remove him, should there be any just ground for dissatisfaction as to the exercise of his functions. Your Committee would recommend some revision in the present system of fees to the censor, so (for instance) that the licence of a song and the licence of a play may not be indiscriminately subjected to the same charge; and this revision is yet more desirable, in order to ascertain whether, in consequence of the greater number of plays which, by the alterations proposed by your Committee, would be brought under the control of the censor, some abatement in the fees charged for each might not be reasonably made, without lessening the present income of the licencer. 6. In respect to the exclusive privileges claimed by the two metropolitan theatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden, it appears manifest that such privileges have neither preserved the dignity of the drama nor, by the present administration of the laws, been of much advantage to the proprietors of the theatres themselves. And your Committee, while bound to acknowledge that a very large sum has been invested in these theatres, on a belief of the continuation of their legal monopoly of exhibiting the legitimate drama, which sum, but for that belief, would probably not have been hazarded, are nevertheless of opinion, that the alterations they propose are not likely to place the proprietors of the said theatres in a worse pecuniary condition than the condition confessed to under the existing system. 7. In regard to dramatic literature, it appears manifest that an author at present is subjected to indefensible hardship and injustice; and the disparity of protection afforded to the labours of the dramatic writer, when compared even with that granted to authors in any other branch of letters, seems alone sufficient to divert the ambition of eminent and successful writers from that department of intellectual exertion. Your Committee, therefore, earnestly recommend that the author of a play should possess the same legal rights, and enjoy the same legal protection, as the author of any other literary production; and that his performance should not be legally exhibited at any theatre, metropolitan or provincial without his express and formal consent. 8. By the regulations and amendments thus proposed in the existing system, your Committee are of opinion that the drama will be freed from many present disadvantages, and left to the fair experiment of public support. In regard to actors, it is allowed, even by those performers whose evidence favours the existing monopoly, that the more general exhibition of the regular drama would afford new schools and opportunities for their art. In regard to authors, it is probable that a greater variety of theatres at which to present, or for which to adapt, their plays, and a greater security in the profits derived from their success, will give new encouragement to their ambition, and, perhaps (if a play is never acted without producing some emolument to its writer) may direct their attention to the more durable, as being also the more lucrative, classes of dramatic literature; while, as regards the public, equally benefited by these advantages, it is probable that the ordinary con sequences of competition, freed from the possibility of licentiousness by the confirmed control and authority of the Chamberlain, will afford convenience in the number and situation of theatres, and cheap and good entertainment in the performances usually exhibited. The following is a list of the Committee:Mr. Edward Lytton Bulwer, Mr. Lamb, Earl of Belfast, Mr. Sheil, Mr. Galley Knight, Mr. Stanhope, Mr. John Stanley, Mr. Ellice, Mr. Evelyn Denison, Lord Porchester, Mr. Lennard, Mr. Mackinnon, Mr. Gillon, Mr. William Brougham, Mr. Alderman Waithman, Mr. Jephson, Colonel De Lacy Evans, Mr. John Campbell, Mr. Henry Bulwer, Mr. Duncombe, Lord John Russell, Sir Charles Wetherell, Sir George Warrender, Lord Viscount Mahon. Among other witnesses the following were examined before the Committee :-Thomas Baucott Mash, Esq., Mr. John Payne Collier, Mr. Charles Kemble, Mr. Samuel James Arnold, Mr. George Colman, Mr. George Bolwell Davidge, Mr. Edmund Kean, Mr. William Dowton, Mr. John Braham, Mr. David Osbaldiston, Captain John Forbes, Mr. Thomas James Serie, Mr. Peter Francis Laporte, Mr. Samuel Beazeley, Mr. William Charles Macready, Mr. David Edward Morris, Mr. Thomas Morton, Mr. Charles Mathews, Mr. W. Thomas Moncrieff, Mr. John Poole, Mr. Richard Brinsley Peake, Mr. J. R. Planche, Mr. James Kenney, Mr. E. W. Elton. FINE ARTS.-PUBLICATIONS. Devon and Cornwall Illustrated. The Drawings by T. Allom, the Descriptions by J. Britton, F.R.S., and J. Brayley, F.R.S. Devonshire for the beautiful, and Cornwall for the sublime, before all the other counties of England! We have abundant proof of the attractions of each in the work before us, published at a cost so exceedingly small, as to bring it within the reach of all lovers of art and nature, yet produced in a rare style of elegance and taste. Two of the most accomplished antiquarians in the country have written the descriptive parts, and an artist of considerable talent has made the drawings that have been en graved with skill and ability. It is, perhaps. as important for us to have cheap art as cheap literature; it is at least impossible that the former can be called to minister to any bad passion, or be opposed to the received opinions, and approved customs of society. Those who enable us to obtain so desirable an acquisition, therefore, deserve our thanks, and demand the best assistance we can render them. The illustrations of Devon and Cornwall have from us the warmest recommendation they can receive. Westmoreland, Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland Illustrated. The Drawings by Thomas Allom, the Descrip- Monastery. It is a beautiful design-much the tions by Thomas Rose. This is a work upon the same plan as that to which we have just referred; the same observations consequently apply to it. Illustrations of the Surrey Zoological Gardens, drawn from Nature, and on Stone. By W. H. Kearney. Although illustrations of zoology have multiplied of late, we are not inclined to complain that another is added to the list. The drawings have been skilfully made; and if the subsequent numbers are equal to Part the First, we shall hereafter obtain a valuable volume at very trifling cost. The Surrey Zoological Gardens are daily gaining in interest and importance. They fairly rival those of the Regent's Park, and appear to be conducted with so much zeal and liberality, as to deserve the large and inereasing patronage they obtain. We shall visit them at no distant period, and communicate on the subject with our readers. creature of our imagination-and has been well engraved. Those who desire to illustrate the works of Walter Scott, may now do so at a very slight sacrifice. Portrait of Thomas Attwood, Esq. on Stone. By J. B. Allen. This is evidently the portrait of a benevolent man, if it resemble the original. There is a gentleness and urbanity in the countenance that would bespeak one better fitted to govern a Sunday school than to rule and sway the passions of an angry multitude. We do not intend the observation as an ill compliment. Mr. Attwood is, beyond question, an extraordinary man; we guarantee (taking it for granted that this likeness is a correct one,) that he is neither a ruthless republican, nor a heartless democrat. [National Gallery. At last the metropolis of England will be relieved from the reproach of having no public place for the reception of Works of Art. A parliamentary grant has been obtained for a Views in the East, from Sketches by National Gallery, and the work will comCaptain Elliott. Part 16. There is no falling off in this work as it pro. ceeds towards completion. The engravings are all well executed; some of them are of the highest class. The interest of the subjects is unquestionable. Part 16 contains, "Aurungzebe's Tomb, Rogah"-"Front View of the Kylas Caves of Ellora," and "Sultan Mahomed Shah's Tomb, Bejapore." Landscape Illustrations to the Prose and Poetical Works of Walter Scott. Part 3. We have had many opportunities of noticing the prints contained in this work; it is a re-publication, in a cheaper form, of the "Landscape Illustrations to the Waverley Novels." We can see no objection to the plan. The great value of engraving on steel is, that the plates so engraved will yield a very large number of impressions ; there is, for example, very little difference be tween the prints now before us, and those to which we have heretofore referred. It was but just, however, that the price should be less in proportion. Each part contains one new plate, the portrait of some female character: that in Part 3 is "Mary Avenel," the heroine of the mence forthwith. The following are the official particulars :— £50,000 15,000 The estimated expense of erecting the above building is....... The amount proposed to be taken for the present year is Leaving to be granted in future years £35,000 T. SPRING RICE. Whitehall Treasury Chambers, July 17, 1832. The proposed building will be 461 feet in length, and 56 feet in width, in its extreme dimensions, and will consist of a centre and two wings. The western wing will contain, on the ground floor, rooms for the reception of records, and an entrance into the barrack yard, such as now exists. Above them will be the picture-gallery, divided into four rooms; one 50 feet by 50, two 50 feet by 38 feet each, and one room 50 feet by 32 feet; together with four cabinets for the reception of small pictures, or for the use of the keeper. The floors will be made fire-proof.] PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. An account of the ruins of Anaradhe. púra and Mehentélé, in Ceylon, was read by Captain I. J. Chapman, R.E. who exhibited some drawings. This city, which is situated in the interior of Ceylon, in 8 15 N. lat. and 80° 55′ E. long. in the district of Acura Wanny, was, according to the native records, held in the greatest reverence by the followers of Buddha for the long period of nearly fifteen hundred years; it being the principal seat of their religion, as well as the residence of their kings. It is represented as having been very extensive, thickly populated, and abounding in magnificent temples and other buildings; the only remains of which are nine temples, ruined tanks, and groups of pillars, scattered about for a distance of several miles. Thanks were ordered to be returned to Capt. Chapman for the communication of this very inte resting paper, which reflects great credit upon his zealous exertions to illustrate the ancient history of the Buddhists, by researches into the sites of their celebrated cities, while engaged in the performance of his official duties as chief engineer in the island of Ceylon. The drawings also, which accompany it, are bold and interesting delineations of the remains of these ancient seats of power. ACADEMIE FRANCAISE. The Annual Meeting of the Academie Française took place during the past month. M. Jouy made an elaborate report on the works presented as candidates for the Monthyon Prize of 10,000f., for the best Essay, "De l'influence des lois sur les mœurs, et de l'influence des mœurs sur les lois." This subject had been originally proposed in 1827, to be adjudged in 1830, but as it was then found that none of the twelve essays presented were worthy of the prize, it was adjourned until the present year. Of the ten essays now presented, a most honourable mention was accorded to that numbered 3, which was one of those presented on the former occasion, but which had been materially modified and improved by the author, in pursuance of the suggestions then made by the reporter; the prize, however, was awarded to a new candidate, M. Matter, correspondent of the Institute at Strasburg, whose essay was described by M. Jouy as uniting the profoundest knowledge of ancient and modern history, with the clearest and most correct views of the principles and objects of legislation. The only point in which the Academy differed from the author was, that the latter expressed an opinion that the first duty of the legislator was to provide for the material necessities of the people, and his next to supply their moral wants; whereas the Academy considered that the latter object should be at least on a level with, if not entitled to precedence of, the former. M. Jouy, in conclusion, expressed his disapprobation of the author having given in his work under an assumed name. M. Matter, being present at the sitting, received the honorary medal from the hands of the President, amid the applauses of the audience. M. Brifaut then made the annual report of the acts of virtue, which were to be rewarded with the prizes left by M. Monthyon at the disposition of the Academy. The great prize of 5,000f. was adjudged to a negro named Eustache Belin, formerly a slave of M. Belin de Villeneuve, of St. Domingo, but manumitted, and residing in Paris. From an eloquent and affecting sketch of his life, given by M. Brifaut, it appeared that his exertions and sacrifices to save the lives and property of his master and other whites, at the time of the insurrection in St. Domingo, were of the most exalted and romantic description, and that since his residence in Paris, where he is employed as head cook in the houses of a number of the nobility, his whole life has been one series of the most disinterestedly benevolent actions, to perform which he has submitted to the greatest sacrifices. A prize of 3000f. was awarded to Pierre Paillette, of La Villette, near St. Denis, for having at different times saved upwards of sixty persons from drowning; and another of the same amount to J. Bagot for her exertions in founding and supporting an orphan school at Brieux. A medal of 2000f. was adjudged to Madame Vignon; and twelve others, of 600f. each, to different individuals (ten of whom were females) for various acts of benevolence, which are detailed at length in the report, printed at the expense of the Academy, and distributed gratuitously at the secretariat. The following, in addition to the work of civil courage, and the Monthyon prizes for acts of virtue, and works useful to public morals, are the prizes now proposed by the Academy :A medal, worth 1500f. for the best piece of poetry of from one hundred to two hundred lines, on the death of Sylvan Bailly, Mayor of Paris; the poems to be sent to the Academy before the 15th of May, 1833; and a medal of the same value for the best "Eloge Historique de Jean Baptiste de Monthyon." The works to be delivered in before the 15th of May, 1834. The annual Monthyon prize of 3,000f. for the work most useful to public morals, was adjudged to M. Ernest de Blossville, for his " Histoire des Colonies Penales de l'Angleterre dans l'Australie." ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (PARIS). At a late sitting of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, M. Dureau de Lamalle read the analysis of a letter addressed by him to the Marquis de Fortia d'Urban, on the Egyptian, Sicilian, and Italian Papyrus, and the manufacture of paper among the ancients. He then read the description given of it by Theophrastus. "The papyrus does not grow in deep waters, but in those which are about three feet or less in depth. The principal root, which is strong and fibrous, grows to the size of a man's fist: it extends above ground, and forms an obtuse angle with the stem, throwing out a number of fibres, which shoot into the slime of the river. The stem grows to the height of fifteen feet and more: the upper part, which is properly called the papyrus, is about four cubits in height; it is triangular, and crowned with a panicle which is of no use, and does not contain any seed (at least they generally fail). The root shoots out stems at different points. The wood of the root is handsome and strong, and is used by the natives in the manufacture of several household utensils, as well as for fuel. They make vessels of the entire stem; or, when split lengthwise, they manufacture it into sails, mats, cloth, ropes, and many other articles. The papyrus is well known in its use as paper; it also supplies nourishment, and is eaten raw, boiled, or roasted; it grows in Syria, and was employed by King Antigonus, of Palestine, in making the ropes for his navy." M. Dureau de Lamalle infers, from a passage in Strabo, that the Jews of Alexandria had monopolised the raw material of paper; that it was cultivated with great care, and that its papyraceous qualities were improved by culture. We must not, therefore, be surprised (he adds) if Bruce could not make paper with the wild papyrus of Abyssinia, and if we could not manufacture with the Sicilian papyrus, deteriorated by the régime of the stove, a paper equal in beauty to the Augustan, Liviau, or even the Hieratic paper. M. Dureau de Lamalle affirms that this aquatic plant would grow extremely well in the marshes about Arles, on the swampy ground of the Var, and on the banks of the rivers of those departments which fall into the Mediterranean. "If this stem (says he), which is much improved by cultivation, is superior either in strength, fineness, or duration, to rags, straw, and other papyraceous substances, it would, perhaps, not be useless to attempt the cultivation of it in the south of France. Messrs. Chevreul and Dumas have undertaken to make an attempt at the manufacture with a small number of stems which we possess. If they should succeed, the two Academies of Natural Philosophy and History will gather the most pleasing fruit of their labours, and fulfil a part of their noble mission, by giving to France a new production, a new branch of industry, and a species of cultivation calculated to impart value to barren marshes, and even to render unproductive and salubrious swamps healthy and fertile." M. de Lamalle enumerated the several qualities of paper obtained by the ancients from the papyrus. He recapitulated the divers experiments (all of them unsuccessful) hitherto made by the moderns, to manu. facture paper out of papyrus, according to the method described by Pliny; and by a learned and luminous dissertation on the text of that author, he pointed out the means to be employed in order to obtain a more favourable issue. The following are the inferences from his labours, as he himself represents them, The results are: 1. The explanation of the text, hitherto ill understood, of the eighth chapter of the thirteenth book of Pliny. 2. The precise knowledge of a branch of industry so important as the manufacture of paper in Egypt and at Rome. 3. The confirmation of some facts interesting to history and diplomacy. 4. The discovery made by M. Champollion, jun., of several Egyptian papyri dated and written in the years 1872 and 1571, B.C., compared with the passages in Exodus, which shew us the papyrus cultivated in Egypt, with those of Sanchoniathon and of the Egyptian books quoted by Plato, which carry back the invention of writing and the manufacture of paper to Thothwith the passages in Homer, which shew that the papyrus was brought from Egypt to Ithaca to make cordage, and the writing employed upon tablets,—all these comparisons, taken from authors so ancient, which had not hitherto been made, give great probability to the opinion already expressed by many learned men, but not supported by sufficiently convincing proofs, that the use of writing and of paper, employed in Egypt so far back as 1872, B. C., was communicated to the Greeks at least in the tenth or ninth century, B.C.; that learned men made use of this means to transmit their thoughts; lastly, that the fragments preserved in the Greek authors, of the ancient histories of Chaldea, Persia, and India, were extracted from written books, and not derived from oral traditions, which must give to these facts a high degree of historical certainty. 5. The exact monography of the papyrus, and of the manufacture of paper, has led to these general results, which are so important to history. "If they appear," adds the writer, "to my judges and to my readers as well founded as they seem to me after mature examination, they will perhaps a little shake their belief in the paradox that the Greeks did not begin to write till 600 years B.C.-a paradox which, I think, has not a little contributed to give us false ideas of the state of civilisation in Asia before the historical era." VARIETIES. Abolition of Sultees. We have much pleasure in recording the result of the discussion which has been for some time pending before the Privy Council, on a petition forwarded to this country from India against Lord W. Bentinck's order for the abolition of Suttees. Counsel had been heard at length on both sides of the question, and on the 11th July the matter was decided in favour of humanity, and the petition was dismissed. The final blow, we hope, is now struck to the continuance of those cruel heathenish rites. The declared value of the hardware and cutlery exported for the last year from Great Britain to foreign countries was 1,620,6347. Infinitely the greatest portion of this was to the United States of America, its amount having been nearly two-thirds of the total exportation. The exports of all commodities to the United States exceed 8,000,0007. In the year 1794, there were 22,351,000 of waste acres in this country, which, if cultivated and enclosed, would, at 3 rents of 98. per acre only, produce 30,173,8507. worth of corn and other produce. Allow ing that one-third of this land has been enclosed during and since the war-and allowing that one-third was not worth enclosing, the remainder is enough to con vince and satisfy any one that upwards of 10,000,000l. might be derived, say only 6,000,0007. (which is the amount of the poor's-rate for the support of all the paupers in England), from this cultivation of our own wastes-thereby saving this country an equal sum of money in the importation of foreign corn. The annual consumption of wheat in the United Kingdom has been estimated at 12,000,000 quarters, and that of other grain at 36,000,000 quarters; making together 48,000,000, of which not onetwentieth part has, during any year, been imported, and, in general, a far less proportionate quantity. The daily consumption of wheat in the United Kingdom may be taken at 35,000, and of all other grain at 108,000 quarters a day. The total amount paid to the chaplains of gaols, for their services as such, in England and Wales, is 15,6694. 19s. Of the whole number, in one case only (at Ripon) it is performed gratuitously. The chaplain of the House of Correction, Cold Bath-fields, receives 3007. a year; of the New Prison, Clerkenwell, 2007.; of Newgate, 4067. and a house to reside in; of Giltspur-street Compter, 2257.; of the New Debtors' Prison, Whitecross-street, 2627. 10s.; of Tothillfields Bridewell, 150%.; of Horsemonger-lane Gaol, 2007.; of Brixton House of Correction, 2007.; of Guildford House of Correction, 1007.; and of Kingston-upon-Thames House of Correction, 701. a year. Militia. From a Parliamentary Paper just published, it appears that the disem bodied militia of Britain consists of 51,357 privates, 1,332 serjeants and serjeantmajors, and 89 adjutants. The Irish militia consists of 18,725 men, 581 serjeants, and 31 adjutants. The total expense connected with both for the year ending 31st March, 1830, was 169,000Z. In 1831 the expense was 351,000.; the excess consists of 30,000/. for lieutenancy expenses, arising from the balloting that year, and 150,000l. for the expenses of training. Temperature of Whites and Negroes.—In a manuscript memoir of his voyage to Central Africa, presented to the Academy of Sciences by M. Douville, he has mentioned some experiments made in Africa on the difference which exists between the temperature of these two races, according to age, sex, &c. It results from the researches of M. Douville, that the temperature of the negroes is cat. par. much superior to that of the white; that the heat of negresses is greater than that of negroes up to the fifteenth year of their age, but after that period less, but still greater than that of whites; that the negroes diminish in temperature as they grow old; and, finally, that the old negroes have still a higher temperature than the whites. The following simple method of obtaining Tincture of Roses has obtained publicity:-Take the leaves of the common rose (centifolia); place them, without pressing them down, in a bottle; pour some good spirits of wine upon them; close the bottle, and let it stand till required for use. This tincture will keep for years, and yield a perfume little inferior to otto of roses. A few drops of it will suffice to impregnate the atmosphere of a room with a delicious odour. mon vinegar is greatly improved by a very small quantity being added to it. Com TheLiterary Gazette" gives a description of a new machine, invented by Baron Drais, for secret writing, of which the following is an abridgment:-Several sheets of paper are divided into a square of squares, sixteen in breadth and sixteen in length-in all 256; and these are subdivided into smaller squares, twenty-five |