Star.
London, England, 1830-06-16 00:00:00

PANORAMA OF AMSTERDAM.

On Monday, for the first e visited Air. Burford's panora-
mic view of the City of Amsterdam, as row exhibiting in the Strand.
Sir. Burford is pleased to call it a view of the City,—but we think
it is rather a view of the capacious harbour, with the shipping,
quays, and the buildings in front of the harbour, than of the whole
City of Amsterdam. 'We are aware, from the nature of the ground
—or rather water upon which the City is built, of the impossibi-
lity, from its levelness, of giving a geed pictorial view of Amster.
dam : with this, no ordinary difficulty, the artist had to contend ;
but, upon the hole, well did he manage and execute the task he
imposed upon himself. The Panorama is taken from the New City
Hotel, which may be said to be placed in the centre of the harbour,
and communicates with the City by means of the Spaarndam Bridge.
The first thing that will attract the eye of the visitor, on entering
the room, is the trees which grow on die quays at the eastern pan
of the town ;—these are represented with so much nature that one
would have supposed Mr. Burford had lived all his life in a
forest, and confined his art to the painting of trees: but as
the eye along the south aide of the harbour, towards
the Haa=esGate, we are made to imagine that he artist
bad always employed his talents in drawing elevations of high
brick buildings, such as that part of the city of Amsterdam
presents to the eye from the harbour. This is the only part of the
whole painting which the visitor will consider as having too much
sameness and crowded regularity ; but this is not the bl..me or fault
of the artist, so much as the style and nature of the architecture,
which he undertook to faithfully represent upon Cal vas. The
steeples of the churches, and towers of the other public buildings of
the city, as seen from the harbour, are given with a correctness and
fidelity that will gratify and even astonish every one who ever had
an opportunity of seeing the originals from the new City Hotel.
From the Haarlem Gate the eye is immediately carried to the dock-
yards belonging to private builders, at the western end of the city :
and here again Mr. Burford has shewn his power and skill in de-
lineating that important branch of commerce connected with Am-
sterdam. Here you would suppose the artist had been constantly
employed in working in the docks and on board the various vessels
building in them. The national colours floating on board the elf-
ferent ships at that extremity of the harbour, are admirably palmed,
and in excellent keeping with the whole of that part of the view.
The town of Zaandem is seen in the distance, about five miles to
the westward, with its upwards of two thousand windmills, and
is a proof of the power of perspective painting, possessed by
Mr. Burford. We next turn northward, and have a view of the
whole harbour or port of Amsterdam, about a mile and a half long
and half a mile broad, with its double tiers of shipping and innu-
merable piles of wood joined together by cross beams, with the plea-
sure houses attached to the New City Hotel ; the new canal con-
aecting the harbour with the Tercel, in order to avoid the sand banks
of the Zuyder Zee ;—the East India warehouses, and the Royal
Dock-yard and warehouses. It is here where Mr. Burford has put
forth, in a powerful degree, those talents which his former panora-
mic views of different celebrated cities, made the public so well ac.
' quainted with him as an artist of the first order in his particular
line. His representation of the smooth water of the port, with the
shadow of the shipping, piles, booms of wood, officers houses, die.
Ac. is admirable, and superior to any of his previous works. At
any rate, notwithstanding the difficulty of the subject chosen by_him
upon this occasion, we venture to state that he has fully upheld his
former reputation as a panoramic painter, and that his view if Am-
sterdam drawn upon 6,000 square feet of canvas, will become a
fashionable lounge to thousands of individuals who admire a plc-
I tarifa representation, executed in such a manner as to make the vi.
sitar believe, for the time, that, instead of looking eta picture in the
r Strand, he is placed in the centre of the harbour of the City of Am-
stadam.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, Just 15.
Sir A. Chumr and others from the Commons brought up the
militia ballet suspension bill, and a private bill.
The Marquis of ORMOND presented a petition from Kilkenny,
against the increase of taxation.
Lord TRYNHAM presented a petition from a parish in Susses,
against the malt and beer duty.
The Earl of LIMERICK presented a petition from the Chamber
of Commerce of Limerick, against the proposed increase of duty on
spirits.

FORGERY.
Petitions were presented by Lord LORTON and Earl OROS-
VENOR, against punishment of death in cases of forgery.
Lord FALMOUTH presented a similar petition from the Dis-
senters of Truro.

Lord HOLLAND also presented petitions to the same effect
from various dissenting congregations.
The Bishop of LONDON presented the petition of the Protest-
ant Dissenters of Bury St. Edmund's, and other petitions to the
same effect

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE also said he had several peti.
tions on the suhject of alteration of the law in regard to forgery,
and gate notice of his intention, •on Tuesday next, to move the
second reading of the bill upon the subject which then lay on their
lordships' table.
The Lords were accordingly summoned for Tuesday.
WOOL TRADE.

The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from the wool.
growers of Suffolk, complaining of distress. The noble duke, at
the same time, gave notice that he should not bring in any measure
on the subject during the present session. He did not defer his
measure in the belief that the wool-growers were not entitled to re.
lief. On the contraty, he believed that they had a strong claim
upon parliament, but he considtsed the agricultural intereat of the
country. in almost every department, rapidly on the decline.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRI presented a petition from
the city of Londonderry, against the proposed duty on stamps.
Lord DURHAM presented a petition from Galway in favour of
the Galway Franchise Bill.