INTIMIDATION.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIII, Issue 974, 28 October 1856, Page 2

INTIMIDATION.

Much sensation is being caused by an expectation wbich very generally prevails that intimidation, of a very marked character, is likely to .be resorted to, this day, at the Poll. That the apprehension is seriously entertained, is shown by the official correspondence with and among the various authorities concerned. The apprehension, to judge by pa«t events, is certainly not groundless. At the last Supeiintendency election, more especially during the after part of the day, a certain number of graceless electors did " take charge," as they called it, of the City polling booth, and hindered many of Dr. Campbells supporters from recording their votes. Partial success at one election is of course encouragement to similar proceedings, on a grander scale, at the ensuing one. We have spoken with those who expressed themselves positively as to the forces having been already organized, and the tactics arranged Not being behind the scenes, and not having interfered on either side, we are unable to vouch, from personal knowledge, for the formal accuracy of the statements that have been made to us : we rest for that upon common report, — upon the fama zlamosa. This much, however, we do know, that formal representations have been made to the Government on the subject, involving some very curious correspondence. And we seize thia opportunity of putting a question, which will be understood in the quarter that it is addressed to; is there any one who can call to mind having paid a bill for " bludgeon men," (the actual words of the account rendered) at the first Superintendency election ? Is there any one who recollects that the charge was "deemed -exorbi tan I, and that after much wrangling, the matter was ' compounded by payment of so many shillings in fie pound ? Raro antecedentem scdestum Deseruit pedepcena claudo. In regard to the threatened attempt, this day, there is perhaps not much ground for apprehension. Fore- warned is fore-armed; the secret has not been kept with sufficient care ; enough has oozed out to cause every precaution to be taken against it. A numerous body of special constables have been sworn in, and if they be determined men, will no doubt succeed in keeping the Queen's peace. It is our duty to make this more generally known ; although, for our own part, we have --little doubt that the intention will be now altogether abandoned. For it is not worth while to run such a risk, excepting for the certainty of success. But should any proceedings of the sort take place, and the election, which is not impossible, be won thereby, there would be a very proper ground on which to base a petition to the Governor, praying him to disallow the election. And we conceive that it would be his duty to interfere, for the purpose of carrying out the real desire of the majority of the Province

We perform the promise, gi^en in our last number, of reverting to the last performance of the

Auckland Choral Society, at the Odd Fellows' Hall. ' " j Before hazarding criticism upon the various ' pieces in detail, let us at once state, that the general improvement of the Society, at each successive, per ßomance, is incontestable. This is more espeSji&lk^shewn in the management of the chiaroscuro— -Ccc light and shade of the choral pieces. We were still able to detect a few voices tbat were slightly predominant above the re&t, being apparently carried away by a fit of musical enthusiasm ; but not so much so as at the preceding performance. The piano phrases* however, have to be rendered more so yet. Sir George Smart, the conductor at the Philharmonic in our younger days, hod- a 'frequent saying which we ! strongly recommend to notice at Auckland :—: — "Take care of the pianos, Gentlemen, and the fortes will take care of themselves." In regard to tune, the other great point for 1 watchful attention, the improvement was not so maikcd. The singing was occasionally flat; a fault on the right side, we admit, if there must be a fault ; for sharp singing is infinitely more painful to the ear. Had it not been for a disposition, in the whole mass of voices, to fill below the accompaniment by which they were sustained, the chorus from 'Elijah'~"Cui>t tby burdetf upon the Lord," would have been effective. In th 6 next Chorus, the performers appeared to have gathered courage and aplomb, succeeding completely. " The Trio, "Lift thine eyes 44 the • luntains,'**' was very neatly, and altogether most creditably ' sung. "Oh rest in the Lord," one of the most delicate pieces of composition iv the Oratorio, was sung at, a disadvantage. It is written for a pure alto, a class of voice that appears to be vanishing from the musical world A contralto, we believe, is generally substituted ; but in this instance the piece was committed to a tenor voice, the forcing up of which was apparent. , Part ii. of the concert was composed of selections from 'St. Paul ' The Chorale, "To God on high/ went firmly and steadily; the tenor?, however, were flat. But this was amply atoned for by Mr. Brown, the conductor, in the well known recitative, the very gem of the oratorio — "And they stoned him." Apparently a trifle — at least in length, this is one of the most refined and delicate pieces of composition that we are acquainted with. It was most artistically delivered, and with remarkable expression, by Mr. Brown. In the Chorale— "To thee, oh Lord," the tenors were flat again. In the chorus, " Happy and blest are they," the defect was not go apparent ; and all credit must, be given for the perseverance with which" the notes of a very difficult composition had been mastered. Upoa the whole, it was very fairly performed. To the beautiful Chorus, "How lovely are the messengers," we listened with great pleasure. It was well represented, in every respect ; but more especially in the effective rendering of the light and shade. The audience, as a body, were preceptibly moved by it. The Chorale, "0 Thou, the true and only light," we know not why, was omitted. In the last chorus of the second part, " Not only unto him," the points in the fugue were taken up firmly and decisively ; but the tenors— we trust that they will not accuse us of wilful persecution — were flat again Part iii of the Concert was composed of selections from the 'Creation. At the risk of being charged with musical heresy, we must confess that it is not one of those compositions over the score of which we most delight to linger. It is a great work, beyond a doubt; nothing less could be expected from its author ; but if tried after the severely beautiful 'Messiah', it falls, by contrast, into a second class place among oratorios. Haydn himself was of too playful a temperament to rise to the level of such a subject. This is only too clearly shewn by one of the recitatives, in which he descends to imitative trivialities. But we perceive the necessity of compressing our critique, which is extending to an unreasoni ble length, and is uninteresting to all excepting those who took part in the performance. It may . suffice to observe, that with the exception of the Chorus, " Despairing, cursing, rage attends," a very difficult piece, and insufficiently practised, the whole of the selection was fairly executed. Mr. Brown was encored, very deservedly, in the air, "In native worth ;" but was fcnable to respond to the call, from indisposition. The lady who sang " The marv'lous works," should have been in a more commanding position, to be fairly h^ard; and in the fugue movement of the famous Chorus, " The Heavens are telling,'' the Altos were somewhat too prominent. We cannot close these few remarks, without complimenting Mr. Fleetwood upon his solid and masterly accompaniment. He becomes thereby a tower of strength to the Auckland Musical Corps.

0 We have perused, with much pleasure and satisfaction, a. lecture upon Maori Superstitions, originally delivered in the Odd Fellows 1 Hall by Mr. John White, Interpreter to the Land purchase Department, and since published in pamphlet form. This acquisition to our New Zealand literature is the more valuable, from not being made up of hasty jottings, — unconnected stories picked up here and there among the natives in a summer excursion, but the concentrated result of lahours spread over a period of many years. And if the writer, by education Mid position among the natives, has had peculiar advantages for the acquisition of this species of knowledge, he has turned them to the best account. It is high time that all those who are able should exert themselves towards the preservation of the old native ' records and traditions, the memory of which is becoming fainter day by day. Every custom, every iuperstition now set down in print, is so much redeemed from oblivion for | the history of nations. And in our opinion, too little trouble has been taken with these, and too much comparatively with the songs — so many of which, being of an objectionable nature, require "doctoring," and great laxness of translation. The writer concludes, by stating, very modestly, that his relation "is but the preface to what might have been said." "In fact, 1 ' he observes "to relate the superstitions ■ which held the 'New Zealander' in servile bondage, would require the time allowed for three or four lectures. Could we also have described the superstitions which relate to their wars, sacrificial offerings, witchcraft, burying the dead, and exhuming them, building houses, making war canoes, and fishing nets, we should have been able to have shewn the numerous trials and difficulties our Missionaries have had to contend with, and the lasting obligation we owe to God through their instrumentality in suppressing them." We trust that the sale of the work before us may be such as to encourage the author, who is one of the most intelligent of our public servants, to exhaust the stores of his knowledge, and to give the whole of it to the public. The ethnological value of it is beyond dispute.

0 " ~"~—"" We extract the following from the Cape Town Mail. "Sir George Grey's land scheme has met with universal disapprobation, and will have to be entirely remodelled to at all meet the requirements of the colony." 0

We call attention to the fact that an additional polling place at Newmarket has been proclaimed. The residents in the Suburbs are now so numerous, that they have a plaini to this indulgence ; the greater, indeed, that it was conceded to them at the last election.