The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-19 00:00:00

THE APPROACHING FIRST OF MAY.

Tel TO'S TOTTOU. OF TILE Exrurss.
SlR,—Antidst all the grand preparation 'which is
being made for the (treat Exhibition. and amid-t the al-
most cradle-s suggestions winch hive Itcm put forward for
the convenience, cmutbrt, and entertainment of the Mita.
bitants and visitors of London during the approaching Sum-
mer, no proposition has been made as to Om way the
day is to be (Amerced on which the Exhibition opens. The
approaching tint of May will be a day sue'', perhaps, as
never has boot witnessed before; in comparison of which
the meeting of the ancient Greeks to celebrate the Olym-
pic games was searely a shadow. A day, moreover,
which has ever more or less in England liven observed us
a holiday. A day too, which has the honour of being the
birthday of her illustrious soldier, the Duke of Wel-
lington, and also of his Royal Maness Prince Arthur.
Such a day should not be pressed over without a celebration
of some kind, and the most appropriate way would he, by
proclaiming a general and public holiday throughout the
country, or at all everts in the metropolis—a f, te-day.
somewhat similar to those so common amongst our neigh-
bours the French. _ .

Trusting that my feeble voice may, through your power-
ful columns, meet with some attention from my countrymen.l
have the honour to be, E.

AN APPLICANT FOIL SPACE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE

Stn, I waa au original applicant for a small
portion of space in the Exhibition for some mutual inventions.
Space was duly allotted to me for the counter. Subse-
quently, perceiving that the committee were likely to he
confined for roost on the counter, 1 wrote to them, whin-
, tinily, to offer to resign the space on the counter. saying
that the like space on the wall would answer my purptn•• as
well. I received no answer to this part of the letter. The
hegi 111 l ing of March 1 received a letter from the secretary,
saying that the local secretary had not duly returned the
forms, which had beet. sent through hint to he tilled up,
and asking me to return the letter nith the blanks filled in
(I had, however, filled them up in t:te first instance, and it
appears that the hoed secretary did, so he informs me,
return them duly to the sectretary. and so he alum informed
I ' ,it. answer to a note of inquiry, rent alto, it UMW,. to
hint). 1, however, immediately, on the 14th March, sent
back the second form, with the blanks filled in, as the es
cretary said that they should have the information by a
certain day, and a few days •Rees:mis. On the ISth. to
"make assurance doubly sum," I sent in a new manusstript
description of the articles I had contemplated exhibiting,
and 1 also inquired what was the time by which the things
should he sent, as I had uo certain information from the
newspapers. I received no answer to this inquiry. I there-
fore
wrote again on the Ist of April, but received no
answer to this inquiry either.
1 am anxious to know whether I can now obtain admit-
tance for the;trtieles in question, which, as 1 observed in my
letter to the secretary, would take up little or nu noon:
alum, whether, if admitted. the y could now obtain a medal if
deemed worthy of one; and, thinlly, whether they could
subsequently, it there was room, he admitted, with or with-
out entering into competition for a medal.
I enclose yogi my saute, :UPI if tau think proper you may
give it to many one whom you think likely to answer my in-
quiries Your insertion of this note of interrogation •• in
Saturday's Exhibition Express will much oblige. Sir, Your
obedient servant, A CLEIWYMAN.

OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION OF 1851.

tr.n.la! to;-fi(1r.)

The following resolution has been put forth by the
commissioners of the Great Exhibition :
" Her Majesty having been pleased to signify her inten-
tion of visiting the Exhibition on the occasion of its open-
ing, on the Ist of May, the doto, of the building will not
he opened to the public on that day till one o'clork, at
which hour the holders of scason ticked will he admitted.—

We shall not exactly emulate the tone of those of our
morning contemporaric, who call attention to-day to the.
resolution. lint canvassed and COMMentlit on as it cannot
fail to be wherever the great topic of the hour is dLxv..xd,
we owe to our reader. some expression of our opinion.

The state-opening, as it seems to no, thus expurseated,
will be no state-opening ; it will be simply a private view.
Tile case would he diffident if the exhilator• mare ad-
mitted. The royal " visit " would then be to them. And.
in according such an honour to those contributor., without
whom there would he no Exhibition, we trust we may say,
with the must unfeigned resp.s.•l fur the highest pensmains
in the realm, that we think there would be a very. pmultar
propriety. As matters stand, nobody seems to think to: a
moment of the exhibitors. It is the play of .• Hamlet."
with the part of ihnotet left out by particular de-ire.
If the contents of the vast edifice came togethee by a for-
tuitous concourse of atoms, this might be more intel-
ligible. But we confess that neither the public, nor
the ticket•holth•rs, appear to us to have the prior claim
iu this matter. The first acknowhslament, on the part of
the august patrons and promoters of this industrial render-
vous of all nations, appears to us to be due to those eitiz,ns
of all nations, who have so spiritedly answered the stirring
appeal. It was complained air old that--
. Woes some 1101761/OUs pde we rater,
Von never hear the 111:1,101 praise
Who mixt, the Mac use Wel the scenes,
But all give praise to IniwoJorte.."
The sympathy with the unpraised men of stone and lime
may perhaps seem a little misplaced, shire all that distin-
guished a barn from a banqueting house was in truth due
to the master mind. lint in this instance, the exhibitors
have made the Exhibition, and if they have owed (and
indeed have gracefully paid through their tiweign n-pre-
sentativoq their respectful homage to the Prince Consort,
air the leading part he hin taken in carrying out the grand
idea which is henceforth associated with his name, Royalty
itself may be thought to owe some acknowledgment to the
voluntary contributors to the colossal alrzregate, without
whose efforts, and, in many instances, we may adds:it:rakes,
that aggregate itself Geoid hare had no existence.
Our foregoing oteiervations have in some degree been
suggested by the IliPowing communication, which we have
recently received from one of the parties •• ignored" in this
matter by the Commissi.oiers, and even by the public
" Sir,—As a matter of course his Itoyal nightie.. Prime
Albert will conduct her Majesty the Queen over the build-
ing of the Great Exhibition, previously to the intreduction
of the public, when all is comp:east. The exhibitors have
been at very heavy expenses, and devoted mutt time and
ingenuity, sow vontnbuting their thousands, titian, their
hundred: of pound., and not a few eunqueratively more,
having been lid on to enormous expenses, which du y never
intended to incur; and, besides all this, they are not even •
allowed the gratification of free eterr.C. It would be •Oltle
acknowledgment, however, if the exhibitors were invited '
to be present on tile above occasion, to receive the ackeow-
ledgment, on the part of the Prime, to wh0...• invitation
they all have 1•0 cheerfully responded iron every quarter uf
the globe. •• As Exit;
"Oth April."
We arc aware of the objection which my fairly be urged
against the admission of the whole number of exhibitor, on
any one occasion of her Maj,ty•• presence. We ene.III
the objection derived from the unmanageable numbers j
of the parties in question which perhaps might not he over-
estimated at fifteen or sixteen thou:anal. Coonected with .
this, we cannot but indicate, in the plain-spoken spirit in
which we have commenced these remarks, one very pros
Inside source of aversion un the pert of her Majesty to tn. !
counter on this ‘a•easiou any hale and 111'1,1 con,oure of
her loyal subjects within a linait.d space. We allude to the
excessive want of tset and meal test, they hove '
exhibited in CrOW:lilltr round the Sovereign, as they weal l
round any object of vulgar curiosity. This is a fault not
sr. all peculiarly chargeoisle on the humbler classes of
society; and if we gave any distinctive epithet to it we
oboula he apt, perhaps, to term it provincial. In this re.
sped we have much to learn from foreigner.. aml if a wild
Englishman, on any occasion of royal reception, could be .
placed, alter the'monner of n-.w-aught elephants. between .
two tame foreigner*, *here might be some clam, of making •
a civilised animal of him.

TUIIKEY.—The .I,rte rued de Conduit I;Hoer. :Ages
that on the 22nd ult. the Sultan went to the hotel of the
Minister of Commerce to inspect ull the articles which were
to be forwarded to the grand exhibition in London. Ms
liigghue•scommtneed t voniaation by the grand gallery
of Tidgaret, and orti..ularly noticed the rich slit:, spun be
steam, brought from the Libaatt, as well as floc, from Oa,
manufteMries of Brousta. lie then proceeded to the grand
council clettalmr, w:t..:re the ric4c.t productions of his eat-
I ?ire were laid out. lie was particularly struck with ilia
magnificent carpet, the saka, the embroidered drctsca, par-
ticularly a superb selsat cloak, embroidered in gold, the
picturesque costumes of Albania, eke. The Sultan also ex-
amined with much attention the varied collection of natural
productions, particularly the minerals. The Sultana Validti
announced her intention of inspecting the different wale&