The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-18 00:00:00

THE S VW, LONDON, FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 181 lB4O

COURT CIVCULAR

tion, it has for some time past been in a condition
of decline and depression, both as to its internal
prosperity and its external trade. Now, although New
Holland is the country of phenomena, this interruption
to the onward career of New South Wales is a m..-42
phenomenon greater than any of the natural wonder:,
with which either that section of it or the great insular
continent itself can exhibit. Her flocks have immea-
surably increased ; the quality of her wool, and the
manner and condition in which it is shipped for
European markets prodigiously improved; the price ob-
tained for it (although less at present than it has been
at some former periods), enormously enhanced ;
and the consumption, vast as it is, with few occasional
interruptions, annually extending. The culture of the
vine in some districts has been pursued with so much
success that wine, like wool, may one day become an
Australian staple. The enlarged aggregate shown by
the returns of horned cattle is every way satisfactory,
both as an evidence of the extensive supplies which the
colonists can now reckon on for their own sub-
sistence, and as giving further development to the
lucrative trade they have commenced, and if not
interfered with, will certainly carry on in tallow
and in hides. Then their production of grain,
especially of wheat, has been such as to leave in most
years a large excess or surplus for exportation. How
then, it may well be asked with that astonishment which
so generally prevails here upon the subject—how does it
happen that New South Wales is not a paying colony ?
That she i.; in a condition of embarrassment, whilst sur-
r.,unded by so many sources from whence capital
should be so easily realised ? That she complains of
panics and want of confidence and decay of trade,
of unemployed shipping and unsold stock, who pos-
sesses these abundant means of commanding a
profitable foreign trade with every quarter of the globe ?
That she should suddenly be struck with a species of
paralysis and helplessness, whose career from infancy to
adolescence has hitherto been the astonishment and ad-
miration of old-established nations ? The problem is to
be solved by the same conditions as those which ex-
plain the anomaly of New Zealand's useless fertility.
This latter possession produces a superabundance of
corn, the mother country a superabundance of legisla-
tion, which will not admit the product to be imported
here, except at a rate of duty ruinous to the New
Zealand grower. New South Wales, in like manner
(the evil aggravated in the ratio of her greater remot-
ness from the mother country), is afflicted by the triple
malady of English home monopoly, domestic law making,
and British Colonial Department imbecility. If the
first two of these types of colonial misfortune are, for
the present, irremediable, the third surely admits of easy
remedy. Its virulence is derived from the misinforma-
tion, prejudice, obstinacy, and haughty refusal to acknow-
ledge demonstrated errors of judgment, which are esta-
blished in Downing-street, and only with their expul-
sion from Downing-street, we are every day more firmly
convinced, the revived prosperity and permanent improve-
ment of the colonies will be coincident.

The christening of the infoit daughter of the Dike an.l
Duchess of Buccleuch took place yesterday morning, in the
Chapel Royal, Buckingham Palace, the Queen being one of
the sponsors.
The Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, accompanied by the
iutlint, and the juvenile meinbers of their family, arrived at
the Palace shortly I),,fore twelve ocl.ck.
A select circle, including the Earl and Countess of Cas, dor,
Mr. Archibald and Lady Mary Campbell, Lord and Lady
Evelyn, Lady Montagu and Miss Montague, Rev. Lord John
Thynne, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. George Montague,
Mr. and Lady
Caroline Duncornbe, Lord Stopford and Mr. Frederic Stop-
ford, Lieutenant-Colonel F. Clinton, Captain the Hon. Pere-
grine and Mrs. Cust, Miss and Miss Charlotte Cust, and Mr.
Francis Cust, also arrived at Buckingham Palace, and were
conducted to the Chapel Royal.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert,. accompanied by the Duke
and Duchess of Buccleuch, and attended by the royal suite,
entered the £hapel soon after twelve o'clock, when the Hon.
and Rev. Charles Leslie Courtenay commenced the baptismal
service.
The child was named Victoria Alexandrina.
The sponsors were the Queen, and also Lady Montague
and the Rev. Lord John Thynno.
The royal suite consisted of the Marchioness of Douro,
Lady in Waiting; Lady Caroline Somers Cocks and the
Hon. Miss Devereux, Maids of Honour in Waiting ; the
Lord Chamberlain, Viscount Hawarden, Lord in Waiting;
Lord George Lennox, Lord in Waiting to Prince Albert ; Sir
Frederic Stovin, Groom in Waiting; Captain Francis Sey-
meur, Groom in Waiting to Prince Albert; and Colonel Ar-
buthnot, Equerry in Waiting.
After the ceremony the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch
and family returned to Montagu House, Whitehall Gardens,
and the other visitors also took their departure.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Colonel
Bouverie, rode out on horseback yesterday.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Princess
Royal, and the Princess Alice were taken an airing yesterday
in an open carriage and four, accompanied by the Dowager
Lady Lyttelton.
The Queen and Prince Albert inspected, on Wednesday,
the Royal Hunt Cup of Ascot Races, the subject. " Brace's
escape on the Retreat from Dairy." Her Majesty and his
Royal Highness were graciously pleased to express their ap-

Madrid papers of the 9th inst. have been received, but
they are without interest. In the Chamber of Deputies
the report of the Committee on the new electoral law
was read, which entirely accorded with the Government
scheme. A good deal of business was transacted on the
Bourse.
In the Three per Cents. 102 millions were done, and
90 millions in the Five per Cents. The former closed
at 35 cash, and 35i at 60 days, and the latter at 25i
cash, and 261 at 60 days. Coupons are quoted at 2SA.
for the 25th of May. Passive Debt, Bi, at 60 days.
Vales Reales, 10i cash at 60 days.

A religious discussion took plaee in the French
Chamber of Peers on Monday, relative to a petition
presented from ninety-three inhabitants of Marseilles
against certain doctrines professed in the College of
France against the Catholic religion. The debate was
conducted with much more acrimony than that which is
going on in the House of Commons; and it is singular
enough, that the object for which the religionists in the
two countries contend is of the most opposite character.
In France, the Catholic Church is considered in danger,
and Count MONTALEMBERT, said M. QUINET, one 01
the teachers, had published a work in contradiction with
history, the Catholic religion, and real Christian phi•
losophy, and when such doctrines were used, was it to be
wondered at if the heads of families got alarmed fur
the instruction of their children ?" and another Peer
accused the Government of being the cause of the scan-
dals on religion. After some remarks by the Minister
of Public Instruction, disapproving of the course pursued
by certain of the professors, the Chamber rjected the
petition, and proceeded to the order of the day. The
Chamber of Deputies, on Tuesday, - was occupied with
the Savings' Banks Bill, to which much opposition is
made. The chief clauses are, to diminish the amount of
weekly deposit ; to lower the maximum that any one
depositor could hold ; and to enlarge the time of notice
of withdrawal. The latter clause is proposed with a view
to prevent any derangement of the finances by a sudden
withdrawal of deposits in case of a money panic.
We have accounts from Zurich to the 11th inst., but
we find nothing in them of fresh interest. Long discus-
sions had taken place, but, with the exception of recom-
mending a general amnesty, nothing had been decided.

probation.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert honoured the Duke and
Duchess of Buccleuch with their company at dinner yester-
day evening, at Montagu House, Whitehall- gardens. The
royal suite included the Marchioness of Douro, Viscount
Hawarden, Lord George Lennox, Sir Frederick Stovin, Cap-
tain Francis Seymour, and Colonel Arbuthnot.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by
Lady Anna Maria Dawson, Countess Wratislaw, and Colonel
Sir George Couper, honoured the Duke and Duchess of Bnc-
clench with her presence last evening.
The Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden visited her Ma-
jesty the Queen%Dowager yesterday at Marlborough House.
The Duchess of Gloucester continues in a favourable state.
The Duchess of Kent and the Duke of Cambridge visited
her Royal Highness yesterday.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited the
Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden yesterday.
A Deputation on the subject of the Portendic Claims had
an interview with the Earl of Aberdeen yesterday, at the
Foreign-office. The deputation consisted of Mr. Somes,
M.P., Mr. Lyall, M.P., Mr. Foster, M.P., Mr. Redman, Mr.
Harrison, and Mr. G. F. Young.
The Marquis of Breadalbane and a deputation had an in-
terview with the Earl of Dalhousie yesterday, at the Board of
Trade.
A deputation, including Mr. Hawes, M.P., and Mr. Turner,
had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
yesterday.
Mr. Spottiswoode and Sir John Rennie had an interview
yesterday with the Earl of Dalhousie.
The Chairmen of the Excise transacted business yesterday
at the Board of Trade.

HER MAJEST 'S THEATRE.
The opera of Semiramide was performed here las
night, for the first time this season, Mademoiselle Bram
billa sustaining the part of Alsace, being her first
appearance here for the last two seasons. She was in
good voice, and sustained the character in the most
tasteful and artistically accomplished style. The
celebrated duet, in the second act, " Gioino d'er-
ror e di contento," was encored, as a matter
of course. Grisi was the Semiramide, and never
was Grisi more brilliantly magnificent than she was last
evening. Fornasari in Assur was very fine. He retained all
that impassioned energy which has ever been his dis-
tinguished characteristic, while, at the same t'me, he
is more polished. Who does not know, and who
that knows, does not admire, the Oroe of La-
blache ? This is one of the many instances
in which Lablache elevates a small character up
to his own level. Corelli displayed great taste as Idreno,
and the opera, on the whole, has never been more ad-
mirably represented. Between the acts of the opera the
danseuses Viennoises, appeared in the Pas Styrien, which
was given with all that liveliness and precision for which
the performances of these wonderful children are so
distinguished. After the opera a new divertissement,
entitled Kaya, was produced with the most complete and
deserved success. The idea of this divertissement is due
to Mdlle. Grahn, who suggested its composition in order to
afford an opportunity for the display of the wonderful
pantomimic talent of Fraulein Fanny Pragher, one of
the Danseuses Viennoises. Perrot composed the diver-
tissement, the scene of which is hid in Norway, and Lucile
Grahn having sung several popular Norwegian airs to
Pugni, he speedily instrumented and adapted them.
The scene is laid in Norway at the time of harvest, and
the following are the characters :
Kaya
L'Amour
Hermann
Knud ........ M. Perrot.
The following is an outline of the plot, whi,th is as
old as the days of Anacreon, but which, from
the novel manner in wldch it has been treated,
makes the prettiest divertissement that has been
produced for many seasons past. Kaye is a village
coquette, the daughter of Ilerrnenn, a rich farmer. Her
hand is sought by Knud, but his suit is rejected,
not from any rooted dislike, but out of a mere
spirit of coquettry. He offers her a ring, which she
accepts, but instead of putting it on her finger, she
passes a ribbon through it, and after playing a number of
coquettish tricks with it., she suspends it round her neck,
The espieglerie of Lucile Grahn in this scene was grace-
ful and fascinating in the extreme—Knud leaves her in
despair. As he is proceeding up the mountains, he
meets a poor child which has lost its way ; the child has
fallen from weariness, he takes it in his arms, and bears
it to the cottage of Kaya, who tends it with the greatest
kindness. This child is the God of Love himself, who
seated at her feet as she is spinning, interrupts her
work by all sorts of mischievous tricks. At length she
seizes a birch, and, threatening to chastise him, drives
him away ; and here is introduced Lo pas des Cinq
Seus, by Lucile Grahn and Fraulein Fanny Pragher,
whose pantomime, as Cupid, was delightfully arch and
amusing. The child offers strawberries to her to please
her taste. He then gathers a rose. She wishes for it.
He snatches it from her, but wafts it so near her, that,
delighted with the perfume, she is still more
anxious to obtain it. This is the illustration
c,f smell. She snatches it, but, in doing
so, runs a thorn into her finger, and thus illustrates
feeling. The hunters' horn is heard in the distance.
She stands fascinated by the sound, and at length her
sight is delighted by the entrance of Knud, whom all the
while she had loved in her heart. There is something
exceedingly quaint in the idea of this pas, and it is most
artistically and beautifully worked out by Lucile Grahn
—it was delightful to see the manner in which she acted
with little Fanny Pragher, always managing her
own pantomime in such a manner as to af-
ford the child the fullest opportunity for the
display of her powers. Knud determines to work on
her jealousy, and makes love to the other girls. She
then finds she really loves him. The mischievous urchin
is denounced as the cause of all the confusion, when he
appears in his real character as the God of Love. A
pas de six, in which Perrot and Lucile Grahn take the
principal parts, follows, and in this the dancing
of Lucile Grahn is truly marvellous. She was
rapturously applauded, and in her solo part,
if we may be allowed the expression, was de-
servedly encored. The divertissement concludes with
the pas des moissanneurs by the danseuses Viennoises,
which surpasses even the marvels of the far-famed pas
des fleurs. It is impossible to convey by words the
slightest idea of the wonders performed by the children
in this pas. It is in fact a perfect illustration of harvest
—they reap, they pile the sheaves, they thresh out the
grain, but their operations are mingled with the
quaintest devices, the most picturesque yet intricate
groupings imaginab!e. The scene, which repre-
sented a Norwegian landscape, was very beaut:ful,
and Kaya, if we mistake not, is destined not merely to
be the divertissement of one season only, but to take its
place with La Giselle, and Alma, and Ondiue, as a ballet
for all time. After the ballet, Aloriani appeared in the
last scene of Lucia. Le Nena gave us one of the National
Dances of Spain ; and the performances concluded with
the last scene of Eoline. With such a bill of fare, it is
needless to say that the house was crowded.

MELODISTS.—There are four candidates for the
prize offered by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
for the best convivial duet, which will be awarded by his
Royal Highness, at the Melodists' Club, on the 24th inst.
THE SEASON AND THE CROPS.—The weather
still continues very cold for the season of the year, but now that
the rain has begun to fall freely, the temperature is likely to be-
come milder. There has never been a better season for getting the
spring crops into the ground than the present, or one when the
ground was in finer order for receiving them. In some places the
wheat is said to have suffered, but that is not the case in this
neighbourhood. During the last fortnight it has rallied wonder-
fully, and with favourable weather for the rest of the season, will
prove a very good crop. The great want at present is the want
of grass, the pastures being bare beyon I all example.—Liserpool
Times.
A FAMILY OF DWARFS.—Judging from the success
of General Tom Thumb's visit to our shores, one may
reasonablyconclude that dwarfs are not quite so plentiful
as blackberries, and yet, at Kishorn of Applecross, there
is a family of that genus, each of them being of loss di-
mensions than and as proportionate as Tom. The father
of these pigmies (John Finlay) is a poor cotter of the
ordinary or middle size, and the mothi r is rather beyond
it. The eldest son, Mater Finlay, is upwards of 20
years of age, and stands two feet 10 inches in height.
The next is a girl, somewhat the ) unior of Finlay in
years, and considerably less in stature, and the third,
and last, is a boy, aged 15, a mere pigmy. It is ludi-
crous to see these little creatures sit around their little
dinner table ; but to observe them dance together, re-
minds one forcibly of the Celtic accounts of dancing elves
(the fairies of the Highlands), whose fantastic measures
so oft beguiled the wayworn Highlander, as he saw, or
dreamed he saw them trip it lightly on the mountain
side. Honest John should try his fortune in the south,
where wonders always attract, one of the large gentle-
men playing the pipo would complete the matter.—
Rosshire Advertiser.
GLASS GAS PIPE3.—We understand that James
Hartley, Esq., of the Bishopwearmouth glass-works, has
been engaged is determining the practicability of mak-
ing glass pipes suitable for the conveyance of gas or
water ; and we are happy to learn that he has been en-
tirely successful—that he has proved that pipes, stronger
than the ordinary metal pipes, and much cheaper, may
be made of glass.— Gateshead Observer.