Star. — London, England, 1801-12-24 00:00:00

LAN INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, DEC. 23: DRURY-22Ni THEATRE. The Soslctrosa;;;;lLAL laid ,that tl; having con. fultcd with his Learned Friends, and conlideting the peculiar nature of this cafe, and the fats which his Client alone coeld be fully polfelfed of. it was thnught moll expedient for Mr. Sheridan to reply. The LORD CHANCELLOR Paid he war ready to hear all parties. Mr. SHERIDAN faid, if other claims.were to be fet up, he hoped he might be at liberty to hear all thole claims, and afterwards to comment upon i them. _ _ Mr. HOLLIST raid a few words on behalf of Mr. Weiner. The Lorin CHANCELLOR faid, he perfectly un derflood the cafe of Mr. Wifiley. An annuity had been granted him by the Proprietors of the Theatre on his ceafing to be Treafurer, by a deed which was executed by Mears. Sheridan and Ri chardfon, but not by Mr. Grubb : it was contend ed that Mr. Grubb was effectually bound by that agreement. Mr. Priapism Ls laid, there was a petition call ing upon the Truftees to compel Mr. Holland to complete his enntrad. The Trullees were under nb contra& With Mt. Holland, nor could they eater into any. With refpeft to the claim of Mr. White, Mr. Sheridan had entered into an agree ment with him for pool. for the purchafe of his claim. • Mr. TROWIR, on behalf of Mr. White, laid, there had been an agreement made by the Pro prietors of Drury.lanerheatte, to grant his Client an annuity of 2501. per annum. The LORD•CHANCELLOR afked how that agree ment was made Mr. 'Nowa laid, with Mr. Linloy and Mr. Sheridan, Proprietors of Drury-lane Theatre. Mr. AGAR addreffed the Court on behalf of, Mr. Grubb. The Lotto, CHANCELLOR laid, there was one umfideration he %sidled then to [fate. The pro pofals handed to him went to certain ads to be done by the Proptictors ; upon the, therefore, he could not decide till he knew who were the Proprietors. He had received, he raid, a letter from a perfon of the name of Gloffop, who claimed to be a creditor to the amount of 60001. for illuminating the Theatre. He thought it ne ceffary to fty, that he fhould confider every letter font ' le 11;m in that way as a fpecch in Court. If the leFtekle was admitted, duo the monies of the The toe fhould become an accumulating fund, it would gb farther in favour of thole claims againft the fund than for a. Mr. AGAR fail, there was no way of compel ling thofe having Papers in their poffedion to'con2 forward with the means of fubftantiating Mr. "Grobb's claim. The LI , RD Csavert.Lon bid, he was willing to hear every thing that could be urged on all fides, and having heard every thing, he fhould come down on Saturday morning to pronounce judgment. Mr. AGAR, as Conflict for Mr. Grubb, whore fituation he flitted to be peculiarly fevere under the circum fiance of being denied to pollen the partnerfhip which he had purchafed, while at the fame time he Rood engaged for debts on account of the Theatre to the amount of 40,0001. Was it to be prefumed that Mr. Grubb would have come forward and fubjeded his private property to :ilk to Inch an amount upon any other account than as a partner in the property ? The nature of the cir cumfiance alone, if there was no document to be adduced in proof of the actual partnerfirip, would be fuEficiently impreffive to call upon the wisdom and difcernment of the Court to inflitute the fullefl truptiry upon what ground it was that Mr. Grubb should have been induced to folded his private pro perty to ft) extraordinary a silk ? He had enough, however, to thew molt charly that his client's claims asa proprietor had been amply and repeated )y acknowledged. It appeared by the affidavit of Mr. Grubb, that an engagement had been entered Into in the month of Auguil, :795, by which that gentleman and Mr. Richardfon were to be entitled each to oft -Patna, part of the Theatre, on paying for two (hares zsod. each, the profits on which, at this time, amounted on the part of his client to nearly to,cool. He had not before him the oil girtal agreement, but he held in his hand a copy of it, penned by Mr. Richardfon, and by which itl appeared that Mr. Grubb was entitted to an u!ti• mate interefi and beneficial ownerthip in the con. cern. He was ready to admit that there was an indorfement on the truft-deeds of :798, which tended to guard the exclufive rights of Mr. Sheri• ; but this, lie contended, went to take out only the leafebold interell in the premifes, and left his client a full proprietor as far as his (hare went in the patent, fcettery, machin:ry, &c. He ob fees cJ, that bids had been received and circulated in the name of Isfeffrs. Sheridan, Grubb, and Ri ch-n(1(On, as proprietors of Drury-lane Theatre.— it was to him a matter of alionifhnient, therefore, that his client's demand to gland as a pinprietor could' be refilled. it appeared from Mr. Grubb's affidavit, that he had advanced money to the amount of ro,oool. and that he was now Prevent ed from appearing before the Cour t, by other de• snands upon him to the amount of 4o,oocl.—Mr. Agar entered into a long diiquifition relpeaing the j pi/lit:4loß of the motley received for private boNes. Ile could not now compel an answer to the ncetifary quellions; but he fliould certainly file a bill next term for that purpofe. He doubted nu. 1,..r that ;l:e Court would decree his client to be a prointcvn ; bur, is thi. ial:since, Mr. Crab!) wait m..re anxious ft , r his creditors than for hitufell. The 1.-tan C. 1.1%( Cl.tott laid, he could not dif cover, fi om the affidavit of Mr. Richardfon, whe ther he was a Proprietor or tiwt. Mr. t:sid, he could hare no objcaii n t.s. what was con. iiacei in arlid.ivitc, net he diti Imi , e that ii Mr. .;hcr;jan thew I.l‘t any in the Ipii it in winds I. tone ali,:rtiolis Lad bet n t'f..,t they w‘ !del he cl)11!ilieltd as irrc- L•varit, icaa that ita 1..).44.114 vout.:d hiel io 1:V.:1 The Lott) exituemott Paid, that, Wilier lOC eircumflances of the cafe, he thould certainly hear whatever Mr. Sheridan had to fay upon the fubjat, W. Heit.t./irio then reqttefted his Lordthip'S in. dolgence for a few obfervations. It had been flitted by Mr. Sheridan, that he had expended 140,0001. upon an eftimate of 75,0001. in conle quence of which great dares had fallen upon the Theatre. This he had felt very much : it was not, however, actually the cafe. Mr. Sheridan had fince withdrawn that ftatement, and did not now attempt to deny that the eftimate was Bo,ocol. and not mooch and that he expended under 75,0001. and not 140,0001. All . there premifes being abandoned, he might .take the liberty to conclude, that they were completely untenable. The queftion had been farted, why was not the whole Theatre finifhed with equal acclivity ? For this two reafons had been Rated in his affidavit, the one was cruelty towards the workmen em ployed, the other was a reflation upon the Pro prietors. He did not know who the Proprietors were, although he bad been employed under them for (even years. He did know, that according to ' the original agreement, and it was fo held out to the workinen employed, that if the rum allotted for building the Theatre was not fufficient, the produce arifing from the Pale of fifteen private bores was to be added to that fum.. So it flood in his propofal, and fo it was agreed upon. What alteration had fume been made he knee, riot, but • he had all along a confidence in Mr. Sheridan, that That agreement would be adhered to. Under this imprellion, and with this confidence, bin - elf and the workmen worked early and late: they did every thing in their power to render the Theatre in a fit Rate to be opened for reprefentation, and no delay whatever could be imputed to them.— Mr. Sheridan would furely give him credit for this. By means of the greateft•exertion,theTheatre was made ready for reprefentation in the month of Fe. brnary, of which circntrillance he gave notice to the Solicitor of the Theatre, and to Mr. Sheridan. He. left it in that Rate in which it might be tided for thofe objals for which it was intended. Mr. Sheridan then reprefented that the nightly re ceipts would (non overbalance, from the capacity of the Theatre, any additional expence which might have been incurred in crating and finithin . g it. The event certaialyproved this to be true,for in the year 1796, as was proved by a paper which he held in his hand, containing a return of tht Trea. fiirer upon that occafion, the houfe held near 9001. If this was certain, that the receipts of the Thea tre overbalanced the additional expenses atten dant upon the extraordinary expedition with which it was erected and &lifted, then they were entitled to be paid with promptitude, that fair remunera tion to which they were juftly entitled. Inftead of this, their accounts were not fettled, nor everfince ap to the percent moment had been fettled. The workmen have been promifed from time to time, and from day to day, but had never been paid ; until at length, tired out by repeated promifes, which were as repeatedly broken, they refufed to go on any longer, and this was the reafon why the Theatre was not completely finifhed. He kpew, at the fame time, that 36,0001. had been re ceived from the produce of the private boxes, which ..remained unaccounted for. There was another circumnance which he wifhed to advert to. A gen tleman had (worn, and he thought a little ftoutly, that the Duke of Bedford would not grant a leafe till the Out-buildings were completed 1--but it appeared to him, from all that he knew upon the fubjat, that the Out-buildings) could not be completed till a leafe was granted. And it fhould be recollected, that if thefe out-buildings were to be lubjaled, along with the Theatre itfelf, to the rent of 20001. it could never be certain how far they might be liable for that rent, as, if the Duke of Bedford could not find hit rent in the Theatre, he might find it in fome of thefe out-buildings. One of thefe buildings Was intended to be a tavern, but it was not to be fuppofed that that, or any of the other buildings, could be let to any advantage undet fuch circumftances. From the outfide of the Theatre, however, he mutt now, according to the Affidavits, go within fide and here the Affida vits had hated, that the inede was a mere fell. Mr. Sheridan had hated, that an excels of debt, to a confiderable amount, had been incurred, arifing from the large fume expended to make the Theatre fit for reprefentation. A perfon of the name of Jacob-, a little carpenter, employed in various odd jobs about the Th eatre, had Rated in his Af fidavit that a conliderable Turn had been expended, but he knew that the price of a pot of porter was to Jacobs a confiderable fum, and how was be to know from this, how much had been expended ? &fides which, Jacobs had never been employed in any work upon which a confiderable (tun could be ezrnded. The fad was, that the labour of the workmen within the Theatre had been fufpended in conkquence of the bad credit of the Trullees and holm ictors. When dude conliderable fume, however, were inveftigated, they became very ma lei ially reduced, there appeared a hill of the little carpenter, Jacobs, fur 1661 and another of Mr. Fo&rook for 46rd. t6s. 3d. but no confiderable funs were to be dilcovercd, nor was any work to be found, or even heard of, correfponding to fuch a ilaten:ent.—Ti - ere was indeed an expenceof7ool. or ;tool. for a carpenter's (hop. It bad been a ma terial objat to render the Theatre incombuflible, , and if the dire of Lord Stanhope and Mr. I Harley bad been followed, it might have been ren dered fo. But thole diralions not having been fol lowed, the Fire•offices wouhl not infure theTheatre under a very high premium, which they hill fur ther increafed on account of the carpenter's Chop, wliirli it was fnpprfed by them,added very greatly to the danger of the Theatre. It w as found th it the dcfirtalion of the carpenter's fhop would Pave 4001. per annum, in premiums; accordingly, in confeouence of this the carpenter's (hop was de firti ed. This wis done without his knowledge. Ile had ,:ate.! he knew upon the filbje.4 of the building t Thcatre; he contended, that it was fib :.; ~,111:1 as :o le: fit for every purpofe for niaeli it had liven tiled before. It was the misfor tore of this'l'l..,the, that the original plan upon ehieli `t was 11:•VC been eroded, had not been toilowi.si up; for 1144 tliat ckaleciat phut Imen fo/- r !Owed vp by all parties, the fubfequeot ernbartaff- Meats would not has: arifen, nor would any occa- Ann have been given for thole proceedings which ' were now before the Court. Suppofe the ground around the Theatre had been let .upon Butldinß leafes, he confidered that it would have produced 5001. per annum. Hi had thought of this, and had fpoken to fevers`. perfons upon the f..bjee. He did not like to hate his opinion, but he had often refleeed, in his own mind, nn the lnfs the Theatre had fuftained by fuffering this ground to remain unoccupied, and producing nothing, and he was convinced that Ws was not fo little as to,oool. It teemed that Mr. Fofbrook now tom. plained of the want of a Box-Office. The honk, however, which he now occupied, had been mi.. ginally fitted up for him as a box-office, and with that he always expreffed himfelf perfectly fatisfied. He did not know who were the Proprietors of the' Theatre ; but when affertions were made, involving his charadter, he felt himfelf called upon to contradict them. But, unfortunately for him, theft Proprietors had employed learned Connie], by whom affertions were made in a lan guage which he could not underhand, or elle he would have anfwered them more fully. There was one point more which he wi(hed to take notice of :—A contra had been mentioned, or a tome. thing which he was fuppofed to have made. When he was &It called upon, relative to re-building -theThearre, Mr. Sheridan wanted a plan ; he made out a fummary. Mr. Sheridan wifhed to know the expence t it was well known, that in works of magnitude, it was .very ufual to form an efiimate according to the great fquare ; and, according to this method of eflirnation, he . made a rough elli mate. The fum of 80,0001. was held out to the Subfcribers, as the fum for which the Whole would be completed. He faid, he was willing to under take it for that fun), but no contra& was drawn up, nor was any regular eflimate made. The Solicitor made out a contract with the workmen, to do fo much work for fo much money.; they were to receive certificates from him 'of the work performed, to entitle them to receive the flipulated compenfations fos fo much work. Thole certifi cates he had regularly given, and the fums paid upon them would be found to he in the total amount as he had flared the expenditure to have been. Many other circumflances had come to his know ledge that he could explain, but he would forbear, as he did not with to be irrelevant. Mr. SHERIDAN then addreffed the Court, and began nearly as fiillows :—My Lord, having linen ed with patience to every gentleman %silo has fpoke ; having afforded every facility in my power to the confideration, of every claim which has been prefented, I hope the time is now come when I may Rand forth in my defence, and communicate to your LoialfhigTairly and fully all the informa tion of whicb I am mailer. After what has been laid by the Solicitor General, I troll, that in plead ing my own caufe, t will not be thought guilty of prefumption. I have no dilirufi either in the abi lities or zeal of my Counfel. I have never been able to furnifh them with a complete brief, and upon fuch a fubjeCt I mutt neceffarily be better ac quainted. Above all, this is a queftion of charac ter as much as of property, or rather charafter is the chief property at flake. In my own vindica tion I fhall (peak with greater feeling, and I truft heard with equal refpedl. The Gentleman on my left hand (Mr. Holland) who has on this occafion proceeded againit me with fucb marked hoftility, is greatly miflaken if he thinks I will have recourfe to the tricks of logic, or the flowers of eloquence. I hope your Lordthip gives me credit for too much refpeft for the Court to wafte its time in vain de clamation, and too much regard for myfelf by thus trying to blind the penetration of the Judge tp betray a confcioufnefs of guilt. I than confine myfelf to proofs, and thefe proofs I hold in my hand. Thefe will be fufficient to juftify use in the mind of your Lordfhip, which is at once large and enlightened, unfophiflicated and fimple. Upon the opinion which (hall be formed in your Lord thip's mind upon a confederation of - dick docu ments, I am contented to reft all my pretenfions to public tharaeler, and to private honour. Your Lordfhip juftly expreffeil an anxious with to know who were the. proprietors. This mull certainly be afcertained before judgment can be pronounced; and I therefor,: (hall proieed to (hew that Mr. Grubb is not to be included in the num ber. I hope Mr. Mansfield will not imagine that in doing this I will to recede from the ternis of fettlement I have offered. If I rightly underflocd what fell from your Lordfhip on a former day, the parties are not precluded from taking a gene ral view of the whole cafe ; and I mutt that, though fome things I may advance Mould not at Ara fight appear to bear upon the points at Ale, I than have credit for not wilfully introducing irrelevant matter. Mr. Grubb's cafe has been ably, though not briefly-fupported by the Learn ed Gentleman on my right. He undertakes to prove, notwiddlanding his want 'of accefs to the original deeds, that Mr. Grubb has an undoubted title to a (hare in the property. 1 believe in the opinion of every one who heard him he failed in this undertaking. In the first affidavit he referred to, Mr. Grubb fwears that he had purchased a feventh part of the Theatre, and that a memo random of the bargain being drawn up by Mr. 01a:titian was figned Richard Brinfley Sheridan. One would have furpofed that this paper would have been produced. This faCt being denied in his fecond affidavit, he fwears that it was dra Nis up by Mr. Richardron, and-not figned at all, the initials being merely added by Mr. Richardfim.- -Ht then twears that the profits of the feventh amount to an immenfe funs in a few of the wort years that could occur. According to the Aida. vit of a gentleman, ma much inclined to favour my fide of the quefiioa, 16,c001. was necefiary to complete the Theatre ; going into a new houfc, we were without a fcene—our wardrobe was empty, and• our expellees enormous in every de pai tm,:nr. If we aEtcd Harder or airTkrs, we might almoft as well have got up a new parto mime. Yet this feventh, of which I matte him a I point, is fappofed to entide him in three or fon:- fuch years, to a dividend of to,ccQl. For the vtry Aare which Mr. Grubb luppolcs Lind - elf ta hav'e msrchafed for 5,c,c:01. I taft,i'el therefore would reprelent that, th nr g a Ili t j t' Peen him b u t a vet y few tires, I Iv a , f t , fo,: ,:`;. i' ; with Lis phygingti.tell fi nity, I ter in lo vv w i th eharaifter, I was lo t a k en with tha• in birth, which he h as inlttn&ed his Counfd to i - k itte to me, th a t I infifted up on him tteeptiovnig leventh part of' my property. Ile has a 0) defctibe Inc• as carelefs, but not a s :I 111.tj 171--; The Itory carries, internal evidence it. labTn have accept e d l oc h a !t sars inr •,i, r unti . ration, would ha ve been fansethin g onofe thi nk 1 4 . folly with which lam charged.--[it nom o - 4 , produced by Mr, Grubb 's Solicitor a. a cipy this agreemcnt.]—Tili paper is not: called c a l f a copy, but if it Cut a ha.i tigure its a n it cuts a worfe as a copy. It is f::ratched, bl o , tee and interlined. Thi s might be thavxi:tt•Lit a fiefi drawght, but would not a chid be and (tee f rom etamonth furcs ? o lt is likes ire ti•tli , tut date o f d a k, . r year ! Grubb Avears that Mr. Sheridan mutt h ave the .iris-in. : :. S o l it mould repreleat me as Co ter. ifi e d iv:i he Iho o ld get of front keeping th e •p re f ent of this fhare of My property, fo apprehenfire kit I Ihould b e obliged to take hack what I had given, that I w as determinedao pin Mtn down, and that I kept the original of the agreement, while poor Mr. Gruhh, indifferent Of what became of it, tamely allow e d ftic to carry it :twig , . The agrectmatt of the t9tli September is the only bond of conaaelha betwc:a ns. That wit drawn-up in hli•. Grohlr's hour: in Lincoln's Inn-field., is dated two o'clock, w as figned by Mr. Richardfon, Mr. Gmbh, an d my _ MS; and is :incited by two witn.As, Mr, peaks and Mr. Woodrolle three copies of it were made out, , and feverally executed. A 5 I was then going o ut of town I granted the two a pnw er to nt ,„ ae the Theatre, and provided they b oug h t up the !hares which remained unlidd , they trete to hart one-feventh of the clear !Naas. By forfeitin g the fum of tool. and' giving fix months notice, it was competent to any of us to ei;tfolte the partnerfltip. The connenion wis found mutt'- , ally slifadvantageous, and a me.;ting was held to put an end to it. It was here Cued that Mr. Grubb's interell depended folely upon 1:1e Aqrce ment of the istrli September. Let Mr. Grua; file his bill. I !hall hare no objetTon to aufwer to intetrOgatories to-morrow. An arbitration was then agreed on. • I chose Mr. Bigot ; Mr. Grubb Mr. Conlt ; and Mr. Rich:it-droll Mr. Morris; the award of thee gentlemen wars to he final. This agreement was drawn up, and figned by all the three. Mr. Grubb afterwards denied that he had figned any agreement on the 19!11 of Septem'aer, and refolutery pet-titled in this till a cc,py nf it wai (hewn hint. I impute nothing to hint ailltoroura ble ; I have not a doubt that - Lc had forrtot it, hut I am a little furprized that after he baet,),,,,, his memory to be fo frail, he fhould venture two years longer after the time to fwcar to the esitience of a memorandum againft all improbablity, and his account of which he is obliged In materially to vary. A cautious man would have catechized his own mind, and raid to Itimfelf, fince I have once erred, I will not at this dillance of time fwear cunceinicg a paper which I cannot produ ce . „M - r. WooDROFWE faid, Mr. Grubb had been greatly allonifhed when he law the agreement of tion of it. September, and at that time had loft a ll rccollcc. After a few more obfervations upon this topie, Mr. Sheridan continued : In the deed of 1798, Mehl. Sheridan, Grubb and Riehardfon are call ed the fole proprietors of the ultimate property a Drurylane Theatre ; the patent, the buildings, and the moveables.—Here is an admitlion, no doubt, as the learned Gentleman tai but there is little circumliance which he choie entirely to overlook, and which will be found to make ionic alttration in the cafe. I refolutely refilled to fign the deed till this memorandum had been added— " It Is farther agreed, and hereby declared, that nothing in this deed •(hall prejudice the red ! fito right of R. B. Sheridan to the property cl Drury lane Theatre, &c." As Ido not vlb now to fay any thing againti the trances, 1 shall not (late ued:r what eircumitances I figned the deed ; but prelfed as I was, I infitted upon Mr. Grubb making a complete renunciation of his claims. To prove (till farther that he Lad a right only to a per cm cage on the profits, and not to a !;tare in tl e property ; in that very deed "of t 7911, reference is made to the rights, interefts, &c. of the p=-- ties as they were fettled in September.—Shall then a memorandum which cannot be prodaczer which has been twice renounced, and ab. r. which there has been Inch contratliclory fwearir•g• be fet up againa the agreement of September, of which three copies are extant, kneel by all the parties, and attested by two witnesses, one of whom as Mr. Grubb's solicitor ? M tch flrefs was laid upon the Bills of Exchange. As Mr.Gruhh WAS/ partner, it was not always easy to make a diainition between the partnership and the Proptictory. The order were generally given, the accounts drawn up, and the tradeimen's Salt made out in the name of Mctlis. Sheridan, Grubb and Richardlon. But whenever it has come to a deed, I defy Mr. Grubb to f!:cw one tingle inflance whet e I have tit tntert J a 4WW. I agaitill his pi eteniions. No fir, ni,cr ittllance as be given than in the CAC : or ln th for granting ibis GentLman ;In &not -:y, .It. Grtthb is (bled a partner, ar itor a popr;ettr.— Mr. GiuLb earnelliy iii.ted to hticinnte trtaltuer he had views pr, bably to tl.e office cf nit:it:Tett his theatrical race aa. r., a t cat, that I thought of goin upon tl,:t cited me, I Paid z coulo! net part with M. Weil• ley, who had been near 3o year! in the Ibeater, berldes pie ii.t;n , ,T in the Theltre, had rranag• cal my private air:tilt %title th•: leiity.-- Betides, he had two yeats of his engagouent to run. I therefore ituitted that he fliould have for theft: two years his full ialai yof 55c1. and th he should aftet ward , . have 2 so]. a j..ar It) and the ;lune Cum to his wife. Mr. G: al,t) eon fmted. and a deed was tent to hint I .; the annuities, which had firit ban 1) :• kithardian anti myreli. 'flits det,l ; his pucker, and would never :ac gar e.. 1 ercrl rcruimitlan.:c, AL;.! .11 • a lk 2 guifl ceti cleg: itor At bisft