Page images
PDF
EPUB

GREAT
EXHIBITION
OF 1851.

A.D.

1849-1852. Part II. Selections.

some of the leading statesmen, and amongst them to Sir Robert Peel.

His Royal Highness judged, as the result of these communications, that the importance of the subject was fully appreciated, but that its great magnitude would necessarily require some time for maturing the plans essential to securing its complete success.

His Royal Highness communicated that he had also requested Mr. Labouchere, as President of the Board of Trade, to give his consideration to this subject. Mr. Labouchere was now at Osborne, and His Royal Highness expressed his desire that he should be present at this meeting. Mr. Labouchere was accordingly invited to be present.

His Royal Highness gave it as his opinion that it was most important that the co-operation of the Government and sanction of the Crown should be obtained for the undertaking; but that it ought to be matter for serious consideration how that co-operation and sanction could be most expediently given.

Mr. Labouchere stated that the whole subject would have the very best consideration he could give it; and on behalf of the Ministry, he could promise an early decision as to the manner in which they could best give their co-operation.

He suggested that if, instead of a Royal Commission being formed, to include some of the chief members of Her Majesty's Government, those same ministers were to be elected members of a Managing Committee of the Society of Arts, this object might perhaps be as well accomplished.

It was explained to Mr. Labouchere that the exertions of the Society of Arts would be given to the undertaking, to the utmost extent to which they could be useful, but that these functions would necessarily be of an executive and financial nature, rather than of a judicial and legislative character.

It was further urged by three members of the Society, that one of the requisite conditions for the acquirement of public confidence was, that the body to be appointed for the exercise of those functions should have a sufficiently elevated position in the eyes of the public, and should be removed sufficiently high above the interests, and remote from the liability of being influenced by the feelings of competitors, to place beyond all possibility any accusation of partiality or undue influence; and that no less

EXHIBITION

A.D.

elevated tribunal than one appointed by the Crown, and presided GREAT over by His Royal Highness, could have that standing and OF 1851. weight in the country, and give that guarantee for impartiality 1849-1852. that would command the utmost exertions of all the most eminent Part II. Selections. manufacturers at home, and particularly abroad: moreover, that the most decided mark of national sanction must be given to this undertaking, in order to give it the confidence, not only of all classes of our own countrymen, but also of foreigners accustomed to the expositions of their own countries, which are conducted and supported exclusively by their Governments. It was also stated that, under such a sanction, and with such plans as now proposed, responsible parties would, it was believed and could be proved, be found ready to place at the disposal of the Commission sufficient funds to cover all preliminary expenses and the risks incidental to so great an undertaking. Mr. Labouchere expressed his sense of the great national importance of the proposal, and wished such further communication on the subject as might enable him fully to understand it, to be able better to consider the matter with his colleagues in the Cabinet.

At the same time the following general outline of a plan of Plan of operations. operations was submitted:

I. A Royal Commission.-For promoting Arts, Manufactures, and Industry, by means of a Great Collection of Works of Art and Industry of All Nations, to be formed in London, and exhibited in 1851. President, His Royal Highness Prince Albert.

1. The duties and powers of the Commission to extend to the determination of the nature of the prizes, and the selection of the subjects for which they are to be offered.

2. The definition of the nature of the Exhibition, and the best manner of conducting all its proceedings.

3. The determination of the method of deciding the prizes, and the responsibility of the decision.

II. The Society of Arts.-To organize the means of raising funds to be placed at the disposal of the Commission for Prizes, and to collect the funds and contributions to provide a building and defray the necessary expenses to cover the risks of the collection and exhibition; and to provide for the permanent establishment of these Quinquennial Exhibitions.

The prizes proposed to be submitted for the consideration of

GREAT

EXHIBITION

OF 1851.

A.D.

1849-1852.

Part II.
Selections.

Pecuniary arrangements to ensure exe

proposal.

the Commission to be medals, with money prizes so large as to overcome the scruples and prejudices even of the largest and richest manufacturers, and ensure the greatest amount of exertion. It was proposed that the first prize should be £5,000, and that one, at least of £1,000, should be given in each of the four sections. Medals conferred by the Queen would very much enhance the value of the prizes.

Mr. Labouchere finally stated that the whole matter should be carefully considered; but that there was no use in bringing it before the Cabinet at the moment of a closing session-that the Cabinet would now disperse, and not meet again until the autumn. The interval from now to October or November, might be most usefully employed by the Society in collecting more detailed evidence as to the readiness of the great manufacturing and commercial interests to subscribe to and support the undertaking, and he promised to employ that interval in further informing himself, and endeavouring to ascertain the general feeling of the country on the subject.-(Minutes of the Meeting of the 14th July, 1849, at Osborne.)

In this stage of the proceedings, it became necessary to place the accomplishment of the undertaking, as far as possible, beyond a cution of the doubt. Having acquired experience, in 1845, of the difficulties to be encountered, the Council of the Society of Arts felt that the proposal must not be brought a second time before the public as an hypothesis, but that the only means of succeeding was to prove that they had both the will and the power to carry out the Exhibition. The Society had no funds of its own available for the advances necessary to be made. The outlay for a building upon. the scale then thought of, and for preliminary expenses, was estimated at the least at £70,000.

After much fruitless negotiation with several builders and contractors, an agreement was made between the Society of Arts and the Messrs. Munday, by which the latter undertook to deposit £20,000 as a prize fund, to erect a suitable building, to find offices, to advance the money requisite for all preliminary expenses, and to take the whole risk of loss on certain conditions. It was proposed that the receipts arising from the Exhibition should be dealt with as follows:-The £20,000 prize fund, the cost of the building, and five per cent. on all advances, were to be repaid in

EXHIBITION

A. D.

1849-1852.

Part II.

Selections.

the first instance; the residue was then to be divided into three GREAT equal parts; one part was to be paid at once to the Society of OF 1851. Arts as a fund for future exhibitions; out of the other two parts all other incidental expenses, &c., were to be paid; and the residue, if any, was to be the remuneration of the contractors, for their outlay, trouble, and risk. Subsequently the contractors agreed that instead of this division, they would be content to receive such part of the surplus, if any, as, after payment of all expenses, might be awarded by arbitration. This contract was made on the 23rd August, 1849, but the deeds were not signed till the 7th November following.

For the purpose of carrying the contract into execution on behalf of the Society, the Council nominated an Executive Committee of four members, who were afterwards appointed the Executive in the Royal Commission, and the contractors their own nominee. In thus making the contract with private parties for the execution of what, in fact, would become a national object, if the proposal should be entertained by the public, every care was taken to anticipate the public wishes, and to provide for the public interests. It was foreseen that if the public identified itself with the Exhibition, they would certainly prefer not to be indebted to private enterprise and capital for carrying it out. A provision was made with the contractors to meet this probability, by which it was agreed that if the Treasury were willing to take the place of the contractors, and pay the liabilities incurred, the Society of Arts should have the power of determining the contract before the 1st February, 1850. In the event of an exercise of this power, the compensation to be paid to the Messrs. Munday for their outlay and the risk, was to be settled by arbitration.

The Society of Arts having thus secured the performance of the pecuniary part of the undertaking, the next step taken was to ascertain the readiness of the public to promote the Exhibition. It has been shown that the proof of this readiness would materially influence her Majesty's Government in consenting to the proposal to issue a Royal Commission to superintend the Exhibition. The Prince Albert, as President of the Society of Arts, therefore commissioned several members of the society, in the autumn of 1849, to proceed to the "manufacturing districts of the country, in order to collect the opinions of the leading manufacturers, and further evidence tricts.

Visits to the

manufacturing dis

GREAT
EXHIBITION
OF 1851.

A. D.

1849-1852. Part II. Selections.

with reference to a Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations to be held in London in the year 1851, in order that His Royal Highness might bring the results before Her Majesty's Government." Commissioners were appointed, visits made, and reports of the results submitted to the Prince, from which it appeared that sixty-five places, comprehending the most important cities and towns of the United Kingdom, had been visited. Public meetings had been held, and local committees of assistance formed in them. It further appeared that nearly 5,000 influential persons had registered themselves as promoters of the proposed Exhibition.

Contract with Messrs Munday.

EXTRACT FROM FIRST REPORT OF
COMMISSIONERS FOR THE
EXHIBITION OF 1851.

"Tfunds which they could apply to the purposes of the

HE Society of Arts, not having at their own disposal any

Exhibition, had found it necessary, at the very outset of their proceedings, to make arrangements for procuring money on the security of the profits which they anticipated might arise from the undertaking; and having met with a firm (Messrs. James and George Munday) willing to advance the sums likely to be required, had entered into an agreement by which the firm bound themselves to advance whatever amount might be necessary, in consideration of receiving a proportion of the profits of the Exhibition, which proportion was in the first instance fixed, but afterwards, at the request of the Society of Arts, was left to be decided at the close of the Exhibition by arbitrators chosen on either side.

"Into this agreement a clause had been introduced, giving the Society of Arts the power to cancel it, if requested to do so by the Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury within a specified period, provision being at the same time made for the repayment to the Messrs. Munday of any sums that might have been advanced by them, together with a fair compensation for the outlay and risk which they might have incurred."

« PreviousContinue »