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Leader (1850-1860), 10th December 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1352, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      request to hear it played . All sorts of shifts and evasions were resorted to in order to avoid going through such an ordeal . Woelfl performed the iVe Plus Ultra at a concert , and with such brilliant success , that it became the fashionable piece from that moment . Not only did lie by these means obtain , what he had contemplated , in the discomfiture of those shallow practitioners who had endeavoured to depreciate his worth , but what he had not contemplated—the transfer of their pupils . True to his art , however , he would never consent to give lessons on the variations until the allegro had been studied . " Dat is good "—lie would say— " It will help to digest de variation . " To which may be annexed—Si nnn e vern e ben trovato .

      Some of our readers may perhaps feel curious know more of this wondrous sonata , that our grandmothers M-ent mad about , and that so flustered the London Musical world in 1805 . " We may inform them that it has been edited by Mr . Davison and forms numberone of ' Boosev ' s Pianoforte Studio . " The reliefs" on Monday last , were all from Mozart . Miss Fanny Rowland and Mdlle . Behrens sang the duo from " Cosi fan tutte" " Ah ! guarda sarella ; " the latter lady gave " L ' addio" ( to hear which is enough happiness for one evening ) , with all the purity it demands ; and the former , the less interesting , " Or , ehe il Cielo . " The lion par excellenceof the concert ,, was Mr . Sims Reeves , who was

      , as charming us everin " Dalla-s . ua Pace , " from " Don Giovanni , " and "Deb ! per Questo , " from the " Clemenzadi Tito . " Like the rest of the audience , we were glad to see the matchless ? tenor in seeming health and force , but , unliietoo many of them , wedid not insist on the encoi'cs , which it ' seems customary to demand from Mr . Reeves , and about which , he has already had several " difficulties" with the British vulgar . lie sang "Deli ! per Questo" twice , in obedience to the summons of the unfeeling minority , but declined to repeat the other air . Should

      the system , however , of encoring Mr . Reeves be carried out in this winter as before , we have only to hope ' that he will , at all events , when inclined to comply for his own sake , really repeat the passage or air that may have evoked the public enthusiasm . By substitutingjOn such occasions one air for anotherthus , in fact , singing two for one—Mr . Reeves created the demon that now worries him . He will scotch , if not kill it , by repeating occasionally a good long recitative . By his " Pretty Jane , " &c , &c . \ he will but fatten it .

      Thk London Orchestral Association . — The preliminary meeting of this Association was held yesterday at the Freemasons' Tavern , and was very numerously attended . Mr . Benedict was prevented from attending on account of professional engagements , and in his absence the chair was taken , by his colleague , Dr . James Peck . Various resolutions were passed , aud a provisional committee elected . A- vote of thanks was passed to the chairman and secretary , and the meeting stands adjourned until Thursday evening next .

      The Cajmcpbeli , Minstrelsy that has been able , as we last week reported , to fill the smaller St . James ' s Hall , bids fair , with the help of Mr . Mackney , to gather admirers enough to crowd , in tim e * the upper one . We , . of course , attended the invitation to spend a quarter of an hour with the " inimitable" Mackney , and found him , as betore , as unlike all but himself , as M . Espinosa , who now astonishes thje world at the Princess ' s Theatre . The " Sally come up , " with which capital dancing is

      combined , is truly laughter-compelling ; so is the ** farm -yard Imitation , " and the parody upon the popular song " Good-bye , sweetheart , goodbye . " In our last notice of this very pleasing entertainment , we omitted , most unfairly , to draw attention to the wonderful ' " jig" Muster Ritter . This young man carries tlie art of the rustic dance to a pitch that , though only curious in London , would create a furore in the north of England , far exceeding any that could be got up by banjo or chorus . Polygrai'Hio Hall , King William § yruist , Chaiung Gross . — The prince of sleight-of-hand conjurers " Professor Wiljalba JTrikell , " is again amongst us , and whllu Mr . Woodin , lessee of this snug little exhibition room , prepares a new entertainment , gives Christmas magic soirees of the usual interesting nature . To unquestioned , and really astounding , manual dexterity—for the Professor , though , of course , ho employs apparatus , is not one Qf the merely mechanical school of conjurers

      —he unites , wo must eay , a very agreeablo presence and a pleasant manner ,-which ndd an additional comfort to evenings spent at his exhibition . To the trlcka we need not allude In detail . As far as we are informed , they ore repetition ' s or variations of former wonders , but for aft we can recollect they are new , and certainly no less astonishing than ever . The multiplication of flsh In a glass globe \ the endless shower of flowers , cups , bons-bons , flags , « o ,, all from one ordinary hat $ and , lastly , the

      demolition and re-construction of that useful piece of cabinet work arc ^ mong the ever fresh and still amusing feats of theTPolish sorcerer . Mapajib Tussaud . —An addition of considerable interest has been made to the historical groups of the great personages who have filled the thrones of England since the Conquest , arid one that was much wanted to render the series perfect . It is a group of two figures , modelled from the authentic in state of

      portraits still existing a good preservation in the Bayeux tapestry , of William the Conqueror and his wife Arlotta . These portraits are contemporary with the original ; Arlotta herself is said to have traced the resemblance of herself and husband in the embroidery , and if so , was an artist of no mean pretensions in her craft . The group in the gallery in Baker-street is remarkably well modelled , and those who have the tiring of the figures have perfectly understood their profession .

      Untitled Article

      CORN , GOLD , AND POLITICS . p OMRIERCE is so exceedingly flourishing that ^ there is nothing peculiar to say about it . That many individuals formerly . or still connected with it may complain , is very probable . In the very flourishing period which began after 1851 , large fortunes were suddenly made in trade , and many persons rushed wildly into business of which they understood very little . The number bf merchants was prodigiously increased , various new methods were started , particularly , by rashly extending the

      credit system , and speculation was much promoted . Now business is conducted much more soberly and safely . The excess of the credit system has , b y a natural reaction , brought about restrictions which now keep it within much narrower bojmds , and a great many adventurers hang , disappointed , about the skirts of trade . In every branch of business some of these may be found , and they constitute the exception to the general rule . Thus , we have it in evidence , while shipowners in London , Sunderland , and other places are complaining , that more sroods hare been carried in the ten months

      of this year , mid more tonnage employed in Lrade , than in any previous ten months ; and that , in consequence , the bulk of the shipowners of Liverpool and other places are perfectly well satistied . On the whole , the shipping interests , if not the shipowners , after all that has of late been said , are not badly off . The consequence of the general well-being of commerce is , that City articles contain only long lists of multitudinous prices , repeated day after day with very little variation , withobservtions on the conduct of the Governments of Mexico , the United States , and Buenos

      Ayres . The stream flows so swiftly and smoothly that , except the disturbance occasioned by politics , no breakers or dangers call for the notice of the watching critics , who rather fill the office of the Board of Trade than of pilots . They condemn those who make shipwreck , and do not help them to get into a safe haven . We have to notice , that the continued extension of trade , the large supplies Brought forward in the corn market last -vveek not having been kept up this week , the corn market has been quiet , and prices have not further receded . Conjoined with this ,

      as a novelty , is the fact that the supplies of gold from Australia are diminishing , as they have before diminished from California , while the gold obtained in both countries is now the produce of an increasing quantity of labour , and . therefore costs much more than when the gold was first discovered lyingj almost on the surface of the earth . According to the Melbourne papers just received , there was a considerable deficiency in the escort returns for the four weeks ending October 8 th , 1859 , as compared with the returns for the corresponding period in 1858 . In 1859 , 173 , 014 ozs . ?

      in 1858 , 199 , 439 ozs . ; a decrease in the four weeks of 1859 of 26 , 425 ozs . ; or since 1856 the yield of gold has been gradually and steadily diminishing , whilst the number of miners employed in procuring it haa very largely increased . For the first three quarters in each of the last four years , or from the 1 st of January to the 3 rd of October , the total amounts received wore : —1856 , 1 , 980 , 530 ozs . $ 1857 , 1931 , 036 ozs . ; 1858 , 1800 , 345 ozs . j 1859 , 1693 , 910 ozs . In round numbers the yield has fallen o ( f at the rate of 100 , 000 ounooa in the first three quarters of eaoh year since 1856 . The alluvial auriferous deposits , say the journals , are

      gradually becoming less abundant , " and unless so i « h fi ^ speedily opened up , which will afford employment to the individual - di < reer the scope for alluvial mining will become exceed ' ingly limited . The production of gold in California has diminished in a somewhat greater pvoportion and the diminution in both regions may tend to lessen ( while the increase in commerce has the same tendency ) the alarm of those , who fear that the value of all realised property will be annihilated by the abundance and cheapness of gold . As it ceases , however , to be easy to procure gold , the attention of the people in both places is directed to cultivating the soil , to growing wool

      and cotton , and to providing abundantly means for their own subsistence , and to export in exchange for European manufactures . Iii Victoria , the population amounted , on June 30 th , to 517 , 366 . California is becoming a prosperous member of the United States ; and both countries , though they produce less gold , will continue to increase in population , and surely help to enlarge the general trade and the general demand for gold . The people there , as they increase will require more of the precious metals for their own use , and we must not therefore expect such a large supply of them from these two quarters as we hitherto have received .

      Apart from these gold discoveries , which are amongst the remarkably events of the age , and will hereafter be considered a mernorablc epoch in the natural progress of the human race , the present quietness and prosperity of commerce is , by common consent , admitted to be the result—to use the language of the Times— -of the labours of the Parliament in " transferring , during the last seventeen 3 r ears , the burden of taxation from the

      great mass of the people to the class to which the Parliament belongs . " In other words , free trade , and a small approximation to justice in levying the public taxes , have given the nation unexampled prosperity , wealth , and contentment . "Why are -we now , therefore , to stop in this course , or why go backward ? Why have we gone backward ? Those statesmen will have much to answer for who have stooped

      tiiia co . uI ' jjo —^ who have kept uj * or inc . cased taxation , and have kept on and much increased the restraints on industry . Those journalists , too , will have much to answer for , who now labour continuously and zealously to prevent further progress in the same direction . Their attempts to throw odium on those who require more freedom , and a further transfer of burdens from the . productive multitude to the unproductive few , will only bring damage on themselves . They are deceived by fancying that foreign trade embraces the whole ; and they continually labour , and have been

      successful , we regret to say , in their labours , to keep restrictions on many branches of industry which are quite as important to society as foreign trade . Perhaps we are ail led astray by substituting the phrase free trade for free industsy . By sotting industry partially free , Sir R . Peel was eminently successful , and he contributed to bring about the quiet and the prosperity which now inalu > commerce more advantageous than interesting . |> y depafcting from this course , and imposing restrictions on industry , instead of setting it entirely free , his successors have broucrht on the agitation anu

      disquiet , out of the limits of commerce , which every one recognises to bo growing , ' and ninny very seriously dread . Those who are most forward in praising Peel ' s measures , however much thoy may heretofore have opposed them , arc hardly sensible how much thoy are indebted to our grout commercial prosperity for tho safety ami security they enjoy , which they sometimes abuse , to heap injuries on their industrious brethren .

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      MONEY MARKET & STOCK EXCHANGE .

      Untitled Article

      1352 THE LEA DEB [ No . 507 , Dec 10 , 185 Q .

      Commercial.

      COMMERCIAL .

      Untitled Article

      JPittDAY EvuAmnu . —Money is in good donmnd , i >" the supply is also good . As our trade has I- ' » / boon very great , and profits probably lur ^ ., i " probable that saving has been etmsidorulmi . '' " ° has been no speculation to exhaust it . y ll »»«'« therefore , has increased at leant quli » « i * U [! il ' : enterprise baa extended , and the demand mi'l milW of money ' have kept tolerably cium' - , '' „ , / steady market , at the Jfymk rates , is tho short iin » accurate description of tho proacut condition oi vnu Money Market . That enterprise is not noiivo w more to bo attributed to a want of cuuflduiici , » IU a want of feasible schemes , than a want ul ' - "I ' " V The Stock and Share Market generally lu « »«

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 10, 1859, page 1352, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2324/page/20/