PROTESTS OF THE EXPOSITION PRTZEHOL.U103., GRUM:BURG was expected after the
giving. of the prizes,. and it has -k come; grumbling not only natural but Just. Besides .,a host of smaller murmurs—among them, one who complains that that deli- cate and nutritious food, that gentleman of dried peas, the lentil, is not only denied a prize but is called "unwholesome "—forth come the voices of some great protesters. Alderman Copeland with offended dignity declines a prize—every {exhibit& - except one having protested against the Jury appointed to adjlidinate,on pot- teries, and that one being a gentleman with has received a Council medal. The Chevalier Claussen declines a• second: medal, justly deeming that if his invention is worth anything stall it is worth a first class. The Jury of musieiansi unanimous except one ab- sentee disclose the fact that their award fqx Broadviood and Sons has been set aside by the Council ; most likely on gronndsmifilSecii—: before the Jury. These are awkward facts.' .1; nis.3"1-)a The best reply to them, we believe, is,: that injustice hasbeen. done; but that justice was impossible.. And it was so. A.tnong the immense mass of works, those that exhibited some degre of
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have differentiatandards of excellence ; one.will decide qu utilita- rian grounds, 4no4hkg, on igsfttical, anotherlm techni,M4grounds, a fourth on the ground of mere workmanlike skill in handling, a fifth on cheapness of .productiou„ and .so forth. When the objects for appraisement are very numerons, the difficulty of fixing upon a uniforiii-otandard of gradation is farther increased, even until, in the preponderance of one view now and then of another, all eon- sistency is lost. ThuS,' when the utilitarian has prevailed, the festhetical victor 'is Underrated, and vice versa. Monti finds his exquisite truth of form and expression . rated under Kiss's huge and spirited sketch. Kiss obtains the, mark of originality because he is unusual ; for his design, apart from sine, might be paralleled in various A mazonic bas-reliefs and pictures. The managers felt the difficulty, and endeavoured to avoid it by re- ducing their prizes to a level of significancy. The prize medal was intended simply to signify "Very well," the Council medal no more, but with the additional stamp of originality. -In practice the two are taken to mean "'Very well," and "Very well indeed." But of course the many meritorious men who draw blanks in the Exposition lottery, feel that they also might have claimed the sign of approval—in other words; the prizes might have been extended to 'almost all ; and than hots' very hard would it have been upon those who had contributed to the collection and yet received a ne- gative censure! To avoid that, it would have been necessary to merge the prize in a mere commemoration medal ; and that might have been the best on some grounds; but we must remember that it would not have had so positive an effect in stimulating diligence among the neighbours of the returning. prizehohlers. The prizes, therefore, we hold, are useful : the' have not been distributed with unfailing justice; but unfailing justice was an impracti-
cability. .
Nor need those who deserved prizes but have them not, be down- east. There is something better than having prizes, something better than seeking them. The Majority of people who sent their goods to that Exhibition, most likely had no greet regard to the prizes. Two motives must have actuated them—the wish to dis- play their wares in the way of advertisement, and the wish to aid in the undertaking as a whole. Both motives may well have ac- tuated the same person in most cases; the higher Motive, however, being the Stronger, and being probably the only motive with some of the best exhibitors. If any such have failed to obtain prizes, they have obtained what they sought—they have contributed to a great eVerit. They can cc:Mai:land disci the certain reward of excel- lence—substantial soccess sooner or later. And, in many cases, not very late. The memery, of that Exposition will survive in two aspects—as a whole, -and as a collection distinguished by the 'notable things which it included. The notables will be the things that people will remember longest. Years after the world has forgotten who had prizes and who had not, it will remember 31ionti's Eve crouching in her fallen condition, like Italy, within that quiet recess at the entrance of which stood the Austrian dragoon Radetzky; people will remember, as one of the wonders of the place, Claussen's invention for making flax like cotton ; and the gorgeous tone of Broadwood's instrument will dwell in the memory of the ear long after the unpleasant sounds of proteSt have expired: Thus will it be with the whole Exposition: long after its wranglings, its jargon audits cant, have passed into the limbo of oblivion, the nobler traits, its excellencies, its vast- ness, its peace, its goodhumoured order, will remain and be re- membered. Excellency alone is immortal and prolific : Evil is endowed with the seed; of its own destruction, and passes away. .
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