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    €fo Sittmtaiiatml Cxhihitiau

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    the metropolis shall be proceeded with , unless the works required for an improved and complete supply of water to the metropolis shall be put up for competition upon a contract for a term of years , on a general rate . The Metropolitan Members , with one exception , Sir William Clay , were decidedly hostile to the bill . Sir Benjamin Hail thought it «* one of the most monstrous proposals ever made , " and that it would create a perfect monopoly , by preventing the formation of any other company . Mr . W . Williams said that it was only a bill to establish a new job , and for procuring a supply of impure , insufficient , and bad

    water , under the patronage of her Majesty s Government ; and Mr . Wakley rallied the Ministers and amused the House . 1 ^ " Should this bill be read a second time the people would exclaim that ' tadpoles' were thrust upon them by act of Parliament . ( Laughter . )" A general opinion existed in the House that the bill ought to be referred to a select committee . Sir George Grey and Sir " William Clay alone gave the measure unqualified support . Lord Ebrington and Mr . Mowatt condemned the bill , and Mr . Moffat moved that it be read that day six months . The House divided : —

    For Mr . Moffat ' s amendment , 79 ; against it , 95 . Majority against , 16 . The bill was then read a second time , and re-committed . The next question was Mr . T . Babing ' s resolution respecting the mixing of chicory with coffee . _ The substance of his resolution was , that the directions of the Lords of the Treasury to the Excise— " that no objection be made on the part of the revenue to dealers in and sellers of coffee mixing chicory with coffee "—ought to be revoked . The Chancellor of the Exchequer defended chicory , chicory growers , chicory drinkers , chicory adulteration , and the adulterators . Grocers from all parts of the country overwhelmed him with proofs of how much chicory was relished by the people . In fact the mixture was made for their " benefit . " The

    debate was very curious . Mr . Baring admitted he was interested in coffee ; Sir J . Trollope and Sir John Tyrrell that they were growers of chicory . Beside the mover , the staunchest advocates of pure coffee were Mr . E . Stanley and Mr . Wakley ; Mr . Stanley on the ground that the mixture was an imposition on the poor man who could not protect himself from a fraud sanctioned by Government ; Mr . Wakley , mainly on the ground that it was a powerful diuretic " and very unwholesome . The House divided : — For the resolution , 89 ; against it , 94 . Majority against , 5 . ''

    €Fo Sittmtaiiatml Cxhihitiau

    € fo Sittmtaiiatml Cxhihitiau

    Untitled Article

    THE BIRMINGHAM MAN AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE . My Deak Thornton , — On coming in sight of the Exhibition , the fair-like crowd hastening towards it indicated that a " Show" was near . Without the range Q' the policemen ' s beat lay two or three groups of fu »» Vn-jacketed men—those Murillo-like beggars who "> e « n to think that the park was made for them exclus »/ ely . Some , by laborious effort , reclined sideways ; some had had sufficient energy to contract their recumbent llnibs . One , who must have won a prize for idleness , lay just as he fell down , with only his heels visible , his body being buried in the grass . The whole corps , probably , could not have raised among them the price of one shilling admittance , and I presume would never have spent it upon the Exhibition if they could . Such a spectacle would give the arriving foreigner curious notions of our Native Industry . " Were these groups placed there by the Commissioners , to contrast with the feverish , unresting throng who , defying sun and fatigue , pressed on to the Palace of Labour as anxiously as though they feared it might dissolve before they reached its magic portals ?

    Of the splendour of the interior of Mr . Paxton ' s Conservatory of Trades , when once gained , I will not say anything . You have heard of that from everybody . It "is grand and perplexing—it is vast and bewildering—it charms you and gives you the headache . But if , without affectation , one may say it , it also disappoints . Forming as I had an expectation of what it might be , the reality falls below what I had pietured to myself ; not in its general effect , but in itH composition , in the nature of the things of which it ib made up . It seems tome a shotv in more senses than one . To a workman , conversant with the handicrafts of much there , the Exhibition resembles

    everyday lile in fashionable cities ; it is an uifair of appearance . One hutcii not to agree with the world on the matter ; but as you desire to learn what impression an artizan gem at this place , it is that impression of which 1 tell you . I may be wrong—form your own opinion of that—make what deductions you see lit from anything I relate . 1 don ' t exactly know what I ought to think ; and all I understand you to ask in , what ih it 1 do think ; and to thin I confine myself . lhero are genuine works there , ho far an 1 am able to judge ; but they are not so numerous as I expected ; nor are there hulf ho many things there as are necessary to give an adequate idea of tho Indufltriul power of iimiiy of tho places represented .

    Birmingham , for instance , the town in which I am , both by pride and birth , most interested , by no means exhibits what it can . Who will say on examining its contributions that they equal its reputation of being * ' The Workshop of the World ? " Its papier mache is elegant , its brass bedsteads first-rate , its candelabra delicate , its steel-pens infinite , its guns murderous and unique , its glass fountains superb , and its medallions wear the genuine touch of art—and there is unquestionable utility about nearly all it exhibits . But in variety and finish Birmingham is not quite the thing . Of the intrinsic excellence of most articles which are only to be seen and " not to be touched , " little can be

    predicated , except so far as the practised eye can discern qualities in externals . Therefore , following the testimony of appearances , the workman and the uninitiated visitor will form different opinions . One of the first things I looked to was the texture of the Birmingham castings , which have very little improved during the last twelve years . They are still inferior to the Sheffield or the Carron . I know Carron owes its excellence to its finer sand ; but Sheffield , still before Birmingham , has no better sand to mould in , than the old members of the Political Union . I ^ could detect where the pattern would not " leave , " little im

    back and front of the register stoves show - provement of design and construction . In some cases , owing to defect in the out-of-sight structure , the work cannot be firm , and this the workman knew when it left his hands . Wherever the eye is not likely to fall , there the file has not touched , nor the chisel been used . Frames of " dead white" iron , which ought to have been thrown away as " wasters , " are there in the Exhibition , with the sand-holes " plugged" up with wrought iron . The white circle , which no art can conceal , where this species of mending has taken place , is visible to the careful eye , surrounded by the greasy ring which the

    oil and emery used in polishing , invariably leaves . Fenders of steel have that sky-flaked burnish on them , which denotes that the old race of burnishers have been so beaten down in price that they have died out , or no longer retain their art or their pride . That surface , which of old the steady-handed burnisher would not have suffered to have left him until it was flat as a mathematical plane and as free from streaks as a mirror , which the cross-grained glazier has whisked over , and a modern and spurious polish usurps the genuine lustre . In some fenders , over which I bent in curious gaze , half a dozen screws would start if you gave them such a kick as they

    ought to bear , and as they are sure to have when they come to be used . I might go over a hundred species of hardware , and point out , in trade or technical language , defects which the workmen among your readers would recognize instantly as true description , but this would be perhaps too tedious to be read , and perhaps not forgiven if it were . Yet the public , I am sure , will forgive this and the workman too , if I say that much of the work , sent from Birmingham and other places , also shows incontestibly that the heart of the craftsman was not in his manufacture ; and the workman , at least , if the public do not , knows the reason why . For what is an Exhibition got up except for instruction and exposition of the state of the industrial arts ? It is ,

    therefore , I take it , useful that each of us who own the pride and share the fortunes of the workman should say all he thinks this Exposition teaches ; and to those who look into the thing , and know what might be done—what the workman can do under favourable and remunerative circumstances—I say the Great Exposition contains , below its gaudiness , some serious facts relative to the social and intellectual condition of our artizans , upon which tho ltoyal Commissioners miglit bestow , in their final summary , a few instructive words . I saw many things in that Exposition which ( the traditions of my own workshop inform me ) would ni > t have been turned out into an ironmonger ' s shop thirty years ago—such was the honest pride of the workman in his better paid and more certain , days .

    It will strike mont persons who have served an apprenticeship in a manufacturing and commercial town , that many things sent from such towns do not represent the actual invention of that town . For instance , there are many articles among the Birmingham hardware which did not originate in Birmingham . Many of its best patterns among the irouibuiidry goody were first produced in Sheffield ; many of the patterns exhibited in other trades were imported from olhor towns ; other towns in their turn have also borrowed from their neighbours or competitors . VW , therefore , as the * Catalogue gives little ;

    information on this head of personal originality , can only regard the products in the different departments a . s indicating the class of things actually manufactured and sold in the respective towns which have sent them up . Tina silence : as to actual invention may be corrected at a future Exposition , which will enable the looker-on to estimate more accurately than can now be done , tho particular merit and genius of each town . As it in , the industrial representation in Hyde-park is very much like our political representation down by the Horse Guards ,- —very indirect , and neither uuivcrtml nor ( satisfactory .

    The Birmingham " abroad , ' in some respects , excels the Birmingham " at-home . " For instance , Sheffield iron goods are better in quality , in construction , and execution than Birmingham . Manchester makes better machinery , and some foreign states send steel ware of more marked invention than either Sheffield or Birmingham In point of finish and contrivance much of the foreign hardware excels the English . There is more of the pride of the workman about it . What is out of sight among us"is left to " shift for itself . If it satisfies the eye , at its general glance , and serves

    a purpose , our uncultivated utilitarian taste is content . Look inside a machine , and all is coarse , perhaps ragged , perhaps clumsy . This denotes the absence of the refinement of art . Wander over Old Melrose or other abbey , the work of " barbarous " times , and you find the stone cauliflower on the topmost arch , where only the eye of the devotee is turned , as carefully hollowed out behind , as thoughtfully finished in degree , as the exterior which challenges the admiration of the critic , the envy of the artist , and the wonder of the peasant .

    You will see little of this conscientious taste in our manufactures . I need not stop to say why . When we see a man , we care not how fashionably soever his hair may be cut and curled , if there be nothing in his head . We mind little for the figure upon which Moses and Nicol have expended their united skill in garniture , if manhood and virtue be wanting . So in manufactures , true art is art throughout , and the admirer wishes to feel that utter fullness of joy which works of thought and beauty and perfect purity can alone create . The mere commercial principle runs through nearly all our industry . Our masters do not propose to dare the judgment of the purchaser , they are content to evade it—their pride is in this very second-hand and low kind of success .

    The Exposition has , however , the quality of being honest after its kind . It is a true exposition of our industrial state . The goods have as much polish and appearance as will induce the public to buy them , and as much flimsiness as will make them regret having done so . The spirit of Trade overrides our people , and the Exposition represents this , and is so far honest . But whoever goes to it asking , " Does all this represent our invention , resource , industry , skill , art , and available power ?" i will find no answer there . Any one may satisfy himself as to the truth of the matter by " a very simple process . Suppose that , instead of the Exposition depending for its vitality upon the breath of the Court , the Commissioners had put it upon a business foundation , and had invited each town to form a committee which

    should represent its chief productions , guaranteeing to them adequate prices for the specimens they forwarded . Suppose , further , that the committee of emplo 3 ers had then said to their " hands "— " Now , my men , think over what ought to be sent from our place to the Great Exposition , and all execute the best pieces of work you are able . We know you are not in a condition to command materials yourselves —take what you need of ours . We know you cannot spare time of your own , but do your best , and we will pay you a living price for your work . Nor will we afterwards make what you now shall do tho measure of the kind of work we will exact at the prices you now get . " Thus addressed and thus assured , we should have had contributions which would

    astonish no one more than the dilletanti patrons of the present Show . If you want other evidence of the value in point of art of what in just now stored in this transparent magazine , after you have consulted the ltoyal Commissioners , the newspaper reporters , Jules Junin , and the London correspondents of the provincial papers , send a committee of workmen , each to report the state of his trade or calling as represented there , and they will furnish some actual additions to the public knowledge . If a few workmen had been included in the 1 loyal Commission at first , the country would not have regretted the result .

    Conceding fully the bountiful instruction to be reaped in the rich harvest of native material spread out before all inspectors , it follows not the less that we have something to learn by a comparative estimate of the handicraft genius displayed there . For this purpose I will notice only one other branch of manufacture . The picture and looking-glass frames furnish fair samples of things as they are now got up . Time was in England when carvers and gilders were a thriving intelligent class of men ; now , as a

    body , they are both poor and ignorant . Formerly they numbered among other accomplishments drawing imd modelling ; now they are taught neither : formerly their tool-chests were not complete with less than five or six dozen of articles , such as saws , files , chisels , firmors , gouges , & « ., beside modelhrg-Htiek . s , cushions , knives , luushes , pencils , and burnishers , the whole valuing from £ ' {() to £ 10 ; now some half-dozen of those articles are made to milliee , mid ten . shilling" will purchase a gilder and ornamentmaker ' s ordinary complement of tools .

    Fifty years ago carvers and gilders earned fifty shillings a-weok ; now their wages average twentyfour shillings ; some half-dozen linns may pay a trifle more in hiiny period . " . Fifty years back it took from Hcvon to ten years to actjuiro u competent knowledge

    Untitled Article

    jtjtfE 7 , 1851 . ] &t > t 3 Le after * 527

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 7, 1851, page 527, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1886/page/3/