GENEKAL EEPOKT. 
71 
often fulfill very important offices in tlie practical working out 
of the general policy of the State, and by every wise govern¬ 
ment will be planned and executed on a scale commensurate 
with the importance of attainable results. Three Special Com¬ 
missions, in the interest of industry, have been created by the 
State since the date of the Society’s last general Keport, of which 
it IS proper to make brief record in this place.’ 
The first was a Commission to represent Wisconsin at the Exhi¬ 
bition of the Industry of All Nations, held at London, England, 
in the year 1862; the undersigned being the Governor’s ap¬ 
pointee. Although no provision was made for the expenses 
of this Commission, which were accordingly met by the Com¬ 
missioner himself out of his own private funds, it is believed 
that the duties were faithfully performed, and that the State 
has since derived no little advantage from the efforts then put 
forth in her interest. A brief report upon that great Exhibi¬ 
tion will be found in that part of this volume embraced under 
the head of “ Transactions for 1862.” 
The second was a Commission, composed of several citizens 
of the State, to the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867, of which 
the undersigned had the honor of being a member and the 
President. In aid of this Commission, but at too late a 
day to make their labors as effective as they might otherwise 
have been, the sum of two thousand dollars was appropriated 
by the Legislature, with the proviso that no portion of 
said amount should be used to defray the expenses of any 
Commissioner. The somewhat arduous duties of this Commis- 
sion have likewise been performed in as thorough a manner as 
the circumstances rendered possible; and while the awards 
made to this State and to the citizens thereof, as well as 
to the State Agricultural Society, for exhibitions of some of 
the representative products of Wisconsin, are an occasion of 
gratification on the part of all who are actively interested in 
the public welfare and honor, it is hardly a question whether 
the State would not have done itself much more credit and se¬ 
cured a much larger advantage from the rare opportunities of 
