270 



EXPOSITION, INTERNATIONAL COTTON. 



arranged, with admirable taste and skill, sam- 

 ples of the products of lu-r Holds, gardens, and 

 orchards. The gentlemen who planned and 

 executed this attractive feature of the exhi- 

 bition, at considerable cost of time and money, 

 were universally commended for their public 

 spirit, and for the originality of the design of 

 their display. 



The large number of samples of cotton raised 

 in India, Ceylon, Burmah, China, Java, Siam, 

 Egypt, Australia, and a number of other coun- 

 tries in the East, the Indian Ocean, and the 

 South Pacific, exhibited by Mr. Atkinson, were 

 closely examined, and attracted much interest, 

 chiefly because they seemed to satisfy the cot- 

 ton-growers who inspected them that the su- 

 premacy of the cotton raised in the Southern 

 States is assured, by comparison with these 

 specimens. 



Special Weekly Exhibitions. During the ex- 

 position there were a number of special exhibi- 

 tions, which lasted for a few days, and created 

 considerable interest: on the 25th of October, 

 a display of fruits and flowers, which did not 

 give an adequate view of the floral and horti- 

 cultural wealth of the South ; on November 

 1st, an exhibition of cattle and mules ; on 

 November 8th, one of sheep and swine; on 

 November 15th, a bench-show of dogs ; on 

 November 22d, a show of poultry ; and on No- 

 vember 29th, a display of dairy products. 



The opportunity afforded by the large con- 

 course of people at the exposition was used to 

 hold several conventions for special purposes, 

 the largest and most important of which was 

 the Convention of Planters, held in Novem- 

 ber, which was largely attended by represent- 

 ative men from every State. There were also 

 several meetings of manufacturers, merchants, 

 etc., and a National Association of Exhibitors 

 was formed, which met frequently while the 

 exposition was open. 



The Legislatures of Kentucky, Tennessee, 

 and South Carolina came in a body to visit the 

 exposition ; a number of Governors of States, 

 several United States Senators, and members 

 of the House of Representatives from all parts 

 of the Union, came to see the " World's Fair," 

 and met there thousands of earnest, enterpris- 

 ing men, representing every industry and every 

 section, come together to see and be informed. 

 Several of these meetings were of very great 

 value, and, in the course of their discussions, 

 elicited the rich results of advanced thought in 

 their several specialties. 



The Close of the Exposition. The exposition 

 closed with appropriate and impressive formal- 

 ities on December 3 1st, 'in conformity with the 

 arrangement made by the managers. The offi- 

 cials, with Governor Colquitt at their head, the 

 t chief officers of the State government, and a 

 'large number of distinguished guests, exhibit- 

 ors, and visitors, filled the Judges' Hall at the 

 appointed hour. After prayer by Bishop H. 

 W. Warren, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

 Mr. KimbaJl, Colonel William C. P. Breckin- 



ridge, of Kentucky, and Governor Colquitt, de- 

 livered eloquent addresses, well worthy of the 

 large and appreciative audience and of the oc- 

 casion. The following are the closing sentences 

 of Governor Colquitt's speech, which was 

 loudly applauded : 



Great as is the knowledge which this exposition has 

 sent broadcast over the world of our resounds and mu- 

 te rial possibilities, it is outranked by the glorious re- 

 sults which have been secured by three months' close 

 and unreserved communion of hearts and minds. The 

 sterling worth of American character has only bright- 

 ened under the attrition of friendly contact. 



Here let me say, in the solemnity of this parting 

 hour, that we cherish the belief that not since the 

 days of '76, when the pressure of mortal peril unite. 1 

 all hearts, has fraternal sympathy so abounded, so 

 litt'nsed it.-e]f among our people, us at this very hour. 

 Here we came together inspired by the purest motives 

 and purposes. Not one oblique or unworthy inlluence 

 actuated us. It was good, and good in all things that 

 we sought, and Heaven has signally blessed our en- 

 terprise so nobly inaugurated. 



Let the verdict, which tens of thousands of admir- 

 ing witnesses have pronounced upon the wonderful 

 courage and industry of the guiding spirit of thU 

 grand enterprise, and the fidelity and intelligence of 

 his faithful co-laborers, be ratified by us in this closing 

 hour ! 



Now, before I shall pronounce the word that shall 

 still for ever the busy and ever-memorable scene that 

 lies before our eyes, let me, in behalf of every patriot 

 who shares with us the hope and joy of a united peo- 

 ple,*Deseech that each contributor to this great display 

 will give a solemn pledge that he will be true to the 

 kindly impulses born of this exposition, and that he 

 will promote and defend a union of hearts of the North 

 and the South, of the East and the West. In this cov- 

 enant the officers of this exposition do most heartily 

 unite, and may all the people say, Amen ! 



And now, in the joy of the triumphant conclusion 

 of our labors in the full hope and confidence of the 

 grand results yet to be realized I give the signal which 

 announces to the world that the International Cotton 

 Exposition is at an end. 



When Governor Colquitt finished his speech, 

 he immediately touched the electric spring un- 

 der his hand, the great bell outside struck three 

 loud strokes as the closing signal, and when 

 the long-metre doxology had been sung by a 

 trained chorus of a hundred voices, at 3.30 

 p. M., the exposition closed, after nearly three 

 months' successful existence. When the short- 

 ness of the time between the inception and the 

 completion of the enterprise, the total inex- 

 perience of the managers, an 1 the many circum- 

 stances of discouragement which surrounded it 

 are considered, an exhibition in a town of less 

 than 50,000 inhabitants, which receives the 

 co-operation of upward of 1,800 exhibitors, 

 and attracts 286,895 visitors, may be justly 

 considered a success. But it had a significance 

 apart from and higher than that which belonged 

 to its exhibits of agricultural machinery and 

 products of mine, field, and forest, great as is 

 the stimulus to improvement which these have 

 given the entire people from the Potomac to 

 the Rio Grande, and from the blue-grass region 

 of Kentucky to the piney woods of the Gulf 

 coast It has two results of transcending im- 

 portance, which in the near future will have a 

 beneficent influence on all the States of the 



