Lordships' books, or those of the Court of Justiciary, contained any record of ladies or gentlemen having been stripped and blooded for acting in defiance of that act. At one period there were four theatres in Edinburgh; and at no subsequent time had stage performances been brought to greater perfection. There was an account in Arnot's History of Edinburgh, of a theatre having been built near the head of St John Street, in which something was acted that gave offence to the gentlemen of the law, a riot ensued, and the theatre was pulled down. The proprietors of the theatre brought an action against the rioters. The young gentlemen of the law, in those days, were just as sharpsighted as they are now-they adopted an ingenious device to get rid of the action, they also brought an action against the proprietors of the theatre, founded on this very statute. This turned out to be a very serious question, for four of the Supreme Judges of this Court were proprietors. Thus, four Judges of the Court of Session might have been tried as rogues and vagabonds. These were, Lord Almyer, Lord Monboddo, Lord Ankervill, and Baron Stewart. Besides, there were a great number of Judges, whose sons were parties in either action, so that it was found utterly impossible to get a quorum of Judges, not interested, to decide the cases; both actions were consequently quashed, because the one could not go on without the other. A circumstance also occurred with a Mr Murray, (whether he was a relative of the present respectable manager or not, he could not say,) which was tried before the Court of Justiciary. Mr Murray had gone into the theatre and attacked the manager, and the question came to be, whether it was a case of hamesucken. It was im

VOL. XVIII. PART III.

possible that the law of the country could remain in that state. The statute of Geo. III. was applied for, and a patent obtained for Edinburgh. There was a belief that the statutes only applied to playing for hire; and, to evade them, a practice was adopted, which he ascertained by the bills of the day. These intimated that a concert was to be given at such a price, after which Hamlet and an interlude were to be performed gratis. The statute 25th Geo. II. only ap plied twenty miles around London, and allowed Justices of the Peace to license minor theatres in London. It was a mistake to suppose that that act applied to twenty miles round Edinburgh, in the same manner as London. On looking, however, into the statute-book, he discovered an act of Parliament, 28th Geo. III. cap. 30, which seemed to have escaped the notice of the counsel on both sides, by which Edinburgh was put upon the same footing as London and Westminster. Now, it appeared to him a matter of considerable difficulty, if Edinburgh was on the same footing as London, how the patent could confer privileges which do not exist in patent theatres of London and Westminster. What a melodrama or a burletta was, he could not pretend to decide; but he had looked into Johnson, and was much surprised to find no such words there. He also looked into Sheridan, thinking that as he had belonged to the theatre, he would find it there, but he was again disappointed. He now understood, that it was in Todd's edition of John. son. Dr Johnson died in 1784, and at that time neither burletta nor melodrama was known. The performance of many of these might be quite consistent with the rights of Mr Ryder; and he thought there was a necessity for passing the bill, but he

F

could see no ground for an interdict. He was lately in the Caledonian Theatre, and witnessed a very extraordinary exhibition.-It was certainly an entertainment of the stage; but he must plead his ignorance both with respect to Mr Alexander's performances, and those of Mr Matthews, being dramatic entertainments, but unquestionably they were stage performances, and as such, perhaps, within the act 10th Geo. II. His Lordship thought it was impossible to grant an interdict without injury to a number of individuals who would be set adrift. In 1812, a number of noblemen and gentlemen applied for permission to establish a minor theatre in Edinburgh; and if such was necessary at that time, it was surely much more so now, for since then half of the New Town had been built.

The Lord Justice Clerk divided the case into three parts. First, Whether the suspender was possessed of such a title as warranted her to seek their Lordships' interdict? 2d, Suppose she was possessed of this title, was she entitled to demand an interdict? 3d, Was the matter of which she complained fit to be interdicted? As to the first point, he would not go into the history of the granting of the patent, which was by a power conferred on the King, that he did not before possess. It was a departure from the known law of the land. That patent conferred on the holder rights and privileges which otherwise could not be possessed. No objection could exist to the assignation of the patent, which assignation did not expire till July next. In the present shape of the question, the suspender had such a right, and the objection of the respondent could not be listened to. The statute drew a distinction between what might and what might not be done. He did not

think the act mentioned by their learned brother, (Lord Alloway,) though it applied to Scotland as well as to England, bore upon the present question. If a party publicly avowed that he had come to the resolution of establishing a company of comedians, and the patentee applied for an injunction, as being an infringement of her just privileges, on the plain principles of common justice, he could have no hesitation in granting it. If Mrs Siddons was entitled to this strong measure, (for it certainly was a strong measure,) they were bound to grant it. Nothing could be more absurd than to suppose that the change of the name, or the singing of a song between the acts, could evade the enactments of the statute. Such pretences were too palpable. Were their Lordships to countenance this, there was no private right which might not be invaded. He was most decidedly and clearly of opinion, that as to the first part of the prayer, there could not be a shadow of a doubt,-it was in the very words of the statute. He was also prepared, under these circumstances, to accede to the second part, which was very cautiously worded. He was also clearly of opinion, that the same right which warranted their Lordships to prohibit such pieces as were licensed, warranted them also to interdict what might hereafter be licensed. If their Lordships had been called upon by Mrs Siddons to shut the doors of the Caledonian Theatre, because her rights were endangered, they would not for a moment have listened to such a demand. As to other performances, they were as fully protected by this interdict as they were before. He was certainly very sorry for Mr Ryder, but he felt they must grant the interdict in terms of the prayer, on the suspender finding caution,

The Lords remitted to the Ordinary to pass the bill in terms of the prayer, on caution being found.

Counsel for the suspender, F. Jef frey and H. Cockburn, Esqrs. Advocates. Agents, Messrs Inglis and Weir, W. S.

Counsel for the respondent, J. Moncrieff, and R. Jameson, Esqrs. Advocates. Agent, James T. Murray, Esq. W. S.

FEBRUARY.

28.-HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY,

EDINBURGH.

Robert Murray, sometime in the naval service of the Honourable East India Company, was put to the bar, accused of being art and part concerned in the robbery of the Stirling mail, on the evening of the 18th December last, at or near the house of Matthew Linn, postmaster, Kirklis ton, on the road leading from Linlithgow to Edinburgh, and with stealing therefrom three parcels of banker's or bank-notes,-one of these having been sent from the branch of the Bank of Scotland, Stirling, to the office in Edinburgh, and containing notes to the value of L.2434, 17s.; 2d, a parcel from Crieff to the Commercial Banking Company, amounting to L.2360; and, 3d, a parcel to the Leith Banking Company, from Callander, amounting to L.2254, 10s.

The first witness called was Thomas Burnie, who proved that a sketch of the roads adjoining Kirkliston had been made under his inspection, and that the one produced was correct.

John Macmillan, agent for the branch of the Bank of Scotland at Stirling, was in the habit of transmitting money to Edinburgh by the guard of the mail-coach. A parcel

of notes was made up on the 18th December, by James Thomson, sealed and addressed to "William Caddell, Esq. Treasurer of the Bank of Scotland." Witness saw that parcel given in charge, between two and three o'clock, to William Boyd, who carried it to the guard. The duplicate specification kept, showed the number of bank-notes sent, and the total amount in cash, but did not show the numbers of large and small ones which belonged to each bank. The amount of notes sent on the 18th was L.2434, 17s.; this he ascertained, partly from the report of the teller, and from the notes being counted over in his presence. He sent advice by post on the 17th that such a remittance was to be made, and on the 18th that it had been made.

John Boyd, teller at the Bank of Scotland's office, made up the notes into parcels, tying each bank's notes by themselves, and put all into one parcel, which was wrapped in paper, sealed, and addressed to the Treasurer of the Bank of Scotland, by James Thomson. Witness afterwards delivered it to Hume, the guard of the coach. Thinks there was in the parcel a L.5 note of the Bank of Ramsays, Bonars and Co.

James Thomson sealed and addressed the parcel.

Alexander Macdonald, agent for the Leith Banking Company at Callander, recollected making up a parcel on the evening of the 17th December, which contained notes to the amount of L.1754, 10s. addressed to the managers of the Leith Bank. Money, when transmitted to Leith, "was usually sent to a Mr M'Pherson, coffee-house, Stirling, who was in the habit of getting payment of such bills as fell due in that place. Witness sent a bill for L.500 to Mr M'Pherson, to get the payment of at the

Bank of Scotland's office, Stirling, some days before.

Angus Macdonald, clerk in the branch of the Leith Bank at Callander, sorted notes amounting to L.1754, 10s.; these were tied up in a parcel, and on the 18th December, he took them from Callander, to Mr M'Pherson at Stirling, to be forwarded to Leith.

James McPherson, of the coffeehouse, Stirling, received the parcel of notes from the preceding witness, which, with the proceeds of the L.500 bill, he forwarded by Hume, the guard of the coach, the same night.

William Hume was guard of the Stirling mail on the 18th December last. The conveyance of notes was a private transaction between the guard and the banks, the coach proprietors refusing to take the risk of money parcels. He received a parcel containing notes from Mr M Pherson for the Leith Bank. He also got one from Mr Boyd for the Bank of Scotland. These were put into the mail-sack (a large leather bag) for a part of the road. He was in the habit, for his own convenience, of taking the parcels out of the road-sack, and putting them into a canvas bag -that he also put into the mail-box under his feet. He generally made that change after passing Falkirk. The box under his feet should always be fastened with a padlock, the key of which he kept. When witness arrived at the post-office, he usually delivered the canvas bag to his wife, while he did the post-office business, or to the persons who came from the banks. The gentlemen of Leith were often at the post-office when the mail came in. On the 18th December, between two and three o'clock afternoon, he got a parcel from Mr Boyd of the Bank at Stirling. He received it with the general understanding

that it contained money. He was in the post-office when Boyd came with it. He took it from him, and put it into the leather bag called the road-sack; that he brought from the post-office to Mr Gibb's, where the mail started,-put it into the mailbox, which he locked. He likewise got a parcel from Mr M Pherson for the Leith bank; there was a small parcel attached to it by a string. He received a third parcel from Nicolson, the porter of the Stirling Bank, which had come from Crieff; that was put into the mail-box, but not into the bag. The coach left Stirling about a quarter past three, with four inside passengers, three males and one female; and three outside, one male and two females. The outside passengers were seated on the front of the roof of the coach. The first post-office bag delivered was at Falkirk, where he got another for Edinburgh, which he put into the roadsack, at which time he found the money parcels were all safe; he resumed his seat, and did not again leave it till the coach reached Linlithgow. At Falkirk one passenger left the coach, and another joined it. He left a bag at Linlithgow, and got another; that he put into the swordcase, the place where the fire-arms are kept. At Laurieston, about two miles on this side of Falkirk, he put the money parcels into the canvas bag, which he afterwards placed in the right hand corner of the mailbox; the change was effected while the coach was going on. That might be about five o'clock, and the outside passengers remained on the front of the coach-they might have seen what he was doing if they had looked, but in taking the parcels out of one sack, and putting them into another, he went down into the box, which was about two and a half feet deepthus it was impossible for the parcels

to fall out. He unlocked the box at Winchburgh, without stopping, and put the Linlithgow bag, which he had previously kept in the swordcase, into the mail-sack. He then felt with his feet that the money parcels were still safe. He did not then lock the mail-box-that was a neglect on his part. No person ever left the front of the coach to come to the back part till it reached Kirkliston. An outside passenger was taken up at Linlithgow, who sat alongside the coachman. The coach stopped at Kirkliston, opposite the door of Matthew Linn, the postmaster; it was very dark when the coach arrived there, at forty minutes after six o'clock; witness dismounted, and went into the post-office for the bag, leaving the mail-box unlocked; he had no occasion to open the box there, nor did he do so till he reached Corstorphine. He was not more than one and a half minute in the house at Kirkliston, but he afterwards assisted in putting the leading horses to the coach. The total amount of the whole stop, did not exceed four or five minutes, including the time he was in the house. While putting to the leaders, he had no occasion to look to the hinder part of the coach. Upon again mounting the box, he discovered that one of the inside passengers had got out. Witness said to him, "he did not know that he was out;" on which the other replied, "You see that I am out now." Saw no person change his or her seat on the outside, nor did he observe any stranger, except a man, who, the driver said, was a servant of Mr Pyper's, wishing to get a ride to West Craigs, but was refused, in consequence of the coach being full. The mail-box continued unlocked till he arrived at Corstorphine, where he got a bag to take to Edinburgh. He then opened the box to put in

this bag, and he discovered that the money parcels were gone, having been taken out at Kirkliston. He never mentioned the loss to any one till he arrived at the post-office; there he met the persons from the Banks. Two inside passengers and one outside were set down at Frederick Street; one of the insides was the passenger who was out of the coach at Kirkliston; and the outside one, was he who was taken up at Linlithgow. He let them go at once, although he was aware of the robbery; from being in a state of alarm and confusion, he did not well know what he was doing. Did not, however, suspect any of these passengers, for one had no luggage whatever, and the other only a small bag which lay in the fore boot, not nearly so large as the parcels. He had no participation, directly or indirectly, in the theft, nor did he know by whom the robbery was effected. When about two miles on this side of Linlithgow, a gig came up behind the coach, having one lamp burning on the "near" side. It followed the coach to Kirkliston. Witness believed that the gig kept up with the coach for protection, and for the benefit of the lights. The gig stopt at the door of the stable, shortly after the coach halted at the door of the post-office. Never saw the prisoner, nor any person like him. The porter who brought the Crieff parcel said, "Hume, I don't like some of your insides to-night."

MrColin Lane, traveller for Messrs Hicks, brothers, was on the road from Stirling to Edinburgh in December last. He travelled in a gig with bills and cash to a considerable amount, which made him desirous to have the company of the coach on the road. He came up to the coach about three miles eastward of that burgh, and followed it to Kirkliston.