xxxviii

EXHIBITION OP 1851.

Juries.

The mode of appointing and directing the operations of the Juries for awardingthe prizes occupied much of the attention of the Commissioners. The Exhibitionbeing an international one, it was obvious that the Juries must also partake of aninternational character, and the proportions occupied by the exhibitors of eachcountry respectively, appeared to indicate also the proportions which should beobserved among the Jurors. One-half of the Exhibition being British, it wastherefore decided that one-half of the J urors should be British likewise ; but inorder to avoid the invidious task of apportioning the number of Jurors which shouldbe nominated by each nation in order to make up the other half, the Commissioners requested the members of the Foreign Commissions representing tire several Foreigncountries in London to meet together and suggest such a scale as might appear tothem to be just. In order to assist them in doing so, a list of the thirty Classes (after-wards practically increased to thirty-four by the appointment of Sub-Juries forCarriages, in Class V., and for Musical, Surgical, and llorological Instruments, inClass X.) was sent to them, with a note of the numbers of Jurors, varying from sixto fourteen, intended to be appointed for each, and they were requested to specifythe proportions in which they considered that those numbers should be divided soas to ensure a just representation of each State. The numbers having been thusascertained, the Government of each country nominated the Jurors to represent it,and these nominations were confirmed by the Royal Commissioners , and testified byWarrants signed by llis Royal Highness the President of the Commission, andissued to each Juror. In the selection of the English Jurors, the Commissionersproceeded by requesting the local Committees for places sending important exhibitsin any Class, to suggest the names of persons qualified to act as Jurors for thatClass; and the Royal Commissioners then selected the proper complement of English for each Jury.

The Juries having thus been chosen, the Commissioners proceeded to appoint aChairman to each, in doing which they arranged that one half of the Juries shouldhave English , and the other half foreign Chairmen. The duty of electing Deputy-Chairmen was entrusted to the Juries themselves. The Chairmen so appointedwere then constituted into a Council, to which was assigned the task of regulatingthe proceedings of the Juries. In the absence of a Chairman, the Deputy-Chairmanwas authorised to attend and vote in his stead; but no Deputy-Chairman wasallowed to vote when the Chairman of his Jury was present. Viscount Canning ,the Chairman of Jury XXIX., was nominated by the Commission to preside overthe Council of Chairmen. In the proceedings of the separate Juries, and in thediscussions in the Council, the Chairman or President hud a second or casting votein cases of equality.

Besides the original Juries and the directing body of the Chairmen , a furtherclassification of the Juries into groups was adopted at the suggestion of the ForeignCommissioners. It was remarked that as each nation could not be represented on