regard for the large annual increase of the population.  Systematically he hindered all enterprise in the direction of new theatres.  It was always doubtful whether his license would be granted, even after a new building had been completed.  He decided that he must be guided by his own views of “the interests of the public.”  It is not clear that he possessed authority in this respect other than that derived from custom and the traditions of his office.  The Act of 1843 contained no special provisions on the subject.  But he insisted that all applicants for the licensing of new theatres should be armed with petitions in favour of the proposal, signed by many of the inhabitants in the immediate vicinity of the projected building; he ’required the Police Commissioners to verify the truth of these petitions, and to report whether inconvenience was likely to result in the way of interruption of traffic, or otherwise, from the establishment of a new theatre.  Further, he obtained the opinion of the parish authorities, the churchwardens, &c., of the district; he was even suspected of taking counsel with the managers of neighbouring establishments; “in short, he endeavoured to convince himself generally that the grant of the license would satisfy a legitimate want”—­or what the Chamberlain in his wisdom, or his unwisdom, held to be such.

Under these conditions it is not surprising that for nearly a quarter of a century there was no addition made to the list of London theatres.  But time moves on, and even Chamberlains have to move with it.  Of late years there has been no difficulty in regard to the licensing of new theatres, and the metropolis has been the richer by many well-conducted houses of dramatic entertainment.

CHAPTER IV.

THE EXAMINER OF PLAYS.

The Lord Chamberlain holds office only so long as the political party to which he is attached remains in power.  He comes in and goes out with the ministry.  Any peculiar fitness for the appointment is not required of him; it is simply a reward for his political services.  Of course different Chamberlains have entertained different opinions of the duties to be performed in regard to the theatres; and, in such wise, much embarrassment has arisen.  The Chamberlain’s office is supported by a grant from the Civil List, which is settled upon the accession of the sovereign.  In addition, fees are received for the licensing of theatres, and for the examination of plays.

The Examiner of Plays has long been recognised as a more permanent functionary than the Lord Chamberlain, although it would seem the precise nature of his appointment has never been clearly understood.  “I believe,” said Mr. Donne, the late Examiner, in his evidence before the Parliamentary Committee of 1866, “that it is an appointment that expires with the sovereign (at least, I infer so from the evidence which Mr. Colman gave in the year 1833), but I cannot say that from my own knowledge:  I believe it to be an appointment for life.”