The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-31
THE BISHOP MAY
YET ESCAPE TRIAL
Signers Regulating the
Presentment.
A SKETCH OF THE CASE
Also a Brief History OF the Remarkable
Life of Mrs. Emma D. Elliott, The
Kentucky Belle Who Figures
in This Exciting
Drama.
(By the Associated Press

{T3y the Associated Press
Philadelphia Pa. Dec. 29.-DeS-
patches from Huntington, Pa, to-
night state that some of the Hun
tington signers to the presentment
against Bishop Talbot have repudiated
the presentment and say that it was
never their intention TO sign paper
the press If this be true the pro-
ceedings must be dropped as a pre-
sentiment of the character made
against the bishop must contain the
names of at least three persons from
the diocese in which the accused
bishop lives 1t is said the paper
was signed by the Huntington men
under a misrepresentation. they believ-
ing that they were assisting in clos
ing long controversy and not one in
which their bishop was to be brought
10 trial.
Can a bishop or ought a bishop to
write defamitory letters in secret in
order to injur any member of the
ministry? This is the question which
viii be decided at a meeting of the
committee of inquiry in the case of
Irvine VS.. Talbot" said the Rev. III
gram y. w. Irvine today in discus
made against him.
In discussing the motive of his de-
position, DIR. Irvine said that it was
because he had persistently refused
to serve communion to Mrs. Emma ID.
Elliott, Of Huntington, Pa, who is
divorced, against the wishes of Bish-
op Talbot. DIR. Irvine said:
THE canOnS OF the church provide
explicitly that a man or woman di-
vorced on any other cause except that
of adultery, which must be proven be-
yOnd the pounds of reasonable doubt,
cannot receive the holy sacrament. In
the face of this Bishop Talbot COW
ertly and by secret meetings with Mrs.
Elliott. who is woman divorced on
the grounds of desertion, sought TO
have her remain in the church."
DR.. Irvine denied all the charges in
the Upjohn letter.
The Upjohn letter as given out by
Herbert Noble, the eminent New York
lawyer and prominent churchmau.
who has charge Of the case for ii
presenters. is as follows:
My dear DR.. Upjohn-In passii
through Philadelphia | happened
meet the Rev Mr.. Schultz. and
mentioned the fact that some discI
sion of the Irvine case had come
in the Catholic club. / feel that yot,
will pardon me if I venture to pre-
sumo on my high esteem for you and
confidence in you to write you about
it. | do it first because | cannot af-
ford to go into the yellow journals
with Irvine and defend myself. But
he is such a plausible romancer that
/ am not greatly surprised to learn
That in the utter absence of any pro-
test from me some of the brethren
may think ] am TO blame.
May / say, therefore, to you that
this man was deposed nearly two
years ago for gross immortality. that
not one of the questions which he tries
to make capital of WAS ever mentioned
or referred to in his trial. but that
both the committee of inquiry and the
court found such a horrible condition
at Huntingdon that they confined
themselves entirely to the evidence
there abundantly given; that Irvine
has been thirty years in the minis
try. and twenty of those years has
been under the ban of ecclesiastical
discipline; that ne has been suspended
once lin your diocese) and inhibited
and made to leave repeatedly: that
eight bishops have made grave charges
against him; that the venerable Bishop
of Quincy wrote to me on his DEATH
bed that Irvine (mentiOn
ing alleged immoral conduct: that
there is no foundation whatever in his
allegation that the bishops (who know
him well) had any dream of casting
any reflection on our diocese or my
self, or had any reference whatever
to him in their earnest advocacy OF
what we all want, and will. l hope.
soon have, court OF appeals.
His case was one out of fifteen or
twenty, and all alike seemed to empha-
size the need of such court; that all
his talk about a divorced woman being
I'D h.,
stored is baseless-the woman having
brought from Philadelphia est. Glenn
ent's) a letter commendatory TO Hunt
ingdon as the priest there ESQ Irvine
told mel said she was divorced under
the provision of our canon.
"One would suppose a man with
such a record would hide his face for
shame. OF course. it is not altogether
pleasant for me to endure such yillifl-
cation as he heaps upon me, but | con-
TESS it has not greatly disturbed me
nor have | lost any sleep. | have
acteG kindly and as righteously as
possible. If the world knew why ne
was deposed. and what he really is,
he would get no sympathy 1t may
be in your power to reassure them.
bishops Whitaker. Whitehead. Sey-
mour. Scarborough, Potter, Doane,
Adams. Taylor. the Rev. DR.. Letting
we'll and a host of others will bear
out all ] have said as to his character.
with every assurance of personal,
esteem ! am, dear doctor,
Faithfully yours,
"ETHELBERT TALBOT"
1T is stated that the trouble be-
tween the bishop of Central Pennsyl-
vania and the priest arose from the
accommodation of Mrs. Elliott. a
member of the church at Hunting
don, of which Mr.. Irvine was the
rector. Bishop Talbot had often
been entertained at the Elliott house.
Mr. Irvine learning that Mrs. Elliott
had obtained q divorce and had mar
ried Mr.. Elliott, who had also OBJ