The National Register.
London, England, 1811-02-10 00:00:00

94

sensibility, would feel too much in the moment which was to
decide on the life and death of a fellow creature to be capable of
indulging in such unseemly mirth. The last act is well worked
up, and the last scene presents a most striking tableau, and sup-
plies an admirable climax to the previous action. The music is
pleasing and the scenery good, and the piece seems likely upon
-the whole to have a ran.

I cannot dismiss this subject without expressing my regret at
Dm°No's introducing several meagre comic characters
in order to make up the number of the dramatis personce. This
art.i, however, disposed to impute rather to those who have the

management of the Stage than to him. I believe these sort of
characters are reraded by these sages as indispensably necessary
to every such performance. It is to this alone that we are to
ascribe the many nuisances of this description whieh we meet
with in various modern productions. I regres this evil the more
on account of the trouble it must necessarily give the Author,
as nothing can more decidedly prove that this is a task imposed
upon Dramatists of the present day than the characters so drawn.
Genius and inclination seem both to rise in opposition to their
production; and, under such circumstances, it cannot be a
matter of surprise that all such feeble aforts at humour, in obe-
dience to the d:rections of hard, and, I nay add, foolish task-
Masters, prove weak and abortive. E.

CITY BUSINESS.

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Wednesday a Court of Common Council was held at Guild-
hall, to take into c.onsideratiou the adjourned debate respecting
the London Militia .

The discussion was opened by Mr. Alderman Woon, in a
speech of considerable length, in which he defended the Report
of the Committee, and contended that the two regiments of
Militia. as now coiyAituted, were of no use to the City of .Lon-
don. The other Militias were always sent to a distant part of
the country from that to which they belonged ; they were kept
away trom their connections, and this from obvious rea ens of
policy. He thought the London Militia, therefore could be
better employed in more distant parts of the country, if it was
thought necessary to continue them in existence at all, consider-
ingthe vast expense they occasioned.
Mr. Alderman B:RCH said, that the Report was totally un-
supported by any thing like evidence, and he hoped would never
be listened to by the Court. He defended the pecuniary trans-
actions so much complained of, particularly those relating to the
emoluments derived by the Colonels from clothing the men,
and the disposition of the stock purse; the latter, he said, was
vested in the Colonels by an Act of Parliament, and therefore
could not be appli d to public purposes. - The Report of the
Committee stated, that the two regiments cost the City 50.0001.
but this was not the fact, as the 50,0001. were paid by Govern-
ment. He considered that much good was derived from the

two regiments, notwithstanding th-eir services were limited to
the metropolis and its vicinity. What was the situation of the
volunteer corps, the place of which they so well supplied ? No
man could speak higher than himself of the merits of volunteer
corps, and of the thanks to which they were entitled from the
country ; but it was well known that deliberations and discus-
sions among the individuals composing them too often supplied
the place of obedience ; and this would in all likelihood he the
case, so lung as no actual dangers put an end to their disagree-
ments.

XVII . WAIT 11 34 A N said, he was not so inexperienced as not to
know that the more atrocious the nature of any abuses which
are pointed out for public animadversion, the more odious are
. the epithets which are heap. d by the culpable party on the bead
of the detectors. The Report was a simple statement of facts,
and such a Report as was called fdr by the circumstances of the
case. Mr. Waithrnan then :vent at length into a defence of the
Report, and concluded a lorg speech by declaring his opinion
that the subject was one of the greatest importance, and to give
full time for the consideration of it, he should move an addition
to the motion at present before the Court—" That this Court
do agree with the Report, with the exception of that part of it
-"which relates to the immediate application to Parliament for the
repeal of the London Militia Acts."
Mr. JACKS and Mr. Di XON ;poke in opposition to the Report
at considerable length ; it was, in the oninion of Mr. Dixon, a
Report full of " envy. malice, and •Jltnlcharableness."
Mr. WMESLE contended, that the London' Militia Bill bad
beencarried by corruption in the. Court in 17963 anti by still