The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-13 00:00:00

ZZE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

The long foreseen " drive" to get the -Work for-
ward for the opening of the building is slowly be-
ginning at South Kensington. Of course the hurry
will be greater, and certainly on a more extensive
scale, before all is done, though on the firsrglance
round the building now it seems difficult to imagine
how, under any circumstances, the bustle, excite-
ment, and perfect roar of preparation can be greater.
The aspect of the interior is at present almost be-
wildering, and it is hard for a stranger at first to
say whether it is being pulled down or built up,
filled or emptied. The whole aspect of the interior
changes literally day by day. The floor, only part
completed, down the nave, and the laying of which
added so much to its apparent width, is already
being cut up into holes for foundations, or lumbered
over with piles of bricks to mark the spots where
foundations are to come. Gaunt, long-armed cranes
and shear legs are busy in all directions, inside and
out, loading and unloading waggons ; hundreds and
hundreds of painters creep about on the frailest of
frail spiderweb looking scaffolds, painting the roofs
of the galleries ; while loud above all the subordinate
tumultuous rush of noises is the thundering din of
Planks and beams thrown headlong from the summit
of the dome scaffolds and travellers on to till!, earth
beneath. These beams, planks, scaffold poles, ropes,
and material of all kinds are now being summarily
tumbled down from every part of the building, so
as to really make it almost dangerous for those
who are not most careful to keep a bright look-out
aloft before they venture under any scaffolding
whatever. Of course, in the very dangerous parts
warning pli:.cards, ropes, red flags, and policemen
are all vat to keep back the ignorant or foolhardy,
though all these safeguards are sometimes insuffi-
cient to prevent the men risking themselves in the
most wanton manner. Yesterday a fatal accident
occurred, though not from this cause. A
workman engaged high up on the eastern dome
scaffold missed his footing, and fell a height of 140
feet to the ground, striking with fearful violence
against a beam in his descent. His death, of course,
was instant. Both domes are now fully painted
and gilt, and, the gigantic scaffold frames are fast
coming d.bwn. Greater progress would have been
made In their removal before this but for the severe
gale of Saturday and Sunday, which broke or blew
out a great many of the squares of glass. This
;storm put the building to a more severe test than it
is likely to encounter again before next winter. On
Sunday afternoon, when the wind was at its worst,
and the glass coming out of the dome in all direc-
tions, Mr. Ashton ascended to the summit of the
western dome to ascertain whether the damage was
due to the force of the wind acting upon the squares
of glass only held in by soft putty, or whether there
was any vibration in the dome ribs themselves
which would account for it. A long examination
made by this gentleman showed conclusively that
all the ribs and ironwork were as rigid and immov-
able as rocks, and that it was merely the violence
of the wind acting upwards from the inside that
forced the squares out. In fact, the firmness with
which every part of the huge structures bore the
very severe strain of the gale surprised even those
most confident of their strength.

The goods received during this week have been
almost entirely from foreign countries—the Nether-
lands, Saxony, Austria, Prussia, Btc. The English
goods, which are every day said to be coming, are
still unaccountablybackward in making their appear-
ance. This long procrastination is likely to give rise
to most serious inconvenience as the time for the
opening approaches. One result of the delay, if much
longer continued, is certain to be that the building
will open with the foreign courts complete and
beautifully arranged, while the English will have
their counters and cases but half-finished, and their
displays, of course, proportionately ill-arranged and
ill-shown. Exhibitors should bear in mind that
the Royal Commissioners have the power to refuse
to allow goods into the building after the 31st of
this month, and it is a power which in some cases
they would do well to exercise if they find them-
selves likely to be inconvenienced by this unwar-
rantable dilatoriness.
We are very sorry to say that the anticipations
we have so frequently expressed as to the magnifi-
cent effect which the interior of the building when
complete would present are not likely to be realised,
in consequence of the permission which the Com-
missioners have given to the various English and
foreign courts of exhibition to enclose themselves
_ _

with wooden partitions, in order to get additional
hanging space for their goods. This permission—
according to the way the French are acting upon
it, and others are sure to follow their example—
will simply ruin the whole interior effect of the dis-
play, and break up what should be one grand Ex-
hibition into a number of detached courts as distinct
from each other as so many shops. The French
have received for their court a space amounting to
very nearly one-quarter of the entire building.
This is in what are called the 50-feet courts, under
the glass ridge and furrow roof, on the south side
of the building, and this space the French have per-
mission to enclose entirely up to within two feet of
the floor of the first gallery, and from the first gal-
lery again up to within two feet of the actual roof
of the court itself. They not only have permission
thus to enclose it, but they are actually doing it.
They are walling themselves in all round with deal
partitions, which entirely fill in part.of one side of
the upper gallery nave, and, in short, darken and,
as we cannot help thinking, spoil the building. It
is true all these partitions will be covered with car-
pets, tapestries, and paper-hangings, but as, of
course, other courts are already availing them-
selves of similar partitions, the result of the whole
will be to break up the Exhibition into a great
aggregation of small enclosures, which, as we have
said, will be as distinct and independent of each
other almost as so many shops or bazaars. The
two-feet spaces between the gallery floors and
the roof above are nominally left for the pur-
poses of ventilation, for which we- venture to
think they will prove totally inadequate, not
only to let in fresh air, but even 'to let out the
heat and dust. We certainly have had no warm
weather yet, but even during the iecent.mild days,
whet the sun has been shining, the h'eatielt through
the glass roofs of these 50 feet courts fives a fore-
taste of what their temperature will be when crowded
with visitors, totally enclosed, and a July sun blaz-
ing down upon them. True, the glass roofs will be

screened over with canvas, for, without some such
shelter, it is known the heat would be insupport-
, table ; but the enclosure of the courts will aggravate
this inconvenienee in a tenfold greater degree than
...1,13, amount of canvas over the roof will mitigate it.
From this cause alone we believe that it will be
found
necessary, before the summer is half over, to
,° away 'with the topmost line of partitions which
-ull from the galleries to the roof, and, as the lower
one is infinitely leis objectionable, it might remain,
though even
this last will be a disfigurement to
the interior.
being about The Austrians are showing signs of
similar
mannertn ienclosen themselves in a somewhat
the very middle of the north-
western transept, But in this partitions
are not 10 feet high, instead case the art
fit round ead of being, as the
French court, in all neatly
45 feet high. The
western annexe, for machinery
rt in
b motion, is pushing
forward well, but its eastern
tural machines, implements, Bcoether, for agrieul-
forward, and some of its light , • is scarcely so
columns are
not a little out of the perpendieularti
i and must be
replaced.
Messrs. ICelk and Lucas may now almost be said
to live in the building, and their
indefatigable
endeavours to push forward everything are
really
beyond all praise.—Times.
______

A RAILWAY TRAIN DETAINED FOR A Kiss.-00
Monday morning, as the train from Kidderminster stopped
at the Bilston station, at 8.58 a lady rose in one of the car-
riages as if desirous of getting out, but was unable to do Fn.
Some difficulty was experienced by the offi4ials in opening,
the door, and a delay of a minute or so was occasioned.
When, however, the door had been opened, a young man
who had been all the while standing on the platform as if
desirous of taking the seat that the lady seemed about to
vacate, leaped into the compartment, gave the lady a hearty
kiss, and then returned to the platform, whereupon the
young lady resumed her seat, evidently quite delighted with
the success of the ruse to obtain this passing and affec-
tionate salutation.—Birmingham Post.