The Express. — 1866-11-13 (London, England)

THE APPROACHING REFORM DEMONSTRATION AT EDINBURGH.—On Saturday evening a crowded meeting of trades representatives and delegates of large works was held in Buchanan's Temperance Hotel, to make the final arrangements with regard to the order of procession at the reform demonstration to take place on Saturday next, and the speakers at the various platforms in the Queen's Park, and at the evening meeting in the Corn Exchange. Mr. Troup, tailor, occupied the chair. Before the places to be occupied by the trades in the procession from Bruntsfield Links to the Queen's Park were balloted for, Mr. A. Fraser, blacksmith, said he regretted to announce that a letter had that day been received from Mr. John Bright, 31. P., stating that he could not, on account of the state of his health, take part in the forthcoming demonstration in favour of parliamentary reform. He had been obliged unwillingly to decline similar invitations from many other parts of the country, finding It difficult to fulfil engagements into which he had already entered. I He, however, heartily approved of the movement, and wished it every success. It was agreed that, as had been done at the reform demonstrations in 1831 and 1832, the different branches of the trades whose places had now been assigned them should arrange among themselves as to the order in which they should march in procession. The committee were authorised to issue invitations to the following gentlemen, requesting them to take _pert in the proceedings at the evening meeting : Mr. Duncan M'Laren, M.P. ; Mr. James Moncreiff, M.P. ; Mr. A. M. Dunlop, 111. P ; Mr. Baxter, M.P. ; Mr. Graham, M.P. ; Mr. George Young, ex-Solicitor-General ; Mr. Miller, of Leithen, and others whom they might deem proper. In commemoration of the demonstration a medal has been struck, bearing on the obverse a faithful likeness in relief of Mr. Bright, M.P., and on the reverse, encircled by a wreath in which the rose, thistle, and shamrock are intertwined, is the following Inscription:—" Friends of Reform, be witted."  Bersaby Budge, one of the earliest, the most powerful. sad the most artistic novels of our peat living master of fiction, has found two new adapters in the persons of Messrs. Watts Phillips and George Vining, and the result of their joint labours was produced last night at the Princess's Theatre, ostensibly to introduce a new actress, Mrs. John Wood, to a London audience. Ma Wood, we believe, is English by birth, and formerly performed with MOM success in the provinces, but her professional training has been chiefly acquired in America. Her sating throughout is pitched in a key of broad, violent fares, that makes up by noise and "practical business" of the most outrageous kind for what it wants in sterling unforced humour. It reminded us, not very favourably, of a number of " Yankee gals" that we have seen on the London stage during the last twelve years. The characters who come in immediate contact with Mrs. Wood mostly seem to take their tone from her, and the result is, that tares-foorths of the play are terribly over-acted. Out of the regions of pantomime or Surrey-side terse we have rarely seen so much noisy tom-foolery crowded within the ewe of a single drams, and we are not surprised that the audience, after a long period of patient endurance. resented such insults to their limited understandings. We are also not surprised that Mr. George Vining came forward and made a speech, in which he imputed the hisses to a hireling few, and by so doing raised a discussion, and saved the piece and the new actress from utter and immediate damnation. Mr. George Vining is a very clever manager. If he can make Mr. Calhaem act Simon Tappertit as well as he looks the character, reduce the solemnity of Mr. Forrester as Mr. Haredale, put a little more force into Mr. Shore as Mr. Chester, make Miss Augusta Thomson look a little more like Dolly Varden, take some of the sepulchral element out of Mr. Villiers, who represents the murderer Budge, make old John Willet's representative more distinct, and after pat. ling Mr. Reisman on the back for playing the gipey Hugh will make the story a little clearer to those who have not read or who have forgotten the novel, he will be a cleverer manager dill. When the serious characters talk a little less about blood, and the comic characters indulge less in " spill and pelt" scenes, the play will be quite good enough for the poor, patient, foolish public.