The New York herald., 1850-01-17

a nubhc nom, oi v,aw ''p''a"S' anu iiisc"ie'ous
Lei us begin wuh clearing IN. o,,es,;on or nm
pnIpsbe tallscy. that meets ns an s rh, ,h,eshoId
W. allude to the fancied analogy between onersi,,
or dramatic undertakings and oydina,y cn',sr
cjaI enerpI,.rs n is ,mso,n,d bv 80 v''uui.i %
monopoly of music" as il il caIlrd ar,s.a,s Ia
odd and unseemly contrast TO free trsd. :" rvsru'
ihlng else''-In other words, that the comoet,iys
prmcipie which answers SO well IN The eyrrv.dsv .
OPP raiions of trade and commerce. and which W.
are accustomed To regard as the parent alike of
chespness and excellence is, of necesslty, equally
srpli.sbe 10 the affairs OF srt AM, ,e drama, M,
what is the rQrionaie of the undoubtedly sonnd
G. nmrlcinI maxim. that "two shons are het,s,
than one 2, SImplv. that the Increased dem,oi
Tor a particular commodiry, resulting f1om the
ooenI of the second shon stimnl.tes an ,ncreas.d
supply that increase of supply very commonly
means diminished cost of producton-and tha,
che apened prod ucion leads To more extensive con-
sumption. The maxim is true or false, in any par.
Iicular case. precisely according as these condi.
tons are, or are not, capable of being realised. II
all rests on the fundame ntal posuaie, that an In
creased demand necessarily tends 10 produce an
increased supply Let this element of the Question
he wantnp-and the free trade formula ~ once
falls TO- thr ground. ~ '"'e
Now this is precisely how the case stands with
regard 10 the pubc patronage of atlye and dra
matte a,t. The great primary condirion of The suc.
csssfI onl; cot;on of the mere ronms,c,.i
nIe ,s here s;cnnllv wanrio0 Demand does nor
generate sunpIv' The ooeniny of n second one ra
house has moi the re motest tendency 10 Increase
ihe available amount Of first rate operatic talent
P,,mo Jomaos are not work cd off Nv steam nnwsr
a. So much dozen Ike s,lks sh;rt;nos and cali.
Goes Vou can, yst q ind q Sonta1 a Cr;s, n
Tahlache or Msr,s mad to order No force of
the "commerc,aj nrincinleo can break down hi a
mononolv-for II ia held under natent direct from
Nature herself Double your d-mand-and Won
merely double. treble or onsdrunle the mark et
pnce a. The conmodty withont either imorov;no
its ouaItv. or sdding one iota IN its ouanr;tv e
Hence he "extrayseant salaries. which have
shall presently ses-to have wrecked M Della
fields sreculst;on Those "ertravaospt saiar;.s"
were NOT as Is some what incons ide rsteIv assumed
an accidental item i'm the Coyen Garden exoeri.
ment-they belonged TO ITS yerv essence. or
course salaries will he exorbtant when two houses
are bidding AGAINST each Other for the talent which
is not more than sufficient TO satisfy the demands
of one To ask for the competition without the
exirayaoant salaries ,s 10 ask for causes w,tbont
effects
such ia the radical c,Iacv of the doctr;ne of
" tree trade" as aopled to operatic and dramatic
affairs. Ii is simply proposing to apply the com
Commodity which nature has made the subject of
a pretty close MONOPOLY When it Is further con-
sidered thai the physical dimensions of our theatres
impose fixed limit to the ss consuming power {"
of the public, and likewise that custom has fixed
the selling price of the article at maximum which
no manager can safely venture to exceed-in
WORD, that this is branch of business in which
the :" returns {" are not susceptible of indefinite
increase, In proportion to increased outay-the
reader will see the full absurdity Of applying the
4" commercial doctrine to a class of undertakings
which nature and custom alike have combined to
withdraw from the jurisdiction of political &c ono
my. The competing theatrical manager finds
hmse hemmed In between two anti.commercal
necessities-he pays monopoly prices. and his re-
celpts are limited to fixed standard
But let us 90 step further, and look at the ef-
fects of this kind of competition on the character of
operatic art itself The same process which runs
no salsnes TO a preposrerous height obviously
makes il impossible for any one establishment TO
retain in Its service full and effective staff Of the
highest talent The corps which, if combined and
concentrated on single stage. would be adequate
to the perfect nierpret of the greatest MASTER
pieces Of the first composers, is broken up and
scattered. You have a star here, andl star there
an incomparable Ahce or Amina in one house, and
n superb Norma in another-but nowhere a sus-
tanned and Harmonious ensemble. compIete ia all
its paYts and proportions. Nothing could more
forciby illustrate this tendency OF the competitive
system than the deplorable condition to which II
has brought the national drama In the Old days,
when Drury lane and Covent Garden, instead OF
running each other by an irrational competition,
concentrated Their respective resources-the one
on tragedy, and the other on comedy-salaries
were moderate, each establishment mad the un-
disturbed command OF the best talent OF the day,
and each was enabled to produce the highest and
most finished combinations OF excellence IN ITS own
line oil ART But comPeuuon crept IN, ana sponed all
In place oi perfect ana enecuve e~Ps ardmdti9se,
we got the "star system, WIN us lew prHes
ana It's many blanks In place OF a rauonai ana
elIorganized DIVISION ot labor ana comoinauon
OF talent, by winch managers, actors, tne pubic,
and art Itself alike prohted-we have oi late years
had little OF everythingeveryw ouI artisucai
perfection and completeness newhere; Inc conse-
quence was what we have scen-ine Brltish drama
went out, and French horsemanship ana concerts
momsfrss came in. To such pass have matters
arrived, that the production OF a perfectly well
acted English play en- the boards oil one oi our
great metropolitan theatres-should 80 brilliant
success be achieved by the present lessee of Drury
lsDe-wil really be one OF the most remarkable
novelties OF the age.
To those who have followed us thus lar, y must
be needless to say much on the particular cur
cumsfances OF the case more Immediately before
Us. II the pnncirles abovestated are souno'
II at once follows that any proJect LOT re-
newing the disastrous experiment OF the las, three
seasons, 10 one which all true lovers Oh the iyric4l
drama are interested IN depreciaung' ie' ."ay
not De useless 10 correct one OF .wv mlsapprehen-
sions which prevail, we believe, to some extent,
wiln reference TO the history OF that ruinous busi
ness. II cannot be too distinctly understood that
the CoveDt Garden speculation failed, not from
accidental or Temediable mishaps, but from causes