elegant construction, have arrived from the
manufactory of Jones (Freres), coachbuilders
at Bruasels. Front Russia and Sweden a
few arrivals have also taken place. A large
quantity of agricultural mulinery has been
forwarded from 1 lolland. and the first consignments
front the United States have reached the building.
In the English division of the building the enwess
made doting the last few days is very striking. A
large number of heavy machines, in addition to those
we enunwrated last week, have been fixed in their
places. Amongst them arc "slotting" and "plan-
ing" machines, a machine for fleeting boiler
plates, un hydraulic preset from the works of
Messrs. Bellhou.s. and Co., a pair of 350-horse
power marine engines, by Messrs. Boulton and
Watt, several agricultural locomotive machines,
and mills of every kind, hand mills, steam mills,
and universal mills. In the ether classes the ar-
rangements are progressing stuidily, and there is no
doubt that when the painting of the inside of the
building is completed. the goods will pour in with
even greater rapidity than at present. The follow-
ing is a return of the number of packages front fo-
reign countries received at the building during the
week :—France, 239; Belgium, ell; Austria, d ;
United States, 212 ; Spain, 98; Hamburg, 75; Zoll-
verein, 1; China, 17; Madeira, 2 ; St. Helena, 1 ;
South Australia, 2 ; Montserrat, 2; Canada, 1 ; Jer-
sey (Channel Islands), 1 ; phillippine Islands, 1.