The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-21 00:00:00

IN RE GEORGE RIDLEY.

This day being appointed for the choice of assignees
under this fiat, the Court was crowded with creditors
anxious to prove previous to voting. The bankrupt
had carried on most extensive busiuess as a wine and
spirit merchant in Mincing-lane, and in St. Mary-at-
hill.

A gentleman named Daniels appeared to prove
upon a cheque paid to him through the bankrupt. It
appeared that he (the bankrupt), and a person named
'kiompertz, had had some money transactions, and on
the application of the latter he gave him the cheque,
which was post-dated by two days. The bankrupt
alleged that this transaction was merely a matter of
Accommodation, and that he required some wine war-
rants to be lodged in his hands as, security, but Mr.
(o:npertz said such a course was unnecessary, as the
~beque would be returned. This cheque came into
Mr. Daniels' hands, and formed the ground of a part
of his present claim, and after that gentleman had, by
permission of the Court, examined the bankrupt at
great length, he stated he would forego his claim in
this Court. _ _ . .

A great number of proofs were then allowed with-
out opposition, after which the choice of assignees
was proceeded with, when Mr. Daniel Dixon, of the
;irm of Dixon and Donaldson, wine•m6rchants, of
Mark-lane, was appointed.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
THE EAGLE TAVERN.—On the application of Mr.
Rouse, of the Eagle Tavern, City-road, to have his
license for music and dramatic entertainments re-
newed, a memorial, signed " James Hudson," was put
in and read. It set forth the opinion of the memo-
rialist as to the immoral effects of such places of en-
ertainment, and prayed that the license should not be
renewed. The memorialist being called to sustain
ite allegations, did not appear.
Mr. BODKIN. (with WHOM Was Mr. CLARKSON), on
i:he part of Mr. Rouse, submitted that the Court
could not entertain the memorial, which was thus
abandoned by the memorialist himself.
The CoURT, after some discussion and a division, ,
decided that the memorial should be laid on the table.
Mr. CLARKSON then, at great length, addressed
the Bench, in support of the renewal, and presented
d praying for the continuance of the license. Mr.
I ',ouse had expended several thousand pounds upon
f improvements of the premises; and, at a cost of
apwards of 1,0001. a-year, he had complied with the
-I.Acestions made to him by that Bench some years
go. Since the first establishment of these enter-
tinments, there had not been a single police corn-
laint arising from any occurrence of any kind upon
the premises. If the license were withdrawn, between
thirty and forty persons would be thrown out of em-
ployment in the musical department alone.
Mr. WHALs (late M.P.), as a Magistrate, gave his
opinion against the renewal, and addressed thy Bench
at great length upon the horrible immorality prevail.
ing in the metropolis, which he ascribed mainly to
music licences.

The CHAIRMAN trusted that the Court would per-
mit him to address a few observations to them upon
that occasion.—(Hear, hear.) He was anxious to do
for the purpose of setting right an impression
,vhich was abroad with regard to his opinion on the
subject then under consideration. He had in certain
quarters been misrepresented, and he wished that his
.pinion should not go forth to the public in a way
calculated to bear more than the real interpretation—
that interpretation which alone he desired it should
clearly convey.—(Hear, hear.) It had been said by
some persons, amongst other parts of the misrepresen-
tation of his opinion, that he was the patron of these
musical licenses. Allow him, then, to explain the
views ha entertained with reference to them. It
appeared to him that the real evil with regard
to them was far more deeply rooted than that
Court could reach. In anticipation of the present
discussion, he had looked through the Act of Par-
liament, under the provisions of which that Court
had been in the habit for a long series of years of
granting musical licenses to the proprietors of taverns
and tea-gardens in the vicinity of the metropolis, and
no one, on perusing it, could do other than see that it
had been framed in the most hasty manner. The
Act was passed about 90 years ago, but happily under
circumstances of a different nature to any that existed
in the present day, to meet and correct some parti•
cular evils which had arisen from the then political
state of the country, by putting a stop to the Jacobi-
nical meetings which ware at that time being held
in the various taverns. When they looked at the
district which was comprised in this Act, they
could not fail in at once seeing its absurdity. The
Act comprised a district extending 26 miles from
London—a distance which, 90 years since, was doubt-
less a day's journey from the metropolis ; hut, in 1842,
it was perfect nonsense to conceive that such an Act
could be made effectively available. Could anything
'oe more absurd than that at Reigate, in Surrey, a
small town, a man could not have music and dancing
in his house without a license; whilst in the largest
manufacturing towns in the kingdom, Manchester and
Birmingham, such things could exist without any re-
striction ? Beyond this, too, the Act was still more

absurd; for, whilst it gave the Magistrates authority
to grant these licenses, it failed in extending to them
the power of interfering in cases of misconduct.—
(Hear, hear.) Neither had the police any power to
interfere in the event of an improper use being made of
the privilege. The Magistrates had no power under the
Act to see that the regulations were properly carried
out. As applicable to the present day, the only stringent
points would seem to be that the prpprietors of houses
having these licenses should not commence their per-
formances before five o'clock in the afternoon, and
that they must cause a notice of such license to be
painted up over their doors. One of the main fea-
tures of the enactment had been, that all persons who
were caught in these houses were to be treated as
rogues and vagabonds, and taken up and punished
accordingly.—(Hear, hear.) But this latter part of
the statute had been repealed, so that in fact there
was no power of punishment in the Justices except
that of a refusal to renew the license on the ensuing
application. It was notorious, too, that there were
some houses which had been kept open without any
license. It had been well said by George 111., that
he hoped the day would come when every one of his
subjects would he able to read his Bible. No person
could more cordially join in that sentiment than him-
self; but it should be borne in mind, that whilst they
(rave every one the means of reading the Bible, they
a''t the same time gave them the means of reading
other works.—(Hear.) The result of this was, that the
great mass of the people had become more intellec-
tual,—more intellectual in mind, more intellectual in
inclination, more intellectual in spirit, and more intel-
lectual in the nature and character of their pursuits.—
(Hear, hear.) The people, then, having become more
Intellectual, it became the duty of those who had the
means of doing so to provide them with some intellec-
tual amusements.—(Hear, hear.) If such amuse-
ments were not thrown open to them the Court might
rely upon it that the people would seek and find them
for themselves.—(Hear, hear.) The old system ot'
sitting and sotting in a public-house was, thank God,
happily being abandoned by the lower orders of society,
and rational and intellectual entertainments must,
therefore, be provided for them.—(Hear, hear.) The
great evil was, that there was no Act of Parliament
j authorising the opening of proper places only, for the
performance of music, except that which compelled
the Magistrates, on regular application being made to
them by respectable parties, to grant these licenses to
taverns and public-houses.—(Hear.) What they
wanted was a proper Act of Parliament—an Act
suited to the exigencies of the day.—(Hear, hear.)
He did not wish to name any particular place, but it
at that moment occurred to his mind that some such
room as that of Warnum's Music-hall, which was, he

believed, entirely devoted to music and musical pur-
poses, was the sort of thing that was required. They
wanted these places separate and distinct from public-
houses.—(Hear.) He denied much delight upon one
or two occasions in having witnessed the vast multi-
tudes who had flocked to the Musard Concerts at the
theatres. The crowds he half seen there had filled
him with wonder, but not more so than had the ex-
cellent conduct of the mass who were present. But
this was one of the admirable results of education.—
(Hear, hear.) All, therefore, they had to do was
to find places where the large masses of the
intellectual inhabitants of the country could be
accommodated with a view to their rational and
moral edification and amusement.— (Hear, hear.)
Let them, now that they had removed the blinkers from
the eyes of mankind, take care that they were pro-
vided with such food in the shape of entertainment
and profitable amusement for their minds, that the
day might never arrive when that which had been in -
tended to be a blessing to the people—namely, their
education and enlightenment—should lead to eyil,re-
sults.—(Hear, hear.) He trusted another session
would not be permitted to pass without some