دو

by the most narrow-minded and petty jealousy. Vague charges of "jobbery' were rife, to substantiate which not a tittle of evidence was adduced; much was heard about 'Executive Committeemen with £800 a-year;' when only one member of the Executive (Mr. Cole) who holds a lucrative office in the public service, which is for the time being in abeyance-is being remunerated by the Royal Commission, its two other acting members having positively and absolutely declined to receive any remuneration whatsoever for their herculean labours. As regards Prince Albert's share of the work, we prefer to describe it in the words of Mr. Cobden,- -one noways addicted to unmeaning compliments. "A good deal had been said with regard to the Prince who had been so much concerned in the formation of this project. He (Mr. Cobden) would not flatter anybody, but he would say, that having sat at the same board with His Royal Highness, he could speak of his efforts, not as a Prince but as a working man. There was no one in the number of the commissioners-not one member of the Board, that had done one-half the labour towards carrying out this Exhibition, and he (Mr. Cobden ) would venture to say, that, whether Prince Albert were well supported in his scheme or not, he had before him, to the 1st of May next, as great an amount of anxiety, of labour, and of perplexing toil, as any working man of this kingdom. He (Mr. Cobden) could appreciate the advantages of the Prince having given the initiative to this scheme. His wise abstinence from the political questions and parties of the day, pointed him out as the only man in the kingdom who could have brought together the heterogeneous elements which surrounded the council board of the Royal Commissioners. He (Mr. Cobden) sat at the same table with Lord Stanley, Sir R. Peel, and Mr. Gladstone, and they all acted in perfect harmony on the subject of the Exhibition; but that could not be but by the sanction of the Prince; ** * * And though he had only spoken to them of the material results of the Exhibition, he assured them he looked upon it, in its moral aspects, as of far greater consequence, and he

would rather have his name associated as Prince Albert would have his with the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851, than be the Eugene or Marlborough of history, celebrated only for their triumphs in the battle-field."

The labours of the Executive Committee have been greatly facilitated by calling in the aid (at all times most readily granted) of scientific men whose acquirements in the different departments render their advice and assistance valuable. The Local Committees of the Metropolis distributed into thirty sectional Committees corresponding with the classification of articles adopted by the Commission have also rendered the utmost service, and form a tribunal of practical men to appeal to for advice and assistance in the case of any emergency.

In the First Section (RAW MATERIALS,) the management of the Vegetable Produce is entrusted to Dr. Lindley, who is assisted by Dr. Royle, in the Indian part of that Section.; the display of Animal Produce has been confided to Professor Owen; that of Geology to Professor Ansted, and that of Metallurgy to Mr. Robert Hunt.

In the Second Section (MACHINERY) Mr. W. Cubitt, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, attends to the department of Machinery, assisted by Mr. Henry Hensman. The department of Philosophical Instruments is under the charge of Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd; and Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, assisted by the old Stewards of the Implement Yard at the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society, attend to the display of Agricultural and Horticultural Machines and Implements.

The Third Section (MANUFACTURES) is under the principal superintendence of Mr. Cole, and he will be aided by Captain Owen, of the Royal Engineers, Mr. George Wallis, Mr. Henry Crossman, and Mr. Richard Thompson.

The Fourth Section (FINE ARTS) is under the care of Mr. Owen Jones, who is also intrusted with everything relative to the decoration of the Building.

The department of the Juries has been placed in the

competent hands of Dr. Lyon Playfair, who has been for some time engaged in the arduous task of preparing what is likely to prove a permanently invaluable work-virtually a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: it is no less than a complete classification of all the articles to be exhibited in the thirty different classes of productions, &c., to which we have so frequently alluded. This monster "classified list" is drawn up not only with a view to the arrangement in the Building, but also to bring the subjects in a systematic manner before the Juries, who have to determine the merits of the articles contained in each class. The subdivisions of the Thirty Sections will also be useful, by showing to the Exhibitor the Section into which the articles sent by him naturally fall. The localities where they are principally produced, are also appended to the various articles. Dr. Playfair, whose intelligent services to the Commission cannot be overrated, will specially assist the decisions of the Juries in their various departments.

Colonel Reid and Mr. Dilke have the general control of the Building, and the multifarious details connected therewith.

Having now traced the progress, and shown the present position of this mighty undertaking, we may be permitted, as a conclusion, to glance at its probable results, immediate and prospective. Were it merely a show, a whim of fashion, or a demonstration made by one class, one party, or even by one nation, it would be easily dismissed; not that we believe any truly earnest effort is ever lost, however small or however isolated it may be, since, as we have shewn in the commencement of this narrative, that it is out of these comparatively isolated and insignificant efforts, this great manifestation has really and truly arisen. When, however, we consider that all nations are invited to this great display of the skill and industry of the 19th Century, that the leading nations of the earth are to bring specimens of their skill, and shew how far they have advanced in the arts of civilization and peace, and that an interest has been excited in this question throughout

the civilized world, of which there has been no parallel, except in those hitherto absorbing topics, the contention of nation and nation in arms, or in the efforts of a down-trodden people to assert rights already made patent to the denizens of other lands,-it is not too much to believe, that consequences of the most vital importance to the future well-being of mankind will arise out of this event. This may not be the opinion of mosteven of those who are active in promoting its development. To some it will simply be a question of how it affects themselves individually; to others, how it affects us, as a people, nationally one takes a commercial or economic view, another looks to see in what respect it affects public opinion, and seeks to turn that public opinion to his own account; but it is only he, who, apart from these individualisms, asks himself, "In what respect shall this matter influence the future of the worker in the weaving-shed and the foundry, the man of science in his laboratory, the artist in his studio, the merchant at his desk, and all mankind, in aiming at a better knowledge of that universal bond of brotherhood, which the good and true of all times have contemplated ?" Antagonisms smoothed down-the rude corners of national character rounded off-the respect which talent invariably pays to talent when true-the detection of the spurious article, and the demonstration that truth in trade is as good as truth in everything else—the exposure of "shams" by the full recognition of the realthe giving credit where credit alone is due,-all these things will only be a portion of the great results likely to arise out of this display of the industry and genius of the nations. That all will be as the true-hearted could wish, we are not enthusiastic enough to believe; that unalloyed good will attend this, in contradistinction to every other human movement, would be too much for any one even to hope for; but that out of this festival of industry and enterprise will arise greater things than its best and most clear-sighted promoters have anticipated, we earnestly believe. It is not because the

worker, in his individual capacity, does not see the whole of the great design, that that design is not existent. Each one doing his part towards the working out of that design, however, is essential to its completion, and who shall say that in this matter we do not see a manifestation of that progress towards "a good time coming, which thinking men desiderate so much? In looking to the prospects of the Exhibition we shall find, that all the great Continental nations will be thoroughly represented. Our Colonies will be brought to exhibit, for the first time in a collective form, the riches they can, if called upon, pour into the lap of the mother country; whilst that off-shoot of the Saxon race- -the United States of America-will shew how far it has taken and improved upon the lessons, scientific and social, of the "Old Country.' And what do we see displayed as the result of the ingenuity of our own land? We shall assuredly find that, in many things, our skill is greater than we supposed, that the great hives of industry in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire have for years past been doing work for which credit has never been given them-that Scotland has risen from the position of a sterile and semi-barbarous country to take her place as a great commercial nation, whilst in science and art she stands second to none;—that Ireland even has revived the traditions of former skill in manufactures and the arts, and that after long suffering under the reproach of apathy, as regards industrial pursuits, she will be found to redeem her lost character and shew how largely her talented sons have aided in the progressive movement in the sister kingdoms, whilst her manufactures were being sold as the products of other lands. Nor should the natural riches of each of the three portions of the United Kingdom be forgotten, for when we consider the coal, the iron-stone, and the limestone of England as the foundation on which her superiority as a manufacturing country is based, we can scarcely overrate the importance of such a display as may be made by our Colonies, as also by Scotland and