The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-28 00:00:00

The Paris Exposition.

General was the disappointment felt by every
visitor to the Universal Exhibition of Paris in the
year 1855, on reaching the spot where floated the
banner of the United States in witnessing the meagre
display from a land ibounding with everything that
contributes to the welfare of the human race. A
few specimens of cotton, some useful machines, and
manufactured prodacts of caoutchouc were all that
were sent by a people whose agriculture, com-
merce, and industry, whose mineral wealth, whose
rich vegetation, whose mountain ranges and mag-
nificent streams, have been the theme of astonish-
ment and admiration of the older nations of the
earth.

The apathy of a mighty people, distinguished for
their activity, their resolution, and their determi-
tion to place themselves in the highest rank of
civilisation, with their courage in overcoming
obstacles, their zeal in the pursuit of wealth,
seemed totally at variance with their principle
" go-a-head," and their predilection for " the al-
mighty dollar." The, causes of this unexpected
want of energy need not be examined. The great
ANLInf lirsvcr iss +r, n,ll ilpnri +lin T'llif nil Statac fn
show of what it is capable, and invite every patriot
to stand forward and vindicate the claims of his
country to hold a sovereign rank among the bene-
factors of the world, and not allow its two neigh-
bours, Canada and Mexico, to carry away the palm,
eaind viusbaetrioannkiendNasortthhe
Alernadeerriesatttohewdheiveehlotphmeirenvtaostf
and useful collections seemed to entitle them. The
resources and prospects
iteindustry. It should be far beyond any estimate •
that has hitherto been
not a mere idle display that of the United States are
made, and a glorious opportunity
talent of men of ability.
exhibit to the European States its capabilities and
h otrne in now occurs
stkhiallt
iatntidos
hidden for years, and R opennsa
An invites
opportunity .
market, whichisno mayoe lead. to wealth
publicity to
legitimate
of giving
ture which cannot furnish s'omethinagnfdor offeredbe
e
There reputation.the gen e
general
l
good. Every man ouppoastsieosns i
nngot
htar
ta trade, n
whicho
experiencem anu fa c -
has taught him carries with it something useful to
his fellow being, may
and
upward such . The
de avge curiiocpuriult
m e tcornst must send the produce of
his land, with models of the
iogmlhetmteon
tbsrwinhgiehithfaovre
given -
trade of Ame-
rica. He must remember to
h the
are daily seen by him are imperfectly known to
Europeans ; the
growth and the manipulations
of some of the commonest
are confined to the soil which
t u
cotton, t mosts
u g sugar,
r ,
coffee,
usefulareeff plantseme,
aanny
Id
tobacco, are objects of interest,
he
vegetable substances eve n as
e but
many articles which
cultivates. Such
usefrueslt ,
andan and there
stages of development •
n which they may be ex-
hibited so as to be
observers, and profitable to the growers. There is
scarcely a State that instruers. to
ctive
cannot furnish specimens of
its mineral wealth. It •
is not only the productive
gold fields that possess
a value in the eyes of the
foreigner-- the iron ore, the copper,
the quick-
silver, the coal supply, with
theimmense capabilities
of drawing from the bosom of the earth materials
for the comfort of mankind,
ought to find their way
to Paris ; the machinery by which the mines are
made to yield their treasures should be made known,
and, by comparison V with I nose that have been
found of immense service in Europe, would lead to
improvements which would insure ample fortunes
to ingenious innovators on systems which are
acknowledged at the mouth of the mine to be im-
perfect.
The Americans have shown that there is an
ingenuity and skill in the comtruction of machinery
and of implements of ordinary use
unsurpassed
by any inventors. Thus, machines for working
cotton mills, for grinding flour, for sawing timber,
the facility with which they are constructed, the
economy they introduce, and their remarkable
adaptability, have met with general approbation.
There is, besides, a marvellous intelligence exhibited
in the numerous domestic articles, which are
furnished at a cheap rate that seems almost un-
known on the Continent of Europe. It is not only
the sewing machine that would attract attention,
but the spring chairs, the bell telegraph, the pegged
boots and shoes, the cooking ranges, butter churns,
cheese presses, which should ba displayed to give a
proper idea of what has been done. The industry
and the enterprise of the shipbuilders, by which
commodities are carried from one end of the world
to the other, has a superiority over less favoured
nations that ought not to be passed over in silence.
The models of some of the clippers, with the various
improvements, would be a most desirable portion of
the great museum which will for a short time be
open to the inspection of the world. Some en-
coniums attended the exhibition of books and
papers on the last occasion. The materials for
paper making are now said to be considerably in-
creased, and some curiosity is excited to ascertain
upon what depends the large production which has
become indispensable for the gratification of the
reading population of the United States. That
even manure is now employed in paper making is
generally believed. Corn, husks, straw, hay, ropes,
rags, &c., are enumerated amongst the materials
employed for the fabrication of paper, cheapness
being the great object. Still, the books that have
been imported are remarkable for their clear type

and general adaptation to their readers' eyes. The
typographical machinery, so very little understood
in England, requires to be better understood. The
machines for setting and distributing type have
evidently led to volumes being produced on very
economical terms. The state of the textile manu-
factures cannot at the present moment be fairly
estimated. The protracted war necessarily carried
off a large portion of the labouring classes, and
every allowance must be made for any want of
novelty that may be apparent; still, there can be
little doubt that much advantage may be derived
by houses that wish to show how willingly they I
will enter into competition with the old es-
tablished system of production. The engi-
neering authorities do not lead us to expect
much improvement on the European system
of railways ; but so much is spoken of the
ingenious arrangements of the carriages and of the
sleeping cars that it is hoped that the directors of
establishments here will have an. opportunity of
studying models of these additions to the comforts
of the traveller, and that the transatlantic system
will be placed in its best light before the continental
world, always much more ready to avail themselves
of improvements elsewhere suggested than the some-
what positive inhabitants of Great Britain, to
whom novelty is seldom agreeable, and who often
prefer old, long-tried habits to the progressive
advance which is made by a young and ardent
people.
There are, of course, a vast number of arts whose
cultivation has scarcely begun, for the people have
had the material objects of life to supply before they
could pay attention to the ornamental. It is not
to be supposed that the ceramic art, which em-
braces porcelain as well as pottery, has made any
great progress. Still, it may be found well worthy
the manufacturer's attention to fabricate such spe-
cimens as may enable him to show that in time he
will be enabled to compete with the establishments
that were founded in Europe by princes who seemed
to vie with each other in sending forth vases beau-
tifully painted, fabricated from earth difficult to be
procured. The existence of Kaolin in the United
States will ultimately allow the ingenious American
to show his taste and skill. Decorative furniture
is proclaimed by the visitors to New York to be
visible in the houses of the wealthy, and such is the
admiration of the Parisian of handsome cabinet fur-
niture—that the upholsterer who will constructfrom
some of the native woods articles of luxury will
find inexhaustible patronage if he unite ease and
luxury with taste and beauty in his contributions.
Musical instruments of a very superior character
have been gladly received in various parts of South
America. The concertina, the harmonicon, the
}Eolian harp, are highly prized ; the India-tubber
flute, the tambourine, and the guitar of American
fabric, would find a hearty welcome, and might
obtain considerable success. The quantity of gold,
and the discovery of precious stones, have led to the
extension of the jeweller's fabric, and from the
articles which have been worn by some of the
American ladies mingling in the fashionable world
of Paris it ikevident that there is much originality
and considerable taste amongst the employed, and
that their labours ought to be seen and would be
duly estimated.

The abundant supply of iron and fuel in England
has, no doubt, caused her superiority in the manu-

facture of steel, which was so evident at the last
exhibition. The demand for this important part of
all machinery was so great that it will doubtless
cause the industrious American to increase the
supply, and to show of what he is capable. In the
military art, the invention of revolvers and the
attention to projectiles are proofs that, when called
upon, there is the same quickness of invention and
of originality that has marked the career of the
.1.1.1 LUG LUE, [MI 11t Vl UV, pcia. uv—

ing and statuary, it is evident that America has no,

remained stationary. At Rome the rising artists
haye been distinguished for their taste and genius.
They have studied with care and attention the an-

tique, and have succeeded in obtaining the appro-
bation and admiration of amateurs. Men of science
can, from their wide fields of research, furnish spe-
cimens of animal and vegetable life that are new to
Europe, whilst they can add to the.stores of remedies
that have been collected for medical art. The
ethnologist can send various weapons—whether
spears, bows and arrows, or clubs, that have been
employed by Indian tribes—and thus suggest new
information to the student of the history of the
progress of man. From the United States every
one naturally looks for a material increase of our
knowledge in every department, whilst the exhibitor
will not only obtain the reward of merit, but may
derive substantial advantage from the efficiency of
his labours.

The following is an enumeration of American
products most required at the Paris Exhibition :

AGRICULTURE.—TooIs and Implements.
PRODUCE.—Wheat, Cotton, Tobacco, &c.
REARING OF ANIMALS.—Fleeces, Beehives, &c.
PRESERVATION OF WOOD, &C.

MACHINERY.—RaiIways and Transport, Coachmakers'
Work, Saddlery, Mining, Building, Weaving, Spinning,
Clockwork, Warming and Ventilation, Lighthouses, Tele-
graphs, Chemical Manufactures, Dying, Printing, Leather,
Bleaching.

MINING AND METALLURGY.—CoaI, Petroleum, Precious
Metals.

MINERAL PRODUCTIONS. Lands and Clays, Elaboration
of Metals, Bells, Boiler Tubes, Locks, Galvanised and
_ _ _

Japan Wares, Goldsmiths' and Jewellers' Works, Plated
Goods, Bronze Articles, Glass and Pottery, Earthenware,
Stoneware, Porcelain.

COTTON MANUFACTURES.—Raxv Cotton, Cotton Fabrics,
Printed Goods, Mixed Fabrics, Woollen and Worsted

•• --
Manufactures, Wool, Hair, and Bristle, Yarns,- Hair
Fabrics.

The Great Fire at Portland.

Cities are burnt down, and disappear for the
moment more rapidly even than they spring up in
America. But they rise from each fresh calamity
finer, more beautiful, and more convenient. A
clean sweep was made of Portland on the 4th inst.
Families by the thousand were rendered homeless,
nearly every public institution was destroyed,
millions of dollars worth of property was consumed,
yet on the 9th the city authorities were planning
the re-building of the place, a general revision of
the streets was decided on, and a Committee elected
to report on the creation of a public park and a
market place on the site of the devastation. It is
in such action that the American appears to so
great an advantage. While other nations set to
wringing their hands on the ruins of their burnt
homesteads, whining in the most doleful strains to
the world for relief, the American strips to his
work. Ile knows that life is short and charity
c3ld, and that none will help him as he can help
himself. There is, too, an untrammelled freedom
in the energy he brings to bear, that surprises those
accustomed to the action of European countries,
and still more to Asiatic. While the fire was
raging, the telegraph was at work to secure a cover-
ing for the dispossessed householders, and while the
embers were still glowing, hundreds of tents were
pouring into Portland, engineers and surveyors
were taking levels on the smouldering ruins, here a
street was to be straightened, there another was to
be widened, at one place a thoroughfare was to be
formed, and at another rising ground was to be
levelled. Within five days the outline of the plan
was completed, and Committees appointed to in-
quire into and settle the details. These steps were
taken on the spot, and at once ; then an order was
introduced requesting the Government to embrace
the opportunity of the Special Session about to sit
of the Legislature—(required to adopt the Amend-
ment
of the Constitution of the United States)—to
obtain additional powers for the City of Portland,
so that compensation may be
allowed in effecting the alterations in the lines of
streets. While thus vigorously helping
themselves
elaini
ed as well as
effectual d
tchirtizouegnhiosutchtehere
cheered in his
North to
aid
work by the sympathy and kelp a his countrymen,
th
e sufferers.steps are
taken
The

The general good is the paramount consideration,
and a new Portland springs up better in every re-
spect than the Portland of old, and furnishes to
each Portland man a keen satisfaction of a difficulty
honestly met and handsomely overcome, the satis-
faction—whatever be his individual loss—of having
heartily joined his fellow townspeople in perform-
ing the public duty he owed his city. Whatever
may be the advantage of a centralised form of
Government, of the paternal State, which teaches
the people like children to look to their rulers for
everything, there can be no strength, there can be
no energy in such a State, which can compare with
action like this. Such a calamity happening in
almost any town in Europe would have disorga-
nised the municipal machinery, and rendered help-
less those to whom the people looked for remedial
measures. If the Aldermen of London had their
houses burnt over their heads, the offices and shops
where they transacted their business, their Guildhall
and Mansion House, the Banks where their cheques
were cashed, their records burned, their Govern-
ment buildings destroyed_ we wonder when they
would recover from the shock ! What time would
it take them to re-plan the building of the city
after housing the sufferers and making the neces-
sary provision for their wants ? When we bring
the matter home to ourselves we begin to form an
idea of the energy and self-reliance of the American
character, and how their institutions work in times
of great trial. There is that Conservatism in the
public mind which makes the people trust in and
aid the authorities they have elected, which in-
duces them to forego small individual interests for
the public weal, and enables the nation to shake off
a calamity, and even to turn to good that which
elsewhere, and under other circumstances, would be
a crushing evil.