N Saturday, June 30, was performed proof of bad taste and extreme folly. His at Mr. Colman's theatre, a new conduct to the young lady is equally preFarce, called YOUNG MEN AND OLD pofterous; and the fcheme, altogether, WOMEN. It is the production of Mrs. produces its full effect in difgufting the Inchbald, and is tranflated from Le father and daughter, but not without afMechant, of Greffet, a French comedy. fording Sylvan reafon to doubt the truth The characters were thus reprefented: of Knaveftone's defcription, and convincSir Samuel Prejudice, Mr. Wilfon; ing him of the great beauty and good sense Knavestone, Mr. R. Palmer; Sylvan, of Miss Prejudice. The more he reflects, Mr. Bannister, jun.-Fanny Prejudice, the more he is convinced of the impofition, Mifs Heard; Mrs. Anne Milligen, Mrs. and Knavestone confirms his suspicion by Webb, Kitty, Mrs. Taylor. peremptorily refufing any explanation of the full extent of his meaning. The reft of the farce turns on Sylvan's endeavours to recover the good opinion of the father and daughter, which, having cast off his affumed character, he is happy enough to effect in his own, and the farce concludes with the detection of Knavestone's deceit, and the union of Sylvan and Miss Prejudice.

The plot of this farce is founded on this Angle incident:-Mr. Sylvan and Mifs Prejudice were engaged to each other, in early infancy, by their parents, who, to fecure their union when they should arrive at years of maturity, bound themselves to adhere to their engagement under fevere penalties. The farce opens juft as young Sylvan (whofe father is deceased) has arrived from his travels, and Mr. Knaveftone, the friend of Sylvan, had been captivated by the beauty of Mifs Prejudice, and was in hopes of obtaining her hand, although he had not declared his paffion. Defperate at the probability of lofing his mistress, Knavestone on feeing Sylvan, and finding him to be a lover of great delicacy, alarms his jealousy, and endeavours to excite his disgust against his mistress, by base infinuations, and a falfe defcription of her manners and morals. Vexed and disappointed at hearing fuch an ac count of his destined wife, and determined never to give his hand where he could not give his heart, Sylvan haftily decides to forfeit the estate that the father of Mifs Prejudice ftood pledged to affign to him on the marriage of his betrothed daughter, and to reject her immediately. Knaveftone artfully plays upon his foible, and advises him to pursue fuch a line of conduct as fhould provoke the father to reject Sylvan, in confequence of which he would efcape the forfeiture he was himself bound to make. Sylvan falls into the fnare; and hearing that he had nothing more to do than to affect the fantastic drefs and extravagantly foolish behaviour of a modern town fop, and to abuse old fir Samuel's pictures, houfe, and gronnds; prepares accordingly for his firft vifit, where he makes a moft ridiculous figure, fwears the pictures are mere English daubings and lumber, the house a mass of deformity and inconvenience, and that the gardens and grounds afford a precious

The characters were well acted, and the fcenery allotted to the farce did equal honour to the manager's liberality and the artift's genius. Two of the scenes were uncommonly highly finished.

A new piece in one act was produced on Saturday, the 7th of July, at the fame theatre, under the title of ALL IN GOOD HUMOUR. The following were the characters: Hairbrain, Mr. R. Palmer; Chagrin, Mr. Baddeley; Robin, Mr. Wewitzer; Bellamy, Mr. Williamson.Mrs. Chagrin, Mrs. Powell; Madge, Mifs Fontenelle; and Sophia, Mifs Heard.

The ftory is made up of a series of equivoque. Sophia affents to a compulfory marriage with Hairbrain, but infists on fhewing him the letters and prefents which she had received from her favourite lover Bellamy. Among the latter is the painting of a cupid. Madge, the country miltress of Hairbrain, intercepts the trunk, and inferts a full-grown boy. On the meeting of the parties, this token of affection is interpreted variously by the different parties, and gives birth to much of the double entendre. The deception operates fo far on Hairbrain as to induce him to transfer his miftrefs to his rival. The mistake is discovered by Madge reclaiming her child, and the parties, after fome adjuftinent, profefs to be--what the audience certainly were not-All in good Humour.-This piece was greatly altered previously to the fecond reprefentation; and met, in course, with a more favour. able reception.

PRO

PROCEEDINGS of the Second SESSION of the Seventeenth Parliament of Great Britain. Continued from Vol. XC, Page 460.

ON Monday, April 30, Mr. Grey rofe to give notice of a motion he intended to make in the next feffion; the object of which was a reform of the reprefentation of the people. The neceflity of a reform had been often acknowledged by great men in that, and in the other house; by the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Pitt) and his right hon. friend (Mr. Fox); but every propofition yet made had been unfuccefsful. To want of fuccefs, rather than to want of principle, he attributed their not having of late renewed their propofitions. He was not inclined to charge any gentleman with neglect: on the contrary, he was inclined to believe, that thofe who had been zealous in the caufe, had only defifted for a fhort time; that they had not abandoned the caufe, and that he should still find them its friends and fup porters. A material change had taken place in the minds of men, and the neceffity of reform was generally acknowledged. On a reform, the liberty and fecurity of the country depended; for abufes had arifen, and innovations had been made, which ought to be cleanfed away, to preferve the conftitution in health and falety. The privileges of the house, in the course of the last three years, had been more fapped and curtailed, than in the fame number of years in any former time. If the house loft its character with the people, of being their true reprefentatives, evils were to be dreaded, which he hoped God might avert; evils which could not arife by a temperate and timely reform, which was, in his opinion, well worth the confideration of every true friend of the constitution. He was defirous that the question might be well confidered by gentlemen, between the present day and the day on which he should bring forward his propofitions; and, in the mean time, he was equally defirous that they fhould endeavour to obtain the opinion of the people.

The chancellor of the exchequer faid, he was well aware, that the forms of the houfe did not admit of a debate upon a notice; but though he was a warm advocate for thofe forms, he could not avoid declaring, from conviction, that if ever any matter of fufficient importance was advanced in that house to warrant them to lofe fight of their forms, the prefent was

the moment when an avowed intention was ftated, to bring forward a reform in the conftitution, at a time when it was impoffible that a word fhould pass relative to the conftitution, without bringing to mind fubjects of the greatest and most lafte ing importance. The queftion of a reform of the reprefentation of the people was not new to him: it was a question on which he had thought, on which he had ftrenuously acted, and on which he was now ready to avow his fentiments. Although he did not difregard the public opinion, it was not from the deference he had to that opinion, that he now rofe; for that opinion had not, at prefent, the smallett influence upon his mind. The notice of the honourable gentleman affected more than the character, the fortune, or the life of any man in the kingdom: it was materially connected with the tranquillity of the country, which, by the peculiar bleffing of providence, had, for years, been nearly a fingle exception in Europe from the power of defpotism, and which, at this moment, when other coun tries were convulsed, stood nearly the fngle country exempted from the evils arifing from that anarchy which by fome was confidered to be an excess of liberty, He felt it material, as the business had been started, that the country should know from every man who had held an opinion upon the fubject, what his opinion was at this moment; and, for that reason, he had wifhed, that the hon. gentleman, in, ftead of giving notice, had come forward with a motion, that the fense of the house might also be known to the public. For his own part, he had no difficulty in declaring, that he objected to the time and mode in which the bufinefs was brought forward: he would ftate, however, how much he retained of his former opinion upon the fubject, and in what degree that opinion was changed. He retained his opinion in favour of a reform, if that reform could be obtained without collateral mifchief, and with general confent. He was ready to agree to fuch reform, as calculated to afford additional fecurity to the blessings we enjoyed, but not as calculated to add to them; for he was convinced that the wildom of man could not fuggeft a plan that could lead farther than to the fecurity of that which we did enjoy. The

fecurity