The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-03
CASE HAS COLLAPSED
RELIEVED DIR. IRVINE WILL WITH
 DRAW PREsENTMENTs.
Friends of Depesed Priest May, How ever, File New Charge Against the Bishop-Is Seeking
 Justice.

Philadelphia, Jan. 2.--The develop ments today in the controversy between Rev. Dr. l. N. W, Irvine, the deposed priest of the Episcopal Church and Bishop Ethelbert Talbot of the diocese of central Pennsylvania. indicate that the case of Dr. Irvine against the bishop has entirely collapsed.
 J. Frederick Jenkinson of Philadei- phia, associate counsel with Herbert Noble of New York for the presenters is said to be on his way to St. Louis with a statement for Bishop Futile, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, asking leave to withdraw the presentment against Bishop Talbot and requesting permission to make a new presentment. The vestrymen of Huntingdon, Pa, whose names appear on the preseutment today announced their intention of forwarding a formal statement to pr. w. B. Bodine, chair man of the board of inquiry appointed by Bishop Futile, demanding the with drawal of their signatures from the presentment. on the ground that the signatures were procured through irregular methods.
 Attorney Noble returned here from New York last night and all of today he was closeted with Dr. Irvine, Attor- ney Jenkinsen, the Rev. Benjamin I. i. Odell. the Rev. W. F. Noble, a brother of the senior counsel and other pre- | senters.
 It was nearly ! o'clock tonight when | the conference came to an end. The l first man to leave the room was Dr {. Irvine. He was immediately surround ed by group of newspaper reporters who had been in waiting during the greater part of the day, but he begged
 them to refrain from asking any ques- tions. Finding it impossible to secure any inofrmation from the deposed priest lregarding the proceedings at the con- ference, the reporters endeavored to prevail upon hi into make>a statement concerning the published letter he is said to have written to a clergyman
 in Hartford. Conn.,, in which he said
 he is in straightened financial circum- | stances.
 For Gods sake. gentlemen. don't ask | me any questions" was his reply.
 When Attorney Jenkinson came out he went directly to the Pennsylvania Railway Station whence, 1t is presumed, he took train for St. Louis. He would not answer questions.
 | It was learned tonight that the state- ment of withdrawal which MT. Jenkin- son will present to Bishop Futile at St. Louis will review in detail the Irv- | ine-Talbot difficulty. It will also al- lege that the presenters. ir this pro- ceeding. have had no desire except to secure simple justice for Dr. Irvine at the hands of the church court: that Dr. Irvine's own connection with the | case Is above suspicion and that the fact that the Huntingdon presenters l have repudiated their signatures is at | tributabIe to the r-zeaiousness of one or two of Dr: Irvine's friends, who | in their desire to serve his cause. did overstep the bounds of fairness in pro- | curing these signatures; that thereby the other presenters were deceived as to the integrity of the document and that for these reasons they desire to withdraw 1t from the hands of Bishop Futile and to have the board of inquiry disoslved.
 The staetment will declare that in withdrawing this presentment. the &C., ton is taken without prejudice to the cause of the presenters, or the inter ests of Dr. Irvine and that the friends of the latter who have had the affair in hand propose. as soon as possible, to file with Bishop Futile a new present. ment.