Star. — London, England, 1811-03-26 00:00:00

the not ( liens •isoa , the I pC , pile ed 1 re al - - V15 11 , 77 Cr . 7", 7.7 ' !.' ' --- . 7---- ' 7-- ' . • • , I inclose a listasf the killed and wounded, and have lie bad- it ht. emit:A.lnd ken the Lord . Chamber the honour to be, &c. (Signed) is. o KEATS. lain to say, that having heard that it was the inten- To Admiral Sir C. Cotton, Bart, act. tie. Ike. tion of the Proprietors of Drury-lane Theatre to A Return ortke Killed. and Wounded in an Attack on Santa act upon their dormant patent, he intended to oppose Maria, dth March, 181.1. such a measure on the ground of illegality." On this mar or d,..-samed Allen, seaman, killed ; William Spitler, me eine ditt o ; haul Bayley, Lieutenant of Mathes, wounded ; subject a deliberation took place, which ended in an William Nails, ScOcant of Marines, d angerous ly wounded (.ince agreement on their part to renew the running patent send); James Darby, private marine, mortally wounded (since for 21 years, and not to act upon the other without dead); J os . Peters, private marine, wounded; James Gill, ditto, hi s Majesty ' s command. By the time these consul ditto; William Billings, ditto, ditto. Alfred.—John Ingle'sy, corporal of marines, wounded. • tattoos were finally concluded, his Majesty's illness S t .Alliatie.-4oisia.::::.;=i, seaman, killed; Ivinc-13use a clitto : interrupted their immediate proceeding; but he could ' wnanded ; William B a ldwin, ditto, &tn. I say, that after the establishment of the Regency, not St. Jun.—Jobs C at o, seaman, wounded. an hour was lost. It was very far either from his Hound —John Allen, ordinary seaman, wounde4 William Pi'Donald, able seaman, dime. - wi:th or intention to fi nd er.7 fitlt with the present Diadem Transport.—Gaerga Garbutt, seaman, 'seceded.— projectors ; but novr that lie had, he hoped, satisfac- Total s killed, 13 wounded. (Sigurd) R. Gt. L. 17.41. torily accounted for the delay which had taken place ; with respect to the re-erection of Drury lane, he should proceed to make a few remarks upon the bit: 1 before them. When this project was announced last year, very splendid promises were held out. It was promised, in the first place, that the new theatre should be built on a small scale, for the advantage of sight, hearing, &c. This was totally forgotten in the present bill. It was promised, in the next place, that the representations should take place at old prices. Of this, also, there was now nothing. Above all it was promised, that the plays should be legiti mate and selected, and that the drama should be con. vetted into an instrument of morality. Not a word about it now. What ! is it not enough that the small scale must be silent, the old prices silent ; but must your morality be dumb too ? (ii! laugh.) This was not merely a personal question to himself ; as a trustee i of others, he was bound to speak ; and as such, rather than leave out an argument, lie must say he claimed for them a inenop.ly. Monopoly might be a very onpopular word, and he hated it as'much as any man ;—but still, when it was acted on by others ,as a Right, he did not see why they should be de nied it. The Bank was a monopoly, the East In dia Dhection was a monopoly, Lord Gwydyr's moor. ing-chains was a monopoly, the Duke of Richmond's coal duties was a monopoly. He hoped, then, that the House would not listen to any project, the effect .pf which must be to ruin those who embarked their fortunes under the faith of a similaeltnonopoly. The present projectors, indeed, seemed to have little res pect to any thing that had been established before.— They made in the very first instance two colossal Strides, 'placing one foot on the chartered rights of the City of London, and the other on the very preroga tive of the Crown itself. According to this Bill they might build their Theatre wherever they chose in the City—they might set it up at the nose of the Mansion . House, or by the side of Gnildhall, or at , the Stock Exchange, or the Royal Exchange, or wherever it might suit their fancy. The Lord Mayor, however, i would not give his permission to have any Theatre erected in the City, as against its Statutes ; so that the Gentlemen need not have troubled themselves to give it the name of the " City Theatre." These Gentlemen did not seem, however, much to stickle at refusals or prohibitions. What was the case ? After having been refused their demand by the King in Council, that did not satisfy them ; but off they set from the very Council Chamber to that House, - de siring them to supersede the King's prerogative, and - -7— "'",by a Legislative measure grant that which he in his 'wisdom had thought it prudent to refuse! He hoped the House would not countenance such a proceeding ; he hoped they would not deprive those who had em barked their fortunes its a monopoly of the just benefit of it without any compensation. He spoke for those for whom he was a trustee, and not personally. Speak ing merely for himself, he did not care whether the bill went into a Committee or not; nor would he care if they thought fit to build a theatre in every street. He had now delivered to them what struck him upon this subject, and should conclude without offering to them any immediate proposition. Mr. BROWNE said, if he had been in the habit of addressing them oftener than he did, he should be embarrassed by the mode of the Right Honourable Gentleman's argument. He should, however, en deavour to give it some answer. When a similar proposition to the present had been stated last year, he had delivered an opinion ; and from that opinion it was not his intention now to shrink. He was cont. 1 pelled to this from a sense of public duty, and most I certainly not from the slightest personal heitility to the Right Honourable Gentleman. In the wide circle 1 of that Right Honourable Gentleman's acquaintance there was no man who more esteemed the extent, va- I riety, and brilliancy of his talents—Wear, hear) —no man, who more willingly or gratefully acknowledged the acquisition which literature deriyed from the rich 1 stores of his composition. (Hear, hear, hear.) With the most perfect sincerity, then, lie declared. that his present conduct was solely actuated by public prin ciple. The Right Honourable Gentleman had asked e reasons why a new Theatre was proposed to be petted ? He wouldstell him. In the first place, be yuse the population of the Metropolis had of late so much increased. In the next place, he would confess, because the recovery of Drury-lane theitie appeared next to impossible, from the notoritre of itiembarrass- ' meats, and the neglect to repair them—a neglectwhich he supposed could only arise from an inability to pro .ceed. But he would say, that from the improve ment of public manners, and the vast increase of po pulation, were Drury-lane even in the 'plenitude of ins prosperity, a third theatre would still be neces. *amp n Very doubtful indeed.he was, whether Drury. lane Theatre would ever again be able to raise its `head ; and still more doubtful was he, if it did raise 'its head, of the likelihood of a new Theatre injuring its interests. With respect to the asserted exclusive rights given to the present theatres by the patent of Charles the Second, he should just briefly consider them ; and he could not avoid doing so, because he considered not only the prerogatives of .the Crotti• but the rights of the subject involved in the question. —He must say, he much doubted the existence of the prerogative over this species of amusement. Of I every claim on the part of the Crown to exercise a prerogative, the subject matter ought to be as an cient as the Crown itself, It should exist at the time of the settlement at all events, if not, indeed,. coeval with the throne itself. Now it was very wepi known, that it was not until lately that the Stagsi began to assume any thing of a settled character. He, was ready, for argument's sake, to admit theliginal grant of those patents : but still lie must deny any right in Charles 11. to make any such grant. He was not enabled thus to grant, in perpeiuo, an exclusive -ight, which would destroy the prerogative as far ad PzIRLMMENTARr PROCEEDIA ; GS. • HOWE OF LORDS; MARCH 15. BANBURY PEERAGE. Their Lordships met early in a Committee,of Pri vileges on the Banbury Peerage, when, after the conelasion of the learned argument of. Lord REDES DALE, and a variety of observations from the LORD Cnamu.roa, Loid DARNLEY, and Lord ELLENBO ROUGH, the further consideration of the case was de ferred till to-morrow. ROYAL ASSENT BY COMMISSION. The Royal Assent by Commission was given to the following Bills : The Irish Sugar Drawback, the Irish Linen and Yarn Trade, the Irish Linen Bounty. the Dublin Coals Imiiortation, the Be- Firing Laws, and the Ware Paving and Lighting Bills. The Commissioners were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Camden and Lord Aylesford, ' • LIBERTY OF CONECIENCE. Lord STANHOPE gave notice, that he shotild to-morrow (this day) move for the second reading 1 of hit. bill, for securing Liberty of Conscience to Dis senters of all descriptions, whether Roman Catholics, or others ; or whether subsisting in general society, or in the Military and Naval establishments of the country. Their Lordships then adjourned till to-morrow (this day.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. A Messap front the Lords informed the House that their Lordships had agreed to the Sugar Exportation Bill, the Popula tion Bill, the Dublin Cual and Dublin improvement Bills, and the Expiring Laws Bill, Without any amendments. The Deputy Usher of the Bistk Rod summoned the House to the House of Peers. Sir WILLIAM PLONIER presented a Petition from the Mayor, Alderineti, and Common Council, of the City of Lon don; but it was impossible to collect its import, from the indis tinct tone in which it was read by the Clerk.—Ordered to lie on the table. Several Papers from the Treasury were brought up, and or dered to lie on the table. Mr. H. MARTIN brought up a Bill to amend and explain the 3kb of Geo. Ill• relative to Printers and Publishers; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be printed. The second reading of the Western Fishery Bill was postponed to this day se'nnight. Mr. JOHNSTONE presented several papers at the Bar relative to the fluanee of Ireland.—Ordered to lie on the table. Captain MEI.LISH gave notice that he would make a motion at a future day xespecting the payment of the Navy at home and abroad. Mr. SIiAW gave notice that he would move the House to morrow upon the subject of the embezzlement of masters, and servants La Ireland. NEW THEATRE RILL. Mr. MELLISH having moved the second reading of the above Bill, Mr. SHERIDAN said, he had expected that the Honourable Gentleman who brought this bill forward would have given some reasons for so doing ; but he found that he silently left it to its own merits, and to that expected protection to which he must confess, in his opinion, the unproved preamble did not at all en title it. He had seen, indeed, a printed paper which was circulated in the House, entitled " Reasons for the Erection of a Third Theatre." Among other things, it spoke of his , g splendid talents" being un able to reinstate the Drury-lane establishment. He was grateful to them for the compliment, though he must at the same time declare, that it was only ho nest in him to try by every means to restore that the. atre which this application, if successful, must go fi nally to defeat. He had also to confess his gratitude to the promoters of this bill for the very handsome manner in which they had conducted themselves: — so far from sheaving the slightest personal hostility to him, he must bear testimony to their very gentle man-like mode of proceeding. The ground upon which they brought forward their proposition was the insur mountable obstacle which they supposed existed to there-establishment of Drury-lane Theatre. Now this, in the first place, he must inform them to be totally without foundation. Not only no obstacle existed to their rebuilding Drury-lane Theatre, but even to their building two theatres on their two patents, if they should deem it expedient. Before ha proceeded far ther, he must remark, that though he knew very well that on private bills concerning canals, roads, Sm. it was the autism for Members to send about cards and notices to their friends ; yet he must declare upon his honour he bad not canvassed the vote of any man, though many had spoken to him, but had lett the Matter to stand , or fall by its own particular me rits. He did not deny that the ostensible ground for the present application was very fair ; and that there ought to be two or three theatres in the metropolis he did not mean to dispute ; but when those Gentle men imagined that it was out of the power of the Proprietors of Drury-lane to supply the deficiency, he must beg leave fully to undeceive them on that point. Last year the preset * applicants tried a pro ject similar to y ear but it did not receive countenance. The Drury-lane proprietors claimed their right to the Act of Parliament, and that Act accordingly passed through the House without the slightest opposition, and the present-applicants there-1 upon withdrew their claim. It might be asked him now, 4 , Why, when that Act passed so unanimously, did you not proceed .and act upon it ?" He was aware of this question, and he hoped to be able to give it a satisfactory answer. The fact' was, that t after the Act luid been obtained; a point of discus sion arose between them and Lord Dartmouth,the late Lard Chamberlain. Of' that Nobie Lard. he wished to speak with all possible respect ; but he -Must say, nevertheless,.that he seemed to be very , ill-advised indeed with respect to the extent cf his official' powers. Lord Dartmouth, it appeared, was advised to object to their acting on the dormant pa tent. He held in his hand a letter which he had re ceived on this subject ; it was dated on the 28th of June, 1810, a nd 'the writer informed him 6 , that that point WAS tonterned, dal! future kings. A ilnw. • 1 / 1 1:thadtt , 111/1.• ing such a principle, would go at once to give the r Mr. C. WYNNE said, that he liaJ last year stated prerogative which was attached to the throne into the reason; on which he brought in his Bill in so full the hands of the King, and make the attribute of the a manner; that as there was then II.) rypotitian to it,. Crown itself the limited and exclusive right of an and this was only a copy of the same, he had flat. individual monarch. At the time of the Lr,urpation, tered himself he need not trouble the House to go into it was knOwa that the theatres were closed, and not any detail at prTTent. Haring, however, understood opened again till the era of the Restoration. At that that it would' this night be contended th r was no time a vast number were opened, and the licenti ' ft Bill, he - ee licentious- ' occasion for such a _ he hoped s _ might be per _ ness of the stage rose to such ran height, that it was 1 mitted to enter into some details ac to the nature and considered prudent to limit the number of exhibitiens. I extent of the present Bill. He then proceeded to Then two patents were given to Sir Wm. Davenant : enumerate the various statutes which the House ind Killigrew:Vn;y, howeeter e no men would sa ythii t had thought proper to pass, from time to time, for • by these . grants the Crown parted with its right , even *, the punishment of Bribery, and for the security of in after - t imes to make one similar. Surely it would not the Freedom of Election. Still he said, ways antl• be contended that one Kin; hail any power by a sweep. ! 'marls had been found to evade those several Acts, ing clause to prohibit all his successors from exercising especially by the defects which ceisted in them as r.r. authority which he himself had assumed. At ttat to the mode of giving evidence of. the' fact—one time, and for some time after, there were only two of his clauses would, he Battered lihnsulf, remedy theatres in London. Now, if k was true that the Act this defect. There were also mane "wicks played on of Charles 11. bound all his successors; of course no . the subject of penalties incurred under these Acts. If patents could have been granted since. But was that ' a person, knowing hiniself liable to several penalties, the case? No. When after a short time these two I pointed cut another who was also concerned, and a patents happened to come into the hands of one person, I penalty was recovered from him, the other party es. a licence was given to Betterton, who setup a theatre I taped from all he had committed. It had been proved in Lincoln's Inn-fields; after him, a licence was granted I already, that one Member had saved himself by this to Collier, then to Rich, and afterwards to Garrick and trick. Another of his clauses would gusto that point. Lacy. Taking these facts, then, he was j u stified in de- i 'When the late Act against bribery, which passed two vying that the Patentees had any claim to tszclueive i years ago, was first brought in, it was argued against rights in consequence of these patents. The Right it that the country had arisen to its then state of Hon. Gentleman had attempted to cast obloquy upon prosperity under the system which had antecedently the present applicants, in consequence of their now per- i prevailed, and that there was no occasion• to alter sisting in an application which he said had been previ. I the Lew on that head ; but this argument did not ously refused by the King inCouncil. From the general ' prove satisfactory to the House or toile Country, and candour which the Right Hon. Gentleman had pursto I the Bill passed into a law. Still, however, it had been ed in the preceding part of his arhument, he should `found, that Act was not sufficient ; for since it was have scarcely expected such a declaration as this. One passed, seats had been bought and sold. He did not would suppose, from hearing him, that the question wish to enter into details on these matters—they were which had been objected to by the Privy Council, had very disagreeable ; but if Gentlemen of that House been that of expediency; Whereae the filet was, that their would give them due consideration in their closets,they only objection was to the mode of the Application. They must be convinced of the necessity of a Bill which will refused to grant the petitioners a charter, on the ground more effectually prevent the progress of bribery. He that it would be giving them an advantage over the, hoped the House would agree to let this Bill go to a existing Theatres. The Privy C ounc il i n t hi s step had Committee, in which they would be able to go into de. taken the opinion of the Attorney and Solicitor-Ge- tails. After that, it they should not think it necessary nerals ; which opinion was merely on the point of jus- to proceed any terther, he should severely lament the tice in granting a Charter, and not on the point of passing of the bill on this subject two years ago, by expediency in erecting a new Theatre. It was very which the House was in a manner pledged to follow far from the wish of the present applicants to take up the business, and, if poseible, make that Act effec. advantage of the calamity which had involved the in- tual. If they do not, they will desert their own pledge, terests of Drury-lane, or to prevent its proprietors and render the Act a mere Bravo: fa:men ; an:hit was from ever emerging from their. di ffi culties—they had easy to f oresee w h at o pi n i on t h e pu bli c wou ld f orm o f no such wish . ; so far from it, that be would say, and such conduct, and the clamours which would ensue he believed he had interest enough to effect his pro- in consequence of it. posal, that if the Right Hon. Gentleman would de- • Mr. BRAND objected to the principle of the bill, dare that he believed the re-erection of Drury-lane on the ground civet no good could arise from it, unless was probable or possible, the present Bill should be the House went into a general and comprehensive suspended until the point was settled.—(Hear, hear, view of the subject. , He thought his Honourable and hear.) —Let the Right Hon. Gentleman only make Learned Friend would find great difficulty in applying his personal declaration, that the re-establishment of partial remedies to general evils. It was his (Mr. Pe's) Drury-lane was not impracticable, and the Bill should intention very soon after the Easter recess, to bring in be fur a time withdrawn. He did not mean to say, a bill on this subject, on a much snore extended scale, that the projectors would thereby pledge themselves for the remedy of this evil. The common tricks at not again to come forward in case they found it expe- general elections were too various and numerous to be dient ; but he wished to shew that th e y were willing reached by such a bill as that now before the House.— and anxious to give the Right Hon. Gentleman ever opportunity of repairing the misfortune which had in y Anxious as he was to bring forward a flan for a mo.. derate reform in the representation of the people, his volved the interests of many sufforers.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. WHITBREAD said, he should beg the at- Honourable Friend might rest assured he would lose no time in bringing ihrward his measure : and as that tendon of the House till he offered a few observe- would embrace die • subject in a mere extensive way, tions on the subject. He had no interest in the Drury- l ie hoped his Honourable Friend would consent to lane Theatre more than the share he took inthe general withdraw his bill. calamity that had befallen the proprietors, and th e very M r . JOHNSTONE o bjected to the bill. The Hon. great personal regard and affection he had so long Gentleman had said, that seats in that House had entertained for his Right Hon. Friend near him.(Mr. , been bought and sold since the passing of the Act on Sheridan) who had so large a stake in that concern ; but if he even had not previously had that regard, this subject two years ago ; but lie had nut mentioned the places ; there was no evidence or it, and he (Mr. the dignified manner in which his Right Honourable Friend conducted hilliself on receiving the first Intel- Johnstone) did not believe tl,e fect. The clause in the former Act was for the purpose of discovering ligence of that melancholy disaster, which 'happened bribery. It was said that the provisions of a subse to be in that House, and which must be strong in the quent Act screened persons that had been guilty of memory of many Members who were then present, would have impressed him with the most lively into- bribery. If Gentlemen would, however, consider the Cricklade case, they would see that a Noble personage rest in his favour. Theatres were places concerning implicated in those practices was not screened by it, which he had but a very small personal knowledge ; but paid at least £20,000 in penalties. Although but his name having been inserted in the Bill with 1 there might be an instance of a single Member having those of many others of his friends, lie had felt it screened himself in the way alluded to, yet it was not a duty incumbent on him to give it his utmost at tendon ; and he had the satisfaction to inform the Hon. worth legislating for a single instance. He objected, however, principally to the fundamental change that Gentleman behind him, who had just sat down, that there is at this moment a very great probability of this bill would introduce in the law of evidence, by compelling witnesses to criminate themselves. Drury-lane Theatre being re-established. Terms had Mr. CURWEN was surprised at finding, that his been proposed to the renters and share-holders ; great I Honourable Friend ( Mr. Brand) thought that nothing numbers had accepted the proposition, and there were short of radical reform would do good, but should reasonable grounds for hope the remainder would do the same. He did not wish, therefore, now to oppose rather be opposed as likely to do mischief. However attached he was to the , principle of a reform in the the second reading of the bill, the Gentlemen cones': 'representation, he was not .sangnine enough to think, ned in which had conducted themselves in so truly that any great change Was now practicable, nor did satisfactory a manner ; but he would propose that. : eve that •among those who were most anxious they should defer the second reading till this day Six a bout jt..many could be found whose opinions agreed 'weeks, and in the course of that time he had no doubt as t a the sore of change they would wish for. As to it would be fully ascertained whether Drury Lane the bill which he had had the honour of bringing in Theatre would be rebuilt or not. Should if turn out o n a 'farmer session, after all the alterations which it that it cannot be effected, the Gentlemen concerned in had met in the House, he had very slight hopes of its the present bill would have time enough to proceed in being efficient; but he had hoped that other men of it during the present Session ; and in case Drury-lot e i greater talents than himself would have taken up the should be rebuilt, they may, at the end of the time I principle of that bill, and the declaration of its pre proposed, either take the sense of the House on the se- I amble to which the House appeared pledged, and cond reading, or withdraw it till another Session, as introduced measures more likely to be efficient. As they might then deem most proper and desirable.— to the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Johnstone) who 1 He concluded by moving, That the second reading ; now said something of moderate reform, that Gen of the bill be deferred to this day six weeks. ' tleman had been the first to object to the bill he The SPEAKER having put the question on the had brought in. It was notorious, however, that amendment, I the House of Commons did not at present enjoy Mr. MELLISFI said, that not having an ,oppor- I that degree of respect and attachment of the people tunity of conversing with any of the.pasties at Whose 1 which a House of Commons ought to have. It was instance he had undertaken to bring in the bill, he did , impossible to defend the manner in which the House not feel justified in acceding to the proposition made I of Commons was now formed ; he should, however, by the Honourable Gentleman, though he felt every . be content, if lie saw a gradual but constant progress disposition on his own part to do so : but if the Ho- Ito reform it. It appeared to him, Alt if even one nourable Gentleman would consent th a t the second single case could be shewn where a nber of Par reading should stand for any day in the course of' the : Lament had actually screened himself from the pe next three or four weeks, till he could c on s ult th os e nalties of the laws against bribery, by the trick of who had entrusted him with the management of the to adopt the e induced, turning informer against some other persons and being bill, he thought they might b thus himself indemnified, that single case would be mode proposed. I ground enough to induce the Legislature to take Mr. WHITBREAD said, that if there should be measures to prevent the recurrence of such a shame no other opportunity of b r ingin g it in thi s S ess i on , h e ful case. He thought that a person implicated in such would be right in not yielding to the Amendment ; transactions ought not to be permitted to sit in that but as that was not the case, he saw no ground Howe. He thought that this Bill ought at 1 to . . for opposing it. ! be permitted to go into a Committee, in o t Mr. MELLISH said, that as the sense of the it might have the fullest discussion, If they Ao House appeared to be against him, he would not so get rid of this measure without a full discussion, they far injure the cause of those for whom he acted, as to need not expect that the people at large would believe call Ow a division. , that it was, that their purity was so great that no re- The Amendment was accordinaitrcarried. 1 font was necessary. Ost the contrary, they would __A ..... -... _..-