PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Tuesday, December 1, 1857.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIV, Issue 1090, 8 December 1857, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Tuesday, December 1, 1857.

The Speaker took his seat at 3 o'clock. Present: Messrs. Busby, Dignan, Kelly. Lynch, Wood, Bedggood, Bucklan'd, Harris, Pollen, Merriman, Brennan, Matson, Vercoe, Lee, Monro, Griffin, A. 0 Neill, and Boylan. Prayers having being read, the minutes of the last meetine were read and confirmed.

Messages. The Spbaker announced the receipt of Messages 5 and 6, the first conveying the Superintendent's approval of the standing rules and orders adopted by the Council, the second covering documents in reference to Immigration to New Zealand including correspondence with both the General and Provincial Governments which on motion was read. Several notices of motion were given which will be found in the report of Wednesday's and Friday's proceedings.

Business of the Day. The Whau Portage. Pursuant to notice, Mr. Wood asked the hon. member at the head of the Executive whether it is the intention Of the Government soon to bring the township that has been laid off at the Whau Portage into the market. Dr.PoLLBN said that the land was held back until it waV known that the arrangements of the Royal Mail Steam C >mpany were completed by which Manukau would be made the port of call for the Royal Mail Stenniers. In answer to some remarks from M.r. Busby, Dr. Pollen said that the Provincial Government had received no further communication on the subject of- the reinstatement of the troops at the Bay of Islands. The only communication received was a letter from Mr. Carleton conveying resolutions passed at a puplic meeting at the Bay of Islands. Mr. Bedggood's Expenses. Dr. Pollen in reference to, Mr. Kellys notice of

I pense* during the sixth s3ssiou of the Council ; and if «uch I expenses have been paid, under what piovision the said expenses iv— c paid , a'so, the a'nount paid (if any). He feund that Mr. Belggoji had i reived G5O for 72 days' attend nice. He thought it a ghiring thing to pay £oO for 72 d.iy-*' Kliend<ihC9. The question was put aud negatived. Offices for the Proeincial Government. Mr. Dignan moved, Thar an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to place on j the Estimates a sum of £10,000, to be expended in the I erection of permanent offices for the Provincial GovernI ment. j A long discussion ensued, which terminated in the withI drawal of the motion by Mr. Digtun, in deference to the ! generall expressed opinion of the Council. On the motion of Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Boylan, it was resolved, That an address be presented to the Superintendent for a return of the names of all persons who have applied for scrip, under the provisions of the Naval and Military Scrip Act, 1856 ; in whose favour scrip has been issued ; by whom scrip has been presented ; and in whose favour Crown Grants have been or are to ba issued. J On the motion of Mr. Buckland, it was 'resolved, That an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to obtain, and to forward to this Council, the opinion of the Registrar of Brands for the Auckland Districts as to the working of the Cattle Branding Act. The Council then adjourned.

Webnesday, December 2. Present .-—The Spoaker and 20 members. The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, Mr. Bkunnan presented a petition from certain Pensioners of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions.

Message, No. 7. The Speaker announced the receipt of Message No. 7, enclosing correspondence from the General Government in reference to the sejmen of H.M.S. Buffalo. Notices of Motion. Three notices of motion wore given which will be found in abstract of proceedings of Friday last.

Busi.vKbS or the D vy. Reply to the Superintendent' s Address. ' Mr. Mioulkmas, without comment, moved that the Council do resolve itse f into a Committee of rhe whole Coucilfor the purpose of considering the Superintendent's address ; and that a reply be made thereto by the said Committee of the whole Council. Seconded by Mr. Meurim\n. Mr. Busby, after some discussion as to the manner in which his resolutions should be put, mored as one resolution,— First. That as it is the duty of a good subject to obey the laws of his country, so it is the first and most imperative duty ot the administiators of the Government to administer the Government according to law. Second. That the New Zealnnd Constitution Act, which is the fundnmentul law under which the administration of the Government of this Colony is, or ought to be, conducted, has made this Council the guardians of the Provincial Revenue, no part of which can he legally expended without a legislative enactment of this council appropriating it to specific objects. Third. That the Superintendent of this Province having in his opening addiess to this Council avowed that he has for many months past, by an illegal expenditure of the public money, been acting in systematic violation of the provisions ot the Constitution Act, under which he was elected to office, and declared that hp considers himself absolved from the necessity of accounting for such conduct by the verdict of the constituencies pronounced in the late elections, it is the imperative duty of this Council, before replying to thit address : and to adopt such measures as may seem best adapted for the vindication of the law, and for relieving them- I selves from all uppea'ance of pai ticipating in, or j sanctioning, the illegal conduct of the Superintendent. T..e hon. member spoke as follows :— It is not easy to imagine a more important question than the question which the Council is now called upon to decide. It is a question upon which the foundation of our well being as a community rests,— namely, whether the law is to be maintained or whether it is to be set aside, at the will of those whose especial duty it is to maintain it. I invite, Sir, the members ot this Council to rise above p irty feelings —to lay aside the consideration of sectional or selfish intere«t«, —to forget, on this occasion how the sepaiate intere->ts of their respective constituencies or their individual interests may be affected by it, and to take a wide view of the question, in it« bearings on the welfare of the entire community. If I rightly understand the accounts that have been'laid before the Council, the Superintendent, to whom *he law has entrusted the custody of the Provincial treasure, has violated that trust, by removing that treasure from the Provincial Treasury, and expending it upon objects upon which it was not lawful for him to expend it. lie tells us, in his address which we have now been asked to take into consideration, that he holds himself absolved from the consequences of such conduct, by the verdict of the constituency, pionounced in the late elections." Sir, I irust and believe that this is a libel upon the real constituency of the Province. But, Sir. by such pioceedings, the Superintendent has put this Council also upon its trial,— he has put the constituencies upon their trial, -he has put the wholu Province upon its trial ;— and the issue is this, whether tre are capable of self-governmGnt,--of a right use :of the free institutions whi:h have been given to us, or whether we are &o sunk in ignorance or corruption, or both, that we pre .er to be governed by the will of one man rather than by the law. Sir, the essential difference between a despotic government and what is called a free or Constitutional Government is this, that, in the one case, the \ country is ruled by the will of one man, and that in the other case the will of the ruler is subject to the law ot the land. In the one case the ruler makes laws, or unmakes them, adheres, in his own conduct to the laws which he has made, or violates them, according to his own will or caprice. In the other case, the raler carries out the will of the people, expressed or supposed to be expressed, in the laws which they have enacted, or consented to, through their representatives ; and the ruler is, in his own sphere, as much subject to the laws of the land as the meanest of the people. We are accustomed to speak of the majesty of the throne, ami of the majesty of the law as being above the majesty of the throne ; but our Superintendent has pUced himself above the majesty of the law. The Q leen in her coronation oath, swears to govern according to law. The i Superintendent, not having quite attained to the dignity of a coronation, nor having been called upon to take any oath of offif-e, appears to have fallen into the grave error, that he might violate the law with impunity, if he could obtain what he calls the verdict of the constituencies. Now, Sir, popular opinion has its due weight, but popular opinion cannot superse Ie the law. I do not know how it is intended to meet thU question, by those members who are expected to support the Superintendent in this Council. But it seems almost superfluous to quote the passages which prescribe the duties of the Superintendent and of this Council, which has co-ordinate authority with him in the disposal ot the public money of this Prov nee. The 66 clause of the Constitution Act enacts that the propoition of the general revenue which falls to the Province shall be paid over to the Treasury of the Province, for the public uses thereof, and shall be subject to appropriation by the Provincial Council. And the 25th clause enacts that •' it shall not be lawful tor any Provincial Council to pass, or for the Superintendent to assent to, any Bill appropriating money to the public service, unless the Superintendent shall first have recommended to the Cunoeil to make provision for the specific service to which such money is to be appropriated ; and that no such money shall be issued or made issuable, except by warrant lo be granted by the Superintendent." In defiance of this enactment, which prescribes, in terms that cannot be mistaken', the only lawful mode in which the public money can be expended, the Superintendent has withdrawn upwards of £26,000 from the public Treasury and applied it to objpets to which it could not be lawf .Uy applied, thus violating the law, and the trust which was especially reposed in him by the law. The Superintendent has also violated the privileges of this Council, and made it impossible for it to do its duty to the Province. Can it be a question whether it is, or is not, the duty of the Council to take notice of so gross a violation of their privileges,— of so daring an interference with their duties. No expression of opinion on the part of this Council, no enactment ot theirs, can absolve the Superintendent from the consequences of a violation of the liw, but aie they to permit it to be alleged that they have acquiesced therein, or omitted to do all that It is possible tor them to do, to vindicate thp law and to free themselves from all participation in its violation. I consider it, Sir, a great misfortune to this community — I conpider it as amongst the gieatest of misfortunes — that the public press has, hitneito, been so exclusively devoted to party questions and party interests, as to neglect its high vocation of instructing the people in those questions of government which are of higher and more enduring importance than mere party interests Ot those questions none is more important than that the law should be maintained inviolate. All writers upon political and moral science have assumed this as an axiom upon which the whole frame of society is erected. But in this colony, so far as we can judge from what is called popular opinion, the violation of the law has been regarded as the legitimate privelege of the governing party. There seems *o be a total insensibility to the vital importance of this question. In illustration

of the importance, and indeed of the necessity, of maintaining the law inviolate, I shall beg the Council's attention to two short paragraphs fromPaley's Moral and Political Philosophy. Those of us who are familiar with such studies will not he the worse for having our minds refreshed by the sentiments of so eminent a ■writer, and those of us « horn the a\ocations of buaiuess have prevented from entering uoon such questions, may be thereby induced to study so admirable a compendium of the principles which ought te guide them in their duties as Legislators. I know no writer who has so clenrlv explained the importance of determining questions uffeciii.g tl-e public, by their general, and not by their particular consequences In other words, of establishing Inws, and maintaining inviolate the laws which have been established H« observes, with respect to the particular consequences resulting from an action that, " There are occasions in which the hand of the assassin would be very useful. The present possessor of some great estate employs his influence and fortune to annoy. corrupt, or oppress all about him. His estate would devolve by his' death to a successor of an opposite character It is useful, therefore, to despatch such a one as soon as possible out of the way, as the neighbourhood will exchange, thereby, » pernicious tyrant for a wise and generous benefactor.. It might be useful to rob a miser, give the money to the poor, as the money, no doubt, would produce more happiness by being laid out in food or clothing for half a dozen destitute families, than by continuing locked up in a miser's chest. It may be useful to get possession of a place, of a piece of preferment, or a seat in Parliament" (perhaps we might include .a Superintendency) "by bribery or false swearing, as by means of them we 'may serve the public more eff'etaaily than in our private station." But let us look at the general consequences. •• The assassin knocked the rich villain on the head, because he thought hin better out of the way than in it. If you allow this excuse in the present instance, yon must allow it to all who act in the same manner and with the same motive ; that \\ you must allow every man to kill any one he meets, whom he thinks noxious or useless, which, in the event, would be to commit every man's lite and safety to the spleen, fury, and fanaticism of his neighbour —a disposition of affairs, which would soon fill the woild with misery and confusion, t nd ere long put nn end to human society, it not to the human species."— Thus for Paley— The law, therefore, cannot take cognizance of motives. The violation of the law constitutes the offence which society is bound to punish. Of what use are laws if they are not to be observed ? and how is it to be ex-p-cted that they shall be observed, if every one who has succeeded in persuading himself that he is actuated by good motives, and intends useful ends, is to be allowed to violate them with impunity? The end of punishment is example ; it is to deter individuals from violating the law. And, Sir, the offence is much more tieinous when committed by a person whose station makes his example more powerful for good or for evil, an I whose peculiar duty it is to administer and maintain the law, than in that of a private person. The public money must necessarily be entrusted in a greater or in a less amount to many persons. With what justice can you punish a breach of trust in an inferior servant of the public, if the law is to be violated with impunity by the head ? Is the magnitude of the offence, and its aggravation to secure its impunity ? _It is impossible, therefore, for human laws to exist if the motives of the offender are to excuse the offence. We all. I trust, believe in a judgment to come, when the very thoughts and intents of the heart will be laid open ; when motives as well as actions can be brought into judgment: but in the affairs of this world the violation of the law must constitute the offence, because motives are beyond human knowledge ; and were it otherwise, the recognition of motives would defeat the end of the law, which is to deter from offence. Ido not therefore refer to the motives by which the Superintendent tells us he was actuated, in " the embarrassing situation" in which he says " he found himself," as any justification of his actions, even if we could kaow t'.ieui 1.0 be hia truu motives. I .lo not, Sir, question his motives. I am inclined to believe that he had persuaded himself that his motives were light ; but he ought to have borne in mind that Ms motives, if right, were liable to misconstruction. That there might, and does exist, an opinion, that the works which he has c msed to be executed by an unlawful expenditure of the public money were undertaken only ostensibly, or in a second degree tor the objects he has stated, but really or mainly, that he might expend the public money in such a way as would secuie his own maintenance in office, or his re-election to it. The consideiation that his conduct was capable of this construction ought to have made him extremely cautious what course he should pursue in his embarassing position, even if he could have lawfully expended the public money, according to the best of his judgment But, Sir, who placed him in this embarassin« position ; or what necessity existed tor his continuing in it? I find it. for my own part, difficult to recognize in our present Superintendent, the form and lineaments of that heaven-born statesman whose advent might reconcile the inhabitants of this Province to his administration of their affairs, without question of the wisdom of his proceedings ; nor do I discover such a necessity for a continuance in office as might reconcile them to their illegality The simple remedy was to resign an office, as any man of a right spirit would have done, which he could not continue to till without a violation of thn law. I was not involved in that " ignoble strife" which led to his embarassing position. I belonged no more to the p«uty opposed to the Superintendent, than to his party. I was able to look coolly upon the proceedings ; and I must say that no question was ever more simple of solution than the question which led to so much turmoil and to such bewilderment: I will add— to so much perversion of the truth, and misleading of th" public mind. A petition was presented to the Superintendent complaining of the return of a member elected to the Provincial Council, and claiming for the petitioner the right to the seat to which that member was returned. It is impossible, I think, (I mean for persons who art? competent to understand such subjects, and it is not too much to expect thit those who take upon them the administration of the laws, should understand something of the interpretation of the laws)— it is impossible, I say, for persons competent to deal with such questions to mistake the law. The Superintendent, as required by law, referred the petition to the Provincial Council, and thenceforward he was what the lawyers term, I believe, functus ojieio,—ha had no further right to interfere in the matter. It was for the Council to decide to which of the parties the seat belonged. The right . ot " the sitting member was contingent upon the decision of the Council. If the Council should declare the petitioner entitled to the teat, all right, in thesitting, member ceased aud determined. Before the Council, however, had come to a decision, the member petitioned against resigned his contingent right to the seat, which thenceforward belonged to the petitioner. The Superintendent, however, received the resignation, as if the seat was the absolute right of the sitting member ; and thereupon issued a fresh writ, as if the seat had been vacant: whereas he was bound to know that the seat in question was under the adjudication of the Council, and that it belonged either to the petitioner, or to thesitting member, as the next highest on the poll. The sitting member might resign his contingent right, but he could not deprive the petitioner of Am right. On the one ceasing, the other was established. Ttie Council after wards decided that the Petitioner was entitled to the sent ; but their decision was superfluous, — the seat already belonged to the petitioner, because the claim of the party who contested his rigiit to it had been withdrawn. There is, indeed, a clause of the Constitution Act which provides that on the resignation of a member, and on the Superintendent being satisfied that any se.it was vacant, he should forthwith i«sue a writ for the election of a member to the vacant seat. But where two clauses of a statute seem to conflict with eaoh other, the mle of interpretation is to ascertain what was the intention of the law; and it is, indeed, the rule of common sense. The intention of the law was to ascertain, by the decision of the Council, in disputed returns, which, of two or more claimants to a seat, was lawfully entitled ta it. The right existed in the one or the other ; and the Council was to decide in whom the right did exist. They had no power to take away that right. But the effect of the issue of a new writ, under the circumstances, if such writ had any force, would be to defeat the intention of the law. The confusion which followed was, therefore, entirely owing to the Superintendent's incapacity to understand the law, or to nis determination to act in opposition to the lair. Then, there was another essential point; and here I must take the opportunity tor say. that however little the conduct of my fiiend, your predecessor in that chair, has yet been appreciated, the time will come when it will be acknowledged that the colony owes a lasting debt to his decision and firmness on that occasion. I say this, Sir, because the question was one to which it would be difficult, it not impossible, to find a precede it: and in which he acted upon those principles oljlaw which are the basis of all sound legislation. It ■was sairl that he was bound to carry out the will of the majority in the Council, and to put the question, whether the vote, which decided that the petitioner was entitled to the seat, should or should not be rescind«d. Now, Sir, it was not an ordinary vote of the Council, but a vote which affected the vested rights of an individual, of which the Council could not lawfully deprive him. By putting that question the Speaker would have co-operated with the Council in an unlawful act. I think. Sir, that he acted with consummate judgment and integrity, in refusing to put that question. Now.Sir, it is iaidthatthere-electionofSupermtendenthasproved that his policy was popular ; and .the inference from thi»

is that if « man can make himself poptolwt, He «*y ditrej gard the lavr, or set himself above it Well, I will, if the Council allow me, give them an illustration of what the admission of such a principle would lead to. It may be supposed that what I am about to relate is an allegory, or a parable, but it is not so. What 1«m about to state is literally true. It happened to me, Sir, in my younger days, to be travelling" in the South of Spain. I haw to go irom Sevilif f on the West Coast, to Malaga, on the Mediterranean } but I w.is told that it was impossible to trasel ike r«*ol with safety— that even a military escort could seawwlr ensure the safety of a single traveller 1 . Things being iv this state, a certain person, named Jose -<laria. whose exploits were afterwards published in London, in « good sized volume, had, with the assistance of some en* ergptic supporters, established himself as a kind of Su» perintendent of the roads, on which he would allow of no progress excepting to those who put themselves under his protection. His object, of course, was to ensure the safety of travellers ; and his arrangements were* that persono wishing to travel the road, should travel under the protection of a conductor, who should collect the tribute, or blackmail, which he thought it just to should be levied upon the travellers for the protection afforded them. After a fortnight's delay, waiting for the Convoy, I started under the protection of this conductor, with 170 vehicles of one kind and another in company. On the third evening, I was informed by the Prior of a Domihiciau convent, whe occupied a seat in the same vehicle on myself, that the party al the other end of a long supper table were the protectors of the road, whom I have alluded to, and whom, in his old fashioned prejudice in favour of the law, he called Latrones — robbers. I spoke no Spanish, and our only conversation consisted in such scraps of Latin as I was able to use and,understand. Some time after the caravan hail started on the following morning, a party of horsemen, well mounted. tthdall uniformly dressed, swept round the base of the hill along which we were pro-* ceeding. They only came near enough to us to give us the assurance thnt we were under their protection. About, midday the caravan stopped, and the conductor CJTie round with his broad hat.Well lined with gold and silver pieces. He brought a French woman who was in the company, to explain to me what an excellent thing it was that we were enabled, by contributions in this n>nn-> nei . to travel the road in safety. I observed— -"Then if I do not pay this contribution, I shall be robbed <?" "Oh," replied the French woman, "the conductor did not say that ; what he did say was, that if you pay the contribution, you will not be robbed." Indeed, resistance under any circumstance would have been out of the question, for Jose Maria's party was at this time strong enough to stop a military escort, and to take charge of a cheat of treasure which they were escorting. This happened within a few weeks of my passing. Now, Sir, this Jose Maria was the most popular person, as far as I, a passing traveller could judge, at that time in the south of Spain. He never injured a poor man ;he treated females with respect ; he gave to the church tithes, even, it was said, much more than tithes of all he collected, it is true that his prorerdings were not quite in accordance with law. Bui, then, there was a kind of responsible government in Spain. When the Governor of the Province of Andalusia was preparing to put bis party down with a strong hand, the Archbishop interfered. It was not to be tolerated that so many souls should be sent to their last account without absolution. lof course cannot vouch for this, but such was the report. Now, Sir, there are two ways by which the law may be violated — by open violence, or by a betrayal of trust. And woe to the country where either mode is permitted with impunity^ however popular it might be. Mr. Busby's motion finding no seconder fell to the ground. Mr. Middi/e\ia.s then moved the adoption of the following address, which was carried without discussion :—: — 11 Wp, the members of the Council for the Province of Auckland, tender our thanks to your Honor for the address with which you opened the eighth session of the Provincial Government. "The important subjects which have been brought under our eonsiderarion by your Honor shall receive our careful consideration. •'It is gratifying to the Council to learn that the material and social interests of the Province are rapidly improving. "The Council have received with gratification your Honor's announcement, that the estimated income for the ensuing year will leave a largo amount of revenue available for public works." On the motion of Dr. Pollen, the Council resolved, — "That the enclosures in the Message No. 6, from his Honor the Superintendent, be referred to a 'ommittee : and that it be made an instruction to the Committee to consider the evidence taken before the Committee appointed on the 7th January last, and the documents transmitted with the Messages Nos. 13, U. 20, 22, and 38, in Session 6. The Committee to consist of Messrs. Buckland, IHgnan, Cooper, Vercoe, Griffin, Munro, and the mover. Report to be brought up on Friday, 11th instant." On the motion of Mr. MfeaniMAN, the Council resolved, — "That a Library Convnittee be appointed, to I consist of Mr. Speaker, Messrs Busby, Buckland, Boylan, Lee, Vercoe, and the mover, with power to report from time to lime." On the motion of Mr. Griffln, the Council resolved, — "That an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to cause to be laid upon the table of this Council all papers relating to the claims of John Mitchell, Edmund Powell, and J. Dunn, upon the Provincial Government for services performed as Officers of the late City Council." On the motion of Mr. Griffin, the Council resolved, — "That Message No. 1 of this session, convpring the petition of H. T. Hidkton, be deferred to a select Committee, to consist of Messrs. Boylan, Dilworth, Harris, Kelly, and the mover, with power to call for persons I and papers. Repoit to be brought up on the second Sitting day from the day of motion. I The Council then adjourned to Friday on the mo. ion of Mr. Buckland.

Svfrbmb Couivr. — This Court sat in it« criminal jurisdiction on Tuesdny, the let inst«nt. The calendar was an unusually light one, there being only two cssei fot trial and both of a trivial character. In one case, that of the Queen v. Nathan Webster, the prisoner was charged with forging on order on Messrs. Roe, Street , and Co., with intent to defraud. His Honor, in charge ing the Grand Jury, stated that there was «n informality in the indictment, which did not set r 6rth the person or persons intended to be defrauded. Mr. Merriman, after his Honor's address, came into Court and, being informed of his Honor's charge pointed ottt that an alteration had been made in the English law ia this respect, and that the Act had been adopted by the House of Representatives. His Honor recalled th* Grand Jury and informed them of this alteration in the law. The jury found a true bill against the prisoner, who pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to be inipmonpd for six manchs with hard labour. In the other ea««e, the Queen v. Michael Murphy, the Grand Jury also returned a true bill. The prisoner, who had obtained £1 from a Maori named Euoka, on the security of a worthless document pleaded guilty, and in consideration of the very excellent character" which he had borne prior to the offence, wa9 sentenced to 3 months imprisonment with hard labour. Euoka failing to appear, his recognisances were forfeited. The Grind Jury, before being discharged, congratulated hi* Honor on the lightness of calendar and on his restoration to health. His Honor thanked the Grand Jury, and exptesspd hi* sense of the 1 kindness which he had ever experienced from them.

Th(ratrb Rotal.— The admirers of the drama will be pleased to learn from our advertising columns that this place of amusement will be re opened for the summer season on Thursday next, the theatre having been taken by Mr. Bellair and a company of actors, of whoitf rfepott spr>aks very highly. Mr. Bellair himself i«, we believe, favourably known to many residents here who hare had an opportunity of witnessing his performances in Sydney. At home, and not very long since he was the manager of one of the most respectable of the provincial theatres. Mrs. Bellair is but recently from England, where she held first class engagements in the leading theatres, both in England and Scotland. Mr. and Ml' 9. Hill are said to be very clever, and indeed great care appears to have been taken in the selection of the company. The Scenery of the theatre is undergoing a thorough overhauling, and new scenes are being painted which, from personal inspection, we can safely say will thoroughly throw into the shade anything that has hitherto been attempted here in the way of scenic decoration. One alterution is being made, which will greatly add to the comfort of those visitirfg the pawjuette, which is the addition of foot boards to the seats The pieces selected for the opening night are "Fraud and its Victims," and a " Prince for an hour." The former — a'powerfully written drama, by Stirling Coyne, met with a gerat run in London-. We wish the company success in their undertaking and trust th*t they may j meet with a warm reception on Thursday.

Mimtart Theatrb.— The performances at the military theatre, on Wedneiday night, passed off very succesfully. The " Mutiny at the Nore " was admirably placed on the stage and well acted throughout. We cannot say that we admired' the manner in which the tong of * e Ye Macbeth" was given. It would have beea clever had it been orig^ inal". As it was, it was but w very indifferent imi--tation. We heaT that these pieces are' to be,repeat^d( to-morrow evening. We think that otir" milit*ry«neitd# have scarcely acted in good taate in choosing tb^njgh* immediately preceeding thj , opening one of Ihi^rwW profewional company at the Theatre Royals