The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-10-27 00:00:00

VIE PEOPLE OF ENGL.4ND. * The following description of a Speech intended 'to be spoken, and subsequently delivered by that very old, and long tried friend to the rights and 'liberties of the People of England, Ma. MAINWARING, was sent fur insertion to the offices of two simple, time-serving, weathercock publications, called The Pilot and The Press. The erparte senti. meats in this Address we du most readily admit to be very fit sentiments fur such a Pilot and such a Press. WESTMLVSTER SESSIONS, Orr. 26. RIOTS AT COVENT-GARDLY THEATRE. SITTINGS BLFORE XR. YAtrWARI\G AND ♦ BENCH Or JUSTICES. This being the Cast day of the Westminster Stasiutts, the Grand Jury was sworn in ; after which the Chairman, 11r.111 A tswanuto, addressed than to th ful lowing effect: 6 lie said, that, before they entered upon the discharge of the duties to whirl) they were now appointed, lie thought it necessary to make a few observations upon a subject which, from its con tiouancr, and the mischief it produced, was of the utniust imporonee to the eommunity at large, as well As to the individuals whose property it affected. It w as a matter of public notoriety, that since the opening of the new Theatre, at Oovent. Garden, for the amusement of the town, disturb ances had taken place, and frequent breaches of the peace been committed 'Whin its walls; it bad been declared, by many persons, that, unless the Proprietors would consent to admit the public at the same prices as before the fire took place, they would not permit the performance to go for ward, or at all events they would prevent it from being heard ; they had demanded admission at the old prices, and this bring refused, they persevered in a marsh which destroyed the tree. guiltily of the Theatre, to the inconvenience and terror of a greet part of the audience. They Seemed to consider thole demand a matter of right —apron what ground ha knew not. It hod b e en said, in support of it, that every one wa , . en titled to express his disapprobation of a per. formance in a theatre. Custom certainly had sanctioned suck a practice ; Cuing and clapping of hands had been lung used as the means of ev pressing applause of dislike—probabty from an iJea that it was the readiest and most convenient may of expressing the sentiments of an audience, as It prevented the delay and disturbance of an at tempt at discussion, under circumstances so unfa vourable to it. But this did not justify any person in resorting to the same Trans fur a different pur pose; there was no parallel between the two cases. The Proprietors had risked their fortunes in the present undertaking, and it was not con. sistent, either with low or justice, that any per sons should destroy their property, in consequence of a dislike to their arrangements. There %as no principle, no Act of Parliament, no ease to sanction such an opinion; the law was- most clear upon the subject, and denied any such right.— The audience of a Theatre was not recognised in this country as a court of law ; it had no au thority to issue decrees, and none to enforce them. If, as was asserted, it could settle Ate prices of admission, what could it nut du? by what glistinguishing line could it be prevented from tak. tog the whole management into its hands, and regislating the salaries and the dresses ? What confusion, too, must result from the wavering tut tsre of such an assembly, who would, the very next night, undo what they hail done the night adore; But even if such a right did exist—if the audience was justified ha assuming to itself such A prerogative, it could not be by riots and breaches of the reacts that it was to he enforced. , Azcorditig to the law of the land, tit) man could be a judge in his own case ; he was prevented evoi from being a witness. No man could take t. l / 4 c law into his own hands, except its the ,ingk instance of self-defence. If any man was injured, his redress was in the law ; the opponents of the advanced pikes could not, therefore, be justified in becoming themselves the punishers of conduct upon which they themselves pronounced judgment, and of which they them.. selves complained. It was not competent to them (the Grand Jury) to enter at the present moment tato any inquiry or resolution upon the subject of the Managers' conduct, or that of the disturbers of the Theatre; but if persons were brought before them, charged with disturbing the peace, it would then become their duty to inquire monitely in to the whole circumstances ; they had a straight forward line before them, a process .:atremely clear and simple; they were to catmint witnesses upon the charge, and if they found it sufficiently e,tablished by prop'r witnesses, to provide that the offending party should be put upon his trial. He was aware that they all knew what was meant by the word re riot," in common langtisge ; but as it was possible they did not understand its meaning let strict law, he felt it his duty to explain it. ----In doing so, he would nut offer any thing upon his own unsupported authority, but refer them to a great name (well known in Courts of Justice) for a more certain guide. Here the Learn ed Justice produced quotations from Bacon, by which it appeared that the assemblage of three, or more persons, without arty authority, for the purpose of creating disturbance, c o nstituted a riot ; and that it was legal to resort to force for its suppression ; that any persons, who joined in inch disturbance, even though they had not assembled for the same purpose, were equally rioters with the rest. That even if the object they had in view, was a justifiable one, such as the suppression of a nuisance, &c. the adoption of unjust means would still be punishable, and the riot as complete as of the motive was as criminal as the means. An un lawful assembly was any assembly met to do an on. lawful act, and, as such, was punishable by fine and imprisonment. The act was punishable every wh-re, not less so in a Theatre than in any other I.:ace.— He was not iuforased of the course of THE STATESMAN. proceeding which would be taken with respect to the persons he alluded to ; it was enough for him to have stated the lax, as it stood with respect to the Late ettraordinary transactions, and if the subject was brought before them, he was confident that they would determine legally and justly ac cording to the oath they had taken." On this doctrine we beg to remark, that the argument is founded on the " assumptio falsi," of the hissers having previously combined and confederated so to do. This has not yet been alleged, even at Bow-street. And until that Get be proved, this ready cut and dried—prejudica tion—vanishcs 66 into air, into thin air, end " like the baseless fabric of a vision, leaves " not a wreck behind." The following persons were sworn in as the GRAND JURY to whom the Bills of Indictment against the persons committed fur hissing and hooting at Covent Garden Theatre arc to be pre. tented : James Sutton, ilenrietta-street, Covent Garden, Gent. Thoinas Wilkinson, Charles-street, ditto, Gem. Henry Robins, Gowen, Garden, Gest. .1. T. Barber, Soothanipton-toreet. ditto, Gent. 'Thomas Field, Heat-Irma-street, ditto, Wine Merchant. Richard Mortimer, Clusrles.street, ditto, Gent. John Howell, King-street, ditto, Gent. William Beer, Chdoden-street, ditto, Gent. James Wood, ditto, ditto. Gent. Edward Martyr, Covent Garden, Ckust. Thomas Attwond, llenrietta.street, ditto, Gent. William Biugley, Trivi-tuck-street, ditto, Draper. Robert Joy, Cavan Garden, Vintner. Benjamin Lewd, James -street. ditto, Stationer. George Erek, Henrietta-street, ditto, Gent. Robert Bentl-y, Bedford -street, ditto Laceman. William Keene, James-street, ditto, Taylor. John George Huleutz, Southampton-street, ditto, Taylor. John Hammel, King-street, ditto, hosier. Thomas Keonerley, Bedford -court, ditto, Mercer. G. S. Grilrenhoffe, Coveut-garden, Lawman. Jame- Masao. Monier-lane, ditto. Carpenter. John Bewley, Bridges-street, ditto, Ass. tioneer. , 7V MR. WILSON, SUMMONING OFFICER FOR THE CITY AND LIBERTY OF WESTMINSTER. Sta--I wish to know whether the Report be true, viz.... That the Rills against the reputed Rioters at the Theatre, are to be preferred before a Grand Jury selected exclusively from the neigh bourhood of Covent Garden y Uncolu'a-lon. Z. Three of the Grand Jury lire under the Piaui. Mr. Robins, Astilimber. Mr. Muter, binary O. Mr. Joy, Tavern-Keeper. To the EDITOR of TUE ST,ITESM.IN. SIR—I should be very glad to know who is to pay the regiment of police officers and patrolc, that have beet. nightly employed in keeping the peace at Covent-garden Theatre. It is a fact that the Managers have not yet advanced • farthing far that purpose; and it is reported that the Dow. street Treasury is to be resorted to—if so, the Public will, after all, have to pay the piper. 0ct.9.6, 1809. A CONqrXN f READER. n the EDITOR of THE ST:ITES MAN. Sta—As very few of the Bow-street officers or patrols have been regularly appointed constables by a Leet Jury, it may be advisable for those persons charged with a breach of the peace at the Theatre to ascertain, in the first place, whether these men were ever sworn in as special constables; and likewise, what will be very material, bow far the authority of mere special constables extends. Their power has, I believe, "been never properly defined, by any writer on legal subjects. A FRIEND TO MODERATION Uarolasts.. ON Boni SIDLS. To rss Elin i Ort of THE STATESMAN. Ste—Last night, as 1 was e i ptering the centre Pit door of Covent.Gurden Theatre, 1 saw Pro fessor Brandon in conversation nith a short man of genteel appearance, and distinctly heard the Professor utter these words, " Do you only point kin nut, and I will swear to him." If called upon to substantiate this assertion, you will please to address me as below—and I am ready to come forward at any time fur that purpose—as also is a young Gentleman who was present. A MONE Y CUSTOMER. TUE MARKETS. CORN-EXCHANGE—OcroBER 27. Tu-day there is a tolerable supply of Wheat, with some arrivals of Foreign. Sales are heavy, and hardly maintain last prices ; fine American, about Jibs. per quarter. In Barley, link varia tion. Malt this week is cheaper. White Peas rather lower. Beans of the two kinds likewise. There are very large supplies of Oats, and s Iles thereof arts also named rather lower. Flour at late prices ; and fine American, 58s. to 635. per barrel. CURRENT PR Wheat, - - 78..90.. 104 s. Floe ditto - - • - 1054. lids. Rye Barley, Malt, W. Peas ( Bailees) 86s. 9iis. Grey ('cos, but. Mt. Beano - 6Js. 6.35. CF. OF GRAIN. Dirt Beans, - - - - Us. 0 lb, Poland dittu - - - - 3is. l'ot;itoe ditto - - -to 41s. It:ipe."ired • - - 148 134. Noe Flour - - - - 904. 955. Seconcb SMITH Fl 1:1:6—Oce. 27. Tn sink the 011.1, per I,lolle of tllh. 8eer....40. 6d. to ss. 6d. I Head of Cattle thii day : Moons ..4s. id. to 3s. 61. 1 Beasts lO5O Veal ....tis. Od. to 7%. 0,1. `keep Pork ... As. 0.1. to 71. Od. Calves Lamb • ...Os. thl. to ON. Od. Pigs HAY-MARKET. fray Si. Os. Od. to 61. 6v. Od. Straw Clover -- 17 -- OXFORb; Ocr. 21. The Rev. Arth. Berton, late Student of Christ Church, is presented, by the Marquis of Down. Ahem, to the vicarage of ihmpstead Norris, in the county of Berks. The Reverend Frederick William Mime, B. D. and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, in this University, has lately been presented by that Society to the Rectory of Meysey Hamilton, near I"airford, in the county of Gloucester, va. cant by the death of the Rev. George Clarke, B. D. • Theße•. Charles Philips, M. A. Vicar of Kid. welly, Carmarthenshire, and Fellow of Jesus College, in this University, has been instituted, by the Lord Bishop of St. David's, to the united vi. carages of St. Mary, St. Michael, and St. Nicht,. las, in the town and county of Pembroke, to which he was presented by Lord Viscount here. ford. The Rev. Robert Trotman Coates, Rector of Langford, is instituted to the rectory of Sop. worth, Wilts, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Hardwick, on the presentation of the Duke of Beaufort. To the EDITOR of TIIE STAITESMAN. Sta...l beg to congratulate the Public on the happy selection of the Grand Jury, who are to decide upon the truth of the bills of indictmeut about to be preferred by the Proprietors of Co. veta.garden Theatre. I say most happily, as I believe they are, fur the most part, resident in that very parish, and must therefore, be presumed to be minutely and correctly informed of the cause and nature of the circumstances that have' occurred during the recent disturbances at the new Theatre. The appointment of Mr. Routos, the Auctioneer, particularly marks the penetrating discrimination of the Returning Otlicer...as Mr. Robins is so intimately connected with the 'rhea. tre, that his information of the grounds of the demands of the Proprietors, may be presumed to have pre-eminently qualified him to decide upon a question so intimately interwoven with the Li berty of the Subject. lam the more pleased with this appointment, as I am now convinces! that Mr. Rotuma the Auctioneer, under the Piazza, who is on the Grand Jury, cannot by any pussi. bility he the Mr. Roams who has been daily in the habit of distributing orders, and of nightly occupying with his family and friends--one, and sometimes two entire Boxes in the Theatre, the company in which were always conjectured, from their vociferous applause, to have been in the pay of the House. That there has been a person assuming that name so conducting him. self, is generally reported, and believed—but the name of Robins being common, such a mistake cannot be very surprizing, and the pub. lic ought to be set right in this respect, that the " saddle may net be put on the wing horse." I therefore assure you of my conviethn that the person who distributed the orders was not Mr. Robins, the Auctioneer ) and Grand Jury. man. It is to be regretted, that this gentleman had not been on the Jury who arc to try Me Pri soners, as those persecuted individuals would, I doubt not, have been so candid as to have given Mr. Robins an opportunity of proving the incor rectness of the report, by declaring, when chat. longed, for that specific reason, that he was in no wise accessary to the distribution of orders, or supporting, by his nightly presence and applause,' the system of the Proprietors. V ER ITA S. To As EDlTaft of THE STATES,II.IN. Sts—From your having so long delayed the insertion of my last letter in your really impar tial Paper. I was led to suppose it had been re. jected, and as I write, which you may perceive, CC currente calamo," I was not inclined to feel offended, not being one of the " genus irri. labile," wham you have noticed in an answer to another Correspondent. I now address you, to state a most aggravated circumstance, which took place in the Pit of the New Theatre last night (Wednesday), and to which I was partly witness :—A man, most respectable in appearance, was, in the usual ruffian-like and violent manner, dragged out, at a time when no placards had been ex hibited, and none but the customary and legiti mate marks of disapprobation had been shewn-1 was, of course, much surprised, and was conse. quently induced to follow the party into the lobby of the Pit, where, under the direction of the wor thy professor and informer, of swearing noto riety, this young Gentleman was forcibly held, until his pockets were searched, and, from the triumphant expressions used by the party on the occasion, I should suppose something in the shape of a placard was found tipon him. Is this really legal, Mr. Editor ? Are our persons at the mercy of si:oundrel ruffians like these ? Is it possible that they can be justified, thus on the way to, and before their arrival at, the judgment scat, to rifle the pockets of an unresisting specta tor. I have seen no account in the Papers of this day of the appearance of this young mall at Bow street ; if he was liberated before his arrival there, I hope and trust he will lay a more particular ac count of this offence before that Public, whose pa tronage the chief actor in this most abominable transaction annually solicits at his benefit, and whose patronage he undeniably so well deserves, from his mild, temperate, and conciliatory con. duct on this and other occasions connected with the dispute between honest John Bull and his would-be dictator, Curiolanus. Oct. 26, 1809. TIIEATRICUS. Nearly 400 men of the Kent, 74 guns, Captain Rogers, lately returned from the Meaiterraneen, obtained, on Sunday last, fourteen days leave of absence, as a reward for their long service and or ' derly conduct. Great numbers of them went the same avening to London by the coaches, and to accommodate them, Messrs. Peters forwarded about '25 of them on a coach, with post horses, the axletree of which was broke before it got out of Portsea ; and at Kingston Cross, the prudent coachman and guard, unwiVing further to risk their own necks, mounted each of them a horse, and reached I'etersfield, a distance of 18 miles, in the space of six hours: here the coach was obliged to be left, owing to its bad state, an d th e ' c am e o were forwarded the remainder of the journey in fish carts. We mention this cir cumstance, from the indifferent manner in which the lives of brave men appear to have bee n sported with; and think we should not be doing our duly, if we did not in this manner express our unqualified tli4vent to the over-loadiug of coaches. wmi Td the RbiTOR of TUE ST.ITSSM4N. [The name of Mr. Sssivu was inserted in the Advertisement.to which he refers in the following note...iii consequence of its appearing in the ma nuscript tra►i'smitted to us for insertion. We shall pay due attention to Mr. S]ttvit's request, as to the future iit.►ertion of his name—but Mat Gentleman will doubtless perceive, that the error which be has noticed, is not imputable to us :) Sta.--An advertisement havin, , arises , e:1 in 7411111 Paper, on Tuesday, mention.-4 ..y name u Treasurer for Subscriptions, to &post persons ult. der prosecution, at the suit of the Proprietors of Covent-garden Theatre, I must beg, in futere, that no advertisement may appear, with my name ) unless signed by Your's, ttc. Oct. 26, 1809. Dorset-street, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street. JOS. SMITH, To the EDITOR of THE STATESMAN. Sta--If you think the following hint will be any ways conducive towards restoring tranquillity between the Proprietors of Covent Garden Thea. ire and the Public, you may make use of it in any way you think fit. Suppose the Proprietors were to select five of the Gentlemen who have been bailed, to examine tbc• accounts fur six years—the three years pre.. ceding Mr. Kemble and family being engaged, and the three first years of his enga•enent, and let them make a distinction of the profits arising from each of the trrinb. W 'lawyer may be result, the Public, I think, will then he satisfied. Tour's, truly, October VI. To rus EDITOR or THE STATESMAN. October 96, Iso9. SlR—Your Paper is the only one through the medium of which an injured and insulted public can, with any certainty, make known their um plaints ; fur I have frequently addressed letters to other Papers, upon the subject of tee ruffian-like means resorted to by the Proprietors of Covent. Garden Theatre, without being able to procure lan insertion of any one of them. The reason of this despicable reluctance in the cause of the public, for welch I wns at a loss to ac. count, is now oevions. I early recommended a sta,•cription" that was the head and front of my offending," b:tt thanks to you, princi. pally, one is now set on foot, which I have no doubt will, in a few days, he fully ado. quate to oppose the illegal and oppressive ince. surer which have been resorted to by the Pro. praetors. In better times, when the liberties of Englishmen were better understood, and boldly asserted, such treatment world not have been to tamely endured by the People of England. Their abject submission is, I fear, the effect of • principle which has tor some yea/3 past been un dermining and impairing that noble spirit of ree :Balance against arbitrary measures, which cha. racterised the actions of our ancestors. These observations, if pursued, would lead me much beyond the limits I have prescribed for myself, and I will, therefore, confine myself to the only object for which I began this letter. I was at t• Theatre last night, Wednesday, where I %views sed the following infamous transactiee, which the leading performers were ste.ie ut those who espouse the cause of the Proprietors., —A Gentleman, who presumed to express his die. approbation by hissing only, was immediately seized by two persons, Bow-street Officers, Cos. stables, or some such worthy coadjutors of the Proprietors, and, although he made no resist. once, was dragged out of the bee with the most brutal violence. The ruffians, seizing him by the collar, the head and the arms, pulled hint over the seats, au that he was knocked against the sides of the benches and the doors, with the most fere. cious unrelentiug violence. A gentleman who witnessed this inhumanly outrageous behaviour, observed to the officers, with great moderation of manner, that he thought they were using the' gentleman very ill. The answer which he re. ceived was, "Oh, you think so, du you ?+" which, without one word of further observation, was fol lowed by a blow ,from the officer with a largo stick, which struck the gentleman across the fore head, knocked him down, amid gave Mtn two black eyes. It wit!, however, be gratifying to the pub. lic to know, that as soon as the gentleman got up and recovered himself, he gave the ruffians a corn. plete drubbing, and they were subsequently kicked out of the pit. This must likely was a punishment more satisfactory to the gentle man's feelings, and more likely to prevent such atrocious conduct in future, than taking them be. fore their masters, where the strong probability is, that the Gentleman would have been outsworn ; but it is no satisfaction to the Public, who arc entitled to the protection of the Magistrates as much as their own nefations satellites. One word more—l also saw, on the same evening, a man applauding, in a violent and vociferous tune and manner, and occasioning as nevelt or more dis turbance than any man in the house. A Gentle. man pointed out this orderly man to one of the Officers, and desired hits to take the man into custody. The Officer replied, he would not, for that the man did not belong to the Opposition. If the Public submit to conduct like this, they have forfeited the name of Englishmen, and richly merit the treatment they receive. One of the duties of the Committee appointed to manage the Subscription, should be to gu every night to the Theatre to watch the conduct of these SHOULD-In preservers of the peace, for if not, I think, from the professed sample of swearing which we have had, there will be nu chaise(' for those who are taken up. In plain English, I perceive some persons will swear any things and therefore an honest man has but a pour chance. 0. P. SHORT Watcorr.—A baker, of the name of M'Cabe, at t,he corner of York-street and Queen Ann-street, was on Tucsday fitted 23 shillings and costs at Mc-lborough-stroet Police Office, for a deficient"- of vreigbt to 10 q'iartcrn loaves. NI . i i