The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-10-17 00:00:00

STATKS*

7. the EDITOR of The STATESMAN.

Sin—l have taken no inconsiderable pains to
obtain a last of the tenantry df Messrs. H aims,
ion, and KuasLa, in their private stalls in the
Theatre, but my efforts to obtain a complete list
have hitherto been unsuccessful. I, however,
inclose the names of such of the cattle as 1 have
actually stacerfaitied.. Amongst them you will
perceive more than one who aro well-known cha-
racters in that fueua of honourable independence,
disinterested pursuit, and brilliant intellect,
Lloyd's Coffee-house. The rigid steroid" of one
of therm worthies, who has burst into notice like
a fungus from that stcrcoracecus mass, will ab-
solve hiss or the civic friends he kindly indulges
with occasional visits to his stall, from the impn.
tation of an immoral or indecent etercise of
that little privacy in the rear, which has
excited animadversions so severe, so cruel, se
ustfecling. The public delectation of these
Private Boxes, which you brat roused, in
your reprobation of which you have strenuously
nod undeviatingly persevered, fur which you may
justly claim the merit, and for vshithyou sell tle.
serve the applause of -every honest independent
man, daily acqoires strength. To me I confess
it is astonishing, that any respectable character,
can dire to shew a face, in a division of the Thea-
tre, which outrages so grossly the feelings of the
other parts of the audience. The inconsistency
of privacy with English manners, Eng!ish habits,
and Entlish morals, you have justly exposed, and ,
I implicitly subscribe to your opiaiosse,ssith respect
to tine dangerous innovation of admitting indi.
viduals to the enjoyment of exclusive privi-
leges in a public Theatre. But, Sir, there is yet
another consideration. We have now in this
notion of traffic an army of Nabobs, and the
operation of commerce and the natioital debt, have
together produced such an advance in landed
revenue, that we have also an army of land pro-
prietors, to whom 400 guineas for a Private Box
%ere but a bagatelle. Now, exclubiTo of the
two Ilexes of the PRINCE of WA Las and the Deice
of YORK, there arc but 30 Private Boxes.—
The Peerage of the United Kits plom, added to
the Members of .the House of Commons, ex.
ceeils considerably in number one thousand
individuals ; and taking upon the most mode-
rato calculation, the revenue of 300 only, of that
number to he adequate to the expellee of a psi.
rate box, and of these 300, only one-third par!
to he so partial to Theatrical amusements as to
inc .'s. such an expence, there would remain 70
of the first families of the state, who must mix
with the Canaille in the dress-boxes, as they arc
termed. I have not jet said a word of the
Levy-en-masse—cl bloated votaries of Wealth
on the Royal Exchange...—in Lombard-street
and,though last, not least, at that concentration of
civic importance, presumption, arrogance, cupi-
dity; avarice, ostentation, and folly—Lloyd's
Coffee-house. Nor have I taken into considera-
tion the very large number of individuals in this
bletropolis,of splendid fortune,who are wholly un-
connected with traffic or politics. These, added to
the traders, I compute, if any thing, to exceed in
number even the Peerage, and the Members of the
House. But, admitting the same principle of cal-
culation, there sill be 70 additional, making, in
the whole, 200 families, who may be presumed de.
sirous of availing themselves of the superior ease
and convenience of this mode of enjoying etseatri.
cal amusements. But of these 200 families, 170
must be contented to view, with longing eyes, from
the dress boxes, the more happy few, lounging at
their ease, eith perfect nonchalance, in their
private boxes, quizzing, from those aerial ci-
tadels, the less fortunate herd below. Sir,
it will not be very agreeable for a Peer of
this Realm, or a family that can trace its descent
from the Conquest, to see the phiz of an ephe-
meral upstart from LLOYD'S, contemptuously en.
joy jog an exclusive privilege conferred by wealth,
and wealth alone, without the slightest reference
to merit, or qualities of any description, but such
AN lead to the acquirenieut of pelf—how gained
in many instances those who kno;o these sus:. of
tratlick are at no loss to diviae. The Proprietors
have not oven consulted their own interest. Thu
Private Boxes, it is assorted, now let fur 12.6001.
per annum. Now, a ere the stalls of this Augiraii
stable thrown open, and restored to the only form
in which they ever can be toleratvd—upen boxes
fourteen persons may be accommodated—every in-
dividual in a chair, and all perfectly at their ease,
in each Box. Sir, I know e hat lam saying, for
it is not once or twice, only, that I have been iii
these Privileged Boxes. The anti-room is larger
than the 80x..-and the partitions being removed,
I say fourteen persons, each with a chair and at
perfect case, might sit in each Box, which,
multiplied by 30, gives 420. The sum of half
a guinea for admission to that part of the
House, would not only have been paid uithout
a murmur, but the plan would have been ge.
nerally applauded. The advantage of a select
company would have been secured. The access
would have been, as now, independent, and the
elegance, the convenience, and the comfort of
these Boxes might have been enjoyed in succession
by every individual who prefers select,to promisee.
uus society. The admission of improper or at least
of disorderly persons hail been impracticable.
The receipt un a full night would have been
210
guineas; and_presieming these Burrs
to have been
only one-1111,11- filled 'luring the season of 200
nights, the Proprietors instead of 12,6001. would
have received 14,7001. Every one with whom I
have conversed on this suggestion, which I first
saw in your Paper, concurs with me in opi-
nion that, half-a-guinea would have been thank-
fully paid for such alecornmodation, and that it
would inevitably have becomes fashionable resort.
I shall not trespass further on yen, than to assure
you, that I think the idoptien of this plan Is the
only inean left by which the Proprietors can satisfy
the public ; and, certain I am, that it would greatly
add to their own revenue.
I am, &c.
Oet. 141.

W.

• Tbese asses we, for the resent, decline sasussehx.

• .

N:

MR. CIIEEICE.
Of the disposition to support the Proprietors
through " thick and thin," we conceive the fuf.
lowing plain " unvarnished talc" of the very
respectable writer to he a most decisive illustra-
tion. to n*, al doubtless, it will also to the pub-
lic—it appears a novel system of administering
justice, to hold an individual to bail on the oaths
of two witnesses, whose depositions were flatly
contradicted by six persons oT at least equal cre-
dibility—four of whom are named in Mr.
CUEEKE'S letter. We lament greatly that we w..re
not present at the examination, and threatened
commitment of Mr. CHLEILK, as it is, fur that rea-
lm, impossible to enter further into the circum-
stances of this most flagrant case. The Magis-
trates, as Mr. GRAHAM has correctly observed,
act ministerially—nor is it our intention to in-
sinuate that they have ndt acted honestly, and to
the best of their judgment. We confidently trust,
that this much.injured •Gentleman will lose no,
time in bringing forward an indictment for per-
jury against the two ilfurmers. Mr. CREEKS
will excuse us for suggesting the propriety of
ascertaining the names of such other Gentle-
men
as witnessed the transaction, that the False.
hood of the Informers may be established, even
by numbers, beyond the possibility of doubt, itt
the minds of a Jury. A Magistrate, in strictness
of law, is not bound to hear exculpatory evi-
dence; he commits, on oath duly made before
him of the offence ; this rule is, however, rarely
if ever strictly enforced, and of the impartiality
or propriety of a rigid adherence to the strict
letter of the lam in tidy, or any other instance
connected with the present dispiac, we beg to
leave to the decision of the Public.

SIR—It has hitherto been considered as the fundaments
principle of Jodi*. that the accused should at least be heard
with the same impartiality as the accuser; bat as this does
not appear to be the new plan upon which justice is adtni-
nistered, I have 'As other resource to ♦indicate my uwo cha-
racter, than to state a plain, " unvarnished tale," that
through the medium of your singularly candid and impartial
Paper you will be induced to give, from your having seen a
garbled statement of my having beets apprehended Mt com-
pelled to find hall for " riotous and disorderly conduct" at
Covent-Garden Theatre, during the representation of last
Thursday eveuing. It is due to myself, that my statement
should also be made public, by an ingenuous 'lentil of fiefs,
which will hereafter be proved by the most respectable and
incontrovertible evidence. I was on the typal* side of
the Theatre, when the placard of " A lung pull, Ike." was
eZiblted from one of the upper boxes; curiosity, and the
appearance of a friend In the neighbourhood, induced me to
cross over to that part of the house ; but I not only did not
exhibit "any riotous or disorderly conduct,' but I did not
even espressthose common sentiments of independent dimppro-
Dation hitherto considered legal and justifiable. I lease
you to judge my ustmi3hment, at being seised like the beast
criminal, nod charged with having exhibited this placard,
and aided in the riot. Conscious of innocence, and the jos-
tke of my cause, I went without the thew of mimesis. said
found at Buw-street a person residing in Castle-strut, Lei-
Lester-square, attended by another, who deliberately swore to
the fact of my having exhiloited the placard stud baying done
my utauFt to contribute to the general torlf.n. I told my
story with as much composore as the horrosof this mast
as-
sertion would admit of; and the circurnstatre of my not only
not having exhihited the placard, but having beets in another
part of the Theatre was emphatically sworn to, and' posi-
tively proved by the oaths of elm. Thomas Carter, Commer-
cial Chambers. or Heath-place. Hackney; Mr. T Candy,
Lower Slnulwell; C. J. Hippies, Mare-street, llackney ; and
Mr.D.frfott, Tower-street; and ether persons *retie:dist unpre-
judiced respectability ; the proore on mynas., were not jar a mo-
ment Listened to. I was ordered to find hail, or be fully commit-
ed !—The above Gentlemen immediately offered themselves—
brit they were rejected. I expected tor-have passed the night
in a dungeon, when by accident, Mr. Henry Webber, of
Lower Brook-street, Grosvenor-square, who witnessed every
circumstance at the Theatre, georronsly came forward, and
erns admitted as my bail, after undergoing all the most rigid
minutia of legal examination, and I was allowed to take my
departure.
I make no comment on this unadorned detail. I consider it
II due to myself, and essentially important to the reel inde-
pendence of every British rubject.
I apologise for having as long intruded on your valuable
altentiou, and am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
AI.EXAN 0 Lit CHEEKE, Coal-Merchant.
Church-street, Hackney.

A lover of ins/oar/in/justice says, he should be
glad to know why the Magistrates of Bow-street
demand bail to the amount of 8001. that is 4001. the
offeuJer, and 4001. his sureties, of such persons
as are accused of opposing the Proprietors' de-
mands, and accepting from the Author of me
Blind Boy (accused of riotous conduct in support
of the Managers) 401. 1. r. himself 2.01. and his
friend in 201.
On examining the orders that were given to
Mendoza to distribute, It appears that they were
all written on fool's-cap paper.
There is a receipt still extant for a dish, which
we do not remember to have seen, or uveu beard or
—no, not at a Civic feast—How to dress a dol.
phin—" First catch a dolphins and then, 4.c."
—The injunctions to the private-soldiers at 11. al-
cheren to drink plenty of lied Port, reminds us
strongly of the receipt for dressings dolphiu.
In one of the Sunday papers a luminous writer
ardently hopes that " every candle in Loehr'',
64 will be lighted in celebration of the Jubilo4"
As the object of this ingenious Gentleman is obvi..l
ously intended to produce darkness, we beg istaga
to suggest that by lighting them at both iendsritie
wish will be accoleplished in half the time. ..1 4
Same of oar loyal Papers scent to be afaaid
test the Jubilee-day should have the appearasses
of a Irut.day, from the circumstance of se atWi •
tional prayer being ordered; but there is no rea.l
solvable fouidetar fur such fears. • The ft:edit.
tire of the day/M*l)ot be over-laid by the weight
of /Wigton !

,

41CC031 D .17'10 OF 7'llE J UDC, ES IN

-1711? COUN7'Y Üb' ESSEX.

The following letter, the veracity of the asser-
tions in which we cannot doubt, shews thtt we
were incorrect in the statement to which it al.
lodes. Ever ready, in all crises, to correct any
error into which we may unavoidably fall, we
with.great pleasure give insertion to this oorrec.
lion. We 'cannot, at the same time, refrain from
observing, that hail we been aware of the exist.
ence of such accommodation for the itiages, 'as
We described, no doubt truly, in the letter front
O'er Correspondent, our observations on the ex.
to 4:ordinary and unprecedented -conduct of the
Magistrates at the Quartet Sessions, would have
been cxpre►ed in language much stronger than
that which we used in our remarks on this sub..
ject.

TO THE EDITOit. OF THH STATESMAN.
Silt—As the hrst ifrinciple of your excellent
Paper is always to enlighten, and newer to de.
eeire, you will, I hop permit me to vet yua
right front au error which you have committed id
the account which you gave un the 9th instant, of
a Resolution passed at the Quarter Sessions at
Chelmsford, to apply to Parliament for an Act to
provide a suitable accommodation for his Ma.
jr.styos inflict., of Assiv, out of the county rate.
You say, that a suitable alteration wai aniver.
sally admitted to be highly proper, because the
present aecommodations are notoriously greatly
inferior to what propriety and a due attention to
their dignity require. Now, Sir, 1, as an inha.
bitant who attend the Assizes, and mint of the

meetings at Chelmsford, do assert, that the house
fitted up by Mr. Alston is adequate to every thing
%Ilia can reasonably be expected ;—his Ma-
jesty's Justices of Assize have been several times
accommodated in this house, and that they hate
expressed themselves thoroughly satisfied. The
house is in the centre of the town, and in ap.

r

pearanee most respectable. It contains two drair.
ing.rooms, a spacious eating-room, sufficiently
large to dine forty persons, good bed.reome, and
eight beds, Kith convenient offices of every sort.
The furniture and fitting up of this house is not
only comfortable, but magnificent to a degree, that
the Judges have expressed themselves concerned
that too great an expence has been incurred for
their accoalinodation. The proprietor, Mr. AL
stun, having fitted up this house in order to pro.
v'tie that accommodation, which was certainly
wanted before, has offered to make any reason.
able addition ; but will feel himself hardly treated,
if that use is not made of his house to which it is
so well adapted. The inhabitants of the county
Rill have still more reason to complain, if this un.
necessary expence is imposed upon them by an
alteration of the law of the land. Some circum.
stances at present unknown to you, but which at
a proper time will be submitted to the public, will ‘I
pro►e this additional bortheu still more unreason.
able and intolerable, than it appears on the first
view. Oar reliance, however, on the justice of
Parliament, forbids us to entertain any apprehen.
dons that the Act will pass. A. Petition from the
inhabitants will, most airiredly, be presented to
the Hemel and they have the satisfaction to know
that one of the Chairmen of the (Isis rter Sessions,
who opposed the Resolution of the Court, has a
scat in the House, and may he expected to give
the same able support to the Petition, as he sac.
cestfully afforded to that which was presented
against the Bill brought in the last Sessions.
I am, Sir, your's,
AN INHABITANT OF ESSEX.

The equestrian monument of JOSEPII the Se•
cond, at Vienna, is so much admired by the
French, that they have plated centinels before it,
to prevent its being defaced.
The Silesian linen-trade has, by the occupation
of Trieste by the French, lost its lest channel.
Silesia formerly exported linen, to the amount of
sus or eight millions of dollars, Lb Portegals
Spain, and America; but since the war with Fong-
laud, the countries have been supplied with Irish
Meth
111 consequence of the high price of corn in
Norway, they have begun to bake bread at Drop.;
theim of rein-deer moss dour and rye ; also wills
barley, oats, and potatoes.
When we read in the fashionabk daily tea
coveters of expensive feasts, and especially of.the
soimptuoas dinner given by the Marquis of If —,
to a number of brother °Seers and Cofnenanderss
it is impossible to avoid redeeting on• what has
ever been the effect of luxury la all ages.
Late on Friday night, or early on Saturday
mornhig, the shop Of Mr. Palmer, woulten-drapers
in Kitlig's.strtet, Covent-garden, was broke open;
and rubbed of a number of pieces of woollen cloths'
to the amount of several bemired pounds. 'Me:
robbe:t had contrived td. break the fanlight, and,
it is supposed, by means of hooks, had polled the
cloth aut. There was a disturbance and fight at
the other end of the street, supposed to be at the
time of the robbery, by the robbers' companions,
for the purpose of stalling off the watchmen from
the spot.
A LITT or PAWNIIROICIRS In London, West-
minster, Borough of S.Jethwark; and, within the
limits of the Twopenny Post :-
190(1 thecc were 216 1 1803 there were 2??
1801
218 180 i . 218
leo;
lEII4
A numerous body of persons assembled round
au; avenues of Covent-Garden Theatre last nights
and Bow-stret exhibited a continual scene of riots
sad many squabbles took place between the sol-
diers and the mob, to it,l.ep the passages clear.
When the performance ended, strierill person 4
who had bee 3 active in the Pit daring the 'vesting,
'imbed out in. a body with large sticks sad vas.
btellas. This party proceeded under the Pi4l2lls
followed by a mob of at least one hundred per.
was who made a violent tumult 1U the biretta.