The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-09-24 00:00:00

THEATRE-ROYAL.

yLi t., .

This evening the Queen of British Song appears with her
husband as Amina and Elvino in the affecting opera of the
Sonnambula. Their reception last night was that which is
ever paid to established favourites of repute. Mrs. *Wood
is in more than what is called fine voice. She sang the music
and played the part of Cinderella with power and vivacity,
and with a precision surpassed only by richness and delicacy.
Cinderella is one of the most naturally constructed operas
'which adorns the English stage. Its music is joyous, de-
scriptive, and in every sense characteristic. Its repetition
will please and ought to be supported by every appreciat9r
of operatic excellence.
The orchestra was most efficient. The overture was finely
played. The applause was noL boisterous : it came from and
was but confined to the occupants of the dress-circle ;
and this is worthy of notice, as no box audience in the prin-
cipal theatres of the United Kingdom is wore reserved or
chary in its active manifestation of applause, than that of
Liverpool—as it is. Nothing but decided merit in Genteel
Comedy and Music seems to elicit its plaudits. The Man-
chester audience is proverbially warmer ; and though pro-
fessedly a musical town, yet excellence and deSert " get a
hand" in tragedy, bioad farce, and the range of everything
scenic. So much for the statistics of applause.'
Mr. Wood played and sang with his usual spirit and judg-
ment. To our ear and taste he is the best 1,3-a DiavOlo on
the stage. With him the character haS an association of
aids : its music is artistically sung, ; its stage business is ex-
cellent, and all its points are additionally 'enhanced by a
manly deportment and melo-dramatic figure, in pictorial
keeping with the Brigand Chief. _ _

Mr. Baker's PedrW was as successful as any of his friends
could wish it to have been. The Baron Pompolino was ad-
mirably developed by Mr. G. Horncastle, who took more
than usual pains with the . part : applause was never more
deserved. Miss Grant was favourably received in a little,
but pleasing part. This truly clever lady is nightly rising in
the estimation of the audience. Her careful dressing merits
notice, as much as her indisputable efficiency.

MEETING OF THE OPERATIVE PROTESTANT
ASSOCIATION.

Yesterday evening, a meeting of this Association took
place in the School-roorn, in leackin's Hey, and was most
numerously attended. Mr. Gladwin, it was expected would
preside, but it appears that circumstances had arisen to pie-
vent this, and that that gentleman will preside at the next
meeting, to be held in Bond-Street.

Mr. CRISP, Secretary of the Association was unanimously
called to the chair, and in opening the meeting, (after "ex-
plaining the cause of Mr. Gladwin s abience,) said that the
assembly would be addressed by several talented friends of
the cause to which they were attached. They would, doubt-
less, be glad to learn that proteStant associaticns were in
every direction working for the good of the cause, and all
they had to do was to give a long pull, a strong pull, and a
pull altogether, in order to achieve all that they desired.
(Cheers.)
The Rev. JOHN M'CREA then stood forward, arid was
received with enthusiastic cheers, which he acknowledged in
suitable and feeling terms. He then, in a speech of great
length, (of which, we regret to say, the approach of our hour
of publication, precludes us from giving more than the
heads,) exposed the growing evils of Popery, and the neces-
sity for all good Protestants to bestir themselves for its sup-
pression. He apologize I for his absence on a former occa-
sion, when he was expected to attend a meeting of the asset.-
ciation, and proceeded'to grapple with his subject: He was
known to be a non-conformist, and he assured them ,he should
not have attended the meeting if he thought they had assembled
to promote party politics or sectarian principles of any, kind, or
for the purpose of subverting any of the wholesome institu-
tions of the country ; but because it 'went upon scriptural
principles to maintain the protestaat.position of the country. •
(Cheers.) The Rev, gentleman, who was evidently labouring -•
under illness, said that frOrn 'recent' fatiktie *and' cold, he
had had leeches applied to his- ttlisoat, and elairifed the in-'
dulgence of the rneetiftg,./ (Clierys;) lleirasinot the lid--
mirer of bigoted sectarians, whether churehmen or dissenters ;
for he conceived bigotry to,he ,effectual ffectual pioneer to
the allied forces of popishlntoleraiice and superstition, which
were now aiming at the subversion of ourinstitutions, and above
all at that of our holy and beautiful church. He considered
efforts founded upon niere'worldly considerations to,constitute
but a secondary duty of Christians. The grand object was
to take Scripture as their groundwork, and tu,pnoceed on
the principle of Christian fellowshiP. ~(Cheers.) Ile dis-
claimed all adherence to party faction-44 party feeling or
faction, was, after all, only the madness of the many, for the
gain of a few. They ought not to foal( to partydlitinctions,
or to such worldy objects, and Le regretted to find that
even in vestries and new coraoratioas, the aMbition of
self aggrandisement was a passi.at tae frequently indulged in,
-to the abandonment of the good. What they had to
do was to range themselves i tue suppprt of scriptural
truth. He regarded this Llsti'ilt,on as. ptirelY and specifi-
cally a Protestant Association,—ai u.ie which would support
the Bible and the whole Bible, and proceed sclely on Bible
notions, and Bible principles. Ile considertd that it met
the necessities of the age, and that AN here bad had been com-
bined, through it, good men must unite.—(Cheers.] - The
Protestant Association was better than the Brunswick or
Conservative Associations, and was, he assured, the only one
to preserve the blessings they enjoyed in Church and State.
—Cheers.) There was a necessity for suci."-in association,
and that man must be blind indeed, and taidly ignorant of
the events of the last forty years, who would deny the fact.
The abominations of the Church of Rome hal, been spread-
ing far and wide, and he would recapitulate a few of them.
So early as 1791, the Cisalpine Club was instituted, the'ob-
ject of which was the revival of the Power of the Roman See
—as was shown by the ulterior proceedings of its members—
amongst whom was Cardinal Weld. In 1805 the priests of
distracted Ireland took a similar course. The rev. gentleman
then noticed the progress of popery in 1814 • the conduct of
George IV. (ruled by Mrs. Fitzherbert) in favouring the ca-
tholics, and signing the emancipation act; tile education. bill
of Lord Althorpe ; the introduction of the monks of, La
Trappe into Ireland in 1835; the grants in 1837 from govern-
ment to build popish churches ; and other acts of favour to
popery, up to the passing of the emancipation act. He enu
merated the various places of emolument and honour given
to catholics, and next noticed that since the pissing of the
act no fewer than twelve protestant clergymen had been shot
dead by papists, and thirty-two had yet thebullits in their
bodies. He then alluded to the conduct and false assertions
of Mr. Nolan, now of Manchester; and then reNted an in-
stance of disgraceful proceedings on the part of tliegovern-
ment, with reference to two young men of the Evangelical
Society of Ireland, who narrowly 'escaped from murder
by a popish mob, 'and were threatened, ,by the nivern-
ment to be left to their tender mercies, by -tlie with-
drawing of the police. After noticing a. variety of other
harrowing instances of injustice to Protestants and favour to -
Papists in Irelands, he appealed to the meeing;'whether
they could stand by quietly and not raise their voice -against
the attempts to establish Popery in all its hideousness. They
must throw aside their differences and jealonsies, and unite
together to preserve the ancient landmarks, and stein the
tide of licentiousness and popery that had set on our land.
They must not look to the highest class of-society, but trusts
to God and their own exertions: All depended upon scrip.
tural fellowship ; this was the standard" which' they mus.t
raise, and under which the good battle was to be fought.
(Loud cheers.) •
Mr. J. E. GLADSTONE addressed the meeting in a long
and argumentative address. He alluded to the last speaker
making light of conservatism, which he oir., G.) contended
was intimately connected with Pretestantistn. He considered
that the government had broken the law in encouraging Po-
pery abroad, and instanced the greater support in grants
given by the government to the Papists -in the several-61o=
flies than to the Protestants. These statistics he derived
from parliamentary returni.- He noticed the disgfieeful
conduct of the authorities in the island of Trinidad, who,
with the whole of the soldiery, had attended the celebration
of high mass, and had saluted host". The country had-gone
down ever since the Emancipation Act., It was said that that -
act could not be repealed without bloodshed; but if'so, it
was better, since it must be aCconiplislied, to do it soon,
and with little blood, rather than With Much. After ably
commenting on an article in the Morning Chronicle against
their association, he concluded by imploring them to stand by
the cause and never to rest Satisfied until the 'emancipation
act was repealed. He moved a resolution to the following
effect :

" That this meeting—looking upon the encouragement gi-
ven to Popery in the colonies, and believing it to bo highly
dangerous and destructive to the colonies themselves, and to
hold out a warning to us signifying that the same spirit which
has prompted our GoVernment to encourage it abroad will
lead them to do so at home whenever the country will suffer
it—desires to express its strong disapprobation, and to call
upon all true Protestants to resist, by every legal means, all
further grants, and to endeavour to recall those which have
been already given."
Mr. NEWTON Very ably seconded the resolution, introduc-
ing a variety of arguments and anecdotes, which, we regret,
we have not room to insert.

The CHAIRMAN put the resolution, which was unani-
mously carried. He then announced that the • First AnnUal
Meeting of the Association would take place on the sth of
November, also a Grand Protestant Meeting, On the 4th of-
October, probably at the -Amphitheatre, to which all the
members would be admitted by ticket. •

A psalm was then sung, and thanks were voted. to the
chairman. A niunber of new members enrolled their names,
and the meeting separated.

MARTIN'S GRAND 'PICTURE OF THE CORONATION. --i -
This splendid production continues to attract nunierou-s '
itors, all of whom express their high admiration ()fits magnifi,
cence. We understand that the exhibition will'henoetbrth
remain open in the evening; when the pictureiliaY'be viewed
by gas-light. This will prove a great accommodation to many
whose avocations preclude the possibility of. a visit during
the day time. , .
We have repeatedly called the attention of our readers to
Mr. Colles's amusing and novel Afeas•antris, that we should ,
not now revert to them, but for the factthat strangers are
d ity arriving in the town, v4h i tune not have had an:Q.l4,oi-
, thn ty of hearing reports cones.-,1 nemn ;'"all such, we feel
certain will thank us for direct., their notice to his adver-•
tisement, which will be found in another column ; of tLii vye
can assure them, that if-they visit Mr. C. with the expecta,
ILion of being pleased, they will not come away disappointed.