The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-02 00:00:00

711 E PARIS EXHIBITION.

PARIS, July 1.
The Emperor, in distributing the prizes at the
Exhibition to-day, delivered the following speech :
" Gentlemen,—After an interval of 12 years
I have come for the second time to distribute the
rewards to those who have most distinguished
themselves in those works which enrich nations,
embellish life, and soften manners. The poets of
antiquity sung the praises of those great games in
which the various nations of Greece assembled to
contend for the prizes of the race. What would
they say to- day were they to be present at these
Olympic games of the whole world, in which all
nations, contesting by intellect, seem to launch
themselves simultaneously in the infinite career of
progress towards an ideal incessantly approached
without ever being able to be attained ? From all
parts of the earth the representatives of science, of
the arts, and of industry have hastened to vie with
each other ; and we may say that peoples and kings
have both come to do honour to the efforts of labour,
and to crown them by their presence with the idea
of conciliation and peace. Indeed, in these great
assemblies, which appear to have no other object
than material interests, a moral sentiment always
disengages itself from the competition of intelligence,
a sentiment of concord and civilisation. In drawing
near, nations learn to know and esteem each other ;
hatred is extinguished, and the truth becomes more
and more evident that the prosperity of each coun-
try contributes to the prosperity of all. The Exhi-
bition of 1867 may justly be termed universal, for it
unites the elements of all the riches of the globe.
Side by side with the latest improvements of modern
art appear the products of the remotest ages, so
that they represent at one and the same time the
genius of all ages and of all nations. It is universal ;
for, in addition to the marvels luxury brings forth
for the few, it displays also that which is demanded
by the necessities of the many. The interests of the
labouring classes have never aroused more lively
solicitude. Their moral and material wants, their
education, the conditions of life at a cheap rate,
the most productive combinations of association
have been the object of patient inquiries, of
serious study. Thus all improvements march for-
ward. If science, by turning matter to account,
liberates labour, the cultivation of the mind,asaionbsy,
subduing vices, prejudices, and vulgar p
also liberates humanity. Let us congratulate our-
selves, gentlemen, upon having received among us
the majority of the sovereigns and princes of
Europe, distinguished visitors. Let us
also
shown to them France as she
ur obpee
p,
r andou d o so f many
having
is— great, prosperous, and free. One must be des-
titute of all patriotic faith to doubt of her greatness;
must close one's eyes to evidence to deny her prospe-
rity; must misunderstand her institutions,' olerant
sometimes even of license, not to behold in them
liberty. Foreigners have been able to appreciate
this. France—formerly disquieted, and casting out
her uneasiness beyond her frontiers—is now laborious
and calm, always fertile in generous ideas, turning
her genius to the most diverse marvels, and never
allowing herself to be enervated by material enjoy-
ments. Attentive minds will have divined without
trouble that, notwithstanding the development of
wealth, notwithstanding enticements towards pro-
sperity, the fibre of the nation is always ready to
vibrate as soon as the question of honour and the
country arises ; but this noble susceptibility could
not be a subject of alarm for the repose of the
world. Let those who have lived for a short time
amongst us carry to their homes a just opinion of
our country ; let them feel persuaded of the senti-
ments of esteem and sympathy we entertain for
foreign nations, and to our sincere desire to live at