1831.] Afairt in General. 439 



two French farces are already in the actors' hands. Macready has the 

 leading parts of ten tragedies lying on his break fast- table, enough to 

 deprive any man of his appetite. One hundred and fifty melodramas, 

 from all corners of the empire, and with the venue in all quarters of the 

 globe, are perplexing the bi'ains of JMessrs. Farley and Barrymore at 

 both houses ; and the Christmas pantomime of Covent Garden is 

 complete, with the exception of a flying man in the last scene : "while, 

 at Drury Lane, they have been rehearsing their pantomime during the 

 last month. These are new times, and the results must be brilliant. 

 We understand that the superintendance of the ballet-department is to 

 be given to the Lord Chamberlain, who has lately been taking lessons 

 from M.Diddelot for the purpose, and that, as soon as he is able to pirouet, 

 his grace will announce his acceptance of the office. It will not be like 

 his chamberlainship. It will be any thing but a sinecure. 



What an immensity of consternation the Saints exhibited a sample 

 of, years since, on the untimely end of a Mr. Missionary Smith. " John 

 Bull," who still protests against " all that sort of thing, and every thing 

 of that sort," as JMatthews says, has just ferreted out a little transaction 

 of the Missionary, which shews that he had his eye a leetle fixed on the 

 mammon of unrighteousness, as well as the publicans and sinners of the 

 West Indies. The document by which he exhibited his sense of the 

 guilt of dealing in slave merchandise is worth preserving, even for his 

 sake : — 



" Know all men by these presents, that I, John Smith, of the colony 

 of Demerara, for and in consideration of the sum of eighteen hundred 

 gilders, Holland currency, paid to me by James Kelly, Esq., of the 

 aforesaid colony of Demerara (the receipt whereof I hereby acknow- 

 ledge), have granted, bargained, sold, aliened, enfeoffed, and confirmed 

 unto the said James Kelly, a female negro slave, named Kitty, together 

 with her future issue and progeni/, and all right, title, interest, property, 

 claim and demand whatsoever, l^oth at law and in equity, of, in, to, or out 

 of the aforesaid slave, and her future issue and progeny, to have and to 

 hold the said female negro slave named Kitty, mito the said James 

 Kelly, his heirs and assigns, for ever I 



" And I, the said John Smith, do hereby warrant and defend the 

 aforesaid female slave, together with her future issue and progeny, 

 against all and every person whatsoever, unto the said James Kelly, 

 his heirs and assigns, for ever !" 



By the bye the West Indies are going to ruin. The outciy against 

 the planters, the interference of my Lords of the Treasury and the Right 

 Hon. the Colonial Secretary for the time being, and the Sierra Leone 

 ]Man-consumption-cornpany,and the Mauritius Free-slave-sugar-corpora- 

 tion, and the Female-penny-raisers, and the orators black, brown, and 

 fair in Kxeter-hall, are rapidly breaking down the interests of the finest 

 and most productive colonies that ever swelled the opulence of a nation. 

 We are making the West Indians ask the question, " What good is to be 

 got by adhering to England, and what evil by looking to America ?" If 

 a war should arise in that hemisphere, the islands would be among the 

 very first objects of American attack, and the time may come when the 

 liope of being able to make that attack successfully will be the cause o- 

 an American war. We have clearly contrived to irritate the colonists 

 our next steps may alienate them, and when, to please the Buxtons o 



