The Express.
London, England, 1862-12-17 00:00:00

THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

The Crystal Palace has been gradually righting
itself for the last few years, and this season, after
providing for every contingency, it has earned a
dividend at the rate of three per cent. per annum.
This, if not brilliant, is highly satiafactory, even
after allowing for the exceptional attendances
of the Exhibition year. The facts and figures of
the report seem to promise an increase of prosperity
in the future, and they are sufficiently remarkable
in themselves apart from the inferences drawn from
them. The total number of visitors during the
year ending Oct. 31st has been over two millions,
and the return on August 19th, the " Foresters'
day," was not only greater than any other daily
return since the building has been open, but greater
by more than 15000 visitors than that of the most
crowded day at the International Exhibition. The
numberspresent were 83,721. Days like these natu-
rally strain the resources of Mr. Strange, the refresh-
ment contractor, to the utmost. Knives, forks,
plates, and spoons are scattered all over the build-
ing and far away across the unds. Some are
found mouths afterwards, .wn, rusty, and
broken, in the shrubberies, or on the geological
Wend ; pork pies and ale bottles stray into the
Alhambra and Assyrian courts, broken sandwiches
ate fentid id the Hall of !Alas or the Pompeian
Exhibition ; soda water bottles divide the pools
with gold fish and floating lilies, and generally there
is the usual mess which might be expected after
such a large and unmanageable party. It is plea-
sant to find that the directors are satisfied with
Mr. Strange's administration of the refreshment
department, and that the public, if we are to judge
by the small number of complaints, are of the same
opinion as the directors. The income which the
shareholders have derived from this source during
the year has been nearly twenty-three thousand
pounds, or within seven thousand pounds of the
sum drawn from Messrs. Morriah and Veil lard at
the International Exhibition. At Brompton the
visitors exceeded six millions ; at Sydenbam they
were only two millions, so that the refreshment
contract accepted by Mr. Strange has been more
than twice as productive to the shareholders in pro-
portion as the Brompton contrasts were to the Royal
Commissioners.

The receipts from the great musical performances
are very large, and the expenditure in getting up
these striking entertainments is liberal in the
extreme. The Handel Festival may be particularly
referred to. That festival this year produced more
than twenty-five thousand pounds, and cost more
than eighteen thousand pounds, leaving a net profit
of seven thousand pounds. The admissions on ordi-
nary half-crown days reached about nine thou-
sand pounds, and on shilling days about seventy-
four thousand pounds, together eighty-three thou-
sand pounds, and this exclusive of receipts from
reserved seats.
The rental from industrial and general exhibitors
was about fourteen thousand pounds—an enormous
sum to draw from a borer in the suburbs. The
income from this source shows a steady rate of
increase, which is highly enoouraging to the share-
holders. The Art-Union does not appear to be
very productive, as it brought in only one hundred
and sixty-two pounds odd in the shape of rant,
but the tees received in the School of Art amounted
this year to seven hundred and four pounds. The
waiting and cloak rooms produced nearly two
thousand three hundred pounds, or nearly half as
much as the cloak rooms and umbrella stands at
the International Exhibition.

The cost of maintaining the building is, of course,
very great, but this is in a fair way of being re-
duced. About sixteen thousand pounds has been
spent in this way daring the year, and this.gardans
and grounds have cost about eight thousand pounds.
The waterengines and waterworks have also
sucked up at least two thousand pounds. The mu-
sical charges have been about six thousand pounds;
and the special attractions—ench as Blondin—
coet about seventeen thousand pounds. The charge
for general management is about eight thousand
pounds, and the direction and audit cost only seven
hundred and thirty-five pounds. These figures of
I courser apply to the year ending October 31. The
'roes income of the company during that period,
drawn from a variety of sources both inside and
outside the building and grounds, was nearly one
hundred and forty-six thousand pounds. The gross
expenditure of the company during the same
period was a little over eighty-five thousand
pounds, leaving a baltnee to be carried to the
general revenue account of nearly sixty-one thou-
sand pounds.