The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-08-05 00:00:00

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LAW INA

4 3

COURT OE CHANCERY,
14-iday, Aug Met 4.
HAYMARKET THZATRE.--MORpg a. EOLMAN•
The ',ono ClutNcEt.coa prionouneed his opL
nion this day upon the question so dispute betweenl
the parties; but the matter still remains at issue
as with respect to its ultimate determination.
It will be recollected that this was an applica-
tion to the Lord Chancellor, to remove Mr. Gee.
Colman from the management of the Little Thea-
tre, in the Haymarket, upon various grounds of
complaint, and to appoint another manager in his
stead. • The most imperative necessity for his re.
snivel, it was alleged, was the circumstance of his
being confined within the rules of the King's
Bench Pi icon, a situation which necessarily pre-
cluded him from proper attention to the active
duties of the appointment he held, namely, that
of *age Manager. There were other complaints
against him enumerated in the Plaintiff's bill with
great particularity. The most prominent of which
were his having stopped the performance of the
Critic, n hen the public was most anxious for its
representaiion, by which means the profits of the
house were considerably reduced; and in the next
place his having offered the piece called The
Africans for sale to Mr. Harris, of the We Co.,
vent.garden Theatre, with a view to enhance the
price to he given by the proprietors of the Hay.
market Theatre. Other general accusations of
neglect and deterioration of the receipts of. the
house by his misconduct, concluded the Bill.
The Lent, CHANCELLOR took a comprehensive
view of the original instrument between them
parties, and he was of opinion, in the first place,
that it was impossible fur the Court of Chancery,
from the nature of the construction if the deed,
to • decide according to its terms. They had
bound themselves down to act in a manner which
it was impossible, from their circumstances, they
could abide by. The article of the instrument
which respected fbe appointment of .managers,
performers, and other persons employed in the
Theatre, specifically laid it down, that all dis.
pule.; concerning the appointment of each person
so employed, should be governed by the majority
of the Proprietors. Now in the present' ase, the
shares of the property weremo distributed, that
there could be no majority On either side, and
consequently there could be 110 decision by such
a test; and therefore there Muhl be no majority
ire opinion against Mr. Colman's fitness to be the
manager. One of the shares, which was divided
between Mr. Tahourdiii, and Mr. Winsto', en-
titled those gentlemen jointly to one vote only in I
eseh a decision ; and tihould there not be an una-
nimity of opinion between them upon either side
of the question its dispute, no majority could be
obtained either, way. This then was a flaw in
the *grommet, which must necessarily prevent the
Coen from resorting to such a mode of adjusting
their disputes. 'With respect, then, to the corn-
pleints upon which this application was grounded,
he must say that they did not strike hint so ford.
bly as they seemed to do Mr. Morris. It ap.
peared rather extraordinary, that the principal and
only well founded fault to befuuud with Mr. Col.
man, namely,. that of his confinement in prison,
was, out even hinted at until the year 1809, he
haring been three years in that situation, during
which time he held the appointment of manager,
apparently to the satisfaction of the other pro.
praetors. The conclusion, however, was fair,
that they approved of his conduct from their si-
leuce on the subject. If his confiuement, there.
fore, incapacitated him from from fulfilling the
dv' his situation, that incapacity must have

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been of very recent discovery. Indeed, it was
manifest that the parties theMselves differed very
materially, as to what were •ctually the duties of
a manager. How, then, he asked, could the
Court of Chancery set them right upon a point
so peculiar!) the province of theatrical men
Fur his own part, if he were asked his opinion, at
a private individual, with respect to what were the
duties of a manager, he should certainly say, that
the business of such a situation, to be properly
attended to, would require the eye of the person
to be uncea,ingly applied to the objects repro.
senk4 on the stage, and all the other einem.
stances calculated to give performances their due
effect. In the dark, however, as he was upset)
the subject, and really ignorant as the Court was,
as to Mr. Culinan's culpability in his situation as
manager, he ought not to be called upon to give
any opinion. With respect to the Critic, and the
.Africens, he really could not say that Mr. Col.
man's conduct in these instances was such as
could be construed into a breach of management,
still less as a sufficient ground for his removal
from that situation. The great ground therefore
upon which these gentlemen called upon the Court
to displace him, seemed to be his situation in the
King's Bench Prison. Now, really, after the
parties had suffered his conduct to pass sub Worth),
ana without any comment whatever during that
long period, it was hard for hin► to say that he
',weld now be removed, npoo the mere general
assertion that he was not competent to the duties
of a manager, thus sitnateti. If he (the Lord
Chancellor) was fortified upon the subject by the
decision of a Jury, as to Mr. Colman's fitness
and capacity for the situation of manager, he
ak notes bOthen prepared to aot upon that opinion.
Under all these circumstances, he felt that he
could not reconcile the differences of these gentle.
men, unless they could agree to refer the subject
to the Master, and adopt suck a course as he in
his judgtaefit should think proper to direct them to
pursue. It was utterly impossible for him to de.
tree a property of this kind to exist for ever
without limit or restriction. They must allow.
him, therefore, to send the guestiou to the Mas.
ter, w hose duty it would be to report whether
Mr. Colnin's situation, as a prisoner in tha
King's Bench, necessarily prevented his attend-
ance to the duties of manager, and whether his
past contluct was such as would constitute a fair
ground of removal. The Master would also re.
pert whether Mr. Colman's assent had been given
to the division of that share in the property pos.
sensed by Messrs. Tahourdiu and Wiustan, for