THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY 317 



consideration had influenced the Society from the be- 

 ginning, for it was not without serious apprehension on 

 the part of some of the members, who had fought so 

 hard to secure complete freedom from Government 

 control, that the administration of the grant was 

 originally undertaken. Acting on this recommenda- 

 tion, the Council arranged with the Government for a 

 transfer of the administration to the department. This 

 was effected by the Agriculture and Technical Instruc- 

 tion (Ireland) (No. 2) Act of 1902. As a considera- 

 tion for the transfer, the Society asked for a grant in 

 aid of providing a suitable hall at Ballsbridge for the 

 Art Industries Exhibition held annually in conjunc- 

 tion with the horse show, and in compliance with this 

 request the sum of ^5000 was paid to the Society. 



Exhibitions of Manufactures 



Reference has been made at pp. 253 and 271 to the 

 exhibitions of manufactures first projected in the year 

 1833. Exhibitions were held in 1834 and 1835, an0 ^ 

 after the latter year, these exhibitions became triennial. 

 They were at first confined to Irish manufactures, but 

 in 1850 the products of other countries were admitted ; 

 the exhibition of that year was in fact the first step in the 

 United Kingdom in the direction of international exhibi- 

 tions which afterwards assumed such large proportions. 

 The series culminated in the International Exhibition of 

 1853 ; the exhibitions which followed this great effort 

 were on a much smaller scale. In 1858, advantage was 

 taken of the newly-erected Natural History Museum to 

 hold an Art Exhibition. Stimulated by the success of 

 this new departure, a larger exhibition of fine arts and 

 art manufactures was held in 1 861, in the Agricultural 

 Hall which had just been erected in Kildare street. 



