The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-15 00:00:00

treated with contempt by an insolent and over-
bearing power, a soi disant ally ; and English sub-
jects are put to serious losses and indignities, while
the Foreign Office turns its attention to the framing
of orders and issuing of notices which shall pro•
pitiate the Moloch, whose wrath they dread.

The report of the Poor Law Board is one that is
certain to attract attention, and however dry the
details and commonplace the incidents it is replete
with interest of a peculiar kind, and contains much
to deserve notice. In consequence of the length of
time that elapses before the reports are published,
we have now before us some of the details which
chronicle the sad time of the distress in Lancashire.
Of course this was the worst trial that the Poor
Law Board has had to encounter, and therchre it is
not a fair test of its workings, since in some respects
it was too much for it to surmount. Four hundred
and fifty thousand was the number which the year
1862-3 was in excess of the year before it, and that
fact speaks volumes as to the necessity that called
forth such extreme measures. It is, however,
gratifying to learn that this outlay is on the de-
crease, and that when the next report is concocted
much better intelligence will meet our eyes. It is
a strange thing that so much time should elapse
before the publication of these reports, as the labour
cannot be so very great, and the public would
surely be kept more au courant with events if there
was a nearer connection between the period of the
occurrences described and the actual time of perusal.
It is surely time that some inquiry be instituted es
to these particulars, and those who are always
ready to find fault with official arrangements, and
to make it their endeavour to redress all grievances,
real or imaginary, that exist in the departments of
the State, had better look to this anomaly, and
request an explanation of such a singular mode
of proceeding. It was anything but business
like and cannot answer the purpose destined to be
fulfilled. It is curious to notice how little improve-
ment has been made since the New Poor-law
system has been at work. Those who expected so
much from it must feel that they greatly over-
rated the attempt and thought too lightly of its
schemes of reform. When we notice that the
pauperism of 1860 bears the same proportion to the
population as that of 1839, it cannot be said that
there is any cause for satisfaction. The same space
of time has witnessed striking improvements in
almost every other department of the State, and
reforms and new schemes have caused plenty and
prosperity to be carried to the ends of the earth.
The secret of all this is, doubtless, that no one takes
up the subject of the Poor with anything like heart
or energy. It is not considered of vital importance
to the community, and hence little real attention is
given to it. It cannot be true that if the skill of the
Legislature were brought to bear upon the ques-
tion, and the appliances of the State put into requi-
sition, very different results would come to pass.
Surely the present aspect of affairs is not so suit-
able that we should be content to let things alone,
and the remedy that is so urgently called for ought
to be attempted at once, and as soon as practicable,
if we wish to avoid a disgraceful reflection.

Mr. and Mrs. Kean.

(From the Sydney Illoining Herald of ,TuJy 5.)

Mr. and Mrs. Bean's last appearance on the Australian
stage took place yesterday evening, at the Prince of Wales
Theatre. His Excellency Sir John Young, Lady Young,
and suite were present, and certainly the largest audience
ever brought together within the walls of any building in
this colony, assembled to do honour to the two talented
artists who, after a brief scjouin in Australia, are about to
leave for California, and from thence to the country of their
greatest triumphs—Britain. Nut only was the front of the
house crammed to suffooation,but the orchestra was stormed,
and. with the exception of a small place for the musicians,
erowdel with people—numbers, too, were unable to get
admission to the audience part of the theatre at all—and,
rather than lose this last opportuni'y of witnessing the
last performances of Mr. and Mrs Kean, were glad to avail
themselves of places behind the scenes—and that portion
of the stage concealed by the wings was as densely crowded
as the other parts of the house. The play selected for the
occasion was Colman's "Iron Chest," with Mr. Kean as
Mortimer, and Mrs. Kean as Lady Helen ; and the elegant
comedy " The Jealous Wife." When Mr. Kean ap-
peared he was literally overwhelmed in an avalanche of
applause, which was repeated when Mrs. Kean came on,
and the enthusiasm continued throughout the play. It is
scarcely necessary to allude to the performance of the first
piece. The play of "The Iron Chest," it is well known,
is founded on the story of Caleb Williams; the character
of Mortimer is almost as gloomy as that of Bertram; amid
the clouds of remorse and self-accusation, one gleam of sun-
shine only penetrates his soul—the love of Lady Helen;
but even this, like the ray on the cloud, makes the more
dark that portion on which it falls, True, there is a som-
breness in the character, yet it is not uniform, but exhibits
all the changes which sensibility and suspicion are certain
to create. The transitions in this play give Mr Kean fre•
quent opportunities for the display of his great powers.
The Soliloquy on Honour, and the description he gives to
Wilford of the assassination cf his rival, were admirable,
and the last scene was a perfect consummation of art. But
it is needless to criticise. The drama has found a great
exponent in the persons of Mr and Mre Kean; they have
brought out hidden beauties to the eye and sense of all those
who have witnessed their representations, and have created
more critics in Australia than a hundred editions of each
separate play in which they have appeared could produce.
On the conclusion of the "Iron Chest" there was an unani•
Dl3llB call for Mr Kean and his talented lady, and after the
cheering had subsided, Mr Kean, in a voice betraying the
emotions of his feelings, said—

" Ladies and Gentlemen,—This being the last time that
Mrs Kean and I will over perform on this side of the Equa-
tor, I take the opportunity of expressing, in her name and
my own, our most grateful acknowledgments for the cour-
tesy and kindness which we have received during our stay
in Sydney. It has afforded both of us infinite pleasure to
find un our return no diminution of that success which at.
tended our first performances in this city in December last,
believing it to be a signal mark of your good opinion. Al-
low me, however, most especially to record any heartfelt
appreciation of the interest and consideration evinced dur-
ing my serious indisposition some five months Since. Such
generous sympathy shed its soothing influence over the sick
couch, and in the hour of suffering brought comfort and
consolation to the invalid. My illness here, and Mrs
Kean's severe and painful attack in Melbourne, have cast a
shadow over our sojourn in these colonies, having disqua-
lified us for the exercise of our professional labours between
three and four months out of the nine which we have passed
on your hospitable shores. On Thursday next, the ship
which, with the blessing of Providence, will bear us across
the Pacific Ocean, is appointed to sail, and therefore I may
say that in a few hours we shall leave your beautiful hare
bour for that of San Francisco, being within a day of the
anniversary of our departure last year from the port of
Liverpool for Victoria. Anticipating the readings and reci-
tations which we are engaged to give at the Masonic Hall
on the evenings of to-morrow and Wednesday, I will now
take our last farewell of Australia, with the assurance
that during our wanderings memory will be busy, rais-
ing up before the mind's eye the many kind friends we leave
behind, and recalling the many kind acts we have received
at their hands. I will not dwell upon a word which always
fills the heart with sadness, and more especially when the
separation is for ever. I will, therefore, ladies and gentle-
men, simply and gratefully bid you farewell."
"The Jealous Wife" presented Mr and Mrs Kean in the
dementia element of drama; and their success in this is no
less great than in their more sublime conceptions of the
great dramatists of the world.
This evening the first of the tv o readings of Shakspere
and other poets will be given by Mr and Mrs Kean, at the
Mason!o llall ; and the great success they have achieved in
a similar instructive entertainment in London and the pro-
vinces of England is of itself a sufficient guarantee that
those who avail themselves of this last opportunity of hear-
ing Mr and Mrs Kean will carry away with them " some-
thing to remember." On Thursday next they start for
California, accompanied by Mr George Coppin, through
whose instrumentality they were induced to visit Australia.

THE PERILS OF BALLET DANCERS.—An accident
which might have been attended with the most
lamentable consequences, occurred two evenings since at
the Grand Theatre of Marseilles. During the ballet in the
second act of "Peau Madlle. Pancaldi, one of the
principal dancers, made a false step, and fell into the promp-
ter's box, which is sunk below the stage, close to the foot-
lights. She was not much bunt by the fall, but her dress
came in contact with the gas, and was instantly in a blaze.
She however, promptly extricated herself, and was running
across the stage when the manager, M. Defosscz, caught
her in his arms and succeeded in extinguishing the flames
before any fatal injury was done, but his own bands were
severely burnt. As there were 30 other female dancers on
the
stage, it is almost a miracle that further injury was not
done,