22

APPENDIX No. IT.

“ It is not, however, intended to limit the granting of tlio Council Medal to cases of pro-duction by a now process : such a rule would, of courso, not apply where the question of KinoArt was involved. In judging of works of pure art, the Medal will, of course, be given tothose cases where the most remarkable and pre-eminent genius has been displayed ; and incases where design is applied to an article of Manufacture , it may somotimes happen that itwill bo of sufficient originality and importance to justify the grant of a Council Medal as anacknowledgment of the taste displayed.

“ Thus, for instance, a piece of Porcelain or a piece of Tapestry, though thoy could notreceive the Council Medal for the mere excellence of the workmanship, might properly receiveit for a very extraordinary and original merit of the design applied to them. And, in likemanner, though a Council Medal ought not to bo given to a piece of Furniture, of which theprincipal merit was that it was well made, it might bo awarded to it if there were so muchbeauty in the design as to entitle it to great distinction as a Work of Art.

“ The Commissioners must, however, limit themselves by observing that they would not re-cognise beauty of design as a sufficient title to a Council Medal unless applied to an object ofsome importance. Very great merit might be found in the carving of an umbrella or a pipe,yet it might be thought improper to reward such merit with a Council Medal, on account ofthe comparative insignificance of the subject.

“This last observation naturally leads the Commissioners to offer some remarks uponanother point on which it is possible that doubts may arise ; namely, whether the fact of anExhibitor having incurred great expense in tlio preparation of an Article for exhibition shouldentitle him to a Council Medal; as, for instance, in the case of the Exhibitors of valuable Rawproducts, of specimens of Manufactured Goods remarkablo only for the size of the specimens,of very precious Jewels, or of collections of the productions of particular districts. In thesecases tlio Commissioners are decidedly of opinion that the mero iact of a largo outlay ofmoney ought not to bo regarded as entitling an Exhibitor to receive a Council Medal, thoughcare should, of course, bo taken, that his zealous co-operation in promoting the objects of theExhibition, bo properly noticed in the Report of the Jury of his Class.

“ In the foregoing remarks, the Commissioners have repeatedly spoken of rewarding inven-tions and new processes. They think it right, therefore, to guard themselves against beingsupposod to throw upon the Juries the duty of discovering whethor each particular objectwhich they mark for reward is actually tlio invention of tlio party claiming the merit of it.They can concoive that, in many cases, such an investigation would, under tlio circumstances,be impossible. In .Machinery, particularly, they presume that the Juries will reward an im-portant Machine without undertaking to pronounco whether the novelties exhibited in itsconstruction have been originated by the Exhibitor, or have boon borrowed or adapted by himfrom somo one else. The test of invention will be satisfied if tlio Machine bo rewarded forits importance and ingenuity, and not for tlio mere excellence of workmanship.

“ As the Commissioners have referred to the claims of invention, it would appear to bedesirable to fix some date beyond which invention should cease to bo a claim for the CouncilMedal. It lias not been made a condition in the admission of Articles to tlio Exhibition thatthoy should be new ; but it would be obviously difficult and inexpedient to discuss claims ofinvention made many years since. It appears to tlio Commissioners that, as most EuropeanStates consider from fourteen to fiftoen years a proper period for limiting by patents the usoof an invention to the discoverer before it becomes tlio property of the public, this periodwould form a limit, beyond which the claims of invention should not be admitted.

“ In communicating these remarks to the Council of Chairmen, the Royal Commissionersmust again repeat that they are only anxious to obviate tlio danger of their publishedDecisions being misunderstood. The responsibility of giving effect to thoso Decisions mustrest with the Council of Chairmen, in whom the control of the separate Juries, and moreparticularly the duty of rogulating the distribution of the Council Medal, has been speciallyvested ; and tlio Royal Commissioners would strongly impress upon them tlio responsibilityunder which thoy lie of exercising that control with care and firmness, according to tlioopinions which they may personally entertain of tlio merits of the several cases brought beforethem.”

121 , 122 .

CLASSIFICATION AND ARRANGEMENT.

123. The Articles exhibited will be dividedSection I.

Raw Materials and l’roduco,—illustrative ofthe natural productions on which humanindustry is employod.'—Classes 1. to IV. (see Decision ,114c).

Section II.

Machinery for Agricultural, Manufacturing,Engineering , and other purposes and

into the following Thirty Classes :—

Mechanical Inventions,—illustrative ofthe agents which human ingenuity bringsto bear upon the products of nature.—■Classes V. to X. (see Decision 114c).Designs for Manufactures are to be admitted inthe same section with the class of articles forwhich they are proposed.

Section Ill.

Manufactures,—illustrative of the result