The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-11 00:00:00

13,618,836

13,611,297

' THE .GREAT EXHIBITION.
(From the Times.)
The Exhibition closes to the public this evening, and
the great event of this year, not to say Of this age, will
then,be a matter of history. The country will no longer
pour into the town, Piccadilly will cease to be a tho-
roughfare of nations, and it will no more be asked at
every bteakfast table in the metropolis, " Who will go
to the Exhibition," and when, and how, and with whom?
There will, perhaps, be a little more variety of topic;
ordinary amtisements will resume their lost sway, and
not a few will feel "somewhat relieved, either because a
duty is no longer to be done, or because they will uo
longer be drawn out of their regular occupations. Un-
questionably the Exhibition has been a great wear and
tear on its warm devotees. Life is not made for such
vast assemblages, or so much glitter and turmoil. Even
with the timely intervention of the invariable August
out-of-toivn, the campaign has been protracted to the
extent of human endurance. As for the Exhibition
itself, it has never flagged. The changeable weather
and shortening days of October have only added to
its numbers, and hindreds of thousands have daily
entered the building, to move with the currents of
a vast human stream, and to be rung out at five
o'clock, two miles from Charing-cross, in the rain,
the wind; and the mud. The Exhibition is now a great
fact, and nothing has stamped it as such more than its
ever-increasing popularity. Ante obitum nemo, says the
proverb, and the Exhibition is dying in its glory, in the
very climax of its credit and health, before its strength
bus failed or its eyes become dim. Very rarely does it
happen that a splendid inauguration has been followed
by a still more glorious career; that, however, has been
the fate of this great undertaking. But all the world
has contribtitcd toits success, and, though the effort has
been triumphant on the whole, few individuals have been
able to keep pace with it. We now see how much may
be done by combination, and at the same time how little
can he done without it, It is by the co-operation of many
promoters and exhibitors, and by the succession of con-
tinually new visitors, that the Exhibition has been the
great attraction of the world from the Ist of May to the
11th of October. What have we, then, of this dingy
metropolis, which only numbers two millions and a half,
and who are either too busy or too dull for much sight
seeing, to do with this Exhibition? This is a question
of no little importance at this moment.
The results of this experiment prove a great deal about
as, of this metropolis, that was not known before. It
proves that an immense proportion of the people are pre-
pared to use with interest and profit any great opportu-
nity put in their way. We do not speak of giving Lon-
don a Great Exhibition every year. There are two par-
ties to that proposal; and, unless the world chooses to
servo us every year with even greater devotion than it
served Nineveh, or Rome, or any old mistress of nations,
it is vain to expect the annual, or even the early, return
of the spectacle in Hyde-park. But there arc many
gradations between an effort taxing the strength of the
whole world and ono within the powers of this nation.
Why may we not have something of this:sort always in
this metropolis? By this groat instance we now know that'
it will bo fully appreciated and used. Give Londoners of
all classes places of cheerful recreation and instruc-
tion; give them galleries of art and show-rooms of ma-
.

nufactUre; give Them objects of curiosity, science, and
taste; give them what may please the eye or soothe the
ear; and, even if the place and the approaches be not
as convenient as [night be, they will do their part. They
will leave their dull streets and darksOme habitations.
They will do just as much as the inhabitants of Paris or
any other city on the continent. If the experience of
this country seems rather against such a conclusion, that

is the fault of our Governments and public institutions.
Prince Albert and the other enlightened authors of the
Exhibition have brought out the tact, which it has long
been tho fashion to deny, that Englishmen are pretty
much like other civilizsd people in this respect. They
are not so tied to their desks, their firesides, their clubs,
or their public-houses, as never to assemble for innocent
amusement and ennobling instruction.
Whether the present building is to be retained on its
present site is a question which wo need not now can-
vass, as it will come on in due time; but we cannot let
the vieitors of the Exhibition part this evening without
our best wishes and sanguine expectations that they may
meet again. The only questions now are as to the mere
detail. If the present site of the Exhibition is objec-
tionable, let another or several others, be found. If the
building be too liable to atmospheric influences, let the
construction be altered. If it be too large, let us have
a smaller one. At all events let us have places—
winter gardens, galleries, passages, or whatever else
they may be called, where the people of this metropolis
collectionsma y assemble,
nature whenever
and theyart can find
ich time,wil
i
ac-
cumulate in such edifices. It has long been ascertained
outbotles see
s the
that if the public will provide a proper depository for
collections they will soon come in, for the owners of
such collections, besides being generally high-minded
and therefore public-spirited men, are commonly more
anxious to provide for the security of their collections
than for the private convenience of their relatives. If,
throughout this metropolis, there were four or five
spacious structures, in airy and cheerful situations, com-
bining the various purposes of a promenade, a museum,
a bazsar, a gallery of sculptures end pictures, and a
school of science, with or without such moderate re-
freshments as might be necessary, and with or without
a small fee on admission, we have no doubt that they
would prove as popular and as useful as the Great Ex-
hibition. We have no doubt that they would tend
greatly to the refinement of the national character,
the better understanding the various classes, the im-
provement of manners, and every other object for
which society is constituted. How such buildings
are to be erected is a question which cannot be
answered in (14 moment, but which ought, at least,
to be canvassed forthwith, before the lesson of the
Great Exhibition has passed from the mind. If
the metropolis possessed municipal institutions they
might be intrusted with the task, and its evident neces-
sity is one more reason for demanding them. But, if
the Legislature is still of opinion that London is the only
city of the world that can neither govern itself nor be
governed by a Royal Commission, then let the Legisla-
ture commit the improvement of the metropolis to some
hand or other, so that something may be done before
more time is lost. During the last twenty years many
sites admirably adapted for such a purpose as wo have
described, as well as for public parks, gardens, and
schools, have passed irrecoverably into the hands of the
builder. Every year swallows up a little more of what
is left, and there will soon be scarce an acre of open
ground within tho' circle of the London delivery except
the gardens of our squares. Hence the necessity for
immediate interference by some adequate authority;
and, if Parliament should decide next session in favour
of the removal of the Crystal Palace from its present
bite, we trust it will not do so without at tho same time
finding some other site or sites, on which similar edi•
fices of more permanent character, and for more permit-
nentuse, may be forthwith erected.
(From the Chronicle.)
To-day closes, so far as all public and practical pur-
tphoeserse
seer
let
sc oonf c ;Ire% da ,o ni
no
gt e onlyn ut y h
he
unt oabnl eismt
pEoxr ht
ai
nb it t ieohna
po-f
ter in the history of the human race. In taking leave of
the Great Exhibition, if, as is inevitable in all last words
and
from
last
the
looks, some elm
contemplation
clement egnito
glories
sad
ness is in
re
passing
passing away,
not to be renewed—if the great, though world old, lesson
oafttthhs eitmraonnt
moment
onenoss
itsd
mostvanit
impressive
y human things
illustrations—
we must not permit such sentiments, however
graceful
and becoming, to stand alone. Not, indeed, that' we in-
tend to suggest the raising of a triumphant ecean to the
honour and dignity of humanity. Subjects of regret in
connexion with thegreat Industrial Museum are too many
and too personal to permit of mere glorification. With
such an occasion of extending our knowledge and cultivat-
ing our taste, so long inviting us to use and improve it, too
ecei
many of us will have to lament that they have profited
little' by their vast and now past opportunities. If we
have lounged when we might have studied—if the me-
mories of our " hours mis-spent and talents misapplied"
come upon us with any feelings of compunetiou—these
will be most bitterly if It at the first 'moment wlien the
oppo • rtunity for redeeming the time is over. And thus
the Exhibition is to us all an epitome of life and its
duties. It is but one impressive page of what the world
is to all "human mortals"—a thing of varied uses and
purposes to profit by, of which we never know the full
import, nor the enormous capabilities for good, till the
inevitable hour comes when we can ne longer take ad-
vantage 9f Ihval, in bt0:11 henaOy bttt prootieol