The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-23
THE TICHBORNE LAWSUIT.
From The N. Y. Times.

From the ~ J. Times.
The Tichborne case continues to attract
eager attention in London, and the balance
of testimony to exhibit that bewidering sue
cession of CONTRADICTIONS by which this re-
markable trial has from the first been char
acterized. Before the examination of the
plaintiff, the putative Sir Roger Tichborne
himself, his case looked extremely strong
Many credible witnesses had sworn point
blank to his identity, and other corroborating
evidence seemed quite impregnable. But
now that the sharp counsel on the other side
have taken the claimant in hand, his chances
appear to be sensibly diminished. The
confusion and inconsistency of some of
his answers TO questions, his strange illness,
which has required more than once during
his examination, his total ignorance of per-
Sons with whom the true Sir Roger is de-
clared to have been acquainted, combine with
other untoward incidents to give the affair
more dubious look than ever; and if, as is
threatened, the Solicitor General does ia fact
put in the witness-box the father, brother,
and sister of Arthur Orton, the Mapping
butcher, to prove that the claimant is that
person, his hopes of enjoying the baronetcy
must, to all appearance, be seriously clouded.
Among other critical matters sifted by the
plaintiffs examination, that of his ignorance
of French has been much dwelt upon. The
defendants advisers plainly rely much on
this weak point of their opponent. volume
of ChateaubIiand was lately produced in
court, which the witness attested to be his
own. He, at least, believed it to be his
own. 1t certainly had been the property of
| the true Sir Roger. Now, of course, one
more readily forgets how to speak a Ian
| guage, once having known it, than to read
it. The test as regards speaking French had
already been applied. In fact, the plaintiff
! and his counsel admitted squarely that he
| had forgotten all the French he ever knew.
! On this occasion he was asked to read page
from the Chateaubriand before him. He
replied 81 don't profess to do it, The
Lord Chief Justice, in apparent surprise,
said, ''Do you mean to say you can
not read French in French, not to
translate it?" To which answer was
made, ''No; / have quite forgotten the
| language. l can't read my own letters" On
this the Solicitor-General expressed his re-
! gret, saying that was precisely what he had
been about to ask the witness to do. The
Lord Chief Justice appears to have conveyed
! to the claimant at this juncture distinct idea
| of prejudice against him, for presently we
find Sir Roger, or Arthur Orton, remonstrat-
ing to the court as follows: :-"Your lordships
is very sharp upon me. 1 feel in duty bound
to say SO. Since have been in this box the
other side have required no counsel at ALL
| Your lordships seem determined that Justice
shall not be done me-" To which the Chief
Justice made the caustic reply, 81 must
trouble ayou to be more decent in your
observations, and to answer the questions
promptly" Ga.
If, for the sake of hypothesis, it is assumed
that the claimant, while astonishingly we'll
coached, is in truth an impostor, it must
be admitted that the latest developments lend
great plausibility to the theory. So long as
the examination refers to things in which he
is manifestly we'll ''up," the claimants re-
plies are reasonable and coherent; but when
taken out of his depth-that is when inter-
rogated, through the ingenuity of counsel. on
topics that he might be presumed to be
equally at home in as with others with which
he is acknowledged on all sides to be familiar
he founders and excites suspicion. The
following, for example, looks exceedingly
equivocal-
''The Solicitor. General-Can you give me the
name of any book you read with your tutor on your
"Witness-I dent remember what they were; they
We're the general books read in that day. q just
give me the name OF a single book you read win
your tutor? A. can't just now. q. But now Is the
time Can't you give me the name Of one 1l Of them?
give us the name OF single one? A. NO. q.
The ordinary scRool-books you were there, you
quite SO long as that; i did not commence
Latin and Greek until went to Stonyhurst. Q.
You have sworn your tutor taught you little Latin?
A. don't think he did he taught me reading, writ
ing and geographyi It was French geography
or nve years. @. Can't you recollect anything else
he taught you? A. can't remember anything but
or OF England? A. can't say; read several books; ;
1 can't give you the name OF a single book; he
taught me arithmetic; don't think that got be-
mother" -
We are aware that it is explained that Sir
Roger is an exceptional person, that he drank
hard for some time, tuat he has been wounded
and has experienced, from various causes,
cerebral derapgement, yet IL is somewhat sur
prising that his memory should be SO clear
and accurate to the minutest detail about
other things that happened at the same time,
and SO obscure and unsatisfactory about this.
Other extraordinary complications have been
brought forward, on the other hand, in the
examination, which appear so totally useless,
and, if considered as fabrications, for the
plaintiffs case so absurdly prejudicial,
that to many minds they will confirm be-
lief in his identity. Thus, he swore most
positively to the seduction of his
eousin-with great reluctance, il should be
said-the lady sitting meanwhile in open
court, and gave long history of connected
circumstances, which the defense cannot ap-
. parently upset. Such statements as this, and
others not essential, it would seem, to the
establishment of his case, and at the same
time Offering numerous vulnerable points of
, attack, the claimant advanced, and stood
| elaborate cross-questioning upon, with per-
, feet freedom, and We cannot help thinking
that all this is incompatible with the theory OF
imposture. On the last day of the examina-
tion, the report of which has come
| to hand, the witness begged to
I be excused from going on; 81 cannot
be responsible for any answer that
J l may give to-day, he said, 81 am in such IN,
| .@os,. A than toolr .,Iooe