The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Thursday, August 14, 1890. THE “WORLD’S FAIR.”

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 493, 14 August 1890, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, August 14, 1890. THE “WORLD’S FAIR.”

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country's, Thy God's, and truth’s.;

The Press of the United States is creating a great enthusiasm in the proposed World’s Fair. It has now been decided to hold the celebration in 1893, instead of 1892, as at first intended. The new departure has been made owing to the time that was taken in discussing preliminaries. At a meeting of 2000 people recently in New York, Mr C. M. Depew, a very eloquent speaker, delivered an address. Extracts from his speech are most interesting. “Our flag,” said he, “has almost disappeared from the seas, our freight is carried in foreign vessels, our navy is a myth, and the resources of our diplomacy are wholly unequal to the task of reaching the intelligence of foreign lands. The all prevading press, with the completeness of its information and the majesty of its power, is unknown, as we understand it, in all the countries of the globe. In the journals of Great Britain the United States are dismissed daily with a brief paragraph as to state of the markets, or a longer account of a crime, or a flood or a fire, and in the Continental newspapers they are rarely mentioned at all. To the European, the Asiatic, the African, the Australian/education as to the products and positions of foreign countries is largely from the sense, the eye, the touch, and the ear. Our efforts to reach the world through this, the only channel which we have, have been lamentably inadequate.” He went on to speak of the enterprise and its advantages, and made the following reference to the work that America had done for the world : —“ It is not sacrilege to say that the two events to which civilisation to-day owes its advanced position are the introduction of Christianity and the discovery of America. The dyamic forces of our Christian faith, in the destruction of the butresses of bigotry and oppression, and the levelling up of the masses to the common rights, could never have worked such marvellous results except for the opportuhitiesjof a new country and an un*

trammeled population. When Columbus sailed from Pelos types had been discovered, but Church and State held intelligence by the throat. The compass had opened the pathway across the seas, but feudalism had its foot upon the neck of commerce. Hopeless ignorance and helpless poverty were so burdened by caste and customs, laws and traditions, that liberty lay bound and gagged within impregnable prison walls. But Puritans and Catholics, Huguenots, and Lutherans, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedes, most of them fleeing for liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, willing to Sacrifice every’ material advantage and every earthly prospect for a civil and religious liberty, and all of them seeking commercial freedom, followed the track of Columbus to the new world. Here was neither king nor noble, neither caste nor privilege. The distance was too great for paternal supervision, and self-government became the absolute necessity of the colonies. With no guide but God, and no constitution but the Bible, they worked out upon this Continent, after many hardships and trials and tribulations, the problem of the equality of all men before the law. They founded institutions which have withstood the test of foreign invasion, of political passions, of party strifes, of individual ambition, and the shock of the mightiest civil war the world has ever seen.” Going on to allude to Chicago he said : “This city upon the lakes, is now the greatest wonder of our Western development, and with the impetus derived from the success of this Fair, will be the most phemonal of modern communities. There were 60,000,000 dollars of new deposits in the banks of Paris at the close of the French Exhibition, and all France was enriched by the larger sums distributed through

the country. . . . Let this International Fair be held ; let the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus be celebrated ; let it be commemorated by an Industrial Exhibition grander in extent and volume than any ever seen before; let the Old World know what their children have done in the New; let the Stars and Stripes float from every roof and turret and flagstaff; let the bands announce the opening and closing of the fair each day with the inspiring strains of the National anthem, and we will separate from this grand communion impressed more deeply than ever before with the fact that the proudest title on earth is that of American citizen.” It is needless to add that these remarks were cheered enthusiastically. If they are critically examined weak points might be shown, and even Americans will hardly contend that the system of Republican Government has been an unqualified success, when it cannot be denied that great abuses have been associated with it. That, however, has little to do with the question. It must be acknowledged that whatever the Americans take in hand is prosecuted with great vigor. They promise that the approaching Fair will eclipse all previous efforts made in that direction, and that it will be an enormous success seems assured even at this distant period of time. As an example of the spirit in which the thing has been taken up, Mr Depew’s words are very assuring. He at once acknowledged that he had exhausted every legitimate resource to carry the great Fair to New York, but he added that New York had no animosities, no jealousies, no enmities, and he was there to say that al! that it was in her ■power to do would be done for the exhibition in Chicago. That is a characteristic illustration of how the people of the United States set to work when they have some great object to achieve. The lesson could be heeded with much advantage by New Zealanders. If there was a greater effort to work for the common good a strong obstacle to New Zealand’s advancement would be removed. The disgraceful and childish squabble there was over the date of the Jubilee of the colony cannot readily be dismissed from the mind. That peurile dispute was carried so far as to allow the toleration of silly attacks upon Lord Onslow for doing what was manifestly his duty. Though there is yet plenty of time to consider the question of New Zealand’s representation at the Fair, it will be wise for the matter to be kept prominently in view, so that something more worthy of the colony may be done than to make a spasmodic effort to get up a wretched organisation at the eleventh hour.