INTRODUCTION.

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increased number of jurors for these three sub-juries was 22, of whom half wereforeigners.

To facilitate the working, especially with reference to the foreign jurors, the30- classes were collected into six groups

Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, forming the group of Raw Materials.

Classes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, forming the group of Machinery .

Classes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, forming the group of TextileFabrics.

Classes 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, forming the group of Metallic, Vitreous, andCeramic Manufactures.

Classes 26, 27, 28, 29, forming the group of Miscellaneous Manufactures.

The thirtieth class forming the group of Fine Arts.

A classified list of subjects under the province of each jury was prepared, andformed the limitation to each class, being the same as that upon which the arrange-ment of articles in the building had been made.

The constitution of the juries was thus regulated:-^The jury in generalconsisted of an equal number of British subjects and of Foreigners. If ForeignCommissions did not send a sufficient number of Foreigners to representone-half' of the jurors in each class, the deficient numbers might be completedby the appointment of British subjects, or be made up by the persons namedby the Foreign Commissioners in London . Country as well as metropolitandistricts were represented on the jury. Each jury was presided over by achairman nominated by the Commissioners, and he was aided by a deputychairman elected by the jury. Juries were able to appoint one of their ownbody as a reporter. The chairmen of the thirty juries were associated asa body, and called the “ Council of Chairmen.” In the absence of a chairman,the deputy-chairman took his seat at the Council. The Council of Chairmenwas constituted, as far as practicable, of British subjects and Foreigners in equalnumbers. The first and chief duties of the Council of Chairmen were to framethe rules for the guidance of the juries. The Council had to determine theconditions under which the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class medals respectively were tobe awarded, and to define the general principles to which it would be advisableto conform in the awards in the several departments of the Exhibition. It wasthe wish of the Commission that medals should be awarded to articles possessingdecided superiority of whatever nature that superiority might be, and not withreference to a merely individual competition. The Juries were reminded that“the three classes of medals are intended to distinguish the'respective charactersof subjects, and not as first, second, and third in degree for the same classof subjects.” It was the function of the Council of Chairmen to see that theawards of the individual juries were in accordance with the rules before theywere considered final. The propriety of pecuniary grants to individual exhibitorsas considered by the Commissioners only on the recommendation of the severaljuries, sanctioned by the Council of Chairmen.

The mode of appointing the English jurors was as follows :—Those towns which Appointment ofexhibited to a considerable extent in any of the classes were invited to send a ° Jlist of names of persons who would efficiently represent the knowledge of thoseclasses as jurors. It was necessary to state according to the classified jury list, thesubdivisions of the class rvith which the person recommended was specially ac-quainted ; and all nominations were made in classes, and not in the aggregate.

D