The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-21 00:00:00

the Orpre%O.

DRURY LANE.
Tos tuning°, AS YOU LIKE IT. Mr. W. Montgomery
Miss Helen Yaneit.—Aud KATHERINE AND PIMIUCH.IO.
Mr. T. Swinbuurue and Miss Isabel Adams.

HAYMARK ET.
Tare EPICITIIO. A DANGEROUS FRIEND. Mesese.C. Mathew,
Howe, Kendal, AC..; Madam* C. le atnews,Chlppendele, Moore
&o. -ANTON V' AD CLEOPATRA. Messrs. C. Mathews, Comp-
ton, Ac.: Mewlanace C Mathews & HiIL—OUR RY ANNE.
- -

PRINCRAB'S.
Ten firsirnia. DA lINABY RIYDGE. Mews. 8. Calhaem,
F. Villiers, J.O. Shore, &o. ; MIS. John Wood, laws Auto els
Thomason anal Katherine Rogers, Yrs, H. Vining, sad Mn. C.
Horsman.—To contludo with QUIET LODGLNGS.

LICEUM.
TWIS Eozwiwn, DE.VTrS AND CESAR. Miss Hanrada.—Aad
THE LONG STRIKE. Messrs. Emery, Md.:Womb. Cowper, Fitz-
patrick. Kayo°Moreland; Idles lieurade.—Concloding
with TWEEDLEWN'S TAIL COAT.—Costmaace at 7.

STRAND.
THIS RirKKISO, NEIGHBOURS. Beam Pamela, Belford,
and Murray : Me...lames Swanborough, Johnstone, and Hughes.
FRKISCHUTI; OK, ♦ GOOD CAST rug ♦ ructa.
—And BOOTS Al" 1111. SWAN.

- - -
HOLBORN.
Tam EVENING, at 7, LAS KIN'S LOVE LETTERS. Mr. Del-
more and )live C. Sanndera.—And FLYING SCUD. Menses.
Neville, Be'more, Blake, N, Mesdames Y. Josephs,
C. Mundell's, kteaxie Foote, ',hides, Lennox, Raagiond,
- -

BRITANNIA.
•
TEM EannrtsO, SOME BELLS THAT RANO. Mr. J. Rey-
nolde—THE WHAT IS 11:?—Mr. -Dancing Mad" Bryan;
Miss K. Gamiest.: Master George Perks.—Concludhsg with
THE MONK OF ST. PAL'I.'3.

H.lOll WALK& AT TANTION BRIDGE.
In DAT —M,,rnlng oh. .?..In2 AttentAou. Ob. 53m.
To-Mowww—Morning, lb. 19m Altemoon, lb. 42:0.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21.

Ir appears that Mr. WALPOLE'S consent to the
request that a Commisaiun may be appointed to in-
quire into tho recent outrage at Sheffield does not
meet with universal approval. Strangely enough
the objection comes not from the accused party,
but from the accusers, and the ground taken is
that we have already so much knowledge on the
subject. The le tilers of the working classes at
Sheffield come forward and challenge inquiry ;
but " everybody," says the Times, the ob-
jector-general, " knows what these outrages
" mean, and all further inquiry must prove abor-
" tire." This is not the language usually held by
those who have allayed at a result by a process of
intelligent investigation : it is whatweeverydayhear
in common life when bigotry fears that its prejudices
are about to be disturbed or exposed. We do
not think the recollection of the public will quite
confirm the statement of our contemporary. Quiet
rectors in Wessex and candid old ladies in the
Weald of Kent will be surprised to learn that they
already know so much about this last Sheffield
outrage that all further information is superfluous.
A very slight effort of memory will remind them
that the Tinos has only one formulary for the
treatment of subjects that can be made tribu-
tary to the class feeling which it exists to
represent and maintain. A Sheffield outrage and
a Jamaica riot are dealt with on precisely the
same principles. The telegraph has only to report
the lamentable fact, and our contemporary proves
himself equal to the occasion, and produces on the
instant a theory which is no sooner announced
than" everybody" at once " knows it to be true,"
and which he maintains makes inquiry into
the circumstances and causes of the event perfectly
unnecessary. Journalists who believe that they
exist to serve the public by the elucidation of events
—who may possibly have their own theories, but
hold them subject to correction by evidence—can
nomorethink of opposingthe appointment of a Shef-
field Commission of Inquiry than of suppressing
a Jamaica mail in the middle of an insurrection.
Far from blaming Mr. WALPOLE, we think he has
acted in a spirit of wisdom and fairness, which de-
serves imitation by some who fancy themselves
capable of prescribing the manner in which he
should perform his duties. What the Commission
will bring to light, whom it will condemn, whom
absolve, we cannot pretend to predict. But it
promises to make us better acquainted with a con-
dition of society of which we know very little, and
of which the most confident assertions are never-
theless made.

WE print in another column two letters from
the pen of tho President of the famous Court-
martial which sat last year at Morant Bay, in
Jamaica. Considering that this gentleman Ben-
tenoed 189 of the QtrEEN's subjects to death—a
larger number than have been condemned by all
her MAJESTY'S Judges now living—the public
will feel an interest in a correspondence
which certainly throws light on his fitness
for a judicial post. Unless we are mistaken,
the letters of Lieutenant BRAND will be thought
conclusive on this point. We are not sure
whether this gentleman's nice sense of public duty,
the elegancies of his style, his caustic humour, his
oaths " writ large," or his reference to pistols for
two and coffee for one, will most impress his
readers. On these points we can only offer
our condolences to tho officers and gentlemen of
the Navy for the discovery that they have among
them for a comrade one who is capable of writing
letters such as any decent costermonger would be
ashamed to indite. On any less authority than
that of Lieut. BRAN I).ti correspondent we must have
declined to believe that these letters were the pro-
duction of a gentleman wearing the QUEEN'S uni-
form. _ . .

Mr. BI:VCON deserves thanks for having
given these precious communications publicity.
There has been any time during the last
twelve months abundant evidence, in the form of
letters from Jamaica unavailable for public pur-
poses, as to the quality of the men to whom
the administration of martial law was confided
in October, 1865 ; but we certainly did not expect
to find. the chief " judge" of the military court of
the island sitting down a year after the event and
deliberately penning such letters as these. Is the
explanation to bo found in the postscript to
Lieutenant BRAND'S first letter—" We have a