The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-08 00:00:00

The North London Industrial Exhibition,

Yesterday evening theßight Hon, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer went through the ceremony of
publicly closing this exhihition, which opened with
such eclat three weeks ago, and which was last
night brought to a termination after its brief career
of unexampled and almost unhoped for success.
When this Exhibition was opened on the 14th of
last month it was intended that its curious and most
suggestive collection should remain on view during
two weeks only from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.; the charge
for admission was fixed at 63, bat after the latter
hour it was reduced to 2d to afford every facility to
the class to which the display was almost solely due
to visit it freely. Such numbers took advantage of
this reduction of price that the hall during some
evenings was so crowded that the doors had to be
closed and further admittance denied. Oa one even.
ing between 5 and 9 o'clock the turnstiles recorded
the admission of no less than 22,000 visitors, which,
with 6,000 who had paid 61 during the day, made
the total up to 23,000 in all—a number that would
do credit even to a national exhibition. Altogether
the average attendance during this fortnight
amounted to nearly 13,000 per day. With sach an
evidence of popularity and success before them, the
promoters wisely reconsidered their first decision as
to closing, and applied to the directors of the Agri-
cultural Hall for its use another week, and by those
gentlemen the new arrangement was at once acceded
to. The week expired last Saturday, and yesterday
the Exhibition was formally closed, after having
been visited by 196,926 persons, exclusive of those
who attended last night, probably 8,000 or 10,000
more. Such a success was so little thought of that at
the outset its most prominent promoters formed a
guarantee fund to cover the losses which were looked
on not only as possible, but probable in the extreme.
These guarantors—the Eerl of Shaftesbury, Sir
11Iorton Peto, Miss Burdett Coutts, and Mr Cox,
Al. P.—became liable for an anticipated or probable
deficiency to the extent of £3OO, but now it seems
that, in lieu of a deficit, there is every chance of
there being a surplus of £l,OOO, if not more.
Another most gratifying fact in connection with this
working men's exhibition, and which deserves espee
cial mention, is that throughout its career not only
has no-, a single article displayed been stolen or ina
jured, but that not a single police case of any kind
has arisen from it either during the time the Exhi-
bition was open or when its thousands of visitors left
at its close. Yesterday evening, though the price of
admission was raised to is and 2s 61, every part of
the hall was c:owded, and the large orchestra at the
end around the organ was filled with a choir to the
number of nearly I,GOO. Beyond some mere formal
arrangements as to the route which the Chancellor

of the Exchequer was to take when inspecting the
exhibition, all remained in.the same state as that in
which the public have been accustomed to view it
any time these three weeks past. Considering the
numbers that have been to see it, every part has
been kept wonderfully free from dust or dirt. As a
general rule, the chief industrial objects with which
the exhibition was formed were most carefully kept
in view by the sub-committee, and it is to be hoped
that their success now will enable them to be still
more successful for the future. Next year we hope
their position will be strong enough to enable them
to exercise more rigidly their powers of excluding
unsuitable objects. This is by no means meant to
refer to articles of any kind exhibited by bona fide
amateurs, or to those articles of skilled labour pro-
duced in the leisure hours of regular workmen, and
which are often the most elaborate and highly
wrought specimens of their class. It is such objects
as ordinary articles of furniture sent in from ordi-
nary shops which require thinning down on future
occasions, and their places can be supplied either
by objects which would be willingly lent by South
Kensington, or the works of real amateurs. On this
occasion South Kensington lent a email bat most
choice collection of works in metals and jewelry,
pottery and porcelain, which were not only cowrie
coons for their rare artistic and. intrinsic value, but
for the skill with which the objects were selected to
set befare the assembled amateurs types and designs
for their imitation of the highest class known to art.
Her Majesty also lent from Buckingham Palace a
small, but equally fine collection of old porcelain
carvings in ivory, enamels, mosaics, and glass wares,
which were each in their way unique specimens.
These, however, with some groups or stuffed speci-
mens of natural history, sent by Mr J. A. Nicholay.
and a rare collection of antique watches from Mr
Benson, of Ludgate-hill, and the exceptions we have
hinted at, were the only departures from the rule
which made the whole exhibition one of the works
of amateurs. The collection comprised an almost
infinite variety of objects, painting, drawing, and
model• making by far the most popular arts, and
apparently the most successfully practised. It need
scarcely be said that among the drawings and paint-
ings there were very many which would scarcely
bear inspection, but, on the other hand, there were
some which refiseted great credit on their authors,
and some of very high merit indeed. Those which
were so placed as to illustrate the rising skill of the
self-taught artist were exceedingly interesting. It
has been urged by some against works of this kind
that it would be better to hold out encouragement
to the workers in various trades for improvements in
those trades only, and not foster in them the idea
that common a orkmen can ever excel in the paths
of high art. The works, however, which formed the
show at the Agricultural Hall were in nearly every
case the production of the workmen's leisure hours,
and nothing is more certain than that an artisan
does not choose as a recreation that branch of in.
dustry which forms his daily occupation. To those
laboriously employed during the day, dra wiqg, paint-
ing, or model-making is at once a rest and a pleas
safe, while those sedentarily occupied as invariably
resort to the work of the lathe or the garden to give
them that exercise of body with enjoyment of mind
which none of us can long abstain from with impu-
nity. The models shown in tne hall were for the
greater part models of buildings or ships; and here,
too, the same inverse rule of recreation seemed to
prevail—it was so to speak the builder or labourer
who makes his model of the ship, and the shipwright
or sailor who makes his model of a house. Some of
the models were exceedingly good, and in all cases
put together and finished with the minute care
which spoke of their having been a labour cf love.
It was a most characteristic and suggestive display.
Those paintings and drawings by labourers, letters
carriers, and porters,those models in wood and ivory,
turnings and ironwork by clerks who have gone
through their eight or ten hours' work in a close
office, the visible and successful struggle after self-
improvement which all those works suggested, the
labour and self-denial each cost to produce, made
this North London Exhibition one of the most strik-
ing social features of the day, and one of the most
interesting also. It well deserved all the support it
has met with.
Yesterday evening the Chancellor of the Ex.
chequer arrived at 7 o'clock precisely, and was re-
ceived by the secretary to the Exhibition, Mr
W. I. Watts, and other members of the committee,
together with the Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., Mr
Bodkin, Assistant-Judge ; Mr S. Morley, Mr J. A.
Nicholay, Mr Norris, M.P., &s. After making a
circuit of the Exhibition Me Gladstone was cone
ducted to the platform, where he was received with
much applause, which continued till the Hundredth
Psalm was given by the chorus. Mr Watts then read
the report of the committee, which, after referring
to the daily crowded state of the Exhibition, which
made it necessary to keep it open another week,
went on to state the numbers which had visited it,
and the fact, to which we have already alluded,
that not a single instance of disorder hal taken
pace. The adjudicators had awarded the prizes,
which numbered 81 of the first class, 76 of the
second class, and. 179 of the third, or 230 prizes in
all, excluding ten extra works specially recom-
mended for reward.

Tha committee being very desirous that every
exhibitor should be provided with a suitable
memen:o, and fiadiug that their filaucial position
was very favourable, had given directions to Messrs
Petter and Gilpin to produce an illustrated memo-
rial, a copy of which would be presented to each
exhibitor by Lord Shaftesbury at the meeticg for
the distribution of prizes.

A psrformance was then given on the organ, with
beautiful effect, by Dr. S, S. Weley, after which a