The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-24 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—CROYDON, AUG. 22.
(Before Mr. Baron Bramwell and a Special Jury.)
SE3IAN Y. COPELAND.

This was an action to recover damages, in the shape of
penalties, from the defendant, who is the proprietor of the
Royal Amphitheatre, at Liverpool, for having played a
piece called " Jessie Brown, or the Relief of Lucknow," at
his theatre without the consent of the plaintiff, who was the
author. The defendant pleaded that the drama in question
was not the property of the plaintiff.
Mr. M, Chambers, Q.C., and Mr. Laxton were counsel
for the plaintiff; Mr. Lush, Q.C., and Mr. Murray were
for the defendant.

Mr. Chambers said the plaintiff in this action was a dra-
matic author, and although he had not obtained a high cele-
brity in that position, he had,nevertheless,been the author of
a great many successful dramas that had been played at seve-
r.l of the minor theatres in London, and at different country
theatres. The defendant was the proprietor of the Royal.
Amphitheatre, at Liverpool ; and the action was brought
against him by the plaintiff for having played one of his
pieces a number of nights at his theatre without his permis-
sion. The act of Parliament that was passed upon this sub-
ject entitled the plaintiff under these circumstances to all
the profits that were derived from such performances; but
it also enacted that certain penalties might be enforced, and
the object of the present action was to recover from the de-
fendant 26 penalties of 40s. each. The defendant answered
the action by asserting that the play in question was writ-
ten by an author of much higher position in the theatrical
world than the plaintiff, viz., Mr. Dion Boucicault, and he
shielded himself under what he could only describe as a
most unjust act. The name of the plaintiff's piece was
" Jessie Brown, or the Relief of Lucknow," and the subject
was derived from the melancholy proceedings connected
with that siege and the romantic incident of a Highland
girl, who was made the heroine of the piece, Jessie Brown,
hearing the approach of the Highlanders under General
Havelock when the garrison was almost at the last extre-
mity. This piece was sold to Mr. Lane, of the Britannia
Theatre, Heaton, and was played a great number of nights,
and the plaintiff was paid the usual sum as the author. It
was afterwards played at other theatres, and the plaintiff
had no idea that his drama had been pirated until he read
an announcement in the Es a, a newspaper that devoted a
good deal of attention to theatrical matters, that a piece
under the same name, the author of which was stated to be
Mr. Dion Boucicault, was being played in America, the
part of the heroine being performed by Miss Robinson, a
lady whom Mr. Boucicault had since married. Mr. Bouci-
cault subsequently came to England, and produced the
celebrated play of the " Collen Bawn," and at this time he
published a list of the pieces of which he claimed the
authorship, cautioning managers of theatres not to per-
' form them without his sanction, and among them was
I this play of " Jessie Brown, or the Relief of Luck-
now." A quarrel having taken place between Mr. Web-
ster and Mr. Boucicault, the latter went to Drury-lane
Theatre, at which establishment he brought out this piece
of " Jessie Brcwnr striking out, however, the surname
of Brown, and calling it " Jessie, or the Relief of Lucknow."
He should show them that this piece and the one written
by the plaintiff were identical in almost every respect and
it appeared that Mr. Boucicault had given his sanction to
the present defendant playing the same drama at his theatre
at Liverpool. The present action was therefore brought
for the purpose of putting a stop to the plagiarism and
pirating that had been going on, and if his learned friend
did not call Mr. Boucicault as a witness to give some
explanation to the jury, it appeared to him that his omitting
to do so must be taken as an admission of the "soft im-
peachment" that he had been guilty of cribbing and pirating
the work of the plaintiff.
Mr. Edward Stirling, stage manager of Drury-lane
Theatre, proved that in the month of June, 1862, the drama
called " Jessie, or the Relief of Lucknow," was performed
at that theatre. He went to Liverpool in November for the
purpose of superintending the production of the same piece
at the Royal Amphitheatre, belonging to the defendant
The drama was produced on the 15th November, and it was
the same piece that was played at Drury.lane. The wit-
ness then identified a manuscript that was handed to him as
a copy of the manuscript of the piece that was played at
Drury-lane and at Liverpool.
Cross-examined—Previously to the piece being played he
had seen the American printed edition. Mr. Boucicault
wrote another act to that edition and heightened the parts,
as it was termed in theatrical phraseology, and several new
characters were introduced. The drama was taken from
one of the incidents of the Indian mutiny, when the garrison
of Lucknow having lost all hope of relief, Jessie Brown—a
young Highland girl—heard the approach of the bagpipes
of the Highlanders, under General Havelock, coming to
their succour. All the other incidents led up to that. In
Mr. Boucicault's piece the action commenced in India. In
the plaintiff's drama the scene commenced in Scotland,.
where Jessie was the servant of a Mrs. Campbell, the
wife of an officer, They all go to India, where