The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-07 00:00:00

NEWSRA P.Elt

~~`=

The...Mechanics' Magazzne.
This magazine contains a very moderate and
unprejudiced article on the Whitworth gun ; and
without making any comparison between it and
Sir W. Armstrong's cannon, the editor gives a true
account of the practice at Southport, and recom-
mends that the Board of Ordnance should give the
gun a complete trial. The report of a paper read by
Mr. W. Fairbairn on the strength of iron ships, at
the Liverpool Polytechnic Society, contains matter
worthy of consideration ; and although Mr. Fair-
bairn treats a ship rather too much on the prin-
ciple of that en?.,ineering success of his, in cor -
junction with Mr. R. Stephenson, the Menai
tubular bridge, his calculations of the relative
strength of the deck and beams in proportion to the
keel and lover plate are well worthy of .the
attention of iron shipbuilders. Tat the Ame-
ricans do not intend to let improvement stand still
on their side of the Atlantic is demonstrated by
the invention of a new nozzle for the hose-pipes of
fire-engines, which enables the fireman to regulate
the stream of water thrown on the fire at pleasure ;
and the new contrivances of Cochrau's ordnance
firearms and projectiles show that Brother Jona-
than will not permit the old world to go a-head of
the country which introduced the revolver.
RESERrED SEATS AT THEAPRES.

A que,tion of some interest to playgoers was de-
cided at the Manchester County Court on Wedes-
day.
Mr, Abel Harrison, of Stalybridge, brought an
action against Mr. John Knowles, the proprietor
and manager of the Manchester Theatre Royal, to
recover los., the value of three reserved seat tickets
and the return railway fare of three persons from
Stalybridge,
Mr. Hop wood appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr.
Albany Fonblanque for the defendant.
It appeared that on the 10th of January Mr. W.
Henry Harrison, a son of the plaintiff, went to Man-
chester, in consequence of an advertisement of the
" Blue Beard" pantomime which he had seen in the
Manchester Guardian, and purchased three reserved
seat tickets for the lower circle, for Thursday, the
12th January. Three paper tickets, and three ivory
checks, with the number of the seat and the day of
the week impressed on them, were given him,
wrapped in.a bill of the play. Sufficient particu-
lars having been found in the advertisement, the
playbill appears not to have been scrutinised. -Mr.
Abel Harrison and his two sons went from Staly-
bridge on the evening of the 12th of January, to
attend the theatre, and their train should have
ariived about 7.15 ; but owing to some delay they
dd not reach the theatre until about eight o'clock.
They produced their tickets to the boxkeeper, who
told them they were too late for their seats, the first
act of the first piece being over. On the part of the
plaintiff, his two sons stated that the lower circle was
full on their arrival, so that there was not even stand-
ing room, that their seats were taken, and that they
were offered a seat in a private box upstairs, which
was already occupied by several persons, and from
which the performances could not be seen., They
declined to accept this accommodation and de-
manded their money back; and, upon this being
refused, they returned home. The version on the
part of the defendant was different. One wit-
ness said that there was room in the private
box, and the performances could be seen from it ;
and another said there were six seats, at least, in
an " indifferent" part of the lower circle, near the
stage, choice from which was offered to the plaintiff
and his sons, but was refused. Some letters passed
between the plaintiff and the defendant subse-
quently, and the latter pointed out that in the bill
it was stated _that reserved seats could not be ,kept
after the first act. For the plaintiff it was, con-
tended that the advertisement stated " Box-office
open daily from eleven till two, when seats may be
secured in the lower cirle, 3s. each," nothing being
said about any reservation with regard to the first
act. The plaintiff bought tickets on the faith of
the advertisement. It was absurd to suppose that
any person would read through the playbill from
beginning to end, before they reached the theatre ;
but, supposing that had been done, the notice near
the bottom would not have applied to their case. It
was " lower circle, 2s. Gd. ; reserved seats, 35.," and
lower down, " box-office open daily from eleven till
two o'clock, during which period places may be ob-
tained for the lower circle, which are secured till
the end of the first act." This, it was contended,
only applied to the 2s. Gd. seats, and not to the re-
served seats, for which an additional sixpence was
paid to reserve them ; for, without paying the ex-
tra sixpence, he should expect a seat to be reserved
for him according to that notice, though it might
not be any particular seat.
The Judge (Mr. Brandt) said he did not want to
stop the case; but he thought there was a general
understanding—at all events from the facts of the
case it was pretty clear—that the three specific
seats only should be secured until the end of the
first act. Then the only question was whether the
defendant was not bound to find them some other
places.

Mr. Fonblanque argued that if Mr. Harrison
contracted with Mr. Knowles for the use of the
three seats on the night in question, and broke the
rule of the Manchester Theatre Royal, and of all
other theatres, by going after the first act, he im-
mediately broke also his part of the crontract, which
was then at an end as far as Mr. Knowles was con-
cerned. And it being the usage that, after the first
act, reserved seats could not be retained, Mr.
Knowles could not prevent the seats being taken
by the public. The public had then a right to the
seats, and it would be to the inconvenience of the
public, and not Mr. Knowles, if those seats were
retained beyond the first act. If the plaintiff came
after the first act he had to take his chance as to
whether he got any seat at all. In such a case as
the latter the public had an advantage at the Man-
chester Theatre Royal, which he (Mr. Fonblanque)
did not know they possessed in any other town,
because the piece of ivory, if not given up, would
admit the bearer to the theatre on any other
night ; so that if a seat were reserved a whole night
and never used, and the holder were to come on any
other night with his piece of ivory, the manager
would sustain the loss of a seat, and the public be
inconvenienced.
e helpf e n d an 's
thinkingthenodtNvitilitheeesreeew,
After hearing
coulding
atshe
laa
little anger in the case.
Mr. Hopwood said he did not think it had
been
proved that any reasonable seat had been offered
to the plaintiff.
The Judge—If there was the hdsaow of a seat
in the dress circle it was quite enough. If he does
not choose to come in time for his own seat he must
take what remains.
Mr. Hopwood—No matter whether he sees or
not.

The Judge—No ; I think not. I don't take upon
myself to decide the main point, whether they take
a specific seat. But if there be a seat at all I think
it is enough.
In reply to Mr. Hopwood, who said that only
one of the defendant's witnesses spoke to their
being any vacant seats in the dress circle, the judge
said thate
nttthhaetwpta
shl aoisnaeteiseffeoa'rstdsiwitnesses
t givenw offeredouf
ol would not ntt
hhm
o eet say-
fenp positively

fienildesl,l
TIIE SUNDAY TRADINOBiLL.—A large meeting
Boston, for
lae e
the
purposeyesterday
nginthsthire
ofß r i
tan workingnia.
opinion on the Sunday Trading Bill, now before Parlia-
ment. A Mr. Osborne was called to the chair, and said
ofafte =sum!
the meeting had b len convened to give the working men
of the metropolis an opportunity of coining forward to op-
Pose a fresh attempt to infringe upon their liberties, by
the same individuals who had given rise to a former de-
monstration in Hyde-park. The grounds upon which he
considered the bill should be opposed were, that it would
give great power to the police, would benefit the shop-
keepers, and prevent many thousands of people hawking
goods in the streets on the Sunday, and thus deprive them
to a certain extent of their means of livelihood. Mr.
M'Sweeney then moved a resolution to the effect that the
bill was uncalled for, unnecessary, and unjust to the
working classes, and pledged the meeting to give it their
most determined opposition. This motion having been
seconded, an amendment was moved by a tradesman
of the
measure, as in his • •
expressing an approval ) opinion,
so far from infringing upon any of the real interests of the
working classes, it-went towards their preservation ' , would.
relieve many thousand tradesmen and their assistants f
ssuch unnecessary toil and degradation .-1-, ' rom
kuring about the
earlier payment of wages; tend to shone
n the hours of
labour ; and hasten the general adoption t
ofhe Saturday
was s
half-holiday. The amendment
eeonded, but on e
being_
put to the meeting was declared to b l
motion was called by a lost arid the original
which had been of a large majority. The meeting,
dispersed very noisy description, then quietly
.
SINGULAR PHENOMENON IN A. SNOWSTORM..-..
About two weeks
W ao a terrible snowstorm raged in Upper
asdale, accompanied ell
on Longton Brick and Swinho F
by a singular rolling noise in the air, which resembled the
noise of musketry. On the mornir,g of the 16th ult. many
of the shepherds proceeded on to t'ne Fell to look after their
sheep, when they were astonished, to find the ground, for the
space of a mile in length and ha If a mile in width, covered
with large pieces of ice, whichhad evidently fallen from
the clouds. It was as though a mountain. of ice had been
suddenly shattered and the fragments scattered over the
earth. The blocks were of sucbi a size thstt at a little dis-
tance they resembled a flock of sheep. Providentially,
neither sheep nor human beings were on tb at part of the
moor during the storm, for to have been struck by one or
these pieces of ice would haves Mailed inetnut death,

forward his factious .
know the truth suspect t-4'1.!---'4
that he wants for the couir;LN,
I'4
may be the framer and fashro,l,-. ,- '
~.,.
j)
becomes the law of the land. There at - z4r.-'
able papers on various questions of the da,§?;'-`iiis
one on the "Prospects of the Lyric Stage " pre-
sents Mr. Gye with some good advice, which it is
to be hoped that he will follow, and so continue
to increase the present prosperity which his tasto
and energy entitle him to enjoy.