The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1884-10-29
NO. ),

| not tattooed. AS . matter of fact m.
claimant had dark hair, small hand,
small feet, and inturned knee. a tw;tch.
ing of the eyebrows and he is not tat.
tooed.
In spite Of tho apparently strong
points Of his case, he was, as we have
said, sentenced to fourteen years pc
nal servitudc. Though now practically
dead to tho world, he was not, however.
forgotten by few friends who had be.
lieved in him from tho first Prominent
among these were the late Lord Rivers,
the late Guilford Onslow. member Of
Parliament for Guilford, and Mr. Ouater.
maine East, who has since been elected
Sheriff Tor London. 1t was resolved bv
these gentlemen that tho first stop to be
taken was to produce the real Arthur
Orton, or authentic proofs of his death.
An agent was accordingly sent to Aus.
tralIa to sndeavor to trace Orton. He
was distinctly identified with man
who had taken the name Of Smith, and
who afterwards, under the name Of
Crsssweil, married a widow named Clark.
With infinite trouble this woman was
found, and stated that though she had
married her second husband believing
his name to be Cresswell, he had after-
wards confessed that his real namo wac
Arthur Orton. He had taken to drink,
and had been finally landed in the Para
malta Lunatic Asylum, where he would
be found under the name Of Cresswell.
| Charles and Edmund Orton. brothers Of
Arthur Orton, were Immediately sent
out to Paramatta, and recognized tho
lunatic Cresswell as their brother, and
were recognized by him. Eighteen In
dependent witnesses subsequently idea-
titled him as Arthur Orton, and the two
brothers made application to the au-
thorities to have him handed over to
their care, his wife agreeing to tho prop
osition. The authorities, however, took
time to consider their decision, and
threo months later, to the great astonish-
mcnt Of the claimants friends, refused
to. deliver up the lunatiic. Another fes-
ture Of tho case that has appeared since
the conviction Of the claimant il that
before his trial the jury who were to try
him were severally interviewed by de-
tectives from Scotland Yard, whose or
ders were to ascertain whether they
thought the accused was indeed Sir
Roger Tichborne or believed him to be
an impostor. Letters from Ex-Inspec-
tor Meiklejohn, and the notebooks kept
at Scotland Yard, corroborate this fact.
and show that previous to the trial Of
the claimant methods wore adopted to
ensure his conviction which arc utterly
inconsistent with the puro administra-
ton Of justice supposed to prevail in
England.
In view Of all these circumstances It
is believed chat the case will be reopen
cd in some way in spite of the fact that,
as thereis no Court Of criminal appeal
in England, there il no legal procedure
by which this can DO dsnc. Onc-half
Of the country believe that an unjust
sentence has been inflicted upon an in
nocsnt and deserving man. Assoeia-
tions all over the Kingdom have never
ceased agitafing and forwarding petit
tions to the Government in his behalf,
one such petition being signed BY l76,-
$50 persons, and it is generally evident
that the people at large are not inclined
to let the matter rest where it stands.
Public opinion demands that Arthur
Orton, the Paramatta Lunatic, shall be
brought to England, and IL this Is done.
it will be diffit nit, if not impossible.
for tho Government to refuse to further
inve stigate = case in which it. ia clearly
shown that tho claimant il not the man
they have. rs it wero, convicted him Of
being. In any event the case presents
one Of the most remarkable instances Of
doubtful or disputed identity that has
ever been known, and its further course
will BE watched with great interest.