The Press. — London, England, 1857-01-31 00:00:00

114 what a phrenologist would call the diseased self esteorn of Malvolio. He is truly " sick of self-love," as Olivia tells him. The earlier scenes are the hest. In the famous garden soliloquy there is too much evict-ince of study, and a redundance of ungraceful gesticulation, bad in itself, and inconsistent with the s-M.containnierit of the character. The calmness with which the actor accepts the concheion to which Olivia's letter assists Malvolio in arriving, as if the discovery were not so much to be wondered at after all, though it has a strange etfoct at first, proves on reflection to be more truthful than the fantastic exuberance of delight usually displayed on the occasion. The pre veiling blemish of this otherwise excellent bit of comic acting is the constant reference made by the actor to the understanding between him and his au Hence, which disturbs the perfectness of the Ma si to. Mr. Phelps acts at his audience too much, not enough to them. In farce, this is excusable and amusing enough. Of the rest of the characters in Twelfth Night there is not much to he said. Mr. Marston's Aguecheek is a wonder of foolishness; but Sir Toby sutlers sadly in the hands of Mr. Itay, who deerades the jovial knight into • very vulgar toper indeed. The fine drinking scene becomes a mere pAbouse brawl ; and so far from taking part with the revellers against Malvolio, we feel very much obliged to him for putting an end to such inhar monious riot. Viola is gracefully and unpretend ingly played by Miss Eburne. TENNESSEE SLAVEOWNERS AND THEIR SLAVES. THE Clarksville (Tennessee) Jeffersonian publishes the following resolutions, adopted by the Committee of Safety appointed in that place by the slaveowners, to investigate the causes of the recent negro troubles, and to suggest a remedy. "The committee appointed by the citizens of Clarks ville to investigate the truth of the threatened insur rection of the negroes in this vicinity, to allay improper excitement, and to guard the community against danger, deem it appropriate to the occasion that we should give publicity to the following resolu tions, which have met our unanimous approval, and we rtemmend them as precautionary measures, which, if fol!owed, will, in our opinion, avert every danger and give perfect security to the citizens : Resolved,—That we recommend to our city and county authorities to suppress for the future all assemblages of negroes. under any pretext whatever, at frolics, bans, bene volent societies, or at public worships where negro preachers officiate; and that our ministers of the Gospel be requested to suspend absolutely their habit of preaching to the negroes on occasions separate from their ordinary preaching as ministers of the Gospel. Our churches are large enough for our whole poinlation, white and black. We deem all such meetings for ne.tro preaching alone proper; that they degenerate into un'awful assemblies, and are otherwise productive of inc:•iculable mischief. That the owners of negroes ought not to give orders for their negroes to get buggies and carriages for pleasure on the Sabbath, or on any occasion whatever, and that it is the sense of this committee that the owners of livery stables in Clarksville ought not to hire horses and buggies to negroes, even when their masters permit it, for the reason that such indulgence to neiroes promotes insubordination among the slaves, and stimulates feelings wholly incon sistent with their duty to their masters and the subordi nate position the should occupy in reference to white people. It is further the sense of this committee that our mereharts and traders ought to abstain absolutely from dealing with the negroes, unless by the express permission of their masters; and on no account ought they to sell them firearms, ammunition, or other weapons, with or without their owners' consent, if any should be so iudiscreet as to grant it. That, in the opinion of this committee, the present evils that affect us are mainly to be attributed to the late presi dential canvass, not meaning to cast more blame on this than on that political party; we condemn the public dis cussion of all questions touching negro slavery before crowds of people, in the hearing of vast multitudes of negroes. We further think slaveholdera are guilty of gross folly when they permit their negroes to go to barbecues and other public gatherings, where public speakers of the one party or the other discuss those delicate subjects of negro slavery, the true bearing of which they do nut com prehend, and where they imbibe crude and disjointed no tions of freedom, winch only imperil the safety of the white and the certain destruction of the black race. That we call upon our city authorities to take strong measures to prevent negroes passing to and from the iron works, from spending Christmas holidays in our town, and especially from staying a single night in the corpora tion, unless their masters reside here. In case, however, a negro's wife lives in town, he will be permitted to stay here, provided he has a pass from his master, which is recognised or endorsed by the owner of his wife, and that they increase the day and night watch in each ward in the city during this period, at the expense of the corporation. We further earnestly recommend to our whole population in the town and c'.untry to abalish the usage of giving to their servants Christmas holidays. It is a usage more hononroil in the breach than the observance, for the. reason Vitt it breeds idleness ani encourages dissipation among the negroes, impairs their health. and corrupts their mold he a blessing to them to be kept con• as a protection against the evils engen and a decided comfort to us, as afford- rttorals. It smilld scantly employed, tiered by idleness; THE PRESS. ing exemption against the petty larcenies and the baccha• nalian broils that always disgrace the Christmas week, during which time we hope additional pains will be be. stowed by our citizens to prevent negroes from gettins, whisky, and that all saloons and liquor shops be closed till after New Year, if not for ever. . . That, though the committee may adjourn from day to day, it will nut disband till we are sure the community are safe from the troubles that caused our organisation, and to secure this end we invoke the aid of our city authorities, the strong arm of the law, and the sincere co-operation of all good citizens. That we advise the people of every civil district in the country to organise a Vigilant Patrol of twenty men, under the command of a captain, who by turns shall patrol their respective districts by day and night until the present ex• citement is allayed. lly these precautionary measures we seek to create no alarm, but to allay it, and if this advice is followed all danger will be averted. In caution there is safety. For the future negroes shall not be permitted to hire their own time, as it is called, under any pretext whatever, or be suffered to remain in town if it is attempted, and we pledge ourselves to enforce the law against all persons who, in this respect, shall attempt to evade it. The evils growing out of such practices are too grave to be tolerated any longer, nor will it be permitted that captains or other officers of steamboats shall hint negroes at night about the town, to assist in loading and unloading their boats at the wharf or landing, except they have the written permission of their masters. The negroes invariably return to their masters next day, if not drunk, broken down and unfit fur service. That we recommend in the appointment of patrol in the town and country that the strictest attention be paid to the selection of men of character and prudence, and that masters be requested to keep their negroes upon their own premises as much as possible till the excitement in the public mind is allayed, and this as well to prevent the de• strnction of the slaves by imprudent men as to prevent c)mbination and concert on the part of the slaves, should they entertain any improper design. ►7. A. HENRY, Chairman. W. M. STEWART G. A. HARREL J. M'ENAGE W. LUTER W. A. Qvuu.rs W. M. SnEuro); W. E. NEWF.LL CAVE JOHNSON. sen. BRYCE STEWART H. F. HEA►TMUNT F. A. HANSOM W. A. Foams JOSHUA ELDER C. H. SMITH J. 0. SHACELF.FORD J. M. DYE. LARKIN BRADLEY." TF THE SOUTHERN Y.MMES were remarkable for no other special peculiarity, they certainly are pre eminent for acts of savage atrocity. What can be thought of an educated man committing so horrible a crime, and u:tder such circumstances as the fol lowing ? Burns, the proprietor of an hotel at Slackvill ,' Miss.) had quarrelled with a Dr. Stovall, and blows were exchanged. Soon afterw trds Stovall was driving past Burns' stable, and, seeing him enzaged harnessing a horse, pulled up and walked towards Burns. He beckoned to a negro who was standing near to get out of the ray, at the same moment raising the gun and firing. At the instant of his firing, Burns looked round and received the contents of the gun full in his face. He raked his hands to his eyes and sunk to the earth, exclaiming, "My God !" Upon this Stovall advanced within ten paces and fired the second time, the whole charge taking effect in his back ; and Burns then cried out, "lam a dead man !" Still not satisfied, Stovall coolly approached him, and drawing a pistol, put it c!ose to his head and fired again, bursting his eyeball front its socket; then putting the pistol to his breast, he fired a fourth time into the body of the already dead man. Mrs. Burns and her children rushed from the house screaming, while Stovall coolly walked away, got into his buggy, and drove off. THE SECRET OF AERIAL NAVIGATION has at length been discovered, if we may believe a small Paris journal called Les Contempora ins, which has just published a most strange account, signed "Henri Page," of an aerostatic excursion lately made by the Count de Plenvier, M. Gavarni, M. Migeon, Mr. Falconer, an English aeronaut, and M. Henri Page, the writer. The apparatus used on the occasion was not the ordinary balloon and ballast, but a machine consisting of two balloons united together, of a spherical form, able to contain each 100 cubes of pure hydrogen gas. The directing power is a modified screw communicating with the car, and a rudder, made principally of whalebone, to change the direc tion when required. M. Gavarni, the inventor, it is declared, can obtain the upward movement of the balloon without throwing out ballast, which system soon exhausts the resources of the very best con structed balloon, and becomes an invincible obstacle to long excursions in the air. The loss of hydrogen is instantaneously repaired by a chemical proceeding of which M. Migeon is stated to possess the secret, and by a little apparatus of communicavon, also in vented by M. Gavarni. The descent is effected, as hitherto, by letting the gas escape. The departure of the aeronants on the occasion referred to took place on the 15th of January, at ten in the morning, from the park of Ferrieres, in the Sologne ; and the next morning, at five, the aerial travellers effected a safe descent within half a mile of Algiers : We received (says the account) the most teaching hospitality. The inhabitants wanted to carry us in triumph, but we declined the honour; and, as soon as we could, SATURDAY, went to take some repose, leaving our aerostatic apparatus under the guardianship of a file of Zouaves. Marshal Randon deigned to congratulate us, and pressed the head of M. Gavar►►i with the utmost warmth. We remained on the African soil only thirty hours, and left at noon the day after our arrival, in sight of an immense multitude who had assembled to see us ascend front the Mole. Our return was effected without the slightest incident, but with much greate► rapidity. At half-past four the next morning wo alighted at the spot front which we started, in the park of Count de Pleuvier. BOA an Dilitarn tttclti~c re. His Royal Highness the General Commander-in- Chief held a levee at one o'clock yesterday. ORDERS have been forwarded from the War-office to Colonel H. Sandham, director of the Royal En gineers' establishment, at Brompton Barracks, Chat ham, directing him to hold in readiness one company of that corps, with a proportion of officers and non commissioned officers, to embark forthwith for the Falkland Islands to relieve the company now on duty there, the term of service having expired. A VERY UNPLEASANT OCCURRENCE took place on Monday at Portsmouth. A man under sentence of a court-martial, which had adjudged him to receive fifty lashes, on being taken to punishment broke away from his guards and rushed upon Colonel Parke (the commandant of the corps) as he was stooping to pick up a paper he had dropped, and gave him a tremendous blow in the face, knocking him to the ground and cutting him in the face very severely. The man was speedily overpowered anti led to the halberds, where the fifty lashes were inflicted. He will now be tried for striking the colonel, which will prove a more serious affair than the flogging. _ _ MAJOR GENERAL WINDHA3I has addressed an im portant letter to the Lord .Lieutenant of Norfolk, upon the expediency of improving the organisation of the army. The object of General Windham's scheme is to provide the country with such a reserve force that 40,000 well•disciplined men could at any time be added to the regular army. The feature of the scheme is the permanent establishment of the militia, and the creation of a close connection be tween this force and the line. raking the infantry of the militia at 80,000 men, General Windham would divide this body into two equal portions, one of which is to be styled "the first reserve." With the depots of particular regiments to be permanently stationed in the counties from which they are pre sumed to be raised, the first reserve of the county militia is to serve and be drilled for three months in every year, the officers of the two corps meeting together, and the whole body being under the com manding officer of the depot. To cement the con nection more firmly, it is proposed that every candidate for a commission in the line should enter the militia first, so that in the end, supposing the militia regiment to consist of eight companies of 100 each and the depot of two such, we should have a strong battalion under arms in every county for three months in the year. When the first reserve goes off duty its men are to receive a continuation of pay to the extent of 211. or 3d. a day in the shape of a retaining fee, for which they are to be bound to join the regular army in a body when occasion may require. The method of junction would be by simply uniting its first reserve to its county depot, and then turning over the whole as a second battalion to the regiment which the depot represented. As the scheme would increase the demand for recruits, General Windham, who dioubts whether voluntary enlistment would give a sutlicent supply, proposes to employ the ballot. relantr. HIS EXCELLENCY THE LORD LIEUTENANT held a privy council on Monday in Dublin Castle. The Archbishop of Dublin, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Chancery, General Lord Seaton, G.C.8., the Recorder, Sir Thomas Esmonde, Bart., Judge Keatinge, Mr. Hat chell, the Attorney-General, and the. Solicitor-General were present. HIS EXCELLENCY . S FIRST LEVEE for the season was held on Wednesday. The levee was fully attended, but no dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church was present. THE REV. JOHN GREGO, of Trinity Church, has been appointed by the Lird Lieutenant Archdeacon of Kildare, vice the Rev. W. k'itzgerabl, now Bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Rnss. The Rev. Mr. Gregg, though the minister of a free church, and not one of the parochial clergy, was, however, one of his Excel lency's chaplains. THE RSV. RONALD VDONNELL, curate of Passage, in the diocese of Cork, has been appointed to the valuable living of Monkstown, in the archdiocese of Dublin, just vacated by the promotion of Dr. Fitz gerald. _ MR. JOHN EDWARD WALiIIE AND Yu. A. LAwsoN have been called to the inner bar.