The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-29 00:00:00

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Tebt fp rt

No. 1,433.] [No. 14, EXHIBITION EXPRESS. 3

THE

EXHIBITIfiN
EXPRESS,

FOR THE WEEK ENDING

SATURDAY, MARCH 29.

-.-

"TILE WORLD'S FAIR."

Is one month and two days from this time the
doors of the Great Glass Paiute will be thrown back
to give admission to the curious of all nations. The
continued steady sale of 144.3,4.111 tickets shows that
this opening day is looked for with no little impati-
ence by a large 'class of the community. Indeed it is
curious to mark the various developments of the.
inereasi tt excitement. Enter a grocer's shop, and you
are asked whether you prefer " Exhibition coffee ?"
"Exhibition pins" are in every linendmper's
window ; little plaster models of the building
art hawked in every street ; Exhibition
buns" are particularly recommended ; " Exhibition
wafers" close letters more effectually than any other
description of seal; and " Exhibition handker-
chiefs" may not be sneezed at. Suggestions for the
better management of every part of the great
undertaking flow into the boxes of London
and provincial editors, as a mutter of course.
One gentleman thinks that a special society
should be at once established for the protection
of the health of the metropolis; another wishes to
caution smoking visitors from abroad against in-
dulging the blissful dream that they will be allowed
to iniport a sufficient stock of the fragrant weed to
last them throughout their sojourn in this country,
the Board of Customs having recently &-
reacted searchers not to allow eight ounces at
tobacco to pass without having paid duty
but. perhapc.the most original suggestion of tbo
fruitful band is the individual who proposes to pay!
off the national debt by converting the great Gtia
Palms:, after it has served the primary ohjmt feel
which it was erected, into a gigantic shrubbery, and
charging a rate of sixpence to each visitor. Of this
scheme Mr. Paxton is to be superintendent-general
"Bright-steer asks whether or not the Crystal
Public will prove waterproof; but as he answers his
own question (in the negative of course), it is hardly
necessary to discuss the point with him. Ile
draws a melancholy picture of the condition
which a house cursed with a skylight may
be in; and he refers with feelings, evidently con-
troths', to the drops of ruin which have fallen
through the roof of the Glum Palace of late;
—being a gentleman of a comfortable habit, he fore-
sees the putty shrivelled up, the wood cracked, and
the iron expunded. and of course, as a natural and
L130'110114: l'allMllaelltV every article under this
treacherous roof expopasi to drenching mins. Per-
haps he might have been spared this fearful vision,
however. if he had made himself acquainted with the
sufficiently notorious fact that the roof of the Glass ,
Palace is not completed, and that a covering of can-
vas will be thrown over the glass. Ingenious ob-
tiona have reached from across the channel.
Fe
exhibitors are indignant to find SO large a
portion of the exhibition devoted to English exhibi-
tors. having probably already forgotten that in 1819
it was divided by the French Chamber of CollanefUt
that no foreign goods should be admitted to industrial
exhibitions of France, M. Sullandrouze de la Moe-
naix is amused by his countrymen of Anglican
partialities ; and ll.nglish authorities Icon to think
that lei. mind is nammed to the notion that France
should be considered before dory other countq on
the CM' of the globe. Nit-di:llion in this instance
apps ars to be a thankless task.
Ilk• accredited commissioners from foreign powers
are now rapidly arriving, mid at the leve of Wed-
nesduy last several of these officials were presented
to the Outs n.
The delay shown by exhibitors is seriously coma
id • sl tat. At Sunderland and Wolverhantpt ttttt for
111MalleV. exhibitor+ have been holding a local exhi-
bition of their contributions instead of forthwith
forwarding them to their destination.
The Sunderland exhibitors charged the public for
admiss. . and propose to devote the prowls to
defray their 'mammal expenses to London and the
cost of transmitting their goods to the Exhibition.
The tokens of a hettlthy activity are at length be-
ginning to manifest themselves in three or four of
the tompartments on the foreign side of the build-
ing. Tie French. Belgian, and Austrian commis-
sioners seem to have tome to the conclusion that
the executive committee really mean to carry out
their repeated deelarations of a firm detennination
to open the Exhibition on the lot of May. They
are now busily enguged in allocating spurs to their
exhibitors. and in the several hoardings the neces-
sary examination of the {Hoods which have been
forwarded already is going forward with some de-
gree of industry. 'in order that they may be quite un-
disturbed during the performance of these important
duties, all visitors to the building are now rigidly
excluded from the foreign hounfings. We were in-
formed that in the French compartment some pro-
gress has been made in the setting up of cotton ma-
chinery of a novel and wen- ingenious description.
In the': central avenue a colossal figure of an angel.
by Le Seigneur. a French artist, is advancing ra-
pidly tat completion; and the large °Tan, the fixing
of which was mnimenced last week, no now nearly
the,
finished. Very little has been achieved as yet in the
slum assignea to the United States. Some diffe-
rent-es of opinion on essential points exist lietwecn
their numaging committees, and until these arc re-
moved. it is obviously impossible that any steady pro-
gress mil lie attained. 'Elw largest foreign arrivals dur-
ing the week have been front France, Belgium. China,
the United States, and Portugal. The CI • 'se goods
consisted ehtetly of poreelain and articles of furniture
ornamented with carving.
In the British division of the building great
strides towards Mud completion have been effected
in the following classes :—Machinery, both at rest
and in motion ; woollen and mixed fabrics ; furni-
ture : p ' ten fabrics; and agricultural implements.
In the portions of the building where the articles in
these classes am to be exhibited the counters and
walls necessary for their effective display are with
but few exceptions either erected or in course of
ereetiam. In fact. little musics to be accomplished
by a large number of exhibitors beyond open-
ing the eases which contain their goods and spread-
ing Bum in their appointed plactw. During the
week sa'seral large machines have been set up.
Amongst them are a sugar bakery ; a rope-making
mach' ; three sets of marine engines, one of 750.
horse Toner. another of 100. and a third of smaller
size and power. A gigantic eoffee-roaster is also
really for work. and a striking advance has been
nude towards the completion of the cotton Taa-
ChilWry from Oldhant and Manchester. as well as
the woollen. ttax, and silk and lace machines.
Newly all the counters and fittings in the galleries
westward of the transept arc constructed and ready
for the reception of goods. and the painting of the
inside of the building will be finished within the
week.
The heavy rains of the last fortnight have enabled
the contmetors to discover all the portions of the
roof which are not wsterdight. and active steps are
now being taken to render them so. An examina-
tion of the roof on Monday wick led to the disco-
very that the number of broken panes was 1,908.
These.however. have been repaired, and during the
last three days scarcely any moisture has found its
way into the building. the thick coat of paint
which the roof has stiU to receive on the outside
will, of course. form an additional and effective ob-
stacle to the future intrusion of wet.
The number of cases of received during
the week on the foreign siire°6lof the building is
follows ;—Austria, 2; Belgium, 60; China, 63 ;

F,,_,ra •pect 11:1 tnited States, 443; Portugal, 92.1
"-`l:erein : Prassia, 1; Wurtemburg, 24 ; Bavaria,
7. Italy, 19; Switzerland, 2; Niger (West Africa),
7; Spain, 1; Society Islands ('Tahiti), 1 (nut by
Queen Pomare); Sweden, 1. Colonial: British
Guiana, 2; Canada, 1; East Indies, 73; New
Grenada, 1. Total, 1,204.
The total number of packages forwarded from
foreign countries, and which have been examined by
the custom-house officials, is 6,511. 1
We would repeat, in conclusion, that only a month
and two days remain for the completion of the Ex-
hibition arrangements. Exhilatont should be up
and doing. that th...rl: may be no negligence visible
when, on the I.t .d. Mar. the doors are opened to
admit all the writ... 4 to the World's Fair.

lIAMBURG, MARCH 25.

On the 15th 61.4 I wrote to you to say that 92
packages had ben shipped the previous day on board the
John Bull steamer tor the London Exhibition. The residue
is to go lM board the John Bull on Friday next, consisting
of about 20 packapo. There are some very interesting
articles amongst them. Fur instance, a pattern card,
measuring 12 feet square, containing 500 walking-sticks, of
which there arc not too alike. They are placed like the
beams of the Sun, button outside, surrounded by a round
I .
gilt Imam, on which eight paintings, representing persons
bearing sticks according to their ages and ranks, are fasten-
ed, while the insidouf the circle is covered by another paint-
ing representing the factory, and having the name of the
house that supplies the goods in large black letters on its
gilt brim. Another interesting object is a model of 'Seidel-
berg Castle, carved in cork.