The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-04 00:00:00

SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE.

On Monday the holiday-makers at this attractive
and favourite place of resort were admirably enter-
tained by the corps dramatique, who exerted them-
selves most creditably throughout the performance,
which consisted of the representation of Shakspere's
tragedy of Macbeth, from the original text, followed
by an entirely new interlude, entitled A Village Tale ;
the whole concluding with Mark Lemon's farce of
The M.P. for the Rotten Borough. Macbeth was
excellently cast, Mr. Phelps representing Macbeth ;
Mr. G. Bennett, 13anquo ; Mr. H. Mellon, Duncan
King of Scotland ; "Macduff, Mr. H. Marston ; Lady
Macbeth, Miss Glyn ; Lady Macduff, Miss Ed-
wardes. The acting of Mr. Phelps, Mr. Marston, and
Miss Glyn, was very good, and the way in which the
piece is put upon the stage certainly reflects the
greatest credit upon the management. The interlude
is a neat, telling piece, sparkling with little gems well
struck off by Tony (Mr. Henry Lye), who appears
in the character of a country milkman, in love with
Emma, a cottager's daughter (Miss T. Bassano);
Bessy Forster (Miss A. Brown), a dapper country
girl, and an intimate acquaintance of Emma's, has
had as her first love Philip (Mr. G. K. Dickinson),
who having enlisted for a soldier, has been compelled
on the field of battle to encounter great danger, and to
suffer in a distant land extreme indisposition. During
the whole period, however, his affection for Bessy re-
mains inviolate, and he returns to the " home of his
youth" seeking most anxiously for the object of his
early love. Bessy, meanwhile, understanding that
Philip has fallen in battle, promises her band to a
country farmer, George Foster (Mr. Graham), but
the return of Philip leads to her rejection of Foster,
and the piece concludes with his retiring in high
dudgeon, while the other parties are legitimately
made happy. Mark Lemon's farce was well hit off,
and the curtain fell amidst the boisterous cheers of a
very crowded auditory, the whole of whom appeared
upon the happiest terms imaginable with the world at
large, and with the actors who had performed for their
amusement in particular.

THE TRIAL OF THE BIRDS.
TO THE _EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Mr. Ball presents his compliments to the editor
of The Sun, and incloses a copy of a letter sent to the
editor of the Times on Thursday last, which has not
been inserted in that paper.
Western Circuit, Taunton, April 2, 1850.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—l am not not surprised at the feeling of in-
dignation which the report of the trial of Bird and
his wife, at Exeter, has excited in the public mind,
but as one of the senior members of the bar present
during the principal and material part of the trial,
hope I may be permitted to express my sorrow on
reading your very severe observations on the conduct
of the learned judge before whom the prisoners were
tried. 1 heard the material part of the statement of
the mother of the poor girl, and from thence the
whole of the case to the close of the evidence of Mr.
Turner, the surgeon, and I then left the court with
a deep impression on my mind, without hearing the
defence or the observations of the learned judge, that
the case on the part of the prosecution had wholly
failed in bringing home to the prisoners the infliction
of the blow which was the cause of death, and I
stated my opinion to one or two friends near me at the
time. This was evidently the opinion of Mr. 'Justice
Talfourd, and he directed the jury accordingly.
How then, I would ask,
,could he as an honest and
impartial judge have acted otherwise ?

With respect to the expressions which fell from his
Lordship, and to which you have called very parti-
cular attention, I am confident you will agree with
me in thinking that the judge, so long as there was
any the least chance of this sad affair being investi-
gated elsewhere, would have acted most improperly
if he had not repressed those feelings which the de-
tails of the case naturally tended to excite. I use the
word repressed, because in a case tried before the
same judge, the previous day, in which three ruffians
were convicted for a gross aesault on a poor unpro-
tected girl, his Lordship, after the verdict was deli-
vered, and in passing a severe but just sentence,
poured forth a torrent of eloquent indignation at the
outrage which had been co►nmitted. Hoping that
these remarks may not be deemed obtrusive,
I remain, Sir, your very obedient servant,
HENRY BALL.
Temple, March 28, 1850.

SUNDAY RAILWAY TRAVELLING.
(Prom the Examiner.)
At a meeting of the shareholders of the Caledonian
Railway, the following copious effusion of cant took
place :
" Mr. MEIXLEHAM, in pursuance of notice, moved
that no systematic or predetermined work should be
performed on the line on Sunday. Having liberated
slaves in theiWest Indies, it became them to take care
not to make slaves in this country. The minds of the
men could not but suffer from Sunday labour. Scot-
tish independence was at stake in this matter. Had
it not been for English proxies there would not now
be a railway in Scotland open oa a Sunday. He com-
plained of this interruption as unjust to Scotland,
where Sabbath observance was a national institution.
The consequences of Sabbath desecration were the
potato disease and the famine.
"Mr. IPIIIICKING7 a director, seconded the motion.
He stated that there were 129 men employed on the
line on Sunday, and that their Sunday wages for half
a year amounted to upwards of 4,0001. There were
four trains on a Sunday, and on an average 361 pas-
sengers. Was it worth while to deprive 129 persons
of the means of attending a place of worship, for the
accommodation of 361 passengers ?
"A SHAREHOLDER observed that 500 men were
generally employed, and that no more were occupied
on Sunday than were required for works of mercy
and necessity.
" Mr. Mum supported the motion. On some lines
in Scotland, on which there had been no Snnday
travelling, no serious accident had ever occurred. The
question was, therefore, of importance with reference
to damages, now a formidable item.
"Mr. CAMPBELL, a director, stated that, with the
exception of the mail train, there were no passenger
was
possible on the line on Sunday. Everything that
possible had been done to reduce Sunday labour. The
men were only called upon to attend in turn, and the
time occupied did not exceed one hour per day. it
should not be forgotten that, in the providence of
God, diseases and accidents prevailed on Sunday as
well as on other days.—(Dear, hear.)
" On a show of hands the motion was lost."
Mr. ikleikleham presumes to penetrate the inscru-
table wisdom of Providence, and has no difficulty in
discovering that the potato disease and the famine
were the consequences of journeying on the Sal).