Star.
London, England, 1817-09-22 00:00:00

init7ll7-L4NE THEinik

A Meeting Of the Proprietors of this Theatre was !
held on Saturday. at one o'klock; in the Rotunda, 'n
I pursuance Of public advefnernent. tor I" t•vo-tol I
purpose of electing six neo4e . bers tto the General '
Committee, in the room if six to he ballotted out,
and of receiving the Report of the General Commit.
tee upon the state of the fairs of the establishment.
The Right Honourable the 'Earl4 Eats hawing
'taken the Chair, Mr. WARD. tbr. teary set the I
'General Comnsinge, read the advertisement by which
die Meeting was convened. The. following Gentle- I
men were drawn out by lot :—EDWARD DINNIi, Esq. •
noel DOUGLAS._ Sir THOMAS Timms+, the Him.
. LAMS. Lord SIMON, RICHAID WSW*. Esq.
Upon these names being called over,
Mr. PwrEaMoonx addressed the Proprietors, and
stated that one of the objects of their being
called together was to fill the sit vacancies in their
.leneral Committee. occasioned by those which had
:men withdrawn. He proposed each of the names
drawn by the Secretary as fit persons to be re elected.
rhey were accord' .gly elected without opposition.
The Hon. Mr. LAMS then read the Report of the
General Conmittee. It commenced by statin,t, that
or Committee had convened the present meeting—
first, for the purpose of electing six members in the
places of those who had been Jra n out in their
number; and, secondly, for the purpose id submit-
ting to the General Assembly set Proprietfirs a state-
ment of their joint stock. The Act e Parliament
under which their establishment was formed, impe
naivety dilected the Committee to call such a Meet
to ; as the present, within three months atter toe
close of ehe last Season, and tower that prior's' si
they were now asseoubled. Chuniittee had de
t. 'red this Meeting till the latest possible period,
4.. d were anxious to have &Ivied it sun later, 4$
irofil the seas.in having only just commenced, they
wen. unable to•enter at large ihtu the se details, which
th y were satisfied would ultimately prove mat sa
talsetory to dose who were interested in the property
rite present penes% was, perhaps, the most uopropa
titres at which a view of their affairs could be taken.
And therefore the Committee had thought it proper
riot to eruct into in enlarged account of their fivances.
The General Committee had been furnished by the
Sub-Committee ith an accurate and lull detail of
the proceedings of the Sub-Committee; on 4 sou.
puluthe review of which they had every teas si to be
satisfied. both with repaid to the general reduction
fit expenses. and to the vigilant and economical Ai.-
ratogrments which had been made io evert depart•
mitt of the Theatre. The constwt of the Sub-Com-
mit:co had, in tact, been such as to merit their unse-
set ved confidence.
The General and Sub-Committee invited fro CO the
Ploprietors, in private, such suggestions as might be
conceived eligible to the establidituent, and assured
thew that whatever they might be, they should be
treated wi h the most respecttol attention. In tine,
the General Committee desired to state, that the Com-
pany of Drury.lane Theatre bad been considerably
strengthened, and expressed a conviction tnat, under
these circumstances. And aided by the Exertions and
economy of the SuhCommittee, use profit us the cur-
rent seAsoit would not alone be considerable, bat would
tend to redeem. mock 44 their tomer daLticattons.

This was the su taunter of the Report, and on its
being read,
Mr. PLTER MO At Moved that it should be received
alld Approved ; and it was received And approved
accordingly. He diet' moved, t•ie thanks of the
Meeting to their Worthy Chairman, the Earl of El-
St& With regard to himself mid the C. tnmittee in
general, of which lie was a Member, lie aesired to
state, that he felt highly II ittered by the confidence
which had been placed in them. They had no other
interests than thirsv of thb proprietors to consult ; for
in consulting thi-se interests they consulted their own.
i.e econ toy and vigilance which had been
exerted doling the last meson would, he had nu doubt,
•.sststed by the new attractions of the Theatre, render
them at least as suce..ssful in the present.
The thanks to the Earl of ESSEX were passed au ow.
The Meeting was then declared to be dissolved ;
but previous to the Committee quitting the table,
eel . It.nelersoa, a share-holder, addressed the Chair-
man, Ana expressed his ahhorrence of the alterations
which had taken place in the Saloum Nothing, he said,
Cou,ii be mine disgus ing, than to see that beautiful
Grecian room, in the designing and erection of which
an Architect of talent had been employed, utterly de-
siro;ed by the substitution of Chinese ornaments as
frightful as they were inconsistent with British
taste. A Gentleman, supposed. to be one co ;he
C mmittee, answered--“ Sir, they tend to encourage
lan Assemblage of pretty women."
.•,
Another Proprietor—e•l deny that. The pretty
women object to those uncouth ornaments as much
as any Other of our visitors."—Here the Committee
maiie their exit, leaving Mr. itAirlioliD to answer the
.iblections of several of the proprietors, some of whom
injected to the expense of the Saloon, stating it at
£5OO, others condemning it as an iinit,ation of the
H•lsiaw,haa at Brighton. Mr, RAYMOND stated that
not 'mil the sum mentioned had been expended in
the alteration. He enlaried on the beauty and clas-
sicality of the Saloon, and the advantage to the
fin lice' of the Theatre in the admissions of the,half-
price visitors to the Saloon at eight o'ckek, instead
of their being kept, as heretofore, cooling their heels
in the stone hall, exposed to the wind of five doors.
He also &dewed to the new staircases, by which ad
mission is nay/ gained to the Sat on, without inter.
fi fence with the grand staircases, b; which peaceable
and modest visitors were nut mixed with females of
a certain description who frequented the Saloon. Mr.
RAYMOND, ether some farther conversation, led the
way to show the r, fractory Proprietors the altera-
tions that had been made, and again expatiated on
the beneficial effect of them, inasmuch as there wtrel
this year five hundred visitors in the Saloon for fitiy
that were there last season. Without the Chinese
OrAarnelllS, the place would net prove so attractive!
to its frequenters. The dialogue concluded wttli
conci,ing some of the parties on the seore.ot sell-in-
terest; whilst others talked of making theatrical en
tertainnirms. the vehicles of moral instiuction, with-
out vicious temptation; and others sheered at these
tatter,. and desired • them to sell out ; asking, what
wouid a Theatte be without the j.;111 j and in:istaig
that morality .tid'profit could nut go hand and baud
in our Theatres I"