The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-09-28 00:00:00

THE BOYNE•HILL CONFESSIONAL

The oommiuloners appointed by the Bishop of Oxford
to inquire into the aliargee preferred against the Rev.
Temple Welt, curate of Boynchill Church, and to re-
port whether there ire any priind facie grounds for
further proceeding, met on Friday in the Townhall,
Maidenhead. All the aomminioners were preeent—vis.,
Dr. Phillimore, Chancellor of the dioosas ; the Yen.
J114111)1 Randall, Archdeaeon of Berkshire ; the Rev. J.
Austen Leigh, vicar of Bray, and rural dean ; Mr.
Charles Sawyer, of Heywood•lOdge ; and Mr. J. Rib-
bert, of Braywiek.ledge. The deputy•registrar of the
dioasaf, Mr. John Davenport, sated as secretary to the
commlasion. . . .

The inquiry ezoited greet Intoreat In the neighbour.
hood, and the Townhall wee crowded throughout the
whole of the protreoted sitting.
The protocutor, the it.. John Shaw, vicar of Stoke
Poses, wee repreeented by Mr. H. W. Crlpps, of the
Oxford cirouit ; end Mx. J. D. Coleridge appeared for
the 'waned. .

Mr. Davenport opened the prooeedings by reading the
Bishop's Commission, and the requisitions of the
parishioners on which the oommiesion issued.
Mr. Crippi, then proceeded to open the oase for the
amused ; and called Mrs. Nancy Arnold and other
witnesses., who underwent a severe orosgexaininatlon.
Mr. Coleridge than addressed the Court on behalt of
Mr. West upon the case as it stood after the evidence
adduced and, the speech delivered by his learned friend,
after which the Rev. Mr. West was called and ex-
amined.
Mr. Coleridge having gummed up the evidence for the
defence, Mr. Crime replied on the whole case, and the
Commissioners then retired, at half-put 8 o'clock, to
consider their decision.
Upon their return to the court, after an absence of
half-an-hour,
Dr. Phillirnore said,—The 4th motion of the 3rd and
4th Victoria require. that at the close of this preliminary
proceeding one of the Commissioners, after a due con-
aideretion of the depoaitions shall openly and publicly
deolsre whether, in the opinion of the majority of the
Commissioneri present at such inquiry, there be not
sufficient prima facie ground for instituting further
proceedings. The Commissioners, having paid the best
attention in their power to the evidence of the witnesses
and the arguments of oounsel, are unanimously of opi-
Mon that the charge against Mr. West, that In the per-
formance of hie ministerial duty on the occasion of
visiting a ce:tain sick woman he put improper questions
to her with a view of leading her to make confession to
him, has not been substantiated by the evidence. The
charge rests upon the sole testimony of Anne Arnold,
unsupported by that of any other witness, but (antra-
dialed in various materiel points by witnesses whose
character has not been impugned. The Commissioners
have arrived at this conclusion without taking into con-
sideration the evidence of Mr. West, whom, ac-
cording to the beet construotion they could place on the
14th and 16th of Victoria, they allowed to be examined.
They therefore now, in oompliance with the requirements
of the statute, openly and publicly declare that there is
not suflisient ground for instituting further proceedings,
and they will advise the Bishop to that effect. And I
dealers this Court to be now closed.
This terminated the proceedings, after • continuous
sitting of exactly 11 hours. The judgment was received
with considerable cheering, mingled, however, with
equally strong manifeetations of disapprobation.