Cameron should not have initiated, nor the audience resented in the manner described. A further mistake was m a d e by Cameron next day, who, instead of allowing the angry passions of the preceding night to be cooled by time, rekindled them by taking out summonses against some of the ringleaders, identifiable by the police, and the next performance came off in the Police Court on the 5th, yvhere Michael McNamara Michael M'Colla, Michael Broyvn, Timothy Lane, David Barry, John Hassett, John and T h o m a s Connelly appeared to answer a charge of riotously and tumultuously creating a disturbance in the theatre, and damaging thefittingsthereof. Mr. Sidney Stephen, a barrister, conducted the defence. There yvas much discrepancy of evidence as to yvhether there was an altar, a crucifix, or a chalice on the stage. The yvaddy throyvn at Mrs. Knowles could not be identified. After a lengthy investigation the Bench were of opinion that the disturbance had been caused by the production of an objectionable piece in reference to a particular faith, and dismissed the case, advising Cameron at the same time to change it. Cameron disclaimed any intention to give offence, and assured the Magistrates that the piece had been licensed by the Lord Chamberlain. It was stated in Court that yvhen it was brought out in Dublin a riot took place, the Lord Lieutenant's carriage was nearly destroyed, and an attempt yvas m a d e to burn the theatre. Cameron m a d e a great mistake in rendering himself unpopular yvith an influential section of the community. T h e theatre yvas continued, but prosperity did not shine upon it. Cameron seemed to have lost heart, and the concern drifted into mis-management. S o m e of the performers appeared in a state of intoxication, and one evening the entertainment could not go on because the leader ofthe band refused to enter the orchestra as he had not been paid his salary. Soon after, on the occasion of a benefit to Mrs. Cameron, an actress is declared to have been " so confoundedly drunk as to tumble head over heels from the stage into the double bass in the orchestra." Extraordinary acrobatic feats have often been described, but it is questionable if any such improbability as the peculiar somersault indicated was ever executed by lady or gentleman, drunk or sober. Towards the close ofthe year 1844 the Pavilion found itself in Chancery. Hodges had previously come to grief through pecuniary difficulties. H e had sequestrated his estate, such as it yvas, for the benefit of his creditors, and his trustees filed a bill against Jamieson, asking for accounts for some ^"1500. A n injunction yvas also applied for to restrain Jamieson or his servants from receiving rents or profits, or continuing in possession of the premises. T h e cause yvas duly heard in the Supreme Court, and Mr. Robert W . Shadforth (Judge's Associate) yvas appointed Receiver. O n demanding possession, this officer yvas treated so unceremoniously by Jamieson, that the Judge had some notion of issuing an attachment, but Jamieson very discreetly " threyv up the sponge." H o w m u c h Cameron paid or the other received, yvhether nothing, little or much, is one of the lost secrets of local history never likely to be found. Cameron still kept on in a precarious state of professional existence until the commencement of 1845, when he applied for a renewal of the license. Winter m a d e a similar application, but the Police Court decided in favour of Cameron, though it was publicly stated that his management had been characterized by the grossest irregularities, misconduct and intoxication behind the scenes. After being shut up for some time the place was re-opened, and Nesbitt arriving from Sydney, m a d e his appearance on the 24th February. Others besides the Camerons, Hodges, and Jamiesons had reason to regret their connection with the ill-fated speculation, and amongst them was an unfortunate stage manager named Charles Lee. The worries of the establishment upon this poor sinner knocked him u p ; his wife yvas completely driven out of her senses, and died a lunatic in the gaol. Still the Pavilion struggled on for existence, a miserable, discreditable hang-dog life, and Cameron played ayvay in a reckless desultory manner, the performances becoming so low as to be beneath criticism. Nesbitt, however, got up a flicker n o w and then, when his appearance in "Othello," "Richard IIP," and "Sir Edward Mortimer," gave some enjoyment to the play-goers, but the end was not far off. O n St. Patrick's night, 1845, there were tolerable representations of the "Mountaineer," and " T h e Unfinished Gentleman," yvhen the clever amateur Davies m a d e a great hit as Jem Miller. O n e evening shortly after there yvas great fun, and something near a murder amongst the " gods " in the gallery. A Mr. Charles Henry Seymour Wentworth, a broken-down swell, known about town as " T h e Doctor," treated a w o m a n , said to be his wife, to an outing, and he took her up to "Olympus." Both were in a very forward state of beer, and in the midst of the play a commingled shouting and
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THE CHRONICLES OF EARLY MELBOURNE.
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