The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-27 00:00:00

SOCIETY OF ARTS.

Yesterday evening the first meeting of the above
Fociety for the session 1851-2 was held in the society's
:house, John-street, Adelphi. There was an unusually
large attendance of members and their friends, it hay-
:ing been announced that the first of the series of
:lectures on the Great Exhibition, suggested by Prince
Albert, would be delivered at the meeting, the sub-
,;iect being, " The general bearing of the Exhibition
c,n the progress of art and science."
Mr. HOPE t 001: th,; chair at eight o'clock, and afzer
vv remarks introduced

Dr. \VHEWELL, who then proceeded to read a lec-
f.ure on the above subject. He said that in the obser-
vations he had to make he should confine himself
t:o the reflections which would naturally suggest
'themselves to a mere spectator of the late Great Ex-
ihibition, one of the millions who had visited it.
'While it was still in existence and daily receiving
tome fresh accession to supply deficiencies, or
.complete what was imperfect, it would have
been as unjust to submit it to criticism, as it
would be unfair to pronounce upon the merits of the
productions of the poet or the painter, while still
in the author's or the artist's hands, undergoing
.the finishing touches, and receiving the final correc-
tions. Now, however, the Exhibitton had closed,
;and the work of the critic would properly com-
mence. The lectures which would be delivered be-
fore that society would supply the place of criticism,
and dealing in turn with the principal branches of
human skill and knowledge, explain the advantages
vhich had been made in them through the opportu-
z pities afforded by the Exhibition. His own task
vas comparatively a light one, as it dealt only with
general views. He might truly characterise the
!late Exhibition as a great and unexampled opportu-
inity of taking a survey of the existing state of art
:and science in every part of the world. If they
could suppose an intelligent spectator to have tra-
velled from land to land, he would have seen many
'wonderful specimens of the works of man, and by
combining his impressions would have obtained a
good representation of the progress of human art
and industry up to the present moment. But what
time, labour, and perseverance would he have re-
quired—what hardships to undergo—what access to
gaLechat and powerful men—in the accomplishment of
dpao yvvse,ar
hscueoruvild eovu.glaivA life would scarcely have sufficed,
with all the appliances and means which wealth and
he.aveLhikaed
to
the pahpielnodsopahllerhsis ancientyofearain
travel, and yet, after all, how far would such a
survey fall short of the simultaneous view afforded
bj the Exhibition, while at the same time but one
in Jividual could profit, even from such an undertaking
as they had imagined. Here, at one view, they had
pls ,cad before them the choicest productipornosgorfeshs human
art ; all nations and in all stages of
ba r barism to the highest civilization. From Otaheite,
wl lich Englishmen bad long been accustomed to speak
of as the general type of rude and savage life, Queen
Pi mare had sent specimens of cloths and mats, the
w. ,rk of the women of those islands. From Labuan,
.a latest specimen of barbarism withwhaiecnhttheyhad
been
be come connected, there hadclothes,
arelE a'
'ions dborddoemriensgtic
the confines
froofm
ourthe v
wild
t
Ice 'ian empire had come examples of the• rich
and varied products found there. Sumatra
sent her lacquered work, and less cultivated races
sent their warlike weapons and fishing materials.
The re was one reflection which suggested itself on
view ing these specimens of the industry of nations
who stood so low in the scale of civilization. It is,
that man is by nature and universally an artificer, an
n, and an artist. They called the nations from