THE HALIFAX JANUARY 21, 1843. PRESS. No. XXI. Price One Penny. And nmv the time in special is, by privilege, to write and speak what may help to the further dismissing of matters in agitation. The Temple of Janus, with his tw0 ontroversal faces, might now not unsignificantly be set open: and though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to'misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. Her confuting is the best and surest suppressing.— MILTON'S AREOPAGITICA. DESIGNS OF THE HIGH TORIES. An early copy of the forthcoming number of the Church of England Quarterly Review has been for- warded to us by its publisher. We are thus, as it were, invited, or provoked, to an examination of its contents. As the organ of a large and powerful section of the tory party, its propositions and vatici- nations merit attention, as indicative of the objects its party will perseveringly strive to obtain from the legislature and the government. In an article headed " National Retrospects and Prospects," this organ of the high church party sets forth the claims of the churchmen upon the govern- ment they materially assisted to place in office. In placing before the ministry and the parliament, the " reasonable" demands they design to make upon them, the writer reviews the position of the country, and derives from the retrospect motives and argu- ments in furtherance of their claims. The requests, or rather demands, are of the char- acter and extent generally designated " modest," by way of intimating the utter absence of reason in the demandants. They embrace nothing short of state grants ( i. e. money voted by parliament from the general revenue) for " Church Extension," by means of additional churches and clergymen : and for send- ing " Church of England bishops and missionaries to China." Renewed efforts are to be made to obtain grants from parliament for the exclusive use of the church in national education; but this and other minor matters are postponed until those we have enume- rated are secured. If the claimants can obtain the greater, there is little doubt they will easily secure the lesser advantages. " Church Extension" ( printed in the article with capitals, to exhibit its pre- eminent claims on tbe Premier's attention) is urged upon Sir Robert Peel in language which partakes more of threatening than of expostulation or persuasion ; and shows that the extensionists are in earnest in the appeal they intend to make to Parliament for a grant to assist in their cherished object:— " Taking, therefore," says the reviewer, " the low ground of expediency, we contend that the govern- ment must devise some measures to extend the bene- fits of the church to ALL the population. And if the principle be true, that the minority, in all matters of legislation, must submit to the majority, there will be no difficulty in devising a scheme to allow the people of England the privilege of attending public worship. They have a right to expect it, nor can a JUST government refuse it." " And now," the church- extension champions ask, " what will Sir Robert do ?" After a little show of consideration for the premier's " difficulties," a dis- position is shewn toward what, in mercantile lan- guage, is called " giving time" ; and, if " security" be given for payment in full, the amount asked for will be taken by " instalments." The right hon. hart, is, however, plainly told, if he does not give his " promisory notes," payable on demand at given dates, the church will certainly issue a fiat, and break up his concern, as unworthy of credit. " We state our own conviction that Sir R. Peel may be trusted ; and to any persons who may still remember 1829 so strongly as to prevent them from confiding in the prime minister, we would say— Whom will you trust ? Who is to defend the church, and to extend her in- fluence by means of the bounty of the state, if Sir Robert Peel cannot ? Let it be remembered, that we have his pledge for a measure of church extension, 3nd lei us see whether that pledge is redeemed." Church extension to China is thus urged :— " We have sent out a bishop to the Mediterranean, to preside over our various congregations in that quarter of the globe ; we can scarcely refuse to appoint another to China. Indeed, we consider China as far more important; for not only would a bishop watch over the European population, but he would be instrumental in extending the church among the population of that vast empire." * * * " Individuals may attempt as much as they please ; but the church ought'to act systematically, and with energy, and as a church. She must therefore, be encouraged by the state; and that, not merely by its countenance, but by the necessary grants of public money." And still further :— " However effective individual efforts may be in China, we feel sure that no extensive progress will be made in evangelising the people [ of China], until the work is fairly undertaken by tbe church. We would recommend that her majesty's government should forthwith take the question into their most serious consideration ; nor can we for a moment believe that it would not receive all the attention which its import- ance deserves." Bishops and missionaries to evangelize China, " by the necessary grants of public money!" Church extension in England, and even grants for national education by the clergy of the church, may be post- poned, or taken by instalments. But church exten- sion in China, by means of state grants, must be immediately undertaken ! To effect all this, the income tax, we are told, must be retained, and if necessary, perpetuated. The national resources are, it is admitted, in a state of fearful defalcation, and the distress of the people great beyond all former precedent:—" It is true that our assessed taxes have fallen off; our excise duties have sadly diminished; our whole revenue has very far from augmented ; and that distress is to be seen to a fearful extent in our towns and cities." The farmers, we are assured, share in the general distress ; and their labourers are compelled to labour at reduced and inadequate wages :—" Already the alteration in the custom duties upon foreign cattle has done considerable injury to our farmers and graziers, and it is with much difficulty they can pay their way and maintain their credit. Still it is just possible for them to scramble on ; and as the prices of the necessaries of life have fallen, happily for them as well as for others, they may yet get over, but still only by degrees, the varied difficulties by which at present they are oppressed." But the church must have money— more money— much more money— that she may compass sea and land to make proselytes— stretch her arms from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of tbe earth ! To prevent inconvenient remonstrances against the grants which the parliament will be asked to vote for these objects, it is also required that new powers of preventing meetings, speeches, and petitions against the measures of the monopolists of food temporal and food spiritual, should be given to the government, in the shape of gagging bills, and be assumed by the ministry in the form of state prosecutions :— " When we see, as we do at present, the middling and even the upper classes, episcopal clergy and Presbyterian ministers, merchants and manufacturers, heading or promoting, apologising for or defending movements of so rebellious and anti- constitutional a character as those to which we have specifically alluded, we say that one of two results is inevitable— either anarchy must overthrow the government, or the • government must put down anarchy." * * * " The truth with respect to this vast matter must be enforced as well as stated. Either the upper classes— we mean the clergy of England and the ministers of Scotland, the merchants and manufac- turers— must first obey the laws, or be first made to obey them; or the government must abdicate, and unmitigated anarchy succeed. There is no other al- ternative." ' In fact, the whole article teems with bitterness to- ward all who do not conform to the standard raised by this high church organ. Ecclesiastical claims the most presumptuous are urged ; aud powers the most unlimited are required. Bigotry rears its head, and beards Sir Robert Peel with reproaches for his tardi- ness in paying the mighty debt be owes to the church for tbe aid she supplied in raising him to office. The restlessness evinced for a revival of the days when " Six Acts" were in force to repress the expression of public opinion, and ex officio informations were em- ployed to punish fidelity in the organs of public opinion, ought to induce the friends of civil and re- ligious liberty to ascend their watch- towers, lest the enemies of both should avail themselves of their criminal apathy, and teach them the heinousness of their guilt by the consequences in which it may in- volve the interests of the community.— Globe. THE MERITS OF THE GUARDIAN. To the Editors of the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— The claims of the Halifax Guardian to the support of the inhabitants of the " good old town" which it assumes to represent, have often and again been paraded before our eyes, in advertisements, placards, & c. Its local news has been boasted of as superior to that of any other journal; and its pure morality has been vaunted of as constituting it a pre- eminently valuable " family paper." Will you allow me a short space in your columns to bring these boasts to the test of fact ? I will take last week as a specimen. On Monday, the 9th instant, the fortnightly meet- ing of the Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society was held ; and Rev. F. Russell read one of his series of papers on poetry. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Edward Baines, jun., of the Leeds Mercury, delivered a lecture to the members of the Halifax Mechanics' Institution. On the same evening, the Rev. J. Ely, of Leeds, preached in Square Chapel; and a very handsome sum was collected towards reducing the debt upon that place of worship. All these three were public occurrences, and each of considerable interest to certain classes of the com- munity ; yet not one of these events was taken notice of, on Saturday the 14th instant, in the columns of that exquisite local journal, the Halifax Guardian. Surely, gentlemen, these things ought to have had the respect of a passing notice ; even though the Editor had been so oblivious of his duty as to neglect sending a reporter to Bradford, to take notes of the trial of a Clergyman. If the first of the three had been favoured with a few words, aud the other two left unnoticed, some suspicion might have arisen that party politics had a little to do with the matter; but, in this case, there is no ground for a charge of political predilection. If there had been any trifling movement amongst the Wesleyans, it would have been trumpeted forth with wonderous care ; for there seems to be no lack of vigilance when either Wesleyanism, or Toryism, or both united, can be served ; but when it is a mere affair of literature or science, there is obviously no taste for such profitless stupidities. Of the pure morality of the Guardian I will say a few woids, at some other time ; and will now merely refer to the very select advertisements which fre- quently fill a large space in its third page. I am, Gentlemen, Youis & c., INVESTIGATOR, L 2 THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. EXERCISES, REVIEWS, AND ACTION. No. XIV. AN IMPRACTICABLE MAN. When an individual has been earnest aud perseve- ring in uttering truths unpalatable to the existing powers, the endeavour has ever been to silence him or prevent him from obtaining a hearing. Amongst the j methods resorted to, for preventing the author of the Exercises from continuing to be heard iu the House of Commons, has been the cry which has been set up and echoed, that he is " an impracticable- man.'. Ask the parties who give utterance to this, wherein his impracticability exists, and ten to one but the answer is that he is a man w'uo cannot he brought to work with his party. Fortunately, during the two sessions for which he was the representative for Hull, he furnished to his constituents a weekly epitome of the parliamentary proceedings, with a diary of the part he took on every question, and from these we are able to estimate the degree of credence which is to be given to the charge of impracticability. We furnish some extracts from this diary to lay before the readers. " We Radicals shall have cause of complaint enough against ministers, not to want to quarrel with them where it can be helped. If the fact is, that public opinion has made such enormous alteration in the state of things that men are obliged to give their full consent to partial reforms, which a few years ago they would have resisted as monstrous and insuffer-* able, it does seem policy to take advantage of their disposition quietly. It is what your Hull sailors would call, taking in the slack. Because it is the slack, are we not to take it ? My advice therefore is to " take in the slack," and then " heave and pull." Whether it be little or much, it will never be got back again. And we shall not be the worse for it, when the time comes for urging our friends and allies to heave in a little more."— Vol. IV. p. 151, 20 July, 1836. " On the same night, I went with ministers, on the question of paying a further instalment of the Greek loan. I hate Prince Othos ; but I voted against the Russian Ambassador. Let us hope the Greeks will finally get rid of German kinglings ; but in the mean- time they may as well have the remaining ten per cent, of a regime that seems to keep them tolerably quiet for the present. I will at any time go against ministers for a great reason, but not for a little one. If an agreement had been made to oppose them on the first suitable opportunity, unless they conceded the liberty of the press, five and twenty men might have redeemed Israel."— Vol. IV. p. 157, 30 July, 1836. " As I said before, this is one of the bills that is to do a little, and a very little, in the way of reforming the church ; but because it is a little, I felt bound to vote for that little, and so went in the majority of 66 to 38 in favour of ministers."— Vol. IV. p. 163, 10 August, 1836. " We must gain from our enemies what we can ; and when we are stronger we shall gain faster."— Vol. IV. p. 168, 20 August, 1836. " If we are to escape the right way, it is hardly necessary to say it must be by union, moderation, and neither being too hasty nor too slow."— Vol. IV. p. 191, 22 Oct., 1836. " What we cannot have in one way, we must try to take out in another. If we are doomed to have a weight on one side against us, we must make the greater exertions of our own, to put the vessel on an even keel. We must use the power we have, to pare away and throw overboard as many causes of mischief as we can ; and after all, we must exercise the virtue of a quiet and moderate spirit, in comparing what may finally be unpleasant with what it might have cost us to remove it."— Vol. IV. p. 194, 26 Oct. 1836. The foregoing are from the Session of 1836, during which period it will be observed that anxious as he was that the popular cause should progress, he was exceedingly unwilling to embarass the Whig govern- ment. And that much as he might have to lament the tardiness of their movement, so long as they would move, however slowly, his support. was always to be relied on. The extracts which follow are from the Session of 1837, " a Session" which, he says, is " remarkable for the surrender of the Liberal Cause into the power of its enemies," ( Vol. IV. p. 195) for it was in that year that the Whigs so far forgot tbe principles which they had professed, as to attack the Canadians for exercis- ing the right of witholding the supplies; consequently, the. author of the exercises was much more unsparing in his censures, yet even here what numerous in- stances are there of his desire to act with any body and every body who would act rightly. " There is one kind of tactic always in our power ; which is, to help one another. Lord Nelson said to his captains, ' If any of you is ever at a loss about the order of battle, he will never be far wrong if he be alongside of an enemy's ship.' So a Radical mem- ber will never be far wrong, if he is found aiding a brother in an attack upon the common enemy; and this without too nice a regard to the precision of the said brother's movement, or to whether it be exactly what would have been chosen by the assistant if he had had the shaping of it, but with a view to general effects, and losing no opportunity of making an im- pression on the adversary. In short to go along with evervbody when it is possible, and bang back from nobody but where from some special reason it is un- avoidable, appears to be the tactic for us. ' Whoso- ever will be chief among you let himbe yourservant, is a good rule for individuals, parties to such a com- pact. For my part I feel ambition enough to gain what promotion I may, in that line, to make me en- gage to be at every man's back, for all and every purpose to which he may think me capable of co- operating, saving only points ot conscience, which of course are always excepted."— Vol. IV. p. 199,4. Fe4., 1837. " Mr. Roebuck was supported on division by 6 against 166 ; but as tbe committee reverted to the old system of concealment, I cannot say more towards giving you the names of the six, than that I remem- ber going across the House to Mr. Hume, when he was sitting by himself."— Vol. IV. p. 249, 22 April, 1837. " Lord W. Bentinck moved for a committee to en- quire into the practicability of effecting a steam communication with India by the Red Sea ; and as, in the conjoint ratio of acquaintance with the country and with tbe people, I have probably had as great opportunities as any member in the House except Mr. Buckingham, I thought I could not help offering to serve. And you know, that when I profess to attend a committee, I work."— Vol. IV. p. 278, 14 June, 1837.. When he was no longer in the House, he still furnished innumerable instances of his practical wis- dom. From amongst many such, take the following. " Who is there here that ever worked with buffling wind into Gibraltar Bay ? You went before tbe wind when it was favourable, and when it was not you did the best you could to hold your own ; if you could not gain on one tack, you tried another, and so went on till by God's blessing you got into port ( cheers). Just so you must do here,— gain all you can, and above all things make a stout resistance to any diminution of the privileges you have already." Vol. IV. p. 320. 15 Oct., 1838. " Suppose an endeavour is made to form a new ministry on the principle of carrying some great popular privileges— it will be for you to support such ministers, and keep them to the point. We must act like the mariner who, with a shifting wind, runs before it when he is able, and holds his own in the best way he can when it is against him. With few excep tions, it is by a little at a time that public liberties can be gained. When we obtain the inch we must go for the ell; and if we and our associates in the country hold together on the plan I have proposed, I am much mistaken if we do not get both the inch and the ell. The absence of such a party in the House of Commons as I have described has been what has brought things to the present pass ; and whenever the exertions of the Radicals in the constituencies can raise up such a one and carry it to a certain strength, do you not see that a time must come when a govern- ment will be formed in dependence on the support of this party as an element, and so it will hold the power of enforcing the progress of the popular cause ? What we want is a party which will go against any minister that utters tbe word ' Finality'." Vol. IV. p. 357. 17 May, 1839. " And now do me the justice to remember, come what will, that I was not one of ' the dumb dogs that cannot bark' who never opened their mouths in the way of warning to you while these things were going on,— still less of those that took a pudding as the price of keeping their mouths close shut. The ' dumb dogs ' who were so eager to prevent me from standing on the vantage ground of parliament, knew well what they were about, and so do you. But like an honest sentry, though I cannot put an order into tbe book, I can fire off my piece, be it small or great, that at all events you may have the chance of knowing that something is going on upon your front." Vol. V. p. 207. 13 Oct., 1840. " They will close with any body who will give them present strength, for the sake of what they may be enabled to add to it afterwards. " This is the way hitherto all parties hove from weak become strong ; and not by declaring that they will have what they want, and all they want, and as the means to it will take nothing by the way. This might do for a party which is either very powerful by itself, or which sees the certainty of being joined by other parties to the full extent of its wishes. But it would be hard to prove that the party of the people whose complaint is that it is without political power and wishes to get it, is in either of these situations. Vol. VI. p. 143. 18 Feb., 1841. " As there is no use in asking adversaries to bore us a hole to let us out of prison, we must try to bore one for ourselves. I would suggest therefore for consideration, whether the effective way would not be to begin at once, to work at all elections, for a man of our own where any chance can be by union or otherwise be had, and where it cannot, against the man of the partv that is in power." Vol. VI. p.\ h0. 15 Feb. 1841. When taunted with advocating the repeal of the Corn Laws to the neglect of other reforms, he reca- pitulated his labours in other fields. " On questions of Religions Liberty, I had been as outspoken as anybody. On Currency, Banking, Poor- Law, Tithes, National Debt, and the folly of either attempting to bring it up or thinking to recover it by refusing to pay the interest, Colonies, Absen- teeism, Slavery, Ballot, Greatest- Happiness Principle in Morals, Law and Politics, a Constitution what it is, Adjustment of the House of Peers, Propriety of a Foreign Monarch having succession or authority with • in this realm, Representative System, Taxation Permanent sitting of Parliament, Causes of Public Distress, I had attempted at all events to take a side. And besides these, there is hardly a question ot the kind that came ordinarily before the House of Com- mons on which I had not endeavoured in one direc- tion or the other to work an oar. So that on the whole I might make a stout defence, if supposed to have designedly buried any talent I might be found guilty of possessing, in the napkin of the Corn Laws Vol. VI. p. 210, 18 March, 1841. He also showed that he had elucidated the question of Machinery, and laboured for the extension of the Suffrage, Amongst the charges of his impracticability, it was said previous to his election for Hull, that he was the sort of man who would never go to the House of Commons once a week, and it turned out that he was one of three who had attended the greatest number of divisions as was set forth in a tabular form in the Spectator at the end of the Session of 1837, and the same man who was not to attend once a week gave a regular account of the proceedings of the house twice a week to his constituents, and after he was expelled for that, wrote twelve letters a week to the provincial press, being double the work of the writers of the leading article for the daily papers. Even now in this inclement season he is sacrificing his domestic comfort, and is travelling in Scotland, stirring up to vigorous action the inhabitants of that part of the island against the iniquitous Hunger- Law. Verily lie is An Impracticable Man ! AN ADJUTANT. GERMAN MUSIC. The praiseworthy exertions of Mr. Oestreicher, in the good cause of promoting the general practice of Vocal Music, have naturally led our townsmen to pay some attention to the exquisite music of that gentle- man's " father- land," Germany. In endeavouring to advance, as much as may lie in our power, the same object, we avail ourselves, with much pleasure, of the reports, given in the Manchester Guardian, of a course of lectures on the German School of Music, delivered in that town by Professor Edward Taylor. We ate sure that these abstracts will be read with gratification, by many of our readers ; and we now lay before them an outline of the first lecture; pre- mising that the remainder shall appear in successive numbers, until completed. In the illustrations to these lectures, Mr. Taylor was assisted by a vocal party, consisting of Messrs. Barlow, Walton, and Sheldrick ; Miss Leach, Mrs. H. Andrews, Miss Andrews, and Miss Shankland j Mr. Richard Andrews accompanying the pieces on tlie piano or seraphine, as their secular or sacred charac- ter required. In his introductory'observations, Mr. Taylor said, that Germany, which he called emphatically " the land of music," and which he said was now consider- ably in advance not only of Italy, but of every other European nation iu music, had attained this position in comparatively recent times. While we possessed very good collections of the music of Italy and Flanders, from the 16th century to the present time, it would be in vain to search our public or private libraries for the early compositions of the German school. Any one seeking to become acquainted with them must repair to Germany, and travel from city Jo city, from library to library, and from publisher to publisher ; and then, if able to devote the requisite time and expense to his object, he would receive every assistance ; the musical wealth of the German libraries being only exceeded by the order in which they are kept, the facilities afforded, and the unvarv- ing courtesy with which a stranger is treated, Mr. Taylor then noticed the external influences which controlled and hindered the early progress of music in Germany, while it was flourishing in Italy, — amongst which were the social condition of the German people of that early age, their government, and their long, frequent, and bloody wars. Iu Germany, like Italy, the form in which scientifically constructed music first appeared was vocal harmony : compositions for the church or for social recreation, written in parts, and sung by unaccompanied voices, were the primary results of theoretical knowledge. Uuder the circumstances referred to, Mr. Taylor said his examination of the music of Germany would com- mence with the close of the fifteenth century, when the reformation ( then convulsing the empire) con- tributed to impart a national character to its music. Luther manifested no i n t e n t i o n to sever, but r a t h er sought to extend, the connection of music with the public services of religion, observing in his letter to THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. 3 Senfelius of Zurich, " I am quite of opinion, and am not ashamed to assert, that, after theology, there is no art which can be compared with music." His object was to render music a part of the services of the church in which all Christian worshippers could join, instead of restricting its performance to a separate choir. This implied a simple form and einploymentof music in the church, and also a certain degree of musical proficiency amongst all its mem- bers ; and, in the services of the Lutheran church, both these objects have been attained. The music, and sometimes the poetry, of his hymns, Luther derived at first from Bohemia. The followers of John Huss, and of Jerome of Prague, were accus- tomed to sing hymns in their public devotional exercises; and these were partly adopted by Luther and his disciples, who also made them the models of new and original compositions. The origin of the Moravian hymns was involved in hopeless obscurity. Apparently they were handed down by tradition, till reduced to notation by Luther and his adherents, who arranged them in regular and correct harmony. As specimens of this class of music ( the effect of which, according to contempo- rary historians, surpassed all belief or expectation), two hymns would now be sung, extracted from a curious volume found by himself ( Mr. Taylor) in one of the public libraries of Germany. The first was called " The morning hymn of the Bohemian brethren;" its date, the latter part of the 15th century; and the words of this and all the other compositions originally in German, he had endeavoured to render in English. The choir then sang this hymn, commencing " Ye works of God," the style of which, as Mr. Taylor described it, was of a rigid and severe character. The next example was the evening hymn of the same sect, of which the style was more regular, and there fore was more pleasing. The hymn, commencing " Now twilight's gradual veil," was then sung. Luther, not content with borrowing from Bohemia, supplied his church with many new and original psalm tunes; his principal musical coadjutor being John Werther, who was born about the year 1500, and though not a professed musician, had a con- siderable knowledge of the art; and Luther ( bis old college friend) sought his assistance in framing his form of public worship. Walther was at once a poet, scholar, and musician; and the hymns, of which Luther supplied both the poetry and melody, he was accustomed to commit to Walther's revision ; leaving to him the addition ofthe accompanying harmonies. This was the birth of protestant psalmody : the psalms of Luther and Werther being the models of those of most if not all the versions in the Church of England and the Scottish Church; and the psalms and hymns of Watts, Doddridge, Barbauld, and the other eminent sacred poets, amongst the dissenters. Some of the Lutheran hymns were borrowed from the catholic church, and the melody of the next illustration ( attributed to St. Ambrose) was originally applied to a catholic hymn beginning " Vent redemp- tor gentium:" a majestic simplicity pervaded its Lutheran version. The hymn " Praise ye the great Jehovah" was then sung. In catholic Germany, music received an impulse from another source. The cathedral choirs comprised all the polished singers of the time; for the church was then not only the best but the only vocal school; and of the new style then introduced into the cathedral s: rvices we could trace the similitude in the noble services and anthems of our own cathedrals. This impulse was but partially felt in Germany previous to the reformation ; the only effective exertions of this kind being made at Vienna and Munich, whither the sovereigns of Austria and Bavaria, invited the Flemish masters of the highest eminence to settle. The court of Albert, Duke of Bavaria at Munich, became the residence of Orlando di Lasso, the most eminent of the Flemish musicians ; and the following portion of one of his masses was scored from a rare and valuable collection of them in the Gresham library. The choir sang a Kyrie and Sanctus. As one of the founders of the German school of music Mr. Taylor also gave di Lasso's madrigal, " Ye nightingales." From the church music Mr. Taylor passed to a notice of the social, domestic, and festive music of Germany. Becker, organist of St. Michael's, Leipsic, in his work " House music in Germany, during the ICth and 17th centuries," furnished many interesting examplesof this classof compositions. He complained that German musical historians had confined them- selves to music for public display ; neglecting the " voiles lieder," or songs of the people ; which existed from a very early period in Germaty, and many of which had been adopted into the ritual, aild connected with the services, of the Lutheran church. Some of these songs appeared at Nuremberg as early as 1540, entitled, " Good songs, new and old, written after the true German fashion ; and designed to promote good fellowship and good humour." The first illus- tration taken from these interesting relics was the production of a composer named Lemlin ; its subject, the return of spring, and the song of the cuckoo ; affording a curious coincidence, in subject and con- struction, with the earliest specimen of English vocal harmony in known existence,— which, however, was of a remoter date than the German song. The part- song," When April leadeth in the spring," was given by five voices, the tenor taking the melody, and the fifth voice imitating the cuckoo at intervals. Mr. Taylor related a very interesting anecdote of Luther, Melancthon, and their contemporaries, en- joying part- singing at the house of the great reformer. The next example, from a collection which Luther possessed and used, was by Heintz. The singers gave this piece, " When night is ours." The next illus- tration was the production of Henry Isaac, who was invited to Florence by Lorenzo di Medici; and though generally deemed a Fleming, this composition proved him a German, being his farewell to Inspruck, which he called his " native city." " Inspruck, thy walls deserting," was then sung. The next was of a date rather more recent; the subject pastoral and the words madrigalian, though up to this time the Ger- mans possessed no composition called a madrigal. It was the work of Paul Hofheimer, of whom little was now known.— The vocal party gave this piece, " Sweet heart, be kind," which closed the lecture. { To be continued.) SELF- SUPPORTING AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS.— Reply of the master to inquiries respecting his school at Willingdon, near East Bourne, Sussex :—" I have twenty scholars, to whom I teach reading, writing, and accounts, the church catechism, the collects, and psalmody, on the national plan, with the approbation of the vicar, without any salary, for one penny per week from each boy, from nine to twelve o'clock ; and from two till five in the afternoon, cultivating the land. I have not lost one from dissatisfaction, but I am glad to say they willingly assist me. And the Rev. Julius Nouaillie, of Pevensey, who recorn^ mended me, has applied to me for a master to take a school there of the same kind, for which he has obtained the bishop and vicar's consent, and a great farmer has willingly agreed to give up four acres of land for it. I am satisfied that I can keep two cows on the same quantity of ground, stall fed, where I could keep but one if allowed to graze. I have no grass land, and all the first winter my cows had only straw, turnips, and mangel wurzel, till green food came on in the spring, and now my hay is the clover I sowed with the grain crop last year. I have ex- perienced a great deal of good from the two tanks, one from the cows and the other from the pigs. I have just killed apig weighing 29stone seven pounds, and one before about the same weight, which I have used in my family. I have a wife and four children, and a pupil of 13 years of age, come to learn the plan of stall- feeding cows and spade husbandry, paid for by Mrs. Parry, of the Cedars, Sunning Hill, Berk- shire. It is allowed that my oats are the best sample in the parish. I tied my oats in sheaves, and set them up the same as wheat, which saves a great deal of shattering; this is the general practice in Corn- wall and Scotland, and, I hear, in some parts of Kent, and is particularly useful for barley to malt. I thrash my corn over the cow- house, as in Cornwall, Switzer- land, & c. which keeps it perfectly dry, being off from tbe damp ground. I am entirely supplied with water by the rain which falls on the house preserved in a tank. The quantity of land I rent is five acres, on the side of South Downs, at £ 3 an acre ; this, with £ 10 for my house, makes £ 25, which I haye paid for the year ending Michaelmas last. I have now three cows, a heifer, and calf, standing opposite to each other, with a road between their mangers for feeding the3e stall- fed cattle, which have never needed a farrier ; and from skim- milk I have made cheese like the Dutch cheese, of which one vessel the Ouze, last year, imported so much, that the duty for it paid at Newhaven, amounted to four thousand pounds. I remain, & c. George Cruttenden."— These are facts worthy the consideration of estated gentlemen. An educated peasantry— educated, too, in their especial vocation, and without cost!— At/ ienceum. HONOUR.— A soldier being sent by the celebrated Vauban for the purpose of examining one of the enemy's posts, remained - for a considerable time ex- posed to their fire, and at length received a ball in his body. He returned to give an account of what he had observed, and did so with the greatest possible tranquillity of manner and aspect, although the blood was flowing abundantly from his wound. M. de Vauban praised him for his courage, and offered him a sum of money. No ; general," replied the soldier, refusing to accept it, " it would spoil the credit of the action." POETRY. SELECTED. THE PRESS. BY JAMES MONTGOMERY. " The Press! What is the Press ?" I cried; When thus & wondrous voice replied " In me all human knowledge dwells. The oracle of oracles, Past, present, future, I reveal, Or in oblivious silence seal. What I preserve can perish never. What I forego is lost for ever. I speak all languages. By me The deaf may hear, the blind may see, The dumb converse, the dead of old Communion" with the living hold. All lands are one beneath my rule; All nations learners in my school; Men of all ages, every where, Become contemporaries there. What is the Press ? ' Tis what the tongue Was to the world when time was young; When, by tradition, sire to son Conveyed whate'er was known or donet But fact and fiction were so mixed, Their boundaries never could be fixed. What is the Press ? ' Tis that which taught, By hieroglyphic forms of thought,. Lore, from the vulgar proudly hid, Like treasures in a pyramid: For knowledge then was mystery,— A captive under lock and key, By priests and princes held in thrall; Of little use, or none at all, ' Till the redoubted alphabet Free their own great deliverer set-; At whose command, by simplest spells, They work their mental miracles. What is the Press ? ' Tis what the pen Was, thrice ten centuries, to men; When sybil- leaves lent wings to words j Or, caged in books, they sang like birds. But slow the pen, and frail the page :— To write twelve folios asked an age ; And a pet babe, in sport, might spoil The fruits of twenty authors' toil. A power was wanting to insure Life to works worthy to endure :—. A power the race to multiply Of intellectual polypi It came, all hardships to redress ; And Truth and Virtue hailed the Press., What am I, then ? I am a power Years cannot waste nor flames devour,. Nor waters drawn,. nor tyrants bind. I am the mirror of man's mind; In whose serene, impassive face What cannot die on earth you trace;—. Not phantom shapes that come and fiy; But like thecconcave of the sky, In which the stars, by night and day. Seen or unseen, hold on their way. Then, think me not the lifeless frame Which bears my honourable name. Nor dwell I in the arm whose swing Intelligence from blocks can wring ; Nor in , the hand whose fingers fine The cunning characters combine; Nor even the cogitative brain, Whose cells the germs of thought contain, Which that quick hand in letters sows. Like dibbled wheat, in lineal rows; And that strong arm, like autumn sheaves, Reaps, and binds up, in gathered leaves. The harvest- home of learned toil, From that dead frame's well cultured soil. I am not onet: nor all, of these. They are my types and images,— The instruments with which I work. In them no secret virtues work. I am an omnipresent soul: — I live and move throughout the whole> And thence, with freedom unconfined, As universal as the wind, ( Whose source and isfues are unknown, Felt in its airy flight alone, All life supplying with its breath,, And, when ' its gone, involving death,) I quicken souls from nature's sloth, Fashion their forms, sustain their growth ?; And, when my influence fails or flies, Matter may live, but spirit dies. Myself withdrawn from mortal sight, I am invisible as light,— Light which, revealing all beside, Itself within itself can hide. The things of darkness I make bare ; And, no where seen, am every where. All that philosophy has sought, Science discovered, genius wrought; All that reflective memory stores, Or rich imagination pours; All that the wit of man conceives; All that he wishes, hopes, believes ; All that he loves, or fears, or hates;, All that to heaven and earth relates ;— These are the lessons that I teach, By speaking silence,— silent speech. Ah ! Who like me can bless or curse ? What can be better, what be worse, Than language framed for paradise; Or sold to infamy arid vice ? Blest be the man by whom I bless; Accursed he who wrongs the Press,— The reprobate in prose or song, Who wields the power of right for wrongs Wrong, to outlast his laurelled tomb, And haunt the earth till crack of doom*", • 4* THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. OUR SCRAP BOOK. " A tiling of Shreds and Patches." NEW ANTIDOTE TO CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE,— The results of some chytnical experiments of M. Mialhe have informed him that the hydrated pro- tosulphuret of iron, a perfectly inert body, possesses the valuable property of instantly decomposing corro- sive sublimate, forming protochloride of iron and bisulphuret of mercury, two substances perfectly harmless— a property which has caused him to an- nounce that the hydrated protosulphuret of iron in par excellence, the antidote to this terrible poison. When the most minute portion of corrosive sublimate is introduced into the mouth, an insupportable and characteristic metallic taste is instantly perceived ; it is simply necessary to rinse the mouth for a few seconds with the sulphuret of iron, when the mer- curial taste disappears as if by enchantment. The hydrated protosulphuret of iron may be formed by adding to a solution of sulphate of iron ( green vitriol) a solution of bihvdrosulphuret of ammonia, until no further precipitate is formed, collecting the pre- cipitate on a filter, and washing to free from excess of precipitant. It should be prepared as wanted, since by exposure to the atmosphere gradual decom position ensues, with formation of peroxide of iron.— Annals of Chymistrg and Practical Pharmacy. PRICES OF WHEAT IN THE DEARTH OF 1757.— In Anderson's " Origin of Commerce," he states that 3s. 6d. per bushel, or 28s. per quarter, was deemed a low or cheap price for wheat, and 5s. a bushel or 40s. a quarter a medium price ; and lie gives the prices of wheat in Mark Lane in every month of 1757 ; viz. in January, 49s. to 50s.; February, 47s. to 51s.; March, 46s. to 54s.; April and May, 64s.; June, 67s. to 72s.; July, 58s.; August, 34s. ; September, 48s.; October, 46s. 6d.; November and December, 42s. He adds, that, for the remedying of this sore evil, many ex- pedients were debated both within and without doors, which at last produced the statutes of the 30th Geo. II prohibiting for a time the export of corn, malt, meal, flour, beef, pork, bacon, & c. from America, unless to Great Britain and Ireland, in neutral ships ; prohibiting the making of low tvines and spirits from • wheat, barley, malt, Sic. or from any meal or flour. By an act of 31st Geo. II. these statutes were pro- longed to December, 1758. The assize of bread was also regulated by statute ; and, by another act of 31st Geo. II. salt beef, pork, and butter were permitted to be imported into Great Britain from Ireland for six months, on payment of the duties of Is. 3d. per cwt. on the beef and pork, and 4d. per cwt. on the butter ; but these duties were altered in the following session to 3s. 4d. per barrel for salted beef, pork, or butter. " PEEL " TURNED " DROVER."— A Scotch drorer being met by a herd on the Carter Fells, as he returned home from Newcastle fair, was asked, with the eager curiosity that belongs to mountaineers, what kind of a fair he had had. " On, a dull fair and bad prices. There's ane Peel, they say, has ta'eu up the trade, and is bringing sae monv beasts ower the seas at little money, that he's dinging doun the prices, and our jobbers ha nae chance wi' him." JOHN WILKES.— One evening when the House of Commons was going to adjourn, he begged permission to make a speech. " For," said he, " I have sent a copy to the Public Advertiser, and how ridiculous should I appear if it were published without having been delivered." TAXES IN CHINA.— The great part of the taxes in China are paid in commodities. Those who breed silk worms pay their taxes in silk, the husbandman in grain, and the gardener in fruits. This mode of imposing taxes is far from detrimental to the govern- ment or the people, as in every province there are in its service numbers of mandarins, officers, soldiers, and pensioners of different kinds, who are furnished with every necessary of food and clothing, so that the articles levied as taxes are nearly all consumed in those provinces in which they are levied. If anything remains it is sold on account of the Emperor, and the amount paid in to the imperial treasury. The taxes paid in money arise principally from the sale of of salt which belongs exclusively to the Emperor from the duties paid by vessels on entering any of the ports— from the customs and other imports on various branches of manufactueres. These excepted the trader pays little to the exigencies of the state and the mechanic still less. The weight of the per- manent and personal taxes, therefore, falls on the husbandman.— London paper. AFFABILITY.— In order to repder ourselves amiable in society we should correct every appearance of harshness in our behaviour, which springs not so much from studied politeness as from a mild and gentle heart. Our manners ought to be simple and natural, and of course they will be engaging.— Dr. Blair. STRONG SYMPATHY IN THE DOG.— An interesting instance of this feeling in the canine species, the authenticity of which may be relied on, lately took place— or rather is still proceeding— at invergeldie, large sheep- fann on the estate of Lawers, near Comrie, Perthshire. The overseer became severely indisposed ; and, for the first ten days after their master had taken to bed, his two faithful collies re fused to be comforted, mournfully declining all sorts of food,— nay, even milk warm from the cow, at last pressed upon them by the. domestics. At length thei case became so serious,— for they were otherwise valuable dogs,— that the overseer's mother was pre vaiied upon to inform her sick son, though at the time very low, of the circumstance ; begging of him as a dernier resort, to try what effect his own word would still have upon the mute mourners. By an effort be succeeded, in a weak voice, to name his favourites, pointing at the same time to some, food placed at hand for the trial. This gentle command since ( as if it were still repeated to them, which it is not likely ever to be again) continued to take as much as supports life ; but once every day at least, and oftener if opportunity offer, they glide together into the room where the sick man is, slip stealthily to the bedside, raise their fore paws upon the bed clothes, and in this attitude continue together for some time to gaze intently on the pallid features of their now unconscious master, and then droopingly retire out of the room .— Perth paper. INCREASE OF POPULATION.— In 40 yeats, from 1801 to 1841, our numbers have grown, in England and Wales aione, from 8,872,980 to 15,911,725, being an increase of 7,038,754, or within a very small fraction of two per cent, annually, calculated upon the. population of 1801. During this time we have been sending forth emigrants by tens of thousands to our various colonies. This rate of increase is far greater than has been made in France during the same time, as will be perceived by the following table .:— trln,. Increase per cent. * ranee. Engiand, France. 27,349,003 30,461,875 •••• 360!) •••• 11.38 32,569,223 ••• 16.01 •••• 6.91 34,194,875 •••• 14.49 •••• 4.99 A TOUCH OF THE SUBLIME.— A provincial paper describing a " find" by the Newby Bridge hounds, thus speaks of that pack :—" The musical discord of their sweet thunders reiterated through the vaults of heaven, til! hill, dale, and valley re- echoed the sound." What next ? It is the delight of poetry to combine and associate ; of philosophy to separate and distinguish. The one resembles a skilful anatomist, who lays open every thing that occurs, and examines the smallest parti- culars of its make; the other, a judicious painter, who conceals what would offend the eye, and em- bellishes every subject he undertakes to represent.— Robert Hall. England and Wales. 1801 .... 8,872,980 •• 1821 .... 11,978,875 •• 1831 .... 13,897,187 •• 1841 •••. 15,911,725 The progress in England, so great when1 compared with another European kingdom, assumes a different character when contrasted with the progress of the United States of America. There, the population in 1800, was 5,305,925, and in 1840, had reached 17,062,566, being an increase of 221 § per cent.; more than 5f per cent, per annum. PORSON.— I well remember the frequent, evening visits of Professor Porson to Dr. Milner's study. He used to sit in the right- hand corner of the well- curtained sofa, by the fire ; and his habits being but too well known, lie was always, without any order given to that effect, accommodated by the servant in attendance with a jug of malt liquor, that being the beverage which be was understood to prefer.— Life of Dean Milner.. CHINESE SAILORS.— All the seaports of China swarm with Ho kien- lang, who are the soul of every trade and enterprise. It is needless to dwell on their skill in navigation. If they were disciplined after the European manner, and had ships like our om they would very soon sail round the Cape of Good Hope, or go in search of the dollar country. We have been a passenger on board a brig which a Ho kien- lang was the commander, whotook observations of the sun, and was by no means a bad sailor. If government would grant them permission they would doubtles improve upon their vessels ; yet they are strictly confined to the model of a shoe ! and wo unto liirn who changes the fashion ! If, by mischance, the vessels built in Siaui and in other ports deviate a little from this form, they have to pay a very high duty as soon as they make their appearance in any Chinese port, and would be prohibited from entering the northern ones . — The Missionary Gutzlaff. AN INTERRUPTION.— Coleridge relates, " It is not easy to put me out of countenance, or interrupt the feeling of the time by mere external noise or circum- stance ; yet once I was thoroughly done up. I was reciting, at a particular house, ' The Remorse,' and was in the midst of Atliadra's description of the death of her husband, when a scrubby hoy, with a shining face set in dirt, burst open the door, and cried out—' Please, ma'am, master says, will you ha, or will you not ha,' the pin round ?' " REMEDY AGAINST THE EVIL EFFECTS OF VITRIOL. — Mr. J. Sheeliy, of Killarnev, in a letter to the Cork Reporter, alluding to a case of vitriol throwing, states that if Mr. Wilson, who lost his eye on the oc casion, had procured " a little soda or potash, which would readily dissolve in water, or some soapboiler'; fresh lees, and applied" it, or washed with the. solution wherever the vitriol appeared, no injury whatever would have occurred to his eyes, or any part of his person or his clothes." The writer adds, that he has saved many of his workmen from the evil effects of vitriol accidents, who would have been most severely injured but for the application of the alkaline solution which prevents pain, burn, or mark of any kind. THE BRITISH NAVY consists of 234 vessels of all sorts, mounting in the whole 3,890 guns, which is about 670 guns less than last New Year's- day, and consequently there are about 7,000 seamen fewer in employ. It appears there are 18 sea- going line- of- battle ships, being seven less than last year; 32 frigates, five less than last year ; 39 sloops, one less 36 smaller vessels, 19 less than last year; 64 steam ers, four additional; 21 surveying- vessels ; 10- troop ships; and 10 receiving. ships. Our force at home comprises 604 guns ; packets 46; Mediterranean 1,035 ; Brazils, 403 ; East Indies, 886 ; North America and West Indies, 476, Cape and Coast of Africa, 309 ; surveying, 93 ; troop- ships, 56. THE SALE OF AMERICAN PROVISIONS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED.— Much has been done by the press and by fa'se reports to prejudice the public mind against the provisions recently imported from Canada and the United States. There is no doubt but the cheese, beef, bacon, hams, lard, tongues, & c. are ex cellent; and, if any protection is due, it . should be afforded to this infant speculation. Ought not th free traders in every town to encourage the sale of these provisions, either by opening shops, or becom- ing customers to those who have already done so ?— The Struggle, REPUTATION.— The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to be.— Socrates. CIGARS AS LIFE PRESERVERS.— In Havana, an American gentleman was stopped by a cigar smoker at midnight, and asked for a light. The Habanero was long in igniting his principe, and inhaled his breath till the two cigars' ends gleamed fiercely, while by the ruddy light, each surveyed the other's face. " Pass on," said Habanero, " Your cigar has OUR CHATTER BOX. MR. OESTREICHER.— In answer to the inquiry of X Y. Z. we are unable to state what was the amount of the proceeds of the late tea- party ; but we can say that Mr. Oestreicher has not received, and will not eceive, any portion of the money. We believe that the surplus, if any, after defraying the cost of the presentation volumes, the rent of the room, the placards, tickets, doorkeepers, and theotherexpenses of the evening, will be appropriated to the liquidation of some of the obligations incurred by the Association for the Encouragement of Vocal Music, in the prosecution of their very laudable object. We have received a long article, in rhyme, from W. occasioned by our treatment of his last article. We are unable to give it insertion this week, but will look it over against our next number. An answer to Sir Hillary's charade, in our four- teenth number, has reached us, and shall have due attention in our next. ADVERTISEMENTS. HALIFAX MECHANICS' INSTITUTION.— The Members and Friends of the Institution are respectfully informed that a Lecture on the GEOGRAPHICAL WORKS CONTAINED IN THE LIBRARY OF THE INSTITUTION, will be delivered in the Old Assembly Room, on Wednesday Evening, Jan. 25,1843, by the Rev. W. Turner, A. M., Honorary Vice- President of the Institution. The Lecture to commence at Eight o'clock. Members admitted on showing their Tickets, and Non- Subscribers on payment of Sixpence. Ladies' Tickets, ad- mitting them to all the Lectures for the year, Four Saillings each. W. MATHER, ( late Lowe,) Tailor & Woollen Draper, begs leave most respectfully to inform his Friends and the Public, that he has TAKEN THE SHOP lately occupied by Mr. Bennett, Tobacconist, ( next door to Mr. Roper's,) Hall End, as being more convenient for his Friends and Customers j and hopes, by strict attention to their commands, to merit a con- tinuance of their favours. Halifax, Jan. 16th, 1843. SINGING CLASSES.— The Association for the Encourage, ment of Vocal Music are happy to inform the Inhabitants of Halifax and its neighbourhood, that they have been enabled to make arrangements for retaining the services of Mr. OESTREICHER for one year at least in connexion with their Singing Classes; and that the operations of the Classes will be resumed on the 16th of January, according to the follow- ing arrangements:— A Ladies' Class every Tuesday Morning, in the Music Room, Harrison Road, from Half- past Ten till Twelve— Terms 7s. 6d. per Quarter. A Gentlemen's Class every Tuesday Evening, in the same Room, from Six till Half- past Seven— Terms7s. 6d. perQuarter. A Ladies'Class every Wednesday Evening, In the same Room, from Six till Half- past Seven.— Terms 4s. per Quarter. A General Class every Friday Evening, in the Odd Fellows' Hall, from Eight till Half- past Nine Terms, Front Seats 4s.; Back Seats 2a. per Quarter. Sunday Scholars may obtain Tickets for this Classat Is. per Quarter, butmustattend under proper super- intendence. Third Class Members of the Mechanics' Insti- tution will be admitted on the same terms. At themeetings of this Class, Visitors will be admitted on payment of 6d. or 5s. for an Annual Ticket, A Ladies' Class will meet in the Music Room, Harrison Road, every Monday Evening, from Half- past Six till Eight; and a Gentlemen's Class, the same Evenings, from Eight till Half- past Nine. These Classes will consist principally of Sunday School Teachers connected with the Church; and will chiefly practice Chants, Anthems, Psalms, and other Church Music. The Class usuaily meet, ing in Harrison Road Si'hool Room, will, in future, meet in the Musie Room, every Wednesday Evening, from Half- past Seven till Half- past Nine. A Select Private Class is in eourse of formation,— to meet every Monday Morning, from Half- past Ten till Twelve, in the Music Room. A Class of Youths under Fifteen Years of Age, will meet every Monday After- noon, from Half- past Two till Four, in the same Room ; and a Class for Young Ladies under the same Age, from Five till Half- past Six. Tickets for the respective Classes may be had of Mr. Oestreicher, at his Music Room, Harrison Road, from Nine to Ten, A. M„ and from Two to Three, P. M. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; or at his residence, 16, Aked's Road, where also terms tor Private Lessons may be obtained. had its effect: the dogs at once obeyed, and have' saved your life You're not the man I took you for THE GERMAN LANGUAGE— Mr. Oestreicher respectfully announces to his Pupils, his Friends, and the Public generally, that he purposes re- commencing his Course of Private Instruction in German, at his Residence, 16, Aked's. Road, Oil the 23rd Instant. At the request of several Gentle- men, he is making preparation for the formation of Two Classes in German; the flrstis intended to be a select Class, to which no Gentleman can be admitted without the appro, bation of the members whose names have been previously entered. The Second Class is intended to he more numer- ous, and to consist of Gentlemen whose avocations will allow them to attend from Six till Half- past Seven on the Saturday Evening- These Classes will meet at his Musical Class Room, Harrison Road. Mr. O. begs to add that the improve, ments in the mode of Instruction he has adopted will, he hopes, facilitate the acquisition of the Language, and ensure a progress unattainable by the common modes of Teaching. Terms for the Select Class, One Guinea per Quarter; Do. for the 2nd ditto, 10s. 6d. per Quarter. Terms for Private Instruction, and further Information respecting the Classes, may be known on application at his Music Room, Harrison Road, from Nine till Ten in the Morning, and from Two till Three in the Afternoon, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wed- nesdays, and also at his Residence, 16, Aked's Road, Schools attended on the usual Terms. Halifax, Jan. 13th, 1843. HALIFAX -.— Printed and Sold, for the Proprietors, at the General Printing Office of H. Martin, Upper George Yar .