The Sun. — London, England, 1801-12-28 00:00:00

envaraas of 'men, or what wers called the coritrads Of men, and their conch:id upon such cohtrads, and only upon SoCh cAtrads ; out .of - tlieir contrails he. had nothits to do with their -condud.—Now, it was one thing to make Mr. Sheridan- believe that So,oool. would do to complete this building, and . another thing to make a man do it for that sum. There was a wide difference between doing a thing, and the'opinion of some Man who was nor to do it, that it could be done—So-there was a 'wide differ ence between a Surveyor of a building, and the Builder of it.—His Lordship said he did not pretend to much,' but he.' was not abiolutely destitute of personal knowledge of this cliStindion, that know ledge having, perhaps, cost him something. The • -charader of -a Builder, and a Surveyor, were dif_ &rent in Law ; the one performed the thing, and the other lookedover and inspeded his labours.; the One contraded for, the perforthance of a work, the other looked over the work when it was done, arid charged a certain commission for so doiag. Mr. Holland; although a Builder . and Archite& by pro fession,. had more of the charader ofSurverar,.with reference to this concern, than that of . a Builder ; for although it was true the workmen were paid by Mr. Holland's certificates, still in a question, as between him and the Proprietors, he ought to be considered as.referring to the funds of the Proprie tors, on thefaith of which he employed the work men, and on the faith of which the workmen did the work : the promise was indeed made to the workmen, and the certificates were signed, and the 'drafts drawn, by Mr. Holland ; .but this left the question of Mr. ollan d's engagement to complete the building where it began, because Mr. Holland had a right to ask, before lie ; performed this Work, what funds he was to loCsk . to for the discharge oldie expenee of it.—Here his Lordship. went over the \different statements Of items as they appeared in 'the proceedipgs, _and referred to in the affida vit of Mr. Holland, and - which his • Lordship thought was not completely met by affidavits on the other side in this particular, so as to fix Mr. -Hol land with-.a positive engagernent, as Mr. Sheridan had insisted, that of compleating this building for 80,0001.--liis Lordship took occasion to observe, that some of these things had been turned int° ridi cule, but he did not like observations of wit or ridi. rule, or humour on any man in a Court: of Justice. The exertion of talents in that way, did not appear to t him to conduce to the ends of itisticee but taking Vie whole matter together, the So,bool. originally destined for the building, and - the sum of 35,6001. which was afteewards supposed by the parties' to he 'necessary for the purpose of Compleating the build.: ing, they struck his Lords* to be near the Mark, as it was stated by Mc Holland ; but whatever might have been. once intended by the parties, in their condud in 1 Sor, in which the subject of the building was considered, no • fault was found with Mr. Holland : therefore, without attending to what 'might pass, ,or what del not pass, he must look at -what actually did pass between the parties, .asfar as they had disclosed what past between them; 'his Lordship could not say there was any thing like that kind of case which called on him to say that Mr. Holland had made the kind of contraet which Mr. Sheridan contended he had ; he said this - the more especially, as ie was admitted there had been negligence and inattention to some parts of the con cern, an ~,`ojet't which should never oetosc - stgfir or by those who called for the interference of a Court of Justice, ,for although there might be negligence in the, beginning of a basiness, - there' must be at.. tentioo at the end of it, if parties would have their matters decided in a Court' of Justice. His Lordship then took a view Of the claims of the Petitioners as they bad been stated to . him, for same of which provision was said to be made by IVIr. Sheridan, by Bond and Judgment, by . Assign ment of Shares, &c. ; the legality of some Of Whitt), his Lordship thought, might possibly admit of a question, which he threw out as an inducement•to the parties to come to an adjustment among them selves, in the . way lie had recommended before he entered on the merits of this case to-day, remind_ lag the parties altogether, that if they did not agree, the dry, unaccommodating rule of Law must goverit e etheir huerests, of whatever kind they were, however much some of them, or all of them,- might be disappointed, which he took to be an additional reason for all parties assenting to a reference; &c.. In the course of many observa tions, his Lordship , took an opportunity of saying, lie lamented that so many Dee& and Instruments had been executed by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. RiChard_ son, and other Gentlemen, some of the provisions of which were repugnant to each other.—Having gone through all the fads and. circumstances of this complicated case, his Lordship Said, " It' is very possible that I may have taken a wrong view of this ease : -if I have, I freely confess I have no aiology to make for my errors, or any mistakes I may have fallen into: I am sure the nature of •the case is such that, although, with great assistance from those who hare. addressed me Ain this . Subjed, I have, from the fatal necesity of the case itself, been without' that assistance which is really- most valuable to a person who is, to decide; 'not as an Ar bitrator, but as a judge bound by Law and by Rules which compel him to avoid, in many 'points, the course which his own understanding-gent him is the best measure ofjugtice to certain parties, from th e peculiar circumstances of their 'situation ; but 'a Judge is bound by. Law in a Court of Justice, and is io know_ no party beyond the extent ,of a Suitor in the Court. The - view that I have taker) of it, is satisfactory, in some respeds, to me ;--satisfadory to this purpose, that lam persuaded, without - any mixture-of doubt, it is the interest of every man who can have any interest in, this concern, mode rate, large, ni consicierable, in this case, to promote as - much as possible, a system of general accommo dation, and to forth some. new .ariangement which shall, take up the whole of this case as it now stands, each looking • moderately. at his own interest, and looking truly, because moderately, at his own inte rest, and then to make such a provision for its final adjustment as the wisdom of the parties may devise; so complicated a case,—l stated this on a former Occasion, because it was my opinion then ; I repeat it, becdtge it is my opinion now, con Armed by as much reflation as I have been able to bestow upon it, and I do this the rather because, in my view of it, there are questions of Law, the disposal of which must precede every consideration of &jolty, afrtft. ing the:cases of almost all ,the parties in this most complicated subjeit, the claims of the Performers and the Tradesmen only 'excepted. I think it is the interest of the Perfortners, and the 'interest of the: Tradesmen, not to discuss, -in this place, the ques-• tion of by-gone aTairs,.whetherthey have a. demand on .the Trtist Funds, or only a personal demand on thok to whom-the property belongs.--I say those to whom the property belongs, and I use these words in a sense which may embrace the eases of any of the persons who have anTinterest to take by way of property. .I do not discuss that question now; but I say it - is to their interest not to discuss that ques tion, in this place, under the.present circuinstances, but I give no judgment upon that point.' If I were to say now, that they have nonsuch a right, Ishould dismiss them from this Court,. and send thein into a situation where they must depend, entirely, on the personal responsibility' ofindiyiduals. I hope that nothing which 'passes from me, will have any-ill effeta any where. I should be sorry to hurt the claims of any class ,of men, and- the consequence would be, it I were to say theyhaVe no right to inforce the payment of their arrears out of the Funds of the Theatre, that these Performers and Trades men would have to-depend entirely on the integrity and prudence of those who are entitled to the prd petty, for On them they would, in that enr, have only a personal claim. On the other band, if I were to give my opinion (without saying now what that opinion is likely to be), that they have a spe cific claim, it is obvious that great inconveniences might thence arise,, and the future supplies of Trades. men, avfwell as the future exertions of Performers, would be entirely shut out by the present demands drying up the fountain out of which.;tll.parties de rive their hopes of future advantage. The labour of the Performers deserves great consideration in the scale of merit, but -let me ask, any intelligent Per former, whether it be possible to look at the arrears which have accumulated in this business for salaries, B,:e. without seeing the effeet which the inforcing of payment would . create, and, without questioning whether, ,if they had the -right posterior re this state of things, they have not forfeited that right, by permitting an accumulation, the, discharge of which At once must disappoint the hopes of all foture interest -th is concern. If I were .to 'say such is my view of the.case, as it stands at present, that - the Tradesmen and.the Performers may now inforce pay ment of all arrears at once,,not onifas against any in dividuali4 but* against the_ Trustees, Rent chargers, and all altose who are interested in the funds of the Theatre, and that they .could force a specific lien on the whdle of the property, and that they were now to call. on me to do so, they might as well call on me to place a barrel of gunpowder under the Theatre, ready for the match to be put to it when ever it should please any person to do so, for that would be the effeet of enabling these 'persons to call for their capital day by day, .to the amount of.. all the arrears that are due to the Performers, and the money due to Tradesmen—l think, the wise course for all parties is, that these claimants should look forward' to the liquidation of their demands by gra dual,payments.—This -seems to me to be the in terest of the Performers, and this may also havethe area to which I have. before alluded,. that, of intro. clueing a system of moderation and mutual sacrifsees, in which it may - not only bo oon.idcrea what is due to them in point of justice, but also what may come, 'in some measure; due to them, morally speak.: ing, in point of candour, as an. acknowledgment of their moderation—l say the same thing Of trades_ .men : and here let me observe ; that men who:live by the application of an-honest skill in life, whose labours are, in any opinion, not unimportant in the society in which we live (I speak of Theatrical Per formers), are. entitled to our respcit and encourage ment.—They are employed in a way in which the interests of the Public are as deeply engaged as any other; for the Theatre must be either the school of morality or of immorality —,we must, therefore, all of us have a lively interest in, and. pay ;hie attention to the Stage, for the doilrine there laid down, and the morals there inculcated,, must either improve or in jure public morals.—The way to secure this point in our favour is, to make the Stage comfortable to those who tread it, that Virtue may there be exhi bited and held forth for imitation-1 think, there fore, it is of importance that the Performers should be secured in the honest earnings of their labour, .and that it is the interest of those who'are entitled to the ultimate benefits of this concern, to conduit themselves as libeplly. as . may be, towards those who certainly are thOifeand - soulof it—l mean as to what may be done in future,--I think it is the interest of the Performers themselves, as well as every body else, to be as moderate as they can be, with respect to what is past.-1. have looked'to the end of .this case in one point of view,. I ,will now look at another part of it, without prejudice to the question of, whether Mr. Grubb is a proprietor— without prejudice to the question of, whether, if he is not a proprietor, or whether he is a partner with respeit to ultimate profits—without prejudice to the question of, whether Mr. Richardson is a proprietor ; in the outset I find, that those who are to set the machine going, are the Tradesmen and. the Performers on the one hand--on the other hand, I place Mr. Sheridan. To him, I would recom mend to look at the situation of the thing as it is, with that firmness which is the charaileristic of - that independent charailer which he represents himself, and truly represents himself for any thing that I know, to possess. To him I say, I would iecont_ mend to look firmly at the *hole concern as it now is ; and, I think, I am entitled to look to him with this expeitation in this cause, for be is the person,- who, in the opinion of those who had the disposal of the concern- in their hands,. in whose talents and charaCter were to be found those qualities which v.:;:re fitted to make- this speculation thrive,—ls it to be expeited by any personS who stand interested in this concern, that withoUt the assistance of some man of talents deriving an interest from day to day, or from week to week, or else from year to year, in . the right manageme n t o f suc h a c oncern as t hi s , t h at it can possibly go on to the advantage of those who are entitled to the ultimate property ? I think no such thing can be reasonably expeited.—lt is quite a different thing to ask 'whether this can go on without security, and to ask wh o the persons are who shall give thatsecurity Thefirst is answered immediately;. somesecurity.should be given for the due payment of all the Tradesmen and rerfomers in future ; but, before this concern ran prosper, it must be under the care of those who not only will execute a trust, but who can, and who. will exe cute it usefully, and s those who have that trust re posed in them, should be liberally provided for : it cannot, be exile fed of me, in my situation, to hint at any individual, but if there be'an Arbitra-. tion resorted to, provision should be made, as I have • no doubt will be made, for ..this am_ :mg .other pur poses,—l cannot do that 'which an aibitrator may, for I am bound by rules of Law which an arbitrator will not be bound by, in•the same.way, .. I cannot, however, quit this part of. this case without .just hinting at the value of diligence, and-the mischief. which is produced by.?zegligen s ee 7 —l remember read ing, in -the Lives of 11 . )i.Joluvn, in the conclusion of one of them,- : he_says, " If he has inculcated a certain lesson, he shall have gained his purpose, whatever others may think—That negligence, and irregularity, long continued, will niake knowledge useless, 'and wit ridiculous."—l Itope I -do not go • out of my province,. when I say I strongly recom mend that that negligence and irregularity ivhich, With:regard' to every . thing like property, mark this'case beyond any thing I ever heard of, in any case-4 say negligence, Ido not wish to carry. the fault further than negligence, should be from this moment abandoned ; and if I prevail on others ac cording to my wishes in this resped, I shall have accomplished one ,of the best objeds I have had in view in the "whole of this proceeding. There can be no use in reproaches on the - past—the only way to remedy the evil of it, is to -observe prudence in the future. I do not wish to speak too harshly of irregularities—l cannot say I have never been guil ty of any myself ; but I hope I have not been . guilty of many. This, however, I will venture to say, no man can know the effed of his own ir regularity or negligence ; he may, without , the least intention of evil himself, by his negligence and irregularities, be the cause of crimes in others. I am persuaded that many - a criminal ad has been committed by those who have,been involved in difficulties, by those who had no evil intention,. but who had been irregular in their - dealings, and •, negligent of their duty. I say then, to a negligent . man, lei his intentions be what they may, he can. not calculate the effect of his conthid. Without saying mcireupon the 'subjett of negligence, I think . it becomes, 'other parti es thani Mr. Sheridan to re view - their conduet in' the transadions which have been befnrous.ln a word, without 'going*to those. who stand between the PerformerS'and the Trades men, and the ultimate - Proprietors, I know no one individual conneeted with, any part of this concern, who will not find it his.trne interest to look to-things as they stand at present, and to think of-making due provision for the Performers and Tradesmen in fu ture. The concern cannot - otherwise go on. 'I may possibly see in the case, more difficulty - than belongs, to it, tut unless 1 mistake it altogether, the true interest of all Parties, in this ease will be consulted' by referring the whole of it to Arbitration: Not that I mean to giVe in to . an opinion that ques tions of Civil Rights are always best decided by Arbitration. I think, in most .cases, otherwise, and that they are_ not so well- decided in that way as by Courts -of Justice, what ever 'praises may have been bestowed upon domestic forums—but in this particular case, which goes beyond every thing Lever saw, 'or read, or heard of, in complication, I think it should not be decided by a Court; nor Shall I decide it, -unless I am fdrced to decide it. If forced, however, I am ready. to decide it, yet without any expeda tioti that I shall :liter my opinion, I shall delaygiving it until the 17th of the next month, and this I do under a hope that the parties will; in' the mean time, agree to refer the cause, - unless they - see that 1 am wrong in. the view which I have taken 'of it - , I say then they will pursue a course which is essential to their interest, if they deliver me from pronouncing my jndgment. I shall now, therefore, order that proceedings in this Case be ; suspended until the 27th of January Soz ; and I order, that the Performers and Trades men Shall be paid their` current salaries and ex.: pences, for performing in and supplying the Theatre in the intermediate time between-this and the 17th of January I 802.' Mr. SH E RlDA . N.said, that every person interested in the . Theatre was indebted to his Lordship for the labour which he had - bestowed upon the subjed, and the able and luminous arrangement in which he had placed it. There was one circumstance, however, , which he begged leave to observe to his Lordship, he thought that the prodtice arising frOm the sale -of the private boxes had not been adually diVerted from ilie trusts of the deed of 1793,.but had been applied to the. payment of the Mortgagees who where entitled to be paid under that deed, and to his own great inconvenience, as the produce of thoSe private boxes vas 'intended to be applied to the purchase of scenery, &c. With resped to the arfears, he - had, he said, called together, the Per formers, who did- not any,of them .object to the pro_ position he madelor liquidating their arrears as con ,tained in the trust deed now in the hands of Mr. Adam. He believed also that not one of the tradesmen would objed to the same proposal, nor did he believe that any of, the old or new Renters or Mortgagees would throW any obstacle in the way. It was his ' wish that before the Court broke up the Arbitra_ • t ion might . be settled. Enwatin GRUB B wished that the terms of the arbitration might first be settled, Mr. ?icor, said there was at pres.ent upwards of 13061. in the hands of the Receiver. The LORD CH ANC EL LOR direfted that with that sum the arrears which had accrued during, the time in whisk that SLIM had been received, should be discharged, the overplus to remain in the hands of the Receivers . • Mr. StIERIDAY Ojai, he wished to understand, if Mr. Grubb consented man arbitration. Mr. AGAR said. a few words. relative to Mr. Grubb. The LORD CEIAIVCELLOR said, if Mr.. Grubb consented to on arbitration, and the Arbitrator was named, he would fix the question which the Arbi_ trator must dtcide. Mr. Picur named Mr. Serjeant Palmer, who agreed to undertake it. The LORD CHANCELLOR Eird . ; .the ArlYattator must incinire, whether Mr. Grubb was a Proprietor or a. Partner ; and if the latter, whether he had done any at to forfeit his claim as such ; and also what was fit to he done by all Part;e4,according td , the respeetive relations in which they stood to the c9ncekn and to each other. Mr. S PIGOT said, perhaps his Lordship' it•ould have .the goodness to name a time for the Arbitiatar • to make his award: _•. , , The LORD CHANCELLOR sai d 'lie would rather • hear on the r7th of January what had been done by all parties, than fix any - time for tire award. His Lordship direCted that the - Perforiners . and Trades-, men should be regularly paid in the intervening time, beiweeu that day and the i7th of January the Treasurer to . pay them and send theii receipts tb . the receiver. .. , The further hearing_ is therefore postporied till the i7th of January. THE iIIEATRES. D rztrj-Lane. DRYDEN'S Tempest was brought forward agaiii on Saturday, and 'attended by a much larger au dience than .on the fdrmer Occasion. This Flay is SO .much inferior to that Of SHAKESPEARE, from Which - it is derived, .that we are surpried such a Manager as KEMBLE does not do . justice to our his most in great dramatic poet in revivi ng one of . teresting works in its.unrnutilated - condttion. We have a favi?urable opinion of the good sense of I?o'w'E.ILL, 'and of his unaffe&ed•manner of acting in general but we cannot consider him as an ade quate representative of. Prospers. The part is in every resped worthy of KEMBLE'S abilities, and his appearance in it would, of course, 'giVe addi. tional.attraaion to the?iece. Another reason which induces us to wish for the reyival of the original Temprst, is our repugnanCo to the appearance of women in male charaaers. Thii is a peedless outrage on the feelings, and ex cites disgust-rather than pleasure. Upon this . prin. civic, whatever Merit Miss D CAMP might pos sess in liippo/ito was wolse.than wasted. _ _ Mrs% Sown, E 'S voice is hardly auclalle enoilgl) or this Theatre; and there is a faintness in her general style of ;u Ling, which prevents any of the; charaders she performs froin being very prominent. Stephan° and Trinca/o, in the hands of BANN TER Jun. andSuETT, could riot but be very enter taining. The latter has a simple naivete tivit seldom misses its aim. We like Mrs. BLAND'S voice so well, that we always 'wish to hear her.: but Nature certainly did not design her to please the eye as well as the ear; and therefore she is by no means fitted for the thin substance of an Ar;el:—hence, for her own sake, we ad vise her to resign the part to one of a more air). texture. Miss MELLON seems to be. one of the most 'pro mising Atiresses on the London Stage. Her Do rinda. exhibited a strongly-marked humour, which is obviously the result-of good sense' and observa tion. The After piece was . the Pantomine of Harle quin Amulet, which doubtless must be supposed-to have had great force in attrgling the boNda . , Alks ; who, by their bustle and noisy humour, eor, siderably interrupted their own entcrtainnient. apvent Gaxdex• COOKE resumed his station in this Theatre Saturday last, and seemed to be rather invigoiaLed than disabled by the 'Bath-quaters, which he.' is said to have so copiously imbibed. Indeed, he performed the part of King Richard with aS'mdcl) fire, spirit, and success-, as ever, In the Two Shilling Gallery a sttong spirit• of disorder and riot broke out before the commence ment-of the Play, and among various ads of out rage a glass was thrown into the Orchestra.- In the scene where Tressell takes his leave of Kip- Henri, a bottle was thrown at BETTERTON, who performeJ the former charaaer. At the moment that he was making his bow, it struck his hat, which he held In his left hand. The offender was immedi ately taken into custody, and brought to the Police Office in Bow-street. - He proved to be a 'sailor, who was nearly in a state'-of intoxication. The Magistrate ordered him to be committed to prison. We trust, that this wanton and atrocious• ofTe.oce will be prosecuted by the Proprietors with' the -ut most tigour of the law, in order to deter others from such unprovoked and cruel outrages,. When the ever-memorable Dr. JAM Es :was ask-et! by half a dozen smelters of canes, and feelers of pulses, " what was the true definition of a fever," hi.S answer was, " It is a disease which I can Cure, and yore . z:an all ta/k.4636t." . And so we piay say, indeed, of Dr. Bitoposa's Dpcalli,c,al Syrup ; fbr .while. IVlan-tnenders, and : Wonien-Jnenders are patching. up.. their Patients with . MerCurials, tor. a certain distemper, occasioned- by incautious amours,,; that. invalu.abie Medicine, alone ,has so rootelly done away, its deplor4blog.. i eff4s, as to ren der che &hike of a Physlcian or a Surgeon inexpe. (tient and - unnecetsar ; -: - -:: as he or,she .who has hap pilych .ba.recourse to that efficacious. remedy, have never failed to experience what may. be. truly called a radical cure. SHIP NEWS. GRAVESEND, DEC. 2j. Pissed by-- , -the Dart, --, fromAinorca '•- King George, froin Calais ; Society, - - , ,.froin'tlltona ; Cbar- Jotte Ann, front i't!tershurgh ; Coluiribia, ati4 Aurora; Henston, from Malaga ; Gybed; Grek, and Union. Blown, from Gibraltar.; Hebe, and Eliza, Ballard,. from Ilainbro'. Sailed—the Peggy, Sinc:air, for Tohago ; Marian, Wilo son, for Surinan; ; - Ann and Marv, Wats-inr, for Leghorn Cypett, Fisher, for fainaica ; and Constawia, --, for Gotten'aurgti. AIARILED. . On Wednesday last, at Fulham, Teavil Leason, Esq. of Beverley, to Miss Elizabeth Green, daughter of . the ic,te Francis Green, Esq. of iVlarybone Ness' Road. On Thdrsday, by special license ' Robertl ' iddulph, Esq- M. P.. to Miss Myddleton, eidestdaughter of th e l a t e Ri chard Myddlcron, Esq. of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. DIED. On Saturday morning, at his house in Alhetnarie:strectr fohn Rush, • Esq. Surgeon, I I:speCior- General of the Army. .. . Londc 11 : Printed by .B . 1.1111.2 I L LAN (of Bow,streerr Covent- Garden) ; and Published by IV zLL 1 Aom ARIVI'LGEX SCRIPYS (of iime.fcrry-jam; Wistaiisistpr),. dt NO. lat S t rad. . . ~..:--t NUA ' I) T°: On T Vigincou 'On Fr Siddons On Se T° • MO: Afttr v With Ar The The F. bars. 1 4 /ars. E Dirs. I On T Ons On s 2 for the f hnd by On N 1 tedy of tre then Th..: I 4 t ) PiaUS bight t; A Ne Yuen tion of A Pc. less tha should 1 des. a few. 11 , Dire 4 at the C ,~~ of 111& B about, f< tak A cid n LS` Col -___ ~. To tofu Ih& of e pur for a Hi A sat! Jells, Is „ . I\ ll l l is.ing-st stay me b take . of Ladi4 Ladies, have no the mi Inventt against to oar self,. th Piceadi &Llu R. LEN CO R Date AF. •nlightc very fin Cloth, pily su, With cc of this kath coosidd The and W and rite burabi: C its texts that na rlen or Though and wil shrink rsey W.earcr The Pul Ales RIT.