XXX VI
EXHIBITION OF 1851.
It docs not appear necessary for the Commissioners to enlarge upon the circum-stances attending the imposing ceremonial of Thursday the 1st of May, when HerMajesty was graciously pleased to open the Exhibition in State, in the presence of25,000 spectators. The day was kept as a general holiday in the Metropolis, andthe crowds who collected outside the Building and idled the adjacent parks, arcestimated by the police to have been not less than 050,000 in number. The officialaccount of the opening ceremony, as given in the “ London Gazette, ” is added inAppendix No. XV., which contains the summary of the proceedings of the Commis-sioners up to that time addressed toller Majesty by 11. It. It. Prince Albert , HerMajesty’s most gracious reply, and the form in which the blessing of the Almightywas invoked upon the undertaking.
The perfect order and harmony that prevailed on this occasion—probably the firston which so large a number of persons had been gathered together under one roof inthe presence of the Sovereign—could not but be felt as a happy augury of thebehaviour of the multitudes of every class and rank in life who thronged theBuilding from that day to the final close of the Exhibition,—a period of nearly sixmonths. The uninterrupted harmony and good feeling which prevailed throughoutthat time, more than realized the most sanguine expectations; and it is no slighttestimony to the exemplary conduct of the visitors to the Exhibition, that the Com-missioners never found it necessary to place any restriction upon the admission of allwho presented themselves; and that although it was considered by the police autho-rities at the time when the Exhibition opened, that not more than 40,000 personscould be admitted with safety into the Building at one time, upwards of 00,000visitors were afterwards assembled within its walls without danger, and with no moreinconvenience than under any circumstances attaches to the collection of a largenumber of persons within a limited space.
The number of persons who entered the Building on each day during the hours onwhich it was open to the public, distinguishing those who paid at the doors fromthose who entered with season tickets (the latter including a small per ccntage of Staff,Jurors, &c.) will be found in Appendices No. XVI. and XVI1. These returns showthe total number of visits paid to the Exhibition to have been 6,039,195; but it is notpossible to state what proportion of that number consisted of visits paid by distinctindividuals, and what of repeated visits by the same persons.
The average number of visitors present on each day appears from the abovefigures to have been 42,831. 'The greatest number on any one day was on Tuesday,the 7th of October, when 109,915 persons were counted by the police. 'The numberson the Monday and Wednesday of the same week (the last of the Exhibition) werescarcely inferior, having been 107,815 and 109,760 respectively. The greatestnumber of persons present in the Building at any one time was 93,224 on the7th of October.
Further remarks on the subject of the visitors are contained in AppendixNo. XVII. A diagram illustrating the fluctuations in the numbers under differentcircumstances is also appended.