CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 160, 8 July 1874, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

* # We are desirous of affording every reasonable lacility for the discussion of pablic subjects; but it must be understood that we arc in no way responsible tor the opinions expressed by correspqudeata. To TUB EoiTOtt- O - THS EVENING MAIL. . Sia — The least reparation you can make to the imprcssario, artistes, chorus, and orchestra of the Opera Comp&ny, for the undoubted injury doae ttiem, at least for the first four nights ot their week's season in Nelson by" the il judged and unjust attacks against one and all, in the spiteful criticisms which have nightly appeared in your paper will be to do them the justice of inserting the following few words of remonetnnceJu reply to the fhul tnarl. . These few words of reply merely etho the opinion and the expressed feeling of at least niaetcen-twentieths of tho audience', ind tbe same proportion of those mo9t qualified to form a judgment, and whose dissent from the crtiques of a solitiry individual is surely entitled to respect. 1. " The hurry of . their approaching depicture roitde itself too. palpably apparent, .' not only in the shortening of the piece, whi b ; was ruthlessly mutilated, but in the carelessness of the singers." Reply — There was nothing left out which it is not customary to omit in English •Opera, and the performance, including the .intervals, orcupje.t .'three hours, thn ' u«ual time it takes tb play the Daughter of the Regiment, lhe artistes were in excellent voice, and no opera during tiie week was as well sung or aa well playe t as was this. The Bohemian Girl.ca.me in for comparative approbation evidently <les3 for the merit of tbe performance than from the fact that its airs arc more commonly and familiarly known. • ' , 'i. *• A carelessness that extended to the chorus, which was repeatedly and unmistakeably aut of tune." Reply, — It fed* lied to fin^, from among the audierce of three hundred, three persons who will subscribe to this. The chorus was in excellent tune throughout, it was : not the case, however, in the performance of the Bohemian Girl on tho previous night. 3. a The Glorious 21st, represented bf half a dozen ill matched and ill-dri!]ei supers." Rkply. — The few soldiers necessary were represents I not by "supers," but by the ordinary choru«, who in no respect deserve the odious compirison with "Falstaflfs ragged Regiment." 4. "If the performers *- * * * could also contrive to bring with them a bass who acted less like an animated walking stick, a tenor whose voire, especially in its upper notes, was more equal to the demands upon it, a spare drummer as well as a drum, and two or tbrea indispensable wind and stricg instruments, together with people to play them, and would kindly leave their low comedian on the other side of the Straits " Reply.— lf by this it is meant the acting and singing - were alike contemptibly the orchestra meagre, and the instrumentalists inferior, it need only be said that the favor in which the company have been received, not' merely by their Neleon audiences, but aUo in every other town iu which they have so successfully performed, is good proof that invective of thi* kind is altogether superfluous. The little bind U amply Luffieient for the strength of the Company, and togrjther with the very full chorus, has (as is most evident) been carefully selectci, and are equally carefully directed by an able musician ot European reputation. The only remark from which one" cannot dissent is that " We are but a small people, and oupht to be thankful for small mercies." The fprrgoing may be ta<en as the voice of nearly every One op the Audience. [Many of our readers— among whom we venture to count our esteemed correspondent, " One of the Audience,"— will learn with heartfelt pat sfaction that, following the fashion of the times, we have ' dispensed with the services o£ our musical critic. It was, indeed, impossible to retain any longer the services of a writer who was possessed with the insane idea that it was hia duty to report things as they were, and not as they might have been. A man who persistently sacrifles the ideal for the real is clearly unfit for the office of critic. Let "ths unplejsaut past" be forgotten. We promise for the future to bear in mind tho admonition of Jefferson Brick to literalminded Martin Chuzzlewit, " Sir, you must crack us up, we like to be cracked up." Warned by the unfortunate issue of our , rash adventure into the fields of: sobriety and truth, we shall tnke care to employ the pen of some veteran panegyrist, or, better still, of some artiste belonging to the company to be euloghed. It will probably be tatisfaciory to all concerned, and it will certainly save us some trouble, if we make . our musical lions their own painters. Somebody must be saciiflced to the offended manes of the departed artistes* so we hereby throw overboard our misguided critic, wishing him, in - the memorable parting words of the Archbishop to poor]jG<l Blaa^ "All manner of prosperity,— and a little more taste."— Ed. N. E. M. „ To the Editor op this Evening Mail. Sib — Some of the proceedings of our Provincial Executive during the pist fortnight have so surprised me that I am tempted to enquire through your columns whether all I have heard can be true. First, I learn that the long and fnithful services of our gaoler have been rewurded hF his degradation, and; the reduction of his salary to about one-half its old amount. Next, in view of the large increase, in our shipping trade which, as. the result of the adveat to power of our present Executive, is expected shortly to take place, and for which. great preparations have been made financial aod engineering; and in view also of the acknowledged skill with which our chief Pilot and HarborMaster has for so many years performed his difficult and sometimes dangerous duties, that officer has been dismissed, and his place is not to be filled up. Then comes an interlude of f' comic business," and we are told in the Colonist by an enthusiastic " Voice from Golden Bay " of an extraordinary equestrian feat, resulting, so far as I can gather, in a.relief to the province of fome infinitesimal charge for horse-fodder, an examination of the mud-flats at Waitapu by our Treasurer and Solicitor, snd tbe tr ansae tioa at Collingwood of other " business" too -'important" to be more particularly described. Lastly, and worst, Mr Holloway, the delegate of the English working men, has come aLd gone, and no pains whatever have been takea or •« energy " experded in affording him one particle of inforu'ation as to the resources of our province or its capabilities as field for immigration— the golden opportunity, the like or which can in ail probability never decur to us again, has been totally and, wilfully neglected. Now. Sir, there are more ways than one in j which to treat good servants, and the one our Executive have chosen to adopt, though novel, and at first sight inappropriate, may i after all perhaps be the correct one, and i should it eventually turn out to have been a , mistake, or the public service suffer, it is at least capable of being repaired, if not by the ' present Executive, then by their, more 1 judicious successors. As to the silly scamper ! to Collingwood it was but wasted time aod | horseflesh., and so far as the. former is concerned, no one, lam sure, will say it bas beeu • any great loss to the . Province: or. that it ' would have been otherwise.' better employed. I

The neglect, however, of the delegate of the Agricultural Union is absolutely irreparable and inexcusable. lam informed, upon authority which T entirely trust, that Mr Holoway expressed himself before he | went away last night some vhat thup, ? c Your I way of c , om£thm?3he>eat;Nelson Beem9to differ very much irom thit'of the Canterbury and other f ;lk. Mr Rolleaton met me at AshI burton st 8 a m. (and he must hive got up at six to do it), and spent a whole fortnight in taveliing about the country with me; and the Superintendent of Otago travelled 1200 miles with inetosho- me the country. Bere,bowever, I have gone mv own way,, nnd. no ona hia taktn the slightest notice of me." He did not appear in the least vexed, or to care a bit about it, but simply regardel it as a plain indication of ths totalwant of any desire on our part to profit in any way by his visit. ;I now assert that I, and we all, have a clear right to be told authoritatively how much, if any, of this is true, and I say further that if our Provincial Executive, whilst int nt upon its present reduction craze or g«zv g upon the Waitapu ma ..fl it, has dared (o permit Mr Holloway to leave this province. with any auch impression ou his mind as. that above stated, they deserve evtiy one of them to be dismissed irom tbeir posts with shame and disgrace. .. I am, &c, Z. Nelson, 7th July, 1874. t