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Otago Daily Times, Issue 489, 15 July 1863, Page 4

The programme at the Princess Theatre last evening, was a repetition of that of Monday, which we noticed fully yesterday. Thero was again a good house; and Miss Aitken was most warmly received. "Holt at Home" also went excellently.

| T ue public will be glad to learn that the Provincial Government lias determined, after careful inquiry and due deliberation, to allow the importation of stock from Gipps Land r it being, however, a condition that all stock shall be subjected to examination before shipment and prior to being landed here. We believe we may also sratc that the port will be opened for the introduction of cattle from South Australia.

The letters of our up-country correspondents furnish us with painful particulars of the disastrous floods that have taken place. • These, it will be seen, have been,.attended with loss of life as well as destruction of property, and continued disappointment to the miners, who have long been anxiously awaiting the " lull of the waters." ,

The Theatre Royal wa3 re-opened lust evening; when the Lancashire Bill Ringars made a most succesful appearance. Tha interior of the theatre has been greatly improved. The front of the dress circle has been advanced about 8 feet, so that some approach has been made to the ho'rso shoe form, instead of the long parallelogram whichthe box front and the curtain used to represent. The private boxes.have been remodelled 1; their fronts have baen thrown forward, in a greater and a less semicircle, and the partitions' have been made to recede, so that the occupants of tho boxes can now sec- ail that passes on the staee and can also see the audience. . The proscenium has been slightly altered to accommodate it to the charges just; mentioned. The ugly ventilators -from which chandeliers were hung have all but disappeared.. The one over the pit has been hidden by handsome circular ornamentation, from the centre of which there descends a pipe supporting a group of gas jets. The other is cut across and partly hidden, by what we-msy call a ceiling screen-decorated wood-work, affixed to the neiiing, in a line with the boxes, and to which, scarlet drapery is looped in folds. There are similar draperies to the private boxes, the effect of which enhanced by.handsome lace curtains. Instea of the horrM mess of positive tints of red ana yelwwwbich formerly was su?posed salute the decoration of the theatre, around and above, we now find both walls and-eeilin* with a light cool neutral tint, partaking. of a greenish brown; the avails being pannelled by crimsou borders and edging.and tho-ceilingbciri* relieved only by smaUgilded stars. Thefrontortheb^esia «mr larly decorated, some scarlet being introduced m t.ie pannelling. and the Royal Anns have been well painted on the proscenium. A j'itil» judicious gilding tells well ia this part of the house. The division lines in the side box-s havq been shifted-to nearly right angles with th 2 s t a7e and the direction of most of the seats there lua been raodified ; greatly to the . mamise of f-e comfort of their occupants. The weil-lik- willat the buck of-tha boxes has dis-ppearel • bus W fancy it wouM be aa advantage if the space allowed was a little extended, as'if is rather diffi.uiS to .pass any one standing there. Increased accommodation has been gained ia the pir. and, altogether, the receipts on any ni^-hS may be £15 more than was before possible, without any lessening of the ■comfort-of these ia the house. Tlib" ' gailfrhts from the ceiling have a capital effjet • and -is a whole, the interior of tl^ R O y al ia mw lHit, pretty, and decidedly pleasant. We have said that the Lancashire Bell Ringers wore asuccosi • they w^re so, for the house was well filled and every piece was rapturously applauded. Th» ringers are eight i n tumbsr . Tl)ey - n - oastume which is not remarkable for novelty or effect but is deeiledly stag.y. Thoy stand behind a long table with circular ends, upo-i which thereare 50 or CO bells-varying in size from a tintlnabulator fit for a lady's boudoir to some big enough for the most fussy of bellmen ■ Apart from the charm of the music produced from these bells, it is worth while to not- how rapidly the bells are changed-not' simply from a selection put apart for each man, bat how particular bells, at times, seem to have a special attraction for one after the other who reaches and seizes it with the utmost certainty it may be only to produce a single note in the swell of the peculiarly sweet harmony. Tho writer has often heard bell-ringers in Lancashire- ; but he never heard any there • play with such j wonderful precision or with such varied and true : expression. Speaking generally, in Lancashire the hand-bell ringers practice and play for their own amusement, or for the sake of competition with some neighboring set. ■ If is a icfining amusement almost peculiar tD the class of factory operative, the love for music, instrumental as well as vocal, bsing a marked peculiarity in tha Lancashire chaiacter. Since they have been pl.iying in public, the Ringers now in our midst have evidently received hints and aids for study and practice, which have resulted in a finish and a^ knowledga of musical composition, which willc'tr-' tainly mike them the envy of their old friend '^

Manchester, Ashion. Bolton, Oldham, and oihe..^ parts of Lancashire, when they return home. Th) harmonies which they pro luce are beautifully full and sustained; and the mtlodies architoff with'spiiic or grare, or pathos, as tho subject nny require. The variations on "The Blue Bells of Scotland" were given with a rapidity.and, certaintj comparable only to what would be expected froiri'a-first-class pianist; and the Irish Quadrilles also stood out from the general excellence of the whole'performance. We can particularise'further hereafter; and we will now only add, that any one, whether ha has or has not before heard a sinrlar performance, will find that an evening with tha Bell Ringers can be spent most '" delightfully.' Miss Royal, the vocalist of the party, has a good mezzosoprano voice, which she has very fairly under control. She seems to study a conscientious rendering of the music^he 'undertakes to sing ; and we confess to feeling astonishment at -the one exception last even-n^—the run and shake with which she disfigured tho close of •' Auld Robin Gray." An embellished ballad is a musical monstrosity. Miss Royal's best song we think was, " She'll come again to-morrow,"' which she sang as one of the three encores which were called for. -Mr E. Salamon was the pianist. Mr Coppin announces the Bell Ringers> as "for six nights only." ■-.:,• The "Government Gazette" of Victoria contains the following official notice with-refeiieiicc:"' to the apprehended spread of small pox* -i" The Central Board of Health having received information of the prevalence of small pox in .London and several oilier places in England in constant communication with this colony, deem it expedient to call public attention to the possibility of the introduction of the disease, and to the importance of taking the necessary precaution against its spread, which is to be obtained by the genersl practice of vaccination. The board have before them the most conclusive evidence that one vaccination in childhood does not afford protection to the individual from small pox in afterlife, and they are therefore of opinion, that, in order to obtain ordinary security, every person in tho colony, young and old, should be re-vaccinated. The board earnestly trust that they will obtain the co-operation of the general public, the medical profession, and the authorities charged with the conservancy of the public health, in this important matter, not only in recommending the revaccination of adults and children, but also iv inducing the more general prac-tiee of infantile vaccination, which the board fear has, notwithstanding the provisions of the Compulsory Vaccination Act, been much neglected. By order of the board, Fred. W. Thomas, Secretary.

We notice that the cost of lighfirg the towns of Castlc-miine, Sandhurst, and Ballaraty with gas is as follows :—Sandhurst, L2O p 3r lamp par anmur, Ballarat, Ll4 10a per lamp per annual; and jiCastlemaine, Ll2 per lamp per annum. The Government of New South Wales have appointed Mr E.lward Hamilton Colonial Agent in London, at the salary of LIOOO per anuum.