The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-24 00:00:00

CURTESY.

The Law of Curtest gives to the surviving
husband an estate fjr his life in his wife's here-
ditaments in po4session, held for an estate of in-
heritance b,•;, a legal title of which there was
actual 84:isiri, if the nature of the property
mitted of actual seisin, otherwise seism iv jiaw or
by an equitable title, and to which tl:ere was any
issue born during the marriage 'which might by
possibility inherit.

It is in many particulars analagous to the
Law of Dower ; but owing to the circumstance
that married women (...annot alien their estate::
without the concur-x:1e:: of their husbands, and
that the husbantL can at any time discharge the
estate from theit: right of curtesy, this right is
free I:y.)1n Ott: principal inconveniences atter,liD,l•
the riet to dower, and it has not durinc, a ion,
period been treated by the law with same di::-
favour, nor subjected to any simiki restrictions
or evasions.

Upon the establishmen'4 01 equitable estates
subsequent to the Statute of Uses they were held
subject to cnrtesy, though not to dower.
Th present state of the Law of Curtesv has
:given rise to few, if any, complaints, and there
is no very strong reason Ibr altering it.
A strict ride of great antiquity, however,
makes cutesy not attach oti legal estates ad-
mitting of seisin in fact, where the husband did
not obtain seisin in fact during the coverture.
That rule can now very rarely come into ope-
ration, because the possession of tenants for years
gives a seisin in fact to the rightful landlord, and

311aUct

because the rule does not apply. to equitable
estates. Wheri it "does come into operation, it
takes parties by-surprise and is felt as a hardship ;
we think that it should be abrogated ; the neces-
sity, too, of clothing the property with any
seisin, in order to let in the curtesy, is, we think,
unreasonable ; and we are of opinion that the
same right of possession should suffice to entitle
the husband to curtesy as may suffice to entitle
the wife to dower.

Again, the rule which makes the issue neces-
sary to entitle the husband to an estate by curtesy
seems to have been founded. on technical prin-
ciples of feudal tenure now wholly obsolete. The
husband, after birth of heritable issue by him,
was admitted to perform services to the Lord
and to take his place among the tenants to the
seignory, as representing the land in a way not
permitted before the birth of such issue.
It appears to be alien from modern habits, by
the circumstance which we think established by
the evidence of practitioners, that in modern
settlements of the real property of an intented
wife, the life estate very commonly given to the
husband is never made to depend on the birth
of heritable issue. It seems expedient to abolish
the rule.

(TO BE CONTINUED.)

BENEFITS AT THE KING'S THEATRE.

Under the denomination of " A dramatic Con
cert," a strange medley of detached scenes, uncon
nected pieces, imperfect representations, and so!o
instrumental performances, was on Monday night
displayed on the boards of this theatre. The idea
of such a confused jumble of uninteresting matter
fully answered the purpose for which it was sug-
gested. It gave birth to a bill of at least three
yards' length, full of big names and large letters,
and that was deemed a bait most likely to prove a
temporary one on the occasion. The person on
whose account these arrangements were- conceived
and executed was Mr. Bochsa. The British public
are already aware that they owe the honour of Mr.
Bochsa's residence among them to causes which did
not originate in his own free will. Although many
years a cabdidate for public favour, it is for the first
time that he has ventured to lay aside all reserve,
and openly offer himself to their notice. As to his
claims on the special thanks of the frequenters of
the theatre, it is really difficult to discover on what
they are founded. We have neither time nor room
to waste on the subject of Mr. Bochsa's benefit;
but as the whole gallery and a part of the pit and
tipper boxes were filled with persons who appeared
to be sent there by Mr. Bochsa for the express pur-
pose of forcing down the throats of the independent
portion of the audience the mass of crude and indi-
gestible stuff he had prepared for them, we think it
necessary to raise our voice against one particular
art of profanation resorted to on this occasion.
Until now, the Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven
was looked upon by all musical men as a compo-
sition so complete,_that nothing beyond perfect in-
strumental execution could possibly add to the effect
of its performance, Mr. Bochsa has, however, as-
signed on this occasion the whole of the magnifi-
cent symphony to some of the figurants of the
ballet !
We find, by some. advertisements, that the as-
signees of Messrs. Chambers and Son's bankruptcy
propose having a performance next Thursday for
the benefit of Messrs. Chambers' creditors. Some
inquiry into the grounds on which this announce
--
mutt is made is necessarily called for. Those grounds
evidently met on no other foundation than . the cir-
cumstance of Messrs. Chambers having become
mortgagees of the property commonly called the
" .Theatre," in security for the capital and.
inteAvst,of:_a sum of,. about 60,000./. advanced to
the
rest owners, .It, applars. that. an average rent of
10,0001. has been regularly received by the mort-
gagees, MI.-circling not only a bundsome_ interest' on
the sum advanced, but likewise a' snrplus sinn, by
the accumulation of which the debt ought in a very
few years to have been liquidated. 'We have cal-
culated the average rent of 10,0004, became, though
141 r. Ebers has.beld the theatre from Messrs.. Chem-
bars at. 16,000/., there is. reason to believe that he
has net every year been regular in paying the whole
of that sum. Last year the theatre was let to
Messrs. Laurent and Laporte for 8100/., and this
year Mr. LaPorte hie yielded to the increased terms
of the assignees by taking a three yearS' lease of the
theatre at the exorbitant rent of 13,00 Q guineas
per annum. 'As the assignees have taken
every possible precaution to insure the regula-
lar payment of this rent, the interests of the cre-
ditors are of course considerably benefitted by the
arrangement. A claim on the public under any
circumstances whatever, and under those especially
to which we have adverted, on the part of persons
who are already so much the gainers by their con-
nexion with this property, and with whom neither
the Opera frequenters, nor any other portion of the
public, have any thing whatever to do, ought not to
be passed over without public censure, as it is a fact
which has by this time become sufficiently obvious,
that all the complaints and discussions which have
sprung from the system of sordid economy adopted
this season in certain departments of the Italian
Opera, and other matters of which the public have
had reason to complain, owe their origin to the
enormous increase of rent which the assignees of
Messrs. Chambers' bankruptcy have made the sine
queh non of their terms for letting the theatre. It
now remains with the public either to encourage
this career of extravagant pretension by giving their
money for the benefit of people of whom nothing
more is known than that they have no claims what-
ever to public sympathy, or to discountenance at
once an attempt, the success of aich would lead to
greater encroachments.
Being on the subject of undue benefits, we may
take the opportunity of mentioning that Mr. Lau-
rent is just come from Paris for the purpose of
claiming one for himself, in consideration of his
liberality in allowing some of the singers of his
theatre at Paris to come to this theatre for a while.
When, last year, Mr. Laurent offered himself as a
candidate for a similar favour, he was a joint part-
ner in the undertaking here, and his claims to pub-
lic patropage on that .especial occasion were advo-
cated in this jouivil on other fair grounds besides.
The public then (lid to: -Mr. Laurent all that he had
any right to expect of them, and a very profitable
benefit became his reward. Irv. Laurent presents
himself this year to notice with clams of a very dif-
ferent kind, and by no means equally well sustained.
'fl;ss British public are not so vastly indebted to
Mr. Laorent for his condescension in allowing his
singers to tome and fill their pockets at John Bull's
expellee, as to be considered bound to remunerate
him personally. If Mr. Laurent has conferred any
favour at all, (supposing him to have the right of
monopoly to the vocal faculties of the persons in
question), it is on the singers alone, who have hail
all the advantage of it. Let him, therefore, go arid
settle his claims with them. They have doubtless
reaped by this time a sufficient harvest from their
theatrical benefits, and the modest price of twenty-
five guineas charged for every worn-out Italian
song with which they have treated us at private
and public concerts, arid a thousand places besides;
they ean, therefore, afford to remunerate Mr. Lau-
rent for his " liberality." In certain classes of so-
ciety the folly of terms so outrageously exorbitant
lias been but too inconsiderately indulged in this
country. John Bull would show wisdom in with-
holding his sanction from all inducements to such
extravagance. There are means enough of employ-
ing his money for gratifying purposes, without the
necessity of tilling the pockets of Messr3. Cham-
bers and Son's creditors, and Monsieur Laurent, of
Peri s.—Times.

~ . .. ,
.
~";. Efjoge., LIEVEN, the Russian Ambassador,
-•-. • , '.
..pfluev.„...sTE [An', the Austrian Ambassador, and Mon-
- .ritivur,RoterV the French Efuhavy, had interviews with
the:Eariq RPE EN yotcrday at the Foreign Office.
r )