The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-24 00:00:00

THE INIEI'NATIONAL

EXHIBIT

lON.

Yesterday, for Monday, was but an average day
at the Exhibition ; 46,197 paying at the doors, and
3,040 being admitted by season tickets—in all,
49,237 visitors. On the other hand. Ihere was a
much larger infusion of the "people," the real shil-
ling visitors, than on any previous day since Whit
Monday. There were numerous parties, too, of
school children present; among others, 70 children
from the Patriotic Orphan School at Wandsworth.
Two hundred and fifty men of the Royal Naval
Reserve now on drill on board her Majesty's ship
President, at Blackwell, also visited the building
with their gunnery officers and instructors, under
the command of Captain Lacy, Captain Wright,
and Captain Brown. They came up the river by
steamer to Chelsea and marched thence to tho Ex-
hibition, headed by a band, returning in the same
way, and the trip seemed to give them great enjoy-
ment. The fine appearance of the force excited
general admiration, and nothing could exceed their
orderly behaviour and the interest they showed in
the Exhibition.
Prince Napoleon paid a visit yesterday morning
at an early hour. He was received by Lord Gran-
ville and the other Royal Commissioners in the
French Court, in which he spent some time in exa-
mining the cases of the French exhibitors, passing
afterwards into the Machinery Annexe, where he
remained until past 12 o'clock. His Imperial High-
ness intends to visit every part of the Exhibition in
detail, and expressed great gratification with what
he saw of it to-day, It has been settled that the
distribution of the jurors' award shall take place on
Friday, the 11th of July, at a grand official cere-
monial, the details of which are now being per-
fected. The Duke of Cambridge has been named
by her Majesty to distribute the awards to tho ex-
hibitors of the United Kingdom and the colonies,
and special commissioners will be appointed
by foreign Governments to perform the same
duty for other countries. The ceremonial will
take place partly in the Exhibition building
and partly in the Horticultural Gardens, which for
the day will be treated as part of the Exhibition.
The International Juries will declare the awards on
the upper terrace of the gardens, if the weather be
favourable, if not; in the conservatory, and the
Special Commissioners having received them will
pass in procession round the building, and in each
separate department the awards will be presented,
in the English half to the Chairmen of Committees,
and in the foreign half to the head of the National
Commission. This is the programme at present
arranged, and, no doubt, the Commissioners will do
their best in every way to make the ceremony as
effective as possible. The admission on that day
will be by season tickets, or by special tickets, the
price of which, if purchased before the Bth of July,
will be 55., and after that date 7s. 6d. A still fur-
ther alteration is projected with regard to season
tickets. On and after the Bth of July the prices
will be 305., to admit on all days (including the
ceremonial of the 11th), and 10s., to admit only on
ls. days.
Queensland, the latest-born of our Australian
colonies, make an excellent show here, and, to
judge from the great variety of products exhibited,
there are few countries blessed with a more produc-
tive soil or greater diversity of resources. As the
colony is but yet in its third year, the articles in
most cases must be regarded as specimens rather of
the capabilities of the colony than of actual results
achieved. The first object which attracts attention
on entering the court is the cotton, of which there
are numerous samples. The quality of the Sea
Island cotton is remarkably fine, and has been
priced by such authorities as Mr. Bazley and Mr.
Ashworth at 3s. 3d. and 3s. 6d. per pound. In the
discussion in the House of Commons on Thursday
night on the subject of the cotton supply, Mr.
Bazley expressed his belief that from the great
valley of the Murray we might in a year or
two obtain all the cotton we needed, if the re-
quisite labour could be obtained; and, as the
samples shown here came from all localities, hun-
dreds of miles apart, there can be no doubt that
Queensland possesses an enormous area capable of
growing cotton of the best quality. One sample,
grown 200 miles from the sea-board, rivals in
quality that grown on the sea coast. Of the cost of
production no general estimate can at present be
formed ; but Mr. Bazley, on the authority of the
agent of a Manchester company, put the average
crop at 4001 b. of clean cotton per acre—which at
ordinary prices would make the value of the pro-
duce of the land about £lO per acre. To the reali-
sation of this prosperous result there appears to be
but a single obstacle, though it is a great one—
abundance of labour—for capital would, probably,
be forthcoming fcr such an enterprise to any
amount. The principal export of the colony at pre-
sent is wool, of which upwards of 5,000,000 bales,
the produce of 3,500,000 sheep, are annually ex-
ported. The quality of this staple is also of surpass-
ing fineness, and if there is anything in the building
which rivals the softness and beauty of the Cash-
mere fabrics it is a dress length exhibited here by
Mr. Bazley as an illustration of the Queensland
cotton and wool. It is manufactured from No. 250
lace thread, spun from pure cotton grown in Queens-
land, the wool having been "spun from the finest
sheep's wool, also produced in the colony. There
are also a few samples of silk of excellent quality,
and the climate is said to be well adapted to the
growth of the mulberry tree, so that in this impor-
tant branch of industry the colony may some day
or other make a great figure. Wheat appears to be a
crop not much in favour with the colonists at pre-
sent, and, indeed, according to some authorities, the
soil and climate are unsuited for its production.
The specimens shown here, however, both of wheat
and flour, are very fine; and it is said that some
rgriculturists have grown wheat very successfully
en the western slopes of the great dividing range
of the colony. At present, however, in common
with their neighbours of New South Wales and
Victoria, the colonists are importers of breadstuff's
to some extent ; end in 1860 the amount sent out of
the colony for wheat and flour was £94,339. The
most generally cultivated crop is maize, which on
the rich brush lands on the banks of the Brisbane
is wonderfully prolific and remunerative. There
are some splendid cobs shown here, and one
sample is said to have been grown 1,600 ft, above
the level of the sea. Samples of arrow-root, coffee,
tobacco, sugar canes, tamariuds, manna, wine,
and honey furnish additional illustrations of the

capabilities of the colony, and we must not omit to

_ .
mention the fibres of the banana, the phormium
tenax, and a malvaceous plant said to grow with
great luxuriance near Brisbane, which are all of
remarkable strength, and may no doubt be turned
to a variety of purposes. One of the most remarkable
products of the colony is the dugong oil, procured
from the bubbler of the dugong—a fish which is
found in large herds at the mouth of the Bris-
bane. Its curative properties were first discovered
by the natives who gorge themselves with the
flesh, and it is now exhibited as a substitute for cod-
' rivet oil- It contains no iodine, but, on the other 1
hand, iatuissesweet and palatable, and does oes not pro-
duce n
There is also a collection of medicinal
barks of 9.)1t1.,,
value,pt and a specimen of coal from
. the Red Bank
Of the beautiful
implements, and the .
spoken, as well of the collect'
one of the finest in the
in most effective
a pine, the iron bark, the c, about 20 miles from Ipswich.
, Res of stuffed birds, the native
jewelry, , we have already
.
buili_o.n of woods, which is
manner. The
and is arranged
he Moreton Bay
gum, the box which
are of the highest value for all buildin '
grow to an immense size in the Queenalganpaufrposes,
orests,
while in the violet wood, tulip, acacia, and
cypress
the colony possesses furniture woods of unrivalled
beauty. The Australian woods, however, are
per-
haps seen to most perfection in the Tasmanian
Court, where they form the chief feature, and if we
are to judge from the prominence given lc tbe spars
and planks, and the trouble which has been taken
in arranging
them, the colonists of Van Diemen's
Land seem to pride themselves more on their
mighty forests than any other of their natural
resources. In the octagonal trophy,
which lifts
its tall head behind the organ in the north-
eastern transept, are to be found splendid speei-
mans of all the principal trees of Tasmania—seine
almost green, others carefully seasoned, and others
which have stood the test of 30 or 40 years' ex-1