The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-07 00:00:00

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Propridwrs had or had not a right to let them out
to individuals, he begged the Jury to consider the
consequences to which the opposition on that point
would lead. If 100 men should think that the
Managers pre net.demandigg tiso great a price, er
that they ought le have the power of lettiug out
Private Boxes, lie took k that Wu had as good a
right to their judgment as the others. Then, if
194) go to the Theatre to abridge the prices, had
equal right to ge in support of the cause or the
ropeietors, how then was this to be decided?
By the only manner in which it was possible to
decide it on that principle, by riot, by assault,
by • tumult, and by death. But he denied the
right of the 0. P.'s to decide this question by
force. Ile denied the right of reviving trial by
battle, without ceremony, in this country, which,
if their doctrine beadinitted, most be the inevit-
able.conscquence. Whether the Proprietors were
right or w rung in the advance of prices, and the
establishing of Private Boxes, was a question that
could only be decided by law. The law was
open, the Proprietors acted mister a Patent, that ,
Patent may at any time be examival, by any per.
son, at the otlicu were it was iiirulled. That Pa.
tent was subject to thu jurisdiction of the law, in
case it was abused. By a %%irk of scire facias,
the complaint against the Managers might be le-
gally investigated. The Jury would be enabled to
decide upon the facts, and, the Judge upon the
law of the question. it was impossible that it
could betleeWed by popular tumult. The trial by
scire facius was nut an obsolete proceeding.
Sir JAMES MAstsrats.n.—The question whether
they have abused the Patent, or have uut com-
plied with the conditions, may certainly be tried
by that method of proceeding, of which there
• hate been many instances.
Mr. Serjeant SHEPHERD continued.—lf the
public were abused by this monopoly, here was
the mode by which they might seek redress. No
man in this country was without redress for any
complaint ; but no individuals that he knew of
could have a right to assume, that there has bees
any abuse of the patent of Covent Garde* Thee-
Ire. That Theatre was carried on for the advan.

tage, or amusement of the public, and the doors
stood constantly open to visitors. Did they mean
to say, that nobody can see the patent ? They
had nothing to do bet walk to the °thee in which
it was inrulled, where the patent might lie seen
and read, and even copied officially, if required.
Any Counsel might take it home with him, and,
hula a consultation on it at his own Chambers.
Covent Garden Theatre was a public Theatre;
and the question which the Jury bad to try was,
whether there was a riot there on the 31st of
October last, and whether Mr. Clifford was, or
was not, encouraging and instigating that riot.
On the part of the Plaintiff, Mr. Clifford, a case
had been attempted to be proved, but intentions
could only be evinced by action, and whatever
might be a man's private intentions, yet, it ho so
acted as Mr. Clidurd had dusty the necessary con_
sequence of his actions must be presumed to have
been his intentions. The first witness whn was
called, Mr. Ilipkisis, meets Mr. Clifford in Bond.
street, auil upon his proposal goes into the l'it of
4/irre The.atre, *here Mr. Hiptins hesio never beee
before; nor, indeed, as he understood his evi-
dence, in the l'it of any theatre in his life. lie
hugged to be understood, as by no means intend.
lug to say, that the Pit was twee fit place for a
gentlemau to visit; he knew many gentlemen who
thought it the best place tor seeing the perform.
mice, and marking the turns of the human coon.
ionauce. But here was a gentleman, who never
before was in a Pit, who chooses, what he thought
be might say of the 31st of October, one of the
most unfavourable evenings. Air a visit that could
have been chosen—that w.s., an evening on which
any man would hare avoided gsiiii; into the Pat of
the Theatre, unless a wail had liked the proceed-
ings there. He had hiniseif formerly been there,
and he hoped to go agate, and sit as quietly as In:
had formerly dune : but had he been asked to go
there un the 31st of October, he i.hioniii hare said,
it was impossible to go there with' ally cullilurt,
111 the midst of noise and riot, and therefore he'
should have said, that ho sad rather wait till be
could go quietly, and see fairly what sort of a
place it was. He imagined, however, that when
Mr. Clifford did go to the theatre, his so-dinar)
place would be found in the Bak-s, and Rot in
the Pit. But Mr. Clifford was s'o ignorant of tile
world, and of what is going on in it, that ho must
hare been all astonishment at the uproar he found
in the Pit. He must have said, What is all this
about e lie doubtless could previously know no-
thing of it. Mr. Clifford probably looks into a
Newspaper ! ! He could not, for his own part,
'help thinking, that Mr. Clifford did go there ler
the purpose of giving some countenance to the
pROE— litrtirtten Ire got there) -wog-alsomai-sisiti
—Could there not be a not by noise and tumult ?
Could there not be a riot by men getting loge.
(her, and making so outrageous a noise so as to
prevent the hearing of that which they were Isli-
ti mately assembled to hear ; a noise, tumult,
and disturbance so great, that the only rea-
son assigned fur standing on the benches, was
the fear of being inaimed.---A riot, in his
opinion, it certainly was, when men assem-
bled together to the number of three or four,
and by unusual and extraordinary noises
and gestures, frustrated the very purposes fur
which thty nen: assembled. And if the burns,*
and trumpets, and rattles, and the Wiring about
from plaec to place in the Pit, did net coo.
statute a riot, the whole of the proceedings at
the Theatre was justifiable by law. But Isis
notion of the law was widely d.fferent. Sonic
foolish people had expressed an ',pintos: that
there was a right to express approbation or
disapprobation by noise ; for 'himself he was a
goud-uatured critic, and almost always dis-
posed ticapplaud; he -hatl no; kissed above two
or three times in his life, although be had very
often laughed, and sometimes cried. lie should be.
sorry to pvevuat legitimate hissing or disappreba.
lion, but to talk of this riot being the honest ea.
prosion of the sentiments of the audience, oily
the eery statement that such was the fact was an
insult to the understanding of every man w lie
heard it : this roiliest, purpose, to depress the

THY. -STATESMAN.

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price at the door, and to compel .the Proprietors
to More that price. The first witness on being
askeal, whether he had ever heard &greater noise
than was made in the Pit of Ow Theatre on the
eight of the 31st of Oct. answered in the ailiruta.
tire; he had heard a greafer noise frum
drunken sailors. If the G'entleineti of the Jury
should be se unlucky as to hear 1000 drunken
sailors, would they nut say, " what a confound-
ed riot there i*." Suppose they were quarrelling
abant a landlord's bill, is the 0. P.'s Here guar.,
rolling iu tho Pit about the price of admission,
were we to be told that this was not a riot. 'flue
witness had said that there were horns, and trim-
pets, and tiitigiug, and all torts of noise., Nrinitig
altogether a tumult, which constituted a riot; and
when asked, why Mr. Clifford stood up, he hail
said, because if he had sat down he would hare
been'in danger of being crushed. Such was the
riot that the witness only heard one ur twn sen-
tences of- the farce ; he could not even tell what
the farce was ; he could nut undertake to say
whether it was " bye a Pi inre," or whether
it was " The Portrait of Cervantes." 'Lot,
therefore, he maintained, had been proved by the
Plaintiff's witnesses. I%'hat share then had Mr.

Clifford in this riot, and was Mr. Ilmidon justi-
fied in the atep which he took ; those were th►
questions. If persons supposed that they might
stood by at all times, and because they se.iled up
their mouths, that therefuie they went no parties
to the riot on wleith they were looking, he wai
muck mistaking both in the law and in common

sense; for sometimes a silent leader might do as
much mischief, or more, than a very active one.—
Mr. Clifford comes into the !louse, but without
wearing 0. P. which was the ensign of the per-
sons who had combined together to reduce the
prices—Mr. Clifford was unwilling to have any
thing to do with this riot, bat when he comes in
he is saluted by the rioters with " Here comes Mr.
Clifford, the honest Counsellor," and they make
wily for him, that be may get in the centre of the
Pit; tbiswas a clear invitatioil from the rioteria, who
hailed him as their fricad, their honest Counsellor,
(rum whom they ware to learn how far they might
go—Mr. Cliftord accepts the invitation, and
marches into the centre of the I'it, where ho
hoists the ensign of riot in his lut. To say that
Mr. Clifford, who was hailed by the rioters and
had so accepted their invitation, was sot counts,-
' nancing the riot was an absurdity. " Either,"
said the Learned Serjeant, "he must be wrong-
headed, or I must be a dolt." 'lf when he was
saluted as the honest Counsellor he had given his
honest advice as a Lawyer, he *ould have said, if
you choose to make a lout of yourself you may
wear 0. P. or any other .resign in your hat—but
wete lie to see a number of persons with that or
any other ensign its their hats, and a man were to
ask him if there were any harm in wearing it
he should say, you must lost till me what is the
meaning of 0. P.—for if it but a mere mark
of merriment, the thing iv in itself iimuceet—
but if it be a mask of union, ;Or persons (Ism.
bled together fur the purpose of riot, as an honest
Counsellor, and as an honcst man, he should
have said it was not proper. if Mr. Clifford meant
to say this, there is no harm iii the riot, there is
so harm in the ensign of riot ; if there is no
harm in rebellion, huist the standard of ;
but if in such case a man stood by when that
standard was hoisted, a!thotigh lie were silent, as
mute and insensible as a statue, he is embarked iii
rebellion. No man !mint,. common sense could
doubt this. His Learned Friend had said that
were this doctrine admitted to be law, it would he
dangerous to any man to hoist a cockade at an
election : this he, however, positively denied ;
though ho admitted that a cockade had scneetinses
been hoisted for the purpose of riot. A ea: kale
meant, " 1 am a partiz in of Mr. SO and Se : 1
" hubt it fur him, but not for a sivf." it he
had any young friend who was Coolie!) enough to
stand a contested election, be wuuid heist a cock-
ade, fur that was nu riot ; bet if he were to hoist
a cockade fur the purpose of riot, the hoisting
such cockade became a riot—bet that had nothing
to do with the question of weaving 0. P. in a
Theatre. Whether Mr. Clifford had confounded
the election cockade with 0. P. he knew nut; hut
the ensign in the hat was an exceedhig important
thing, ree.irdang to the purposes for which it was
worn. It was an ensign by which military ser-
vice: e ale known; it denoted the nation which the
,s..arer of it served ; the country to which a man
uelunged ; and he hoped that the black cockade
would he always superior to the tri-culoured cuek.
atte. It was not long ago that a blue cockade was
worn, and which he should have been proud to
have worn ; but there was a time when a blue
cockade led the wearer to riot, rebellion, and
treason; and for which many individuals stitf:ril
death, at tke period to which ho alluded—the me-
morable riots in the year 1780. The blue cockade
was at that time the ensign of the rioters, and
being taken up with that cockade in their hats,
alone convicted several persons, who were stand.
ing quietly. by with that cosign in their hats, while
the rioters were committing their acts of outrage.
Being in situations of life rather better than cue
executioners, they stood quietly by while the riot
was raging. Alt !said the latv,isu they did, but they
had the ensign of riot in their hats ; they there-
fore, though not committing any acts of riot, ea.
cow:aged the rioters, and were equally guilty, •if
net more so, became not being the hand that calm.
Initted the riot, they thought by (hut caution they
might have escaped. But the honest Cuustsellur
gave no advice; he wished he hell ; lie did iisilreil
give some advice, fur when a person was Montt to
31)6'1 Mary Austin's penny rattle, he dissuaded
the person front so doing. Btu %shy did lie out
say you should not have 0. P. iu $ our lost, those
letters are the ensigiss of riot. Why dad lie eon_
tent himself with desiring him mot to apring die
rattle ? Did he foolishly suppose ChM so belie as
no extraneous instrument is used to Clvale a noise,
that there could be no riot ? It seems that he did
not put the 0. P. in It's hat ; somebody (Ise tusk
the: liberty of putting it in for him. 11c• slid nut
watt to say that Mr. Clutter,' was irritable, but
lie did not think that Mr. Ciillord wes a inan who
would permit atiy person to take au eiowarratita-
ble liberty with him. lie was himself tar fruni