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INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION.

HISTORICAL.

THE most important event in the history of governmental interposition in scientific and technical instruction in Great Britain was the Universal Exposition of the Industries of Nations held in London in 1851-the first of that series of sublime lessons, read of all men, of the dignity and value of human labor and artistic skill, when directed by science to a knowledge and to the observance of the laws of nature, which has already modified, not only in Great Britain, but in all civilized nations, systems and institutions of industrial training. The approach to this first great demonstration of the existing condition of the industry and products of the world—to this series of competitive trials of intelligence and skill between workmen of the same and different nations, trained in different ways in the use of the same material, for the same purposes of utility and ornamentation-was gradual. In all civilized countries, exhibitions of a local or provincial character, and in some cases of national scope, had been held within the last half century. In England, the Society of Arts, as early as 1756, had offered prizes for specimens of tapestry, carpets and porcelain, and in 1761, of pictures and engravings, displayed in rooms of the Society at London; but it was not till 1828 that a national exhibition of the products of the workshops, factories and studios of England, of a varied and general character, took place in London, under the name of the Royal Repository. This was followed, in 1837, 1839, and 1849, at Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham.

In France the first systematic and successful Industrial Exhibition of national importance was held in 1798, on the suggestion, and under the management of the Marquis d'Aveze, commissioner of the national manufactories of Sèvres and the Gobelins. The second took place in 1801, and the third in 1802, under the active lead of the First Consul (Napoleon), assisted by a commission, of the most scientific men of France, who visited the most important factories, workshops, and ateliers of France, to explain the individual and national advantages of such an exhibition of the products of every department of labor and skill. That of 1801 was held in the quadrangle of the Louvre, and one of the bronze medals was awarded to Jacquard for his loom. To give stability and provide the agency of similar exhibitions, a Society for the Encouragement of the Industrial Arts and Manufactures of France was instituted in 1802, and under its auspices, aided by the government, numerous National Fairs have been held each with a larger number of exhibitors, and with more varied specimens of scientific invention and artistic skill—especially in the direction of common wants. The Exhibition of 1849 is remarkable for the proposition

of M. Buffet, the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, to all the Chambers of Commerce, to include specimens of the industrial productions of other nations in the competitions for honorable mention and premiums. But the proposition did not meet with general favor, and its consideration was dropped. The various French Expositions had been much frequented by the manufacturers and designers of other countries, and numerous illustrations of the finest articles in the domain of Art had been published—especially of those of 1845, and 1849 -in other countries; the broad international advantages of such displays of the perfected specimens of artistic and trained labor impressed many minds in different countries, but nowhere with such immediate practical results as in England. It only needed the right word from the voice of authority to bring this feeling into action; and that word was uttered by his Royal Highness, Prince Albert of England, to the Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, of which he was President:-"Now is the time to prepare for a Great Exhibition-an Exhibition worthy of the greatness of this country, not merely national in its scope and benefits, but comprehensive of the whole world, and I offer myself to the public as their leader, if they are willing to assist in the undertaking." The offer was accepted—the Society, the press, capitalists, manufacturers, artists, artisans, and finally the government, enlisted; and in the summer of 1851, in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, in the presence of 100,000 people of every nation, the Great International Exhibition of the products of every clime, and the fabrics of the workshops of every tribe, was inaugurated. The Exhibition-the first great competitive trial of nations in the peaceful field of industry-was a complete success-a sublime monument of the dignity and value of labor, when directed by intelligence and taste, to minister to the necessities and rational pleasures of mankind.

RESULTS.

The benefits resulting to Great Britain, and sooner or later in the influence of this and similar exhibitions, to all countries, from the Great Industrial Exposition of 1851, can not be over-estimated, although it may be difficult to present them in a condensed statement. We shall notice only a few, with special reference to technical instruction-the formal training of workingmen of all grades in knowledge, taste and skill in their several occupations, through familiarity with the best specimens of material, implements, machinery, and work, collected in museums or exhibitions, and opportunities of study and practice in schools organized and conducted with special reference to imparting such , knowledge, taste, and skill.

1. Every person, who made even a brief visit to the Exhibition, had a clearer conception of a finished specimen of manufacture or handicraft, in the line of his own wants, than he had before, and thus a demand for a better style of workmanship was created.

2. Every artist, manufacturer, foreman, or operative who visited the Exhi bition, and especially those who studied the department with which he was most familiar, or the most interested, had in his mind a higher standard of possible attainment than most of them had before reached. Efforts at improvement in design, and in detail, were at once made, and the means for further improvement were demanded, and, to some extent, furnished.

3. The attention of capitalists, public-spirited citizens and statesmen was

forcibly arrested to the necessity of providing at once better elementary training for all classes, and especially for those who have to live by their labor; and at the same time, securing to designers, engineers, foremen and superintendents generally of large works, better artistic and scientific training. The immediate results of this attention, and agitation, were more liberal appropriations for primary schools, and for schools of science and art, a general discussion of the whole subject of National Education, and the final passage in 1870 of an act, establishing a system of elementary schools for England, as well as the earlier creation of the Government Department of Science and Art, which is rapidly changing the whole aspect of scientific and technical instruction in Great Britain, and influencing its development in every civilized country. The Museum of Industrial Art at South Kensington, created since 1852, with its affiliated schools and museums, central and provincial, is now the model for imitation for Europe and America.

4. The perpetuation of the unique structure designed specially for the Exhibition, in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, and its equipment, and the embellishment of the grounds for the avowed purposes of public utility and recreation, "in the direction of science and art," at a cost of over £1,500,000-has already accomplished its object with more than 4,000,000 visitors who have been attracted to the spot up to 1869.

5. The permanent organization and continued activity of the original Commission, composed of some of the most eminent men (in science, letters, arts and affairs) in the kingdom, through whose wise management this unprecedented enterprise was a pecuniary success-is another result, which is perpetuating the influence of the Great Exhibition in many directions:

First-In securing the possible union of many institutions of Science and Art, on almost the only central spot within the vast circumference of the me-tropolis which could be secured for the purpose. The purchase of the Gore Estate in South Kensington, having with subsequent exchanges and purchases an area of 100 acres, accessible by railways and other cheap public conveyances, and connected with public parks and grounds, already highly improved, to an extent of 640 acres—out of the surplus income of the Exhibition (150,0001.) and a special grant of a like sum by Parliament.

Second-The subsequent erection on this estate of buildings devoted to Art and Science at a cost of over 1,000,000, and the gathering within them of museums and collections (hardly yet begun) which the like sum could not even now purchase.

Third-The erection of an appropriate hall for annual exhibitions of indus. trial productions, and other purposes, at an expense of near 300,000l.

The purchase and improvement of this estate for the promotion of scientific and artistic knowledge, as applicable to productive industry, would not have been possible but for the Great International Exhibition of 1851. No fitter memorial of the first suggester of this enterprise-the good Prince Albert, "to whose far-seeing and comprehensive philanthropy its first conception was due, and to whose clear judgment and untiring exertions in directing its execution, the world is indebted for its unprecedented success,"-could be devised than this estate thus improved. No monument at once so attractive for all classes in the kingdom, or so full of instruction and inspiration of the noblest kind for all time, in every department of industrial activity, both that which ministers to

the necessities and comforts of life, and that which labors to realize in form and color, the loftiest ideal of the artist and poet,—could be erected to perpetuate the memory of this great event in the history of national industries, than the grounds and structures devoted to Science and Art in South Kensington, secured by the wise management of the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851.

ALBERT HALL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.

The first stone of a solid, majestic, and ornamental structure was laid by her Majesty the Queen on the 20th of May, 1867, on the site north of the Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington-to be known as the ALBERT HALL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, and to be used for the promotion of scientific and artistic knowledge as applicable to productive industry. The Royal Commissioners gave a site valued at 60,000l., and advanced the sum of 50,000l. towards the cost of the building, which has been contracted for within the original estimate of 200,000. The hall will accommodate 9,000 persons, and will be used only in the interests of Science and Art-the first occasion being the inauguration of the First Permanent Exhibition of Industrial Art in he spring of 1871.

The objects for which the Hall will be available, as enumerated in the Charter of Incorporation, are:

(a.) Congresses, both national and international, for the purposes of Science and Art.

(b.) Performances of Music, including performances on the organ.

(c.) The distribution of prizes by public bodies and societies.

(d.) Conversaziones of societies established for the promotion of Science and

Art.

(e.) Agricultural, horticultural, and the like exhibitions.

(f.) National and international exhibitions of works of art and industry, including industrial exhibitions by the artizan classes.

ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS.

The Commissioners of the International Exhibition of 1851 have arranged for a series of Annual International Exhibitions of Select Works of Fine and Industrial Art and Scientific Invention-arranged in classes and not according to nations. The first of the series will be opened, Monday, May 1, 1871, in permanent buildings adjoining the arcades of the Royal Horticultural Gardens, and closed Saturday, September 30, 1871. The objects in the first exhibition will consist of the following classes:

I. Fine Arts Applied or not Applied to Works of Utility—embracing (1.) Painting of all kinds. (2.) Sculpture, modeling, carving, and chasing. (3.) Engraving. (4.) Architecture. (5.) Tapestries, carpets, embroideries. (9.) Designs for decorations, manufactures. (7.) Copies of mosaics, enamels, &c. II. Scientific Inventions and New Discoveries of all kinds.

III. Manufactures.-(a.) Pottery of all kinds. (b.) Woolen and worsted fabrics. (c.) Educational.-1. School buildings, fitting, and furniture. 2. Books, maps, globes, &c. 3. Appliances for physical training, including toys and games. 4. Specimens and illustrations of teaching fine art, natural history, and physical science.

IV. Horticulture.-International exhibitions of new and rare plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers, &c., will be held by the Royal Horticultural Society, in conjunction with the above exhibition.

One-third portion of the whole available space will be assigned absolutely to foreign exhibitors.

NATIONAL LESSONS IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Mr. J. Scott Russell, in his valuable treatise on Systematic Technical Education for the English People, in a chapter with the above heading, introduces some of the lessons which he thinks may be read in the International Exhibitions of the last twenty-five years.

Of late years, a series of great public events have been taking plaec, which have been of great national value in serving to awaken the British people from that lethargy of supreme satisfaction with which they have so long continued to regard themselves as the most skilled, accomplished, and successful manufacturing people in the world. For half a century they had been enjoying the fruits of the inventions of a few men of genius who had created the whole system of modern manufacturing machinery, and Providence had also endowed them with the accumulated wealth of countless centuries stored up in the bowels of the earth, in the shape of coal and iron, ready to be used or wasted and worked out in this manufacturing century. The genius of a few men having set coal and iron to do the manufacturing work of mind and man, the citizens of England had begun to think that it was they who were superior in intelligence and civilization to the un-coaled, un-ironed, un-engineered nations around them. For half a century nothing occurred to awaken them from this dream, and for that half century the works of English engineers and English iron and coal bore the highest reputation, and earned the highest prices in the world.

The last eighteen years have seen a series of events, slowly, regularly, and disagreeably awakening the nation from a pleasant belief, once reality, now a dream. Eighteen years ago there began a series of competitive trials of intelligence and skill between the citizens of the different civilized nations of the world. Adam Smith's views of the wealth of nations were to be put to the new trial of competitive examination. The scene of the first trial was in London, in 1851. It was the famous Universal Exhibition of the Industries and Products of all Nations. In that great school the civilized nations of Europe had their first lesson in technical education. There they were able to see in how many things England retained her hereditary excellence; and England was there able to see in how many branches of taste and skill other nations possessed qualities in which she was wanting. But in that competition she had no cause for humiliation. The genius of Paxton would alone have sufficed to rescue the skill and the manufacturing industry of England from humiliation. For in the building of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park was exhibited an entirely new and highly skillful system of modern architecture, in which iron and

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