The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-03-28 00:00:00

The DISPUTE at LADY TICHBORNE'S
FUNERAL.

Mr. John Holmes, solicitor on behalf of Sir. IL C.l).
Tichborne, Bart., has addressed the following letter
to the editor of the London Times :

25, Poultry, March 21.
I beg to enclose copy of a letter I have this morning ad-
dressed to the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette in reference to
the article in his paper of yesterday, which you have copied
into yours of to-day. I trust to your sense of justice for its
insertion.
Instead of Mr. Alfred Seymour and the other opponents
of my client rushing into print for an obvious purpose, it
would be much more satisfactory if they would join in con-
senting at once to try whether a British jury will believe
them or the 55 disinterested witnesses who have voluntarily
sworn that my client is the eldest son of the late Sir James
Tichborne and the recently deceased lady, Dame Brunette
Felicite, his wife.

" THE TICHBORNE SUCCESSION.
TO THE EDITOR OP TIIE PALL-MALL GAZETTE.

"25, Poultry, London, EX. March 21.
"Sir,—the article under that head in your paper of yester-
day contains an untrue account of proceedings at the funeral
of the late Dowager Lady Tichborne, and is so worded as to
prejudice the case of my client. I will, therefore, thank you
to give this letter a place in your columns.
"The late Dowager Lady Tichborne not only acknowledged,
but evinced up to the lost moment of her life the utmost
maternal affection for her son, Sir Roger Charles Doughty
Tichborne. Only a few minutes previuusly to her death she
wrote a letter exhibiting the greatest anxiety for his welfare.
None of her relations except her son gave any orders re-
specting the inquest of her funeral, and the preparations en-
tirely devolved upon him
hrough the kindness of Colonel Lushington, who occupies
Tichborne.house, Sir Roger Tichborne and his numerous
Is lends were received as guests at the family mansion, from
whence they proceeded to the chapel, where Sir Roger
Tichberne took without any opposition the seat assigned for
the chief mounter, and next him was his cousin, the Coant
Lousada. Atter the service was over, Lord Arundell and
Mr. Alfred Seymour left their seats and placed themselves
next to the Abbe Veneer. the deceased lady's confessor, but
before the body ; the priests, however, explained that they
were in the wrong place, and they stood aside. Sir Roger
Tichborne walked immediately behind the body, followed
by his cousin and friends, but when they came by Lord
Arundell and Mr. Seymour in the chapel those two gentle-
men endeavoured to displace him, but did not succeed. Mr.
Seymour's party then left the chapel, anti did not join in
the funeral procession, but made a detour through the park
to the parish church. There they occupied a pew in the
lame way as the crowd of other persons did. Poor Andrew
Bugle, the faithful and much respected black servant of the
late Sir Edward Duighty, was not near Sir Roger when Lord
Arundell and Mr. Seymour made their unsuccessful endeavour
to displace him.
concourse of nearly 500 persons witnessed the funeral,
many of whom saw Sir Roger Tichbortie for the first time
since his return to England, and openly expressed their re-
cognition of and sympathy for him.
"The important question of identity could be speedily
settled, and the public mind set at rest, if nip client's oppo-
nents would accept the challenge he made through Ids coun-
sel, the present Lord Justice Selwyn, last November, and
which he instructs me publicly to repeat, that he is ready to
concur in waivins all technical legal objections Mid go at
once before a jury of his countrymen for the purpose of fairly
trying the matter out."

The following letters have also appeared
Sir—had Mr. Mr. Holmes, In his letters to you and the editor ,
of the Pall-Mall Gazette, which appear in your paper to-
day, limited himself to comments on what passed at the
funeral of the late Dowager Lady T,ehborne, we should not
have thought it at all necessary to notice his communication,
but as his letters insinuate that those whom we represent
are imposing delays in the way of his client bringing his
ease before a jury, we must request the favour of your al-
lowing us to state that such insinuation is wholly unwar-
ranted by anything which has hitherto occurred in the
course of the litigation. The matter is not yet ripe for a
trial by jury. We are as anxious as the claimant or his
solicitor can be that the question should be tried at the
earliest possible moment.
We abstain from noticing the parade of witnesses who are
stated to have come forward en the claimant's behalf, it
being in our judgment the height of impropriety to attempt
to prejudge the ease by such means. We will only state that,
notwithstanding the affidavits which have been made in
sapport of the claimant's case, his identity with the late
Roger Charles Tichborne will, at the reaper time, not only
be plainly disproved, but we shall prove who the claimant
really is.
We are Sir, your obedient servants,
DOBINSON AND C BARE, Solicitors for Sir 11.
A. J. D. Tichborne and Ms Guardians,
57, Lincoln's-inn.nelds, March 23.

Sir,—l have read a paragraph in The Times of to-day--a
statement copied from the Pall Mall Gazette—calculated to
mislead, and, therefore, unfair and unjust, as to what took
place at the funeral of the late Dowager Lady Tichborne.
By the invitation of the claimant to the title and estates—
who I firmly believe to be the real baronet—l made a point
of attending, and a more quiet, attentive, and orderly
assembly I never witnessed. After the coffin was removed, I
observed Mr. Seymour immediately attempt to occupy the
place of chief mourner, and, although Sir Roger Tichborne
was overwhelmed with grief and in tears, he quietly, and
not offensively, put Mr. Seymour aside, and placed himself
in that position which his deceased mother would have
wished he should occupy. Mr Seymour and his friends
then left in a body to reappear in the village church. I
avow this Is the plain unvarnished truth of what did really
occur on Thursday morning last at Tichborne.park As to
anyone being "summarily extruded," insulted, or abused, I
utterly deny.
I have the honour to remain your obedient servant,
GUILDFORD ONSLOW.
The Grove, Ropley, Hants, March 21.