The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-20 00:00:00

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Yesterday the Working Men's Industrial Exhibi-
tion, which has been arranged in the great drill-hall
of the Ist Gloucestershire (Bristol) Volunteer Corps,
in connection with Bristol, Bath, the West of Eng-.
laud counties and South Wales, was opened with
much ceremony by the civic authorities, the bishop,
deacons, and clergy, and numbers of the resident and
neighbouring gentry. The exhibition is both a large
and excellent one, and does very great honour to the
ability, industry, and inventive and productive skill
of the working classes connected with the district em-
braced by the Operations of the committee. It had
been intended (as all the world knows) by Lord Pal- I
merston to open it ; but his lordship's indisposition
prevented his doing so, and Mr. Gladstoneand Lord
Stanley, who were invited at a late hour to accept
the vacant honour, being both pre-engaged, the dis-
tinction was proffered to and accepted by the chief
magistrate of Bristol (Mr. Naish).

Prior to the ceremony there was a procession
of the different trades and benefit societies,
which, at the Council-house, was joined by the
Mayor in state, the High Sheriff (Mr. Mills), and
other dignitaries. At the drill-hall the cortege was
further extended by the addition of the Bishop of
Gloucester and Bristol, the Very Rev. the Dean of
Bristol, the Rev. Canon Turner, the Mayor of Bath,
various clergymen, &c.

As soon as the procession entered the building
the bands of the volunteer rifles conjoined struck
up the National Anthem and then a march. The
Old Hundredth Psalm having been sung by a choir
engaged for the occasion, the mayor, at the request
of Mr. J. M. Dempster, in the name of the citizens
of Bristol, declared the exhibition to be open.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of GLOUCESTER and
BRISTOL then offered up an appropriate prayer,
after which the choir sang with fine effect Handers
Hallelujah Chorus from the " Messiah."

The Right Rev. the BISHOP then addressed the
assemblage, alluding in terms of great regret to the
absence of the noble Premier. Their disappoint-
ment was great, but they would have the satisfac-
tion, on the other hand, of feeling that they had not
added to the large amount of toil which that dis-
tinguished statesman was compelled to undergo in
the public service. The rev. prelate enlarged on
the instructive character of exhibitions of that class,
and said he could say from his heart that he believed
them capable of producing important moral and even
religious benefits.

The Hon. F. Berkeley, the Very Rev. the Dean,
the High Sheriff, and some of the working men,
spoke ; and the proceedings closed by singing the
National Anthem.

The city was profusely decorated with flags, all
the shops and places of business were closed, and
there was bell-ringing, cannon-firing, a gala, and
other tokens of rejoicing.
The articles which are exhibited have been divided
by the committee into six classes, viz. :--I. Artistic
productions. 11. Models and designs. 111. Use-
ful and ornamental. IV. Miscellaneous. V. Fe-
male productions. VI. Musical instruments. In
Class I. there are 178 exhibitors ; in 11., 205 ; in
133 ; in IV., 75 ; in V., 97 ; and in VI.,
only B—making a total of 696. This, of course,
does not represent anything like the number of
articles exhibited—many exhibitors showing eight
or ten different things. Bristol and its neighbour-
hood contribute 570, by far the greatest number;
Bath comes next with 41 ; Gloucester and Glouces-
tershire are represented by t 23 ; Swindon by 13 ;
Weston-super-Mare, 11 ; Cardiff and Newport, 6
each ; Plymouth sends 4, Bodmin 3, Birmingham,
Yeovil, Merthyr, Bridgewater, Clevedon, and Swan-
sea 2 each ; and Chippenham, Minehead, Exeter,
Yatton, and Falmouth, 1 each. There are one or
two rather peculiar features in connection with some
of the articles and the persons exhibiting them. For
instance, a linen-draper shows a set of skulls and
crossbones cut in ivory, a police-constable specimens
of fancy wool work, a quarryman an oil painting,
another police-constable specimens of moths and
butterflies collected during leisure hours, a ship-
wright several samples of ornamental needlework, a
blindmaker some cases of animals arranged in imi-
tation of a hunt, a hairdresser ten or a dozen pic-
tures, the work of spare time, a tutor's first attempts
at illuminating manuscripts, an ironmonger's assis-
tant's oil paintings done after business hours, a
lettercarrier some sketches "by a postman in his
leisure hours ; they are few and far-between—self-
taught ;" a clerk, vases of wax fruit and flowers ; a
tailor, some exquisitely arranged collections of but-
terflies and other insects ; a compositor, a piece of
ornamental penmanship ; a bootcloser, a book of
poems written by himself ; and a candlemaker, an
optical illusion by which a person may apparently
look through a brick. Amongst the work of the
ladies we find a dressed doll, a quilted skirt, a
lady's night dress, a bed quilt containing over
12,000 pieces ; a gentleman's summer vest ; baby's'
robe ; a model shirt made by a woman 73 years of
age ; and a design for a " universal novel candle-
stick." Perhaps the first thing almost that will
strike the visitor is the vast number of models of
vessels exhibited. This may be easily accounted
for. Bristol being a seaport, the love of and
taste for nautical matters is engendered in her
inhabitants. Queer trades try their hands
at ship-modelling. For instance, a lithographic
printer, a paperhanger, a planer, a brushmaker, a,
dental surgeon, a shoemaker, a police-constable
(formerly a labourer), a publican, and a dozen others
equally incongruous. We shall not profess to at-
tempt anything like a detailed account of the articles
exhibited until they are in proper order. For the
present it may suffice to announce the curiosities of
the exhibition. There is a working model of a steam
engine that stands comfortably upon a silver three-
penny-piece. A vast number of model engines are
shown, hnd most of them were in full operation.
Natural history is represented by a large number of
cases of stuffed birds and animals, collections of
butterflies, and eggs, and other interesting articles.
One ingenious collector has arranged his insects in
the form of a crown, and the result is one of the
most beautiful things in the exhibition. Art has
sent carvings, drawings, paintings, and plans in-
numerable. One gentleman sends an " artificial leg,
with an improvement in the construction of the
ankle joint." The State swords and city plate have
been sent by the corporation. There are the pearl
sword, the sword of justice, the State sword, and
(dreadful weapon !) the sword of death. The silver-
salver stolen during the riots in 1831, by a man
gla
named Ives, and by him cut into 167 pieces, will be
no less interesting. The ewer, the grace cup, the
flagons, and the maces come next. Then there is the
silver Monteith or punch bowl, presented by the So-
ciety of Merchant Venturers to Captain Pitts, 1628,
for bravely defending his ship against a Spanish rover,
and afterwards purchased by the corporation of his
descendants. The two silver trumpets blown by the
city heralds at assize time, silver candlesticks, snuf-
fers, and stand, silver salver, silver tankard, silver
chandelier, and other things that are silver bring the
list to an end. The students of the Fine Arts Academy
send a large number of specimens showing the nature
of the various stages of instruction. A vase of
skeleton leaves will attract a large amount of ad-
miration, as much from the skill with which they
are preserved as from the taste with which they are
arranged. A carpenter has sent a copy of Wilkie's
" Blind Man's Buff," inlaid with upwards of 4,000
pieces of wood, made during the space of 51 years.
Some chaste designs in human hair show to what
perfection the artist in that branch can carry his
skill. The Coalbrookdale Company have kindly
lent a variety of ornamental castings. A cooper
exhibits a cask that will contain 365 different sorts
of things at the same time, without mixing them.
The exhibitor of a manipulating paddle-wheel plea-
sure boat announces his intention of propelling it
from Chepstow to Bristol as a test of its powers. A
smith shows some entertaining and ingeniousmodels,
set in motion by a half-penny being dropped into
the boxes attached to them ; and a shoemaker, an
invention for giving motive power to toys at a cost
not exceeding one halfpenny each. Hats that would
be too small for General Tom Thumb's babies are
exhibited as specimens of excellence in the trade ;
and a diminutive model of a copper tea kettle and
stand, worked out of a copper mite, is shown by u
working-smith. There is also a picture gallery Iv ell
filled with creditable knoductious. - •