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

tIE NATioNAL REGISTBIL

Learned Serjeant had seen of common Juries, he thought them
quite competent to the task; but; as it was, he was glad of the
tircumstaace; as a special Jury web composed of men in the
same rank of life with the Plaintiff himself; men who could
jedge of every honoorabte feeling; who knew what was due to
the honour of a Gentlemaa; and who, would woke him such re•
paration for any-attack swan that honour as they themselves
should expo& under similar circumstances.
Mr. Serjeant Slime gals addreised the Sul, as Counsel foe
the Defendant. Mr. Brandon had been described to them as a
liervant to the Proprietors and Menagers Of Covent Garden" The-
atre, and had in that capacity, in the honest discharge of hit
duty, directed the Police Officers to take Mr. Clifford into Cus-
tody. Ilis Learned Friend had accused the Proprietors of ex-
tortion and injustice, and tyranny in the extreme, and he had
gone so flsr as even to warn the people how they bent before
this net of oppression, lest it should be the preface to still more
base submistion. For his part, when he saw that Couit, crowd-
ed as it was, and reflected what an effect such a declaration,
coining from a man of his Learued Friend's authority, might
have upon an inflamed and misguided multitude, he trembled for
the consequence; he trembled to think on the depredatinFjuris-
diction of lawless assemblies acting as self-constituted Judges..
God forbid the country should be so reduced l If tyranny or ex-
fortiori was practised upon any British subject, he had wise laws
and upright Judges to resort.to,.much more capable of affording
him a satisfactory relief thaw the wild tritnult, outrage, and ex-
cesses of unrestrained revenge. It was said Mr. Clifford was a
man of rank—he knew it; of talents—he knew it; of respecta-
ble profession—he knew it also: and he had only to lament that
such rank, such talents, and such legal knowledge, should be
prostituted to the instigation of such riotous violence. It iratigiv-
ing it the sanction of rank by his birth, of wisdom by his abilities,
and of law by his profession. What ! could it be said for a mo-
ment,,that Mr. Clifford did mot encourage the riot, when he con-
descended to wear the ensign of the rioters ? Ifany mean person
had done so; if the. Attorney's Clerk, for instance, bad done soy
it would have been of little moment;—but when a man of com-
parative consequeflce; a alas of education; when the honest
Counsellor—he, to whom the vulgar would naturally look up
for guidance and instruction ;—when he did so'; le, who could
not plead ignorance in extenuation of crime, how widespread-
ing must be the destructive induence of his example It could
not operate so even upon the most ignorant, autAf it was found
thus unjustifiably influencing a man of information, the more
exemplary should be his disgrace, and the more justifiable of
course was his client in Selecting him for an example. The
question now for them to try was, not whether the Proprietors
of Covent Garden were tyrants or not, but a hether those persons
who had embarked their property in the Theatre to a vast
amount, should be ruined by caprice. As to the extortion,
that were no question at all; if the public had a right to reduce
the prices &bin ieven shillings to six, they might aid; as muck
justice reduce t Lem to sixpence. Constitute the right once, and
it did not ignify what was the minimum : that would be just
as the whim of the moment dictated. As to the question of the
private boxes, that was not one either to be debated in the
theatre; for if it was one hundred men would have as good a
right to judge one way as another hundred men would have to
judge another way, and then how would the dispute be decided?
Why, of course by tumult, and perhaps, ultimately, by death.
Then, indeed, might original principles be resorted to : then
might trial by battle, divested of its ceremonies, be introduced,
and those savage conflicts anterior to the regulations of society
be renewed. The Proprietors act under a patent: if that pas
tent were rtbused, it could be brought into Court by a seire fusing,
and investigated how far that abuse had taken place. Thus if
the public were injured by the monopoly, they could have re-
dress: but certainly not by their own hands. The patent could
easily be seen : any person who chose to take the trouble of go.
ing to the Enrollment Office, aright even have a copy of it ; and
any lawyer, whose curiosity might be excited, could take it
home to his chambers, and searcblout as many flaws in it as be
might think proper. The Theatre then was a public Theatre,
and now the only questions were, whether there was a riot at it,
and whether Mr. Clifford encouraged that riot? There was no
way to judge of men's meaning but by theiractions; they had no
window in their breasts through which their hearts could be
Seen. The Jury would thenjudge by Mr. Clifford's actions. The
first witness had met Mr. Clifford, and he proposed to him to go
to the Theatre; they went to the pit he thought that it wetras
ther an odd time for a man of Mr. Clifford's rank to go to the
pit, and to go accidentally too! No denbt sr. Clifford pay all