The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-02-27


States; without this evidence, complete IN
detail and invincible at every point, the
Times would undoubtedly have won, not
withstanding the spuriousness OF the let
ters. Up TO July of last year Parnell, his
counsel and colleagues were wholly at sea:
They surmised. conjectured, investigated
clues and found each of them false. They
knew the letters were forged: but the forg-
cries were so adroit and the test OF the let
was SO like the habitual phrase
ology of both Parnell and Egan,
that it was clear the crime had been
committed by some one having access 10
the correspondence of both. But, although
genious of English solicitors were in the
case, every effort to discover the forger
proved futile, and Mr.. Parnell and his con-
tdants were, if not hopeless at least de-
pressed and disheartened. One day last
July. a yonng lrish-American priest, Rev.
Maurice j. Dorney, of Chicago. accom-
panied by Rev. Herbert Dunn. of the same
city, sent his card into Mr.. Parnell at the
House of Commons. When they met.
had a package to deliver. which was placed
in his hands the night before he sailed from
New York. 1t contained, he said, the evil
dence that would reveal the fcrgeries and
identify the forger of the letters printed IN
der which he came to be its bearer were
singular and almost accidental. He
received a telegram from Alexander
sullivan, of Chicago. whose name
has, figured prominently during the
trial, asking him to meet Patrick -Egan
at railway station in New York, the
night before he was to sail for Liverpool.
He did so. Egan said he had come directly
from Chicago, where he had been in consul
tation with Mr.. Sullivan. whom he had re-
quested, after they had gotten the docu-
mentS and their history in form, to select
trustworthy man to carry them to Parnell.
Sullivan learned that fathers DOrney and
Dunn were to take the steamer that Satur-
day for Liverpool. and he selected Father
DOrney to bear the message. Mr.. Egan was
met at the station by Father Dorney, who
was told the duty that had been imposed
upon him. They sat up all night: The
priest learned the whole story, and was
pSe t1 make It clear to ae tG
more sOlicitude than IL it had been mill
lions, for if it were lost all the gold the
Irish race could send to help him in his
trial could not replace it. He expressed to
for the safety of the package. and
when its real nature and .inestimable
value became apparent to Parnell,
the hOme-rule leader was. deeply
affected. The depression which has been
visible on his pale face for months began
to soften. and during the recital of the
story he yielded several times to, emotion.
When the story itself was over, he asked.
with painful apprehension. how many men
in the United States knew what the pack
age contained. Father DOrney replied that
only Egan, Sullivan and himself were
familiar with it, but that Patrick Ford, of
the Irish World, would be taken into con-
tidence by Egan. Parneu was delighted.
He was solicitOus for secrecy;, but he said
the gentlemen named would understand
the need of secrecy without request or a
We I'd of caution, and they were all men
whose names and services insured safety.
A series of interviews followed, partici-
pated in by Dorney, Parnell, SiZ Charles
Russell, Lewis and LabOuchere.
The discovery that Piggott was the forger
was made by Egan, in Lincoln, Neb., while
detectives and experts were vainly trying
to find clue in Great Britain. Egan writes
letters, fac-similes of which he got in the
London Times. The signature of those at
tributed tC him was remarkably good. Ex-
pressiOns and odd abbreviatiOns peculiar to
him were in the text. He considered as pos
slble fOrger each OF several men whom the
Parnellites suggested or suspected; but mono
of them could have had letters from him
which would have made the spurious con-
cOctions possible. He recalled Richard
Piggott, but he had been SO long dead in
shame, that Egan dismissed him from his
mind. He remembered that Piggott had
been in forgeries many years be-
fore, but the idea that he might
u.
In scrutinizing the forged fac SMILES he
finally discovered that one signed with his
own name was written avOwedly at q GER
tain address in Paris and the recollection
flashed upon him that Piggott was the only
man to whom he had ever given it. Pig
g0tt had written to him asking for q con-
tidential address to which he might send
important information. and Egan, con-
| Guiding to learn what it was. secured this
| address, which proved the key to the for
w hn 10 hot t,ir
had saved his correspondence for years.
| Instead of keeping a letter-press he has
been accustomed to writing on the tiy-leaf
| of a letter received his answer to it, and
correspondent. Thus he had letter and
| answer together. He searched his volumes
| of letters until he found Piggott's. By
| comparing them with the handwriting on
the forged letters. he saw that he
written by Piggott to experts, together
with the fac-similes of the forged letters.
| They Immediately declared characteristic
| peculiarities, which were confirmed under
| the microscope. Egan had Piggotts letters
| and the fOrgeries photographed, and started
| for Chicago. where he placed all the papers
before his friend Alexander Sullivan, who
| is also a solicitor. The brief was drawn up
! by him and Sullivan, in the latter's Office,
| in Chicago. 1t related the chief incidents
in Piggott's career, and showed that he had
been fOrger before. Years before, Pig
| gott tried to sell the Irishman "a news
| paper) to Parnell and Egan. He furnished
| an inventory, apparently authenticated by
| well-known Dublin accountants, showing
| the value of the property of the concern.
Egan proved that the inventory was
| false and that Pigggott had forged
the accountants signatures to it. PiggOtt
| was caught in another similar transaction.
| In the employ of Piggott's newspaper was
| q man who contributed to the Boston Pilot.
| His nom de plume was Leo. After his
death relative discovered that Patrick
| DonOhue, then editor of the Pilot, had re-
| never received. Piggott had opened the
| letter. taken the draft intended for Leo,
| forged his Endorsement and drawn the
| money. Piggott was compelled to disgorge.
These facts Egan committed in writing.
| He had, meanwhile, ascertained the pro-
| cess by which PiggOtt made the spurious
| letters. He found among his papers some
| letters written by him. in which entire
| sentences appeared that were also in the
| forged letters. Piggott had traced these
| sentences carefully, word for word. Then
he interpolated or added other SEN
| tences or phrases, completely changing the
| meaning of the whole letter, while
preserving the integrity of portions. Dates
were also changed to make the criminal in
| terpOlations applicable to illegal events.
Egag also found letters by Parnell which
had Been similarly used. Photographs OF
] all these, and Piggotts begging and black
mailing letters, were inclosed with the
| recalling to Parnell all the circumstances
| attending the writing or reception of each.
This was the precious piece of luggage the
yOunp Clergyman brOupht fO parneiI