The Irish standard., 1895-04-27

l y Z
of as an inmate Of the Keeley, Liquor
Cure Institute at Dwight, I'LL, and, after
remaining there for some time, was dis
charged as cured. He went to Detroit
leaving there without having paid his
hotel bill and crossing over to Canada
Here he was confronted with evidence OF
his past misdeeds and fed to the states
He reached Buffalo, where temporary
stop was put to his career. He began by
holding public meetings and soliciting
funds with which to construct a steam
vessel for use in mission work among the
South Sea Islands. Whenever he lee
tured he distributed slips of paper with
the picture of the craft he proposed to
build. He intended to cover the ship in
side and out with sheet copper and every
! one who contributed 10 cents was TO have
his name engraved on this copper COW
ering. The copper was to protect the ship
from the white ants, he said.
| I'm 1898 while he was engaged In this
noble and philanthropic work, DR.. Patton
came to America on a soliciting tour and
denounced Ruthven as soon as he heard
of him. Ruthven had applied for ad-
mission to the Presbyterian presbytery
Of Buffalo, but was refused until he could
produce credentials. He was also re-
ground that he furnished no evidence
of belonging to any church. EARLY in
February 1898, Ruthven was arrested in
Buffalo and indictments were returned
against him by the grand jury on the
| charge of obtaining money under false
pretense for charitable purposes. On
April Is his case was called for trial and
he was found guilty. Rev. DR.. Patton
and the ministers of Buffalo were the
chief witnesses against him. Judge
Hatch, OF the supreme court, admins
| tered a severe lecture to Ruthven and
sentenced him to serve one year in the
Erie county penitentfary, telling him
that he deserved longer sentence. This
term Rut1ven served, making no appeal
from the decision The jurors on this
caseswere all Protestants, save one, and
James, G. Templeton, a, United PresbY-
terian lawyer, who was employed to de
fend Rnthven,s after Investigating the
charges, refused to do SO, believing that
he was guilty.
HsAll the above information can be sus-
tanned by the ministers and laymen who
have written to Rev. DR.. Miller. Some
of them are Rev. T. D. Logan, Spring
field, Ill; Rev. Vosburg, Beaver Dam,
Wis; John A. Luty, Lincoln, ILL.,; Rev. w.
II. Carson, and,th proprietor. of the Rus
sell House, Detroit, Mich; Rev. John r.
Battisby, Chatham, Ontario, Can; Rev.
| S. M. Bailey, of the First United Presby-
terian Church; Rev. DR.. Hubbell, OF the
North Presbyterian Church; Rev. DR..
Mitchell of the of the First Presbyterian
Church, and Rev. DIR. Wright, of Fafay-
ette Presby yterian Church, all of Buffalo,
N. Y; Rev. R.C. Dodds, Dayton, Ohio; At
torney J.. O.. Templeton, Buffalo, N. Y;
Attorney James r. Pollock, Washington,
Pa.
"Ruthven claimed while in Buffalo to
be an assistant missionary to DR.. Patton.
DR.. Patton, who chanced to be in Pitts
burg at the time and went; from
there to Buffalo to testify against
Ruthven,S declared and proved that he
was the only accredited agent OF the
Australian Church to raise funds: in
America, and that Ruthven had no au-
thority to represent him. + Dr. Patton,
while in Pittsburg spoke in many Of
the leading churches, telling Of the work
accomplished in that far off field where
he had spent most of his life. Dr. Patton
has returned to the South Sea Islands,
and according to reports in Presbyterian
publications was most; cordially well
coined back by his ministerial brethren,
to whom he reported that he had sue
ceeded in raising for their mission
work about $125,000. This was gotten
in NEngland and America. Ruthyen
claims that his years imprisonment at
Erie, was a great act of injustice; that it
was the result Of a conspiracy formed
against him because of his being q con-
yerted Roman Catholic. y tsess'.4s s III
This conspiracy, he alleges, existed
between the prosecuting attorney, who,
he says, was a Catholic; the attorney who
defended him, whom Ruthven declares
was also a Catholic, and five of the jury
men, whom he says were Catholics. He
asserts that committee Of the Ameri-
can Protective Association has examined
his Buffalo record and exonerated him
from all blame. He claims that. had he
been allowed at the time Of his trial to
testify in his own behalf he could have
cleared himself, but that his attorney
following out the plan of conspiracy al;
legged to exist, refused to permit him to
go on the stand. Ruthven was abusive
in his statement concerning Or. Patton.
He states that DR.. Patton is not now q
missionary in the New Heb idess Islands,
but that he is simply the salaried fnan-
.cial agent of the Victoria Church that
DR.. Patton resigned from the island mis-.
sion in 1881, in the face of charges made
against him by Rev. Mr.. Holt, q brother
missionary. However, DR.. Pat0n's repu-
1tation is known to all Presby yterians and
has lasted his lifetime.
/ "yictor M. Ruthven, as he calls him
self in Pittsburg, is q slender individual
OF medium height, with clean shaVeH
face. He wears spectacles and behind
them are pair OF light blueteyes which