The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-17 00:00:00

THE INTERNATION 41 EXHIBITION.

The important question regarding the principal
details of the opening ceremony of the International
Exhibition and of the distinguished personages who
are to take part on that occasion will, in a few days,
be entirely arranged. There was great disappoiet-
ment felt among the exhibitors when it became
known that the Prince of Wales would not be pre-
sent to inaugurate with fitting splendour and
ceremony this great national event, and even to
this day the great majority still cling to the
hope that if an earnest expression of their wishes
on this subject were made to her Majesty her
permission would be given for the return of the
Prince in time for the Ist of May. That some
such step will be taken in the matter by the
exhibitors there is very little doubt, though
with what success it is, of course, impossible to
foresee. One thing, however, is very certain, the
announcement that her Majesty had given her
sanction to the return of the Prince to preside at
the opening would give unbounded satisfaction, not
alone to the exhibitors, but to all concerned in the
success of the Exhibition. The other arrangements
for the Ist of May, as far as they have yet been
considered, are to the effect that her Majesty will
issue a Royal Commission to the Duke of Cambridge,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Derby.
Viscount Palmerston, and the Lord Chancellor, em-
powering them to open the building in her name,
and to invite foreign Sovereigns to be present at
the ceremony. The latter provision is a most im-
portant one as regards the eclat of the occasion. It
seems to be generally believed among those most
likely to be well-informed on such matters that the
Emperor of the French will pay one visit to London
this year, for the purpose of seeing the Exhibition,
to the magnificence of which his own subjects have
contributed so largely ; and it seems not unreason-
able to expect that on the invitation of the Royal
Commissioners his Imperial Majesty might be in-
duced to make this visit coincide with the period
fixed for the opening. The English people, we are
sure, would appreciate so high and graceful a com-
pliment at its fullest value. The other illustrious
foreign personages will most probably be the King
of the Belgians, with the Crown Prince and Prin-
cess Royal of Prussia, Prince Louis of Hesse, &c.
At present the Commissioners are undecided
whether or not there will be any necessity for the
erection of unreserved seats on this occasion. We
venture to think that such an arrangement would
be in the highest degree desirable. If the Emperor
of the French and other representatives of foreign
Royalty honour the occasion with their presence,
there are certain to be at least 30,000 visitors
present, and to leave them to find out what places
they can, inconveniently overcrowding some parts,
while others are left comparatively empty, would
be to invite such a scene of confusion as would go
far to spoil the whole effect. If reserved seats
are decided on we believe there is no intention
to charge for them, but to give admission to the
season ticket-holders according to the order of
priority in which the tickets were purchased.
Whatever other adjuncts may give eclat to the
opening ceremony, there is no doubt but that the
musical programme alone will be sufficient to insure
a large attendance and a marked success. Rossini,
Meyerbeer, Verdi, and Auber have each composed
special marches and anthems for this occasion, and
which it is said, when fitly performed, as they will
be on the Ist of May by a powerful orchestra and
chorus, will have a most grand and impressive effect.
The orchestra is to be erected under the eastern
dome to accommodate 300 instrumentalists and 1,000
vocalists, all under the direction of Mr. Costa.
While speaking of this orchestra, we may mention
that it is a pity the designs, which are finished, are
not now given to the contractors to execute. It
seems to be quite forgotten that a work which ought
to take ten days, and has to be done in five days,
costs nearly double what it otherwise would ; and it
is hardly fair to the contractors, who have behaved
with such spirit and liberality, to put off everything
to the last moment, and so add both to their anxiety
and expense. We repeatedly called attention dur-
ing the winter to the backwardness shown by the
Commissioners in getting ready the western annexe
for machinery in motion, and the works here were
so long deferred that it is now more than doubtful if
it can be even in a tolerable state of readiness by the
Ist of May, and this procrastination has cost the con-
tractors at least £5,000 more than it need have done
if they had been allowed to proceed with the annexe
in good time and at their leisure. This ought not to
occur with the plans for the erection of the orches-
tra. This orchestra is to be removed by the con-
tractors within a fortnigt t after the opening of the
building ; but we venture to think that a slight im-
provement might be made in this arrangement which
would give very general satisfaction, and need not
delay the final removal of the structure by many
hours. It is admitted on all sides that the musical
portion of the opening ceremony will be very grand
indeed. But it is also well known that the building
itself, however well suited for Exhibition purposes,
is necessarily from this fact alone very ill adapted
for conducting sound. Broken up on every side into
courts and counter spaces, filled with goods, and hung
with tapestries, it is difficult to imagine how an
audience of 25,000 visitors at the opening ceremony
can be so arranged round the orchestra as to allow
even 10,000 to hear the music with proper effect.
The opening will take place on a Thursday; why
should not the orchestra be allowed to remain, and
a repetition of the musical programme take place
on the Friday and Saturday following ? These
three days would enable the whole body of season-
ticket holders to hear the music if they were so
inclined, as there is no doubt they would be, and
this would in itself be an attraction which would
amply justify the erection of the intended orchestra.
The French are still rapidly enclosing their Court
with the wooden partitions which are now so loudly
complained of on albeides. The effect which this
enclosure will produce in the interior will be precisely
the same as if a gigantic wooden box, occupying one
quarter of the building, and placed in the best part,
were built up from the floor to the roof. If other
Courts follow this example, as there is every reason
to believe they will if the French are allowed
to persist, the whole interior will be a mere
labyrinth of wooden partitions, and it will literally
be neeessary to erect hand-posts to show the
public what routes they must follow to reach such
and such Courts and classes of manufactures. The
Belgians are very busy preparing to shut them-
' selves in at least as high as the gallery floors, and
the Austrian workmen are similarly engaged. It
is singular that foreign Governments, usually so
economical in other matters, should go to the great
expense of sending over gangs of workmen to do a
few simple jobs in carpentering which could be donq
at a tithe of the cost by the contractors on the spot l
Apparently,
the French Commission seem to hw'Q