The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1826-04-13 00:00:00

TRICES Of BRITISH lei Stock MP Acct. per Cent. Itert 714 Tie _ Cent. Cone.. 7ini owl /Mto Acct. TM It it it per Cent. Pit it per Cent. Red.. 864 t + 1.141 C 5 OP YOILEIGIN argellan fonds 46 N i 6 iMo Aert b 6 ti taillan Bond% 44 alto Acet. 44 6blombi n Bond. 48 7 tato hood. ;INS) MD I *lle ei Otto Acct. 461 51 6 6 5 Attuah Bonds (1816) :176 6 7 Greek Roads 14 •nilllan PRICES 07 SEW sec Witivar lieneral Inning Anaemia' , United Makes .. auto . STOCKS TRSTERDAT. New 4 per Cent. 1014 96 Loop Ann. 19 7-16 k Indio Hondo a 4 2 &pm BUI4 101101. 7 9 pro Ditto Mel. 7.8 pa Ditto Small 6 6 pm Lottery Ticket. 111/. 114. STOCEB TESTI/RI/AY. : i reek Ee r0 1 : 11911) 14 9 flute Suede (1e25) es 4 31 93 24 Ditto Acct. 644 6 34 4 3 24 Petavian Runde 27 !4 6 / 4 4 *4 Ditto Acct. 24 Pre...lan R. , CI. 904 RU691211 Bolide I'S/ 9 $ Spanish Bund4 91 i lES YESTERDAY. aka. Share. Paid. .... ..... 30 3 Sins IN 3 3 Ws IN 400 1,04114 N 10 ..•• • 0 IS 4dla Eke Brit( h. ammo. DRURY-LANE THEATRE. This Evening, THURSDAY, April 13, will be performed 'SERVOS'S KY. ,ley. Mr. Bennett; Korarto, Mr. Horn; Stephanofr, Mr. Wal. PI Trletraws Stark, M. Harley. Alhanasla, Foote Maeda', es Cubitt ; ehrhalne, Mks. PJVti, After whtch the new Grand ROIIMIItie Fairy Tale of OBERON or. THE CHARMED HORN. The principal Charactira by blen+rs. 0. Smith., Browne, T. 3,:anchgrd, Pope, Howra, Mercer, Voirnia, W. Bennett. and G. SnIAL , Nimes Smithson, Vincent, and Macdonsid ; and Mrs, C. Jelled. COVENT•GARDEN THEATRE. nit Evening, THURSDAY, April 1 will b• performed (2d time; • Arend Romantic end Fairy Opera, called OBERON ; or, THE ELY-KING'A DATIL The Overture and the whole of the 3lurie compared by Carl Marla Von Weber. The principal Characters by Meson. Praham, Cooper, Fawcett, C. Bland, J. Isaacs, and Tenney; Hlues Paton, Lacy, and H. Comae; InadAme Veatri., and MIII. DWft.ll.p?tt.,_ After which the Farce of THE DUEL. ID Pryer Oktencourt, Mr. W. Vanes Sllverhem4 Mr. Shusehord. Harriet Seymour, Min Love ; Rebecca, Mies J. Scott. ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE. MR. MATHEWS AT HOME Ilk lkostrig, THURSDAY, April IS, with au. entirely new Entertalo. wet, la Two Parts, (marled on Ms Obsevatoons on Charates, Manners, and Pau!levities, entitled Hit. MATHEWS . ' INVITATIONS. PANT Blonegolylogne, to be called THE cm BARU/ ! Seven Chew:ties by Mr. Mathews. Ikon op= atßalt pad Seven (Instead of Seven, as heretofore); Ibis Performance heights at Hight precluely. The Bat Tux PAC! commenced TIM:MAMA yesterday morning at five o'clock. LONDON, THURSDAY, Aran. 13, 1826. The French Papers contain nothing of importance ex cept the mournful certainty which they at length present respecting the fate of Missolonghi. To counterbalance this in some measure, they state that Lord Cocitssxe is understood to be at Zante, and there are still some hopes for Greece. Napoli di Romania, Corinth, Athens, Napoli di Malvasia, the mountains of the Mainotes, the islands of Hydra and Spenia, the troops of FABVIF:11, and the fleets of AA lACLIS and Ca s,‘ nis, still remain to be sub dued; and leasinis might find it difficult to overcome their opposition, if a greater degree of union and combined effort were introduced into the Greek system of warfare. By all accounts, the troops under Fesvize, Cotoco tooter, and the other Greek Generals, were sufficient in point of number to cope with Instants', or at least to an noy him in his siege, by cutting off his convoys, and haras aim( his particsand outposts. They could have attacked ftevsenin PAcIIA at least, and drawn the besieging army off to his assistance. Instead of forming any enterprise of this sort, directed to the immediate and vital point of the war, they were wasting their time, either in absolute inac tivity, or in besieging and attacking points which ought only to have been observed. What had FA nvl ER to do in Negropont,or COLOCOTRONI at Tripolizza, when Misso longhi was thus left to its fate, without a blow being struck for its deliverance? It is to be bolvd that Lard COCjiaANx will contrive to introduce more uniformity into their system—if it be really true that he is now on the point of offering his services to their Government. In a Peninsula like Greece, intersected by such deep gulfs, and abounding so much in insular appendages, the assistance pf a powerful fleet is in the last degree important; and though PO3IPIIY, in the same country, did not find, as he boasted, that the master of the sea was sure to be master of the land, his opinion was formed on the most substantial grounds, and the plan which he formed in con sequence of it was successful, till he abandoned it himself, by leaving the coast to join Set o. Our classical readers will recollect that C.ls an's bold Inamettvre of enclosing Poweer at Dyrrachium, was entirely disconcerted by the fleet of the latter, which took CRAAR'S army in Hank, while engaged in front in opposing the enemy irruption. war of posts and parties is now the only hope of Creece. By cutting off supplies of provisions and forage, by harass ing detached parties and thinning their ranks by a war of 'detail, and by forming strong and secure posts, affording facilities of retreat, if necessary, as points jappvi for sud den and frequent excursions, another turn might still be given to affairs, and Lonl Cocintswe might in this way Insist by his maritime superiority in rendering the situa tion of IstAHlst much more embarrassing than could other wise be anticipated. No force could be more effective in a country like Greece than a force which should look to the sea for its appli, and be ready at any moment to re-cm bark till it should find an opportunity for a new descent ,upon the same, or some other, fiivourable point. FRENCH FL:NOS.—PARIS, APRIL 10 —Five per Cents., rit I0c.; Three per Cents., 66f. ; Bank Stock. 2.050 f. ; Rents* de 75r. 05c.; Royal Spanish Loan, 491L—Ilaytlen Loan, Mi.—Exchange on London, one month, 241. 80c.; Three dit to, 25f. ISc.—Coars Authentique. ' Rio Janeiro Papers of the 4th February were received yesterday. A Proclamation from the Emperor Dox Penso is inserted in them, announcing his determination to sojourn at Bahia for a short time previous to the meeting of the 'Legislative Assembly at Rio. A fact of considerable im .portance is contained in these Papers, as indicative of the .good feeling that at present exists between the Colombian 'and Brazilian Governments—the appointment of a Minis ter by the Emperor of BRAZIL to the Congress at Panama. The interests of each of the contracting parties, we think, .would be best consulted by amicable adjustment ; and we 'hope that either Lord PON SONBY'S mediation, or the dis cussions at the Panama Congress, may produce that desira ble result. The private letters from the Brazils state, that the trade is so annoyed by the privateers from Buenos Ayres, that the premium of insurance from Bahia to Rio is 30 percent. An order from the Government had reached Maranham, to send to England 60,0001. in payment of the dividend on Brazilian loans contracted in England ; it was expected to be remitted in cotton. ft is impossible to calculate on the good-faith of s people so utterly deititste of all principle as the Burmese. That the KING of AVA should have broken the armistice has nothing surprising in it; but that his Golden-footed Majesty will repent his want of fiddity, we may foretell without the gift of prophecy. Not or.ly will Sir Anew 'ALL CANPBLI.I. not offer any other conditions of treaty than these he had proposed, hut, we may rest assured, that nu terms of any kind will be again offered. What con ditions the gallant Gaseral may hereafter choose to dictate, are the conditions to which, we confidently predict, his Burmese Majesty will be compelled/ to accede. The pro posal terms of the treaty, to which the violated armistice has put an end, were, the cessiou of Arracan, Cheduba, Msrtaban, Tavay, and Mergui, together with the payment or two crore of rupees (two millions sterling). The Kee Whoongee (Prime Minister), who has a little more sense . than his Imperial Master, did not consider these as articles which were to be rashly ejected; but having a natural wish to keep his head on his shoulders, the official functionary Very wisely kept his own counsel. It will be recollected that with a force of about 3,000 men we beat the Burmese army of upwards of 60,000, headed too by ;heir renowned lie is»ooLati, in the brilliant affair at Rangoon, and after many days' hard fighting killed 14,000 of those troops, and captured all their artillery. With this event fresh in memory, the public here, we think, need be under no apprehension as to the result of the recent act!on at Prome, whatever the numerical superiority of the enemy may have boen. The 87th King's RegiMent and the 3311 Regiment of Native infantry will have since joined Sir A tieing/trip, and would have enabled him to advance to the capital with about six thousand effective troops. This force will not fail to bring the Burmese war, which has been hitherto mbst ably conducted, to a speedy and favourable termination. We have received the following Secret Documents, with the observations prefiat..d, from a Spanish emigrant of dis tinction, now in this country. We hasten to publish them, in order to show what degree of importance is at tached to the affair of Davin by the persons best calculated to judge on such a subject. We have merely to add that Alrxs is now at S...venoaks, Kent. The Secret Documents subjoined serve toihow the internal state of the Spanish Government : Subjoined are copies of two circulars, which the police of one of our departments has sent to its subalterns, in consequence of the desperate attempt of Bazan. By the language of these docu ments you will be able to Judge of the ahilitieland judgment of this superintendent of police. We need not be surprised, how ever, that the agents resemble the Government which employs them, and it would be much more surprising if a barbarous and ignorant Government employed enlightened agents; but the super intendent might at least have written with auffi.lent clearness to be understood by his subalterns. If the language of these circulars gives an idea of the abilities of their author, their contents and their object show very clearly the inaccuracy of the information which the police possesses on the one hand, and on the other its readiness to take alarm every moment at phantoms and ghosts of combined expeditions, at apparitions of General Mins, and at other tictions of that nature, when we all know very well that General 31ins is very quiet in England, as welt as all those whose expeditions could give more uneasiness to oar police than that of Bazan. If that unfortunate man had listened to some counsel he would not have perished so fruitlessly. If the heads of our police were as able as they ought to be (for at present it must either b e blind or unwilling to see) they would answer such intelligence and such suggestions, by showing the Government of Ferdinand, tha t these ghosts of .Minas, and those phantoms of expeditions, arise only in Spain itself ; that the barbarity end ignorance of the Go vernment creates Minas for itself every day, by equipping expedi tions, and increasing those evils which may one day reduce the police to atoms, and cause the very memory of a government so brutal and atrocious to disappear. This is what those superin tendents of the provinces ought to say, who from their situation are enabled more narrowly to observe the state of misery t o which the nation has been reduced, the numerous families who have been reduced to the brink of despair, the absolute stagnation 1 to which all those branches art !educed which constitute the life Of a state, and, above all, the impotence and nullity to which the Government has reduced itself by its repeated crimes, and by car Tying its baseness to such an extent, as to forget, apparently, tha t it is a national government at all—appearing to-day Carlist, to morrow Ferdinandist; one day French, another Inquisitionist ; always vacillating, and always either toreign entirely to the nation, Of factiously opposed to its interests. The beads of the police ought to represent to their Government, that expeditions from abroad and conspiracies at home, are all effects of one cause, and, consequently, that without removing that cause, it is impossible to prevent such things from taking place ; that neither of these purposes can be effected by circulars, however secret they may be ; that the re medy is very simple, though, on the other hand, it is very difficult. if the Government of Spain will act on enlightened principles, it will decide at one blow the fate of the expeditions and their pro jectors—the ghosts and phantoms will disappear; but if it will not do so, or if it cannot do so, it will find in that very fact the cause of all those different effects, which will undoubtedly be repeated continually, both at home and abroad, in spite of all the circulars of the police. But the step to be taken is difficult, and it would oust the police and the inquisition from the exercise of their high and mighty duties. It is better that they should go on in their career of disorder. That is the surest way to lead to the regenera tion of Spain ; and in the meantime, though we are sufferers by it, we have at least the satisfaction to see, and to let others see, the disgraceful spectacle exhibited by the monarchy of Spain—that chef d'irarre of the wisdom of the Alliance Which I will not call iloly. We shall gain from this another advantage of considerable importance. A great number of Spaniards, who Ginta fife believe the deceitful promises of the French Government and its agents, and whose fatal credulity favoured not a little the disgraceful invasion of the Duke d'Angouleme, will now be convinced that they have no thing to expect from that Government but new endeavou:s to carry illusion and deceit to a still greater extent. This result will be as fortunate an I advantageous as our former mistakes were dangerous. It will tend to unite in the same cause all those Spaniards who cherish sentiments of independence and of liberty, and will pro duce among them that harmony and concord which is necessary, in order to restore our country to that prosperity of which it was de prived by the blackest ingratitude ; and, above all, to that honour and even glory of which her liallasteroses, her Abisvales, and her Morale*, so treacherously and vilely deprived her. FlRsr CIRCULAR. " INTENDANCY OF TILE POLICE OF (Secret.) " Having received information that a revolutionary expedition was to leave England on the 10th of February last, destined for the Peninsula, in concert with that which was carried into effect on the 14th of the same month, in Guardarnar, under the command of the rebel rman, it being of the utmost importance to prevent the repetition of such Vandalic incursions, which though it is certain that they would be rendered abortive at the very moment of carry. ing them into execution, in consequence of the valour and deci. lion, in favour of our herd the King, on the part of his brave and litithful vassals, nevertheless disturb the private tranquillity of the peaceful inhabitants of the Spimish 'oil, cawing other evils be. sides, of considerable importance; it is indispensably 'necessary that the police should exert the utmost vigilance, particularly in the ncighbonrhood of the coast, in order to avoid a surprise on the part of the Revolutionists, who, though impotent and debased, do not desist, in their madness and frantic despair, to form conspiracies and to prepare the means necessary for cir. eying them into effect : considering at the same time that though the revolutionary faction which ventured to disembark in Guards mar is so despicable, it would not have ventured on this hazardous, step if it were not an effect of combination and mutual intelligence among many of the principal agents of the revolution, who have taken refuge in the chief towns of the kingdom, and whom, there fore, the results of the day, the o pe ra ti ons o f t h e aut h o rities, will not be able to calm. I recommend to you particularly, that by all the means which your zeal ran suggest, you would Rx your atten tion principally, in the first place, on the points of the coast in the district under your charge, watching without intemit,aion every novelty which you may perceive, taking such measures as the cir. cumstances of the moment may require, concerting your measures with the chieli of the disposable troops, the royalist volunteers, and the well-intentioned inhabitants in your neighbourhood ; and in the second place, it is indispensable that you and your dependents should redouble your of irts to maintain the public tranquillity, taking care besides, by means of accurate investigations, to obtain itch intelligence as may enable you to observe ali those persons attentively, who are notoriously distinguished for their affection to the abolished Constitutional system, sod who belonged to it in the past revolutionary period. (Signed) " INTENDANT OF POLICE." Rlarch, 182 R. SECOND CIRCULAR. . "riTExuator OF THE POLICE OF (Most Secret.) %Vith reference to my circular of the inst., which coincides with the recent intelligence received from the superior police, and THE BRITISH PRESS. the important information which I have just received, I have to recommend to you, that in displaying all your zeal in fevour of our Lord the King, for the honour of our department, and for our own as well as for the public security—the principal object of our in stitution, you would observe, and cause to be observid, in the district under your command, the nima perspicacious and constant vigilance, in order to discover and know those persons, who, for getting even their own interest, can become accomplices to the enemies of the State, and of the King; and if these persons have any better foundation than the mischievousness of their own hearts for their hopes of seeing an attempt in our territory carried into effeit, in that case, and provided this should prove to he the case, you will proceed without any obstacles of any kind whatever being opposed to you, to use the most efficacious remedy which the cir cumstances may require, adoptinglfor that purpose all the resource' which lie within humanlpower (de pneibilidad huntana). In this important view you will cause vigilance to he exerted day and night, tracing all such ptrsom as you may judge to be suspicious ; avoiding, without exciting any alarm (sin esteeplio), every cause or occasion which could excite the slightest suspicion. You will let no one travel without a letter of security or passport, r.or with arms without license, and at the same time you will take tare to give me Intelligence of whatever occurs of importance, by an ex press to be despatched at the instant. The time which you gain you will take advantage of to call upon and make use, in case of necessity, and in the manner in which I have before recommended to you, either of the armed force, or, if circumstances require it, of that which you may form at the moment from the friends Of order, and of our Lord the King. If you fully comprehend the subject you will inform me punctually by return of post. March DUG. (Signed) INTENDANT OF POLICE. " To the Sulxlelegate of -" There is no maxim of jurisprudence that Englishmen are brought up to revere more strongly, than that which holds every man to be innocent till lie is found guilty. Whatever inquiry the public conduct of any individual may be made to undergo, it is essential that those appointed to decide should approach it without prejudice, and with out prepossession. It is essential to the ends of good government that every person selected to fill an office of high public trust should be held responsible for the faith ful discharge of its duties ; but it is equally essential, should any charge of gross mal-administration be brought against him, that he be protected against the pre-judgment of the public press, which, by preparing every one to be -1 lieve him gitilty, makes his accusation and conviction the same, and thus takes from him at once all that security of the laws which is the dearest and best privilege of a British subject. We say this in reference to the conduct of the Times newspaper towards Lord CHARLES SOMERSET, and the pains taken by that journal to poison the public mind against him. The attacks have been so frequently reite rated as to call for animadversion ; they have been followed up with a malignity that shows plainly that some private Or party purpose is meant to be answered by them. The fol lowing appeared yesterday, and that it might obtain greater attention, was given as a leading article:— Tidings reached town yesterday from the Cape. Many of the communications from thence speak of ' begging letters,' a phrase, it appears, in frequent use there, and which is thus explained in one of the letters which we have seen Since his Excellency has seen the necessity of going home, he has set himself seriously about the task of his deferce ; and among other means, has resorted to the expedient of ' addresses.' The plan pursued is usually this :—A memorial to the King, setting forth all the virtues of the Governor, is drawn up at the Government House, or by some de. pendent, to which is attached an address to the Governor himself, drawn up in like manner ; these are forwarded to the different Landrosts upon whom reliance can be placed (and I am sorry to say, that there is scarcely one throughout the districts, although well convinced of the untruth of the allegations, who possesses in. dependence enough to solid against the delusion), who send round their Secretaries to the Field-comets (a kind of nub-magistrates), with whom the original is deposited. " The latter ride away to every Dutch Boor. and compel him, by threats or cajolery, to sign—he knows not what ! " His Lordship, who it is said has been anxious to delay his departure till after that of the Commissioners, is also endeavouring to gild the conclusion of his administration with some popular acts. ' A public meeting has been called, on his suggestion, to take into consideration the best means of giving an impetus to the corn. merce of the country, by improving the process of making wine ; it is hoped that the process of making addresses may also be im. proved at this meeting." What can be more cruel or more unjust than to circulate statements of such a kind as the above, which neither the party accused nor his friends, have any means or opportu nity of refuting? Whether Mr. Geero may be able to maintain the accusations against Lord C. SomERIET or not, is a point we cannot enter upon; it is enough that the latter has declared himself prepared and willing to meet the charges preferred against him ; and the feelings of every honest mind must revolt at the attempts made to destroy his character in the public opinion, while he is yet un heard, and while be is hastening to this country to clear his conduct from the imputations cast upon it. If abuse of power is charged against a Governor in any distant province, what more valid' testimony can he bring forward, or to what stronger evidence can he appeal, than that of the people themselves, who are alleged to have suffered by his perversion of authority? But if these suffrages in his favour, which it is at least fair to presume aro honest and voluutary attestations, are to he represented to the tribunal before which he is hastening to appear, as being obtained by threats and chicanery, and this, too, without a shadow of proof, how can tlr3 individual so accused sustain himself against so malicious a conspiracy ? Such a proceeding is in any case most iniquitous; and nothing can he more grossly inconsistent in any public journalist that► to affect a zeal for the interests of public justice, and at the same time, as in the present instance, to violate all the rules which secure it. (7ITY, WEDNESDAY EVENING. This was a settling day in the English Market, and when it is considered that the fluctuations have been during the account above 5 per cent, it passed ofF much better than could have been expected. The business was chiefly confined to balancing accounts ; but some bargains were done in Consols, although to no great extent. They opened at 79i, and after reaching closed at 11. Speculators gene rally anticipated a decline in prices,_ because the Money and May Account quotations are the same, but this may arise from a scarcity of Money Stock, which is certainly at present felt. Exchequer Bills were 7s. Bs. premium, and India Bonds 2s. 4s. ptetnium. New Four per Cents closed at 95. Transatlantic Securities drooped today; Colombian Bonds being at 454, and Mexican 6 per Cent.; at 62k. Peruvian Bonds were as low as and Chilian Ditto 44. Russian Stock was also depressed; there were sellers of it at 79. Greek Bonds remained at yesterday's quotation. What business was dune in Shares was at a declining price. Real Del Monte Shares SO dis. ; and Anglo Mexi can ditto 20 dis. Papers from Jamaica and from New South Wales of a very late date, were yesterday received at the North and South American Coffee-house. The dates from Jamaica are to the 3d ult. They are filled with matters of only local interest. The dates from New South Wales are to the middle of October. Sir T. Brisbane had returned to Sydney from a tour in the interior. Ile had viewed the' wonder of that new world, the cascade twenty-seven miles from the Emu-plains, —a body of water falling over per pendicular rocks of 800 feet.* He appeared highly delighted with his excursion, and was expected to leave Sydney in the Mary, Hope, for England, having been superseded in the command. The usual address appears to he voted to his Ex-Excellency. The prices of provisions were very high—wheat 9s. lid., maize 4s. 9d., barley 4a. per bushel, potatoes 6s, pe r cwt .; butter 2s. 3d. per lb., eggs Is. p'er doz., fowls 3s. pet couple, cheese Is. per lb., pork in general .sd. per lb. COVENT GARDEN THEATRE. Last night the public anxiety was gratified by the pro duction of the opera of Oberon. As our readers are doubt less aware, it is founded on a story:which originally appear ed in that famous collection of French romances " La Bibliotheque Bleue," under the title of Iluon of Bordeaux. Wieland, the German poet, adopted the principal incidents of it in his beautiful poem of " Oberon," and which has been translated into F. , .•glish by Mr. Sotheby. Mr. Plsnchc is the author of the present piece, which he states he undertook at the desire of M. Von Weber,—that he is principally in debted to Mr. Sotheby's elegant version for the plot of the piece, and that the defects of the dialogue and lyrical por tions of the Oberon now produced, must, therefore, be visited on his head. • In reference to Mr. Sotheby, he says— " If aught like praise tome belong, With hits I must divide it; I sin not the mse, says the Persian song, But I have dwelr beside it." It has been the unfortunate lot of most, if not all, of the fairy tales that have been dramatized, to he loiribened with a dialogue not attaining even mediocrity ; in this in stance, however, we have no such complaint to make, in many parts the eastern style is very happily expressed, and the poetry is certainly superior to anything we have seen on former occasions. The characters were thus repre- svnted : Charlemagne, Emperor of the Franks Mr. Austin Sir Huon of Bourdeaux, Duke of Guienne Mr. Braham Sherasmin, his Squire - . Mr. Fawcett Haman Alraschid, Caliph Mr. Chapman Babekan, a Saracen Prince Mr. Baker Almanzor, Emir of Tunis Mr. Cooper - First Saracen - - . Mr. Evans Second Saracen - . Mr. Atkins Third Saracen - - . Mr. Ryals Fourth Saracen . - Mr. 'Finney Abdall ih (a Corsair) . . Mr. Horrebow Oberon, King of the Fairies - Mr. C. Bland Puck . . Miss H. Cawse • Fairy . • Mr. Henry Negro Slave . . . - Mr. Griffiths Captain of a Vessel . - Mr. Isaacs . Sea Nymph . . Miss Coward Titania . - - Miss Smith Beiza, Daughter of Ilaroun . Miss Paton Fatima, her Attendant . Madame Vestris - Boshana,NVife of Almanzor - Miss Lacy Namouna, Fatima's Grandmother - . Mrs. Davenport Nadina. a Female of Almanzor's Harem Mrs. Wilson • and we shall endeavour to give as succinct an outline of the plot as possible. The Opera opens in Oberon's bower with a chorus of fairies. Upon ()herons (31r. C. Bland) awaking he demands of Puck (Miss H. Cause) weere he has been since " cock crow," and is informed that he has been round the globe, and that among other wonders witnessed in that short space of time, he has seen the unfortunate Sir Huon of Bourdeaux (Mr. Braham) banished by the Emperor Charlemagne ; and that his return to his native country is to de pend on his obtaining Reiza (Miss Paton) the daughter of the Caliph of Bagdad for his bride. Oberon having taken an oath not to be reconciled to Titania, until " Some fond pair, Through weal and woe, mid flood, and chains, and fire, Should keep their plighted faith inviolate, Unmoved by pleasure and unbent by pain," Conceives the project of subjecting these parties to the test, for the redemption of his oath. Puck is commanded to transport Sir Iluon and Sherasmin his Squire (Mr. Fawcett) to his presence, which is forthwith accomplished. The stage opens, and on a flowery bank which rises they are discovered asleep. Heitz is here ,ntro duced to Sir Hum in a vision, and on his waking is told by Oberon that he shall obtain the Princess and return triumphantly to France. Ile then presents Sir Iluon with an ivory horn, whose power (Theron tells him is such, as to " Bring him to his side Tho' planets rolled between them." He also presents Sherasmin with a golden cup, which will yield wine to the guiltless, but molten lead to the guilty mouth. The parties are then conducted to the banks of the Tigris, and to Bagdad, where Sir Huon hears from Namouna (Mrs. Davenport), that Reiza is to be married on the following day (he having pre. viously tried the test of the cup on the person of Babekan, his rival in the affections of Rein), anti he determines upon an inter. ♦iew at all hazards. IVe are now introduced to Reiza, and her attendant (Madame Vestris) in the harem of the Caliph, on the evening previous to the proposed marriage with Babekan. Reiza is fully impressed with the vision she has seen of the Knight Paladin, and determines, If he does not come to her rescue, to die by her hand. At this moment Sir Iluon and Sherasmin appear ; and eventually, by the assistance of the charmed horn, succeed in destroying Babekan, and in abstracting the Princess and her attendant ; leaving the royal Court of Bagdad to disenchant themselves from the transfixed state in which the horn had placed them in the beat manner they can. Obe. Von now appears, and having told Sir Hoots that he has redeemed his knightly pledge, informs Rein that if she re pents the step she has taken, she shall be restored to her father, the Caliph. She, however, though aware " that the course of true love never did run smooth," is ready to embrace difficulty and death rather than pert from her affianced lord. Sir Iloon. The parties are then transported to the port of Ascalon, where a Greek vessel is ready to depart for Greece ; they embark, and being over taken by a storm raised by Oberon, are shipwrecked on an island In the ;Mediterranean. Sir Huon appears supporting Rein in an exhausted state ; he Wpm* her to be dying, and, after imploring the assistance of " the Ruler of the awful hour," the golden cup Is suddenly washed ashore, the contents of which soon re-animate the Princess. Sir (Ilion then ascends the heights for the purpose of obtaining succour, when a Tunisian corsair suddenly appears, the crew of which land, make " lawful prize" of Rein, and leave Sir Hann wounded on the beach. The captain of the corsair, on his arrival at Tunis, presents his fair captive to Almanzor, the Emir, ( r.Cooper) who becomes en &mowed of her. Sherasmin and Fatima have also been made captives,and are become slaves,the flamer being In the !occupation of a gardener. To his garden Oberon conveys Sir Huon, who learns from Fatima the arrive( of the Princeas, and that she is kept in durance in the harem of the Emir. Ile deter. mines to obtain admission in the disguise of a slave, and in the gardens finds a bouquet made flowers, which, according to eas tern interpretation, conveys the language of the donor. Ile applies to Fatima for a solution of the enigma, who assures hint it can come from no other than the Princess. Sir Huon, in obedience to the injunctions conveyed on a leafed one of the flowers, passes into the harem, and rushes to embrace a veiled lady that he supposes the Princess, but which proves to be Roshana (Miss Lacy), tae wife of Almanzor, who had become enamoured of the Christian slave. At this moment Almanzor enters, and condemns Sir Huou to instant death, as well as Reiza, on account of her remitl of his affections. In the interim, the Charmed Horn has passed into the hands of Sherasmin, who foam, it suspended in his garden. At the instiga. tion of Fatima, he is induced to try if it indeed be the Magic Horn, and she is, for her temerity in doubting, condemned to laugh for her folly. On her recovery from this fit, she learns the probable hue of Sir Hum and the Princess, and conjures Sherasmin to pro. teed to their assistance. He does so, and just as the light is about to be applied to the funeral pile, he sounds. The whole of the at. tendants are immediately seized with a dancing mania, and waltz off " to lively music." Oberon then appears, and informs the Prince and Princess their probation is prat, transports the fugitives and their brides to the Court of Charlemagne, and the curtain drape._ From this brief epitome, it will appear that Mr. Planche has hail no lack of materials on which to exercise his skill, and we congratulate both him and the public on the manner in which he has accomplished his task. 111. Von Weber, as the composer of this Opera, is next entitled to our attention, and we have the greatest pleasure in stating that our admiration of his genius is considerably increased by this important effort. The ground he bad to tread was one which was no unbeaten path in England ; Locke, Purcell, Arne, Percy. and last, though not least, Bishop, have inspired us with recollections of fairy music that can never be forgotten " while memory holds her seat in this distracted brain." In the Freischutz, Weber displayed his powers of the terrific ; it was left for him in the " Oberon, to complete his power over us in the more pleasing task of the acts of a good and protecting spirit. The styles of music are essentially different, and, in our judgment, that now under our consideration is by no means the least difficult of the two. The overture com mences with an adagio movement of short duration, in which there are several bars of• horn solo, which powerfully introduce the subject matter of the piece. It then resolves itself into a presto, of much power and expression. The effect of the serial harmony was most happy, and the arrangement of the intermediate instruments was equal to any thing we ever heard.— Without detracting one iota from the merit of 'this work, because we do not, in the comparison, mean to allude to the least plagiarism, we think it approaches near est in resemblance to Chertibini's Overture to Anacreon. The first chorus, " Light as fairy foot can fall," was full of harmony. The accompaniment to Oberon's song of " Fatal oath, not even slumber," was highly expressive of the sub ject. The harp accompaniment to the song in the vision, by Miss Paton, " 0 why art thou sleeping, Sir Iluon the brave ?" was also a very happy effort. In the chorus of " Honour and joy to the true and the brave," the ascent in the scale by the trumpets and bassoons was admirably adapted. The whole of the recitative and air by Braham, " Yes, even Love to Fame must yield,"was highly wrought; and the accompaniment to" Mourn, ye maids of Palestine," took the hearer indeed tti the house of mourning, and his grief could only be relieved by the beauty of the concludiog part of the air on an old French melody, of " Joy to the high-born dame of France." The finale of the first act wu very good, and the half-bar rest to the chorus Of " Now the evening watch is set," extremely (Active. The opening chorus of the second act, " Glory to the Ca bpi)," had its beauties, and the movement to which the (lancing girls danced was very pleasing. Of the son g 1, Madame Vestris, of " A lovely Arab maid," we eann ,: t say much ; it was net adapted for the style of Madam Vestris, and therefore, perhaps, had not a f a i r chance! The quartet by Brehm, Miss Paton, Madame Vestris and Isaacs, of " Over the dark blue wat e r s ," t h ough i ; commence:l like the air " Through the Forest," i n schill2. suddenly broke elf into a totally different subject, and the concluding verse, " On board, then, on board, while the skies are light," was most felicitous, sod was rapturously encored. The accompaniment to what we will term the incantation scene of Oberon, where Puck com mands the attendance of the • " Spirits of sir, rind earth, and sea, Spirits of fire, which holy be, All that have power o'er wind and Irate. Come hither, come hither, my Spirits so brave ! " was most happy ; and the unearthly chorus in amwer to Pork, who informs them that they are only reqeired i 4 " wreck a bark upon the coast," to the following y e ,* was a masterpiece:— " Naught but that, hn, ho. ho, ho Lighter labour none we know ; Winds and waves obey the spell; Hark l 'tis done—Farewell ! farewell! " The air, by Braham, " Ruler of this awful hour," en very ably handled, and the supplicatory part very ten d erly imagined. The chef d'oeuvre of the piece is, however, Miss Paton's scene, in which she describes th e e ff ect of the stottn and the return of order and happiness. It con es .. ponded with the balcony scene in Freischult, and had evidently been prominently situated in the mind of the composer. The Mermaid's song, " 0 'tis pleasant to float on the sea," and the concluding chorus of Fairies, " wh o would sleep in the lily's bell," were fancifully and tastefully arranged. The duet of Fawcett and Mad a m e Vestris, " On the banks of the sweet Garonne," was good, but too long. The air by Miss Paton, of " Mourn thou poor heart for the joys that are dead," in a minor key, was most expressive, both as regarded the voice part and the accompaniment; of Sir Humes air, " I revel in hope and joy again," we can say but little; we think it the least happy of the Opera. The quartet by Brahtni, Miss Paton, Fawcett, and Madame. Vestris, " R e j o i ce , rejoice, 'cis the Horn of Power," and the concluding ; chorus of " Hail to the Knight with his own good brantl," wive a fine termination to this musical treat. In looking at this opera as a whole, we think it stands en, tainly on a level with Freischulz. There is something of a falling off in the last act, which would bear curtailment.' Having revelled through two acts in fairy transports, the mind is not disposed to settle itself to the common-place affairs of "Mother Earth ;" and we therefore think the Tunisian part of the plot, if not altogether objectionable, at least heavy. In looking into the score of this piece, we find few transg ressions of the grammar of music. T o fi n d exceptions to all general rules is the peculiar province of genius'; it is only the pretender who wilfully applies forbid den precepts, without being able to give a sufficient reason for breaking the rule that is to be condemned. M. Voti IVeber's style has always been considered as founded on the best school; his compositions are most carefully adapt-d, never going contrary to the sense, and in this instance his anxiety on these points is most conspicuous. Of Miss Paton we cannot speak in terms sufficiently strong to ex press our admiration; both her acting and singing exceeded all her previous efforts. Mr. Brahain also, with the ex ception of some very bad cadences, and being now and then nearly a semitone above concert pitch, was very Effec tive. Madame Vestris's " 0 Araby, clear Araby, was a delightful morceau, and her duet with Fawcett, " On the banks of the Bund-emir," after the duet of " Now then sorrow's all over," in the cabinet, was most pleasingly performed, though rather protracted. It delighted us to see Fawcett so much at home, so young and so buoyant; and recalled to our recollection very forcibly the days of twenty years gone by, when, on the same boards, he did not appear much younger than at present, dancing and singing„witli Storace. 3fiss 11. Cawse, in Puck, gave strong indications of improvement in her acting, but not so in her voice. Mr. C. Bland was respectable in Oberon, but has rather too much of the " mortal leaven" to make a good fairy, and we tin not like his voice. Mr. Cooper and Miss Lacy had but little to do, and from the observation we have before hazarded, as to the curtailment of the last act, we could wish that little less. The scenery is without exception the most splendid we have ever witnessed, and must be seen to be adequately appreciated. 11'e noticed particularly the distant view of Bagdad, " In the last bright sunbeams glowing," as a most happy effort by Grieve, and the Port of .Ascalon by Grieve, jun. The invocation scene, where the spirits of the elements are called into action, is powerfully ima gined, and the change by which they are brought into view in the " rifted rock," is awfully grand. But the happiest effort is that of a storm, followed by sun-set, twilight, and night. In this scene the last red beams of the god of day upon the rippling surface of the waters, succeeded by dark ness on the wave, and then by the moon's silvery light o'er the expanse of ocean, defies description. The concluding one of the Hall of Arms, in the palace of Charlemagne, is one of the finest of its kind. The machinery also, which was very complicated, did not fail in a single instance. (They certainly do this sort of thing well at Covent'. garden.) 'fhe ascents and descents of Oberon, in his cabriolet winged by swans, and the gala of the sea nymphs on their own element, met with great and deserved ap plause. The dresses also were got up with an attention to costume and a richness of decoration surpassing anything we have ever witnessed. 'fhe curtain fell amidst overwhelming applause, and M. Weber, who had presided at the piano-forte, and been repeatedly cheats], during the evening, was loudly called for. After a short delay the curtain rose, and Mr. Faw cett appeared leading him on. Tumultuous shouts, waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and cries of " Bravo! Weber for ever !" unaccompanied by one dissentient voice, assigned to this successful composer the highest reward he could possibly hope for. Ile was evidently much affected at this flattering testimonial, which, however objectionable on other occasions, we think pardonable on this. Oberon cannot fail to indemnify the management for the immense expense bestowed upon it ; and we conclude our observations with the closing chorus of the 'liar:— " Hail to the knight, with his own good brand. Who bath won a fair bride from a Saracen's hand! Ilail to the maiden, wl o over the sea Bath followed her champion so faithfully! By bards yet unborn oft the tale shAll be told, 01 lieiza the lovely and Ilmon the bold." THE GOODNAT6tED MAN.—This comedy ITU the , first dramatic attempt of an author, dear to the lovers of Eng lish literature—Oliver Goldsmith. It was represented for the first titre, on the 29:h of Imuary, 1768, at Covent garden theatre, with a prologue written by Dr. Johnson. Compared with his later production, Sh:. Sloops to C o oper, it exhibits little incident and stage effl:ct. : yet its e asy flow of humour, sprightliness of character, and leganc: of language, place it in the first rank of comedy; and in tbe ab sence of many requisites essential to a perfect drama, Vie Good-Natured Man will always be listened to with ph &sure. One amusing incident in the comedy, that a Croak:r prompting his son Leuntine while he is addressing M'S Richland, has been borrowed by Mr. Sheridan in the scene between Captain Absolute, Sir Anthony, and Lydia Lau ..eh, in the Rivals—Dolby's British ; Jliratre. fheWhig organ yesterday morning gave,as apieceanew', a long account of the canvass of one of the staunchest sup porters of that party, which we inserted above a week ranee. Lord John Russell's canvass at St. Ire's appeared in the Press on the 4th inst. CORN LAW S.—The petitions for a repeal of the torn laws, which have been in a course of signature in tins town for some we e ks, were forwarded to Lord King and J. Hume, Esq., on Thursday, with the names of 9,02 n re " ttuoners.—Preston Chronicle. FORTUNATE DiscovnltY.—Messrs. Fullers , brythers , pawnbrokers, Digheth, about fifteen years ago. In nued . : large quantity of gold coin, amounting to 600/ . or $(.% and after an ineff e ctual se a r c h in every probable place of concealment, conclud e d that the property had been stolen. fhty have recently built themselves a new h ouse, and iu taking down that which they formerly inhabit sil the 1" treasure was diseavered.—Birmisgham Atonal. et! 100