INTRODUCTION.

3

The success of this exhibition determined the Council to persevere, and tohold similar exhibitions annually. Accordingly in the next year the experimentwas repeated with such greatly increased success, that the Council felt warrantedin announcing their intention of holding annual exhibitions, as a means of esta-blishing a quinquennial Exhibition of British Industry, to be held in 1851.

Having proceeded thus far, the Council sought to connect the Schools of Design,located in the centres of manufacturing industry, with the proposed exhibitions,and obtained the promised co-operation of the Board of Trade, through the Pre-sident, Mr. Labouchere : moreover, with a view to prepare a suitable building,they secured the promise of a site from the Earl of Carlisle, then Chief Com-missioner of Woods and Forests, who offered either the central area of SomersetHouse, or some other Government ground. In the year 1849 the exhibition,still more successful than any preceding, consisted chiefly of works in the preciousmetals, some of which were graciously contributed by Her Majesty. To aid incarrying out their intention of holding a National Exhibition in the year 1851,the Council of the Society caused a report on the French Exposition, held in1849, to be made for them and printed. A petition was also presented by theCouncil to the House of Commons , praying that they might have the use of somepublic building for the Exhibition of 1851, which was referred to the SelectCommittee on the School of Design.

His Boyal Highness the Prince Albert , as President of the Society, had Enlarged byof course been fully informed, from time to time, of all these proceedings, which Fnn ° c ert 'had received His Boyal Highness’s sanction and approval; but immediately afterthe termination of the Session of 1849, the Prince took the subject under his ownpersonal superintendence. He proceeded to settle the general principles on whichthe proposed Exhibition for 1851 should be conducted, and to consider the modein which it should be carried out.

His Boyal Highness has himself fully expressed the views which prompted i«s Royal Highhim to take the lead in carrying out the Exhibition, and on the occasion of the ne * ssvle, ' s ‘banquet to promote the Exhibition, given by Mr. Farncomb, the-Lord Mayorof London, to the municipal authorities of the United Kingdom , His BoyalHighness declared these views in the following terms:—

It must, indeed, be most gratifying to me, to find that a suggestion which I had thrownout, as appearing to me of importance at this time, should have met with such universalconcurrence and approbation; for this has proved to me that the view I took of the peculiarcharacter and requirements of our age was in accordance with the feelings and opinions of thecountry. Gentlemen, I conceive it to be the duty of every educated person closely towatch and study the time in which he lives; and, as far as in him lies, to add his humblemite of individual exertion to further the accomplishment of what he believes Providence tohave ordained. Nobody, however, who has paid any attention to the particular features ofour present era, will doubt for a moment that we are living at a period of most wonderfultransition, which tends rapidly to the accomplishment of that great end to which, indeed,all history points—the realization of the unity of mankind. Not a unity which breaksdown the limits, and levels the peculiar characteristics of the different nations of the earth,but rather a unity the result and product of those very national varieties and antagonisticqualities. The distances which separated the different nations and parts of the globe aregradually vanishing before the achievements of modern invention, and we can traverse themwith incredible ease; the languages of all nations are known, and their acquirements placedwithin the reach of everybody; thought is communicated with the rapidity and even by thepower of lightning. On the other hand, the great principle of division of labour, which may

B 2