The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-26 00:00:00

ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.

Those very talented children, Ellen and Kate Bate-
man, of whose wonderful performances at the -dress
rehearsal on Saturday evening we gave a notice in
The Sun of yesterday, gave a public performance last
evening, and albeit we are no great admirers
of precocious artistes, yet we must do the
Batemans the justice to say • that we have
never before seen children actors who have been
nearly so well taught, or who have been nearly so apt
to learn. All the great points of Richard 111. are
given by little Ellen Bateman with a correctness, a
power, and an aplomb that is really wonderful ; and
it is quite evident 'hat the little artiste is quite as de-
lighted herself with her own performance as are her
auditors in witnes-ing it. In the comedy of The
Young Couple, which followed, and which was
written by Scribe fur Leontine Fay at the time that
that most accomplished artiste was. the juvenile pro-
digy of the Gy uitise, the little Batemans were ex-
ceedingly amusing; there was a geniali'y in their
humour which seemed quite spontaneous; they were
children acting the characters of children, and there-
fore acting charawers which they could thoroughly
comprehend and enjoy. The house was crowded,
and the audience enthusiastic in .its applause.

SOIIIII-EASTERN RAILWAY.
Gross traffic receipts for passengers•
and goods, week ending Aug. 23,
1851 ... £20,084 10 5
Ditto, Aug. 24, 1850 ... ... 16,890 10 10

Increase in 1851 ... £3,193 19 7
London Terminus. Aug. 25. 1851.

Tag ROYAL ‘‘ EaT INDIA MAIL STEAMER3.—A
magnificent specimen of mars le architecture, one of the
largest steamers yet constructed for the Royaf West India
Mail Steamship Company, is now rapidly approaching com-
pletion at the vied of Messrs. Patterson and Co., the cele-
brated shipbuilders of Bristol. She is to be called the Deme-
rara, and in some respects falls little short of that "leviathan
of the deep" the Great Britain. Her length between the
perpendiculats is 282 feet, and length over all 316 feet, being
between 4 and 5 feet only short of the Great Britain. Her
breadth of beam is 41 feet, an , her extreme width from the
outside of the paddleboxes 751/2 feet; her depth to the main
deck, 2'i feet 8 inches; depth of spar deck, 7 feet. Her ton-
nage by old measurement is 2,318 tons, and by the new about
3,000 tons. She is built of sound British oak, teak, and
pine, ,s diagonally trussed with iron, has copper fastenings
throughout to the 21 feetenark, and has iron fastenings above
that. She will be propelled by two engines made by Messrs.
Caird and Co., of Greenock; these engines will be on the
" side lever" principle, of 750 horse-power, 96 inch cylin-
ders, and 9 feet stroke; they will also be attached to a pair
of Morgan's patent feathering float paddles. She will be
barque rigged, and fitted with Brown's patent capstan and
stot pers. She has been built from the drawings of Mr. W.
Patterson, and will make the fourth packet built for the Royal
West India Mail Company by him. She has been in-
spected by several naval men, who pronounce her to be a
splendid model, and it is anticipated she will prove a re-
markably fast sailer.
THEATRE ROYAL RYDE.—The arrival of the famed
clipper yacht America having called us to the Isle of Wight'
we availed ourselves of the opportunity of visiting the pretty
little theatre at Ryde. On the evening in question the per-
formance commenced with Sir E L. Bulwer's celebrated play
of Riche•ieu, in which Mr. Hermann Vezin appeared as the
Cardinal with great ability and success. The careful man-
ner in which Mr. Vezin declaimed the part proved him at
once both the scholar and the gentleman, and also that he
may, it he chooses, reach the highest pinnacle in his profes-
sion. We anticipate in a short time seeing him at one of
our leading theatres. The part of Julie de Mortemar was
beautifully sustained by Miss Love, who appeared to be a
great favourite here. The other characters in the play were
well filled, although it was to be regretted that a more
juvenile member of the company was not " cast" for the
page Francois. Planche's Loan of a Lover, in which Miss
E. Nelson and Mr. Craven appeared, concluded the evenings
entertainment. The house was very fashionably attended.
ETIQUETTE OP THE METROPOLITAN BAR.—A pro-
position has been submitted to the members of the bar prac-
tising -in the criminal courts of the metropolis, by Mr.
Briarly, the object of which is to put an end to the system of
fraud and, plunder upon the poor, carried on by what are
termed " touters," a class of persons who skulk about the
police and criminal courts. fleecingthteenefe ofrien beingdsofeeisoners
charged with offences pre under theable to
procure and render professional aid. Mr. Briarly, in a sir-
cular, says, the only knowledge these persons have of the
law is what they have learned by personal experience. He
proposes hat a court should be formed of the members of
the bar, whose duty should be, under a code of regulations,
to try all members of the bar who might be found holding a
brief, or acting in any way for any of these touters. The
jurisdiction of the court is not to extend to those heavy
offences against practice of the law, and against moral duty.
which are inquired into by the governing bodies of the inns
of court. and upon proof of which the pr, fession is purged of
the offender. The extreme penalty to be inflicted by the
proposed court is the expulsion of any member, and the re-
fusal of the whole bar to hold a brief either with or for any
such offender in any civil or crimi fal court Courts of this
descrip ion are formed on every circuit, and Mr. Briarly
urges that such a court in the metropolis would purify the
practice of the bar. It is to be seen what effect this propo-
sition-will produce.
'XHIBITION OF •PAINTINGS AT LICHFIELD-HOFFER.
The proprietors of 'the Lichfield-house Picture Gallery, in
St. James's-square, opened their rooms yesterday evening,
in order to allow the public an opportunity of witnessing
the pain ings by gas light. The whole of the state apart-
ments of the mansion were thrown open, and the effect was
striking and beautiful. Among the principal painters of
the French school whose works are exhibited in the gal-
lery are—Paul Delaroche, Horace Vernet. Schoffer, Rosa
Bonheur, Isabey, Gosse, Signol, • &c. "The Massacre of
the Innocents," by Leon C- fignet ; "The Divorce of Jose-
phine," by Schopin ; and "The Combat of the Wild Beasts
in the Colosseum," by Lenillier, are among the attractions
of the collection. The Belgian and Dutch painters are re-
presented by Verboeckhoven, Madow, Wappers, H. Leys,
Van Eycken, Genisson, Chanvin, Yscheggeny,
Rooseboorn, Schotel, Waldorfs, Slengenrya, and others.
There are also specimens of the modern German, Italian,
Norwegian, Swiss, Russian, Danish, Swedish, and Spanish
schools; and amongst the contributors are to be found the
names of Schrader, Weyde, Ternite, Hermann, Schoppe,
Max Schmidt, Steffec, R. de Baux Pistorius, &c. There
are in addition several well known works by distinguished
painters of the English school.
GREAT COAL BED IN AMERICA..--A. wonderful
deposit, it is said, at StraitsvilAle, Ohio, exceeds anything of
the kind ever discovered. gentleman of high standing"
is reported to have attested recent borings through the stra-
tum, which was ascertained to be 138 feet thick. About ten
miles south, too, there is said to be " a vein of carbonate of
iron implanted similar to a slaty structure, with an easy
cleavage, and full of well preserved leaves of the coral forma-
tion ; some of them on breaking open exhibiting the green of
the leaf." The ore, by analysis of Professor Rogers, it is
added, contains 44 per cent. of iron.
Tun INCOME-TAX.—We have often denounced the
income-tax, but after perusing the report of the evidence
offered before the Committee of the House of Commons ap-
pointed to consider the nature of the impost, we regard the
language we have employed as too moderate. This ob-
noxious burden is only conceded for one year,
and it will be
an act of patriotism and of morality to knock it in the'
head. If we are to have direct taxation, let us have a system
universally applicable to all self-supporting citizens. The
present arrangement is unjust, partial, and ineffective. It
leaves wealth exempt, and exacts the pound of flesh from
comparative poverty and from struggling industry. It offers
a bonus on fraud, and tempts to deceit, evasion, falsehood,
and trickery. And it bears hardest and is most profitable
when dealing with the scrupulous conscience. The law here
is fitted in the highest degree to create defaulters and cheats
—indeed, the amount of evasion and lying to which the
income-tax gives occasion must be enormous. And yet
coerced by the Manchester seffist, a small tax dare not he im-
posed on the commodities poured into this country by the
alien and foreign.— Edinbu-gh Post.
CLOSING OF THIS. N EW-ROAD.—Ye.terd ay this
great thorough'are was closed to carriage traffic from the end
of Seymour-street to King's-cross (a distance of about half
a mile) by the erection of barriers at the order of the autho-
rities of S.. Pancras. It is expected, from the exceedingly
deteriorated state of the road, that several weeks will delve
before it can be ready for public use.
THI ROMAN CATHOLIC NioVEMPAT.—MT. Rey-
nolds, M.P., and Mr. W. Keogh, M.P., two of the honorary
secretaries at the late aggregate meeting, are about to pro-
ceed on a mission through the provinces connected with the
organization of the movement now in contemplation.