The Sun.
London, England, 1818-06-18 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COULIT OF KING'S BENCH, .Ivsn 17.
Sittings for .11ifirlicsex,.before Lord ELLEN B 0110 t7'G

Til EA R ICA I. DISPUTF',.

JUNIUS ARUTUs Bootil V. T. W. MANLFY.

The decimation, which was °Petted 'by. Mr.
CHITTY, stated, that the 'plaintiff, a performer,
had been engaged by the defendant, the provrie-
tor of a theatre at Stamford, to play certain chap
rapiers on the 10th andlith March last„ on the
payment of half the receipts of the Noose, deduct-
ing 101. ; that the plaintiff* had been ready and
Willits e to perform accordingly, hut" that the dc-•
tendant mottlck not allow him ; in coosegneoce of
which the plaintiff had sustained considerable da-
mage iu the loss of the profits, anli in the rxpense
th'e journey. The defendant pleaded That lie
was not liable.

Alr. ADOLPIWS opened Ole case,' ob-
seeviotz, that the name of Iris client must be per•
fectly well known 'to the 'al try ; salt means of
celebrity bad keen given to Mr. Booth, tlfe-player
of -COvent-garden Theatte,'as fey -men had. en,
joyed: defendant was 'proprietor:of a flou4
theatre.a, Stanalord,, who had wished to
Avail himseT of 'sir. 11,)oth!s talents and popola-
,lty. The Juty were probably aware, that the
time 'that Loudon perfottmrrs could devote to
country expeditions was extremely limited; all
ent!,gements., therefore, to wi h. them. .must
oececsatily he construed very strictly. On the
6 la Mtrelt the plaintiff received' a letter from the
defendant:, it) which he tat' d than Miss S. Boo:I),
/no relation to .the plaintiff) could not proh,ahly
'come down to Stamfhrd, as
,-he had expected, in
consequence of ill health : he therefore proposed'
that the 'plaintiff slonld supply her place, offeliog
him '2O gnitieas for three nights' perfortnancr).-r-
Mr..l3ooth replied, that he could .not accept this
offer, -hilt that hiTs assistance Would be needless, as
Miss S. Booth had,,sufficiently recovered. On.the.
following day, March 7, -the Aetendipat ..ty,riate- to
the plintiffin these terms; the st alp of the letter
was
.abrupt and singular, but stiffrciently

"Stamford, natelt 7.
" My 41ear.Sir,—This is OM' fair time—we fill good hawses
Oarrt—better with then). Come and play. Tnesdav
.10% and Wednesday nth, and share half after 101. each
night. It may be 45.1. or 301. nay more—just as they bite
And there ends the bargain. If you sq.), aye, y r pitup in a
letter—if no, idieu!—. And for my to -e, I pray von wrong
me not..'.—Sfigh.,p:-.4ago, Sir Giles, or Richard
" Yours, T. W. MANLEY.

" To J.B. Booth, Esq."

This letter was reheived by the plaintiff on SR..
ttli'dßy ; and ,on Monday he answered, dosing
with ,heoffer, and requesting the: defend int to
secure llitn a lodging,. He went to Stamford
cOrlingly, and arrived -there in time to play one of
the.parts above named; on Tnesday,:loth March;
but, to his great surprise, be found that he had
not been announced in the bills; on the contrary,
Rugantitio and The Wedding flay. had ben fixed.
as the entertainments of the evening. lie made
P.ppearance lit the Theatre, but ht was told
that he could not play,. bitt might gO,borne to his
lodging. fie inquired if he were to perform to
night ; but it was answered, th.;t it did
nor snit the MamiLtr that he should. The plain-
114tVerer, fernained two day's' in ',.ctamforft,
doing nOthing. Iva ready if called npon ; and
when the time for which he could he absent had.
elaped, be paid for his lodgir , and retnrned to
his engagement at Covent-gar;en.- The cause of
,this. disappointment was soon apparent:L--4heMar-,
eptis of Exeter. a greater star (to use the theatri-
Cal term 'of Mr. Manley) than Mr. Boat!), had
Commanded the pieces on the nights in question,
Ino the Manager and Proprietor, the defendant,
Ica.; (Fite -sati3fied.thlt the house would he well
filled :.be became,.therefore, quite indiffeleurto,
and independent of, the plaintiff, ho, it' he 'had
remained in Stanfrord,
.would probably,haVe at-
traeted butt a comparatively small company, for the
play-going tisposition of the town would he nearly
satisfied by the two nights. when the Marquis was
there: he would have.drawn all the beauty. and.•
faSlKiott of Stamford to the theatte,.and Mr. 13ooth" -
might have played to empty benches. Wilco Jr.
Booth retnrned to London, he made a very: mode-• •
rate proposal to the defendant, that his expenses'
should be paid ; and in answer Ile receistul)tilet.'
ter trom the defendant, which .would be:a lesson
to all young players not to listen to the, flattery
Managers, when it suited their interes4 .to .he •
civil; for when it no•longer suited Mr. Alanley's
interest, he'cOuldhe'.as coarse and as abusive its
Ite had beforebeen,ob,etptions: and complimentary.
The letter:wias dated March 13, antlwas.in these=
terms

" R,—You hare indulged your humour by conduct More
nearly allied to-absurdity than folly. .and. which believe
without a- parallefin thj liistocy of theatrical concerns. Ac-
knowledged genius and admired talent may have its pardoned
weaknesses, but an actor of your humble Lind can havC no
pretence for giving himself the airs of a _popular favourite:
when he does, it becomes provokingly ridiculfsus. You cause
down' here by steaktth to play two ,liaracteFSo which • shows
your precarious," tt iiure ill L011(1011, &c.. Novelty, however,
'was in request with'Us, and I thought that; you would take
for your trouble what I offered : it is scarcely to be, believed
that you refused 20 guineas for playing three nights. No;
Master Booth weakly thought that we dared not do without
him. Weak little man ! Now, Sir, as your actions were full
of unmannerly and coarse" arrogance, I think it necessary
that Mr. Harris should be made acqmaiuted With the circum-
stances, and as there are two excellent papers published here,
I,shall fairly give it to them ; it will pot country ustsna,srers.
on their guard, that they may view such stars as you without
winking or alarm. If you say you were a little tifosV. It ,may
he forgotten, and that will be your best excuse, After
a respectable family at my request opened apartments to re-
ceive you, von left them without any ;Timmer:Mon: Is this
the great Air. Booth} the fearful rival of Mr. Kean ? &c.
. T. W. MANLEY." 2 •

In consequence of this tmgentlemanly and most
unjust treatment, the plaintiff lind been compelled
to bring his case befote the public, "and to seek
remuneration at the hands of a Jary the amount
of the damages would probably be governed by
the direction of time Learned Judge, and was • to
be gathered chiefly from the terms of the cartes-
pondence.

William Ilackforth proved the handwriting of
the defendant to the letters read by Mr. Adolphus.
Lord FA.LENI3nROUIL —What was wrapped up,
,in the letter 2 The defendant observes, " If you
say aye:wrap it up in a lettet." Did the plaintiff
say aye; and. if .he where is,•the • letter in
which he wrapped 4 ?
Mr. MART T, for the defendant, produced Mr.