The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-12-21 00:00:00

SitiuULAR CHARGE OF FORGERY.

At the Worcester Assizes, Arthur Henry Merton, alias
Th0u,..1 Krat.olg, has been trio I MI of fr Mot and ',-
gory. I I,eflrstoliat go against the prisoner ,who was deseriotd, in
the calendar as a " okra ii holy orders ") was that of having
on the 26th of Anglat, 1865, utt,ed to the RP, I'. 1.
Whoe'er, rector of ht. Martin's, Worcester, certain totters of
orders, purpurting to bear the Oats 2.3 rd December, 1a63, and
0114,10 by Lord Aucklan o, Ilinhop of Bath and Well', know-
ing notch letters to hem port forg.
_ _

Mr. Jell conducted the pr, isecation
he prisoner, who had no coun.al, defended lidiestilf with
great ability, croeii-exateining the witue.,* end addressing
the jory with eiogitence and propriety, the trial occupied
nearly the whole of the day.
The facts werebriefly these. In the month of August,
18tib, the Rev. T. L. Wheeler. rector Id St. artio's,
Worcester, required a curate, and applied to a London
agent, throngh whom the risoner, who described him-
self as the Rev. Arthur Henry Morton, M.A., treated
with Mr. Wheeler' and eventually came down to Wor-
cester on the 11th of August Mr. Wheeler entertained
him at his house for several (lays, and on the 14th
August he accompanied the Rev. Mr. Wheeler to
the Bishop of Worcester with the view of his being
accepted as curate. The Bishop made some in-
(prides and asked to see the letters of ordination,
whereupon the prisoner produced a document pur-
porting to be letters of ordination by the Bishop of
Bath and Wales, under letters dimissory fromtheilishop
of Exeter, and dated 23rd December, 1863. The Bishop
remarked that he hall kept his letters in a very untidy
state, but the prisoner accounted for this by saying
that their dingy apt earance was attabutable to the
action of salt water, he having recently come from
Tasmania. He produced testimonials from the Bishop
of Tau ania , f ram the Bishop of Melbourne, and
from ',rely Macdonald—all speaking highly of his
character. The result of the interview with the
Bishop of Worcester was that he allowed him to act
as Mr. Wheeler's curate for a probationary term
of three months. A fortnight later, after the pri-
mmer had performed the dutiee of curate, had mar-
ried three cinplus, arid christened and buried others,
Mr. Wheeler received an intimation which induced
him to demand of the prisoner the letters of orders
and to require him to appear before the Bishop. The
prisoner, terraces v, absconded, and was not a_tain seen
until apprehended in London a month ago, where
he was passing as the Rev. Dr. Heating. Whin
taken into custody he denied that be had ever teen
in Worcester' and said he could prove that he was
in America at the time of the alleged transaction at
Worcester.
The Rev. T. L. Wheeler having deposed to the
above facts, said, in crownexaminatien by the prisoner,
that he had no reason to be dissatisfied with his con-
duct when officiating for him, and that he seemed to
go about his work as if he was accustomed to it.
Mr. C. W. Garroa, solicitor,
_Wells, acting secretary
to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, proved from the
register of the 'Bishop's Court that no person named
Arthur Henry Morton had been ordained from 1837
to the present date. There was no ordination on the
23rd December, 1863; but there wee on 20th December,
18410. On that occasion the Rev. Lyceeter Lyne
(Father Ignatius) was ordained a leacon by letters
dimissory from the Bishop of Exeter. The letters of
orders produced by the prisoner purported to be by
letters diurieliory from the Bishop of Melbourne. The
witness added that the bishop had no power to ordain
on letters rlimissory from a colonial bishop without a
commission from the Archbishop. No colonial bishop
could exercise functions in this country. Me. Lyne
was not a M. A., he was a literati.
Baron Bramwell: lb strikes me that you mu (t have
known more about this than the Bishop of
Worcester did. Be got letters direissory from the
Bishop of Melbourne, accordieg to his own to be
ordained in EnFlaml, and yet the Bishop of Mel nurse,
in his testimonial, speaks of him as the "Roe." A. IL
Morton.
Mr. Jelf : That is the prisoner's own incone'stency,
my lord.
The forge netters of ordination were read. They
purported to be a certificate of ordination of A. 11.
Morton, IILA., " of whose virtue and previous Weaned
conversation, and competent learning and knowledge in
the Holy Scripteres, we are well assured." Tise letter
was dated in 'the seventh year of our translation."
This fact cffil not correspond with the 4late on the deem
ment by three years On examination of the door-
ment there could be detected, under VA( word " Mel-
bourne," two letters of the %veva "Exeter," and under
" Morton" part of the name "Lyne."
Rev. J. Leyceater Lyne next got into the witness.
boa, and his appearance with shaven crown, serge
dress, and sandalled feet created some curioeity. He
deposed that he wee known as Father Ignatius, and
WRA ordained by the Bishop of Bath and Wells on the
23rd of December, 1800, by letters dimissory from the
Bishop of Exeter. In 1865 he preeided over a mona-
stery at Norwich. A y (Awn named Morton was there
as a novice, and he left him there when he went on a
preaching tour about the heginring of June. There
were about fourteen persons in the monastery. Being
queetioutel as to the identity of the prisoner, he said,
" I do, with the presence of Jesus Christ at soy
side, say that I foil ware that I have never Peen
that man (the prison( hefore." He was called
back to the monastery earlier than he had intended by
the outbreak width to, he place in the nionastery, which
was headed by the man who gave his name as Artl,ur
Henry Morton, though he believed that was not. his
real name. When he went away, he left his lettere of
orders in an unlocked drawer in a desk in his cell. This
was accessible to the novice. It was not until he
heard of the case that he missed his letters. Ho was
fully convinced that the forged letters of orders pro-
duced were his own letters of order'. He could read

terta!ned

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