Star.
London, England, 1810-03-20 00:00:00

stand He had also said, that the argument had
all along proceeded on the supposition that Drury-
; lane was standing—Alas ! had it not been for the
• COUNCIL CHAMBER, WHITEHALL. ' calamity which reduced so many innocent sufferers
Mr. R. JACKSON appeared before their Lordships to poverty and misfortune, this Lombard-street
as Counsel for the Trustees of Drury Lane theatre, proposition never would have been heard of.--..
against the proposed erection of a third theatre in the Why was it not preferred before, amidst all the.
Metropolis, which, he contended, could not possibly mania of joint-stock, companies ? No, it was re-
be carried into effect malts plan proposed, without served for the day of calamity ! If it were now re-
the total extinction of those now established. Many jetted, Drury-lane would instantly be rebuilt ; but if i
objections had been raised to the validity of the it was adopted, be could give no assurance of such
patent now existing. If those objections were really a circumstance. No ; melancholy and afflicting as
considered plausible, that Chamber was not the place the declaration was, he would sooner now make it
where they should have been preferred ; the accuse- openly, than deceive so many wretched and expect-
tion ought to have been made in the Courts of Law, ing sufferers : he could give them no consolation—
where the patent could have been brought by a scire he could not re-assure the creditors to the amount of
facies, and the question, on due examination, tho- £3oo,ooo—he could not re-assure the orphaned and
• roughly ascertained. Three reasons were now given widowed annuitants—he could not say to them, if
by the subscribers against the validity of the patent ; this proposal was now acceded to, that their hopes of
the first was, that it was a monopoly, and, therefore, restoration and comfort were not for ever blasted !
void ab initio : the second, that it was never intended An objection had, however, been made to the ma-
to operate exclusively as it now did : and the third, nagement of the present Theatres ; he, for this pur-
that r:any patents and licences had been since gran- pose, would not quote the galaxy of genius which
ted and acted on, which plainly disproved the pecu. he might ; he would not array before their Lordships
liar right assumed by the present patentees. Now, the illustrious names of Davenant, Killigrew, Booth,
as to the first objection, he had to distinctly deny that Cibber, Garrick, Sheridan, and Kemble ; but he
this patent partook, by any means, of that nature would ask from whom was better-management to be
u hich rendered a grant for a monopoly void. Such a ' expected ? Was it from the very respectable Attorney
grant, referring to matters of trade, no doubt would among the Subscribers, or -was it from the moral
be invalid ; but this refer red to matter of amusement.' lobby-building architect? He saw, indeed, among
The case of D'Arcy v. Allen, whichhad been brought ! the Subscribers one respected name, that of Richard
against him, would have been the very case which Cumberland'; but could he preside over every de-
hel would have selected in support of his position partment ? Was he to be at the same time their Nes-
Thit patent was certainly set aside, and why ? Not tor, their Atlas, and their Apollo ? Able as he was
because the pluyinewith cards was a matter of amuse- to tune their lyre to virtue, could he at the same time
ment, but because the making and vending those i invigorate all the mechanism of their establishment ?
card.; wAs a flatter of trade ; and, therefore, the i Were this even possible, PROVIDENCE had almost pre-
grant of any monopoly in them was'illegal. The i scribed his period, and he grieved at the reflection.—
present patent was not, however, a monopoly, He hoped sincerely that his age might be as protrac-
which could only mean the confinement of any parts- ted as his youth had been useful ; that his old days ,
cular branch to any particular person, but which, in might be happy, honoured, and venerable ; and that 1
this case, was extended to a second theatre, thereby at length, when full of years and glory he descended '
securing a rivalship, on the support of which the to the gave, his memory might meet what his life
bread of the respective parties depended, and from had nobly earned—esteem and reverence! In paying
the influence of which the public would derive an ade- this just tribute, however, he could by no means
quite and rational enjoyment. The effect of this subscribe.to the intompetency of the present Patentees. I
competition he need not repeat ; it was visible in the The Learned Gentleman next proceeded to, combat
delight which they and their fathers had experienced the propriety of the proposal to invest 450,000 for the
in witnessing the drama of the day, supported as it purpose of meeting any casual claim upon the con-
was by every embellishment talent and decoration I cern, and quoted as a case in point, the similar offer
could produce. On this point of monopoly Mr. Jus- of the Globe Company, which had been rejected.—
tice Blackstone was clear, laying it down that those He would however pass over to the moral appeal
only were void which referred to manufactures, or made by his Learned Opponent ; this, in the whole
which -restrained a liberty heretofore exerted. This history of the stage, had been the policy of limo-
liberty was by no means restricted by those patents, vators ; they invariably promised a greater respect
because, before they were granted, the exhibition of to morality than their predecessors, and they hive- ,
theatrical amusements was an indictable offence.— riably failed in the performance. In the earlier
But surely if a monopoly was sought to be exercised , agei this country was over-run, from Rome, by a
at all, it was not by the present patentees, who strug-1 number of itinerants, called mimicks or mum-
gled through all the disadvantagesof an arduous corn- i mers ; their residence was temporary, their dialogue
petition, but by the petitioners themselves, who, ' extemporaneous, and a casual, precarious subsistence,
though so loud oh this point of complaint against I the utmost earnings of their exertion. Against them
others, yet sought for themselves that which would the cry of immorality was raised, and the actors of
give them a real monopoly, because an undivided the mysteries, or religious subjects, succeeded ;
exclusive advantage—the charter of incorporation.— their object was morals, and their zeal enthusiastic,
The present patent might be revoked the moment until at length, in despite of their promises and pro-
his clients neglected the public interest ;—they were fessions, they promulgated such horrible, prophane,
aware of this, and relying on the faith which that and blasphemous principles, that they were corn-
patent gave them, they had gone to an immense ex- pletely silenced in the reign of Henry the Eighth,
pence, in order to meet the full measure of public and experienced the fate of those they so purely su-
convenience. Would it not then be both unjust and perseded. Then it was our Stage assumed its pre-
perfidious to abrogate the assurance on which they sent form, and amid the gloomy solitude of that day,
bad so honourably acted, and, without a single shew the sweet lyre of our Shakespear was heard; he rose
of reason, deprive them of the fruits of their tsuly mejestic amid the darkness, luminous and inspired,
laudable and well-bestowed exertions ? It had been softening the Stage with the music of his song, and
rrged, that many licences and patents had been gran- circling it with the royal protection ! Soon after this
ted since the date of that to his clients. After some f the present patents were granted, interfered with only
discussion, indeed, the Learned Counsel had at by the licence to Steele, the preamble to which was
length confessed, that none except licences were so inundated with a flow of ethics, that one would
granted, but then got out of his dilemma by ar- have imagined a church instead of a theatre was its
g ;sing an identity between them and patents. This was, object. Licentioustues still increased ; and Sir J.
however, not true ; they were distinctly different ; Barnard brought in a Bill to Parliament for the bet-
one passed under much form, and under all the so- ter regulation of the Stage, which he afterwards
lemnity of the Great Seal—the other Was the mere withdrew, on account of the interference of the Mi-
casual and temporary indulgence of an individual sub- nister. Such, from the first ages, had been the pro-
ordinate officer. Acting under this apprehension, fessions of morality which every succeeding genera-
the opposite Counsel had desired that the Great Seal tion of the Stage had made, and surely the method
should be torn from their Patent, and the solemn faith in which theLohrld been performed could not now in-
on which they had acted annulled. On what :audio- duce their Lordships to credit new assertions. His
rity ? Why, forsooth, on the authority of a player's learned opponenthad Om- his life among his books,
account of his life, and certain annotations on Shakes- I and that accounted for is innocence as to the world;
peare ! Was this the authority on which such a so- but he feared much the elegant undress visible in the
lemn instrument, given on the assurance of the i present Theatres would shock his modesty in the
Crown, and with the sanction of the Great Seal, midst of his ethic building, notwithstanding all the
could be annulled ? He would quote to their Lord- efforts of the moral architect. But he was proud to t
ships a counter authority on the subject, to which he i stand there as the advocate of the integrity of those
jioped they would pay a little more deference ; they i who at present followed the theatrical profession.—
had all known the personage to whom he alluded— Good fathers and good friends, the delight of the
they had seen him from his dawn, watched the in- , public abroad, and the ornament of their families at
creasing splendour of his radiance, and gazed on the home, they carried with them from the stage to the
full refulgence of his meridian—they had seen party , closet the noble ambition of being honest members of
feelings fade away before his powers, and the first . society. In their name and characters which were
names in the land ranged in proud array beneath his thus attacked—in the name of those hapless sufferers
harmers. What did this man say, when the Charter . whose rub e was impending, and in the name of that
of the East India Company was sought to be annul. justice which was seught to be violated, he new de-
led ? ' Charters are sacred, given ou the authority precated the proposed innovation, and demanded for
of the Crown, and founded on the basis of the Con- his clients the right of every British subject under ac-
late them not, if you prefer law to anal.- cusation—the liberty of legal defence in a Court of
eion." . Such was the oracle whose Justice.
invoked in his justification. Patents Mr. Anise! said, that be feared he had not suffi- ,
iublic good, said his opponents--so did ciently explained himself with respect to the advan-
'sought their Lordships to respect their tages which the Charter sought for would give the
l it had been shewn that the public E applicants over the Patentees of the existing theatres.
,eted. Patents were sacred—they could In the first piece, their persons and theirest of their,
only in a court of law,„ on solemn evi- property would not be responsible for their debts, and i
1, and with the interposition of all those secondly, such a body of subscribers as was proposed I
:ms, without which, in this land, the : to be incorporated, would have a great advantage
iglishman's head dare not be injured.— over the renters of the old Theatres in point of pro-
tat the population had so increased as to fit. The manner its sszlliCh the money had been ob-
erection of a new Theatre ; for though tained for the building of Coyent Garden and Drury-
of people might be.greater than in the lane, was principally by giving to every subscriber
-les the Second, still from the change of of £5OO the legal interest of his money and a free
:eness of hours, the number of play.going admission to the Theatre. This legal interest, bow-
not increased. But even allowing that ever, did not satisfy the applicants, . who wished to
)11 had increased, and that so many new receive on their subscriptions their full share of the
een built east of -Temple-bar, was not profits of the undertaking, and to secure them- those
for the erection of a third Theatre rather snperior advantag,es, they wanted a charter, which
• , .
fan in the vicinity of those already would make them a joint stock company.
Certainly it was, if, as was pretended, the ' Tire MAST= of the Ronr,s and Sir Wet. SCOTT
-ion of the citizens was intended. But observed, that the application was not that the Sub-
. the real reason ; the proposal breathed scribers shoulci:be-p470n.. the footing of the Renters,
the air of Lombard-street, to render it but of the Patentees: They wished the non-liability
His Learned Friend had said, however,. of Renters, with the advantage of Proprietors.
an could hear in the present Theatre ; ee Mr. ADOLPHUS appeared as Counsel for Colo-)
,ery one who was not deaf could—and so, nel Greville and Mr. Arnold, whose case lay in n
en against assertion the matter must mallow compus. Near two years ago, and before

NEW THEATRE.

stitution—viola
chy and conful
shade he now
were for the pu
he ; and he be!
authority until
good was viola
be abrogated c
dente on oath,
protecting for
hair of an EnE
He denied, tha
warrant the er
the aggregate
reign of Charl
habits and lay
people was r
the populatior
streets had be 4
that a reason i
in the City, tl
• et ecteil Cei
accoittnod,ttit
this was not I
too strongly t
„arobabe,
that ,nri persoi
.he said, ever,
.with assertioi