The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-29
REVIEWS CELEBRATED CASE.
TICHBORNE CLAIMANT STORY RE-
OPENED AT SYDNEY.
Man Found in Insane Asylum Who
POssesses the Marks Borne by the
Genuine Sir RoEer-Happenings
I'm Australia and New Zealand.

VANCOUVER, B. G., Dec. 2S.-The IA
nous story of the Tichborne claimants IN
revived by advices brought from Australia
today by the steamer Aorangi. The govern
ment Of New South Wales Is so impressed
with the probability that an inmate Of
Parramatta insane asylum, known as Will
lam Creswell, may be Sir Roger Tichborne,
that 1t has appointed commission to In
quire into the antecedents of Creswell and
to investigate the circumstances connected
with his Incarceration. Popular opinion in
Sydney Is favorable to the claim that Cres-
well Is really Tichborne and some members
Of the commission are strongly Of the same
belief.
The report Of Drs Pickburn and Devlin,
who were deputed to examine this inmate
of Paramatta asylum with the view Of
deciding whether he bore marks known to
have been on the body of Sir Roger Charles
Tichborne, has been presented to the par
lament of New South Wales. Twenty-Five
physical marks of the real Roger Tichborne
were enumerated for the benefit OF the ex-
amining physicians and these two doctors
found that Creswell possessed practically
all of these marks ana characteristics.
There are only two circumstances In
which Creswell fails to correspond, accord
ing to the evidence Of Drs. Pickburn and
Devlin, two signs which are admitted to be
borne by the missing Tichborne. One OF
bleeding cuts, on Creswelrs ankles. But
the examining physicians point out that
such marks might easily have been oblit-
Grated on the legs after long years. The
other and apparently the more serious dis
crepancy Is that while Tichborne was five
feet eight and one-half inches high Creswell
is five feet six and three-quarters, but the
physicians say as Creswell Is now an old
man and withered, the shrfnkage in height
would be natural result of senility, and
probably fifteen years ago Creswell may
have been five feet eight and one-haif
inches In height The doctors say there is
at any rate no certainty that he was not
The tattoo marks which existed on Itch
borne do not exist on Creswell, but there
is a wound in the exact locality which
extirpation. Of tattooing. The medical ex-
perts say that so many marks of similarity
could hardly be put down to coincidence
The investigation was incomplete when tho
Aoangi sailed from Sydney on December g.
Wheat and Gold Outputs.
The prospects of the Australian wheat
harvest for the season of 1S99-19O0 are more
favorable on the score of aggregate yield
than during any previous year; New South
Wales alone will have 100000 bushels
available for export, and the other colonies
will have proportionately good results from
their cereal acreage.
Tasmania during November amounted to
100000, being one-third more than in the
corresponding months of last year. New
Zealand's. export of gold is $2,000.O00 great
err than last year, and her premier says
that he is absolutely opposed to New Zea-
land Joining the Australian federation. The
New Zealand government believes all the
colonies should federate for defense and
for one or two other purposes, but other
wise New Zealand proposes to maintain an
individual nationality.
Fast Steamship Service.
Concerning the proposed fast service to
San Francisco and the mooted changes in
the Australian steamer service, the pre-
mier of New South Wales has sent the
following communication to the premier
of New Zealand:
II informed you on the 18th instant this
to the San Francisco service for another
year, subject to parliament voting the
money. Regarding the proposed improved
service, in view of the large subsidies now
paid to the P. & o. Orient and Vancouver
services, | am not disposed at present to
commit this colony to larger subsidy to
the San Francisco service than is now paid
but IL 1t Is fact that a sixteen-knot
steam service from here to England could
be given at a cost of $4,000 a year to
be prepared to consider the matter favor
ably before the termination of the VAN
couver contract in May"
From Brisbane comes an account of the
unfortunate results that have attended the
use of arsenic dips for clearing tick in
have been killed by. the use of arsenic
dip. At Toweran eighty-two cattle out of
a drove of eighty-eight died suddenly after
being put through the dip twice. At
Bundaberg, out of 200 head of cattle, all
but eighteen died from the same cause in
single day. The government is warning
settlers and squatters to discontinue the
use OF the fatal dip for tick pest.