The Sun.
London, England, 1837-09-15 00:00:00

ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE.

A melo-drama, in two acts, called The Highland Cate-
ran, was performed at this theatre last night, with great
and well-merited success. It is reported to be from the pen
of Mr. William Murray, the manager of the Edinburgh
Theatre. The subject of the piece consists of the adven-
tures and escapes of Macdonald of Borisdale, a Highland
gentleman, who, 'having resisted the power of Cromwell's
government, had been driven to become, like Rob Roy, an
out-law and " a broken man." A price has been set upon
his head, and parties of English soldiers are in pursuit of
him. He loves and is beloved by Lilias Logan, the daughter
of Walter Logan, a stout-hearted farmer, who, approving of
his passion, conceals him in his house. The house is beset
by English soldiers, in consequence of information which
leads them to suspect that he is there. While they are de-
manding instant admittance, Macdonald hastily assumes the
bonnet and plaid of Jock Muir, the shepherd, who hap-
pens to be in another apartment. The soldiers enter and
find the firmer and his (laughter, and the pretended shep-
herd busy over a bowl of crowdy in a corner. While he is
personating Jock with great success, Jock himself suddenly
enters, and a scene ensues at once ludicrous and interest-

ing. Jock's surprise is on the point of betraying every-
thing ; but the farmer and Lilias overwhelm him with wel-
comes and greetings, bestowing upon him the name and
character of a neighbouring farmer come to pay them a
visit. The gentle folks sit down to table with the sergeant
of the English party, while the soldiers place themselves on
the watch within and without, and the pretended shepherd
ascends to his cock-loft. The supposed guest, by way of
making the En;lishmen drunk, plies them with. whisky,
and plays the boon companion so well that one of the sol-
diers falls under the table, and the others drop asleep in
the act of endeavouring to sing in chorus " Willie brew'd
a peck o' maut." Macdonald comes down from his lair,
and is slipping out of the house, when he observes the sen-

tinels stationed outside, but disguising himself in the equip-
ments of one of the sleepers, he contrives to exchange
places with one of the sentinels, who is glad to be
relieved and allowed to join the convivialities within.
Macdonald thus escapes, and the scene concludes amid

the consternation and confusion of the baffled pur-
suers. This is the most remarkable scene of the
piece. It is highly wrought, containing a rapid suc-
cession of amusing and yet exciting incidents, and a
great deal of very lively and characteristic dialogue. The
second act is more melodramatic. Logan is about to ex-
piate with his life the crime of having aided the escape of
the outlaw. Tidings of his situation, however, are con-
veved by Jock Muir to Macdonald in his mountai❑ re-
treat. The old man is brought out to be shot ; but, as he
is taking a last farewell of his daughter, also a prisoner,
Macdonald, with a party of his followers, accompanied by
Jock Muir, suddenly assail the party of military execu-
tioners. A desperate encounter takes place ; the soldiers
are defeated and driven off ; and the curtain falls, rather
abruptly, while the victors form a tableau expressive of
joy for the deliverance of the captives, and the prospect
(it must be imagined) of the happiness of the lovers.
The piece was admirably performed. Brindall had
the manly and spirited bearing of the Highland chief ;
and Diddcar acted the old farmer with much propriety
and feeling. Jock Muir, the sly, cool, ready-witted
Scottish peasant, is a picture drawn by the author
with the pencil of Scott ; and M'lan did it ample jus-
tice in the representation. In the battle between the

highlanders trnd the soldiers, a single combat with broad-
svvords takes place between 'Allan and Goadby, who per-
sonates one of the soldiers, which was much more like
fighting in earnest than such •exhibitions usually are.
There was something in the tiger-like mixture of caution
and ferocity of M'lan's movements, which gave a fearful
notion of highland broad-sword fighting. Miss Horton was
pleasing and interesting in Lilies Logan, and sang a Scotch
ballad very sweetly. Her costume might, without any im-
propriety, have been a little more recherche.
There was some very pretty scenery, apparently new,
and the whole getting up of the piece was highly credit-
able to the theatre. The house was crowded in every
part. The piece was announced for repetition amid great
applause, and will undoubtedly be very popular.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to grant to
Mr. Elmer, the architect, her permission to dedicate his
" Historical, Commercial, and Scientific Survey of the Har-
bour and Port of London," of which he is surveyor, to her
Majesty.

t,OVi.7•R'IISEMENT.
EASTERN couN-riEs RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sut—Ciur dtttntiort has been called to a paraxraoh contain-
ing the report of the llirettots of this Company to the Pro-
prietary, recently published in some of the pros incial journals,
vr,d circulated among the proprietors of this undertaking,
htil,6,hstanding the extreme repugnance which Wd ttl4
ways entertil to ohtrudo upon the public any matter in which
the public is not tlifr4ctlY CcrncQrued, we feel imperatively
called upon to notice.
The passage to which we allude is in these? waPdg
Some prtt of the land required for the London end
Chelmsford Division tli'd rrtitected by clauses of the Cora-
wany's Act, which provide they I+ol not be entered upon
wittuout the consent of the owners first ;lad end obtained ; but
the Board hav6 !!'e 01,,asure of informing you t:::.tt they have
arranged with the whole taf these parties the terms on ;shish
they will give such consent. Oilier parts of this Divi-
sion ffiett ere, the proprietors of tthielt have no such
protecting clati4eti but who allege that by private agree-
ments entered into pettding the Bill, they are entitled
to exclude the Company utitn certain enormous penal
sure; (try paid them, by way of comperts4;ion. The Board
allude to the to es of Lord Petre and Mr. Lahovr lere. 'I hey
have fully investigated the circumstances of those cases, and
base taken the advice of counsel eminent in the law upon
them, gntl they arc well satisfied that neither in honour nor
in justice, are the alleged agreements binding on the Company.
Instructions have been accordingly given to the Company's
solicitors to take immediate steps to remove any impediment
which the apposition of these parties may possibly throw in
the way of 'the Company's operations."
We do not think it necessary to go into any detail upon a
point in reference to which the report itself goes into norx ;
and we would merely observe en passant that whatever opinion
may have been given by the counsel alluded to in the report,
counsel of the first eminence have also given their opinion that
"there is no ground for impeaching the agreements in ques-
tion at law or in equity, a matter on which we do not ourselves
entertain the shadow of a doubt; but without going into other
particulars, our more immediate object is to trouble you with
espies of only two of the letters which we received in the
eetirse of our correspondence with the Eastern Counties Rail-
way Company, one from their Solicitor, and the other
from their Secretary, which, when placed in juxtaposition
with the passage id the report above quoted, require no fur-
ther comment.

We mui;t add, that it is within our personal knowledge that
such agreements originated entirely with the promoters of the
undertaking, that they were bona fide entered into, and that
it was agreed and covenanted, in terms as clear and unequi-
vocal as the English language admits of, that the specific
sums there stated should be paid, if and when the property in
question was taken possession of.
The letters alluded to arc as follow :
(From Mr. Duncan, previous to the execution of the Deeds.)
" DEAR SIRS,—The deed with Lord Petre has been agreed,
and will be executed to-day, as will your deed. I will en-
gross two copies. I saw Mr. Few yesterday evening, and ar-
ranged finally.—Yours truly,
" April 26, ISM. J. DUNCAN.
" We do not go into Committee till Friday.
" John Lawford, Esq."

(From Mr. J. C. Robertson, the Company's Secretary.)
" Eastern Counties Railway Company,
18, Austinfriars, Dec. 8, 1836.

" GENTLEMEN,—Messrs. Roy, Blunt, and Company have
forwarded to me your letter to them of the 7th inst., that I
may reply to your request to be made acquainted with the de-
termination of the board in reference to the contract made
with Mr. Labouchere and his trustees by the late provisional
committee of this railway.
" I beg therefore to acquaint you, that the Board have comp
to no determination on the subject, it being as yet uncertain
whether the Company will have occasion to enter any part of
Mr. Labouchere's estate.

" In the mean while, it may be satisfactory to your client
to know, that the Board do not at all question either the legal
or honourable responsibility of the Corporation for the engage-
ments of the late Provisional Committee.
" And under these circumstances it is presumed, that
whether the common seal is affixed or not to an act of ratifi-
cation, must be a matter of indifference to Mr. Labouchere.
It is a mere act gf formality, which it will be time enough to
press for, when it is ascertained that the Company mean to
take possession of any part of Mr. Labouchere's lands.
" I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your most obedient servant,
" 3. C. ROBERTSON, Secretary.
" Messrs. Lawford."

It is with tho utmost reluctance that either Mr. Labouchere
or ourselves intrude on public notice matters which arc fitting
only for judicial inquiry, and, had it not been for the publica-
tion of the gratuitous insinuation conveyed by the passage in
question, we, as his solicitors, should have suffered, as here-
tofore, general assertions to have remained unnoticed, and
should have contentedly awaited the result of the suit in
equity instituted by Lord Petre against the Company for the
fulillsnent of the contract entered into with that nobleman, in
which his Lordship, having obtained an injunction from the
Lord Chancellor so long ago as in December last, restraining
the Company from issuing any warrant under the Act of Par-
liament, for the purpose of summoning a Jury to assess the
money to be paid for the purchase of his Lordship's lands, or
the sum to be paid as compensation for damage, they have not
even yet attempted to disturb it, although by the Chancellor's
special permission they were allowed to apply to the Vice-
Chancellor to dissolve it, if they saw fit so to do.
We are, Sir, your most obedient servants,
E. and J. LA WFORD.
Drapers'-hall, Sept. 13, 1837.

EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY
AND MR. LABOUCHERE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Eastern Counties Railway Office, Sept. 14.
Sta,—ln the Times of to-day there is a letter from Messrs.
E. and J. Lawford, the solicitors of Mr. Labouchere, of
Hylands, in which they complain of a passage in the last
report of the Directors of the Eastern Counties Railway to
their proprietary, relating to certain agreements entered into
(pending the bill for the Company's act) with Lord Petre
and their client Mr. Labouchere. The report states that
the Directors have fully investigated the circumstances
of these cases, And have taken the advice of counsel emi-
nent in the law upon them, and are well satisfied that neither
in honour nor in justice are the alleged agreements bind-
ing on the Company." To obviate the effect of this pub-
lic declaration Messrs. Lawford deem it sufficient to cite
" only two of the letters which they received in the course
of their correspondence with the Eastern Counties Rail-
way Company—one from their solicitor (April 26), and
the other from their secretary (December B)—which letters,
they say, " when placed in juxtaposition with the passage in
the report above quoted, will require no further comment."
It is to be regretted that Messrs. Lawford did not give the
whole of the letters alluded to, or as many of them, at least,
as would have exhibited to the public the true state of the case;
in which event I should not have been under the necessity of
troubling you with the present explanation. The imputed
contradiction consists in this, that in the report it is said "the
alleged agreements are, neither in honuur nor in justice, bind-
ing on the Company ;" while in the letter cited from the secre-
tary (Bth December), it is stated that " the board do not at
all question either the legal or honourable responsibility of the
corporation for the engagements of the late provisional Com-
mittee." Now, it is only necessary to quote one letter more,
which the secretary addressed to Messrs. Lawford, but which
Messrs. Lawford have thought proper to keep back, to show
that so far from there being any contradiction between
these two statements, they are iu perfect accordance with each
other. The agreements made by the Provisional Committee
were undoubtedly binding on the Directors appointed by the
Act of Parliament, but of course only in solar as they would
have been binding ass the Committee themselves. The Board
did adopt " the engagements" of the Committee, but for no
snore than they were worth. They have not disputed, and do
not dispute, the validity of the agreements on the ground of
their having been made by the Provisional Committee and not
by the Directors appointed by the Act of Parliament ; but
they object to fulfil them because neither in honour nor in
justice could fulfilment of them have been demanded from the
Provisional Committee in whose shoes the Directors very
willingly stand. The letter kept back is in the following
terms :

" February 14.
" Gentlemen—. Messrs. Roy and Co. having communicated
to the board of directors your renewed request to have the com-
mon seal of this Company affixed to a deed of ratification of she
agreement with the t, ustees of Mr. Labouchere, I am desired
by the board to bring to your notice that since my letter to you
of the Bth December last Lord Petre, with whom an agreement
was made similar to that with Mr. Labouchere's trustees, and
with whose agents you acted in concert throughout the whole of
the negotiations preliminary to both agreements, after having
made a like requisition for the common seal of the Company, and
being offered the same (subject to such exceptions as may exist
in law or equity to the validity of the agreement) has thought
proper, notwithstanding that offer, to institute proceedings in
Chancery against the Company. The board arc advised that, un-
der these cireumstunces, they cannot consistently separate the
case of your clients from that of Lord Petre, or do anything ss hich
might be possibly construed into a recognition of a difference
between them. To save both expense and time, however, the
Board are Killing to enter into an engagement to this effect,
that should the decision of the Court of Chancery be in favour
of the validity of Lord Petre's agreement, they shall hold that
with your clients to be equally valid, and. shall forthwith fulfil
it to the letter ; but that sliculd the decision of the Court be
adverse to the validity of Lord Petre's agreement, your clients
shall be bound to be content with such price and compensation
for the land required from them for the purposes of the Rail-
way as shall be awarded by a Jury, in the manner prescribed
by our Act of Parliament.
I am, gentlemen, your most obedient servant,
(Signed) "J. C. ROBERTSON.
" Messrs. Lawford."
Messrs. Lawford, in their letter to your journal, say that it
was their intention to have " contentedly waited the result of
the suit in equity instituted by Lord Petro ;" but it is worthy
of notice that to the letter just quoted, offeriv to leave the
question between the Company and Mr. Laboochere to be de-
termined by the issue of that between the Company and Lord
Petro. no answer from Messrs. Lawford has ever been re.
ceived.

I have only to add, that the question between the Company
and Mr. Labouchere, stripped of all adventitious circum-
stances, is simply this--whether 35,000/. is a right sum for
Mr. Labouchere to ask, or for the Company to give, for about
ten acres of common meadow land, which he is required to

--,
I surrender to the Company for the accomplishment of an ob—
ject ut the greatest possible public utility.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
J. C. ROBERTSON, sec.

CITY lIEGISTRATION.-TilIS DAY.

Messrs. Mylne and Crai,;, the Barristers appointed t?
revise the List of Voters for.' the City cf London, held their
ilirat Court to-day at Guildhall.
Upon tlw Learned Gentlemen taking their seats in the
Court of Kiqg's Bench,
Mr. MYLNE stated that they proposed to pursue the
same course which they adopted last year. Mr. Craig won't!
sit io the Court of Common Pleas to revise the parochial_
lists, and he (Mr. Itlylne) would proceed with the lists o.f
the livery, upon concluding which he should proceed with
the parochial list, beginning at the bottom and proceeding
t 11 he met Mr. Craig.
Messrs. Trott and lleppel were the agents of the 1113...
form party, and Messrs. Howcroft and Goodeve for the
e
Conservative interest. The former, we understand, hav
upwards of 500 objections, nod the latter about 200.
Mr. CRAIG having retired into the Court of Common
Pleas,
Mr. MmNy. proceeded to receive the lists of the ctf:"
ferent Companies, with which he was occupied the whole
morning.
that a list
.
It was arranged in the course of the mot.ling
proceedrie
of the Companies and parishes intended -to
with each day should be posted on the doors, ththatPersens
t
d
not belonging to the Companies and parishes met:tieee
in such might be prevented the trouble of attending,
Mr. CRAIG toe': his seat in the Court of Common PleA6'
and proceeded with the reception and verification of the
homeholder-lists for the various parishes. On applicatieP
by the gentlemen who appeared for both sides, Reformers
and Tories, it was agreed that they should furnish the
Barrister with an estimate of the time which would PT"
bably be consumed in the revision of each list, and 'le
would then form a list of parishes which would be takes
every clay. By this plan much time will be saved both te
parish officers and others, whose attendance is necessary at
the Court—if the parish for which they appear or fro
which they claim does not appear in the list of the del'
they may safely attend to their own business.

MARYLEBONE REFORMERS' RB"

GISTRATION SOCIETY.

A crowded public meeting of the above Society was la t
night held in the large room of the Mechanics' Institution,
Circus-street, New-road, for the purpose of affording the,.
electors of that division of the borough an opportunity '
. enrolling their names, and hearing the principles of tbe
Society. The Chair was taken by Dr. WEBB.
The SECRETARY having read the minutes of the preced-
ing mectjng,
The CHA: uarnx said he was confident the objects they
had met to carry n? to effect would meet the concurrence of
every one present, as Society was formed for the Pro-
tection of the rights and ilaims of all classes of Ile'
formers.—(Cries of " Hear, hea:•.-") They were met for
the purpose of opposing the machirn:!dons of the Tories
—whose organ, the renegade Times, ha,l that very dal
designated them (the electors of Marylebone) as " per
jured vagabonds." W r
hat ought they to do ? Ought
not to spurn it with indignation, and hurl back Ili
teeth so foul and base a slander against the true and hog
electors of Marylebone.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Wool) then informed the meeting of the objects fth or
which the Society had been formed, and expatiated on l
conduct of the Tories at the last election, who procuren.
many votes which were of a spurious character--and he
was sure, if a scrutiny had been demanded, Lord TeiP:
mouth's minority would have been a great deal less than ib
t
actMua was. "tiv
r.lly LOVE was exceedingly happy to inform the meet! o
of the flourishing condition of the Society, though aspersionl°
had been thrown upon them, and ridicule made of the
the Tory Press. It proved the fear in which they heldl
their proceedings ; and he was sure if the Reformers vvout''
?.
concentrate themselves into one body, they would ni
mately triumph over the faction by whom they were or
posed.—(Cheers.)
Mr. SAVAGE said that the principles of the Society novf
in formation in this borough, ought to com;:nand e
th
earnest attention of all classes of Reformers—they ought
not to be biassed by party feelings or trivial contentions,
unite with energy in one cause, and their victory sc°"
be complete—they required unity, and on that their re-
fiance was placed.—(Hear.) The Tories had sought &
most paltry and discreditable mode—to disfranchise the'
electors ; and the only chance they relied on was the
Reformers' want of animation in going before the Revising
Barristers to defend their claims to vote. Now then e-
cessity of the Society was obvious, as it prevented the
elector losing his time in so doing ; and he hoped thef
would join heart and hand in so laudable an undertakitl'r
and secure by an unanimity of feeling the independence 01

the borough.—(Cheers.)
Several other gentlemen then addressed the meeting, and
after subscriptions and donations had been entered into .to
a large amount, a vote of thanks was passed to the Chair
man, and the meeting separated.