" Apparently, however, the
catcall, its claim to antiquity notwithstanding, was not favourably
viewed by the court. In summing up, Chief Justice Mansfield observed:
"I cannot tell on what grounds many people think they have a right, at
a theatre, to make such a prodigious noise as to prevent others
hearing what is going forward on the stage. Theatres are not absolute
necessaries of life, and any person may stay away who does not approve
of the manner in which they are managed. If the prices of admission
are unreasonable, the evil will cure itself. People will not go, and
the proprietors will be ruined, unless they lower their demand. If the
proprietors have acted contrary to the conditions of the patent, the
patent itself may be set aside by a writ of _scire facias_ in the
Court of Chancery." To the great majority of playgoers it probably
occurred that hissing was a simpler and more summary remedy of their
grievances and relief to their feelings than any the Court of Chancery
was likely to afford. In due time, however, came free trade in the
drama and the abolition of the special privileges and monopolies too
long enjoyed by the patent theatres.
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