Bernsting for the privilege of photographing the progress of the works to the 12th of February, the day when the building was delivered up to us by the contractors; and the London Stereoscopic Company paid 1575l. for the privilege of taking views of the interior of the building, and of its contents, from the 1st of May. The Stereoscopic Company also paid 455l. 15s. 3d. as commission on their sales in the building. * II. EXPENDITURE. - Building. -Our chief expenditure was upon the building, the terms of our contract, for which we proceed briefly to explain. The Society of Arts, in their communications respecting the provisions of the charter, had kept in view not merely the Exhibition of 1862, and the establishment of future International Exhibitions upon the same site, but also (and partly as a means of securing the reservation of that site) the erection of a building which would be available for their own annual exhibitions, and for otherwise promoting the general objects of the society. It was, therefore, arranged with the commissioners for 1851, that the sum of 20,000 should be spent upon a structure of a permanent character, forming part of the building to be erected by us, and covering one acre of the site that was placed at our disposal. This acre was to be leased to the society if the financial results of the Exhibition were satisfactory, and a further sum not exceeding 30,000l. was in the same event to be spent in completing the building erected upon it, in an architectural manner. The contract for the main building, including the centre acre of the picture galleries in Cromwell Road (the part destined for the Society of Arts), and the western annexe was for use and waste, and the payments to the contractors were to be as follows:-200,000l. was to be paid before the 1st of June, 1862, and such further sums (not exceeding 100,000l.) as we received from the Exhibition beyond 400,000l.; the second 200,000l. being reserved by us to meet the general expenses of management. In other words, the contractors were to receive 200,000l. absolutely, and an additional 100,000l. if the net receipts of the Exhibition reached half a million. We were also to have the right, at the close of the Exhibition, of purchasing the centre portion of the picture gallery for 25,000l.; the two ends of the gallery for a similar sum; and the remainder of the building (except the annexes and the buildings † on the south arcades of the Horticultural Society's garden) for 105,000l. It was further agreed that, in the event of the contractors receiving the full contract sum of 300,000l., the centre acre of picture gallery should become our property, without any further payment on account of it. These terms we agreed to, on the recommendation of the building committee; and we do not consider that they were unreasonable, considering the extent and character of the building, and the amount of special accommodation in solid work that was required for the fine art department. We have no doubt but that for the unfortunate circumstances which diminished the anticipated attendance, the full contract sum would have been paid to the contractors. In the month of September, however, on reviewing our liabilities and probable receipts up to the 18th of October, the date at which it was understood that the Exhibition should terminate, we came to the conclusion that, if the building were closed on that day, not only would the contractors receive considerably less than *No photograph of any article or work of art exhibited was allowed to be taken without the consent of the owner. †These buildings, being the refreshment rooms, are the property of the Commissioners for 1851. 300,000l., but that, to meet our other liabilities, a call of about 10 per cent. would have to be made upon the guarantors. Such a result would have been damaging not only to the character of the Exhibition itself, but also to the prospect of future exhibitions in this country. We accordingly submitted the state of our affairs to the contractors, who were mainly interested in the results of the Exhibition, and after communicating with the Society of Arts in reference to the position of the guarantors, and their own contingent claim upon the centre acre of the picture gallery, the following arrangement was agreed to (on the 16th September, 1862) as most advantageous to all the various interests concerned:-1. That, with the view of increasing the receipts from the admission of visitors, the building should be kept open for a month longer than was originally intended, viz., from the 18th of October to the 1st of November, on the usual terms of admission, and for a fortnight after that date, at a higher rate, for the sale of the exhibitors' goods. 2. That the contractors should forego, in our favour, one-half of their claim upon the receipts taken after the 18th of October, which half should be devoted, in relief of the guarantors, to defraying the general expenses of the Exhibition. Mr. Kelk, with very great liberality, further agreed, as part of this arrangement, to contribute any sum, not exceeding 15,000l., which would secure the guarantors from loss. 3. That we should waive any direct or contingent claim, which the contract gave us on behalf of the Society of Arts to any part of the building. The sums which we received under the second clause of this arrangement happily enabled us to close the undertaking without making any call upon the guarantors. CONCLUSION. With the foregoing summary of the leading points in our financial arrangements we close this report of our proceedings, in which we have rendered, for the information of her Majesty, an account of the manner in which we have endeavoured to discharge the responsible duties which she was graciously pleased to entrust to us. On the general character of the Exhibition we feel that we ought to offer no comment, beyond the remark that it was such as to prove, not only the striking progress which has been made in the industry of the world since the first Exhibition, but also the extent to which that progress is promoted by the means of these great international gatherings. It is our earnest hope that those to whom may be confided the direction of the next Exhibition in this country may be able to point to the beneficial results of the display of the past year, with as much confidence as we can do to the evidence afforded by that display of the advantages which have resulted from the labours of our precedessors in 1851. We cannot, however, omit this opportunity of recording our sense of the irreparable loss which, in common with the directors of every great undertaking in this country, we sustained, in the untimely death of the illustrious prince, who, in the earlier stages of our proceedings, had aided us with his wide experience, and to whose counsels and sympathy we had looked forward with so much confidence for guidance and support in the hour of difficulty. If, under the favour of the Great Disposer of human events, we have been able to carry to a successful issue the second of these friendly contests held on British soil; if our efforts have tended to the furtherance of a peace ful rivalry among the nations of the earth, affording them the opportunity of realizing how truly it has been said that "Alternately the nations learn and teach;" and if we have been so fortunate as to merit the approval of her Majesty we feel that these happy results have been attained only so far as we have borne in mind the precepts and example of the royal founder of international exhibitions, who, with his wonted sagacity, foresaw the great advantages that would result to this country, and the world at large, from such exhibitions; who, by his prudence, knowledge, and judgment, overcame the difficulties that lay in the way of their establishment, and whose wise and controlling influence guided the first exhibition to a prosperous and fortunate issue. Given under our corporate seal, at the Council Chamber, Whitehall, this 20th day of April, 1863. Signed by Earl Granville, the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, C. Wentworth Dilke, Thomas Baring, and Thomas Fairbairn. Immediately after the Exhibition the commissioner C. Wentworth Dilke, Esq., and the secretary, F. A. Sandford, Esq., received the honour of knighthood. Nov. 1 8 14,608 15 17,739 20 15,549 2,381 10,695 199,894 7,902 .. 27 13,639 2,371 10,367 182,659 5,535 Oct. 4 14,762 2,498 9,466 158,081 3,902 11 19,966 3,129 9,249 174,124 7,534 214,002 440 7 18 17.678 3,333 8.970 206,736 7,322 244,039 304 12 25 24,202 3,232 9,021 199,592 4,019 240,066 140 5 37,037 4,897 11,599 261,785 3,723 319,041 19,073 11,745 41 18,235 12,962 236,421 203 2 3,643 47,420 2,748 1 0 10,326 10 5 0 9,418 14 3 9,433 15 0 9,101 1 4 214,571 101 4 1,697 40,891 2,263 2 0 8.683 18 3 188,709 114 1 744 1,656 2,522 5 0 9,549 12 3 12,451 15 5 16,142 0 5 1,462 2 3 1,623 1 0 |