The National Register.
London, England, 1809-12-10 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

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amazed at the dot when he west in; but there was no riot, it
seems ! What ! when there was such howling, and shouting,
and noise, so as to prevent every thing from being heard—if this
was not a dist,. then It required to have some bones broken to'
Constitute one. He thought if two eir 'three people met toge-
ther so as to prevent all bearing, it would constitute a riot.
Some foolish people hatgot an idea into their beads, that they
'night applaud, and to What excess they chose. Nu doubt, they
zaight and ought to exercise an honest judgment; but then out-
rageoui violence was Dot the way in which to exercise an hones
judgment.
The very farce could not be beard I, men could not sit down least
they should be crashed to death, and yet this was not a riot !
Bat Mr. Clifford was silent ; a silent leader may ,often do a
great deal ; he wore, however, the O. P. in his hat; he did not
• put it io himself—no, he allowed it to be put: The honest
.Connsslior; tint, was cheered by them, and saluted as their friend,
and he accepts their invitatioos, marches into the midst of them
and hoists their Ong; and yet be did not encourage them ! It
would be an insult on their cause nut to call it a riot, and to call
him their instigator. Mr. Clifford told the audience tear, there
AC no harm in wearing 0. P. He should have told them very
differently : be should have told them It would be foolish-0
any
time io wear it; but that it would be criminal to wear it as an
cesign of riot. If there was no harm in the rebellion, it was of
little consequence; but if you once hoist the ensign oirebeilion,
no matter though you were as mute as a fish and as inanimate as
a corpse, you participate in its crime and must partake its con-
aequencts. The cockade at an election was no emblem of riot,
unless it was maliciously made so; it was the designation of at-
tachment to a particular man; the cockade was a most impor-
bsot ensign; now, since shields and banners were done away, it
Was the distinction even of nations; the black cockade was the
distinction of England, for intuit*, and he hoped it would
tong triumph over the tricolours. At a late election the blue
cockade was an emblem of loyalty; but they all remembered,
in Lord Gordon's riots, in 1780, w hen it was the sentence of death,
When men were Condemned to die, merely because it was seen
en them. They had fired no house, no; committed any murder ;
but they had worn' the blue cockade, *and that was sufficient for
their conviction. He cenld not' help remarking upon the info-
lentliberty which Mr. Clifford suffered a stranger to take with
him, ie allowinghim to take oil his hat. Ile Wks net very iras-
cible; but he feared such ailberty would be too much for his
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temper.
He thought he bad a right to say, that a riot there was, and
Mr. Clifford was a participator in its and the question now was,
whether ender"thode circumstances, Mr. Brandon had not a right
to take him up'? He must, allow, that when a riot was coin•
pletely aver, a private person would not be justified In arresting
a participator in the riot the next day, or a few hours after it
was over. In the present case, what *ere the constables to do ?
If they were to rush in immediately into the midst of those rio-
tous assemblages, the probability would be, that serious mis-
chief would have ensued. If-then they waited until the persons
were going out of the house, the Jury would have to consider,
•whether that could fairly be said to be arresting-the rioters at
another time? He would suppose that a man were to strike
him in the ttreet and knock him down, would it be said that he
had only a right to seize him for the purpose of bringing him
beftsreis Magistrate, at the time he was actually assaulting him,
but that he had no right. to seize bins as he was going away ?
If this could lie argued, the man. who assaulted him might say,
that the assault was completely ended at the time that he was
knocked into the kennel, and:therefore he had no right to seize'
him at alt. He trusted, however, that no Jury would be of
that opinion, and that they must perceive that there was a rea-
sonable time after such assault, that he would be at liberty to
arrest the person who had so assaulted bird. If this were not
the case, and rioters could only be arrested by constables, at the
Very moment in which they were committing. their riots, the
Consequence must be, either that a number of offenders would
• escape, or bloodshed wodid probably be occasioned by-the' in-
. terference of the peace officers at the moment that the riot was
at its height. It appeared'to him, that Mt. Brandon was right
in what had been stated, as to the circumstances of the arrest,
and in telling the officer, 64 take care of'bis hat,'.' as that hat,
roh the letters 0. e. in it did prove strongly hiss connection
and participation with the rioters; tie would leave it confi-
dentially to the Jury under his Lordsbip7s.direction to say,
Whether the riots had not been proved; :Sad whether Mr. Clif-
ford. by *oaring she ensign of the riatr,l* not made himself
?articlinitin is theiir acts,

Si; James Mansfield addressed She Jury to the following
effect—if The first great quiestion for your deteriniaation
whether Mr. Clifford was instigating or encouraging the riots,
at the time be was arrested.--The second questiou for the ,Jury
ta consider would he, whether, if they believed the Plaintiff had
been active in Instigating disorder and riot at the theatre, be
was illegally arrested by Mr. Brandon, after the riot had
ceased. He could tint tell upon what grounds many people collo
ceived than they bad a right at a theatre to make such a prodi-
gious noise as to prevent others from hearing what %rasping for-
ward'on the stage. The Theatres were not absetutely pewees-
ries or life, and people ware at liberty to stay away from them,
if there was any thing in the nmeagement of them which they
did not approve of. The word extortion had beep used by the
Counsel for the Plaintiff; but he could not see bow it could pos.
sibly apply to a Theatre. 'When the old Tbealre..wes burnt
down, the Proprietors were not bound to build anesner Theatre,
although they had a patent which allowed them tin In do; but
if they chose to build a Theatre, and risk their fortune upon it,
they, and they only were the judges of what was a fair and rea-
sonalole price to ask for admission into their Theatre. It was
for them, who knew the ex pences they had beep put to, to settle
what was to be the admission prices, from %nee., alune they
could expect to he indemnified. If the Proprietors had acted
contrary to the conditions of their patent, the patent itself might
be set aside by obtaining& wire facias from the Court ofehaecery,
and if they bad not acted contrary to their patient, but had
merely fixed a price on the adtnitistoos, which appeared unreal.
stinable to individpals, those individuals might stay awes, and
he Managers would be coMpelled, lsy a sense of their own totes
rests, to fix a fair and reasonable pricer As to. the private boxes,
he believed there were some in the old "fliftatre, and also is
Drurt-lane Theatre; and •be could nut see why the Proprietors
had not a right, in this instance, to use their ~Wl.l ir..apert% at
their discretion. He conceived it impossible, that lilts thing
which bad been so done by the Ma.nagers in ,he pri.e,
or in makjng some boxes privale,,could be any sort of justification
in law for such scenes as took place at) the night in quests ia ;
scenes which were a disgrace to the country, and which tended tp
bring us back to a state of barbarism. if questions of this na-
ture were to be determined by multitudes of penile assembling
tumultuously, and behaving in sea a manner its to frighten Mint!.
bers from going to the Theatres, there weeld be an cod of the
law. It appeared in evidence that such was the betas ;our of
many people in the pit, that it was necessary to stand upon the
benches, for fear of being crushed. Under these circumstances,
no men but who had very strong nerves could !allure to the
Theatre; or, stall events, no man would suffer his wife or (laughs
ter to go there. It was. time for the 'Nine to understand,
that the proceedings which had lately taken plaice at the Theatre,
were illegal in the highest degree, and that all those who partici-
pated in them were liable to be punished severely, in proportion
to their offences.
The tumults which beta lately takes! place, were cprepnred to
that noise which had at all times taken place at fheatres,
the immediate expression of the feeliqp of the audience upon a
new piece, or the merits or defecti or a particular actor. The
case, however, was widely differept. The audience had cei-
taioly, in those cases a right to express, by . applause or hisses,
the sensations which naturally presented,theniselves at the mo-
ment, Mid nobody would have bilidered,,or ever would hinder,
the exercise of that right.: but, if any body of people were to
gO to the Theatre with the deliberate intention of hissing any
particular actor, or even of damning a piece, there could be no
doubt but that. such a deliberate and preconcerted scheitie would
amount to a conspiracy, and that the persons concerned in it
.may be severely punished. Thls being the law of the case, it
was first for the Jury to consider whether there 'had been any
riots at the Theatre on the night alluded to, and whether Mr.
Clifford was not to be comidered as an instigator of those riots?
The law is, that if any person encourages, or promotes, or
takes part in riots, whether by words, signs,, or gestures, or
by wearing the ensign of the rioters, such person is to be coo-
tir in all are tisrincipals. If any
d order, to effect an
descriptloa of a riot,
cantle tint personal
bat th, 'house should
oplaims that the
to a slot, and be
ithout same terror,
to~it their

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sidered as a 'rioter, for in this CII9PII are princi
persons encleavoutled by riot, Saranit, or disordr
illegal ptirpose, acme coder the legal Sescrip
and it, wns.not necessary trrnopstitute that cringe
violence should have been ~committed, or that tbl
'havktfeen pulled itlpiecis, He was clearly of of
icenes which hid been tieserihed, did antoont to
dinned it could no* he said, thnt it was not withol
forlo beliesedriiineof the Jury would venture t
aud• 'daughters going theta 4096 tikep)
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