OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 488, 18 March 1881, Page 3

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

[from our own correspondent. .]

Sydney, March 2. We are in the midst of a musical festival after our recent dulness, and as " it never rains but it pours," the theatres are giving exceptionally good value for the public money.

The Austrian Band is the centre of attraction, and is undoubtedly the best military band—and orchestra, too—that has ever visited these shores. It must, however, be heard as an orchestra to be fully appreciated, for the addition of stringed instruments is a vast improvement.—The renderings of the Adagio and Scherzo Litoff's 4th Concerto Symphonique, and Beethoven's symphony in C major (No 1), with Ketten at the pianoforte, were the finest musical treats to be conceived. Outside of the principal opera houses of the world they would scarcely be beaten, if equalled. As a military brass band, the Austrians are imposing, precise and noisy ; and, as the majority of the people are unused to military bands, it is designated as " very brassy " by most amateur critics. The great preponderance of local German, and Austrian productions, upon the programmes, and the rather too constant use of Strauss' compositions (good as they mostly are), can scarcely be said to thoroughly satisfy, time after time, a British audience ; and, therefo. c, as I have intimated, the foreigners create a greater furore as a concert orchestra than they do as a brass band.

Several moonlight concerts have been given, and some semi-moonlight ditto, much to the delight of the " spoonies " of all sections of the community.

Ketten has been very well received, and has just left for Melbourne. His manipulation of the key-board was extraordinary and grand, and, in suitable numbers, the lightning rapidity, precision, and force combined, secured him a perfect ovation.

" Quilp " at the Gaiety, and " Pinafore " at the Royal, draw first rate houses, and deserve them. The cast of the latter is very strong, and includes Armes Beaumont, Verdi, Maggie Moore, J. C. Williamson, etc.; Signor Giorza is conductor.

A citizen nnd merchant of Barrack street is on preliminary trial for the alleged burning down of his warehouse. He had recently insured for £16,000, ami had paid one premium. He was the last person upon the premises about lip m. —an hour before the place was in flames—and was on his way to Wollongong by steamer about half-an-liour after leaving his warehous \ His ostensible reason for goin_r to Wollongong was in connection with the fixing of a safe for a solici or ; but the latter had previously requested the accused not to come down on that account, as he (the solicitor*. would shortly be in town, and would call respecting the safe. . That the accused should nevertheless have gone down,thatthe fire should have burst

out immediately aft-T he had left his warehouse, and that other most suspicious circumstances occurred to connect him with it, will doubtless make a martyr of tlie poor merchant. The Insurance Companies are fair marks for these " martyrs," and require no sym patliy from the maudlin sentimentality of our day.

Your colony has suffered pretty well from the " spontaneous combustion" theory ; and " the harmless, necessary cat " has much to answer for. The fact that poor puss manages generally to set the house on fire, when her owner is well insured, speaks volumes for her sagacity.

The excitements of the hour are— First: That the foundations of our grand, new Town Hall are infamously laid and the building in danger ; and, secondly: the great libel action against the Bulletin brought by a well-known solicitor, damages claimed, £10,000. The jury gave only, £1000— too little, most people think.

With the exception of a recent heavy thunderstorm, we have been without rain, on 1 the water supply is in no better position than in the early part of February ; still, up to the present time, very little instruction has been placed upon the consumption.

The recent serious reverses to the British forces iv Africa form, of course, the prominent topic of conversation, and the general feeling appears to be that the Boers are now doomed to forfeit their independence.

time to escape.