gortign an 421olonial.

Patissie.—All Europe, at least by its musical representatives, has flocked to Bonn, the native town of Beethoven, to assist at the inaugura- tion of a statue of the master, to be erected in the Alenster-Platz. The occasion was to be celebrated by a great feast of music, by an assemblage of the musical intellect of Europe, by the presence of royalty; and the preparations and arrivals accordingly began many days ago. All the work of preparation was conducted with such anticipative hilarity as to be in itself part of the festival. The crowd of visiters equalled every expectation, and the list of notables comprised musicians and dilettanti of all countries,—Spohr, Liszt, Felicien David, Madame Dulcken, Madame Pleyel, Staudigl, Botticher, Sir George Smart, Madame Tusezet, Eerie, Jules Janin, Berlioz, Lord Westmoreland, Moscheles, Lindpaintner, Meyerbeer, and a host of others. The mode of life among this hetero- geneous assemblage, united by the one great sympathy, was peculiar, but pleasant- " Every day, at half-past one," says the musical correspondent of the Morning Gltronicle" there is a table d'hate at the Golden Star, where lam, and where most of the musical strangers are lodged. Today [ Sunday j not less than three hundred persons sat down to dinner. It is an affair of formidable length; the succession of dishes being interminable—flesh, fish, fowl, and vegetables, following each other in what an Englishman thinks much admired disorder. But the guests, English and all, do ample justice to the feast; and the eating (the drinking is sufficiently moderate) is on the same gigantic scale as every other part of this singular festival. All the while, the hubbub of talking in numberless tongues, laughing, calling for waiters, &e., with an immense band of wind-instruments above all, is most astounding. There seems to be no retirement to private houses, or even private Moms. The most distinguished persons, those who take a lead in the festival and are the objects of general interest, such as Spohr, Liszt, &c., dine and sup every day at the public table, mingling at random among the other people pre- sent. This is very pleasant, and quite unknown at an English meeting ot this sort."

Among the preparations one was remarkable, as indicating the spirit of generous enthusiasm that prevailed- '" It was intended by the managers of the fete," says the writer whom we have already quoted, "that the performances should take place in a mili- tary manege or riding-school; and this was announced in the programme which appeared in all the journals. But Liszt, when he came to Bonn to take a leading pert in the arrangements, insisted on a place being prepared which should not be unworthy of such an occasion. He had already subscribed 10,000 francs towards the expenses of the fete, and he instantly put down 10,000 francs more towards the erection of a fitting concert-room. The consequence was, that only last week its erection was began, and it was completed in eleven days. It is, of course, a wooden building; but of magnitude sufficient to contain at least two thousand persons, besides an orchestra of several hundreds. It is somewhat low in the roof, and long in proportion to its breadth, but is really a noble room; and when brilliantly lit up, as it will be, must have a superb effect. It will be, too, a good room for sound: Staudigl, after the rehearsal on Friday, expressed great satisfaction, particularly with the absence of echo. [This rehearsal was nearly a public performance, everybody being admitted on payment of a few groschen. The orchestra is differently disposed from ours in England. Its front is raised not above five feet from the level of the room; the principal singers are in the middle of the front; the whole of the female choristers are drawn up on each side of the principals, in rows of two or three deep, with the tenors and basses imme- diately behind them. The whole of the instrumental orchestra are thus placed behind the chorus, with the exception of a few principal instruments, which are brought forward so as to be close to the principal singers. The effect of this atrangement I thought admirable; it greatly contributed to the singularly full and neh effect of the chorus, particularly of the female voices. In England, the chorus, be the performance what it may, is always overpowered by the instru- ments. This fault, to be sure, arises in part from the manner in which the in- struments are played; but it also arises from the relative positions of the orchestra and the chorus. I heard much fault found by some English critics with this disposition of the performers—probably because it is different from what they have been accustomed to; for my part, I entirely dissented from them."

In passing, the neglect which Beethoven suffered from his countrymen daring his life is contrasted with the present gathering to worship his me- mory, and illustrated by some topographical facts— "the identity of the house in which Beethoven was born is much canvassed. Besides the one I have already mentioned, there is another, the proprietor of which makes pretensions to the same honour; and the rivals vie with each other in their attempts to attract the attention and visits of strangers. But the claims of both ate equally untenable. It seemed difficult to ascertain in what house a man of obscure parentaee was born three-quarters of a century ago, especially when it is considered thatim remained all his life almost aid:sown to his worthy townsfolk of Bonn. The only one of his townsmen now lie g who could know anything of the matter is the father of the celebrated Ferdinand Ries; a most venerable old man, of fourscore and upwards, whose striking appearance attracted my atten- Sten when I first arrived here, and whom I have observed at the rehearsals listen- ing with the deepest attention. Sir George Smart asked him if he knew which of the two houses was the right one; and his answer was, that nobody knew anything about the matter. He said that Beethoven's father was a poor chorea- smiler—' et pas trop bon' ; and that Beethoven, as a lad, was in no way distin- guished, so that nobody either knew or cared where so obscure a family dwelt. He himself knew nothing of Beethoven till the composer had acquired so much ' reputation at Vienna as to induce him (II. Ries) to send his own son Ferdinand ; to him as a scholar; and it is well known that Ferdinand Ries was the only regu- lar pupil whom Beethoven ever acknowledged. This, I think, puts an end to the pretensions of both the rivals ; for if Beethoven's venerable townsman cannot identify the real house of his birth, it is nest to impossible that anybody else can. Old M. Ries mentioned another circumstance, not a little remarkable--that though Beet- hoven died only eighteen years ago, nobody at Vienna can point out the spot where he lies buried. This is certainly the case with regard to Mozart: but the accounts of Beethoven's splendid funeral, if I remember rightly, mention the place where his remains were deposited; and the spot, one would think, could hardly as yet be entirely forgotten, even though unmarked by monument or tombstone If it is so, (and M. Ries can scarcely be incorrect in his statement,) the circum- stance gives the finishing-touch to the picture of Beethoven's treatment by the people of Vienna, among whom his unhappy life was spent."

The festival may be said to have begun on Sunday ; when there was a grand mass at the Cathedral, a grand rehearsal in the Concert-hall, and a - grand concert in the evening, all of the master's music. The concert also struck the English traveller as peculiar-

" It began at six, the doors being opened at half-past five, and ended at nine. Its price of admission was a bagatelle: I found that an English sovereign covered the admissions to all the three concerts, and also to the inauguration—not much more than is charged at an English festival for a single performance. It con- sisted entirely of two colossal pieces of orchestral and choral music, without the admixture of anything to gratify the popular ear. What would be said in Eng- land to such a programme of a grand evening concert as the following, which is

word for word that which was issued ? On the 10th August, at six o'clock iit the evening, the First Concert, under the direction of Kapellmeister D. Spolir. I. Ilissa Soleness, No. 2 (in I)). 2. Symphony with chorus, (No. 0); the solo voice parts by Mesdames Tusczek, Sachs, Kratky, Schloss, and Messieurs Mantins

eyer, and Staudigl.' There were besides, the words of the mass and of the choral part of the symphony; and that was all. Such a thing, I fear, would not do at Norwich or Birmingham." * * • " Nor was the appearance of the company at all showy. They all sat on the level floor, without gallery, boxes, or raised seats. There was no captivating display of female beauty: not that there is any want of female beauty here—far from it; but the charms of the ladies were not heightened by elegance of dress, nor could they be seen except by those close to them. No persons of rank were pre- sent; and the space in front of the orchestra. appropriated (as at our Ancient Concerts) to such persons, was empty. There was, however, an ireelellele audience, consisting of more than two thousand persons, embracing a great amount of the distinction which is conferred by genius and talent, and full of musical intelligence. Their whole deportment showed that they were earnestly bent on enjoying a great and serious entertainment. Their attention was like that of a small party of amateurs in a private circle. The slight whisper was instantly rebuked by a se' from the neighbours of the offender, while the sudden "burst of enthusiasm at the end of a beautiful movement was like a clap of thunder. During the performance of Beethoven's mass, the applause, though sufficiently: emphatic, was evidently subdued by the solemnity of the subject; but during the symphony it was bestowed with an unrestrained vehemence—an abandon—which I have never seen equalled." * • • " The performers, arranged as I have already described, were about 500 in num- ber—about 300 in the chorus, and 200 in the instrumental band. The choristers are all (or nearly all) amateurs, who sing gratuitously. The females, who are daughters of tradesmen and other respectable people in the town and neighbour- hood, presented as pretty a sight. as can well be imagined. Their beauty, and. the elegant simplicity of their dress and demeanour, were the admiration of every one; and their united voices formed a body of musical sound which for volume, sweetness, and correctness of intonation, I have never heard equalled or even approached. The female voices, I must observe, include both the soprano and. contralto parts of the four-part harmony; there being no such thing ill Germany as a male counter-tenor. The men are all tenors and basses; and their merits . were the same as those of the women, their voices being full, sweet, and harmoni- ous. All the choristers, men and women, sang like cultivated musicians, and threaded their way with ease and certainty through all the rocks and quicksands of Beethoven's most complicated harmonies."

After the musical performance, there was a display of fire-works, let off from a raft in the midst of the river, and viewed by the people from the banke. A grand rehearsal helped to pass the Monday, otherwise dies non.

The inauguration was performed on Tuesday; when the town displayed an access of gayety. In all the principal streets every house was covered, from top to bottom, with green foliage; streamers of every colour hung- from the windows; and the whole place was thronged by a moving multi- tude. A procession formed in the grounds of the Gasthof zur Sclionen Aussicht, (Hotel Belle Vise,) and at half-past eight o'clock marched te the market-place in this order— The band of the Twenty-eighth Royal Infantry; the Schiitzen Corps, or Mi- litia Riflemen; the students of the University, divided into different corps, headed by captains wearing their distinguishing scarves and caps of various colours, and carrying large-hilted swords. [The appearance of the latter was highly picturesque, and, with the exception of an occasional pair of spectacles, denoting the reading- . man, carried one back to the middle ages.] Then followed the Committee, Town-Council, and the civil and military authorities; and lastly, such of the burghers as chose to devote themselves to give a more imposing air to the pro- cession.

A parchment recording the facts and date of the inauguration and at- tested by the signatures of the King of Prussia and the Queen of England, having been soldered up in a leaden case, was placed under the basement, and the aperture closed and cemented. With this ceremony the inaugura- tion terminated.

A concert at four o'clock went off brilliantly. It comprised a selection from Spohes Mount of Olives : at the close of which, a lady of the chorus advanced and placed a laurel crown on the head of the composer; who bore the flattering surprise with modest dignity.

There was another concert on Wednesday morning, at which the Royal party were present; then a grand dinner at the Goldenstern Hotel; and at night a splendid ball finished the protracted enjoyments of the festival right gayly.

The Times gives an interesting account of the proceedings in one of the Provincial Diets of Prussia, derived from the Constitutional Review; which we further abridge. When the Provincial Diets were convoked in 1843, the members were invested with full liberty of discussion,—a liberty entirely new and strange in a country where the press is under the gripe of the censor, where 460 books have been pro- hibited after publication in the last five years, and where public meetings are a violation of the rules of police. That liberty being granted, it was not suffered to lie idle. "In the course of the Diet of 1843, Brest, the Deputy of Boppard, brought forward a string of resolutions in the Diet of the Rhine to the following effect. He proposed that the King should be solicited to establish the convocation of dele- gates from the several Diets at fixed intervals of time; that they should choose their Speaker or Marshal from their own body; that the Ministers of the Crown should be restricted to giving the necessary explanations on public affairs, but without assuming any further control on the deliberations of the assembly; that all general laws relating to persons and property and to taxation, as well as to the constitution of the Diets, should be submitted to their consideration; that the budget of the revenue and expenditure be laid before them; and that no new loans be contracted without their assent. These resolutions were carried by large majorities. The King's answer to these requests was stern and forbidding. He declared, that the Provincial Diets were stepping beyond their proper functions; and added= We have repeatedly announced the course we mean to follow in this matter. In this course we shall not allow ourselves either to be held back or driven forward by any efforts, but rather we shall at all times vigorously repress attempts made with that object' This answer was received with great dissatisfaction in the Rhenish province; and from that moment the leaders of the Constitutional prty assumed a more decided tone. It was resolved to call upon the Crown in direct terms to fulfil the celebrated promise promulgated by the late King on the 22nd May 1815, which formally declared that a representative constitution should be given to the people of Prussia. The Diet met again in the month of Mach of this year. Herr -Brust, the proposer of the Liberal resolutions on the former occasions, had been excluded from the new Diet by the President of the province: but his place was ably filled by Herr Camphausen, Deputy of Cologne; who concluded a speech of great power by moving that his Majesty be humbly entreated to fulfil the ordinance of the 22nd May 1815, the first article of which declares that 'a representation of the neonle shall be establiRbed." said he, 'through all the ages of history aiid all the countries of the globe, and if YOU car! fin4 any other people, equal to the German people in inerality, intelligence, and civilization, living under the government of here- ditary princes, which is or has ever been satisfied with the measure of politi- gal rights vouchsafed to us, we will consent to adjourn for ever our efforts for the extension of those rights. Such a people never has existed, and never will exist; is it any honour to us to stand alone in this respect in history and upon the face of the earth. . . . What could be so beneficial to our province as an in- tegral part of the empire, and to the empire itself—what could so effectually pro- mote the true welfare of the King and of the people—as to put an end to the con- tradiction which has now lasted for thrice ten years between the principles of the country and the conduct of the Government?' Herr Carnphanseu s motion having been referred to a committee, the majority of the committee (named by the Mar- shal) reported against it, the minority in its favour. But even the language of those who opposed the resolution SS injudicious or inopportune gave their indirect testimony to the soundness of the principle which it contained. The members present at the debate were in number seventy-eight Of these, seventy-two voted in favour of the iutroduction of the representative system for the kingdom. Of these seventy-two members, forty-two gave a more decided vote, that the intro- duction of the representative system is an urgent want of the country, which ought to be laid directly before the King. By the peculiar constitution of these Diets, a majority of two-thirds of the members present is required in order to carry a resolution ; so that, in fact, Herr Camphausen's mo- tion was technically negatived. But the principle which it proclaimed was recog nixed by a great majority; and as after all, the deliberations of such local assem- blies on political affairs lead no further than to an authentic declaration of public opinion, the object was virtually accomplished, for public opinion could hardly be more decisively manifested or forcibly defended. The answer, or address, which is habitually made on behalf of the Crown at the close of these assemblies, will not be published until the end of the year, nor shall we presume to anticipate its tenour. Rumours have reached us for some months past, from quarters which are entitled to credit, that in reality the Prussian constitution is more advanced than is commonly supposed, and that at no very distant period it will receive the public sanction of the King."

SWITZERLAND.—A stormy discussion in the Diet on the question of the Jesuits, which lasted for two days, closed on the 5th instant without result, none of the eight various propositions submitted having obtained the requisite majority. The question cannot be brought forward again till next session. A discussion on the convents of Arctic terminated in like manner on the 9th, and also stands over. On the preceding day, however, the Diet agreed, by a majority of thirteen votes, that the expenses incurred by Lucerne in the defence of its territory during the recent invasion should be paid by the Central Government. Six other Cantons had demanded that the costs should be borne by the Cantons which had organized the Free COrp& FRANCE.—The papers announce that the Princess Clementine of Saxe- Coburg was safely delivered of a Prince, at the Chateau of Eu, on Saturday last.

M. Guizot was entertained at dinner on Sunday last, at St. Pierre, by the electors of the Cantons of St. Pierre-Bur-Dives and Mezidon whom he represents in the Council General of Calvados. Two hundred and eighty persons were present, including several electors of the arrondisse- ment of Liseux, whom he represents in Parliament. The necessity of allowing liberty for the press in spite of some abuses, and the benefits which France derived from the Revolution of 1830, were the principal topics of M. Gnizot's speech.

Rumours abound in Paris that Marshal Bugeaud is to be recalled from Algeria; hut whether to render an account of his cruel policy, or to super- sede Marshal Soult as Minister of War, no one knows.

The Constitutionnel notices that on Saturday the Jesuits resident in

Paris quitted the houses they inhabited in common, and established tlieur selves in separate residences.

Spant—At the date of the last accounts, Queen Isabella was still at St. Sebastian with her travelling-party; and would rettrrn to Pampeluna to. wards the end of this month, to meet the Duke and Dutchess of Nemours.

While following the Queen on her way to Tudela, Narvaez, Martinez de la Roes, and thirty other official persons, were placed in some danger by the upsetting of their boat in the canal of Aragon.

The Madrid Gazette of the 5th instant published a royal decree, approving of the manner in which the new tax of 300 millions of reels, to be raised on the. agricultural property, in the kingdom, was divided among the provinces. The measure gave great dissatisfaction everywhere; :and it was apprehended that this state of feeling might lead to disturbances.

General Concha, provoked at the jealous discontent of Narvaez, has !resigned the Captain-Generalship of Catalonia.

The Madrid Heraldo reports an incursion made by a party of no fewer-than two hundred Frenchmen into the valley of Zalazar, in Spain; where they set fire to the houses of the foresters, and destroyed a bridge and the sluices used for floating down the timber on the river Urbelacha, besides other damage. The greater por- tion of the inhabitants were at their labour in the fields when this unexpected at- tack was made; but they soon assembled, and having procured some arms, they attacked the Frenchmen in return, and set them to flight. Five prisoners were taken, and were sent before the Juge de Pais. This strange affair seems to have reference to a question of marches; the French borderers claiming a large extent of forest-land which is now in the hands of the Spaniards, and which the Spaniards. say is admitted to belong to them by the treaty of Basilica, concluded in 1785.

TURKEY.—The Journal des Mats has advices from the frontier of Turkey, dated 20th July, which state the whole of Upper Albania to be in open insurrection.

MEXICO.—The Fidelia packet-ship, which left New York on the 16th July, conveys the following important proclamation issued by Don Manual Rincon, the Governor of the Department of Mexico— "Jose Joaquim de Herrera, General of Division and President ad interim of this Mexican Republic, to the citizens thereof. "Be it known, that the General Congress has decreed, and the Executive sanc- tioned the following.

"The National Congress of the Mexican Republic, considering-

" That the Congress of the United States of the North has, by a decree which' its Executive has sanctioned, resolved to incorporate the territory of Texas with. the American Union:

"That this manner of appropriating to itself territories upon which other nation:s- have rights introduces a monstrous novelty, endangering the peace of the world,. and violating the sovereignty of nations: "That this usurpation, now consummated to the prejudice of Mexico, has been in insidious preparation for a long time, at the same time that the most cordial. friendship was proclaimed, and that on the part of this Republic the existing treaties between it and those States were respected scrupulously and legally:

"That the said annexation of Texas to the United States tramples on the con- servative principles of society, attacks all the rights that Mexico has to that territory, is an insult to her dignity as a sovereign nation, and threatens her inde- pendence and political existence: "That the law of the United States in reference to the annexation of Texas to+ the United States does in nowise destroy the rights that Mexico has, and wilt enforce, upon that department: "That the United States having trampled on the principles which served as it basis to the treaties of friendship, commerce, and navigation, and more especially to those of boundaries fixed with precision, even previously to 1832, they are con- sidered as violated by that nation:

"And finally, that the unjust spoliation of which they wish to make the Mex- ican nation the victim, gives her the clear right to use all her resources and power to resist, to the last moment, said annexation: "It is decreed-

" 1. The Mexican nation calls upon all her children to the defence of her na- tional independence, threatened by the usurpation of Texas, which is intended to be realized by the decree of annexation passed by the Congress and sanctioned by the President of the United States of the North.

"2. In consequence, the Government will call to arms all the forces of the army, according to the authority granted it by the existing laws; and, for the preserva- tion of public order, for the support of her institutions, and, in ease of necessity, to serve as a reserve to the army, the Government, according to the powers given to it on the 9th December 1844, will raise the corps specified by said decree, under the name of Defenders of the Independence and of the Laws.'

" MIGUEL ARTISTAN, President of the Deputies. "FRANCISCO CALDERON, President of the Senate. " Approved, and ordered to be printed and published,

"Josh JOAQUIM DE BEREARA- " A. D. Luta G. CUEVAS.

"Palace of the National Government, city of Mexico, June 4."

The people displayed some apathy; and the funds of the Government were understood to be low. General Bustamente had returned to Mexico, and had offered his military services ; but he was coldly received.

NEW ZearAND.—The Governor in Council passed a Militia Ordinance on the 25th March last, in its general provisions resembling the English law; but the important part is the preamble, a decided unsaying of Captain Fitzroy's former declarations as to the inexpediency of enacting such a law: it says—" Whereas it is expedient that the European population o: New Zealand should be trained to the use of arms, so as to form an effective military force, for the defence of the lives and property of her Majesty's subjects within the colony: be it therefore enacted," and, so forth.