William Elton

William Elton (fl 1870s-1880s), born William John Shuttleworth, was an actor and musician. He married Fanny Eliza Lewis.

At times simply referred to simply as Mr Elton

Biography

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Elton

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 1875 he was a member of a company recruited in England by Frank Weston on behalf of Disney Roebuck,

As a bandleader he formed an “Ashantee Dance and Chorus” from “a band of coloured boys picked from the street” (also referred to as “street Arabs”) and participated in a performance entitled Brown and the Brahmins at the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town in 1875. This under the auspices of Disney Roebuck. (Fletcher, 1994)

November 24, 1876: Elton acted in Disney Roebuck's United Service Dramatic Company's production of The Hunchback at the Theatre Royal in Port Elizabeth.

Eastern Province Herald's Theatre Critic, Henry J Vickers, charges Elton

Background: On December 4, 1876, William Elton acted in Disney Roebuck's United Service Dramatic Company's production of Les Deux Orphelines, (The Two Orphans) a seven act drama by Adolphe d'Ennery (1811-1899) and Eugène Cormon (1811-1903), at the Theatre Royal in Port Elizabeth.

Henry J Vickers, theatre critic for the Eastern Province Herald, wrote the following which was published in the paper on December 5, 1876:

"For Mr Elton, as Pierre, we could not help feeling sorry. He tried hard to do justice to the part, but only succeeded in mixing up Danny Mann and Uriah Heep into a somewhat ludicrous compound very different from what the authors must have intended the cripple to be, and a nasty habit of repeating himself is to be deprecated.

"In the stabbing scene he raised himself rather above this, but on the whole failed.

"Marianne is not an important part, but Miss Fanny Lewis made the most of it."

(End quote.)

"That," said the Magistrate, "is only one man's opinion. It is a matter of opinion. The only thing is that as a professional man an unfair criticism may injure. Acting is his bread, and if you prevent him acting you take away his bread."

On Friday, December 8, 1876, William Elton appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court before Regional Magistrate Alfred Carrington Wylde charged with contravening the 18th section of Ordinance 25, 1847, by wrongfully and unlawfully using threatening language against Henry J Vickers, the Eastern Province Herald's theatre critic, "in the public place, calculated to provoke a breach of the peace".

The incident was alleged to have taken place in the public entrance to the Phoenic Hotel.

Vickers stated: "About 12 o'clock on Tuesday I received a message saying Mr Elton wanted to see me at the Theatre.

"I replied that I was busy at the time, and he then said I was to go round to the theatre after rehearsal, as Mr Elton wanted to see me particularly.

"I replied I was always in the office, and should be happy to see him there at any time.

"About 1.30 I went down to the Phoenix (Hotel) to luncheon.

"As I was going down the avenue towards the door Mr Elton came up to me.

"I said,'Oh, Mr Elton, you want to see me. What can I do for you?'

"He said, 'I want to know whether you wrote that notice of the Dramatic Company in the paper this morning?'"

His Worship interjected at this point and said "The criticism?"

"Yes," replied Vickers.

"Did he say notice or what?" asked Magistrate Wylde.

"I forget the exact words used; I think it was notice," replied Vickers.

"Because there is a difference you see," said the Magistrate.

Vickers continued with his testimony; "I replied 'Pardon me, I can't answer any such question as that.'

"He then said, 'I am first going to give you a straight 'tip'; I warn you never to put my name or my wife's name (Fanny Lewis) in good, bad or indifferent terms in the Herald again.'

"I said, 'Oh you had better see Mr Impey about that; he is the editor of the paper, and attends to these things.'

"He said, 'I have had enough of your nonsense and I am not going to have any more of it. If my name is mentioned again I shall make it warm for you.'

"I said, 'You had better see your manager and get him to withdraw the press tickets if you object to criticism.'

"He said, 'I have already asked him to do it, but I won't put up with any more of your - - - nonsense.'

"I turned round and walked as far as the door, leaving him.

"He followed me.

"When we got to the door he said, 'I warn you that I shall warm you if my name appears again.'

"I said, 'You have let your temper get the better of your discretion' and turned away from him, and as I walked towards the dining room he shouted, 'You are a - - - snob.'"

"There were other abusive expressions used which I can't recollect, such as 'printer's devil,' and things of that description," concluded Vickers.

Magistrate Wylde asked what the object was of giving the Press free ticket.

"It is generally supposed to invite criticism, that is the only object I know of," replied Vickers.

The Magistrate asked Vickers if there had been any criticism of their performance to which he repplied in the afimative.

He asked if he or anyone else had every been attacked in this manner before to which he replied "During the seven years I have been managing a newspaper I have not known anything of the sort."

Vickers said he did not see anything which exceeded the bounds of fair criticism.

"I have no personal feeling against him, but as there was a principle involved in this matter I came before the court," he said.

The Magistrate, in giving judgement, referred to a case in which similar language had led to a blow being struck, which had cost the man £100. This law had been passed in order to prevent people using improper and abusive and threatening language, calculated to provoke breaches of the peace. In this case it appeared Mr Elton committed the offence while smarting under criticism that had been passed upon him - acting is his trade and if you take away his reputation you take away his bread - so that he (His Worship) could take that into consideration in mitigation.

The Press, from the grounds of public policy, is allowed large liberty, but still at the same time the Press is as amenable to law as any private individual, and if the Press wanted the protection of the law it must take care that its criticisms are fair, and that it uses its judgement the same as any private individual.

In this case Mr Vickers conducted himself very properly. Mr Elton, smarting under a criticism by someone, went to Mr Vickers and attacked him. Mr Vickers very properly referred him to Mr Impey, the Editor of the paper, and Mr Elton then became exasperated and threatened to "warm" him if his name appeared in the paper again. He should have taken another course - he should have taken a civil action against the paper, and it could have been tried in that court or elsewhere, whether the critique was false and malicious, and likely to injure his trade.

Instead of that, he confronted and abused Mr Vickers before people at the hotel, provoking Mr Vickers to a breach of the peace, and that, he thought, it was intended to provoke.

The language was very gross. The Magistrate thought Mr Vickers had taken proper action. The defendant was sentenced to pay a fine of £1. Mr Vickers had not sworn his life was in danger, and he should not call upon Mr Elton to find sureties to keep the peace. If Mr Elton was so advised, he could have taken action at law, and the case would have been tried.

This ended the proceedings, and the Court, which had been crowded, rapidly cleared.

The fine was paid.

Sources

Eastern Province Herald, November 28, 1876.

Eastern Province Herald, December 5, 1876.

Eastern Province Herald, December 12, 1876.

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.

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