The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-16 00:00:00

rIHE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

Yesterday, at a meeting of the Royal Commis-
sioners, held at Earl Granville's house, the question
as to the day of closing was finally settled, the date
fixed, as we intimated it would be, being Saturday,
the Ist of November next. The contractors tried
hard to get this date extended to the 15th or 18th
of November ; but, for the reasons we have already
laid before our readers as to the objections of the
northern countries to a late date, the Royal Com-
missioners were obliged to decline this proposal.
The public, we think, will agree that they have
acted wisely in so doing. The Ist of November is
a fair limit to the existence of any display in this
country which depends for its support on the daily
receipts from holiday visitors. To prolong it into
the dreary days of November, when the sun only
comes at rare intervals to apologise for the general
absence of daylight, when it is scarcely light before
10, and often dark soon after 3 o'clock, would
have been to court a failure—a gradual flicker-
ing out of popularity that would have been abso-
lutely hurtful to the success of future displays of
the same kind. October, perhaps, as not being
included in the theory of our summer, is not un-
frequently the finest month in the year. Through
this the Exhibition ought to pass well and pro-
fitably, and if the public ceremonial which is to
close its existence is only managed with suffi-
cient spirit, the Ist of November may,
without much trouble, be made a greater suc-
cess as a spectacle than even the Ist of May.
No date was ever named for the closing be -
yond that implied by the limitation of the
admission of five-guinea season tickets to the Horti-
cultural Gardens to the 18th of October, and, had
everything gone on as well as could be wished,
there is no doubt that about that time the building
would have been shut with a public ceremonial.
Now, however, we believe it is known, with as much
certainty as calculations for the future Call ever
ascertain a fact, that if the Exhibition ended on the
18th of October it would leave considerable deficit
to be met by the guarantors. If kept open till the
Ist of November, this deficiency will be much re-
duced ; but a deficiency of some £20,000, or perhaps
£25,000, is likely to exist even then. It is this
estimated loss which the contractors have offered to
make good, in order that the guarantors may not
be called upon for a single farthing. The terms of
the agreement between the Commissioners and
Messrs. Belk end Lucas are, that the contractors
receive £200,000 when the building is finished, and
all moneys taken at the doors between £400,000
and £soo,ooo—an additional XlOO,OOO, in fact, upon
the payment of which they are bound to part with
the building and all connected with it for £130,000
more. There are what may be termed auxiliary
clauses as to the purchase of the picture galleries,
but these do not affect the main features of the
agreement, which are as we have stated. As the
matter now stands, the Commissioners have taken
very nearly £400,000, and the time is close at hand
when Messrs. Kelk and Lucas will be entitled to
the receipts in payment of their third £lOO,OOO.
But if they claim this repayment of money which
they have disbursed, it is certain that the guaran-
tors would have to meet such a deficit as we have
intimated, which would amount to a call of nearly
6 per cent. on their subscription. 'To their credit,
however, Messrs. Kelk and Lucas have at once
stated that their first desire is to shield the guaran-
tors from being called upon for anything, and have
virtually offered to give to the Commissioners out
of their third £lOO,OOO whatever sum may be ne-
cessary to hold the guarantora harmless. The libe-
rality of this offer needs no comment. Its actual
terms will, we believe, be made public in a day or
two ; but the fact of the offer itself is a sufficient
answer to the malicious mis-statement of those who
have asserted that the contractors were opposed to
the building
remaining open, and that it was in
consequence of their demanding the fulfilment of
their a
agreement
that the guarantors would have to
meet deficit.
The week that has just terminated has been far
less productive than its predecessor to the exchequer
of the Royal Commissioners, and, in fact, has been
one of those very few weeks when the returns have
failed to keep pace with those for the same period
in 1851. The total numbers for each day on both
occasions are as follows :

1851. 1862.
Monday (Is.) .... 56,852 ..•• 51,024
Tuesday (Is.) .... 68,015 .... 54,292
Wednesday (ls.) .• •• 50,106 •• • • 42,719
Thursday (113.) .• • • 54,827 ....
54,19
. 1
Friday (2s. Gd.) .... 17,957
• ..
Saturday (25. Gd.).... 16,273
•... 21,451
16,612

T0ta1.... 251,030 240,280
The last week, we believe, is only the fourth
since the opening when the numbers have not much
exceeded those for the corresponding period in 1851.
Even, however,
when, as in these cases, the returns
of visitors have been lower, the actual receipts
arising from the head-money paid by the refresh..
ment contractors, &c., have more than made up the
difference. On the whole, therefore, the money
taken at this Exhibition is certain largely to ex-
ceed the receipts of the last, though on the present
occasion there is a most formidable set-off against
these receipts in the greatly increased expense of
the building.

THE THREE STUTTERERS.—A gentleman afflicted
with an impediment in his spc‘Th sat down to a crowded
dinner table at a public hotel, and calling to a servant, ad-
dressed him thus :—" We-w-waiter, gi-give me 5-s-some
r-r-roast b-b-beef." The waiter stammered out in reply—
" W-w-we a-a-ant g-g-got a-a•.any," At which the gen-
tleman highly enraged, supposing the servant was mock-
ing him, sprang from his seat, and was proceeding to knock
him down, when a third person arrested his arms, and cried
to him not to strike, saying, '! He st-st-stutters s-s-aum as
as w-w-we d•d-do."

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