The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-02-09 00:00:00

Although opposed to the politics of the Monthly, we
have no inclination to undervalue the literary talent en-
gaged in preparing its several articles for the eye of the
public. The best in the present number is " Rome and
her Church," in which is embodied' a discburse on that
important subject, by the Rev. James Fordyce, D. D.,
and which, we hope, -be generally read with more
than ordinary attention, as it contains-a luminous view
of papistry in all its forms.---We transcribe

THE EDITOR'S NEW YEAR'S SONG,

Great Bacchus, whither art thou now,
With music's joy and festal glee;
Burning eyes and laurelled brow!
Bounteous, gladsome, ever free?
Where have flaws those attributes,
Ennobling still, thou god of wine ?
Sounding shells, and thrilling lutes,
Resplendent Beauty's eye divine ?
And, last of all to be. deplored,
The amorous liquid of that vine,
Which never sanctifies our board--
The rich, the bright Falernian wine?
Yet, yet we know what 'tis to win
The love of woman,—and to he
The Byroneers of Grwcia's sin--
With hearts that beat right merrily!
Give us of the Samian stream ;
Shed, oh ! shed the nectar'd tide !
Bright joy shall herald forth life's dream—
Let no fresh woe or ill betide.
Let thy juice go sparkling round,
And each Briton prouder be—
While the sprinkled cups around
Invite our mirth right merrily !
Brim the wine-cups to our King;
-Old England owns no better name!
And now, brave countrymen, we'll sing—
" Here's to our Queen"—the Royal Dame !
Filled with Lusitania's wine,
Again, again, the cup shall be ;
While we enshrine this song of mine—
Right merrily ! right merrily!

MINORS:

MR. HUAIE'S COURAGE AND VERACITY

PROVED.

It is now nearly two years since Mr. Hume wrote his
famous (or infamous?) letter to one Mr. Mackenzie, a
brother seditionist in Canada ; in which, after express-
ing his celebrated wish that matters might press on as to
induce the Canadians to throw off the baneful domina-
tion of the mother country," the patriotic member for
Middlesex thought proper to assail an individual in terms
of the grossest abuse. But with characteristic prudence,
he chose one out to attack who he knew could not sum-
mon him to a personal account. He -thus spoke in his
letter of the Reverend Egerton Ryerson, a distinguished
preacher and agent of that most respectable body of men,
the Wesleyan Methodists, ettled in Canada. He called
him a "renegade and apostate from all principles of pub-
lic and private honour." He appealed to Mr. Macken-'
zie, saying, " You witnessed his expressions of thanks
to me in public and private, both verbally and in writ-
ing, for the aid I had given him;" and concluded by,
leaving " him to his pious and religious friends in Ca-
nada to unmask the hypocrite, and throw him, as he de.-
serves to be, as an outcast from any honest society."
In a debate in the House of Commons subsequently,
Mr. Hume further stated, that " Mr. Ryerson, being un-
able to obtain redress fur some colonial grievance, came
to him—that he took and introduced him to Lord Gode-
rich, and obtained him the redress he sought."
Mr. Hume probably calculated that there were some
four thousand miles of ocean between him and the man
he calumniated, and that he might say,what he pleaSed.
But Mr. Ryerson has at length arrived in England, and
has replied to Mr. Hume in a way that must make the
electors of Middlesex rejoice in the Man whom they de-
light to honour. i

Mr. Ryerson goes in detail through all the charges.
He declares that he never saw Mr. Mackenzie in Mr.
Hume's company but once, and then but for a few mi-
nutes. That, at that tim' he was a perfect stranger to
Mr. flume, and therefore could have nothing to thank
him for. And after explaining the way in which Mr.
Hume left him to shift for himself with Mr. Stanley at
the Colonial Office, he thus winds up this portion of his
letter :
" I never received the least advice or assistance from you. I
never asked a favour of you. I never wrote one word before the
letter I am now writing, which I think will not be received by
you as an address of thanks. Again : I had interviews with the
Earl of Ripon and Mr. (now Lord) Stanley before I met you at
the Colonial office; and was not introduced to them or any other
Berson by you. Furthermore, Lord Goderich was not Colonial
Secretary when I came to this country in 1833, nor at any time
daring my stay."
This is_surelv proof enough that somebody must be "a
mighty great liar," although Mr. Ryerson leaves it to
be inferred; which it is thus

"And now, Sir, I demand of you, if you cad produce it, the
slightest proof of anyone of your charges against me, much less
a justification of your unparelleled abuse. Your whole state-
ment is without..t.he shadow of truth. I will not apply the epithets
to you or your conduct that you have applied to me; nor will I
exhort your friends to throw you, as an outcast; from any honest
society. The Brittish,public, Sir, are abundantly competent. to
apply the proper epithets to your conduct, and to estimate the
honour of your society."
Mr. Ryerson is right in leaving this calumniating man
to the British public—the respectable portion of it esti-
mate him at his proper value. How Mr. Hume's recom-
mendation to the " pious and religions friends in Ca-
nada to throw Mr. Ryerson as an outcast," &c, &c, was
acted upon by them, appears from the following resolu-
tion passed by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference as
soon as they read the letter to Mr. Mackenzie :
"Resolved, that this conference views with feelings of disgust,
and cannot but express its unqualified reprobation of, the letter
from Joseph Hume, Esq. M.P. addressed to, and published by,
W. L. Mackenzie, Esq. ; and of the slanderous attack therein
made upon the character of our beloved brother, the Rev. Eger-
ton Ryerson, in whose integrity and honourable principles we
are happy to express our continued confidence."
As a set-off to this, Mr. Hume may quote, as he did
formerly in the House of Commons, the gratifying reso-
lutions in his favour passed by the Mayor, Aldermen,
and Council of Toronto; but he has now to acid to his
quotation. Mr. Mackenzie, his friend, has been ejected
from the'Council at a subsequent election ; and by an
unanimous vote, the resolutions in favour of Hume have
been erased from the Council Books, as being " a libel
upon the citizens of Toronto." Mr. Ryerson has not
only triumphantly vindicated himself, with a talent and
temper highly honourable to him, but he has done good
service to the country by exposing the shuffling, lying,
and treasonable conduct of those who would separate
England and her colonies. Mr. Ryerson shows that the
misrepresentations of Hume and his clique have in one
year injured Upper Canada to the amount of half a mil-
lion. Can such a state of things be enchired ? We are
indeed glad that this subject has been re-opened—and it
shall be our duty not to let Mr. Hume shuffle away.—
Are.

We find on inquiry that, in defiance of the "strict inhibition"
contained in the foregoing extract, a play called " Richard
Parker, or the Mutiny at the Nore," has also been acted at the
Theatre-Royal; a play, as it gave to that celebrated mutineer
the character of a high-minded and ill-used patriot, which it
would be difficult to imagine could ever have been licensed,
under any circumstances, unless for the express purpose of de-
stroying instead of upholding " our sacred authority, and the
preservation of order and good government." The play we are
now Speaking of resembles in some respects Bulwer's novel of
" Eugene Aram," which has also been dramatised, as both of
these works are calculated to create a false sympathy for the
most atrocious criminals by holding up to public admiration a
traitor and a murderer as men highly-gifted, and possessing the
most popular of all human attributes, heroic bearing coupled
with refined manners. "
It may perhaps not be amiss to consider for what purpose the
patent was originally granted; whether George IV. intended to
confer a personal favour upon his grantee merely to enrich that
individual ; whether he did not contemplate providing for the
inhabitants of Liverpool a series of well-regulated dramatic
entertainments; and lastly, whether when he granted the mo-
nopoly he really intended to lodge in the hands of one man the
exclusive right of saying to the public, " you shall enjoy no
theatrical amusements but such as I choose to give you, at any
price I think proper to charge, when I think proper, or not at
all it' it so please me. And further, if from my gracious conde-
scension I do permit The Jewess' or any other piece to be
performed, know ye, that it shall only be performed at such par-
ticular theatres as I think fit; where, however, I will take
especial care that no actor or actresses who have acquired any
celebrity or high character in their profession shall appear at
all." These, whatever his late Majesty may have intended, are
the powers assumed by his patentees, and exercised most unge-
nerously an 4 invidiously against the managers of the Liver
'Theatre.
The state of the regular drama in Liverpool for some years
past, would justify the conclusion that the managers. of the
Royal Theatre really intended to extinguish it altogether. The
company has been miserably deficient in numbers, and, with
some few exceptions, equally deficient in talent. Instead of
having a winter season, when, from the lenv,th of the nights,
a good play is best enjoyed, our Theatre is (in ly opened in the
dog days, when most people are glad to escape from "populous
cities" and `:the busy hum of men ;" instead 'of having a scale
of half-price admissions, which would admit the tradesman and
the mechanic, when his daily cares are ended, to a peep before
the curtain at a moderate price, we must all pay the full price
or stop away; instead of having a company of sufficient strength
and talent to excite attention, we have a succession of eccen-
tric, not fixed stars, at intervals of ten or twelve days, and we'
have thus the begging-box sent round every fortnight, profess-
edly for their benefit, but in reality for that of the managers,
who, we understand, sweep one-half of the money raised by
this expedient into their coffers. On account of the prevalence
of this system, the actors and actresses belonging to the Theatre
acquire little or no reputation, because they are always kept in
the back ground, or obliged to fill secondary and unimportant
parts. When this sketch of the mode in which the Theatre-
Royal is managed is taken into consideration, it ceases to be
a wonder that the house is very badly attended, and that our
stage is in reality the grave instead of being the cradle of thea
trical talent.

Reverting again to the patent; if the powers assumed under
that instrument were not intended to be granted, and further,
ii the powers really conferred by it have been abused, common
sense, of which we are told common law is the perfection, would
seem
.to indicate that that deed Is VOIDABLE, and of no more
value than what it would sell for to cut up into ribbons for tailor's
measures. A patent partakes of something of 'the character of
a charter; now, a couch and six is driven almost daily through
patents of all sorts, and we have lately seen charters destroyed
by hundreds, in cases where no abuse had been proved to exist,
and where the destruction of them was unwarrantable, even on
the ground that their continuance was inconsistent with pub-
lic policy. The corporation of the Theatre-Royal will there-
fore do well to• ponder upon these things; they should bear in
mind that we live in rather ticklish limes, and that it may not
be sound policy in them to apply to their cable the entire power
of their proving machine, lest a link or two should snap in the
experiment.

It is now decided that Belgium is to have (or rather it already
has) four Uni.versities, two of which only are supported by the
government, namely those of Ghent and Leige. The ancient
University of Louvain is suppressed ; but the mancristrates of
that city have made an arrangement uith thearchbishop of ma_
lines, and the other prelates of Belgium, for establishing at
Louvain the new Catholic .University, lately founded with the
sanction of the. pope. The fourth is, the free °University of Brus-
sels, founded by private individuals. We should suppose that
fßourreiugonivaasirttiee,ly Review.sfor sosmall a country %I ere three two many.—

'HE MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR FEBRUARY. I they reduction of the duty on the article, and perhaps by
a revision and simplification of the existing excise regu-
' lations. The fair trader alWays has decided advantages
over the fraudulent one. The latter, from the secrecy
he necessiated to observe, can never purchase his raw
material, nor sea his manufactured article so well as the
former; nor, for the same reason can he have recourse
equally to the best combinations, and the most'economi-
cal arrangements in his manufactory. His character and
credit too must be in the power of his servants, who thus
become his masters. He must give them his confidence;
and since those who are systematically engaged in assit-
ing in the perpetration of a fraud cannot be very scrupu-
ions, he must pay them for keeping his secret if they do
keep it.
. For these reasons, and others - which might be men-.
tinned .had•we. time to enumerate them, we do think that
the soap manufacture'may,' without material injury, con-
tinue to bear a moderate rhity,- until the state of the re-
venue becomes such.a4 may enable the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, withsa due regard to the claims of other in-
terests for relief, altogether to repeal . it. But that is
hardly likely to be the case for-some years.—Manchester
Chronicle.

THEATRICAL MATTERS.-THEItiAIOR AND THE

The lessees of the Theatre-Royal have it appears commenced
a second war against their rivals for public favour, the managers
of the Liver Theatre. The cause` of these uneXpected hostili-
ties is well and briefly explained in a letter, which will be found
in another part of our paper under the head of "Dramatic
Monepoly." It will he seed, 'frctm -a perusal of that article, that
"The Jet4ss,;" a drama "first 'represented on the Parisian
boards, ha& ibeen adapted to the English stage by two different
translators, or play Wrights, and performed at two London thea-,
tres, namely, at Drury-lane with, and at thr. Victoria without a
license; that the managers of our major theatre assume that,
their patent arms them with authority to permit the unlicensed
" Jewess" to be acted nightly at the Amphitheatre and at the
Queen's Theatre, (the latter being, we are informed, the private
property of one of them,) and to prohibit the representation or
the same translation of the same play at the Liver Theatre when
an attempt is made to produce it with the aid of superior talent'
and with its original splendour.

But we shall perhaps be told by the majors, that they have
issued no prohibition of the kind. True it is that they haVe not
done directly
.that which they have accomplished by an indirect,
course of operations; they_ have trot had themanliness to issue
their fiat against the managers of the Liver, but have adopted
the less open, the less generous and straightforward expedient
of threatening an actor and two actresses with legal proceedings,
should they venture upon fulfilling their engagement to appear
at the Liver. The object and the animus of their tactics are
pretty obvious, and the world perhaps will infer that their inten-
tion is to prevent talent of a superior order from being employed
for the amusement of the public at any theatre but their own.

There is an old maxim which the royal majors would have
done well to get by heart before they hazarded an attack upon
their less di!mified competitors. It is this :—"They.who live in
glass houses should never throw stones." Their evident indis-
position to tolerate any thing approaching to a successful rivalry
has induced us to inquire into the nature of the monopoly con-
ferred upon them by their patent, a copy of which is now before
us. That deed, after reciting the authority vested in the crown
by 11, Geo. 3, cap. 16, permits the patentee, his executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns to " gather together, form, entertain,
govern, privilege, and keep a company of comedians for out
service to exercise and to act such tragedies, plays, operas, and
other entertainments of the stage ONLY as hare already been, or
shall hereafter be, licensed by the chamberlain ot our household."
Here, we would ask, have the patentees kept faith with the
crown by performing only such pieces as have been licensed by
the chamberlain ? We ask this question because we find, on
referring to a collection of their play-bills, the following an-
nouncements of pieces to be performed, which we have good
reason to believe were not then, and have not since been
licensed:—
Oct. 20, 183-I—" Othello, or the Moor of Venice, Travestie;"
Sept. 30, 1835—" Catching an Heiress;" -
Nov. 17, 1835—" The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green."
Now if all or either of these pieces have not been licensed, we
have no hesitation in asserting that their patent, although not
void, is voidable upon showing that the conditions upon which
it was granted have not been complied with. We transcribe
another passage from the patent explaining the object of the
grant. It runs thus :—" And for the better attaining our royal
purposes in this behalf, we have thought fit hereby to declare
that henceforth no representations be admitted on the stage, by
virtue or under colour of these our letters patent, whereby the
christian religion in general, or the church of England, may in
any manner suffer reproach, strictly inhibiting every degree of.
abuse or misrepresentation of sacred characters tending to ex-
pose religion itself and to briallg it into contempt. And that no
such character be otherwise introduced or placed in any other
light than such as may enhance the just esteem of those who
truly answer the end of their sacred function, we further enjoin
the strictest regard to such representation as any way concerns
civil policy or the constitution of our government; that these
may contribute to the support of our sacred authority, and the
preservation of order and good government:"