knowledge of
every branch of manufacture, and to afford pleasure to all ranks
and classes of society in every country in which these
Exhibitions have been held. Recognising the benefits which they
have thus conferred, such Exhibitions can never fail to enlist
the sympathy of the Queen and command the support of the
Princess and myself. We are here to-day to give personal
testimony to that feeling, and to express our satisfaction not
only with the public spirit with which the undertaking has been
supported financially, but with the enthusiasm with which
exhibitors from all parts of the world have enriched the
collections of science, art, and industry gathered within these
buildings.

"Nor is it possible to overlook the special appropriateness of
such an Exhibition in this city, in which the researches and
discoveries of Black, of Watt, and, in our own day, of Thomson,
have been productive of world-wide benefits to mankind. In the
application of science also, Glasgow can point with just pride
to Bell, whose 'Comet' is still preserved as a memorial of the
first attempt to apply the forces of steam to the propulsion of
ships, and to the multifarious industries which have here found
a home. To the widely different character of these industries,
which secure to the population of this district immunity from
many of the risks which necessarily attend devotion to one
special department of labour, it is only possible to allude in
general terms. Here there exist and flourish side by side great
establishments for shipbuilding, the production of marine
machinery, locomotives, mill machinery, and mechanical
appliances for the working of iron and coal for the production
of mineral oil, the manufacture of thread, glass, and pottery,
carpet-weaving, dyeing and printing. It must not likewise be
over-looked that Glasgow was the cradle of the steam-carrying
trade with America and the great mercantile centres of the
world. It is gratifying to me to learn that, in the
comprehensive collection to be found here, due regard has been
paid to the exhibition of works of art, and that the walls of
your galleries are enriched by many and valuable paintings and
works of sculpture. Here, as in the Exhibition at Manchester,
are to be found evidences of the fact that the successful
prosecution of