DECISIONS REGARDING JURIES.

iv

15. Each Jury will be presided over by a Chairman tobe nominated by the Commissioners , and lie will be aidedby a Deputy-Chairman to be elected by the Jury.

16. Juries may appoint one of their own body as aReporter.

COUNCIL OF CHAIRMEN.

17. The Chairmen of the Thirty Juries will be associatedas a body, to be called the “ Council of Chairmen.”

IS. In the absence of a Chairman, the Deputy-Chairmanwill take his seat at the Council.

1 ». The Council of Chairmen uill be constituted, as farns practicable, of British subjects and Foreigners in equalnumbers.

20. The first and chief duties of the Council of Chairmen will be to frame the rules for the guidance of the Juries.

21. 'Hie Council will also have to determine the conditionsunder which the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class Medals respectivelyare to be awarded, and to define the general principles towhich it will be advisable to conform in the awards in theseveral departments of the Exhibition. It is the wish ofthe Commission that Medals should be awarded to articlespossessing decided superiority, of whatever nature thatsuperiority may be, and not with reference to a merelyindividual competition. The three Classes of Medals areintended to distinguish the respective characters of subjects,and not as first, second, and third in degree for the sameclass of subjects.* ••

* The following decisions relative to Prizes and Juries,already published, are repeated for the purpose of moredetailed information :—

“Her Majesty’s Commissioners have had under theirconsideration the subject of the Prizes to be awarded toexhibitors, and have resolved to take immediate steps forhaving (three) Medals struck of various sizes and differentdesigns, it being their opinion that this is the form in whichit will, generally speaking, bo most desirable that therewards should be distributed. They have decided to selectbronze for the material in which the Medals are to beexecuted, considering that metal to be better calculatedthan any other for the development of superior skill andingenuity in the mcdallic art. and at the same time the mostlikelv to constitute a lasting memorial of the Exhibition.

“ \Vith regard to the mode in which the Prizes are to beawarded, the Commissioners think it inexpedient to establishbeforehand rules so precise os to fetter the discretion of theJuries upon which the task will ultimately devolve. It willbe sufficient for the present to indicate the general principleto which it will probably be advisable to conform in theaward of Prizes for successful competition in the severaldepartments of the Exhibition.

‘•In the department of Ka«’ Materials and Prodccf,for instance, Prizes will be awarded upon a consideration ofthe value and importance of the article, and the superiorexcellence of the particular specimens exhibited; and inthe case of prepared materials, coming under this head ofthe Exhibition, the Juries will take into account the noveltyand importance of the prepared product, and the superiorskill and ingenuity manifested in the process of preparation.

•• In the department of Machinery . the Prizes will begiven with reference to novelty in the invention, superiorityin the execution, increased efficiency, or increased economy,in the use of the article exhibited. The importance, in *asocial or other point of view, of the purposes to which thearticle is to be applied, will also be taken into consideration,as will also the amount of the difficulties overcome inbringing the invention to perfection.

“ In the department of Manufactures, those articles willbe rewarded which fulfil in the highest degree the conditionsspecified in the sectional list, viz. : — Increased usefulness,such as permanency in dyes, improved forms and arrange-ments. in articles of utility, &c. Superior quality, or superiorskill in workmanship. New use of known materials. Useof new materials. New combinations of materials, as inmetals and pottery. Beauty of design in form, or colour,or both, with reference to utility. Cheapness, relativclytoexcellence of production.

“In the department of Sculpture, Model*, and thePlastic Art . the rewards will have reference to the beautyanti originality of the specimens exhibited, to improvementsin the processes of production, to the application of art tomanufactures, and, in the case of models, to the interestattaching to the subject they represent.

“ These general indications are sufficient to show that itis the wish of the Commissioners, as far as possible, to rewardall articlcs.in any department of the Exhibition which may

[Appendix A.

22. The Council of Chairman must sec that the awards ofthe individual .Juries are in accordance with the rules beforethey arc considered final.

23. Although the Commissioners may be disposed, underpeculiar circumstances, as set forth in the mulei mentionedderision,* to consider the propriety of pecuniary grants toindividual exhibitors, they will only take such applicationsinto consideration on the recommendation of the severalJuries, sanctioned by the Council of Chairmen.

24. As some of the most important duties of the Councilof Chairmen arc preliminary to the action of the Juries, itis necessary that they should meet one week previous to theassembling of the Juries. The duties of the Council willtherefore commence on Monday, the 5th of May.

25. In order to represent the wishes of the Commission,ami to explain its rules, a nominee of the. Commission willattend the meetings of the Council, and aid it in the trans-action of business ; but he will not possess a vote, or act asa member of the Council.

Mode of Appointing tiie English Jurors.

26. Those towns which exhibit to a considerable extentin any of the Classes will be invited to send a list of namesof persons who would efficiently represent the knowledge ofthose Classes as Jurors.

27. It will be necessary to state, according to the classifiedJury list, the subdivisions of the Class with which theperson recommended is specially acquainted; and allnominations must be made in classes, and not in theaggregate.

28. As it is necessary to reduce the lists to the standardnumber for each Jury, the Commission charges itself withthis duty.

211. Those persons who have been recommended as Jurors,but who from the small numbers of the Jury are not placedon it, may, on the application of a Jury, be called in onspecial occasions, to give aid, under the title of Associates,but without a vote.

appear to competent judges to possess any decided superi-*ority, of whatever nature that superiority may be. It is theintention of the Commissioners to reward excellence inwhatever form it is presented, and not to give inducementsto the distinctions of a merely individual competition. Al-though the Commissioners have determined on having threeMedals of different sizes and designs, they do not proposeto instruct the Juries to award them as first, second, andthird in degree for the same class of subjects. They do notwish to trammel the Juries by any precise limitation ; butthey consider that the Juries will rather view the threekinds of Medals as a means of appreciating and distinguish-ing the respective characters of the subjects to be rewarded,and not of making distinctive marks in the same class ofArticles exhibited. They fully recognise that excellencein production is not only to be looked for in high-pricedgoods, in which much cost of labour and skill has beenemployed, but they encourage the exhibition of low-pricedfabrics, when combining quality with lowness of price, orwith novelty of production. They can readily conceivethat Juries will be justified in giving the same class Medalto the cheapest Calico Print, made for the Brazilian orother South American market, as they would to the finestpiece of Jfoi/sse/ine de Soie ov JTousselbie de J^aine, if eachpossessed excellence of its own kind.

* “ Lastly, the Commissioners in announcing their inten-tion of giving Medal Prizes, do not propose altogether toexclude pecuniary grants, cither as Prizes for successfulcompetition, or as awards under special circumstances, ac-companying. and in addition to, the honorary distinction ofthe Medal. There may bo cases in which, on account of thecondition of life of the successful competitor (as. for instance,in the case of workmen), the grant of a sum of money maybe the most appropriate reward of superior excellence : andthere may be other eases of a special and exceptional nature,in which, from a consideration of the expense incurred inthe preparation or transmission of a particular article en-titled to a Prize, combined with a due regard to the conditionand pecuniary circumstances of the party exhibiting, aspecial grant may with propriety be added to the honorarydistinction. The Commissioners arc not prepared, for thepresent at least, to establish any regulations on theseheads. They consider it probable that a wide discretionmust be left to the Juries to be hereafter appointed inrespect to the award of .Money Prizes, or the grant of moneyin aid of honorary distinctions; it being understood thatsuch discretion is to be exercised under the superintendenceand control of the Commission.”