6° & 7° VICTORIÆ.

C.67.

421

of effecting the same shall be ordained and established: And whereas by a certain Act made and passed in the Ninth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, intituled An Act for rendering the 9 Ann. c. 20. Proceedings upon Writs of Mandamus and Informations in the Nature of a Quo Warranto more speedy and effectual, and for the more easy trying and determining the Rights of Offices and Fran<chises in Corporations and Boroughs, it was enacted, amongst • other things, that in certain Cases therein mentioned, when a • Writ of Mandamus should issue, and a Return should be made < thereunto, it should be lawful for the Person suing or prosecuting such Writ to plead to or traverse all or any of the material Facts ⚫ contained within the said Return, to which the Person making such Return should reply, take issue, or demur, and such further • Proceedings in such Manner should be had therein for the De' termination thereof as might have been had if the Person suing 'such Writ had brought his Action on the Case for a false Return: And whereas by an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of 1 W. 4. c. 21. the late King William the Fourth the said Provision herein⚫ before mentioned of the said herein first-recited Act was extended to Writs of Mandamus in all other Cases, and to the Proceedings thereon: And whereas in neither of the said recited Acts, nor in any other Act, is any Power or Authority given to the Person prosecuting such Writ of Mandamus to demur to the Return 'made to any such Writ, so that the Decision of the said Courts respectively as to the Validity of such Return could be reviewed by a Court of Error;' for Remedy whereof, therefore, be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That in all Cases in which the Person prosecuting any such Writ heretofore issued or hereafter to be issued shall wish or intend to object to the Validity of any Return already made or hereafter to be made to the same, he shall do so by of Demurrer to the same, in such and the like Manner as is way now practised and used in the Courts herein-before mentioned respectively in personal Actions; and thereupon the said Writ and Proceedings Return and the said Demurrer shall be entered upon Record in thereupon. the said Courts respectively, and such and the like further Proceedings shall be thereupon had and taken as upon a Demurrer to Pleadings in personal Actions in the said Courts respectively; and the said Courts respectively shall thereupon adjudge either that the said Return is valid in Law, or that it is not valid in Law, or that the Writ of Mandamus is not valid in Law; and if they adjudge that the said Writ is valid in Law, but that the Return thereto is not valid in Law, then and in every such Case they shall also by their said Judgment award that a peremptory Mandamus shall issue in that Behalf, and thereupon such peremptory Writ of Mandamus may be sued out and issued accordingly, at any Time after Four Days from the signing of the said Judgment; and it shall be lawful for the said Courts respectively, and they are hereby required, in and by their said Judgment to award Costs to be paid to the Party in whose Favour they shall thereby decide by the other Party or Parties.

II. And

In order to object to a Mandamus the Prosecutor must demur. Return to a

Writ of Error upon the Judgment.

Peremptory Writ of Mandamus.

Court of Error may make Rules.

II. And be it enacted, That whenever any such Judgment as is herein-before mentioned shall be given, or whenever Issue in Fact or in Law shall be joined upon any Pleadings in pursuance of the said recited Acts or either of them, and Judgment shall be given thereon by any of the Courts aforesaid, it shall be lawful for any Party to the Record in any of such Cases, who shall think himself aggrieved by such Judgment, to sue out and prosecute a Writ of Error for the Purpose of reversing the same, in such Manner and to such Court or Courts as a Party to any personal Action in the said Court may now sue out and prosecute a Writ of Error upon the Judgment in such Action; and such and the like Proceedings shall thereupon be had and taken, and such Costs awarded, as in ordinary Cases of Writs of Error upon Judgments of the said Courts respectively in personal Actions; and if the Judgment of such Court be reversed by the Court of Error, the said Court of Error shall thereupon by their Judgment not only reverse the same, but shall also in addition thereto give the same Judgment which the Court whose Judgment is so reversed ought to have given in that Behalf; and if by their said Judgment they shall award that a peremptory Writ of Mandamus shall issue, the same shall and may accordingly be issued by the proper Officer in the Office from which such Writs issue, as the Case may be, upon Production to him of an Office Copy of the said Judgment of the Court of Error, which shall be his Authority and Warrant for so doing: Provided always, that Bail in Error to the Amount of Fifty Pounds, or such other Sum as may by any Rule of Prac tice be appointed as herein-after provided, shall be duly put in within Four Days after the Allowance of the said Writ of Error, and the same shall afterwards be duly perfected according to the Practice of the Court wherein the said original Judgment was given, otherwise the Plaintiff in Error shall be deemed to have abandoned his Writ of Error, and the same shall not be further prosecuted.

III. And be it enacted, That no Action, Suit, or any other Proceeding shall be commenced or prosecuted against any Person or Persons whatsoever for or by reason of any thing done in obedience to any peremptory Writ of Mandamus issued by any Court having Authority to issue Writs of Mandamus.

IV. And be it enacted, That the said Courts of Error who are hereby empowered to take cognizance of the Matters aforesaid may make, and they are hereby directed to make, from Time to Time and as often as they shall see Occasion, such Rules of Practice in reference to the said Application and the Proceedings thereon, and in reference to the Writs of Error herein-before mentioned and the Proceedings thereon, and the Amount of Bail to be taken, as the said Courts respectively may deem necessary to effectuate the Intention of this Act in relation to the same respectively.

CA P. LXVIII.

An Act for regulating Theatres.

[22d August 1843.]

WHEREAS it is expedient that the Laws now in force for

regulating Theatres and Theatrical Performances be repealed, and other Provisions be enacted in their Stead:' Be it

enacted

enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That an Act passed in the Third Year of the Repeal of Reign of King James the First, intituled An Act to restrain the 3 Jac. 1. c. 21. Abuses of Players; and so much of an Act passed in the Tenth Part of Year of the Reign of King George the Second for the more effec- 10 G. 2. c. 19. tual preventing the unlawful playing of Interludes within the Precincts of the Two Universities in that Part of Great Britain called England, and the Places adjacent, as is now in force; and another Act passed in the Tenth Year of the Reign of King George the Second, intituled An Act to explain and amend so much 10 G. 2. c. 28. of an Act made in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, intituled An Act for reducing the Laws relating to Rogues, Vagabonds, Sturdy Beggars, and Vagrants into One Act of • Parliament, and for the more effectual punishing such Rogues, Vagabonds, Sturdy Beggars, and Vagrants, and sending them "whither they ought to be sent,' as relates to common Players of Interludes; and another Act passed in the Twenty-eighth Year of

the Reign of King George the Third, intituled An Act to enable 28 G. 3. c. 30. Justices of the Peace to license Theatrical Representations occasionally, under the Restrictions therein contained, shall be repealed:

Provided always, that any Licence now in force granted by the Proviso as to Lord Chamberlain, or granted by any Justices of the Peace under Licences now the Provisions of the last-recited Act, shall continue in force for in force. the Times for which the same were severally granted, or until revoked by the Authority by which they were severally granted.

formance of Plays must be licensed.

II. And be it enacted, That, except as aforesaid, it shall not be All Theatres lawful for any Person to have or keep any House or other Place for the Perof public Resort in Great Britain, for the public Performance of Stage Plays, without Authority by virtue of Letters Patent from Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, or Predecessors, or without Licence from the Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household for the Time being, or from the Justices of the Peace as herein-after provided; and every Person who shall offend against this Enactment shall be liable to forfeit such Sum as shall be awarded by the Court in which or the Justices by whom he shall be convicted, not exceeding Twenty Pounds for every Day on which such House or Place shall have been so kept open by him for the Purpose aforesaid, without legal Authority.

Chamberlain.

III. And be it enacted, That the Authority of the Lord Cham- What Licences berlain for granting Licences shall extend to all Theatres (not shall be granted being Patent Theatres) within the Parliamentary Boundaries of the by the Lord Cities of London and Westminster, and of the Boroughs of Finsbury and Marylebone, the Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, and Southwark, and also within those Places where Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, shall, in their Royal Persons, occasionally reside : Provided always, that, except within the Cities and Boroughs aforesaid, and the Boroughs of New Windsor in the County of Berks, and Brighthelmstone in the County of Sussex, Licences for Theatres may be granted by the Justices as herein-after provided, in those Places in which Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, shall occasionally reside; but such Licences shall not be in force during the Residence there of Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors; and

Fee for Lord
Chamberlain's
Licence.

Licences may be granted by Justices.

Fee for Justices
Licence.

To whom Licences shall be granted.

Rules for the

during such Residence it shall not be lawful to open such Theatres as last aforesaid (not being Patent Theatres) without the Licence of the Lord Chamberlain.

IV. And be it enacted, That for every such Licence granted by the Lord Chamberlain a Fee, not exceeding Ten Shillings for each Calendar Month during which the Theatre is licensed to be kept open, according to such Scale of Fees as shall be fixed by the Lord Chamberlain, shall be paid to the Lord Chamberlain.

V. And be it enacted, That the Justices of the Peace within every County, Riding, Division, Liberty, Cinque Port, City, and Borough in Great Britain beyond the Limits of the Authority of the Lord Chamberlain, in which Application shall have been made to them for any such Licence as is herein after mentioned, shall, within Twenty-one Days next after such Application shall have been made to them in Writing signed by the Party making the same, and countersigned by at least Two Justices acting in and for the Division within which the Property proposed to be licensed shall be situate, and delivered to the Clerk to the said Justices, hold a Special Session in the Division, District, or Place for which they usually act, for granting Licences to Houses for the Perform. ance of Stage Plays, of the holding of which Session Seven Days Notice shall be given by their Clerk to each of the Justices acting within such Division, District, or Place; and every such Licence shall be given under the Hands and Seals of Four or more of the Justices assembled at such Special Session, and shall be signed and sealed in open Court, and afterwards shall be publicly read by the Clerk, with the Names of the Justices subscribing the same.

VI. And be it enacted, That for every such Licence granted by the Justices a Fee, not exceeding Five Shillings for each Calendar Month during which the Theatre is licensed to be kept open, according to such Scale of Fees as shall be fixed by the Justices, shall be paid to the Clerk of the said Justices.

VII. And be it enacted, That no such Licence for a Theatre shall be granted by the Lord Chamberlain or Justices to any Person except the actual and responsible Manager for the Time being of the Theatre in respect of which the Licence shall be granted; and the Name and Place of Abode of such Manager shall be printed on every Play Bill announcing any Representation at such Theatre; and such Manager shall become bound himself in such penal Sum as the Lord Chamberlain or Justices shall require, being in no Case more than Five hundred Pounds, and Two sufficient Sureties, to be approved by the said Lord Chamberlain or Justices, each in such penal Sum as the Lord Chamberlain or Justices shall require, being in no Case more than One hundred Pounds, for the due Observance of the Rules which shall be in force at any Time during the Currency of the Licence for the Regulation of such Theatre, and for securing Payment of the Penalties which such Manager may be adjudged to pay for Breach of the said Rules, or any of the Provisions of this Act.

VIII. And be it enacted, That in case it shall appear to the Theatres under Lord Chamberlain that any Riot or Misbehaviour has taken place in any Theatre licensed by him, or in any Patent Theatre, it shall be lawful for him to suspend such Licence or to order such Patent Theatre to be closed for such Time as to him shall seem fit; and

the Control of the Lord Chamberlain.

it shall also be lawful for the Lord Chamberlain to order that any Patent Theatre or any Theatre licensed by him shall be closed on such public Occasions as to the Lord Chamberlain shall seem fit; and while any such Licence shall be suspended, or any such Order shall be in force, the Theatre to which the same applies shall not be entitled to the Privilege of any Letters Patent or Licence, but shall be deemed an unlicensed House.

in the Theatres

IX. And be it enacted, That the said Justices of the Peace at a Rules for Special Licensing Session, or at some Adjournment thereof, shall enforcing Order make suitable Rules for insuring Order and Decency at the several licensed by the Theatres licensed by them within their Jurisdiction, and for regu Justices. lating the Times during which they shall severally be allowed to be open, and from Time to Time, at another Special Session, of which Notice shall be given as aforesaid, may rescind or alter such Rules; and it shall be lawful for any One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State to rescind or alter any such Rules, and also to make such other Rules for the like Purpose, as to him shall seem fit; and a Copy of all Rules which shall be in force for the Time being shall be annexed to every such Licence; and in case any Riot or Breach of the said Rules in any such Theatre shall be proved on Oath before any Two Justices usually acting in the Jurisdiction where such Theatre is situated, it shall be lawful for them to order that the same be closed for such Time as to the said Justices shall seem fit; and while such Order shall be in force the Theatre so ordered to be closed shall be deemed an unlicensed House.

X. Provided always, and be it enacted, That no such Licence shall be in force within the Precincts of either of the Universities

of Oxford or Cambridge, or within Fourteen Miles of the City of Oxford or Town of Cambridge, without the Consent of the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor of each of the said Universities respectively; and that the Rules for the Management of any Theatre which shall be licensed with such Consent within the Limits aforesaid shall be subject to the Approval of the said Chancellor or Vice Chancellor respectively; and in case of the Breach of any of the said Rules or of any Condition on which the Consent of the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor to grant any such Licence shall have been given, it shall be lawful for such Chancellor or Vice Chancellor respectively to annul the Licence, and thereupon such Licence shall become void.

Proviso for the

Universities of
Oxford and

Cambridge.

licensed Places.

XI. And be it enacted, That every Person who for Hire shall Penalty on act or present, or cause, permit, or suffer to be acted or presented, Persons perany Part in any Stage Play, in any Place not being a Patent forming in unTheatre or duly licensed as a Theatre, shall forfeit such Sum as shall be awarded by the Court in which or the Justices by whom he shall be convicted, not exceeding Ten Pounds for every Day on which he shall so offend.

old ones to be

XII. And be it enacted, That One Copy of every new Stage No new Plays Play, and of every new Act, Scene, or other Part added to any old or Additions to Stage Play, and of every new Prologue or Epilogue, and of every acted until new Part added to an old Prologue or Epilogue, intended to be submitted to produced and acted for Hire at any Theatre in Great Britain, shall the Lord Chambe sent to the Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household for berlain, the Time being, Seven Days at least before the first acting or

presenting