The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-13 00:00:00

THE ITALIAN OPERA.

Signora Cesari's benefit an Tuesday night attracted the iarg-.
est audience We have yet seen at the Theatre-Royal during the
present season. Five of the pit benches next to the Orchestra,
were railed off and occupied as dress boxes. The appearance
of ladies attired in all the bravery of full dress costumes relieved
the usually sombre appearance of this part ofthe house. The
opera of "Ginlietta e Romeo " was performed for the second
trine on this night. To an English audience, to whom the
" Romeo and Juliet" of Shakspeare is familiar, the quarrel of
the Cp.pulets and the Moutagues is tame and spiritless when
described by the chorus singers of the Italian opera. Hence,
the first act was rather heavy. Cesari made an admirable Romeo,
and particularly in the closing scene, where, supposing Juliet
dead, he swallows poison. The Juliet of Madame Kynther-
land reminded us of the slight difference that is souletiines
found to exist between the sublime and the ridiculous. Juliet's
recovery from suspended animation was very well acted by
Madame Kyntlieriaud. The dying exclamation of Romeo
"Giulietta" was touchingly tender and thrilling, and in perfect
keeping with the English character of- that love-inspired hero.
At the moment Romeo dies, Gialietta swoons and the curtain
falls. This was the signal for what we may call three hearty
rounds of applause, in the midst of which, to show that Rwn'a
was not dead, and that Giulieaa had recovered, these two charac-
ters appeared, and walked across the stage to express by gestures
their gratitude to the audience for their kind reception; this they
did very gracefully. After the opera some comic and other con-
certed pieces were performed, which it will be seen, together
with the opera, will be repeated to-night.

THE NIGHT POLICE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL ST.4NDI,IRD,

Stu,—Perceiving in last week's Courier a paragraph intimating
that application is about to be made for an act of parliament to
estabbsu a day police, after the manner of. the London police,
it may be useful to take a review of the present system of police,
or Constabulary, now existing in this town, and the inconve-
nience and disadvantages the {(public: at large labour under for
the want of a well organised body of men to protect the peace,
and speedily bring to justice the disturbers thereof. Generally
speaking, the men at present erne loved are a very civil anii
obliging set, and some of them very sharp, active, and ener-
getic fellows, and I should not have any objection to apply
this designation generally, if I were allowed to weed out of the
employ some natives of (he sister kingdom, who invariably in-
cline to screen and pardon their own countrymen, and against
whom they never can be persuaded to act with that hearty
enemy with which they lay bold of a poor intoxicated pro-
vincial. The paragraph mentions that "the dais police is in-
tended to he assimilated to the night police." certainly the
night police patrol the streets; but • in the case of any 'little
affray, even if you offer them assistance, you cannot. get them
to act on the spur of the moment to the utmost of their powers,
but they must go to the end of the street, and rap their sticks
until they have congregated thine or four of their brethren,
before they will put themselves in bodily danger. Indeed, I
have seen them wait for a poise of half-a-dozen before they
would attempt to seize a pair of drunken blackguards, and in
many instances the greatest culprit has altogether escaped, and
given them leg bail. I have even known them wait for their
captain before they thirst commence operations, or seize any
offender. The fault appears to be a total ignorance of their
duties. Raw inexperienced men, and some of them with leSs'
nerve than an old woman, will even stand by and see poor
men, honest hard-working mechanics suppOiting families, most
shamefully abused by ruffians before they will exert their
strength. They ought to be commanded to seize their man
with one hand, and spring their rattle at the same time with
the other hand, if assistance was really wanted, the same as in
London; and unless they have nerve to do this, they are not
tit for a night policeman; and when assistance is called by the
public, they ought instantly to go to the place, and, if need be,
spring their rattles as they go along, and let assistance fol-
low them. I am sure if they were on good terms with the re-
spectable residents in each neighbourhood, they would have
little to fear, and even in the worst neighbourhoods, however
soon they arrive by the rattle going, another policeman would be
there in a few seconds from the arrival of the first ; they could
never come to serious harm, otherwise let each man be fully
armed fur extreme cases, as the night force is a far too great
proportion of raw inexperienced men. In many districts this
certainly is the case, and they actually, on the most urgent
cases, hang back and wait for the instructions of their captain
or sergeant how to act. But the most active, resolute, and ex-
perm • need men are required for the duty at night, otherwise
they will never be a match fir the infernal villains and felons
that have, during this winter, been prowling our street., con-
gregated from all parts of the globe. Nor do I think the MM.
ber of eight police sufficient. lu London a policeman is either
within sight or call in the night time; but in some parts of this
town you may run a street, yea, two or three streets, before you
can find one; and even in the day time, in London, a polices
man is always visible in every street of any length, and where
there appears a tumultuous mob, or a dozen or snore persons
gathered together in a contused assemblage, or a disorderly
man, two minutes cannot elapse before a policeman is on the
spot. I have lived in London and in this town, and in the
couree of the year I reside a great proportion of the months in
each town, and I speak impartially when I .say the multitude,
or lower orders of Liverpool, are more disorderly, more un-
couth, and touch more offensive and insulting than in London.
And how are the public protected from their violence? A
drunken blackguard assaults a re-pectabie woman or man, fre-
quently without cause, pushing them off the parapet, and, when
remonstrated with, gives great abuse; and, in nine cases out of
ten, commits a great parsonal assault by kickiug or striking
the very person whom he has made the aggression upon. Now
these are instances occurring daily in Whitechapel, Byrom-
street, Paradise-street, Tit liehaen -street, Oldhall-street, and
many other thoroughfares, and particelurly under the Goree-
piazzas, amongst the warehouses. The party committing the
assault is unknown to the person assaulted, the latter wants to
secure him and have him punished; but where is a constable
or policeman? He is to fetch, parhaps, from bridewell; and
who will hold the man in the meantime? Perhaps a person is
public spirited enough to do so; but he gets tired before you
can find a policeman, and lets him go. There is no town with a
less effective police fur the size of it. I do not cast any indi-
present carps.
vidual disparagement on the members of the