The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-23 00:00:00

THE EAST INDIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO TILL'

DUBLIN EXHIBITION.

At the special request of the Council of the
Society of Arts, .Mr. Winkworth, Chairman of the
East Indian Exhibition Committee, recently visited
the Hague and Leyden, in company with Mr.
Roney, for the purpose of soliciting the aid of the
Dutch Government in favour of the Indian Exhi-
bition ; and to request permission of his Majesty
the King of the Netherlands that selections from
the very valuable and unique collections of Eastern
articles, preserved in the museums of the Hague
and Leyden, might be entrusted to the Society,
for the purpose of being exhibited in the " East
Indian Department of the Great Dublin Exhi-
bition."

At the meting of the Council, on the 16th inst.,
Mr. Winkworth reported the complete success of
his mission, and stated that the request with which
he was charged had been granted in the most
gracious and liberal manner.
The following letter from Mr. Winkworth, and
the official reply of M. de Thorbecke to the appli-
cation of Messrs. Roney and Winkworth, will be
read with interest ; and the Society may with
reason be congratulated on the manner in which
their request has been met by the Dutch Govern-
ment, which, at the same time that it adds a most
most valuable and important contribution to the
increasing collection of Eastern productions, form-
ing by the Society, affords a gratifying example
of the friendly interchange of international
civilities :

The Hague, March 5, 1853.
Gentlemen,—l have received the catalogue of the
Eastern objects contained in our Museums, which you
desire to exhibit in the Industrial Exhibition which is
shortly to take place in Dublin.
The Government of his Majesty the King of the
Netherlands is happy to be associated in an enterprise
which has the approbation of her Majesty the Queen,
his Royal Highness the Prince Albert, and the British
Government, and which cannot fail to lead to the most
beneficial results.

It is.therefore with pleasure, Gentlemen, that I com-
ply with your request, and shall place in your hands the
articles in question during the Exhibition.
I have entrusted M. Van de Kasteele, the Director of
the Royal Museum at the Hague, with the care of con-
veying and accompanying these articles. It is under-
stood that all the cost of packing and transit, both to
and fro, as well as the expenses of M. de Kasteele, are
to be defrayed by you.
The Minister of the Interior,
(Signed) THORBECKE.
To C. P. Roney, Esq.
Secretary to the Industrial Exhibition at Dublin ; and
T. Winkworth, Esq.,
Treasurer of the Society of Arts, in London, and
Chairman of the East Indian Exhibition Committee.

Paris, March 11, 1853.
Dear have the pleasure to announce to you
the successful termination of the mission of Mr. Roney
and myself to the Hague.
Immediately on our arrival, we put ourselves in com-
munication with Sir Ralph Abercromby, her Majesty's
Ambassador to the King of the Netherlands, by whom
we were honoured with an interview the same evening.
We stated the object of our visit, into which his Excel-
lency cordially entered, and promised us all the assistance
which his position afforded.
We accordingly received from him, on the following
day, an introduction to the Minister of the Interior, M.
Thorbecke.

We explained to him the wish of the Society of Arts
to have the means of adding to their intended contribu-
tion of a collection of Indian and Eastern products, to
the " Great Industrial Exhibition, of 1853, in Dublin,
a selection from the celebrated museums of Holland, of
objects of Japanese manufacture and design. This
desire, we represented, was the greater, from it being well
known that the collection at the Hague is unique, pos-
sessing also an historical interest, owing to the early
connection of the Dutch with Japan, Java, and other
Oriental settlements. We stated that the proposed
Exhibition, though originating with, and being at the sole
expense of, a patriotic individual, Mr. William Dargan,
was not a commercial speculation ; but, being placed
under the entire management of an independent Com-
mittee, had received great encouragement from her
Majesty the Queen, the Prince Albert, and the Govern-
ment of Great Britain.

His Excellency listened with attention ; and, after a
short discussion, requested us to visit the Museums at
the Hague and at Leyden, and to give him a list of the
articles we thought most suitable for our purpose.
While doing this, we availed ourselves of the advice
and assistance of the Directeur du Muscle Royale, M.
Kasteele, and finally presented to M. Thorbecke the
catalogue he required.

We received shortly afterwards a verbal message of
consent to our application on behalf of the Government,
and which has subsequently been confirmed in writing,
as will be seen on reference to the accompanying copies
of the correspondence.
It now only remains for me to bear grateful testimony
to the kind assistance received from Sir Ralph Aber-
cromby and M. Kasteele, and to congratulate the Society
of Arts on having been the medium of obtaining the
loan of a valuable collection of curiosities, no portion of
which has ever before been permitted, since its forma-
tion, to leave the shores of Holland.—l am, dear Sir,
Yours truly,
THOMAS WINKWORTH.
Edward Solly, Esq., F.R.S.